Podcasting: using Audacity with Focusrite 2i2s
- Mark Gallimore
Before you plug the 2i2 into your laptop, be sure you have that laptop connected to the internet. The first time you plug the 2i2 into your PC, you may get a message that says something like "Setting up Focusrite Scarlett 2i2." This is installing the driver and once that is complete, you should restart your PC. If the driver does not install automatically, you can download and install the driver manually. Be sure you choose the correct version - Focusrite 2i2 2nd Generation or Focusrite 2i2 3rd Generation.
After the 2i2 is set up to use with your PC, and is plugged in, open Audacity. In themicrophone dropdown, you should see it listed as a USB option.
Using the speakers dropdown menu, choose the 2i2 again, so you can listen to your Audacity recorded tracks through the monitor headphones plugged into the 2i2.
When using the 2i2 for a 2-2 interview, you have two styles in which you can record. You can use a Mono track, that supplies a single high-quality track for both people in the conversation. Your listeners will hear both people in both ears or speakers, if they have two speakers or headphones. If you use a stereo track, the microphone plugged into channel 1 will be heard in their left ear or speaker, while channel 2 will be heard in their right ear. You can decide which you prefer, and can switch between mono and stereo recording using the dropdown menu above the tracks:
