As a long time Pro Tools user, I’ve never had the opportunity to wander outside the audio interface realm of Avid. Now, thanks to Pro Tools 9, I was able to make some changes in my personal studio and go with some 3rd party hardware. To me the choice was clear, the Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56.
After using it on the last few projects in my studio I wanted to give you guys a full video review including some audio samples. Really quick, here are some highlights:
Pros
- Great sounding pres and converters.
- Flexible sounds with liquid pres.
- More control on built in pres than typical interfaces.
- Expandability for a huge studio.
Cons
- A little pricer than some other units in this I/O range.
- 2 U rack space can be a bummer if there’s not enough room in your rack.
Comments
I just got this interface myself and set it up this week. It’s above and beyond the best interface I’ve ever used. The I/O is fantastic as I already had an ADA8000… and it’s expandable to boot.
Thanks Graham for everything you do!
Hey Graham. Love watching your videos so much. Keep up the good work!
Quick question. Thinking about upgrading to Pro Tools 9 HD Native is that what you use?
Stone – I actually use Pro Tools 9, the non HD version.
Cool. I’m thinking about upgrading to PT9 HD Native in the near future and wanted to get some first hand advice on the best spec Mac to get with it. Will also be checking out your Pro Tools Bootcamp when I do.
“2 U rack space can be a bummer if there’s not enough room in your rack.”
its a little bit weird to consider it as con, i mean obviously we are talking about MAIN thing in any studio – recording audio interface. I would prefer to get rid of some additional effects unit in order to have an awesome 2U unit like Saffire 56. So what im saying – I dont think its a problem in the real world where you can have a big unit rack and even a few of them.
By the way, I own Saffire Pro 40 and your video review gave me more confidence to expand my overall I/Os with this 56 interface.
But I agree with the second con – its a bit expensive comparing to some similar interfaces. For example, my Pro 40 cost me about $500 and it has 8 channels as well. So that means another $500 goes for some features like pre amps, clock and some other little functions. Which is something you would think about before buying this piece of gear.
@mark – I recently did a shootout of the Liquid Pres from the Saffire 56 and I was totally impressed; in my opinion the tonal options in the models are worth more than the extra $500 premium. See part one of that shootout here: http://bit.ly/pKWLpk
To be honest, the retail $999 price tag is pretty easy to beat if you shop around – J&R recently had the Liquid Saffire 56 for about $827.
Yep, if you look closely you can pick one up new for only $700 US. I did
well that changes everything
@Phillip Jackson, nice shootout, i can clearly hear the difference between preamp mods.
i will search for it in my local area, hope i can find the deal for $700
by the way, @Graham do you use this interface in pair with your digidesign unit?
Mark – I no longer use the digidesign 002. Only the Liquid Saffire.
hey Graham i was thinking about buying the focusrite saffire pro 40..do you recommend it?
A great interface. Same components of the Liquid 56, just no liquid preamps and a few less bells and whistles.
Hey!!! Graham i just recently saw your focusrite interface video… and i like it alot!!! so now im thinking of buying one for my small lil studio. the thing is i just got recently in to music & recording so i hardly know how to work things out .. so are you thinking on giving some nice tutorials videos on your new interface espacialy on the interface mix control system?? we would all love to see more info on that ..
Hey Jonathan. I’ll likely do a video on the mixcontrol software at some point!
Hi Graham, I have a technical question regarding the Liquid Saffire 56. Is there any way we can record a DI guitar along with a mic on a guitar amp at the same time on two different tracks? Is there anyway to route this? I mean use the LS56 as a splitter box so that we can have two signals into the DAW?
Hi Namin, no real way to do this in the L56 itself. You can pick up a splitter for cheap though and then route the two tracks into the Saffire separately.
Great video. I was on the fence about getting one of these but, now I see this is a great box with a great price. One question for you. I have two preamps that I like to use a lot. In order to bypass the 56′s pres do I just plug my pre into one of the back line inputs? Or will I still be getting some color from the 56′s pre. Thanks
Just plug the pres into the Line ins on the back and keep the gain all the way down. Does the trick!
I’ve been using a Saffire Pro 40 for a while and it’s great. I have one issue with it that I haven’t been able to find a solution for that maybe you would be able to help me with.
The monitor knob on the front controls not only my main outs 1-2 going to my monitors but also effects the level going to my headphone outs on the front and my extra outputs 3-4 going to a separate headphone amp. Is there a way to set it up so that I have separate level control for all of my outputs?
Hey Jake, if you hold down the shift key while clicking on the outputs (ie where you enable/disable them) in the monitor section of mix control, it changes the output to “true zero” and turns grey, bypassing the overall monitor volume control. Your outputs will then only be affected by their own level controls. Also means that the monitor mute button on the front panel only mutes your monitors. Hope that helps!
Helps a ton. Thanks so much!
Hey Graham, near the end of this video you said you mixed back through the 56. How exactly do you do this?
I meant simply that I use the 56 as my mixing interface and converters. That’s what I was listening through as I mixed.
Hey Graham, I have been thinking about picking up this interface. I have one question. How much gain do you get out of the pres? I have a Saffire 6 and using a dynamic mic I have to crank the gain almost to max to get a decent signal. Which doesn’t sound all that great. Would the pres work good with a SM7b, SM58 or SM57 on a lower source like a vocal?
Thanks,
Dan
Yeah, I find that I need to crank the gain up pretty high for a good signal. Just depends in the mic and source material.
Graham, you’re the man. I love your website and most importantly your insight on gear that is for us average Joes who are on a budget of some sorts. Keep up the great work bud! Thanks for your review on this unit. It’s the main reason why I’ve purchased it and I couldn’t be more pleased.
Glad I could help!
Cheers graham, i’ve just started a studio but haven’t really had any production ‘education’ and it’s going pretty well thanks to guys like you! i’ve learnt far more scouring the internet than i ever did at college. Seriously keep up the good work!
Glad to have you around Louis!
Hey just started watching Your videos and i love them. i just got the Liquid Saffire 56 and i watch both videos u have on it. if you could, could u do a video on setting up Adats i have two Presonus Digimax D8 and i would like to hook it up the right way. I am running Pro Tools 10