This is the new Steinberg control surface. (See the hands-on video at SonicState.) It’s built to integrate out of the box with Cubase 4, which if you’re a Cubase 4 user should be good. You or I might give it a name like “CubaseControl” or something, but Steinberg has seen fit to call it the CC 121, which sounds like it was lifted off of a MIDI specification. No matter — they can call it Eustice if it’s a good controller.

But that’s not the only odd thing about the CC 121. There’s a little light that goes on to say it’s “Cubase Ready.” (The marketing materials say this gives it “instant plug and play.” I’m not entirely sure why you need an LED for that, but I guess it’s comforting or something.) Then there’s the control layout, which has so much blank space that it looks a little like someone dropped a stack of encoders and buttons on a piece of paper and glued everything where it fell.

But the oddest thing about the CC 121 is the controller choices themselves. The whole point of previous single-fader control surfaces — at least, so I thought — was creating a compact device that can sit by your mouse. The point of the CC 121 seems to be, well, EQ. There are a full twelve dedicated EQ encoders. For everything else, there’s … uh … one knob. (It’s the one that says “VALUE” on the right side.) It is supposed to be a really smart knob, at least. Here’s how Steinberg describes it:

“Ultra-precision Advanced Integration controller knob with ‘point and control’ support: controls any visual Cubase 4 parameter, internal FX setting or VSTi parameter using mouse pointer selection”

Translation: you can click on any setting in Cubase and control it with our encoder, one setting at a time. Want to control more than one setting at a time? Say, delay time and wet/dry mix? Sorry. There are four buttons so you can change the function of the one value knob, but not the obvious solution of having any more than one knob. I know what you’re thinking. There’s blank space all over this unit, so why couldn’t you just have four “Advanced Integration Controller Knobs”? I think I have the answer: if you did that, you wouldn’t have room for the “Cubase Ready” light.

You may think I’m just using this opportunity to beat up on Steinberg and be snarky, but I’m not.

The Magic of Third Parties and Broad Compatibility

No, on the contrary, this illustrates something I’ve suspected for a long time. Just as most screenwriters shouldn’t direct their own films, software developers shouldn’t necessarily make hardware controllers for their own software. Sometimes the magic works; sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, having choices beyond those the software vendor chose is a good thing. Third-party hardware can work with more than one app (in case you ever use something other than Cubase), it can provide more choices (in case your needs are different than someone else), and it provides the much-needed perspective beyond the folks who built the software. You may not get the brand name of your DAW on the unit, but smart software can still make the out-of-box experience just as integrated. That doesn’t mean I think the software vendors shouldn’t try — as Alan Kay is often attributed as saying, “People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.” But, even assuming he did actually say that, and assuming we should all listen to him, he didn’t say that you had to make that hardware for your own software, or that you’d be successful all of the time.

Someone out there I’m sure really, really loves tweaking EQ. Congratulations: the CC 121 is for you. For everyone else, you have not one but four excellent choices: Novation’s SL line, Frontier’s AlphaTrack and TranzPort, and PreSonus’ FaderPort. They all integrate fairly automatically with Cubase (even older versions which are incompatible with the CC 121), and give you lots of control. And that’s just compact control surfaces.

Not only that, but Novation, Frontier, and PreSonus all make hardware that works with other stuff not from Steinberg. The AlphaTrack, for instance, just added extensive support for GarageBand 4 (adding to a long list of other supported software), plus software you probably haven’t even heard of — SAWStudio by RML Labs and MultitrackStudio from Bremmers Audio Design. SAWStudio support didn’t grab the Messe headlines the way a Steinberg control surface did, but I’ll bet if you’re a SAWStudio user, you’re really excited. And that’s the point: we choose our software personally, so we should choose our hardware the same way.

Here’s a quick review of the other compact control surfaces available — not only for Cubase, but a lot of other software, as well:

An anonymous readers tips us off on new control surfaces from Euphonix, a maker usually known for products at the higher end of the market. Whether this was an intentional post or not (it looks like you can pre-order the product), it’s definitely something new, and could mean you get a little Euphonix love in your home studio in the "affordable by mortals" territory.

We’ll be reporting from NAMM, so I’ll be sure to drop by Euphonix and see if we can see these up close and personal.

Reader X writes:

Doing some searching for studio control surfaces at Sweetwater.com turned up the following two product listings — which oddly enough aren’t anywhere on Euphonix’s web site, nor have they even been announced yet, to my knowledge - there’s been no news or blogging about them whatsoever. Could this be an accidental leak? If anything, they seem to represent a real breakthrough in price-performance and they look pretty slick…

Euphonix MC Control — a slim-profile control surface with 4 moving faders and a dynamic touchscreen display, plus hardware jog/shuttle wheel, list $1999, retailing for $1499, or roughly 1/10th of their flagship MC Pro DAW controller. (!)

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MCcontrol/

Euphonix MC Mix — a $999 surface with 8 moving faders and parameter-editing displays; I presume this could be used in conjunction with the MC Control much like a Mackie Expander, etc.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MCmix/

Both of them use the EuCon protocol so I guess you’d need compatible software (logic pro over logic express, for instance).

Those links are live as I write this. Looks like potentially good stuff, and at a price that starts to be competitive with products like Mackie Control.

Alex le Lievre has built what looks like an insane custom controller for Pro Tools LE using an iPhone. He seems to have mimicked the look and feel of Pro Tools so successfully that some called the results a fake. There’s incredibly detailed feedback on track status, including live audio signal feeds and transport controls. It even uses iPhone’s tilt mechanism.

This is interesting for two reasons: one, those lusting after iPhone and iPod Touch have another reason to drool. But secondly, Digidesign has been pretty closed about their controller mechanism. If this is real, Alex did a pretty great job of cracking into it. (I only just heard from JazzMutant, by contrast, that their Dexter won’t support Pro Tools because it’s not possible.)

ProRemote 0.0.1 on YouTube (darned nice “0.0.1″ release!)

Alex’s video on his .Mac page

Thanks to Chris O’Malley for the tip.

Could Apple be working on a Control Pro? One commenter thinks so, and this patent evidence from last year at least suggests they’ve thought about it. (Keep in mind, though, sometimes experimental ideas don’t become products, and patents are hard to read.)

Updated: How Alex Did It

Alex wrote in. He’s in fact a very experienced programmer with background in Pro Tools plug-in development, software architecture, and Macromedia’s multimedia architecture (pre-Adobe), among other things, and he’s kind enough to share with us how the whole thing works.

Livid, best known for their VJ software (Union, Cell), have a new control surface for music and visuals called the Ohm. What’s nice about this control surface is that it’s clearly designed around specific user needs, with a control setup that should work well for music software (Traktor or any DJ software, Ableton Live, and custom Reaktor ensembles spring to mind), as well as visual performance. The pads are buttons, not velocity-sensitive pads, so this will be more useful for clip triggering (sound, visuals) than drum programming. That could make this more interesting to visualists than music folks, though at least some DJs will still be happy.

What we really love: the wooden case option, which costs the same as the metal version, looks cooler, and sheds two pounds. It’s also interesting to see Livid’s “patent-pending” design with the pads in the center and mixer-style faders split.

The basic specs:

• “Professional-grade controls.” (I’ll be the judge of that; Livid is in town so hope to get my hands on it soon.)
• 36 buttons in a 6×6 grid
• 8 faders, 1 DJ-style crossfader
• 9 function buttons, plus 8 trigger/mute buttons to go with the faders
• BPM tap button
• 5-pin MIDI out and USB

Livid Union 2.5 is included free if you’re interested in visual work. There are also demos of Ableton Live, FL Studio (Fruity Loops), and AMG One, though, so music is kept in mind.

The MIDI out could make this a nice companion to synths, too, and not just a computer accessory.

More on this soon. Of course, if you want a Viditar as your controller, you’ll have to get Livid to custom-build for you.

The Ohm is available for preorders now at an introductory US$790; the unit ships at $899 list at the end of the month.

Livid Ohm Hardware Product Page

And for more thoughts on what this can do for live visuals, video art, and VJing, head over to CDMusic’s sister site:
Livid’s New Ohm Control Surface, and the Hunt for the Perfect VJ Controller [Create Digital Motion]

By now you’ve all probably seen that excellent video of Kid Beyond illustrating his usage of Ableton Live. Pretty cool, right? If one had such a system, you could loop yourself playing guitar, beatboxing, etc., all perfectly in sync with programmed drum/MIDI tracks and other performers.

Here’s how to set up your own system in a similar hands-free operation style, for about US$10, without having to solder anything. It’ll take you about an hour once you gather the parts required, or less. No joke.

You will need:

• A QWERTY keyboard, preferably with a USB connector. Otherwise, you’ll have to buy an adapter to fit your laptop, which costs extra. You can get one for $7.50 at AllElectronics.com, but you can find them even cheaper at your local thrift store’s “technology pile.” I got mine for $2.
• A flathead screwdriver.
• Ableton Live. Ed.: Live is a perfect choice here, but you may find this useful with other music apps, as well — or even in a VJ set. -PK
• A free keyboard-mapping utility called Autohotkey (if you’re running Windows). If you’re running Mac, the program to use is calledIKey.

  That’s it. Here’s how to make it go:

  
  

  Above: Steps 1-2. Simple enough.
  

We first heard about the Mawzer modular control surface over two years ago. In CDM time, that’s like the Bronze Age. The idea was appealing enough: assemble controller layouts by plugging in different modules in whatever combination you like, Lego-style. (See below for someone using actual Legos; that’s another story.) Building specialized music hardware from scratch and dealing with production issues takes time, though, so for quite a while the Mawzer has been off the radar screen. Surprise: the Mawzer is nearly here.

The modular controller prototype has been making the rounds in performance. As of last month, the Mawzer’s creators began taking preorders for the device. And starting this week, the MAWZER is touring Europe in a series of workshops in the device. If any of you Europeans happen to be a stone’s throw from one of the workshops, we’d love a hands-on report! Do take photos!

Mawzer to Launch [Matrixsynth]
Mawzer Controller Demo bei Schneidersbüro [Sequencer.de; in German]
Mawzer News

In the intervening time, I have to admit I’m somewhat less interested than I was originally, just personally. If you want to go custom, it’s not just custom layouts that matter, but changing the form factor and controllers themselves. And since 2005, an increasing number of people have begun forming communities around building such truly custom controllers. I also notice that you can’t hot-swap modules; there’s a warning printed on the inside of the module bay. But those things said, I still love the concept, and I’d love to see the actual unit — if the overall form factor makes sense, this could be ideal. (It also looks especially nice for visualists; one of those performances involved VJing with Resolume.) If you are interested, here’s the preorder pricing, which I imagine looks less scary if you’re in Europe and aren’t suffering from an insanely weak US Dollar:

Prices are intented for first batch of production due July 2007 :
M1610 (empty case) : 627,40 €
Case to hold 16 modules with core system and LCD
M3210 (empty case) : 770,20 €
Case to hold 32 modules with core system and LCD
POTv410 / POTh410 module : 46,35 €
4 potentiometers in horizontal or vertical position
FADv110 module : 43,40 €
1 fader 10cm
ENCv410 module : 49,75 €
4 endless encoders
BUTv410 module : 48,25 €
4 push buttons with leds
XFDv110 module : 51,35 €
2 push buttons with leds + 1 fader 6cm
BLANK module : 6,00 €
Empty module

Related Project: stekgreif: Build Your Own Modular MIDI Controller out of Legos

Rather than launch into technical jargon, let me summarize. It’s giant. It has lots of faders and knobs and color screens and such. Not only can you not afford it, you can’t lift it, either. It has an insanely stupid name. But it’s quite beautiful, like a 1979 vision of the future dreamt up by defense contractors.

The Digi 002, both in control surface and rack versions, has gotten its successor in the form of the Digi 003. The new release largely updates the control surface functionality Digi’s mid-range line. These units run Pro Tools LE, just like their lower-end counterparts, but with greater control and audio I/O. And, most importantly, Digidesign has gone from charcoal trim to far-groovier white.

Digidesign 003 Family

Pricing: 003 US$2,495 USD with factory bundle. 003 Rack US$1695 with factory bundle, $US1295 without. (The 003 only comes with the extra software, not without.)
Availability: “Soon” (What’s with these vague ship dates, Digi?)

Other than cosmetic, the main differences here are relatively subtle:

1. Jog/shuttle wheel
2. Dedicated automation mode buttons for per-track automation (handy as you’re writing mix automation as you work)
3. Assign plug-ins and sends directly from the control surface
4. Dedicated studio monitor output, plus alternate control room output (002 had only the studio monitor out)

Oddly, Digidesign’s product manager claims the shuttle wheel “offers session navigation functions previously only found on high-end consoles.” Maybe I’m missing something, but I’m fairly certain you can navigate sessions in lots of audio and video software with shuttle wheels without a high-end console.

That said, though, the redesign looks decent. More info and comparison shots with the 002 after the jump.