Isaac Powell

The Focusrite Scarlett Solo does everything I need it to do; microphone and guitar inputs, direct monitoring, phantom power, air mode presets, and most importantly, seamless integration with iPads and Macs . . . almost. The interface connects and transmits input well and you can record from it without issue, but the output volume can be a bit finicky. The iPad output volume is way too loud while the microphone input sounds normal, and you cannot adjust the iPad volume as it is overridden by the interface. This causes me to reduce the headphone volume, which now puts my background track at a usable level, but it makes it so I can barely hear myself singing using the direct monitoring feature. A workaround that I have found for this issue it to export the background track, then re-import it at a lower volume (and turn the metronome down) then turn the headphones down and adjust your recorded vocal's volume to put together the final mix.

I picked up this keyboard for $25 at a Goodwill, and it still works like new. I appreciate that it has MIDI functionality that still works with modern versions of DAWs such as GarageBand and logic despite it being over a decade old at this point. I really only use the MIDI functionality, but if you're on a tight budget this keyboard will serve that purpose well.