# ALSA Scarlett Control Panel

## Scarlett Small 4th Gen Interfaces

This document describes how to use the ALSA Scarlett Control Panel
with the small Scarlett 4th Gen interfaces:

- Scarlett 4th Gen Solo, 2i2, and 4i4

### Comparison with earlier Scarlett and Clarett Interfaces

If you are familiar with the Scarlett 2nd and 3rd Gen or Clarett
interfaces, the major differences to the 4th Gen interfaces from the
point of view of this software are:

- The 4th Gen Solo and 2i2 interfaces have the full routing and mixing
  capabilities of the larger 2nd and 3rd Gen and Clarett interfaces
  (although the line outputs and the headphone outputs are still
  linked).

- The 4th Gen 2i2 and 4i4 interfaces have software-controllable
  (“remote”) input gain controls.

- The 4th Gen interfaces don’t have the output volume and mute
  controls that the 2nd and 3rd Gen and Clarett interfaces have.

- The Air mode with Presence+Drive is implemented with a DSP which is
  separately routable.

## Main Window

The main window is divided into three sections:
- Global Controls
- Analogue Input Controls
- Analogue Output Controls

The main window for the Solo and 2i2 interfaces is shown below; the
4i4 interface is similar to the 2i2, but doesn’t have the Direct
Monitor control, and can show the position of the front panel volume
knobs.

![Main Window](../img/iface-4th-gen-small.png)

### Global Controls

#### Sync Status

Sync Status indicates if the interface is locked to a valid digital
clock. This should only ever briefly show “Unlocked” when the sample
rate is changed as these interfaces can only use their internal clock.

#### Power

The 4i4 has a “Power” control that displays the power status. It can
be “Fail”, “Bus”, or “External”. “Fail” means that the interface is
not receiving sufficient power; please see the Scarlett 4i4 4th Gen
User Guide for more information. “Bus” vs. “External” indicates
whether the interface is receiving power from the second USB-C port
(“External”) or not (“Bus”).

#### Sample Rate

Sample Rate is informative only, and displays the current sample rate
if the interface is currently in use. In ALSA, the sample rate is set
by the application using the interface, which is usually a sound
server such as PulseAudio, JACK, or PipeWire.

### Analogue Input Controls

The analogue input controls available depend on the interface model:

- **Instrument, Air, and Phantom Power**: All models
- **Mix**: Solo only (described later in the [Solo Mix
  Control](#solo-mix-control) section)
- **Input Select, Link, Gain, Autogain, and Safe**: 2i2 and 4i4

#### Instrument

The Inst button(s) are used to select between Mic/Line and Instrument
level/impedance. When plugging in microphones or line-level equipment
(such as a synthesiser, external preamp, or effects processor) to the
input, set it to “Line”. The “Inst” setting is for instruments with
pickups such as guitars.

#### Air

The Scarlett 3rd Gen introduced Air mode which transformed your
recordings and inspired you while making music by boosting the
signal’s high-end. The 4th Gen interfaces now call that “Air Presence”
and add a new mode “Air Presence+Drive” which boosts mid-range
harmonics in your sound.

#### Phantom Power (48V)

Turning the “48V” switch on sends “Phantom Power” to the XLR
microphone input. This is required for some microphones (such as
condenser microphones), and damaging to some microphones (particularly
vintage ribbon microphones).

The 2i2 has a single 48V switch that controls both channels, and the
4i4 has an independent 48V switch for each channel.

#### Input Select

The 2i2 and 4i4 interfaces have hardware buttons for 48V, Inst, Air,
Auto, and Safe. The “Input Select” control allows you to choose which
channel those buttons control.

#### Link

The “Link” control links the 48V, Inst, Air, Auto, and Safe controls
together so that they control both channels simultaneously.

#### Gain

The “Gain” controls adjust the input gain for the selected channel.
Click and drag up/down on the control to adjust the gain, use your
mouse scroll wheel, or click the control to select it and use the
arrow keys, Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End keys.

The gain dial includes a real-time level meter inside the knob,
showing the post-gain signal level with a peak hold indicator. This
gives immediate visual feedback on the input signal without needing to
open the Levels window.

#### Autogain

When the “Autogain” control is enabled, the interface will listen to
the input signal for ten seconds and automatically adjust the gain to
get the best signal level. When autogain is not running, the
most-recent autogain exit status is shown below the “Autogain”
control.

#### Safe

“Safe” mode is a feature that automatically reduces the gain if the
signal is too loud. This can be useful to prevent clipping.

### Analogue Output Controls

The analogue output controls available depend on the interface model:

- **Direct Monitor**: Solo and 2i2
- **Volume Knobs**: 4i4

#### Direct Monitor

Enabling Direct Monitor sends the analogue input signals to the
analogue outputs (speakers/headphones) for zero-latency monitoring.

On the 2i2, you have the choice of Mono or Stereo monitoring when you
click the button:

- **Mono** sends both inputs to the left and right outputs
- **Stereo** sends input 1 to the left, and input 2 to the right
  output.

As the 4th Gen Solo and 2i2 interfaces have the full routing and
mixing capabilities of the larger 2nd and 3rd Gen interfaces, the
Direct Monitor levels can be [adjusted in the
mixer](#solo-direct-monitor).

The 4i4 has no Direct Monitor button, but that functionality can be
achieved with [appropriate configuration in the routing and mixing
windows](#4i4-sample-direct-monitor-configuration).

#### Volume Knobs

The 4i4 interface has volume knobs on the front panel, the position of
which is shown in the main window.

## Routing

The routing capabilities of the 4th Gen interfaces are the same in
concept as the 2nd and 3rd Gen interfaces, but there is a DSP which is
separately routable, and the default routing uses the mixer
extensively.

From the main window, open the Routing window with View → Routing or
press Ctrl-R.

![4th Gen 2i2 Routing](../img/scarlett-4th-gen-2i2-routing.png)

To understand the signal flow, note the following:
1. The Analogue 1 & 2 Inputs (i.e. the Mic/Line/Inst inputs) are
   routed to the DSP Inputs.
2. The DSP Outputs are routed to the PCM 1 & 2 Inputs (that’s what
   ALSA sees as the first two inputs from the interface for
   recording).
3. The PCM Outputs (that’s what ALSA sees as the interface outputs for
   playback) and the DSP Outputs are all connected to the Mixer
   Inputs.
4. The Mixer A & B Outputs are connected to the Hardware Analogue
   outputs (i.e. your speakers/headphones) so you can hear any mix of
   the PCM and DSP Outputs (this is how the Direct Monitor function
   works).
5. The Mixer C & D Outputs are connected to the PCM 3 & 4 Inputs (this
   is referred to as Loopback, for recording audio from your computer,
   but can be used for another purpose if you want).

Important Notes:
- The routing window’s “Presets” menu (Clear, Direct, Preamp, Stereo
  Out) is designed for the 2nd and 3rd Gen interfaces and is generally
  not useful with the 4th Gen. If you try these, you’ll probably want
  to reset back to the factory defaults afterwards. For saving and
  restoring your own configurations, use the [Presets
  button](#presets) in the main window instead.
- Besides Air Mode, the DSP is also used for the gain halo level
  meters and autogain, so if you route something else to the DSP
  Inputs, those features will work “rather differently”.
- The Focusrite Control 2 software can’t control most of this routing,
  so if you make changes here and then want to use Focusrite Control
  2, you’ll probably need to reset the routing back to the factory
  default settings.

To adjust the routing:

- Click and drag from a source to a sink or a sink to a source to
  connect them. Audio from the source will then be sent to that sink.

- Click on a source or a sink to clear the links connected to that
  source/sink.

Note that a sink can only be connected to one source, but one source
can be connected to many sinks.

### Signal Level Glow

Active routing connections are overlaid with a glow effect showing the
real-time signal level flowing through them. The glow colour
transitions from green (normal) through yellow (high) to red
(clipping). Sources with an active signal but no connected sink show a
circular glow around the source port.

### Arrow Indicators

When a port has been hidden via the [Configuration
window](configuration.md), any routing connections involving that port
are shown with an arrow indicator at the visible end. This lets you
see that a hidden port has an active connection without needing to
show all ports.

### Stereo Linking

Adjacent ports can be stereo-linked via the [Configuration
window](configuration.md) (available on the 2i2 and 4i4). Linked ports
appear as a single stereo socket with L and R sub-ports. Routing lines
for stereo pairs are drawn in parallel, each with independent signal
glow.

When dragging a stereo-linked source to a sink (or vice versa), the
connection is made stereo-aware: the left source connects to the left
sink and the right source to the right sink.

## Mixer

Open the Mixer window with View → Mixer or press Ctrl-M.

The mixer is a matrix where any combination of inputs can be mixed to
any output at adjustable levels. Mixer levels can be adjusted with
your keyboard or mouse in the same way as the [Gain Controls](#gain).

### Signal Level Glow

Mixer input and output labels display a real-time glow effect behind
them, showing the signal level with green, yellow, and red colour
transitions. For stereo-linked channels, the glow is split into
separate L and R bars.

### Level Metering on Gain Dials

Each mixer gain knob includes a post-gain level meter inside the dial,
showing the signal level at that point in the mix with a peak hold
indicator.

### Custom Port Names

Mixer labels reflect any custom names set in the [Configuration
window](configuration.md). Long names are ellipsised with the full
name shown in a tooltip on hover.

### Stereo-Aware Controls

When adjacent mixer inputs or outputs are stereo-linked, their gain
controls are ganged together with an averaged value. Adjusting one
updates both channels. For a stereo-linked input going to a
stereo-linked output, the gain is computed as a diagonal average
across the four crosspoints.

### Port Visibility

Ports hidden in the [Configuration window](configuration.md) are
removed from the mixer grid, keeping the display focused on the ports
you’re actively using.

### Solo Direct Monitor

When you enable or disable Direct Monitor on the Solo interface, the
interface will update the Mix A and B Outputs so that the DSP 1 & 2
Outputs are mixed in (or not) with the PCM 1 & 2 Outputs. Note how the
volume of the PCM outputs is also reduced when Direct Monitor is
enabled so that you can hear the DSP outputs (i.e. your Analogue
inputs) more clearly.

![4th Gen Solo Direct Monitor](../img/scarlett-4th-gen-solo-monitor.gif)

If you customise the Mix A/B mixer levels while Direct Monitor is
enabled, the new settings will be saved and used when Direct Monitor
is enabled again.

### 2i2 Direct Monitor

Similarly to the Solo interface, the 2i2 interface will update the Mix
A and B Outputs when you enable or disable Direct Monitor, but the 2i2
has Mono and Stereo options:

![4th Gen 2i2 Direct Monitor](../img/scarlett-4th-gen-2i2-monitor.gif)

Note how in Mono mode:

- the DSP 1 & 2 Outputs are mixed to both the left and right outputs

and in Stereo mode:

- DSP 1 (i.e. Analogue Input 1) is sent to the left output (Mix A),
  and
- DSP 2 (i.e. Analogue Input 2) is sent to the right output (Mix B).

### Solo Mix Control

The Mix control is only available on the Solo interface. It switches
the source for the PCM 1 & 2 Inputs between the DSP Outputs and the
Mixer E & F Outputs.

![4th Gen Solo Mix Control](../img/scarlett-4th-gen-solo-mix.gif)

By default, enabling this control will mix the Analogue 1 & 2 Inputs
together before they are sent to the PCM 1 & 2 Inputs:

![4th Gen Solo Mixer E & F Outputs](../img/scarlett-4th-gen-solo-mix-e-f.png)

This can be useful if you want to treat the PCM 1 & 2 Inputs as a
stereo pair, and not have the line/instrument input panned hard left
and the microphone input panned hard right.

The mixer levels for the Mix E & F Outputs can be adjusted to suit.

### 4i4 Routing and Mixing

Although the 4th Gen 4i4 has no explicit Direct Monitor control, it is
far more flexible because it has 6 PCM inputs, 6 PCM outputs, a 10×6
mixer, and 6 Analogue Hardware outputs.

Analogue Outputs 1–4 correspond to the Line Outputs 1–4 on the back of
the interface, and Analogue Outputs 5–6 correspond to the Headphone
Output on the front of the interface.

The default routing and mix for the 4i4 is shown below:

![4th Gen 4i4 Routing](../img/scarlett-4th-gen-4i4-routing.png)

Note that with the default routing/mix settings:
- The Analogue Inputs 1–4 are routed to the PCM Inputs 1–4 (the first
  two going via the DSP).
- PCM Inputs 5–6 are used for Loopback (recording audio from your
  computer).
- All the Hardware Inputs and PCM Outputs are connected to the Mixer
  Inputs.
- PCM Outputs 1–4 are connected to the Analogue Outputs 1–4 (via the
  mixer).
- The Line 1–2 Outputs (Analogue Outputs 1–2) and the Headphones
  (Analogue Outputs 5–6) share the Mixer Outputs A & B.

#### 4i4 Sample Direct Monitor Configuration

A common configuration for the 4i4 is to send the PCM 1 & 2 Outputs
mixed with the Analogue Inputs 1 & 2 to the Headphones, while leaving
the Analogue Outputs 1–2 as they are. This is an advanced version of
the direct monitoring feature that is available on the Solo and 2i2.
It can be implemented by:

1) Route Mixer Outputs E & F to Analogue Outputs 5 & 6. 2) Turn up Mix
E & F DSP 1 & 2 levels in the mixer (see the mixer example above for
[2i2 Direct Monitor](#2i2-direct-monitor)).

As there are only 6 Mixer Outputs, the PCM 5 & 6 Inputs (Loopback) are
now shared with the headphones. If you want to retain the Loopback
functionality without having the Analogue Inputs mixed in, you could:
- Route the PCM 1 & 2 Outputs directly to the PCM 5 & 6 Inputs, rather
  than going via the mixer, or
- Free up Mixer Outputs A & B for Loopback by routing PCM Outputs 1 &
  2 directly to Analogue Outputs 1 & 2.

Besides Direct Monitor, there are many other possibilities for
routing/mixing with the 4i4. For example, by using the additional PCM
Outputs and Inputs you could set up a mix-minus configuration for a
podcast/video call.

## Configuration

The Configuration window provides settings for customising port names,
visibility, stereo linking, and autogain targets. Open it with View →
Configuration or press Ctrl-G. See [Configuration
Window](configuration.md) for full details.

Available tabs for the 4th Gen small interfaces:

| Tab | Interfaces |
|-----|------------|
| Device Name | Solo, 2i2, 4i4 |
| I/O Configuration | Solo, 2i2, 4i4 |
| Autogain | 2i2, 4i4 |

### Custom Port Names

Give meaningful names to your ports (e.g. “Vocal Mic”, “Guitar”,
“Monitors”) in the I/O Configuration tab. These names appear
throughout the application — in the routing window, mixer labels, and
level meters.

### Port Visibility

Show or hide individual ports to reduce clutter in the routing and
mixer windows. Hidden ports with active connections show arrow
indicators in the routing window.

### Stereo Linking (2i2 and 4i4)

Link adjacent ports together for stereo operation. Linked ports share
names, appear as stereo sockets in the routing window, and have ganged
controls in the mixer.

### Autogain Targets (2i2 and 4i4)

Set the target levels for the autogain feature: Mean Target and Peak
Target. These determine what signal level the autogain algorithm aims
for when calibrating input gain.

## Presets

The Presets button in the main window provides quick save/load of
named configurations. See [Presets and Configuration
Files](presets.md) for full details.

You can also save and load configurations to files via the File menu
(Ctrl-S to save, Ctrl-O to load).

## Levels

The meters show the levels seen by the interface at every routing
sink: Hardware Outputs, Mixer Inputs, DSP Inputs, and PCM Inputs. Open
this window with View → Levels or press Ctrl-L.

![Levels](../img/window-levels-4th-gen-small.gif)

Look at this in conjunction with the routing window to understand
which meter corresponds to which source or sink.

## Keyboard Shortcuts

| Shortcut | Action |
|----------|--------|
| Ctrl-O | Load Configuration |
| Ctrl-S | Save Configuration |
| Ctrl-I | Interface Simulation |
| Ctrl-Q | Exit |
| Ctrl-R | Routing Window |
| Ctrl-M | Mixer Window |
| Ctrl-L | Levels Window |
| Ctrl-G | Configuration Window |
| Ctrl-T | Startup Window |
| Ctrl-H | Supported Hardware |
| Ctrl-/ | About |

Keyboard shortcuts work from any window — subwindows forward unhandled
shortcuts to the main window.

---

Thanks for reading this far! This software represents over a thousand
hours of independent work — reverse-engineering, kernel development,
and building a complete replacement for Focusrite's proprietary apps.
If you've found it valuable, please consider a
[donation](../README.md#donations).
