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Control Surfaces For Home Studios - Everything You Need To Know

Mike Thornton

With more and more of us working from home, a lot of us need a control surface, but we rarely have space or the budget to have a large format control surface or console. However, to get the work done efficiently, we do need access to a control surface. In this article, we look at the control surfaces suitable for your home studio.

When you mix a session using just a mouse and keyboard you generally have the power to adjust one thing at a time in your DAW such as setting a track’s fader level or pan position, what’s wrong with working this way?

Have you ever watched a skilled engineer mix on a large format console or control surface? If you have, then you would have noticed that the engineer was more than likely using both hands and all of their fingers to manipulate the console.

Engineers who are accustomed to mixing with physical faders often perform a number of mix moves in one go such as balancing multiple tracks together to perfection in what seems like a blink of an eye, try doing that one fader at a time with a mouse! Mixing with two hands is for some the only way to mix as it’s a quick and intuitive way of working, which is why using control surface is the preferred route for many to get the job done.

What Qualities Define A Control Surface For Mixing?

Modern-day DAW control surfaces generally provide a range of haptics not too dissimilar to those of old school analogue consoles. Most controllers provide banks of motorised faders that recall their positions when switching between sessions, encoders for panning, digital scribble strips that tell us to track names, solos and mutes as well as transport buttons for enabling playback and record. There are also some products that provide the same kind of haptics virtually via a touch screen like the Slate Raven series and more recently we have seen a number of hybrid solutions starting with the S6, and then with the S1 and S4.

It doesn’t really matter what style of control surface you use, once you’ve learned how to get the most out of one in a mixing workflow there’s a good chance you’ll never go back to mousing around in a DAW.

Not All Control Surfaces Are Made Equal

Even though most modern DAW control surfaces appear similar in form and function there is an important difference under the hood that you need to aware of, which cause compatibility issues. There are a number of protocols that most control surfaces use to interface the hardware between a DAW you need to know about. All perform slightly differently depending on the DAW you use:

  • HUI (Human User Interface Protocol) and MCU (Mackie Control Universal Protocol): HUI was developed in 1997 between Mackie and Digidesign for use with non-Digidesign control surfaces for Pro Tools. It is now part of the MCU Mackie Control Universal protocol and is the only way for 3rd party control surfaces to interact with Avid’s Pro Tools as Avid has ringfenced Eucon support for their own control surfaces as an interface for their own DAW.

  • Eucon: Originally developed by Euphonix, Eucon is a high-speed ethernet-based control protocol, which carries control information for faders, knobs and displays between control surfaces and whatever the main Eucon enabled application is in focus on your computer, such as Pro Tools, but not restricted to just Pro Tools. Any DAW that supports Eucon can benefit from the deeper integration offered with Eucon as opposed to HUI and MCU.

  • Diginet: This is a legacy protocol as it isn’t used in any control surfaces currently available. It was used for Pro Tools-only control surfaces such as the Digidesign Control 24 and ProControl as well as the Avid C24 and the ICON line.

With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at a range of control surfaces that are suitable for your home studio.

Single Fader Control Surfaces

The most compact control surface is one that combines transport functions with a single fader.

Having limited desk space isn't the only reason to consider a single fader controller. Many engineers move between studios or travel a lot with work. These little devices serve users who are frequently on the go well as they are small enough to throw into a backpack and move around with a laptop. Another of the benefits of these sorts of control surfaces is the price.

They are typically much simpler in design so the purchase price typically reflects that. If you are on a tight budget and cannot afford more than $300 to $400 on a new DAW control surface, then these are great options to consider.

That said, the range of single fader controllers isn't huge with the slightly larger eight fader units and modular systems being more popular. But don't discount these pocket-sized controllers as they often provide all the essential control features you need to get a production completed. For many jobs, you only need a single fader for riding the level on one source at a time.

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8 Fader Control Surfaces

Moving on from single fader control surfaces, low-cost control surfaces costing under $999 are more plentiful, with some even costing as little as $400. We recommend you check out the following options if you are in the market for your first control surface as these all represent excellent value for money and should serve you well for many years of happy mixing. The following products provide hassle-free control of all the popular DAWs with effortless setup and integration into your system.

Let’s start with the new kid on the block, the Avid S1.

Avid S1

Avid announced the Avid S1 at their Avid Connect Live event, which was part of the Nashville Summer NAMM in 2019. The S1 is an 8 fader control surface like its predecessor but unlike the Artist Mix it will take an iPad or Android tablet but unlike the Pro Tools Dock, there isn’t a width restriction to cause problems as the iPads get bigger.

Simply put, the Avid S1 is aimed at music creation, audio post and video production professionals, more specifically freelancers working from home or in compact edit suites and mix rooms, whether that is engineers working in music creation, sound designers, audio post-production engineers like dialog editors, foley and sound effects editors, or video editors. From recording and editing tracks, to mixing and monitoring in stereo or surround, the Avid S1 has been designed to provide comprehensive control and visual feedback for any audio professional.

Being a Eucon control surface, you get the deep DAW integration, for a range of DAWs and NLEs and flexibility in a versatile control surface designed for fast project turnaround. Plus, its price makes it an easier choice for freelance sound editors and mixers.

The Avid S1 not only features the high-resolution OLED displays, that are on the Avid S3, but it also integrates with the new free Avid Control iPad app, providing visual feedback to enhance your workflow. From track names, parameter values, and automation, to S6-style monitoring, metering, and channel processing views, you get the comprehensive feedback of a high-end console in a versatile surface for the budget-minded.

If you need more faders, Soft Keys, and/or transport controls, you can connect up to four S1 units together to create an extended control surface with 32 faders that provide more tactile control to handle larger mixes. As well a four S1s, which clip together with magnets, you can also connect the Pro Tools Dock to the Avid S1 to add dedicated transport controls, a jog wheel, another fader, and more under your fingertips.

Photos really don’t do this control surface and tablet combination justice, so we have made a video showing off some of the best features…

In a world exclusive, Post Production Expert Alan Sallabank, who had been beta testing the new Avid S1 control surface, together with the new Avid Control app, now available on iOS, Android and Amazon Fire, from prototype to production pilot, shares his experiences and observations in this very special review.

Other Options

If the Avid S1 is outside of your budget then you can look at control surfaces like the Faderport 8 from Presonus or the budget range of iCon Pro Audio control surfaces.

PreSonus FaderPort 8

PreSonus announced the FaderPort 8 back in September 2016. Faderport 8 includes 8 touch-sensitive, motorized, 100 mm faders and 57 buttons covering 78 different functions. You can quickly zoom in on audio files for editing, adjust your click-track tempo with a simple tap, modify plug-in parameters, manage aux mixes—and, of course, control track levels with the touch of a finger.

FaderPort integrates deeply with Studio One as Pro Tools does with the Avid S1, making the FaderPort a great companion with Studio One. That said FaderPort is also compatible with all major DAWs. FaderPort uses both Mackie Control and HUI protocols, which makes it fast and easy to control Logic Pro X, Cubase, Ableton Live, Pro Tools, and more. You don’t need to install any drivers, just plug and play.

The 3 Modes of Faderport 8

Faderport 8 offers 3 working modes to try and cover as many DAWs as possible;

  • Native mode for Studio One - this offers the most complete user experience with some very nice tricks up its sleeve.

  • HUI mode - for use with DAWs like Pro Tools - offering less functionality but in our experience better than expected.

  • MCU Mode - for use in other DAWs, we tested with REAPER with positive results.

Two FaderPort 8 Reviews - Studio One And Pro Tools

Check out our two reviews of the FaderPort 8. We have one that covers using the control surface with Studio One and a second article showing how well it works with Pro Tools.

Free Tutorial - How To Use The PreSonus Faderport 8 Controller With Pro Tools

In this free video tutorial, Russ Hughes shows how to set up and use the Faderport 8 control surface using HUI with Pro Tools.

UPDATE:

In July 2021 we reported the news that the Faderport had gained new functionality for Pro Tools users courtesy of Neyrinck’s V Control Pro. Find out more about the new functionality in our article Faderport For Pro Tools Just Got Supercharged

iCON Pro Audio Platform M+, X+ & D2 DAW Controllers

We first came across the low-cost control surfaces from iCON back in October 2017 when they announced the iCON Platform M+ which actually had 9 motorised faders but to keep the price down did not have a digital scribble strip display for viewing track names and other channel session values.

You then could choose to add an iCON Platform D which has a 2×56 large backlit LCD with an adjustable tilt angle for different viewing positions that displays channel names, control values for each channel. At the time, they were a little under £400 for the pair compared to the price of the Artist Mix at just under £1000.

Alan's mobile setup with iCON control surfaces

Roll forward to August 2018 and Alan Sallabank asked whether he should buy a set of iCON control surfaces. Has iCON managed to make compromises to produce a compact control surface in the right places? Are the Platform M+ and X+ the compact controller we should be buying?

Then in October iCON announced a new range of control surfaces, the iCON Pro Audio QCon Pro G2. The QCon Pro G2 comes with nine motorized faders, eight multi-purpose push encoders, 78 buttons, jog shuttle wheel, and two foot-pedal connectors. 12-segment LED level meters are provided for each channel, and a large backlit LCD screen displays channel names and parameter values. A 12-segment LED display is also provided for SMPTE or MIDI beat clock.

The iCON Pro Audio QCon Pro G2 utilizes Mackie Control and HUI emulation to control your favorite digital audio workstation and includes overlays for most popular DAWs including Cubase/Nuendo, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, ProTools, Studio One, Digital Performer, FL Studio, Samplitude, Reaper, Bitwig, Reason, Sonar, and Audition. A User Define mode is also included, allowing you to customize the iCON QCon Pro G2 to perfectly suit your workflow, by creating your own presets and midi maps.

Behringer X-Touch

If the FaderPort 8 isn’t to your liking, then you could consider the Behringer X-Touch. For the extra investment, you get slightly more bang for your buck. Each fader gets its own pan encoder which is a nice touch (pun intended). It can be a slight drag having to select the channel you want to adjust the pan as you need to on the FaderPort 8.

The X-Touch features quite a few more buttons, though we have read several reports from users in forums about X-Touch compatibility issues with Pro Tools, which is well worth investigating for yourself if you are considering one of these devices.

We have had a brief play with one of these. The build quality far exceeds Behringer’s products of old, which is positive. The faders feel nice and responsive under the finger and buttons feel satisfying to press and are well placed for easy access. What sets the X-Touch apart from some of the other control surfaces in this list its main counter display. You’ll be surprised at how useful it is to have this in your line of sight when working a long tracking or mix session.

  • Behringer X-Touch - MSRP $719

Mackie MCU Pro And XT Pro Control Surfaces

The Mackie MCU is a popular control surface. Like the Avid Artist Mix, the MCU has been around for many years with many adoring fans. What makes the MCU so popular is its simple modular design. You can expand the main MCU Pro’s 9 fader unit (as seen in the picture above) with extra banks of 8 faders and even an encoder unit for controlling plug-in settings (see picture below).

The most expensive part of this system is the main MCU Pro unit, the extender units are far less in comparison though the overall price of a large 16 fader modular system with encoder unit feels a bit pricey for what it is but a fully loaded Mackie control setup does look mighty fine…

Being Mackie products these use the Mackie Control and HUI protocols to communicate to your favorite DAW.

  • Mackie MCU Pro - MSRP $1,699.99

  • Mackie XT Pro Extra 8 Fader Bank: $899

  • Mackie C4 Pro 32 Rotary Encoder Section: Discontinued.

Slate Raven And Slate Remote

Slate Media Technology’s RAVEN range of control surfaces is in a totally different category compared to the control surfaces we’ve already mentioned. They are large multi-touch displays, which respond to finger touches and gestures similar to how we interact with tablet devices and smartphones which makes RAVEN displays incredibly intuitive to operate upon first use.

Slate Raven uses Neyrinck V-Control technology, which depends on HUI, so effectively the Slate Raven is a sophisticated HUi control surface.

The MTi2 is the second generation of the baby RAVEN range boasting a 27” display in a slim enclosure and adjustable stand for setting the perfect viewing angle. The multi-touch technology is only part of the package, the software is where you’ll find the magic and mojo of the RAVEN. The multi-touch abilities kind of play second fiddle to the smart batch command system, which makes long-winded processes such as exporting stems in Pro Tools as simple as clicking a virtual button in the RAVEN command. Slate has clearly reimagined what the control surface user experience should be for the future and with the RAVEN software 3.0 they might have just cracked it!

RAVEN is compatible with the most popular DAWs including Pro Tools, Logic Pro X, and Studio One though you only get one activation of the RAVEN software which works with the DAW of your choice. If you opt for the Pro Tools activation and decide at a later date to switch to Studio One you will need to pay a small fee to get the appropriate RAVEN software for your DAW.

Multiple Ravens can be used at once along with Slate’s Remote app for performing specific tasks in the Raven environment making this a cool modular system if touch is your preferred way of interacting with your DAW.

  • Slate Media Technology RAVEN MTi2 - MSRP $999

Avid Artist Mix - Discontinued But Still Supported

The Avid Artist Mix has been around for many years. It was the first mainstream controller that brought the Eucon protocol to the masses and has proven to be a very popular device with Pro Tools users.

Think of the Artist Mix as the very essence of a control surface. Eight faders, clear digital displays, encoders for pan and plug-in control… sadly no transport but that can be accessed if used with the Pro Tools Control app.

Avid stopped selling the Artist Mix on 31st October 2019, with an end of support date of 31st December 2024 according to Avid’s End Of Life document.

You can still find them on sites like eBay or some dealers may still have stock, although they do seem to be holding their value, making it worth considering going for an Avid S1.

What About You?

That covers our experiences of using the small control surfaces on DAWs like Pro Tools and Studio One. What are you using? How are they working for you? Please do share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below…

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