How to setup my Scarlett 2i2?

drivers sound alsa soundcard

9,983

I'm not sure how much you'll benefit from a low-latency kernel, but this is definitely what I would do before going any further.

From Ubuntu Community Help Wiki:

If you need a low latency system (e.g. for recording audio) then please use the -preempt kernel as a first choice. This reduces latency but doesn't sacrifice p ower saving features. It is available only for 64 bit systems (also called amd64). If the -preempt kernel does not provide enough low latency for your needs (or you have an 32 bit system) then you should try the -lowlatency kernel.

I used ukuu when installing new kernels, it's quite a simple tool. You can do it other ways as well. There's plenty of info and other questions on this website on how to install a new kernel.

P.S. Check Ubuntu Studio if you're interested in audio/video production OS.

9,983

Author by

Bebel

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Bebel over 1 year

First, thanks for helping me if you do, or I hope this post will help you if you have the same or similar issues as me. After fighting against the audio problems I had with my Scarlett 2i2 plugged in, I found this page: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 working flawlessly on Ubuntu with JACK

It says that the 2i2 3rd gen works perfectly with Jack ! If you're trying to make your Focusrite work, check this link out. So I did everything I was attempted to do, and I finally had sound ! The reason I'm posting here is that I have a huge latency compared to what I'm supposed to have. JackCtl tells me I've got about 70 ms latency, instead of about 4 ms. I can change the settings, of course, and put the latency to 4 ms. What happens then is underruns popping, which are the sign you might have a larger buffer, so a higher latency.

My question is in the title : How am I supposed to configure my Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen through JackCtl so that I have a low latency ?

For the software part, I am using the ALSA drivers with JackCtl. Of course, Alsamixer says me my soundcard doesn't have any controls. I have got Kubuntu 20.04, with probably the latest versions of everything. I am looking forward for a solution, so don't be afraid to ask me more information if you need.

Thanks for reading !
- GChuf almost 4 years
  
  Did you take a look at low latency kernels?
- Bebel almost 4 years
  
  No... What are those ?
- GChuf almost 4 years
  
  Take a look at my answer :)
- Bebel almost 4 years
  
  Thanks bro ! Very useful answer, I'm trying to install a low-latency kernel right now ! But something is strange. I bought a soundcard in order to reduce the latency, so why must I change the kernel right now ? Is the soundcard not doing its job ?
- GChuf almost 4 years
  
  Not at all, hardware and software are 2 different things. I myself own a scarlett 2i2, I'm sure your works fine. High latency can come from hardware or software (kernel).
- Bebel almost 4 years
  
  It works flawlessly... Thank you so much. I guess that windows kernel is a low-latency kernel by default ?
- GChuf almost 4 years
  
  I'm glad! I don't know the differences between windows and linux kernel, so I can't comment. Linux just offers more kernels, suitable for different purposes. I wouldn't call windows kernel a 'low latency' kernel.