Focusrite Vocaster hands-on: Streamlined audio interfaces built for podcasters

Focusrite already makes a few of the hottest audio interfaces available on the market. Should you’re a budding musician or bed room producer, you’ve most likely thought-about one in every of their Scarlett interfaces when constructing out your studio. They’re additionally nice choices for podcasters. However music producers and podcasters have completely different wants and priorities, so Focusrite is particularly focusing on the latter with its new Vocaster One and Vocaster Two. These new interfaces have a handful of options geared toward making the lives of podcast hosts and streamers a lot simpler.

The 2 interfaces are largely the identical, it’s simply that the Vocaster Two has two of the whole lot, whereas the One has… you guessed it, one. There’s two mic inputs and two headphone outs on the Vocaster Two, and only one on the opposite. The ins and outs are additionally handily labeled as “host” and “visitor” slightly than merely “one” and “two.” Which means you possibly can most likely set the host channel the way in which you need it and by no means fear about it once more.

Each Vocasters have giant knobs on the highest that make controlling mic achieve and headphone ranges simple. However there’s additionally an array of buttons beneath that supply fast entry to extraordinarily helpful options. There’s a pair of mute buttons, an auto achieve characteristic for setting mic ranges robotically, and an Improve button that applies compression, EQ and highpass filter to immediately enhance the standard of your voice. Whereas the button on the interface itself merely turns Improve on and off, within the Vocaster Hub app there are a couple of completely different presets to pick out from. Radio and Clear are my two favorites, however Shiny and Heat would possibly work higher for some relying on the tenor of their voice.

You’ll undoubtedly need to set up the Vocaster Hub app. Whereas the interfaces will work proper out of the field with no further software program, there are superior options hidden within the app and it simply makes some duties that a lot simpler. For one, it’s the one solution to manually set the extent of each mic inputs independently on the Vocaster Two. Whereas you should utilize the auto achieve on each from the machine itself, there’s just one achieve knob and it controls each inputs concurrently.

The app can be the place you possibly can management the degrees for the 2 loopback channels and the aux enter. The loopback makes it simple to pipe in theme music whereas the aux enter is useful for having visitors dial in. It’s price noting, although, that to take full benefit of that you simply’ll want a TRRS to TRRS cable, a daily audio cable gained’t lower it. However this ensures that not solely are you able to hear your visitor, however they’ll hear you as effectively.

The dearer Vocaster Two not solely has an aux enter, but additionally Bluetooth connectivity for bringing in visitors wirelessly, however I’d be hesitant to belief that myself. There’s already sufficient issues that may go improper when doing distant interviews that I wouldn’t need to add Bluetooth to the combo.

Each interfaces have left and proper audio outs for connecting studio displays, however the digicam out might be extra helpful for the supposed viewers. It’s actually simply a typical 3.5mm TRS stereo out, however when you join it to a digicam you possibly can keep away from having to sync up audio after the actual fact on a vlog, and immediately step up your streaming sport. There’s 48v phantom energy in case your desire is for condenser mics.

In my temporary testing each interfaces labored as marketed. For somebody simply getting began in podcasting, or who desires to be as cell as potential, these would make a ton of sense. The Improve characteristic works wonders and it does so with no fuss. It’s much like the Air characteristic on the Scarlett line, however tuned way more particularly for the human voice.

The auto achieve additionally labored pretty effectively, shortly permitting me to swap microphones with out spending a ton of time dialing in achieve manually. It could be a tad conservative for some, however it’s simpler to make issues louder in submit if obligatory than it’s to scrub up a clipping mic.

The plain aesthetics and plastic construct are nothing to write down house about, although. The one prospers are the LED ring across the achieve knob and the crimson accents across the edges. However frankly, one of many least necessary issues about an audio interface is the way it seems to be. I won’t toss these haphazardly in a bag, although. Some considerate cushioning is unquestionably obligatory when you’re taking these on the street.