# The Euphonix Artist Series



## Valérie_D (Jan 19, 2014)

I was going to buy the EuphoNix Artist Series, anyone has one? Does it help your workflow? Thanks!


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## Guy Rowland (Jan 19, 2014)

Valérie_D @ Sun Jan 19 said:


> I was going to buy the EuphoNix Artist Series, anyone has one? Does it help your workflow? Thanks!



Yes and yes. I only have the Artist Mix, it's all I need really. I use it with Cubase to make use of Cubase's Quick Controls, which I have set up to control midi CCs (no other DAW has this integration, it's a big deal for me).

I love the fader flip for panning / aux / inserts / midi. Very quick to work with in practice.

I work at a post house which also has the Artist Control, and I'm not a fan of that model. Not having a display for the 4 channels is pretty crippling, and the big display doesn't really work in an elegant way imo. I end up ignoring it, pretty much. But in the end, all I really want a controller to do is all the level / fader stuff, I don't want a transport shuttle etc.


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## Valérie_D (Jan 19, 2014)

Thanks Guy! That was really helpful.

I am interested in the Artist transport, not so much in the Artist control, anyone uses it and loves/hates it ?

I am interested in having feedback on the Steinberg cmc series has well. 

I have been using Digital Performer for a couple of years but lots of posts on Cubase, especially the ones about the expression map feature, seems great for orchestral work. 

Lots of composers on this forum love cubase, any feedback or comment about your experience with this daw would be appreciated, go ahead and sell me Cubase :D


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## ThomasL (Jan 19, 2014)

Can't say anything about the Artist but my Mackie Control + Mackie C4 is a workflow boost indeed. Wouldn't want to be in front of my computer without either of them.


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## Valérie_D (Jan 19, 2014)

Thanks! Will look into it!


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## jeffc (Jan 19, 2014)

I have 2 Mc Mix units and love them and hate them. Love them when they work but they are a bit flaky sometimes with logic. Seems that the software is a bit flaky since Avid bought them from euphonix. But there's really nothing else out there in the price range and I feel much slower without them. 

J


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## gsilbers (Jan 19, 2014)

i had the mc mix. didnt like it and didnt work for my workflow. for faders i just use my midi controller that has faders. not the best but enough for quick mix. 
i thought mc mix would increase my speediness but turned out to be faster just do a quick pass with the mouse or w the midi controller. i dont think ive ever mixed 2 or more channels at the same time. 
when i was doing post i did use the mackie which is similar and for that i did like it. fast to find tings etc. but with 300+ template tracks in music , getting the mc mix to get the track i needed was an extra step, extra set up , extra figuring shit out if it didnt work.. and for what? almost everything is inside the computer and nice recorded samples. 1 live guitar a voice here and there, not worth having the mc mix for that. 
for post on the other hand, id definitly get it.
also, logic doesnt recognize midi from it.. when i had it, not sure if it changed.


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## Guy Rowland (Jan 20, 2014)

Wow - I have had the opposite experience of the previous two posters. Gsilbers - I'm a little confused by some of your comments. In particular, I always have the Mix set to follow my selection in the DAW. So whatever I'm on in the DAW, the Mix follows, with the selection button lit on the surface too. I'm also one that, unless it's a simple non automated up / down, pretty much always prefers the feel of real faders to ride levels. When in my post mode on PT, it's common for me to move tracks I want to edit and balance next to each other. In Cubase it's more basic usually, but mixing, say, the groups or subgroups at the same time is invaluable. In both, I find automating pans, auxs and inserts to be simpler on the surface than within the software. Of course, it's only Cubase where I can also control and automate the midi commands, but again the motorised faders are fantastic in use.

One of the keys to the Mix's success is the ability to follow your session, combined with a meaningful display of data for each channel, so it's dead easy to see where you are and what mode you are in. Historically I've had issues with Cubase passing on useful names, but I'm happy to report that in 7.5.0 it displays only the first 8 or 9 characters of a track name (exactly as I'd want it) and it also passes on the useful names for midi CCs you've set in Quick Controls. So as I go between libraries, I can see in an instant, which is expression, port speed, vibrato etc.

I've recently been dubbing on the large D Control desks, and I find them incredibly cumbersome by comparison. Since most of my projects tend to have track counts of at least 50+, pretty much every desk out there has to shuffle - 32 channels aren't much more useful than 8 in a way. With D Control, you can't follow the DAW in the same way, you end up banking up and down the whole time (and the way it was set up at the last couple of post houses, this reverse-selects the track in the DAW, which is all the wrong way round to me). Also when I asked how they automate pans and auxes, they said they usually draw the data in the DAW. What's the point of having a massive console if its more of a pain to use than the DAW itself?!

Of course if doing live sound in any way, your needs for mixing are totally different (and in some way you can't beat analogue for instant access there). But the way that the Artist series integrates with DAWs - especially Cubase - puts it in another league for me, so that I prefer it to even the large consoles.

On the issue of stability, I hear there are problems with the EuCon 3 protocol as used by PT11. I've stayed on 2.5.x, and I can't remember the last time I had a glitch on either Pro Tools or Cubase.


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## Jdiggity1 (Jan 20, 2014)

If you are old school and are already used to the feel of faders, then you will love the artist mix.
however if you havent been burdened with such an acquired taste, you will probably find that the money will be better spent on more sample libraries.
I've used and owned the euphonix/Avid artist units, the Mackie Control Universal, and the steinberg CMC controllers. I do not use any of them anymore.
For me, when i need the extra controls i use my iPad with TouchOSC or Lemur, or Steinberg's app (pretty good!). Much cheaper, and for me, faster. Takes up less desk space too.

Advice: buy one second hand, work out that you spent a lot of money on something you cant be bothered getting fast at, then sell it for the same amount you bought it for (or more).


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## Krzys (Jan 20, 2014)

Hello

I am using the Transport with Logic and it functions very well. Mind you, I did have quite a bit of trouble getting the Euphonix software to work consistently. ( though that may have changed with the new version 3.0.1). The units are great the software has been tempramental. Also, if you are planning on buying used, be aware that the unit's serial number will be locked to the previous owners account and will make it impossible for you to register and therefore access the software to download....Avid? Really? Can't sell a unit and transfer access? Weird.

Regards
Krzysztof


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## Jdiggity1 (Jan 20, 2014)

Krzys @ Tue 21 Jan said:


> Hello
> 
> Also, if you are planning on buying used, be aware that the unit's serial number will be locked to the previous owners account and will make it impossible for you to register and therefore access the software to download....Avid? Really? Can't sell a unit and transfer access? Weird.
> 
> ...



Avid provides a transferral of ownership form that both the buyer and seller must sign and return to avid, (via email) which then gives the buyer full access to the necessary downloads.
Took me literally less than 24 hours to get that sorted out.

It is something to keep in mind, but it definitely is not "impossible."


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## Valérie_D (Jan 20, 2014)

Wow..thanks everyone for the great feedback, inputs and advices!!!

Maybe I should have been a bit more specific about my background : I'm a real newbie concerning physical consoles, analog mixing, etc. 

I have composed mainly electroacoustic and instrumental/film music in the last 4 years, but everything with the mouse.


My wrist is actually attached to my arm with ducktape.  


I am working with a mac and everything is in the box, instruments librarys, no live or recordings so far.


The main problems that I have are scrolling up and down all the time, finding a more efficient way to access MIDI parameters such as pan, expression, velocity, etc. Maybe access instruments/tracks faster when in groups. 


I'm sure there's a lot of operations I could do with some sort of controller, the ipad sounds like a good idea as well (but can it communicate efficiently with a pc?), that I can't even think of right now because it's just not integrated in my workflow.


*A friend offered me this little Behringer BCF2000 today, he's not using it anymore.

http://www.behringer.com/assets/BCF2000_P0246_Left_XL.jpg (http://www.behringer.com/assets/BCF2000 ... eft_XL.jpg)

Maybe this could ease my workflow regarding the control parameters mentionned above, but not really the transport and scrolling, maybe a trackball mouse can help with that.


..Thanks again!


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## Jdiggity1 (Jan 21, 2014)

The BFC2000 (which I have also owned) is the best value motorized fader controller there is. That is a great opportunity for you to see if motorized faders for CC control suits your workflow.
And yes, iPad's work just as well with PCs. I am PC based. Even an iPhone or iPod (and even android devices!) can be integrated as controllers.
Also might be worth checking out the Korg NanoControl for a cheap and simple option.


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## Guy Rowland (Jan 21, 2014)

Jdiggity1 @ Tue Jan 21 said:


> The BFC2000 (which I have also owned) is the best value motorized fader controller there is.



Yeeeesss.... but the reason why so many get sold 2nd hand is that there's no touch fader support, and of course there's no naming. I think in practice is its just too limiting, sadly.


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## Jdiggity1 (Jan 21, 2014)

EDIT: Best value motorized controller when bought at 2nd hand price... OR when compared to RRP of other motorized fader banks.

BCF2000 - small size, nothing fancy, but motorized faders and rotary encoders. = $100

MCU - LARGE and heavy, all the controls you would need + jog wheel and good displays. = $450

Avid/Euphonix Artist - Good size, great product. = $800+

(The above prices are based on my Aussie shopping experience)

Personally, I see more Avid gear sold 2nd hand than the bcf2000. So while I don't totally disagree with your reasoning Guy, it's not concrete it seems.


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## Krzys (Jan 21, 2014)

Jdiggity1 @ Mon Jan 20 said:


> Krzys @ Tue 21 Jan said:
> 
> 
> > Hello
> ...




Thanks for clearing that up. 

Krzysztof


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## Valérie_D (Jan 22, 2014)

For the shortcuts and transports, anyone tried a Logicskin keyboard for Digital Performer and the Contour Jog Shuffle?

http://www.logickeyboard.com/shop/motu- ... 2572p.html


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## Diffusor (Jan 22, 2014)

I used a MC Control up until about six months ago. Love the functionality and ergonomics but sad to say it was Chinese built garbage. I went through about 3 rmas in less than two years (well 4 if you count the one RMA replacement being dead on arrival). Two of the units had screens that started to flicker and gradually get worse until the screen stopped working. Another one would freeze when booting up on the splash screen. The 4th would not power on at all. If any of this happened one time no big dal, but 4 failures with 4 different units? I sold it on while the last RMA replacement unit was still working as I felt I couldn't trust the build quality and longterm reliability.


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## Valérie_D (Jan 23, 2014)

Thanks for sharing, Did you find a suitable replacment?


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## Guy Rowland (Jan 23, 2014)

Valérie_D @ Wed Jan 22 said:


> For the shortcuts and transports, anyone tried a Logicskin keyboard for Digital Performer and the Contour Jog Shuffle?
> 
> http://www.logickeyboard.com/shop/motu- ... 2572p.html



I did have the Jog Shuttle for a while some time ago, but never could find a genuine use for it, so sold.

On the issue of Artist series reliability, a dubbing company I used to work for did go through a few units with various problems (typically display-related). Maybe I've been lucky - my Mix is now at least 3 years old and is still perfect.


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## quantum7 (Jan 23, 2014)

I use the Artist series controllers every day. I do like them, but every so often they loose communication with my DAW....which can be annoying. It could be my system, though. I do wish they had MIDI control, but other than that, I cannot complain.


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