Back in January 2021 Graham Kirkman got his Focusrite R1 monitor controller. So how has that particular relationship developed and why does he nominate it as his product of 2021?

As I’ve had my Focusrite R1 for almost a year now I thought I’d write an update. Let me just start by letting the cat out of the bag. I couldn’t live without it! So that’s that then, well not quite because based on that comment you’d think I’d just be saying “go buy one” but it’s not really that simple. Let me explain.

Firstly (and you’d think obviously, but I’ve had quite a few people asking me this) No - it doesn’t work with the MTRX, it’s made by Focusrite and requires a compatible Focusrite audio interface. In my case the Red16LINE.

The other more complicated reason will be down to your own personal use of it and whether the (approx) £750 is worth it to you. I don’t use it to its full potential (4 TB sends - nope, I don’t even need 1) and even though I have it wired up for atmos (where it absolutely shines) I don’t currently do enough atmos to make this reason count. So how do I use it?

Let’s Start With Stereo.

I love the fact that I can just press one button and my guide will play back. No un-hiding tracks in PT then soloing them which I always found to be a pain when mixing. Also, when my sit-stand desk is in stand mode my main L/R speakers get blocked by my monitors so a press of another button brings the stereo out to my Top L/ Top R speakers and I work that way until I sit down again. Again, so much easier than muting and soloing different sends in PT. The ability to control my 2 X mic inputs is amazing as well, now I can keep my Red16LINE hidden away in the studio.

Working In 5.1

As well as the previous functions additional features like the solos come into play. So refreshing to just be able to solo the LFE or maybe the SL/SR to see what I’m sending there. Easy way to quickly check the C as well. A quick press of the A/B button and there’s my stereo fold down. Love it. The meter bridge on it is much better than the tiny meters in PT, a quick glance and you can see what's happening.

But it’s in Atmos that its full potential is reached.

Monitoring Atmos

Being able to solo out a single (or pair or more) of speakers is invaluable. I can also (with - you guessed it - the press of one button) hear my 2.0 and/or 5.1 re-renders playing back. I also have my 5.1 re-render surrounds panned to my rear surround speakers (mirroring 90% of the studios I work at) as opposed to the side like the renderer forces you to (I just over-routed them where I wanted and not where the renderer decrees)

Downsides?

Are there any downsides? I wish there were more than 30 input channels. I’ve had it since it came out and Focusrite haven’t issued a single update so I’m not too sure if this will ever increase? For me 4 TB destinations is useless for me and I wish I could make them inactive maybe freeing up CPU for more input channels. I honestly can’t think of another thing I don’t like about it!!!!

So back to the point I made at the start. After a year using it, was it worth the (not insubstantial) amount of money? For me - Absolutely, I can’t imagine mixing without it now but for you I guess you have to take a look at what I find it useful for and if it’s not enough for you (e.g maybe you’re just working in stereo?) and make your decision based on that.