Focusrite ISA One Analog Reviews

Been using it for 5 years now with no problem at all!! It’s definitely worth the price!! For me personally is the best preamp I ever used and I don’t think there is another one better than this!! So all the stars from the sky for this item!!

Best entry mic preamp

ISA was my first microphone preamp and I was fully satisfied with it for a long period of time. If you are in search for a well built transformer preamp - it’s your choice. I pared it with my u87 ai and the sound was gorgeous.

Be sure you can’t go wrong with this one, it’s 100% worth it’s price. I put 4 stars and not 5 because i want a little bit more saturation from my amp and I started to prefer tube saturation with time, but it’s only my personal opinion and it doesn't really affect the greatness of that budget preamp.

A beautiful preamp

I use the ISA One for pretty much everything. The preamp section is extremely clean and quiet. I don't know how much "color" it's adding, but it always sounds good to me. I may buy another one.

May 2nd unit

I have 2 of these now. Loads of headroom and guts but doesn't colour the sound too much if you want that sort of thing

This is the difference in a project sound and a pro sound... seriously. Mics I have used for 20 years have totally new life. Not because they sound totally different, but because they sound perfectly right, sitting snugly in the mix like my cat on a pile of clean laundry. There is a reason the circuitry here changed the recording field forever. If you're not quite ready to buy this, it should only be because you're saving up for two of them!

I learned a lot after buying this unit. One thing is that besides monitors, a preamp is the most important buy one can make for a home studio. This amp is not one to color your sound with any character. What I found is that it is crystal clear. I was able to change the sounds of my recording by changing mics, adjusting mic positions, etc, to get the sound I wanted. It picks up the full spectrum of sound that is fed into it and leaves you with plenty of room to eq what you don't want. . My recordings were immediatley improved and I can now hear the individual tracks more clearly and more pronounced.. The impedance matching feature is an amazing feature that will get the best sound out of your mic. Spend your money where it counts. This is an amazing preamp and you won't regret buying it

Classic 80's

Great sounding unit. Love the separate DI. I use them for Kicks, Snares, Vocals and Guitars. Bass Di'd sounds great through these. Best to drive a little into the red for snares and hot is best for rock vocals too. Without the gain cranked they are super clean which makes them great all-rounders. While I love the science lab looking design they aren't the easiest to stack or find the right spot on the desk. They are rather a long unit and the feet could be taller so you could more easily stack numerous ones on top of each other. I bought 4 rubber doorstops fro a hardware store which conveniently made the feet long enough to stack them :)

great clean pre

I recently decided it was time to upgrade from the built in preamps in my Focusrite Sapphire to a 'real' external preamp. My budget was about 600 EUR. Afer a LOT of online research, I narrowed my options down to 6 preamps, in roughly the same price range. The preamps were:

ART Pro MPA II

Warm Audio TB12 Tone Beast

Black Lion Audio B173 Preamp

FMR Audio RNP 8380

Warm Audio WA73

Focusrite ISA One Analog

As I will be using the preamp mostly for vocals and bass, I tested both those signals.

I plugged my Ibanez 600 in passive mode into my BSS DI, into the preamp. For vocals, I hooked up my SM7B straight into the preamp, into Logic X. The results:

The Focusrite ISA One is the biggest preamp out of the bunch, and built like a tank. Sound wise, it is the most clear pre out of the six. Compared to the built in preamps in the Sapphire, there is definitely more clean gain, with the base character of the tone remaining mostly unchanged. The tone shaping options are more than decent, and there is a lot of I/O. In the end, the ISA One didn't make the cut because it felt too clean, and not big enough of a palpatable difference with the Saphhire.

practically noiseless

I bought this unit along with the AD 430 MKII digital card because I needed at least one channel that is even more noiseless than the Octopre Dynamic MKII. Well, it is. I used only the input switch though, the unit is really new.

Cons: the odd shape and size. It looks cool, but let me tell you, if you don't have a dedicated space on your desk for it, you most likely won't be able to put it on top of anything. Cannot really put it in a rack either.

Excellent preamp.

Excellent preamp, use it with your RODE K2, the voice of a very busy (in a good way). The result pleased.

A hidden Rupert Neve in a lunch box

Back in the mid-1980s, Sir George Martin commissioned console design legend Rupert Neve to build a series of new, ‘no compromise’ console modules for AIR studios. They were an enormous hit and formed the basis of the Focusrite Studio Console, widely regarded as the best-sounding analogue recording console of all time. Today, the descendants of those modules are used in leading studios around the world, and their sought-after Focusrite Heritage Sound lies behind thousands of hit records. Today’s ISA Range from Focusrite puts the classic sound of Focusrite into your own studio or live performance.

I borrowed these lines above from the official history of this product from Focusrite. I couldn't write it better my self. This "box" has to offer a lot of horsepower in those gain knobs. It's cabability of mixing the mic and the instrument input with a crystal clean headphone amp make this device a real asset ready confront repectivly greater beasts of its league.

Great preamp!!!

This preamp is just perfect! Produces great sound. Transparent, allowing the mic to colour the signal. Lots of headroom, and no noise. Exactly what you'd expect from the ISA range. Just an all round great pre!

Focusrite ISA One excellent value.

I am in the process of changing my studio to all in-house produced gear. But one item I don't think we will ever get rid of or change is the ISA One.

Just great value for money. A nice preamp (probably worth the total price of the whole unit), plus Line input, DI and headphone amp to boot.

The rugged case and handle makes it extremely portable.