User Thoughts

"Thanks so much! That confirms another reason that I'm glad to have purchased this unit: complementary reviews of Focusrite customer service.
I do appreciate your prompt response. I will be sure to point other interested parties in the Focusrite direction for this very reason."
Aaron

"Many thanks for your speedy support. I've never experienced that from Any company before. Focusrite should be winning customer service awards!"
Ben Collier

"Just wanted to say that we had to pop down yesterday with one of our Focusrite products, our Red 3 lost a knob (we hit it with a chair accidentally)

In the first instance I rang Mick who was quite happy to talk me through the repair but then when it all got a bit too techie for me we arranged to pop down (well I say pop, but we actually live out in the wilds of Lincolnshire) with the unit for him to weave his magic whilst we waited. Mick was remarkably helpful and was a delight to deal with, he really couldn't have done more. The repair was done as per time scale and quote and he even picked out another small problem which after making us aware and getting our permission he also repaired on the spot. We were delighted and what a nice guy too.

We took advantage of our visit and had a chat with Giles regarding the 430, we are looking for another particular pro pre amp and we heading towards a Manley Vox Box, Giles as always was very informative, and really very helpful and thorough in his review of the 430. John Kaukis happened to be there and between them they sorted out a trial loan of a 430 unit so that we can compare it with the Vox Box in situ in our studios.

What a great team, a perfect balance of nice people doing a great job.

Many grateful thanks"
Lizzie - Funky Business Music

"Thanks for saying thanks. The nice comments are very genuine; since I sent the registration card, I've cut two albums with these pre's being central to the tracking process...I absolutely love them for anything on which I want a crisp and uncoloured sound. Thanks for making them."
John Wheeler, Nashville TN

"Thanks again for your response. The speed and friendliness of your responses stand out way above most other manufacturers. I only wish they would follow suit...I really thank you for your assistance"
Wayne Coster, USA


"I am truly stunned by the sound quality; I thought: I want to have 48 of these for mixing, but then again, you do build consoles, so until I have the funds, one will have to do...I am very impressed by this immediate personal response to a comment on a warranty card; I already liked you guys for the sound of your gear, now I also like you for being so attentive. Thanks again."
Kubilay Uner, Los Angeles, USA


"We were instantly impressed when we slapped the box across some previous 'final' mixes that we and others had done, particularly the degree of control that it gives, and the 'just right' parameters that seem to have been chosen for the compressor spectral splits and the EQ bands. We will probably leave it across the LR mix permanently from now on.
Regards"
Nigel (Owner) and Marc (Resident Engineer), Mockin-bird Studio

"I was just wondering if Focusrite was ever planning on releasing mixers or consoles in the near future. The way I see it, your platinum line is the greatest thing to happen to the home studio owner since the 4 track! The superb sound quality of your products along with their ridiculously low price tags has allowed me and many others to work with gear that rivals the sound of units built by Avalon and AMS - Neve! The only thing more I could ask for is a mixer that could compete with those built by SSL and Studer, at a price that a project studio owner could afford. While I realise that this is pretty outrageous request, I believe that if any company could pull it off, it would be Focusrite. Your Platinum line has been surprising me since day one with its unbeatable combination of price and quality and I eagerly look forward to being surprised once again by you guys in the future.

Best regards"
Eugene Y. Kim


"Dear Mr Dudderidge,

I wanted to express how happy I am with the quality of your products, and the direction of Focusrite, especially with the introduction of the Platinum series. I have a project studio in New York and have elevated from a reel to reel 8 track to using Cubase SX with the Houston, UAD, Voice master, and Compounder.

For my studio, I wanted good hardware that was in my price range. Thanks to Sound on Sound magazine, I really got to know your products, as well as your web site. (By the way, the new site looks very good, and I found it easy to find what I was looking for.) Like those MP3 samples!

Though there are other good company's out there, Focusrite had (past tense) a reputation of having very high end gear that was out of the reach of most, except for the pro studio's. Now, with the Platinum range giving good quality for project and home studio types, you have opened your market to many new customers. Almost all reviews of your gear are given high praise. Not only does your company have new customers who purchase the Platinum series, in time, many will graduate to the ISA 220, 430, or Red series. I personally will be purchasing the ISA 220 within the next 8 months, (how I hate waiting!), and afterwards will be getting the Mixmaster to complete my studio.

Your staff, including the famous Giles Orford, Chris Gooddie, Tim Dingley, and Raphael Sutcliffe, have been exceptional in answering all questions I've had on any unit or topics regarding recording. It is too bad that other companies do not have the same professional friendly email responses, which also included quick response times.

As you know, the best way to get more sales is through word of mouth. I have been telling all my associates, and those on different forums, about the success I have had with your equipment. Now, as I am improving my studio, I had the opportunity to check out the ISA 220. This unit is, for the money, the best channel strip I have ever used! The ISA 430 is a little out of my price range, but with the 220 you have put a very high end product closer to the reach of project studios. After hearing the unit, I know I will be able to get the sound of a pro studio in my project studio.

Throwing my blue mic, or Neumann TLM 103 on the 220 gave me an open detailed, slightly warm sound that I never had before. I did not need to touch up the vocals with more EQ, after the 220 EQ already made the tone perfect. Recording my active bass guitar directly into the 220, with the EQ and compression gave me a clear balanced tone I never had previously at the level I received. Not to mention recording a acoustic guitar brought more life to the recording.

Though I do praise your products, highly, your staff deserves the same high praise in working on great new products, and giving their customers the best service out there."
Glenn Bucci, Revelation Sound Studio

"Dear Focusrite Team

Just over a year ago I was training at the CBC studio' in Toronto and on the first day of recording I heard something that I'd never heard before. I asked my teacher how he made the vocalist sound so clear, natural and yet powerful. He pointed to a Red 7. Every week I came to class and never passed by that thing without blowing it a kiss and constantly telling my class mates that one day I'll own one. Today I realized that dream. I don't have a lot of money so saving up took some time and proudly I left Long and McQuade with a Focusrite Penta. My friend and I have rented a few preamps over the last few months and nothing compares to the fidelity of this machine. I can't recall the last time I was this excited about music. The results were immediate and concise. You see we have a lil' studio of our own and it's not a business. We have careers and we record daily for the love of it. We don't want money and we'll record anyone and anything for nothing. It's truly a passion. One problem we face now is that this preamp is so clear that it makes a lot of our older tracks sound like child's play. We are beginning to back track to redo so much of our work that we'll be busy for at least a month or two. The second problem is that I heard the 430 Producer pack for the first time today. It's gonna take me about 1/5 of my yearly salary to pay for it, but you know what. It'll be sooo worth it. Your work makes our dreams come true. Thank you so much!!! You guys are doing one hell of a great job."
Todd D. Costello & Shawn Stewart - Wavline Recording Labs - Toronto, Ont.

"Dear Focusrite,

I've been told by my recording engineer friends to buy a nice preamp for years but I always held back. A preamp isn't a creative tool and quite honestly isn't the most exciting pro audio purchase one can make. I finally broke down and bought the TwinTrak Pro. I can't even begin to describe the difference it has made in the two days it has been in my studio. It feels like I've had blankets over my monitoring speakers for five years and now suddenly someone has come along and lifted them off. I've run guitars, bass and vocals through it so far and I'm still trying to lift my jaw up off the floor! I've been considering revamping my guitar rig and buying a new bass to get closer to the sounds I hear on records and it now seems totally unnecessary. My guitars sound bright and bold and my bass sounds warm and round. The vocals are articulate without having to be overly loud in the mix. I'm a slap-happy camper.
I love the mixer functions in the unit also. I record by myself and, because I only record one or two tracks at a time, I'm now Mackie-free and feeling pretty happy about it. Thanks for making such a great product and such an affordable price!
Greg Johnson, Paradise, CA
I am sorry that I have not contacted you earlier as I have been really busy with the holiday assignment from University and reloading my powerbook g4 1.67. I decided to purchase a Macbook Pro 2.16ghz machine from Apple's refurbished store and to cut a long story short, the performance was mind
blowing!

I tried your recommendations for the mixer and now I just have the processed sound from Logic's plugins and with zero latency, it is absolutely fantastic, no glitches, in fact the sound is perfect! It is quite easy to see why the Saffire has received such praise, I am delighted that I switched to Logic as the guitar amp simulator is great and I purchased all of the Jam
packs, music has never been better!

Thank you once again and best wishes to all at Focusrite, please keep up the excellent work!"
Rob Schapp

"I recently had a Producer Pack in for repair with yourselves. It involved the replacement of components & a weekend soak test.
Quite simply, I was so impressed with the efficiency that your company showed in turning it around & keeping the customer informed. I have delt with Focusrite for many years & in that time I have seen other companies change their approach to after-sales service & repair with detrimental results.

I was particularly pleased with the cost of the repair & your service engineer, Mick, who I have spoken to on many occasions over the years, & who has always been so helpful.

I hope this sort of feedback is of value, particularly when we use so many of your products in both our Protools set-up & other studios with complete confidence.

Many thanks & long may it continue"
Michael Fallon

"I had not heard of Focusrite nor the Saffire LE when I went to the dealer. I was planning to buy an MBox2. The salesman adamantly recommended Saffire LE for price/quality/reliability.

Boy was he right! This is my first venture into home recording and I was extremely hesitant to invest. But the sound is excellent -- far better than I would have imagined -- and the product is indeed rock-solid. I have had no difficulty recording microphones, analogue line inputs, and digital S/PDIF inputs. I can record all 6 inputs simultaneously.

The one comment he made that was very helpful -- he told me to READ THE MANUALS before I concluded anything didn't work. He has been right many times over. High-quality digital recording is not plug and play -- there are too many parameters to tweak. For example, initially my digital input sounded awful with a high-pitched tone. Upon very careful reading I realized I had to synchronize both my recording software (Cubase SE3) and Saffire LE software to the sample rate of the synth, which was 48 kHz.

Good work and great price."
Paul Rosenberg - Keyboard Player - USA