Can someone point me to a list of supported control surfaces for audio in Symphony 6, I remember seeing one in the past but don't seem to be able to find it anymore.  I remember Mackie and Yamaha and some others had supported mixers but i don't remember the models.  I just want to be able to ride levels as I go along rather than keyframing or add editing all the time, it takes too long.  Avids Artist Mix seems to be overpriced for what I want.  Basic is the key word here. 

Does anyone have any recommendations for a cheap and cheerful audio mixer for automation within Symphony?

Cheers,

Andi

ripvanmarlowe:

Avids Artist Mix seems to be overpriced for what I want.

Pretty sure it's the cheapest option.

Other options that are listed in the manual are Artist Control and Command|8. Digi002 is only supported on MC/NC, not SY.

Then there used to be support for the Yamaha 01V and 01V96 (both of which aren't cheap either and require a USB-midi converter as far as I know), and the JL Cooper MCS-3000X; not sure if any of those are still officially supported. But I don't think any of them would be cheaper than the Artist Mix.

I found that some music stores are/were selling the Euphonix MC Mix (identical to the Avid Artist Mix, only in silver rather than black and with a Euphonix logo rather than an Avid one) for less than the Avid Artist Mix.

The Command 8 and Digi 002 are supported along with the Artist Control and Artist Mix.

Urgh.  Thanks guys.  Is it just me or does it seem like nearly a grand for a basic mixer is a little much in this day and age?  All I want is to be able to ride levels as I go and have Avid record this automation.  Nothing fancy, just basic audio editing in a faster and more intuitive form than keyframing.  There should be a low cost option for this, it doesn't seem like the hardware is that sophisticated that it should warrant that price tag.  Maybe some sort of stripped down version that just does the basics. 

Maybe I'm just being tight, but I reckon something simple for a quarter of the price would sell well amongst small setups that just need basic functionality. 

Thanks for the advice.

Andi

ripvanmarlowe:

does it seem like nearly a grand for a basic mixer is a little much in this day and age?

Avid Artist Mix is not a mixer, it's an ethernet-based controller with faders. I'm not too unhappy about the price, but that may differ from person to person and situation to situation, of course.

ripvanmarlowe:

There should be a low cost option for this

You can ride the Automation Gain faders using your mouse, and record those moves. That's the free option that does not require you to set individual keyframes.

thanks Job. I understand the artist mix is more than just a mixer, but for me, that is all I would be using it for and so I couldn't justify the price. what I think would be good would he to have a basic mixer which can use eucon for a more reasonable price. the mouse is not ideal at all but at the moment its what I have to use. some middle ground would be nice.

Cheers

Andi

ripvanmarlowe:

I understand the artist mix is more than just a mixer

I wanted to point out that it is in fact LESS than a mixer, as a mixer would have inputs, outputs, aux sends etc., as well as the capability to mix and route those incoming signals (be they analog or digital or both). The Artist Mix does none of that. It is basically a board of knobs and faders attached over ethernet, and it only works in conjunction with the apps that its driver supports. A fader board. A MUI for certain software apps.

So

ripvanmarlowe:

a basic mixer which can use eucon

would in fact be more than the Artist Mix is.

I bet that if there would be a big market for controllers like this, they would sell for less, similar to controllers for DJ software (although I seriously doubt that any of those that are of any usable quality would quickly fall into a similar range as the Euphonix boxes).

I get that it would be nice to have more options, but then again, controllers like that used to cost double what the Artist Mix cost, not even that long ago.

The 01V still works with Symphony 6.

I was recently also using a Command 8 but it is frustrating that it (and presumably the other controllers) only address the first 8 tracks in the timeline.

The blurb about the Artist Mix suggests that you can switch to other banks with FCP...

It would be great if we had the same functionanality as in Pro tools.

David Yardley:

the other controllers) only address the first 8 tracks in the timeline

Artist Mix lets you control all channels, but you have to bank or nudge through them (so you can flip from 1-8 to 9-16 which is banking, or you can flip from 1-8 to 2-9 to 3-10 etc, which is called nudging). Works in MC and SY.

I think the 01V (and probably other MIDI controllers) are limited to 8 tracks. Now that we have stereo and multichannel tracks, that would be somewhat less of a problem, of course. Although I most often work at 12 tracks or so these days (some of them mono, some of them stereo).

I see what you're saying Job. I think I'm mixing up my terminology. what I'm asking for is faders, not mixers! A simple interface with faders. up, down, left and right. either way, this story ends with rme using a mouse!

Thanks for the update on the Artist Mix, Job, I did not realise that you could nudge and bank.

Are the faders quiet? The Command 8 ones are quite distracting.

They are not noisy themselves, but when scrolling through a timeline in Clip Mode, the unit will smack around the faders between values and this can be distracting, so I usually turn it on when needed, then off again.

To the OP: how much would you spend on such a device? There's a used unit on eBay for 560USD. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Euphonix-MC-Mix-8-channel-motorized-automated-mixer-/110996448514?pt=US_Other_Pro_Audio&hash=item19d7e76502

I couldn't see myself spending more than a couple of hundred for something with a basic functionality like I am describing.  Blackmagic seem to be able to produce well priced hardware, maybe they should have a pop at it! Maybe I'm way off the mark with that figure, but just for the ability to change volume and pan information as I play through a sequence with a more tactile and precise interface I can't see how someone could justify more. it doesn't seem like too much to ask.

cheers,

Andi

ripvanmarlowe:

Blackmagic seem to be able to produce well priced hardware

Touche sir!