There’s been a lot of noise about the Avid S6 but for many the Avid S3L control surface is an attractive proposition as a studio controller, it really is a star in the Avid product range.

Avid have recently announced the free VENUE 4.1.3 software which gives live owners access to additional free AAX plug-ins for their system.

The Avid S3L seems to bridge the gap between Artist Series Controllers and the Avid S6 offering the possiblity of a mid ranged controller for both prosumer and small studios. It is also out understanding that S3L owners get to unlock 64 channels of record in Pro Tools using a special toolkit that ships with it, more to follow on that.

Avid currently say about the LIVE version of the Avid S3 “Get unmatched Pro Tools/DAW integration now—and in the future. Simply connect your laptop (with Pro Tools or other DAW installed) to the system’s Ethernet AVB network (using a single Cat5e cable) and you’re ready to rock with up to 64 tracks of audio recording/playback. VENUE Link makes it easy to control your live mixing and recording/playback setups as one. What’s more, with EUCON functionality coming soon, you’ll be able to use the control surface to mix Pro Tools and other DAW sessions, making the system an extremely versatile solution for both stage and studio.

The S3 control surface offers;

Compact 16-fader surface, with six bankable layers
32 touch-sensitive encoders and high-resolution OLEDs
Multicolor Channel Control parameter section for fast mix adjustments
Full complement of I/O (see Specifications)
Dual Gigabit Ethernet AVB ports, featuring latching etherCON connectors
EUCON-enabled for Pro Tools and other DAW control (feature coming soon)
USB connections for a keyboard and mouse (not included)

There were hints from some Avid people that the Avid S3 would be coming to the studio market, we hope this happens, it seems that Avid are missing a trick here to generate substantial revenues from an existing product line, an S3 for Live and one for the studio sounds like Avid Everywhere to us.

With current Avid S3 prices starting at $17,995 it’s a very attractive proposition. Would you be interested in a studio version of the Avid S3? Take our poll and discuss.