Focusrite is expanding its Clarett+ lineup with a new 8-channel mic preamp and A-D/D-A converter, the Clarett+ OctoPre. This 1-RU model brings 8 ultra-low-noise, Air-enabled preamps with outstanding dynamic range and individual channel inserts to home, production, and professional studios looking to expand their input capabilities.
Eight Clarett+ Microphone Preamps with Air
The OctoPre series has been providing reliable, easy-to-use, and great-sounding ADAT-connected input expansion for a long time now; I literally have an early-generation OctoPre sitting behind this laptop as I write and still employ it constantly. I’ve used mine with interfaces from RME and Arturia, mainly as a way to record analog synthesizers, and the results have been consistently excellent. Of course, the features in this Clarett+ version are a major upgrade; the 8 mic/line inputs feature high-headroom preamps with up to 57 dB of gain and deliver an extremely low noise level of 129 dBu EIN and a 118 dB dynamic range—ensuring your recordings are clean, clear, and detailed. What’s more, each offers Focusrite’s all-analog Air presence boost, which switches the impedance to 2.2 kilohms and adds two cumulative high-frequency shelves for a sweet 4 kHz boost that models its classic ISA preamps and helps vocals cut through in a busy mix.
JFET Guitar Inputs, Inserts, and ADAT compatibility
For guitar and bass players, the unit features two front-panel Hi-Z JFET guitar inputs with wide frequency bandwidths designed to deliver clean, pure high end that feels like you’re plugging directly into an amp. Engineers and musicians who like to treat and process vocals and instruments through outboard gear while recording will appreciate the individual channel inserts, allowing you to add your favorite EQs, compressors, and other effects into the recording chain easily before the A-D converter, which support sampling rates up to 48 kHz over 8 channels. ADAT digital I/O ensures easy connection to a wide variety of audio interfaces, making the Clarett+ OctoPre a great expansion choice, not only for owners of Focusrite’s Clarett+ 8Pre, 4Pre, and 2Pre interfaces but also for owners of ADAT-compatible third-party interfaces. A D-Sub connector provides 8 line/monitor outputs.
An Extensive Software Package
To sweeten the deal, the Hitmaker Expansion software package is also included, offering an impressive array of titles from Brainworx, Antares, Relab, Softube, XLN, and more. The plug-ins span a wide and useful gamut that includes compression, EQ, channel-strips, reverb, amp simulators, Auto-Tune, mastering tools, and more.
Are you ready to expand your studio’s input and output capabilities with Focusrites’s new Clarett+ OctoPre? Let us know in the Comments section, below, and if you have questions, contact us online or over the phone.
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