Ten to fifteen years ago control surfaces used to cost a fair amount of money, there really were not that many low-cost solutions out there in the market place to choose from. Of course, there were some affordable offerings available such as the Digi 003, a couple of 8 fader devices from Mackie and Avid but these solutions all cost upwards of $1,000, not exactly what we would consider these days to be low-cost or budget friendly. Luckily, times have changed. "Low-cost" small form factor control surfaces have generally come down in price, in fact, we're now rather spoilt for choice these days when it comes to choosing budget control surfaces for Pro Tools.
Control surface technology has also taken a giant leap forward in the forms of EUCON and touch enabled devices. These days it seems that there is a Pro Tools control surface option for every budget. This article features a comprehensive roundup of our reviews of control surfaces for Pro Tools along with a wealth on content we’ve published in the past on control surfaces.
Reviews Of Control Surfaces For Pro Tools
I often get to the point in a mix where having just eight faders & controls, on a small surface or touchscreen, starts to seriously impinge on my speed and efficiency. There are always compromises with small control surfaces. Has iCon managed to make these compromises in the right places?
In this review Pro Tools Expert Editor Mike Thornton takes a look at the JL Cooper MCS5 USB Media Control Station and sees what it can do with Pro Tools and how it can help streamline some of his workflows.
Should you buy a PreSonus Faderport 8 control surface to use with Pro Tools? Russ takes it for a spin and is surprised by the results.
In this review, Paul Drew takes a look at the Softube Console 1 British Class A Channel Strip using Presonus Studio One.
You can add body and character to your tracks with this Softube Console 1 strip inspired by classic British units from the 60s and early 70s. Paired with the workflow and hands-on control of Console 1, British Class A has been designed to give you the perfect mix solution for the DAW-based studio.
PreSonus make some very cool stuff these days with everything from their hugely popular digital mixers to audio interfaces and monitor controllers, live sound equipment as well as their DAW Studio One.
As I’ve already said, I’ve never been a fan of control surfaces, I always find myself looking at the screen and that then defeats the object of using them in the first place, however this was not the case with the Console 1, in fact I had been mixing for some time and the screen on my Mac went to sleep. I was mixing with my ears!
Articles & Videos On Control Surfaces For Pro Tools
We are creatives but most of us are not computer network specialists. However, with the growth of Audio Over IP and Eucon people may be using technology that we may not fully understand. In this article, we aim to explain, as simply as possible, tips you can implement to reduce problems with trying to get too much data reliably across your office or home network.
Eddie Jones from Avid has reported problems with any Eucon powered control surfaces following a recent Apple security update for users running macOS 10.14 Mojave or macOS 10.15 Catalina and now macOS 11.5 Big Sur. We have the details and download link of a workaround version of Eucon 2021.6.1.
Avid today announced the release of Eucon 2021.6, introducing amongst other things Custom knob assignments bringing control and consistency to the user experience when controlling plugins from a Eucon enabled device. We have the details.
Avid has also updated Avid S4 And S6 Control Surfaces software to v2020.11 bringing new features, we have all the details in this extensive article. Alongside the new EuCon 2020.11 and Pro Tools 2020.11 releases, Avid has also updated their S4 and S6 Master Module Software to v2020.11 bringing new features including Master Post Display Modules for PEC/DIR Metering and Folder Spill.
The Avid S4 console offers the robust workflows to audio post professionals for immersive audio mixing, sound design, ADR, and editorial. In this video, HHB’s Technical Support Engineer, Andy Copeland walks you through the modules most useful for the post-production workflow, including the dual joystick module and the PEC Direct module.
In a world exclusive, Post Production Expert Alan Sallabank, who has been beta testing the new Avid S1 control surface, together with the new Avid Control app, now available on iOS, Android and Amazon Fire, from prototype to production pilot, shares his experiences and observations in this very special review.
In all the excitement about the Android version of the new Avid Control app and the new S1 & S4 control surfaces, it seems that most people have missed a really cool new VCA Spill feature in the latest release of EuControl - Avid’s control surface software package, when just using a “fader pack”, such as the legacy Artist Mix or the new S1. We show you now…
The newly released Avid S4 brings the power and workflows of Avid’s Pro Tools | S6 control surface to small to mid-size music and audio post facilities in an ergonomic, more compact package. The S4 provides an integrated experience with any EUCON-enabled DAW. At IBC 2019 last weekend, Avid Evangelist Greg Chin sat down with UK product specialist Simon Sherbourne to show the new S4 close up and personal, whilst Avid’s Sreejesh Nair compared the Avid S4 with the Avid S6.
Back in July 2019, at the Avid Connect Live event, part of the Summer NAMM 2019 show in Nashville, Avid announced the Avid S1 control surface as a replacement to the Avid Artist Mix. Last weekend at IBC 2019 as part of their IBC coverage, Product Specialist Dave Tyler gave a much more detailed look at the Avid S1 and Avid’s Gil Gowing gave a sneak peek of the upcoming Avid Control app as well.
As a follow up of the release of Pro Tools 2019.6, Avid has released Eucon 2019.7 with an improvement to the “Open Windows on Workstation Attention” setting introduced in Eucon 2019.5 as well as a number of bug fixes.
Since the new monitoring section was added to the Pro Tools Control app for iOS devices with the release of Pro Tools 2019.5 and Eucon 19.5, we have had some questions about how it works and how it fits into a Pro Tools workflow. In this article, with the help of some free video tutorials from Avid, we shed some light on the monitoring features in the 19.5 version of the free Pro Tools Control app As well as how to control interface mic preamps using the Avid S3.
Following the announcement of the Avid S4 as the replacement to the M10 version of the Avid S6, Avid realised that existing Avid S6 M10 owners might not be very happy as the Avid S4 can have display modules, whereas if you wanted display modules with the Avid S6, you had to go for the M40 option. Consequently Avid has announced the Avid S6 M10+ which enables M10 users to upgrade and have display modules.
You won’t believe how little it would cost you these days to buy a second Pro Tools control surface which once cost over £60K brand new back in 2013. Are you tempted or is this type of bargain hunting pure madness?
In this article we give you an up close and personal look at the Avid S3 coupled with an iPad running the free Pro Tools Control app to give you and idea of what the S3 could be like to live with if you chose to invest in one for your studio.
If you are still using a HUI based control surface with Pro Tools and you find that the meters on your HUI control surface stop working then check out this article, we have the answer.
AVS Medientechnik GmbH has created a new brand Intelligent Studio Devices (ISD) and their first product is the ISD S6 PSU (Power Supply Unit), which is a special power supply unit for high-quality and interference-free power supply with additional functions for Pro Tools S6 M10 and M40 series control surfaces.
All small form factory control surfaces these days are very good in their own right although I feel that all of them lack a certain charm… something magic that… it’s hard to describe. This ‘thing’ I’m referring to is evident in the motorised 8 fader control surface and interface we feature in this article.
In this article we list six used Pro Tools Bargains that you can buy second-hand today for a fraction of what they would have cost you new. The article gives you information on support and compatibility with Pro Tools, technical faults to watch out for when buying one of these units used along with ballpark values based on units what they are currently listed for on eBay.
The Avid Pro Tools C|24 control surface is coming to the end of its life. As we mentioned in our comprehensive History Of Pro Tools, Avid announced the end-of-life date of the much-loved C24 as 31st December 2017, with an end of support date 5 years later as 31st December 2022. Does this mean that it is the end of line for the C24 or does this popular control surface still have a future? We investigate…
Paul Neyrinck has done it! He has released a new version of V-Control Pro that has initial support for Pro Control Main, Pro Control Faderpack, and Control 24 that only currently works with Pro Tools. Read the rest of the article for more details.
In this article we list a selection of control surfaces compatible with Pro Tools that are all available to buy today for under $500 - Have we missed any?
Following on from our article, Avid Quietly Discontinue Their Pro Tools HD Native PCI-e Cards and studying the Avid End Of Life article, we noticed that a number of Avid products pass their End Of Support Dates during 2018 including the Mbox Mini and all the black-faced D-Control And D-Command control surfaces. What should you do? We offer some help and advice.
Paul Neyrinck has released a progress report on supporting Pro Control and Control 24 in V-Control Pro so users can use these legacy control surfaces in Pro Tools 11 and above. He is also looking for a small number of beta testers with specific requirements.
Last month Paul Neyrinck got in touch to tell us that he is undertaking some R&D looking at possible new features to V-Control Pro that would provide support for legacy control surfaces like the Pro Control and Control 24 with Pro Tools 11 and above as well as other DAWs. We asked if you would complete a short survey and Paul has now announced the outcome of the survey and how he plans to move forward.
We have covered several attempts to get legacy control surfaces working with later versions of Pro Tools. Paul Neyrinck has been in touch to say he is undertaking some R&D looking at possible new features to V-Control Pro that would provide support for these legacy control surfaces with Pro Tools 11 and above as well as other DAWs.