Scarlett 2i4 headphone mix?

[Terry Wetzel]

Hello. I am directing this question to Christian at Focusrite but anyone who can help is welcome to jump right in. I use a 2i4 with Pro Tools 9. The 2i4 has a stereo output pair, Line out 1 and 2 and another output pair Line out 3 and 4. Until now I've only used 1 and 2. I record each track one at a time. When overdubbing vocals or additional instruments I usually balance the output to the headphones by adjusting each recorded track going out line 1 and 2 to accommodate my needs. Example: I turn the bass down and usually prefer just prerecorded piano or guitar when I record vocals in order to maintain accurate vocal pitch. How should I go about setting up and using outputs 3 and 4 for a headphone mix in order to leave the main mix levels as they are ? Is this even possible with the 2i4? How would I wire up the feed to my headphone amp? Right now I feed it from the 2i4 headphone jack. Thanls in advance for any advice.

[albee1952]

I haven't used the Focusrite, but...assuming you have the output path available(in Pro Tools>Setup>IO>Output tab), you should be able to add a send to any/all tracks that feeds output 3&4. That would create a simple stereo headphone mix, BUT(great big BUT) here is the rub with sends to outputs. If the sends are post-fade(as they are by default), every fader adjustment you do to the big faders affects what goes out the aux send(is this good or bad? It depends). The flip side of this; if you make the sends PRE-fader, you can change the main faders and NOT affect the phones....except, this will affect anything feeding an AUX with a reverb or delay plugin(is THIS good or bad? again, it depends).

The last "BUT" regarding these sends; if you use PRE-fader(and I do, BTW), muting a track will NOT mute the send(this rears its ugly head when I have a singer start singing, but still hearing the scratch vocal that I muted). Or, if you mute the track to repatch(like if you are trying different microphones), if phantom power is on, the phones will get a nasty pop

So, in review, you can use sends to feed outputs 3&4 and feed that mix to the headphone amp. Depending on what headphone amp you have, there may also be another option but I won't toss to much info at you unless you want it

[Terry Wetzel]

Thanks albee. That helps a lot. I'll try it in both pre and post fade to see which works best for me. What about the I/O setup? ("assuming you have the output path available") Can busses be implemented in this scenario? Thanks

[Christian.Focusrite]

Hi Terry!

When speaking of the I/O you'll need to double check that 3 and 4 are being displayed in the output tab. Setup> I/O

If outputs 3 and 4 are not listed hit the default button.

Busses are the sends that user albee1952 was referring to. What headphone amp are you using?

[Terry Wetzel]

Thanks Christian_Focusrite. I managed to figure out the I/0 part. It now shows outputs
3-4. My headphone amp is Behringer and I send the headphone output from the 2i4 to it by trs cable from the 2i4 headphone jack to the main in jack on the amp. Yesterday I created a headphone mix and I can now switch back and forth from outs 1-2 and 3-4.

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[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by Terry Wetzel

I send the headphone output from the 2i4 to it by trs cable from the 2i4 headphone jack to the main in jack on the amp. Yesterday I created a headphone mix and I can now switch back and forth from outs 1-2 and 3-4.

But, usually these kind of interface, the phones out just outputs main, 1-2.
You need to connect outputs 3-4 to the behringer and make pre-fader sends on each track that goes to 3-4. Then you will have a separate mix on headphones. IHTH.

[Ben Jenssen]

Here's a couple of little tricks that you might not be aware of:

1. Simultaneous creation of sends: select the tracks you want, create a new send while holding option-shift, and they will all get the same sends. Holding option only will result in all tracks getting the send, whatever the selection. (This also applies to inserting plugins, soloing, muting, routing etc.)
F.ex you might hold option when you click "pre" on one send, to affect all the sends (in that "slot", f.ex A).

2. "Mini-mixer". The default view in mixer window, sends section, is that you see the first five sends, a, b, c, and so on. If you click on say, send A while holding cntrl-shift (not 100% shure on this), the view will turn to all the tracks' A-send being shown with a little fader, so you have easy access to all of them directly.

[Terry Wetzel]

Thanks Ben Jenssen. I appreciate your faith in my ability to comprehend your explanation but I'm not that fluent at this yet. However, I just bought the Pro Tools explained tutorial and I think there is a section that depicts what your telling me here. But I really appreciate your help.