Compare Vocaster and Scarlett
Which interface is right for you?
Whether you're new to recording or in the market to upgrade your existing interface, we have a wide range for different uses. Discover the key differences between the Vocaster and Scarlett ranges, so you can find the right interface for your needs.
Compare Vocaster and Scarlett
What is Scarlett best for?
Scarlett is great for recording music and bringing your track to life. From solo bedroom musicians to the professional studio setting, Scarlett is perfect for recording instruments and vocals in any space.
What is Vocaster best for?
Vocaster is best for making great podcasts. Vocaster has all the tools to set up easily, bring in guests and step up the quality of your show. Elevate your show with Auto Gain, Mute, and Enhance that contains four podcaster-approved voice presets to make sure you sound great.
Key differences between Vocaster and Scarlett
We’ve set out the different use cases for Vocaster and Scarlett — here are some key feature differences between the two interfaces, so you can be confident in purchasing the right one for you.
Vocal differences
Both Scarlett and Vocaster have a feature to bring out the best of your voice when recording. For Scarlett, ‘Air’ adds high-end detail to your vocals. As for Vocaster, the Enhance feature has four podcast-approved voice presets so that you can find the right sound for your voice.
Setting microphone levels
Vocaster makes setting microphone levels simpler with Auto Gain, which listens to your voice and sets the gain on the preamp accordingly, so you’re ready to record. Scarlett 4th Gen (with the exception of Scarlett Solo) features Auto Gain and Clip Safe, automatically tweaking the gain if you’re in danger of clipping. Levels are adjusted manually with Dynamic Gain Halos on Scarlett Solo — if you’re seeing red, just dial yourself back into the green and you’re good to go.
Bringing in instruments and voice
Vocaster has a large gain range for low sensitivity microphones so that you can use any microphone you have with an XLR cable. Scarlett has instrument and line inputs, with plenty of headroom to record guitars and other music hardware, in addition to XLR inputs for microphones.
Mute the noise
The mute button is very handy to have when recording podcasts and removing any unwanted noise when capturing your show. There isn’t a mute function with Scarlett, as this typically isn’t needed for recording instruments and vocals for your tracks.
Phone and camera connectivity
You can bring in sound sources from your phone for your podcast, in addition to recording audio straight to a camera. Vocaster has this connectivity to allow you to phone in guests, play music, and record broadcast quality audio direct to video. Scarlett is designed for studio recording of instruments and vocals, where camera and phones are less commonly used.
Headphone outputs
For the host and guest of your podcast, Vocaster Two has a headphone output per preamp. Scarlett has one headphone output for the smaller models, with an additional output available with the larger models. Both interface ranges have speaker outputs for hearing audio on monitors.
Software bundles
Each interface comes with a software bundle that is available to download after registering your hardware. Scarlett’s Hitmaker Expansion is a musician's toy box with an array of instruments and effects to push your tracks to a professional standard, so you can turn your ideas into records. For Vocaster, we’ve partnered with leading companies in the podcast industry to bring you tools to record, produce, and share your show right away.
What’s included in the Scarlett Studio and Vocaster Studio bundles
Scarlett Solo Studio and Scarlett 2i2 Studio come with a CM25 MkIII condenser microphone, which is essential and adaptable for recording a wide range of instruments and vocals. Vocaster One Studio and Vocaster Two Studio come with a dynamic microphone (Vocaster DM1 or Vocaster DM14v respectively) designed specifically for capturing voice. For more information on Scarlett and Vocaster Studio bundles click here.
