Article Preview - Euphonix MC Mix

The new Artist series brings Euphonix's innovative Eucon technology to the project studio market. Does the MC Mix put existing fader controllers in the shade?

Paul White

At the NAMM show earlier this year, Euphonix gave us a sneak preview of their Artist Series MC Mix and MC Control units, two new control surfaces that support most mainstream Mac-based DAW software packages. Where the software vendors have implemented Euphonix's own Eucon protocol, this is used to connect the Artist controllers, but they are also capable of emulating Digidesign's HUI protocol and the Mackie Control protocol. Each Artist may be used independently, or they can be combined as part of a larger system. We were sent the more conventional fader-based MC Mix controller for review; the intriguing MC Control, with its touch-screen interface, should be following imminently, along with Windows support.

Until now, Euphonix products were mainly aimed at the professional working on a professional budget, but these new Artist controllers are pitched to appeal to both pros needing a compact control system and to project studio owners. The technology behind the interfaces is drawn directly from the Euphonix high-end control surfaces, as is the Eucon protocol itself. Like the larger MC Pro controller reviewed in last month's SOS, the MC Mix hooks up to the host computer via Ethernet. A Eucon control utility is continuously active while the controller is connected, but doesn't seem to impose a significant CPU load. A separate MC Client application routes the Eucon control data to all the supported applications.

I say 'all', because Eucon makes possible the simultaneous control of multiple applications or even multiple workstations. The use of Ethernet means that data bandwidth is vastly higher than MIDI, which most controllers in this price range use, and Eucon also offers better data resolution than MIDI, where controllers are commonly restricted to 128 discrete values.

The MC Mix is designed to work to a limited extent with any application, but for fader and knob control the application must either support Eucon directly or via the HUI or Mackie Control protocols. Where applications lack support for any of these protocols, the buttons can still be mapped to send out user-specified keystroke commands, so although you wouldn't buy an MC controller to work with unsupported software, it may still be useful.

Most of the major DAWs now work with the Artist series of controllers directly, by incorporating Eucon support, among them Apple's Logic, Steinberg's Nuendo (and soon Cubase), MOTU's Digital Performer and Cakewalk's Sonar. The big name missing from this list is Digidesign, and Pro Tools users will need to use the HUI emulation. Mackie Control emulation should take care of other non-Eucon DAW software.

Size Isn't Everything

The first thing I noticed about the MC Mix was just how slim and compact it is, despite it having eight 100mm, touch-sensitive motorised faders, eight touch-sensitive rotary encoders with integral push switches and a clear LED display above each fader, using Organic LEDs (OLEDs, which have various advantages over LCDs). Overall the unit measures 16.5 x 9.5 inches and is barely an inch thick, yet with its neat layout, clean lines and uncluttered panel, it looks thoroughly professional.

The MC Mix connects to the host computer via Ethernet.

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