Studio

Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 (3rd Gen) 18-In USB Interface

★★★★☆ 4.0

✅ In stock — 3 available

The Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 is the interface you buy when two inputs are no longer enough. It is a rackmount unit with eight microphone preamps built in and eighteen inputs available in total, which makes it the natural centre of a project studio that has started recording bands, drum kits and live services rather than one voice at a time. WHY EIGHT PREAMPS CHANGES WHAT YOU CAN RECORD With two inputs you record a vocal and a guitar. With eight you record a drum kit properly: kick, snare, hi-hat, two toms and a stereo overhead pair, all captured at once on separate tracks so you can balance them afterwards. You can track a full band live in a room. You can record a church service with the preacher, two singers, a keyboard and a pair of room microphones, and mix it later rather than committing to a stereo balance on the day. That is the difference this unit makes. It moves you from recording performances one layer at a time to capturing whole events. KEY SPECIFICATIONS Format: 19-inch rackmount USB audio interface, 1U Microphone preamps: 8 Scarlett preamps with 48 V phantom power Total inputs: 18, including ADAT expansion Total outputs: 20, including monitor and line outputs Instrument inputs: 2 switchable to instrument level on the front panel Converters: 24-bit, up to 192 kHz sample rate Dynamic range: approximately 111 dB on the converters Digital I/O: ADAT in and out for adding eight more preamps, plus S/PDIF Monitoring: two independent headphone outputs with separate mixes Word clock: BNC output for synchronising with other digital gear MIDI: 5-pin MIDI in and out Connection: USB to the computer Software: bundled recording software and plug-in collection AIR MODE AND WHAT IT ACTUALLY DOES Each preamp has an Air switch that models the high-frequency character of Focusrite's classic ISA transformer-based preamps. Engaged, it lifts the upper presence range and adds a slight sense of openness. On a dull dynamic microphone or a voice that sits back in a mix, it can save you reaching for an equaliser later. On an already bright condenser it can be too much. It is a tool, not a default, and the fact that it is switchable per channel is the point. TWO HEADPHONE MIXES MATTERS MORE THAN IT SOUNDS The 18i20 provides two headphone outputs that can carry different mixes. In practice that means a vocalist can hear more of themselves while the engineer hears the balanced mix, without argument and without rewiring. For tracking sessions with more than one person in the room, this removes the most common source of friction in a project studio. EXPANDING LATER The ADAT input accepts eight more channels from an external preamp unit, taking you to sixteen microphone inputs without replacing the interface. That upgrade path is why the 18i20 remains a sensible purchase even if you currently only need six channels. Buy once, expand when the work demands it. WHO THIS IS FOR Project and commercial studios in Nairobi recording bands and gospel groups. Churches capturing multitrack recordings of services for broadcast or archive. Schools and colleges teaching music production. Producers who have outgrown a two-input interface and are tired of overdubbing drums one microphone at a time. Podcast studios running four or more hosts on separate tracks. PRACTICAL NOTES Rack it properly. It is a 1U unit and it belongs in a rack or on a solid shelf where the connectors are not being stressed by cable weight. Budget for cables and stands. Eight preamps means eight XLR cables and, for a drum kit, several stands and clips. That accessory cost surprises people and it is worth planning for at the outset. Install the drivers before connecting on Windows, and use a USB port on the machine itself rather than an unpowered hub. Most reported problems with any interface trace back to a hub or a marginal cable. Watch your gain staging. With this much clean headroom the temptation is to record hot; aim for peaks well below clipping and use the metering rather than your ears alone. WARRANTY, DELIVERY AND ADVICE Genuine Focusrite stock with a 12-month warranty, delivered countrywide and paid by M-Pesa or cash on delivery. If you are building a studio from scratch, call us and describe what you intend to record. We will tell you honestly whether you need eighteen inputs or whether a smaller interface plus better microphones is the stronger use of the same budget.

• 🚚 Countrywide delivery (flat KSh 350, KSh 200 within Nairobi)
• 💳 Pay via M-Pesa on delivery — no upfront payment needed
• 🛡️ Genuine products with warranty