It's fine, but I'd recommend picking up a used one with more functionality so it can keep up when your needs grow.
Comparison
Music & Instruments
Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen USB Audio Interface
Best Single-Input Audio Interface for Vocalists and Guitarists
The Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen offers the same Scarlett preamp quality as the 2i2 in a single-input package — one XLR for mics and one instrument input for guitar, all you need for solo recording at home.
13 mentions · 5 threadslast mention Jul 20266.3/ 10
ClearPick Score
Buyer Beware
Score informed by 13 owner mentions across 5 Reddit threads · see every quote ↓
4 positive3 mixed6 negative
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Best Single-Input Audio Interface for Vocalists and Guitarists
Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen USB Audio Interface
~$179 CAD est. on Amazon.ca
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Every mention, sourced
Real comments from Reddit, linked to the original thread. Nothing paraphrased.
Way too easily might I add. My stock Harley Benton strat redlines mine with zero input gain
Complaint
Perfectly good if you never want to run the guitar through a stereo pedal of any kind but if you have an inkling you might want to do that, get the 2i2.
Comparison
Absolutely not. The motu m2 crushes this audio interface for $26 less. It has better i/o, a front panel display, lower latency, a stronger headphone amp, and it just works like motu s*** has been doing for decades.
Comparison
My preferred way! I sit on the sofa with it and IEMs. Really good for playing along with a video or songsterr as well.
Praise
Yeah that. Also will occasionally record my acoustic using both a line in and a microphone
Praise
Ive used one for ages, works great, use it into Neural DSP plugins, and had a Quad Cortex for a bit. Only problem is I was getting a bit of ground hum through my speakers, so I bought a Behringer HD400 hum canceller for about £30, zero issues since.
Praise
To add to this - if you plan on streaming/recording in OBS, the 4th gen scarlet series says they have loopback, so you dont need to deal with additional vst's to route digital outputs to OBS. Saved me some computing power & a headache
Praise
Add me to the pile of people that have the same CPU/Focusrite combo. Gonna return this pos.
Complaint
Yeah the Solo is made exactly for that use-case. I do some EDM element work, but am primarily a guitarist. When away from my studio, I've achieved quality results using Scarlett and a laptop with Guitar Rig or related amp sims. You should find a Solo quite satisfying.
Praise
Bought a Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen 21 months ago. It has been great the whole time. I had an Intel based PC, and never had any issues with it. Recently I upgraded my home setup and built an AMD system with 9800x3d on an X870E motherboard. Ever since I setup this PC, the Solo crashes in a specific way, and the only way to fix it, is to get up, unplug it, and plug it back in.
Complaint
I'm listening to music, and at some point in the song, the issue shown in the video occurs. Could it be the drivers or a manufacturing defect?... I have the latest drivers, the highest buffer size, and safe mode enabled, and it still happens. It doesn't happen constantly, but frequently, and it's annoying. It happens with all sample rates above 48kHz, and sometimes even at 48kHz.
Complaint
So, I've got a Shure SM7B plugged into a CloudLifter and then into the solo version of the Focusrite Scarlett Solo (4th Gen)... On linux, it is SO quiet. I have to turn the gain knob all the way up, and all the settings to max, in order for people to hear me on Discord. However, without changing any settings or how it's plugged in, if I reboot my computer into Windows, then I am deafeningly loud over Discord.
Complaint
✅ What Works
- Preamp quality and ease of use praised as strong for the entry-level price point
- Built-in loopback feature is a genuine convenience for streamers
⚠️ Worth Knowing
- Driver stability issues reported, including repeated crashes needing a physical reset
- Intermittent audio glitches reported across sample rates, unresolved by updates
- Inconsistent gain/volume behavior reported on Linux compared to Windows
- Some owners find competitors like the MOTU M2 offer more for a similar price
ClearPick Verdict
Negative mentions edge out positive (6 of 13), and reliability is the clearest recurring thread. One owner reports the interface crashing repeatedly after a motherboard upgrade, requiring a physical unplug/replug to recover each time; another documents intermittent audio glitches across sample rates that persisted through Focusrite's own driver and firmware updates. A separate Linux-specific report describes drastically inconsistent gain behavior between operating systems on the same hardware. Where it holds up, owners praise the ease of use and preamp quality for the price, and streaming-focused users like the built-in loopback feature. This remains a reasonable entry-level interface for straightforward Windows/Mac recording, but the driver-stability reports are frequent enough that Linux users or anyone running less common hardware configurations should read up before buying.
