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Included in this purchase :
1x Focusrite Saffire Pro 40
1x FireWire Cable
1x Apple FireWire Adapter
The Focusrite Saffire Pro 40
Main features
The Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 is an excellent audio interface with 8 analogue high quality, award-winning Focusrite pre-amps and 12 analogue outputs which is great for studio or live multitrack recordings, or simply for jamming sessions, where each band member can have their own monitor mix. It has 8 stereo or 16 mono mix buses with S/PDIF and ADAT and MIDI connectivity as well. The Pro 40 offers a wealth of options for inputs, outputs, recording, signal routing and even expansion of the amount of inputs you have which is great considering the size of the interface. This high quality interface is able to handle a total of 20 inputs and 20 outputs, with a host of I/O options provided.
Please read on for my more detailed description of this product and explanations of how you will be able to make the most of your Focusrite Saffire Pro 40.
The Front Panel
On the front panel, you have two really accessible award-winning Focusrite pre-amps which accept mic, 1/4 TRS (balanced) or 1/4 TS (unbalanced) inputs which is useful if you want to plug in both microphones, instruments or other devices which require these inputs. You also have two 48V phantom power switches, one for inputs 1-4 and one for inputs 5-8, which is good if you want to record with condenser microphones. Then you have the level knobs for inputs 1-8 with instrument switches for inputs one and two and pad switches which are useful for dimming the signal to allow for more headroom when adjusting levels.
The front panel 5-LED metering for each analogue input offers accurate viewing of levels, where you also have the FW (FireWire) Active and the Locked LEDs which tell you whether your computer is connected to the Saffire Pro 40. If the FW Active LED lights up, then your computer is connected. Then you have the Monitor level knob with a Dim switch which again allows for more headroom and a convenient mute switch for muting the signals going to the monitors. Lastly you have the two level controls for headphones 1 and 2 with their 1/4 jack outputs and the power switch.
The Back Panel
On the back panel you have high quality inputs 3-8 which again accept mic, TRS or TS inputs. If the pro 40 is being stored in a rack and you want easy access to these inputs, then you may want to consider getting an XLR or 1/4 patchbay such as the ART P16 patchbay (XLR), the Behringer Ultralink MS8000 (XLR), the ART P48 (1/4) or the Behringer PX3000 (1/4). Then you have the line outputs 3-10 which can all be used for a variety of purposes which will be explained later. Note: Input 4 only accepts Mic inputs and not 1/4 inputs due to slight damage to the 1/4 part of the input. But microphones still record excellently through this input.
Then you have your two monitor outputs to feed your monitors to playback your recordings from your DAW recording software. Then you have your 2 optical ADAT input and output sockets which are excellent if you want to expand your interface and have 8 more inputs and 8 more outputs. Any product that has these ADAT connections will enable you to use this function. For example, you could use another Saffire Pro 40 for eight extra outputs and inputs; but a cheaper option would be to get the Behringer ADA8200 Ultragain Digital, which is designed exactly for this purpose. This enables you to record more inputs at the same time and route different signals to more places. These sockets on the Pro40 are also available as additional S/PDIF optical i/o.
Then you have two FireWire ports which are used to connect the Pro 40 to your computer via the FireWire cable (included) for access to the Saffire Pro 40 MixControl app which allows you monitor all the signals going into and out of the Pro 40, routing signals to different places, easy recording into your DAW and much more. However, a lot of the new Apple Mac laptops do not have the required FireWire ports, so I have included an Apple FireWire adapter for easy connection to any computer or Laptop. Having two FireWire ports is great if you want to connect the Pro40 to two computers at once for easier monitoring of signals, for example if you want to look at two different mixes at the same time.
Then you have your MIDI In and Out ports which can be used to record two track recordings of the main mix which is good to have as well as the multitrack recording. Or you can connect other MIDI devices for extra flexibility. Then you have your RCA S/PDIF inputs and outputs which is excellent if you want to expand your interface even more and have 2 more inputs and 2 more outputs. Any product that has these S/PDIF connections will enable you to use this function. For example, you can get the Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 (3rd Gen) or the Zoom U-44 USB Audio Interface. Lastly you have your IEC Power inlet socket (power cable included)
The Saffire Pro 40 MixControl App
This app is where you control your whole mix system and is very is very intuitive and easy to use. The Pro 40 has a total of 8 stereo or 16 mono mix buses (which you can switch back and forth between) which is excellent if you what to power different monitors with different mixes for band members, or if you want separate in-ear monitor mixes for each band member for personal monitoring. Each of these mixes can be routed to any of the analog outputs on the Pro 40 or the outputs on your ADAT interface. Each of these mixes can be named for easy access.
Next you have your inputs which can also be named to your choice. For each of these inputs, you can easily choose where you want your signals to come from. You can choose between Analog, ADAT or S/PDIF inputs. Each input has a fader, pan slider, mute, solo and PFL (Pre Fade Listen) buttons. The PFL is useful to hear what the input sounds like before the fader affects the signal level. The Solo button is good to hear what the input sounds like on its own without being able to hear the other inputs. You can also choose to link any two channels to make them stereo.
Next you have your 2 DAW inputs with level control, pan, PFL, Mute and Solo buttons, but can also be set to receive any other signal sources like your Analog, ADAT or S/PDIF inputs. You can also choose to make these inputs stereo or mono. Next to that you have your master fader for the mix, which you can make stereo or mono with mute and solo buttons; you can also choose where you want to copy that entire mix to.
Then you have all your outputs, which offer a wealth of routing opportunities. Any output can be configured to output any input or mix bus (your DAW, Analog, ADAT or S/PDIF inputs or any mix bus). You also have your two physical headphone outputs on the Pro 40 which are linked with line outputs 7 and 8 and line outputs 9 and 10. You also have your loopback buttons which enables you to record from one software program to another. Then you have your flexible monitor section where each output can be configured to be controlled by the monitor knob or not. You also have different monitor presets, including mono, stereo, quad, 2.1, 5.1 and 7.1 surround, Mid+phones 1 and Mini+Phones 2. You also have the dim and mute switches (as on the hardware) but you also have extra control over your monitor outputs through the Left Mute, Right mute and Mono switches.
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Category: Musical Instruments:Pro Audio Equipment:Audio/MIDI Interfaces
Location: High Wycombe