# Avid Artist Control & Logic in 2017 - solid?



## whinecellar (Feb 23, 2017)

Hey Guys,

I've got a line on a killer deal on an Artist Control - always thought they looked like a great piece of kit. However, I've heard that Eucon drivers were quite dodgy early on, and it's tough to find any current reviews. This would be for use exclusively with Logic.

Any feedback would be appreciated! Note - I don't care about using it for CC automation - I have other controllers for that. I just want a few decent faders for mix automation.

Thanks!


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## jamwerks (Feb 24, 2017)

Can't remember the details, but Avid has announced a time frame for ending support for the Artist Series, so they've probably got something new on the horizon.


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## stonzthro (Feb 24, 2017)

The Artist Control works fine in Logic over here.

And you really can't use it for MIDI CC control anyway, unless you are on Cubase.


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## mc_deli (Feb 24, 2017)

AVoID I am really anti Avid because of the way they handle paid support, upgrades and end hardware support. I think it is an awful ecosystem to get stuck in.


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## whinecellar (Feb 24, 2017)

Thanks guys. Yeah, I know it's been EOL'd, but the support timetable looks good through 2021. And as much as I too loathe the Avid ecosystem, this is a hardware piece that will either work or it won't. For a brand new unit at half price with a 30-day return window, it's tempting to give it a shot...


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## wbacer (Feb 24, 2017)

I have an Avid S3 and Artist Transport that I use with Logic and they work great... when they work.
The problem is that for no explainable reason they just lose connection and I have to restart my Mac to get them to reconnect. Within my support window, I've made multiple calls to Avid and all they say is well if your software and firmware are up to date it should work. And once your support window expires, they won't even talk to you unless you pay a per call fee. If I could do over, I'd go another direction.


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## synthpunk (Feb 24, 2017)

It's a tough call really they should work in logic theoretically but as you can see there are horror stories related to Avid support let alone the driver issues over the years that I've also read about.

It may be sacrilege to say but the Behringer X Touch Compact makes a lot of sense it's only $399 USD, has good build quality, and can be toggled between DAW and midi CC Modes. Negatives are the motorized faders can be on the noisy side and there still is no promised Mac editor.

I was recently gifted a PreSonus Faderport which suffers from similar problems that the Avid does basically non-support from the company but I have gotten it to work satisfactory through some issues for now at least until Logic breaks it


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## whinecellar (Feb 24, 2017)

Yeah, as cool as it looks on paper, I think I'm going to steer clear of anything Avid. The ratio of horror to success stories is way too high to take a risk on a discontinued product.

I already have a plethora of hardware controllers for entering CC data - I just wanted a decent touch-sensitive fader or two for automation rides. I used to heavily rely on my Frontier Alphatrack but it too was discontinued a few years back. However, I just figured out a way to bring it back to life the other day, which is awesome because nothing else quite matches its feature set.

So between that, an iPad Pro running logic remote, another running custom TouchOSC layers, and my other boxes, I think I'm set.

Thanks again guys!


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## samphony (Feb 24, 2017)

whinecellar said:


> Thanks guys. Yeah, I know it's been EOL'd, but the support timetable looks good through 2021. And as much as I too loathe the Avid ecosystem, this is a hardware piece that will either work or it won't. For a brand new unit at half price with a 30-day return window, it's tempting to give it a shot...



Jim I sold mine because after euphonix, when avid took over, the drivers got worse with every update. But I think since then some of the bad stuff has changed and the drivers should be fine now. 

I suggest take them and spin them for 3 weeks. If you don't like them just return them.


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## resonate (Feb 24, 2017)

How about Mackie Control (formerly known as Logic Control) for Logic? These still work, right? I use Avid's Command 8 for entering CC data in Logic, and it works great in Midi standalone mode, no fader support. But i bought it for Pro Tools so don't complain...


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## whinecellar (Feb 24, 2017)

Yeah, Mackie Control units are still totally viable, and support is baked into Logic itself - no potentially flaky Eucon drivers in between. They're just so physically massive, which won't work for my setup, unfortunately. Every square inch of my workstation is covered with gear & controllers as it is


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## synthpunk (Feb 24, 2017)

the faders on the older black & gray ones go wonky after a while as well and Mackie does not have any replacements any longer so you need to get a parts unit.



whinecellar said:


> Yeah, Mackie Control units are still totally viable, and support is baked into Logic itself - no potentially flaky Eucon drivers in between. They're just so physically massive, which won't work for my setup, unfortunately. Every square inch of my workstation is covered with gear & controllers as it is


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## wbacer (Feb 25, 2017)

Because of Avid's non-support and unreliable drivers, I'm looking for something to replace my S3 that has 16 faders and a similar footprint. Any suggestions?


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## whinecellar (Feb 25, 2017)

wbacer said:


> Because of Avid's non-support and unreliable drivers, I'm looking for something to replace my S3 that has 16 faders and a similar footprint. Any suggestions?



SSL's Nucleus comes to mind - 16 channels, and I believe native MCU protocol which means native support for Logic, etc. (if you care about that), etc. The new version 2 has Dante support, 2 good mic pres, control room section, etc. I just hate that it's white, but horses for courses


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## wbacer (Feb 25, 2017)

whinecellar said:


> SSL's Nucleus comes to mind - 16 channels, and I believe native MCU protocol which means native support for Logic, etc. (if you care about that), etc. The new version 2 has Dante support, 2 good mic pres, control room section, etc. I just hate that it's white, but horses for courses


Thanks for the heads up.
From what I can tell is that the only difference from Nucleus I is that Nucleus II has talkback, output for multiple monitors, Dante and it's white. Since I don't really need any of that and it appears that there are used Nucleus I units available, may look for one of those.


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## Mishabou (Feb 25, 2017)

I use the S6 and before that S3 and Artist series and never had any problems. I'm on PT and Cubase though, not Logic. The Eucon protocol is way deeper than Mackie Control/MCU, there's no comparison.

Not trying to side with Avid but for your info, Eucon implementation (for non Avid DAW) is 100% up to the vendors and not Avid.


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## wbacer (Feb 25, 2017)

Yes, I understand that the S3 works great with Pro Tools but since I'm using Logic, the drop outs are driving me crazy.
I keep hoping that the next version of Logic or the next Eucon update will fix the problem but so far...


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## Mishabou (Feb 25, 2017)

wbacer said:


> Yes, I understand that the S3 works great with Pro Tools but since I'm using Logic, the drop outs are driving me crazy.
> I keep hoping that the next version of Logic or the next Eucon update will fix the problem but so far...



Unfortunately, i would not hold my breath on this one as Logic's implementation of Eucon has been flaky from day one and it never got any better.


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## samphony (Feb 25, 2017)

Anhtu said:


> Unfortunately, i would not hold my breath on this one as Logic's implementation of Eucon has been flaky from day one and it never got any better.


True since avid took over. The euphonix drivers where fine.


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## jeffc (Feb 26, 2017)

I've had two Mc Mix units for years using with Logic and it's always been frustrating. They always lose connection for no reason. Avid is terrible. Sometimes you will find a driver from 2 versions ago that will for some reason work. But then won't 2 weeks later. It's frustrating because hardware wise there really isn't anything like them but, never have they been 100 percent solid.


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## jamwerks (Feb 26, 2017)

whinecellar said:


> SSL's Nucleus comes to mind... etc. I just hate that it's white, but horses for courses


There's apparently also a grey one!


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## whinecellar (Feb 27, 2017)

jamwerks said:


> There's apparently also a grey one!


That's the older version - and now would be a great time to grab one since the new one was just recently announced!


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## sergiupislari (Jan 8, 2018)

Hello, help me please, i can't remember my account email, and can't download the drivers for PC, I used it on MAC a few years and forgot my account's details. Please upload the drivers and send a link, when it's possible, thank you very much. "Euphonix MC MIX"


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