Are Icon’s latest range of control surfaces the perfect interface between human and DAW?
I still recall the day I gave in to the DAW powers‑that‑be and surrendered my generously proportioned mixing console in favour of mixing in the box. While I have never had a moment’s regret on a sonic level, I’ve always felt like I lost a piece of my soul that day, leaving a void to be replaced by a mouse and a computer keyboard. So began the search for the perfect DAW control surface that could capture the spirit of a console while keeping my mouse at arm’s length.
Total Control
Icon Pro Audio are no newbies to the control surface arena. Their QCon series has always looked the part, and they’ve since added a wide range of other products at different sizes and price levels.
Jumping to the top of the tree, I had the opportunity to explore the flagship V1‑M with a V1‑X expander. The V1‑M is the starting point for anyone wanting a single, high‑quality controller device. What you get for your money is something that looks and feels just like a quality audio mixer. It hosts 100mm motorised faders, chunky buttons for activities such as soloing and muting channels, and similarly reassuring transport controls, including a beautifully weighted jog wheel. There are eight channel faders on the main unit plus a ninth master fader, and there’s the capacity to add a further three eight channel expanders to take your channel fader count up to 32. If that’s a luxury you cannot afford, either in price or desk space, you can easily use a single unit to shuttle around your DAW’s track list, guided by a bargraph VU meter and scribble‑strip display at the top of the panel.
The Setup
The V1‑M is the largest controller of the range, especially with regard to depth measurement. At 380mm deep, it was just about possible to place the unit in front of my computer monitor, with the computer keyboard in front. If you also have a MIDI keyboard on your desk the depth will likely prove too much for a standard desk from a favoured Swedish furniture shop. Placing the V1‑M to one side is an option, but given the potential for mouse‑less DAW integration, it feels like you will want to have it right in front of you, which might prompt you to consider the smaller models in the range.
Once in place, the V1‑M requires both power and a USB connection. The V1‑M has a Type‑C port, and a USB A to C cable is supplied, but not a C to C cable.
The V1‑X expander can be attached to either side of the V1‑M main unit, meaning that you can create a very elegant setup with the transport and master fader located where you want them. You just have to tell your DAW how they are arranged on your desk and the driver does the rest. You will have to have capacity to connect each device to a USB port, though, which may require a substantial powered hub.
Next, you need Icon’s iMap software, which is the host software application and runs alongside your DAW. Apart from driving the unit on the software side, iMap also allows a huge degree of personalisation. As the V1 is a universal control surface, you can select an appropriate template for your DAW, with 18 templates available for all the usual suspects and also some less well‑known platforms. You can load templates for up to three different DAWs, or different templates for the same DAW, quickly switching between them with the three dedicated DAW buttons located at the top of the control panel.
The iMap software allows the selection of multiple DAWs and reassignment of any button, pot or fader on the unit.
Like most small hardware controllers, the V1 uses the Mackie Control and HUI protocols to communicate with the DAW. I tested the V1‑M with Logic Pro X, entailing the use of Mackie Control. Having selected the appropriate DAW template it was then just a case of visiting the Control Surface page in Logic to initiate the connection within the software. Hey presto: the two were communicating and all was well!
Test Driving
At first sight, the integration at what we could call the primary level is really excellent. Shuttling back and forth, using buttons or the jog wheel, is a very seamless affair and incredibly responsive too. Zooming in and out on DAW windows requires a press of the Zoom button and a rotate of the jog wheel — which, while easy to activate, can be a little over‑keen! The jog wheel is weighted, and you can find yourself free‑wheeling fairly swiftly.
While it’s never going to be possible to please all people at all times, I would question the ultimate layout of the transport section. The jog wheel occupies the area to the bottom‑right of the main unit, and while this means that it’s easy to use in collaboration with the associated buttons that surround it, it does obscure access to the main transport controls for stop and play. I found myself knocking the jog wheel on a regular basis.
Meanwhile, back in the channel zone, adjusting levels using the faders while also selecting, muting and soloing channels is exactly what you would hope for. If you’re working in a large project, navigating from one bank of faders to the next is executed with comparative ease, and is aided by the responsive old‑style segment VU metering and virtual scribble strip, which reflects whatever track naming you apply within your DAW.
Function Layers
When it comes to controlling and editing other DAW elements, such as instrument or plug‑in settings, you’re required to head toward the Function layer section. Located above the transport controls are 24 virtual touch‑buttons. The 6x4 layout behaves much like a Stream Deck, with five Function Layers. The first three relate to DAW‑based operation such as track and plug‑in selection, with the remaining two providing global DAW operations, such as open/close project. Given that there are 120 assignable buttons here, it’s not surprising that only half of them are populated with functions within the supplied template, but you can add or move buttons as you desire from within the iMap software. Even so, I think we’d all struggle to program 120 DAW‑based operations that we’d need with such regularity.
As Icon have pre‑loaded the most obvious commands, it’s comparatively easy to do the basics, at either global or instrument channel level. How far you might choose to take this is debatable; would you access a level to then press another button to create a new project? Possibly not, if you’re acquainted with the main DAW key commands.
One point to clarify is that while the Function Layers may look like a Stream Deck, they do not allow access to your computer’s OS, so you won’t be able to set up key macros for essentials such as “Load Pro Tools”. Aren’t we all doing that by voice activation now anyway?
As you get more involved with the V1‑M, you do begin to find that there are some operations that are just too cumbersome for a generic control surface to handle satisfactorily. You can insert a plug‑in from the V1‑M, by pressing the associated Function button, before scrolling through your plug‑in list and selecting your choice. The information is presented on the channel strip screen, but it’s very easy to miss your preference while wading through the list of your installed plug‑ins. This could be easier if you have fewer plug‑ins available to you, but even with basic DAW content, that’s a lot to navigate through. Once the plug‑in is initiated, you can then access its associated parameters, but in the case of something like a multiband parametric, navigating the EQ can also be quite tricky. The modus operandi here involves the use of the infinite encoders at the top of each channel, which are more usefully thought of as stereo pan pots in their most common setting. I had hoped that by selecting an EQ band, it might be possible to adjust the frequency before pressing the aforementioned pot to toggle to the next EQ band setting in line, such as cut/boost frequency or Q. This is not the case. You navigate by using the jog wheel, while also keeping a beady eye on the information which pops up on the control surface’s display, and as previously mentioned, the jog wheel can be a bit speedy!
Thinking logically about this, it stands to reason that viewing information, such as a list of your installed plug‑ins, is going to be far easier on a large screen. We’ve spent years trying to move away from the keyhole‑surgery mentality, and it may be that this is simply a step too far for a humble universal control surface.
There is no doubt about the quality of the V1‑M/X combo; these are very well built and thoroughly engaging devices, which could undoubtedly aid your workflow.
The Yin & The Yang
There is no doubt about the quality of the V1‑M/X combo; these are very well built and thoroughly engaging devices, which could undoubtedly aid your workflow. There is a clear yearning from DAW users to have a greater degree of hardware‑specific control, either for ergonomic reasons or because we miss the mixer concept. The V1 series goes a very good chunk of the way to fulfilling those criteria, offering something which looks, feels and acts much like a mixer. Creating automation in this environment is a breeze, as is the whole process of balancing and auditioning tracks. Building up tracks within a project is also speedy, allowing fast and simple recording and shuttling around. It’s only when you delve into your plug‑ins that the process begins to get a little frustrating, as navigating the plug‑in hierarchy feels like hard work using such a small window on the world of a DAW project. But the things that the V1‑M does well it does very well, and that’s a sizeable tick for a lost mixer generation and those who want to quicken their DAW experience.
Lining Up The Products
The V1‑M and its associated expander are not the only new Icon kids on the block. The P1‑M and P1‑X are the next models down in range, and effectively offer the same functionality in a footprint half as deep at nearly half the price. They look and feel much the same as the larger siblings, providing a workflow experience which is identical. Apart from a shrinkage in size across the whole unit, the faders remain 100mm, with fader eight doubling as a master fader, via a button press. There’s also a reduction of Function buttons to only 12 slots, albeit providing 60 across the five layers. The display/VU screens that accompany them are a cost option; you can use the buttons without them, but it’s probably not the most pleasurable experience, as the screen is the conduit to presented information. You can also build up the expanders to a 32‑channel setup.
If you’re really struggling for space, the P1‑Nano goes even smaller. It’s a one‑fader device, allowing operation on a channel‑by‑channel basis. It’s also supposedly bus powered over USB, but in my tests the unit was a little fussy about connectivity without a power supply.
MIDI Reassignments
A V1‑M feature which I was keen to explore is the ability to reassign faders to MIDI duties for the control of sample libraries. I’m used to having three MIDI faders at my disposal for controlling orchestral sounds, so having the ability to flip the V1‑M to the MIDI side to use in this way, before flipping back again, is a pretty fundamental ask.
Using the iMap software, it was easy enough to reassign faders to a MIDI CC operation, but incorporating this into a template alongside DAW control proved more difficult. Even after seeking advice from Icon, where the consensus was that creating a second DAW level on iMap would be the way to go, it still didn’t work seamlessly or successfully, which was a great shame.
The iMap software is constantly under revision, and given the newness of these devices there’s scope for an easier method of MIDI interaction to follow in the future.
Pros
- Well‑built, weighty unit that feels like a quality mixer.
- Includes templates for all common DAW packages.
- Rugged rubberised buttons, 100mm faders, full transport control and jog‑wheel functionality.
- App‑based assignment of faders, pots and buttons.
- Expandable up to 32 channel faders.
Cons
- The footprint is relatively deep; it could be a squeeze on a desktop alongside a computer and music keyboard.
- Plug‑in control and navigation isn’t as seamless and easy as you might hope.
Summary
The experience of using the V1‑M as a primary interface for your DAW is an undoubted pleasure. It undertakes tracking and level‑mixing tasks beautifully, becoming less desirable the deeper you go in the mixing process. It’s not time to lose your mouse just yet, but it’s getting closer.
Information
V1‑M $1099, V1‑X $899.