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Euphonix MC Control

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yoink Newbie

yoink

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I don't think any have actually shipped yet, but I can say my MC Mix is pretty wonderful since the recent software and firmware update. Such speedy tight logic integration!

 

I have had my MC Control on order since it was announced and after my time with the MC Mix I'm only more keen to get it's partner in crime.

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fazmanicg Newbie

fazmanicg

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Got mine yesterday. All I can say is ......... HOLY SH*T !!!!

This thing is AWESOME !!!!. I played with it only briefly, but I did not even look at the manual. It is SOOOOO intuitive. Everything you can imagine (within reason) is there. I am using it with Logic of course. It is extremely responsive. The touch screen reacts very well. The only minor thing I can think of is that the faders feel a little less than "pro", but I can live with that.

 

I did encounter a couple of very minor problems, But I will address them with Euphonix on Monday. I am sure they can be fixed with a software update.

 

I will wait to let you know what they are. I want to make sure it is not me doing something wrong.

 

BOTTOM LINE - Terrific addition to your studio. Will certainly increase your workflow speed. Technology is rock solid. You won't believe how you used to get by with using just a mouse.

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shadowbox Newbie

shadowbox

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I got mine a few days ago. It is pretty much everything people have been saying. Hands down the best controller for Logic. The fact that you can add up to MC Mix controllers to it to give you a total of 36 faders is pretty cool. But really for me 4 is enough. I might possibly spring for one Mix controller. We'll see how it is mixing a project with 4 faders. I'm used to mixing with a mouse only.

 

I have never been a controller kind of DAW user. Just never found one that worked seemlessly enough. Always more trouble than they are worth. But so far I can see adjusting my workflow for the MC Control. I think it will definitely speed things up.

 

I find that ergonomically you have to have the controller set up correctly. It can be hard as a composer to have a MIDI keyboard, Computer Keyboard and Mouse, and Control surface situated correctly so you won't end up killing your back or neck, getting carpal tunnel, etc. Also things can just get cumbersome and get in the way of your writing. The reason I say this is that when I first set the MC Control up I just put it on the right side of my desk partially resting on the right side of my MIDI controller. This was bad because I couldn't really read the screen and it just felt awkward. But I have adjusted things in my studio so the MC Control is just in front of my monitor in the center of my desk. My Apple Keyboard is just in front of it, on top of my MIDI controller which is at Piano height. Everything on the MC Control is within arms length.

 

The faders are very smooth and accurate. It's very cool to see those faders on the screen move in 1024 increments as opposed to the 127 you get with Midi controllers. I think the throw and movement faders feels professional. I think what the previous poster said about them not feeling totally professional is the part of the fader which you move. And I have to agree. They feel ok, but they are slightly rounded giving them a home studio look and feel. They don't have that classic fader shape of an SSL or even Digi ProControl. But the throw on the faders feels good to me. Similar to the Digi Pro Control. Maybe a little more resistance. They are very fast to react. In that regard they feel totally pro to me. I love automating volume moves and fades with this thing! Very precise.

 

The screen looks great. I feel like the angle needs to be a little steeper than the included feet they give you makes it. I have jacked up the back a couple inches. It would be cool if Euphonix made some taller back feet for it. Also at first I couldn't see detail on the screen unless I was looking right over it. There is no brightness or contrast control on the hardware unit. So as I sat back and looked down at it from a 45 deg angle I couldn't really see the detail of the on screen knobs and buttons. I finally found it in the EuControl software. (Right where the manual says it is!) I made the screen brighter and that fixed it somewhat. It would be good if there was a contrast control like many LCD screens have so that at an angle it still looks clear and bright.

 

I'm not sure why at the bottom of the screen they have a bunch of labels with soft buttons beneath them. Why not just make them touch screen buttons? It's no big deal, but I keep pressing on the screen and an error comes up that says" Please use buttons below..."

 

I'm not totally convinced that plug-in control as good as it could be. It's definitely better than most controllers. But there's still room for improvment. I In my limited use I would say the MC Control is most useful for when you want to automate EQs, and other plug-ins. And it seems to work best for basic plug-ins like EQ and Dynamics. Once you get into softsynths and Delay Designer, Reverbs, etc. There are so many parameters and it can be hard to decipher the knob label. (CrrrHrmn is "Carrier Harmonic" from the EFM1.) it's easier and quicker to just use the mouse. It's too bad that when you select the plug-in it's not represented graphically on the touch screen. It would be great to be able to put your finger on an EQ point or fader and put it where you want. Or touch a "knob" on a plug-in and then use the real knob to control it. Doesn't have to look exactly like real plug-in. Just a graphic of each knob and fader laid out in a similar fashion. At the very least you should be able to click on a knob in Logic and then on the MC Control screen that knob is selected and you can use the knob to adjust it.

 

I think, at least at this point, it's easier to adjust the plug-ins using a mouse. For one thing, while you can control knobs and sliders on plug-ins from the MC Control, you can't access the plug-in menus and buttons at the top of each plug-in. So if you want to change the view of the plug-in or choose a preset you have to use your mouse or key command anyway. Ideally, you want to be able to use the controller for almost everything. And use the mouse only for selections, editing, etc.

 

With that in mind, it is cool that basically all Menu items in the main window of Logic are convered with buttons on the touch screen. And you can program more of them that could take care of every key command. 24 per page. (Also cool to note that it works for most applications. Switch to Safari, for example, and all of the safari Menu items come up.)

 

Couple more small things...I wish the Monitor/Control Room knob was bigger to set it apart from the other knobs. Also the StudioMonitor software is not quite ready for primetime. I heard from Euphonix that they are going to have drivers for some audio interfaces (Apogee Duet and Sympnoy) and that will make the volume control more useful. At this point the set up is a little cumbersome. Also while the shuttle/jog knob works great it feels cheap. It's to bad they didn't put something more similar to the apogee duet wheel. And finally, the ethernet handshake is not always reliable. Not sure if it's my set up or what. It never loses the handshake once its connected. But for some reason sometimes after a start up it doesn't see the MC Control and I have to go in the EuCon software and select it manually. Other times it sees it fine. I'm using a direct connection from my computer to the MC Control so I'm not sure what the problem is.

 

Not sure this review is too helpful, I rambled a little bit. It's late, forgive me. Overall, I like the controller a lot. Looks great on the desk, and it's nice to have most of Logic's functions at your fingertips.

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question Newbie

question

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Hello Shadowbox,

Thanks for the info. As a film composer, I am finding little info about the uses of the Euphonix in the composing work flow. I am also interested in how to ergonomically integrate the MC control into my work space. Could you please PM me with a photo of your set up?

I would like to have a controller with better resolution than a mod wheel or expression pedal, but am not sure if a MC control is a bit of overkill for my needs.

What other functions have you found that speed up the composing/sequencing/editing process?

My main interest is to do real time automation with the VSL instruments, and to write automation musically in real time.

Have you tried such functions with the MC? I am sure these units are great for people who are primarily mixing, what about composers? Anyone wish to share their experiences?

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lschefman Newbie

lschefman

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Our studio tested the large console-sized System 5 MC for two weeks, and I thought it was great. Not only for Logic, but we tested it with Nuendo, Cubase.

 

It's a terrific system. Some of our engineers felt the metering onboard was not quite as accurate as they'd have liked, but I loved the thing. Everything is fully customizable. My only criticism is that stepping through inserts/plugins by clicking knobs was a bit fiddly, but as I said we only had 2 weeks with it.

 

We're currently testing another system (we're a pretty large post house) that doesn't run logic, but it's dedicated for post.

 

I'll report back re: the final choice, but I am definitely going to get the smaller mc for my own room at some point soon.

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schleuder Newbie

schleuder

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This works pretty well for me.

 

Hello,

 

I just ordered 1 x MC Control and 1 x MC Mix. My package should arrive this week and now I want to make sure I have everything prepared. Maybe you guys could help me with two questions:

 

1. I have a Mac Pro with one Ethernet-Port. Do I need a Ethernet-Hub to connect both MCC and MCM to the Mac Pro? The brochure says, that you need a hub, to connect additional units. I ordered the stuff at www.thomann.de and they told me, that I only need one ethernetport, because the units are interconnectable.

 

2. If the salesperson was wrong: How do I connect the stuff exactly? My Mac goes online via W-LAN so I don't have the mac connected via ethernet.

 

3. So I need to buy one hub, one crosslink-cable to link the mac to the hub and two normal ethernet-cables to connect the mc-units to the hub, right?

 

Your help is much appreciated!

schleuder

ps: sorry, for misstyping etc. English is not my mothertongue.

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fazmanicg Newbie

fazmanicg

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You will need a SWITCH (hub) - Get a 4 or 5 port gigabit switch . They are pretty inexpensive.

You will need 3 Cat5 Patch Cables. There is no need for crossover cables any longer.

 

Connect the Mac's Port to the switch, and the two Euphonix units to the switch.

You're done. That's all there is to it.

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schleuder Newbie

schleuder

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You will need a SWITCH (hub) - Get a 4 or 5 port gigabit switch . They are pretty inexpensive.

You will need 3 Cat5 Patch Cables. There is no need for crossover cables any longer.

 

Connect the Mac's Port to the switch, and the two Euphonix units to the switch.

You're done. That's all there is to it.

 

 

Thank you very much!

 

My question my have sounded stupid, but I am relatively new to computer recording. I am kinda oldschool and tried to avoid making music via software and computers for a very long time...

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pantomimeHorse Newbie

pantomimeHorse

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You will need a SWITCH (hub) - Get a 4 or 5 port gigabit switch . They are pretty inexpensive.

You will need 3 Cat5 Patch Cables. There is no need for crossover cables any longer.

 

Connect the Mac's Port to the switch, and the two Euphonix units to the switch.

You're done. That's all there is to it.

 

@ Peter:

Presumably, there is no problem using a 100-baseTX LAN to employ this

Euphonix controller, either ? I'm not about to upgrade my network because

we only have G4 PowerMacs in service which did not have gigabit ethernet

boards, but I would like to have a stab at the Euphonix kit.

 

-

C

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k10104909 Newbie

k10104909

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Got my Euphonix mc control last week.

 

This is without a doubt the best money i ever spent.

 

But does anyone out there know how to create your own custom soft keys

 

Have contacted Euphonix but they are taking a little to long.

 

Thanks

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ski Proficient

ski

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@ shadowbox,

 

I hear what you're saying about being a composer with keyboard, mouse, etc. I've got my keyboard, 3 mice, 3 computer keyboards, and a music rack (the space taken up ATM with a Korg M3). So I'm curious about how you've got your rig set up. Would you mind posting a picture?

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fazmanicg Newbie

fazmanicg

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@ Peter:

Presumably, there is no problem using a 100-baseTX LAN to employ this

Euphonix controller, either ? I'm not about to upgrade my network because

we only have G4 PowerMacs in service which did not have gigabit ethernet

boards, but I would like to have a stab at the Euphonix kit.

 

-

C

 

No Problem using the 100-T

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shadowbox Newbie

shadowbox

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@ shadowbox,

 

I hear what you're saying about being a composer with keyboard, mouse, etc. I've got my keyboard, 3 mice, 3 computer keyboards, and a music rack (the space taken up ATM with a Korg M3). So I'm curious about how you've got your rig set up. Would you mind posting a picture?

 

In the last year or so I have been on a mission to simplify my set up. I am now completely running inside the box and with my new 8-core I no longer need a second PC. So I only have one keyboard, mouse, etc. If you have to have 3 keyboards,etc. I would get a Keyboard, mouse, monitor switcher. I write a lot of orchestrated music with the Quantum Leap libraries and have no problem composing with one computer and a bunch of hard drives. The Freeze function is my friend! But with my new 8-core I rarely even have to use freeze. Here is a picture of my set up. I just recently got the 30" monitor which I prefer over 2 separate monitors and gives me plenty of room for everything.

 

You can hear some of my music on my website (www.shadowboxmusic.com). The music I created for "Six Degrees Could Change the World" was composed with one Dual G5. Admittedly, my computer was huffing and puffing. But it didn't really slow me down at all. This was the project that led to my getting an 8-core Mac Pro. The ease of having one computer and one file to open and load everything has sped up my workflow tremendously. And having a clean, ergonomic layout also helps the creative process. That's what me thinks anyway...

SB_Studio.jpg.3759ead4b509168f972cdf27968d758c.jpg

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ski Proficient

ski

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Shadow,

 

Thanks so much for posting a pic. Beautiful setup you have there. FWIW my 3 mice/keyboards are for a) main mac // b) Mackie D8B // c) lil' mac (for misc. stuff). I had a KVR for the longest time but it always seemed to crash my USB ports at the most inopportune times. Then I saw this (Charlie Klausen's studio) and got inspired, ditched the KVR, and got all keyboard 'n' mouse happy:

 

http://www.score2picture.com/logicpix/csstudio.jpg

 

Now I'm inspired by your clean setup. Very "extraterrestrial" as opposed to "NASA" LOL! So I'm moving in tomorrow. CYA then :lol:

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solsun Newbie

solsun

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@ shadowbox,

 

I hear what you're saying about being a composer with keyboard, mouse, etc. I've got my keyboard, 3 mice, 3 computer keyboards, and a music rack (the space taken up ATM with a Korg M3). So I'm curious about how you've got your rig set up. Would you mind posting a picture?

 

I don't know what your setup looks like, but I am in the same predicament... where would I put it?

 

I am considering doing something like this (picture below) http://www.ergotron.com/Products/DeskMounts/tabid/71/ctl/Product/mid/396/PRDID/174/language/en-US/default.aspx

 

It's made for a laptop but I think I could slide the base underneath the back of my midi controller keyboard so the Euphonix would float right above the control section of my keyboard...

33-315_withdock.jpg.b80518fe5e7a92ffd8d98e0eb45e576a.jpg

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