Ahhh, controllers, where to start. Okay, after lengthy research, I have concluded that unless you have a spare 30K sitting around then no one single device (nuage) is going to cut it for control of Cubase/Nuendo, and that is for various BS reasons, mainly protectionism but anyway, for now, it is what it is.
So, understanding that this is the case and begrudgingly accepting it, I have set up for use with Cubase 11, a CC121 (which I have owned from new at least 10 years and is as good as the day I bought it), an AVID S1 and in the new year, I am going to try to get hold of a nOb controller (
www.nobcontrol.com), they are a kickstarter thing and always sold out, they cant make them quick enough it would seem.
The CC121 is (I think) an excellent piece of gear, well made (no question) and does what it says on the tin. I suppose the problem with it is, in a world where a lot has changed in ten years it doesn't quite have enough on the tin. 10 years ago I still had a Triton, a Supernova and a DAT machine. So a single channel strip motorised fader, with the potential of the AI knob (nice idea, hardly use it), in it's form factor, very very useful, and still is. However, everything is about control now, it (for me) is the synergy between a two dimensional digital world of flexible creativity fused with the human like analogue characteristics which the tactile nature of control surfaces allow. A total control situation for which there appears to be lot of demand but not much in the way of deliverance. Not at an acceptable price point at least.
Is it any surprise that hybrid type products have had impressive sales in recent times, with Arturia, one of a few predominantly software producers breaking out into the world of producing hardware. I have owned a version of NI Maschine since the very first one and that epitomises the hybrid synergy between tactile hardware and integrated software. I also have Ipads with controller apps, an X32 producer mixer which can be used as a Mackie/Hui DAW controller and that has 16 motorised faders and banks up to 32 output channels. Thing is the Mackie control is just useless, I don't bother with it, hinders not enhances workflow. So, again, for me £1500 worth of S1, CC121 and nOb pretty much does for me what Nuage does for a heck of a lot less money. I would prefer an all in one solution and I think maybe that will come but it does not appear likely in the immediate future.
This debate will likely rage on. If Yamaha has such a problem with AVID (and Eucon), I don't understand why they don't do the necessary work to allow Eucon to work as it was intended and if they want to compete in that market, design a new rival high speed protocol that is completely their own and bring products to market that are competitive, I fail to see why they could not produce better units than AVID as it is to work with their own software. Like with the CC121, I just want an 8-16 channel version with OLED scribble strips and faster network connection (like the S1) at a around a £1000, (I would probably pay up to £3000 but no more) is it too much to ask for? I mean when you see what they have done with what can only be described as a masterpiece, the Montage. Well, it shows what they can do when they put their minds to it. Funny thing about that though, the only remote editor you can purchase for Montage is PC based (no IOS or android) and it is not even yamaha's own proprietary software, it is produced by a very clever and very nice greek chap by the name of John Melas. Reminds me of jbridge (any one remember that one), made by Jay in his shed and Steinberg bought it off him because it worked better than their own VSTBridge which kept crashing. Yamaha have form but what can you do, AVID controllers under Eucon are your best bet even though they don't work properly. I don't know if this helps anyone but my best bit of advice on this topic. Wait it out for as long as you can (or eu con for our friends in bonnie scotland) as in this world, the next thing is generally better than the last thing but but not always. Merry Christmas everyone.