Julian Placino, the host of the long-running Pathways to Success podcast, has been using Focusrite audio interfaces – namely, the Scarlett range’s 18i8and 2i2 –from the start.
Placino notes, “Originally, I thought this podcast was actually going to be a YouTube channel,” he confides. “I found a local studio and we professionally shot a video. But as an entry-level content creator, I quickly realized it was going to be too much to do myself. So I figured I would go all-in on something that I could recreate, so I decided to go with something that would be audio-only.”
But even that presented challenges – so he went to the experts. “I’m influenced by really big podcasters like Lewis Howes [School of Greatness], Tom Bilyeu [Impact Theory] and Tim Ferriss [The Tim Ferriss Show], Placino says. “I actually had wanted my show to sound exactly like School of Greatness, so I googled Lewis Howes’s setup and found a piece of video where he talks about exactly what it was. And that was my introduction to Focusrite, specifically the Scarlett 2i2 – and I immediately went out and bought one.” He’s since added the 18i8 to his arsenal as his studio audio interface; the 2i2 is now reserved for recording on the go.
Placino is happy with his decision to go with Focusrite, mentioning low latency and sound quality as two of the reasons of for sticking with the Scarlett range. “I honestly have never experienced any kind of delay, even if I’m talking to somebody remotely,” he says. “There’s never anything that’s inhibited a conversation in the least. And the sound quality…that’s actually one of the things I get compliments on. Voices are just so clear when they’re funneled through the Focusrite.”
But for a non-techie like Placino, it’s really all about Focusrite gear’s ease of use. “I’m a podcaster, not an audio engineer, so I want things to work whenever I need them to work,” he says. “I need it to be easy, and I need it to work every single time. I need to minimize any kind of complexity so that I can concentrate on the conversation and be present in the moment. Focusrite allows me to do that. Neither the 18i8 and the 2i2 have ever failed me.”
