Neyrinck’s V-Control software has long been keeping older Avid control surfaces compatible with newer operating systems and Pro Tools version, and the latest new feature to be introduced will be of particular interest to those still using a D-Control.
V-Control Pro now includes a new feature named D-Control Basic, which allows the discontinued control surface to pair up with Pro Tools on Apple Silicon Macs — the lack of support for Apple Silicon has left many D-Control users without an upgrade option for their studio computer. As of the latest version, the same feature set enjoyed by D-Command users has now been extended to the D-Control, allowing the unit’s transport, motorised faders, panning, mutes, solos, record arming, track selection, automation modes, sends, inserts and plug-in editing to function via HUI.
The company are keen to stress that D-Control Basic does not offer full console integration. Because the integration duplicates the D-Command implementation, only the bottom two rows of encoders on a D-Control channel strip are active; the top four rows are inactive. Here’s a quick look at which parts of the surface are active, and which are not:
What Works
- Transport control.
- 16 or 32 motorised faders (0.1 dB resolution).
- Pan, mute, solo, record arm and track select.
- Automation modes.
- Sends A–E (with flip to faders).
- Inserts A–E on strips 1–8.
- X-Mon monitor control remains fully active.
What Does Not
- Reassignable focus strip.
- Dynamics, EQ and soft key sections.
- Sends beyond E.
- Inserts beyond E on other strips.
“We named it Basic on purpose. The D-Control is a big console, and this connects to Pro Tools using HUI, which is a very good protocol, but a large part of the frame stays dark. What we can give you is a working console instead of a dead one — faders, transport, pan, automation, sends, inserts and plug-in editing on a machine you can actually still buy. For a lot of rooms, that’s the difference between keeping the desk and pulling it out.” — Paul Neyrinck, Founder, Neyrinck Audio
D-Control Basic supports one D-Control Main unit and up to two Fader Modules, allowing for a maximum of 32 channels. Devices connect over Ethernet and are added as controllers in the V-Control Pro Setups window. Pro Tools is configured for two or four HUI banks depending on the frame size, with each Fader Module counting as two eight-channel banks. D-Control Basic is for Pro Tools only — other DAWs and media applications are not supported at this time.
Pricing & Availability
D-Control Basic is available now and requires a V-Control Pro Plus 2 license, which is currently (20 August 2026) priced at $299 (usually $349) as a perpetual license with no subscription required.
