The age-old question.
Which control surface would you buy?
I know it will be tough to get some real-world advice since this icon controller is new to the market, but I am very curious about it. It has some premium features that I’m willing to pay the extra $200 for.
The X Touch has been on the market for quite some time and most people seem to be happy with it. It’s proven itself I think.
The Icon looks a bit premium and very sleek (IMHO).
It’s also expandable with extenders (like the X-Touch) AND meter a bridge type LCD screen (unlike the X-Touch) and it’s not too big!
I’m wondering why nobody is talking about this new icon controller though??
Street price on this Icon controller is around $600.
The X Touch, brand new is around $400.
$200 dollar difference aside, which would you buy?
Which X-Touch are you comparing too? As one has a screen (Compact) and the other (Universal) doesn’t.
To use MCU mode you really need a screen so you can see which tracks and parameters are in focus, so factor that in. X-Touch universal also has colour screen support thanks to a community MIDI Remote script.
I really like the streamdeck-like shortcut keys on the new Icon surfaces that you can user setup, I just hope they’re future proof and not too over-reliant on a background app.
Hi, the optional display for the P1-M does not act as a meter bridge. It does however display parameters, track names, panning, etc. It is supposed to display track colors too but this doesn’t work yet.
The display is also not really optional. The P1-M on its own will not show the track names so you’ll have to rely on the computer screen to see where you are. You will not see parameter names and values when editing plugins, sends or cue sends.
Even the P1-Nano, which includes a single screen, becomes really useful for plugin edition with the optional display.
You should take that into account when comparing prices. At least the XTouch includes screens.
That said, I chose the P1-M - for the optional display (which Cubase doesn’t use fully), the small footprint and the customizable touch pads.
I know this is not a direct answer to your question, but I would consider a used Avid Artist Control instead. Eucon integration is so much deeper and feature-rich than Mackie Control and much better-suited to Cubase.
Eucon is great, but you can get odd connectivity issues.
Have you got the 4 fader unit? I always liked the look of those with the touch screen. I think they’re much better for parameter/plugin controls than mixing and was going to get one a while back but people put me off saying they’re unreliable(?).
Yes. I have one Artist Control, one Artist Transport, and four Artist Mixes. I have been using them since around 2016 and have never had an issue with any of them - not even one. The Eucon middleware package provided by Avid has improved over the years. You rarely see a complaint from anyone anymore. Cubase support for Eucon has kept up, I think mainly due to the number of Nuendo users who also use the Avid S6. The beneficiaries are those of us with older Avid controllers who still benefit from the additional stability and features built for S6. Anyhow, I’m still very happy with them. Connectivity - One thing. They like to be on their own subnet so you’ll need to get an ethernet adapter and switch if your current ethernet adapter is already in use. It makes things so much easier keeping the Avid stack on its own NIC. Below is a picture of the setup
Wow! That’s an impressive collection that you have. So you’d say the Artist Control is the one you find most useful then? i.e. if you could only have one?
Thanks! My sort order would be Control first, Transport second, and Mix third. The Transport has the best Jog wheel I had ever used, so if you’re a jog wheel person (I am after decades of habit so its important to me), you will love it .
My priority is trapping the faders, mutes and send automation. The rest is fast enough with key commands and a stream deck. It’s all about mix automation.
