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Thank you for purchasing the Focusrite Forte, one of the family of Focusrite professional computer audio interfaces incorporating high quality Focusrite analogue pre-amplifiers. You now have a professional, compact solution for routing high quality audio to and from your computer.
This User Guide provides a detailed explanation of the hardware to help you achieve a thorough understanding of the product's operational features. We recommend that both users who are new to computer recording, as well as more experienced users, take the time to read through the user guide so that you are fully aware of all the possibilities that the Focusrite Forte and accompanying software has to offer. If the main User Guide sections do not provide the information you need, be sure to consult http://www.focusrite.com/answerbase, which contains a comprehensive collection of common technical support queries.
The Focusrite Forte hardware interface provides the means for connecting microphones, musical instruments or line level audio signals to a computer running Mac OS or Windows. The signals at the physical inputs can be routed to your audio recording software / digital audio workstation (referred to throughout this user guide as the "DAW") at up to 24-bit, 192 kHz resolution; similarly, the DAW's monitor or recorded output will appear at the unit's physical outputs.
Audio sources – mics, instruments, etc. - connected to the physical inputs can be recorded in the DAW and then routed from your DAW to the physical outputs. Forte is equipped with four audio output channels, which can be connected to an amplifier and speakers, powered monitors, headphones, DJ or other type of mixer, or any other audio equipment that you wish to use. Although all inputs and outputs on Forte are routed directly to and from your DAW for recording and playback, you can configure the routing within your DAW in order to meet your needs. Direct monitoring enables you hear what you are playing without the effects of computer latency.
For DJs, the two separate outputs makes it possible to monitor the cue mix on headphones via the headphone output while simultaneously sending the main mix from the speaker output to the sound system.
Along with your Focusrite Forte you should have:
Apple Macintosh with a USB 2.0-compliant USB port OS: Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) or 10.8 (Mountain Lion)
Windows compatible computer with a USB 2.0 compliant USB port OS: Windows 7 or Windows 8 (32- or 64-bit)
PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU RUN THE INSTALLER BEFORE CONNECTING THE FOCUSRITE FORTE TO YOUR COMPUTER.
All software required by the Focusrite Forte is available for download from the Focusrite website http://www.focusrite.com/register. The Software Activation card provided with Forte contains validation codes which you will need to enter in the downloads area. This procedure ensures that you will have the most up-to-date software versions.
Mac OS only:
Your OS should automatically switch the computer's default audio outputs to be the USB port to which Forte is connected. To verify this, go to System Preferences > Sound, and ensure that the input and output are set to Forte. For more detailed setup options on a Mac, open Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup.
Windows only:
Your OS should automatically switch the computer's default audio outputs to be the USB port to which Forte is connected. To verify this, go to Start > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound > Manage Audio Devices and ensure that 'Default Playback' and 'Recording' are set to 'Forte'.
Before you connect Forte to your computer, please complete the software installation according to the instructions above. This will ensure that the hardware uses the correct drivers and will prevent unexpected behaviour.
Forte is supplied with an input loom that connects to the INPUTS port on the rear of the unit. The loom is provided with two female XLR sockets for microphone inputs and two 3-pole (TRS) jack sockets for line or instrument inputs.
Forte can either be powered directly from the USB connection to a computer or from the supplied 5 V DC, 1 A power supply.
The power supply must be used if 48 V phantom power is required. If Forte is powered directly from the USB port, phantom power will not be available.
Operating Forte from a USB port will place the unit in "USB Low-Power mode".
In this mode, the maximum output levels available from the main and headphone outputs are limited. If higher output levels are required (e.g., for headphones) then use the 5 V DC power supply provided.
We very strongly recommend that you only use the supplied power supply.
Failure to use this power supply is likely to permanently damage the unit and will also invalidate your warranty. Power supplies for your Focusrite product can be purchased from your music dealer if you have lost yours.
The Focusrite Forte has a single USB 2.0 port (on the rear panel). Once the software installation is complete, simply connect Forte to your computer using the USB cable provided. (Note that Forte is a USB 2.0 device, and thus the USB connection requires a USB 2.0 compatible port on your computer. It will not operate correctly with USB 1.0/1.1 ports).
Forte is compatible with any Windows-based DAW that supports ASIO or WDM* and any Mac-based DAW that uses Core Audio. After installing the drivers and connecting the hardware, you can start using Forte with the DAW of your choice.
*Only compatible with 16-bit audio under WDM.
Please note - your DAW may not automatically select Forte as its default I/O device. In this case, you must manually select 'Forte' (on Mac-based systems) or 'Focusrite USB2.0 Audio Driver' (on PC-based systems) as the driver on your DAW's Audio Setup* page. Please refer to your DAW's documentation (or Help files) if you are unsure where to select the ASIO or Core Audio driver.
Once Forte is set as the preferred Audio Device* in your DAW, Inputs 1 & 2 and Outputs 1 to 4 will appear in your DAW's Audio I/O preferences. Depending on your DAW, you may need to enable certain inputs or outputs before use.
*Typical name. Terminology may differ slightly between DAWs.
The Focusrite Forte is ideal for a variety of recording and monitoring applications. A typical configuration is shown below.
This setup illustrates the most typical configuration for recording with DAW software on your Mac or PC. In this case, you might record guitar through Input 1 and vocals through Input 2 into your DAW, while monitoring the playback from the DAW via headphones or loudspeakers.
Forte is supplied with an input loom, which "breaks out" the multipin input connector to two XLR female sockets (Mic 1 and Mic 2) and two ¼" TRS jack sockets (Line/Inst 1 and Line/Inst 2). You can record two inputs at once, and these may be two microphones, two line or instrument inputs, or one of each. The XLR inputs are intended only for use with microphones. All four inputs are balanced.
Connect Forte to your computer with the supplied USB cable and run the Forte Control application.
Click the icons at the top of the input faders to select the type of input for each channel.
You will frequently hear the term "latency" used in connection with digital audio systems. In the case of the simple DAW recording application described above, latency will be the time it takes for your input signals to pass through your computer and audio software. Latency can be a problem for a performer who wishes to record while monitoring their input signals.
Forte uses "Direct Monitoring", which overcomes this problem. This is because Forte's inputs have their own channels in the two monitoring mixers, and Forte Control will thus route your input signals directly to the headphone and main monitor outputs. This enables you to hear yourself with near zero latency – i.e., in "real time" – along with the DAW playback. The input signals to your computer are not affected in any way by this setting. See "Using Forte Control" for more information.
Forte has two stereo outputs, one for headphones at the front of the controller, the other for connection to a studio monitoring system or mixing console. You can use either or both of these, and derive separate mixes of inputs and DAW outputs for each. The mixes are defined in Forte Control.
Forte's rear outputs may be used to connect monitoring speakers. These are provided in variablelevel, electronically balanced form on ¼" (6.35 mm) 3-pole (TRS) jacks. Active monitors (i.e., modern studio monitor speakers) incorporate internal amplifiers with a volume control, and may be connected directly. Passive loudspeakers will require a separate stereo amplifier; in this case, the outputs should be connected to the amplifier's inputs.
Typical consumer (hi-fi) amplifiers and small powered monitors will have unbalanced inputs, either on phono (RCA) sockets, or via a 3.5 mm 3-pole jack plug intended for direct connection to a computer. In either case, use a suitable connecting cable with ¼" TS (2-pole) jacks at one end.
Professional power amplifiers will generally have balanced inputs (either on 3-pin XLR or 3-pole (TRS) ¼" (6.35 mm) jack sockets); use a suitable twin-and-screen cable to connect them to the main outputs of Forte.
The amplifier (either active speakers or separates/hi-fi) is set to give the preferred volume level. Once set, the Forte knob is the means to control volume level.
NOTE: You run the risk of creating an audio feedback loop if loudspeakers are active at the same time as a microphone! We recommend that you always turn off (or turn down) monitoring loudspeakers while recording, and use headphones when overdubbing.
Forte Control is the application that lets you control all of Forte's features from a single, convenient GUI.
The two stereo output channels are identical; the left-hand one controls the rear panel main outputs and the right-hand the front panel headphones output.
Note: Powering Forte via the USB port will place the unit in "USB Low-Power mode". In this mode, the maximum output levels available from the main and headphone outputs are limited. If higher output levels are required (e.g., for headphones) then use the 5 V DC power supply provided.
Clicking on File > Settings opens the Settings window, where certain global parameters can be adjusted. These are:
If you want, you can store all the mixer parameters as a preset and reload it at a later time. You can store as many presets as you wish. Click on File > Save As... to open a standard Save As (Windows) or Save a snapshot file (Mac) dialogue box. Navigate to a suitable location and Save in the usual manner. The Preset files have the filename extension *.forte.
Loading a previously-saved Preset is the reverse procedure; click on File > Open, navigate to the required file and click Open.
Clicking on File > Restore Factory Defaults resets all Forte Control parameters to default values. This sets the input levels at minimum, output levels at -30 dBFS and all Digital Monitor Mixer levels at unity gain. See full list of factory default settings.
Many of Forte's main operating features may also be controlled from the hardware controller itself. The rotary control, colour OLED display and touch icons provide a simple interface which does not require continuous access to the on-screen Forte Control application.
The default display on the OLED is a bargraph representation, with input channels on the left, main outputs in the centre and headphones output on the right.
Selecting any of the three main modes via the touch icons – Input, Main and Headphones - cause the bargraph display to temporarily compress to show additional textual information: with a compressed display, the two wide bargraphs are always those showing the signal level relevant to the selected Mode; i.e., if you select Main Output Mode, the inputs and Headphone outputs will continue to be represented, but as thin bargraphs at the sides of the display.
Seven menu options per input are available; use the rotary control to highlight the required option, and press the rotary control to change the state (all options except TYPE are "switch" functions).
TYPE – selects Mic, Line or Inst as the source for the currently selected input (1 or 2).
48V – duplicates the function of the on-screen 48V button in Forte Control. Note that this option is "greyed-out" if Forte is being powered via the USB connection; an external PSU is necessary for phantom power.
HPF - duplicates the function of the on-screen button.
PHASE REV - duplicates the function of the on-screen button.
PAD - duplicates the function of the on-screen Pad button.
LINK – this duplicates the function of the on-screen Link button for the input channels.
CLEAR METER & EXIT- this returns the Forte display to the initial gain/metering page, and clears any "held" bargraph meter segments on both the Forte OLED and the Forte Control GUI.
Four menu options are available; use the rotary control to highlight the required option, and press the rotary control to change the state (all options are "switch" functions).
MUTE- duplicates the function of the on-screen Mute button for the main output channel in Forte Control.
DIM - duplicates the function of the on-screen Dim button for the main output channel.
MONO– this duplicates the function of the on-screen Mono button for the main output channel.
CLEAR METER & EXIT- this returns the Forte display to the initial gain/metering page, and clears any "held" bargraph meter segments.
This menu operates in an identical manner to the Main Output Mode Menu.
DAW Mode lets you use the Forte encoder to control various functions of your DAW.
To use DAW Control Mode, first launch your DAW application; ensure that the application is focused (i.e., the DAW is the "active" window). Select the DAW Control Icon on the Forte controller. Note that DAW Control Mode will not operate unless your DAW is the active window (in focus) and the DAW icon on the Forte Controller is lit.
The default commands sent in DAW Control Mode are:
However, it is possible to access additional commands to the Press and Rotate functions. To reassign commands, proceed as follows:
Note - For DAW Control Mode to function correctly, please ensure your DAW's Keyboard Shortcuts are enabled.
If no DAW is detected, an error message will be displayed:
For a full list of supported DAWs and the commands available with each, please see: www.focusrite.com/downloads?product=forte.
Input channels 1 & 2 | |
Source | Line |
Gain | 0dB |
48V | Off |
HPF | Off |
Pad | Off |
Phase | Normal |
Stereo link | Off |
Output channels – main and headphones | |
Level | -30dB |
Dim | Off |
Mute | Unmuted |
Mono | Off |
Digital Monitor Mixer – Speaker Mix and Headphone Mix | |
Inputs 1 & 2 levels | 0 dB |
DAW 1 - 4 levels | 0 dB |
Panning | Centre |
Mutes | Unmuted |
Solos | Off |
Stereo link | Inputs – Off; DAW 1 & 2 and DAW 3 & 4 - On |
Real World ADC Dynamic Range | 117 dB (A-weighted) |
Real World DAC Dynamic Range | 118 dB (A-weighted) |
Chipset ADC/DAC DNR | 120 dB (A-weighted) |
Microphone Inputs | |
Type | RedNet remote controlled pre-amplifier; electronically balanced, Zin ~1.3k ohms |
Gain Range | 0 to +75 dB |
Maximum Input Level for 0 dBFS | +12 ± 0.5 dBu at minimum gain; Rs = 150 ohms, pad off |
Minimum Input Level for 0 dBFS | -63 ± 0.5 dBu at maximum gain; Rs = 150 ohms, pad off |
Signal-to-Noise ratio | 117 dB (A-weighted; Rs = 150 ohms) |
Frequency Response | 50 50 Hz to 42 kHz ±0.1 dB; -0.5 dB @ 20 Hz. (Rs = 150 ohms) |
THD+N @ -1 dBFS | 0.0007% (@ 1 kHz, +11 dBu input, min. gain, 20 Hz – 22 kHz) |
Pad attenuation | 10 10 dB |
Noise EIN | -128 dBu (60 dB gain, Rs = 150 ohms, 20 Hz – 22 kHz) |
Phantom power | 48 48 V; only with external PSU, switchable per channel |
Line Inputs | |
Gain Range | -12 to +42 dB |
Maximum Input Level for 0 dBFS | +20 ± 0.5 dBu at minimum gain; pad off |
Minimum Input Level for 0 dBFS | -34 ± 0.5 dBu at maximum gain; pad off |
Signal-to-Noise ratio | 116 dB (A-weighted) |
Frequency Response | 20 20 Hz to 20 kHz ±0.2 dB |
THD+N @ -1 dBFS | <0.003% (@ 1 kHz, +19 dBu input, min. gain, 20 Hz – 22 kHz) |
Instrument Inputs | |
Gain Range | +14 to +68 dB |
Maximum Input Level for 0 dBFS | +10 ± 0.5 dBu at minimum gain |
Minimum Input Level for 0 dBFS | -44 ± 0.5 dBu at maximum gain |
Signal-to-Noise ratio | 111 dB (A-weighted) |
Frequency Response | 20 20 Hz to 20 kHz ±0.2 dB |
THD+N @ -1 dBFS | <0.003% (@ 1 kHz, +9 dBu input, min. gain, 20 Hz – 22 kHz) |
Analogue High-pass filters | |
Control | Switchable per-channel |
Response | 12 12 12 dB/oct; -6 dB @ 65 ± 3 Hz |
Main Outputs | |
Type | Electronically balanced |
Frequency Response | 20 20 Hz to 20 kHz ± 0.1 dB |
Signal-to-Noise ratio | 118 dB (A-weighted)* |
THD + N @ -1 dBFS | <0.0008% (@ 1 kHz, 20 Hz – 22 kHz) |
Maximum Output Level | +16 ±0.5 dBu* |
Headphone Outputs | |
Frequency Response | 20 20 Hz to 20 kHz ± 0.1 dB |
Signal-to-Noise ratio | 116 dB (A-weighted)* |
THD + N @ -1 dBFS | <0.0008% (@ 1 kHz, 20 Hz – 22 kHz, 10k ohms load) |
Maximum Output into 10 k ohms | +9 dBu (+7 dBV)* |
Maximum Power into 150 ohms | 30 30 mW |
Maximum Power into 32 ohms | 27 27 mW |
Output Impedance | <8 ohms |
Suitable load Impedance | >32 ohms |
Crosstalk | |
Input to Input | >-90 dB |
Output to Output | >-90 dB |
Input to Output | >-90 dB |
Additional DSP performance | |
Clock jitter | <250 ps |
Supported sample rates | 44. 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz |
*NOTE - with 5V DC external power supply
Analogue Inputs | |
Connectors | 2 2 x XLR3F (mic); 2 x TRS ¼" jack (line/inst) |
Mic/Line/Inst switching | via software |
Analogue Outputs | |
Main outputs | 2 2 x ¼" TRS jacks; electronically balanced |
Headphone outputs | 1 1 x ¼" TRS jack; stereo headphone |
Other I/O | |
USB | 1 1 x USB 2.0 Type B connector |
Ext DC in | 5 5 V @ 1 A (via supplied PSU only) |
Weight and Dimensions | |
W W x H x D | 115 x 345 x 171 mm (without connectors) |
Weight | Approx 487 g |
Excessive sound pressure levels from earphones and headphones can cause hearing loss.
This equipment must only be connected to USB 2.0-compatible ports.
TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK). NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.
The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated "dangerous voltage" within the product's enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance.
Here you can download full pdf version of manual, it may contain additional safety instructions, warranty information, FCC rules, etc.
Download Focusrite Forte - USB Computer Audio Interface Manual
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