Having full control of a complete mix and session from your MIDI keyboard – without having to move your hands to the mouse or shift your focus to your computer screen – can be an addictive, if elusive feeling. Here’s a look at one way to accomplish that objective using the new Axiom Pro keyboards from M-Audio and CDM reader favorite Ableton Live, thanks to a first-look video provided to CDM first.

We’ve seen efforts to make this happen before, notably including the Korg Kontrol keyboard series working together with Propellerhead Reason and Novation’s Automap with software like Ableton Live. M-Audio’s Axiom Pro line has a new twist on the idea with what Avid calls “HyperControl.” Several details make HyperControl unique. For one, it doesn’t require any intervening software or drivers; the keyboard is USB class-compliant and plug-and-play, and you don’t have an additional software layer as with Automap. Also, the Axiom Pro is natively capable of sending keyboard commands, and even has a numeric keypad on the front panel of the unit. But most importantly, the Axiom Pro has its own workflow for different editing and performance functions. My suspicion is whether you love or hate HyperControl will probably hinge on how you adapt this feature.

Avid has been kind enough to give CDM an exclusive scoop on an extensive video they produced walking you through the process of setting up HyperControl with Ableton Live, step by step. Now, normally many of the videos from hardware makers make me cringe. John here has done a really terrific job, however. It’s really a tutorial and not a sales pitch, and while I’m a fan of writing and reading, this would be really confusing without the video.

Much of the working method focuses here on controlling the whole session rather than performance parameters. If that doesn’t appeal to you, skip to about seven minutes in for a discussion of “Device Mode,” which is when you finally map those eight encoders to the eight macro parameters for Device Racks so you can tweak your live synth sound. What’s nice here, though, is that you could couple that technique with the tips on recording clips, so you can play, record those clips, play back lips, and tweak all at once, one-man-band/one-woman-band style.

Have a look at the video, and let me know what else you might like to know. What isn’t covered? What other ways might you want to use a keyboard-and-software rig like this?

And don’t worry, while this week is becoming Controller Week (like shark week for MIDI nuts?), it doesn’t have to be The Ableton Live 24 Hour News Network. HyperControl also supports other software, including Avid’s own Pro Tools. Apple just released support in Logic Studio 9 and MainStage which I’m researching now. And while HyperControl is a slick moniker, I’m also researching more conventional control methods, which can even support Linux thanks to the fact that the hardware (unlike Novation’s) is class-compliant. So let us know your priorities in comments, and I’ll see if we can make them happen.

Axiom Family at M-Audio (now Avid

I Want My CDM TV

We’ll be putting more videos onto CDM TV very soon, and now you can subscribe to videos easily via iTunes, Miro, and RSS. Transcoding is fixed, too, so you can load up this video on your iPhone / iPod touch and balance it on the end of the Axiom Pro while you practice these techniques, if you like!

Subscribe to CDM TV with iTunes
Subscribe to CDM TV with RSS
Subscribe to CDM TV with Miro

Still a little thinner than we’d like, but expect this channel to heat up for the …um, fall season.

In a Hollywood overrun with remakes, a new Tron has quite a daunting challenge. The original film may be a cult hit for its 80s arcade cool, but it also was a seminal moment in the evolution of computer animation, at the nexus of obsessive-compulsive optical effects that came before and digital effects that came after. (Google Perlin Noise, if you must.) But where the bits of the effects look uneven or dated alongside the brilliant, it’s nearly impossible to top the genius of Wendy Carlos’ score. Her deft blend of choirs, orchestras, organs, and rich electronics wasn’t just forward looking: it’s fresh today, an alternative to some of the signature sameness in today’s games and films.

Perhaps Tron Legacy will do what other belated sequels have not: express love for the original. With Daft Punk helming the score and a reverent, inspired crew ready to make Tron live again, the trailer last week was the real sleeper hit of Comic-Con.

If that’s not enough layers of fandom, though, head to GearSlutz for a lesson in film scoring and a recreation of the trailer in Reason, custom Reaktor patches, and Ableton Live. This is not much of an infomercial for Live: because Ableton’s arrange view doesn’t quite understand frames, scoring with Live is a bit of a beast. (Live 9, anyone?) But it’s a great example of love for the movie and its original score. And hey, everyone need a source of joy, even a film.

Ableton Live for Sound Design :Tron Legacy [GearSlutz forum]

Stripped the original audio and redid all of the sound from scratch using Reason/NI Reaktor/Ableton Live 8. An M-Audio Axiom 49 was used to perform the Lightcycle Engine Oscillations

Wendy Carlos, if you’re out there, we get it. You revolutionized film scoring and electronic orchestration, and we’re all in your debt. It’s not so much that you switched on Bach or switched on Moog or even switched on Kubrick and guys in glowing skin-tight outfits. You switched on sound, and nothing has been quite the same since.

Now, we just have to hope 2010 can show us a good time, too.

Is your MacBook Pro a rightie?

Something’s going on with the one or two left-hand USB ports on all MacBook Pros. I’ve heard some issues with hard disks, and now some problems with audio. (Controllers are evidently just fine.) The solution: use the right-hand USB port for audio instead.

Updated: Reader Adam suggests that this is probably due to a difference in power delivered to the respective ports. USB audio requires more power, and so odds are you’re under-delivering on the left-hand ports. I’m inclined to think that this is exactly what’s going on – unless someone knows something else. (Easy way to test: try plugging in the power adapter. Note that this can be an issue with FireWire, too.)

In fact, even if for some reason M-Audio has found another reason behind this, Andy Ihnatko noted the issue with different USB ports and power variation way back in 2008. It affects non-Pro MacBooks, and I expect likely many PCs, too.

The MacBook. All USB Ports Are Not Equal [Wired Gadget Lab]

M-Audio (now Avid) has gone as far as to tell its customers officially to avoid the use of that port for audio entirely. Native Instruments forum users have evidently had similar discussions. Via matt_bot on Twitter:

The use of USB Audio Devices on the Left-Hand USB Port Is Not Recommended.  This applies to ALL MacBook Pro Models (Core Duo and Core 2 Duo).

•    The 15" MacBook Pro models have 1 USB port on the left side, and one USB port on the right side.
•    The 17" MacBook Pro models have 2 USB ports on the left side, and one USB port on the right side.

Due to the current USB configuration of the 15" MacBook Pro under OS X, use of USB audio devices is supported on the right-hand USB port only.  Use of such devices on the left-hand USB port(s) is not advised because it may cause audio interrupts and/or dropped samples.  However, the use of an iLok on the left-hand port has been qualified and is fully supported.

Due to the current USB configuration of the 17" MacBook Pro under OS X, use of USB audio devices is only supported on the right-hand USB port, and the left-hand USB port farthest from the screen.  Use of such devices on the left-hand USB port closest to the screen is not advised because it may cause audio interrupts and/or dropped samples.  However, the use of an iLok on the left-hand port has been qualified and is fully supported.

These USB port recommendations are specific to USB Audio devices only (such as the FastTrack USB or Audiophile USB).  USB Keyboard and Control Surface products do not have a recommended USB port at this time.

MacBook Pro recommended USB port(s)

That’s got to be a tough technical advisory to issue, like having to tell your users they should turn around in their chair three times counter-clockwise and shout “Mimmymabby” before recording. But I’ve heard indications that devices other than M-Audio’s are seeing symptoms, so I’m inclined to believe there may be something to this.

Now, before you use this to assume this means FireWire is better than USB or PCs are better than Macs or veganism is better for your love life or the end times are upon us, the whole point is what’s causing the issue and why. (Correction: I’m satisfied enough with Adam – and Andy Ihnatko’s – explanation above that I think there’s not much mystery here! So quit with conspiracy folks and trashing vendors you don’t like, folks. Technology doesn’t need superstition; it needs users hungry to know what’s actually going on.)

Of course, that raises a question: why are some USB ports not entirely up to spec on power? My hope would be that USB is USB and you don’t have power variations between ports, but then, I live in a fantasy world of naive hope. (Can anyone comment on PC laptops and power on different ports? I imagine some would have exactly the same issue.)

One theory for the power discrepancy: John von Seggern claims via Twitter that the issue could be the iSight video camera, which does indeed use the USB video bus. (I would think it shouldn’t draw power when switched off, but perhaps that has caused some other change in the configuration.)

Further, we have reports that not only the iSight, but also Bluetooth and other power-consuming peripherals are on the same bus, as well. (That means turning off Bluetooth might be a good idea if you don’t already.) And we have at least one PC with the same issue. This will definitely be something to research with computers, as it’d be pretty desirable to get machines that, erm, don’t do this to their USB ports.

And someone’s having the opposite port work or not work? Now I’m really confused. (I guess we could simplify all of this to say if you’re having problems with USB audio, try either connecting your AC adapter or switching USB ports.)

Amidst all of the USB audio hating, I have to say, it is possible to get good performance out of USB audio interfaces. On the other hand, removing FireWire from MacBooks seems again like a poor choice.

Avid, the parent company of music product makers Digidesign, M-Audio, and Sibelius, has decided to assert the brand of its mothership more aggressively. As near as I can tell, that means you won’t see the M-Audio, Digidesign, or Sibelius brand names any more – along with video maker Pinnacle. You’ll see, presumably, Avid Pro Tools? (Right now, you see the Digi site with an Avid banner across the top that says “Digidesign is Avid.” But that was true before, so I don’t really know what this exactly means.)

Avid has also unveiled a new logo made, cleverly, to look like transport buttons on video and audio equipment.

I have to say, I have extremely mixed feelings about this, for a number of reasons. And by mixed, I mean mixed – this could be really positive, or really … not. The good news is, having one brand and one brand strategy probably does make a whole lot of sense. The (potential) downside:

• Avid may be the weaker of the brands here. It’s known among video people, but not necessarily even beloved there. Digidesign and M-Audio, meanwhile, touch wider user bases, and have real resonance with musicians.
• Will combining video and audio products actually work? Will a single brand really help? Sony has tried to do just this, with less-than-stellar results – perhaps because the video, audio, pro music, and “consumer” music markets (and their many factions within those umbrellas) are so particular. Sony has much bigger brand recognition than Avid (understatement), but even that hasn’t really made products like Acid or Sound Forge or (for video) Vegas substantially more popular. It works for Apple, but that’s because people associate Apple’s products with the computers they buy – and, well, they’re Apple and normal rules don’t seem to apply.
• You can’t read the new logo. Sure, the triangles are clever, but you can’t actually read the letters. Also, aren’t old-school hardware transport buttons a bit dated in this day and age? I’m going to assume all of that gets sorted out in practice, so I’m not actually worried about this, but I did have to point it out.

On the other hand, Avid’s combination of Digidesign, M-Audio, and Sibelius, plus the Avid/Pinnacle stuff on the video side really is a whole heck of a lot of what the music and video production world is about, and that hasn’t been clear. So despite the caveats and dangers, there is potential here. It’s all in the details.

And more important than branding is how Avid relates to its customers, and how the company operates. If that goes right, the brand will respond.

The press release promises not just a new identity, but a “new strategy” and “a new operating model.” But it isn’t clear, yet, what that actually means in the real world, particularly on the audio end.

http://www.avid.com/us/pressroom/brand-identity.aspx

The press release isn’t terribly encouraging, though, as it immediately shifts to Avid-centric, ultra-high-end / pro video solutions. Those products are extremely important. It’s tough to know just how anyone could find a way to relate that to a person buying a $100 plastic MIDI controller at the other end of the market, so I don’t envy the job of the business folks at Avid. At the same time, I do believe it’s possible to run a business that covers that gamut.

I’m going to talk to the Avid folks about this next week to get a better understanding. But because I expect many pro audio folks will react similarly on first brush, I decided in the interest of bloggy disclosure to go ahead and publish my initial reaction.

Let us know your questions or thoughts, and I’ll pass them along to Digidesign/M-Audio Avid next week.

Novation has unveiled their revised SL line of controllers, dubbed the SL Mk II. The changes are subtle, but significant.

Looks awesome:

• Fatar semi-weight “fast touch” keyboard action
• Touch-sensitive controls for immediate feedback on the LED screen
• Buttons are now backlit
• Encoders are ringed with red LEDs
• Dedicated buttons for enabling Automap and switching modes (effects, mixing, etc.)
• Speed Dial!
• Bundled with Automap 3 PRO software, which now features keystroke assignment and a heads-up display (and PRO is free with a new keyboard, as expected, though there’s still an upgrade fee if you’re a current owner)
• The ZeRO now has a crossfader
• Lovely new silver-colored knob and fader caps – and a prettier-looking design, in general
• The pads may be flatter on top (the old model has odd, stiff raised pads – I’m hoping that’s improved here)
• It’s the tried-and-trusted SL – with all the software support that entails

Looks less awesome:

• The pads are still tiny
• The X/Y joystick for pitch/mod can be an acquired taste
• Novation has dropped the second LED screen strip above the faders, leaving only the one above the encoders. (not a deal killer, probably, because you can look at the physical position of the faders)
• No crossfader on the keyboard models (Edirol is the one keyboard maker I know of who have done this)
• The transport controls have been relocated to the buttons under the faders, which looks like they’ll be a little tougher to access
• Apparently in the interest of cost savings, the SL mk II will still have the same controller layout on the bigger keyboards – meaning if you have a 49-key or 61-key model, there’s a big blank space instead of more room for controllers (just as on the original SL). Put your iPod touch / iPhone there for extra controls, perhaps. This time, it’s centered, instead of all at one end.

All in all, though, I’d say this is a pretty big step forward. The SL really did set the bar for controller integration and providing a really solid feel. It has always been pricey, but it’s nice to feel a keyboard maker takes computer musicians seriously, instead of giving us the bottom-of-the-barrel “budget” stuff.

I also have to say, too, there’s nothing out there that really can compete with the keyboard-less ZeRO. For quick controller access to your computer software in a layout that fits on your desk (angled with the optional stand), it’s just about perfect. And since M-Audio no longer makes their former Evolution UC-33e, this category is entirely Novation’s.

I’m still concerned about the things I don’t love on the original SL – namely, the drum pads and the tendency of the X/Y pitch/mod joystick to stick. I still quite like the SL Compact: it has bigger pads and traditional pitch and mod, and it’s also cheaper.

On the other hand, you get some additional feedback from the LED rings around the encoders and the backlit buttons, which is a good thing. And the Automap Pro 3 software looks powerful – heads-up displays are, I believe, the future.

The competition between Novation’s refreshed SL and M-Audio’s new Axiom Pro should be very interesting, indeed. The details on each are almost exactly opposite, especially considering they’re basically the same product concept. The Axiom Pro integrates directly with software without the need for a helper app running, as Novation’s, and its controls are just a little more traditional. Novation is adding lights, but M-Audio is mainly leaving them off. For the screen, M-Audio opted for a single, higher-resolution rectangular display instead of the low-res strips on the top of the Novation.

Also, the Novation I believe is still not MIDI class-compliant, meaning the M-Audio piece works on Linux and Novation doesn’t.

M-Audio’s higher-end keyboards (ignoring some of their poorer-quality cheap models) and Novation’s keyboard line have both been extremely competitive. Seeing them square off directly sounds great to me.

Most important to me: just how these things feel, and how well the integration and customization works. Both start shipping in April. Stay tuned.

ReMOTE SL Mk II

ZeRO SL Mk II

(any hopes of MOre norMAL CAPitalizaTION in the nEW RElease, obviously not happening…)

Previously:

M-Audio Axiom Pro Offers Novation Automap Rival – If You’ve Got the Right DAW

Automap 3 Pro: New Heads-Up Display, More Flexibility for Dynamic Controllers

Grab the Automap 3 Beta from Novation; Use it with Reaper, More

Update:

Pricing looks slightly steeper than on the original models. DV247 (street) prices:

GBP299.99 ZERO (no keyboard) MK2

GBP329.99 SL25 MK2

GBP399.99 SL49 MK2

That’d be US$575 at the going exchange rate for the 49-key model, though pricing often doesn’t exactly adhere to conversion rates for currency.

Of course, you can expect discounted pricing on the older models. (Thanks, RCUS!)

While Novation was refreshing their Automap software for NAMM, M-Audio was unveiling their own dynamic controller technology, called HyperControl. M-Audio has one (big) edge on Novation: their controller technology can access ASCII keystrokes – something I’d love to have in all keyboard control editors. And HyperControl sounds like it has some promise, at least on paper – especially with the absurd number of controls M-Audio has packed onto the layout.

There are just two catches. One, there’s the (ahem) styling on the Axiom Pro keyboard. To put it diplomatically, it’s not terribly … subtle. Two, you get support for some DAW/workstations (Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic, Reason) but not others (SONAR, Live, Tracktion, etc.) Now, that could change in future releases, but Automap has a significant running start.

Also, can we please get a moratorium on adding “Pro” to product names? (I mean, we don’t call the other model the Axiom Hobbyist or the Axiom Day Job.)

The keyboards: 25, 49, 61 keys, though sadly you don’t get controls on M-Audio’s 88-key models. The 49-key model lists for US$599.95, which means it’s in the price range of the Novation – though that also means the Novation is competitive. The keybeds are M-Audio’s semi-weighted “TruTouch,” which is one of the better semi-weighted actions out there.

But, seriously, this styling says “pro”? To me, it says this, minus the sportiness:

The features: One big graphic LCD (compared to the longer but narrower character Novation displays) – though that means the display is also not immediately aligned with the controls, so there’s a trade off. ASCII keystroke support so you can access keyboard shortcuts directly from a template. A ridiculous number of controllers, including function keys and keypad buttons the Novation lacks. Then again, if you go that far, you almost want a little trackpad while you’re at it.

Supported DAWs: Pro Tools 7.4 and up, Cubase, Reason, Logic. Now Reason is a no-brainer – it has terrific support for this kind of thing. But SONAR and Ableton Live also have lovely internal support for dynamic controller mappings. I hope that’s planned for a future update, but in the meantime, I’d have to recommend the extensive template support and track record on the Novation.

And then there’s the fact that you can get a more muted-gray Axiom 61 with most of these features – minus the whiz-bang HyperTransport you may not need anyway – for US$329.95 list instead of $599.95 (49-key).

But I am interested to hear more of the specifics of how HyperTransport itself works, because it sounds a bit different than Automap – same idea, different execution. M-Audio says, when working with DAWs and instruments alike:

The constant two-way link with your host DAW means the keyboard’s controls are always in sync with your software’s active parameters. The intuitive graphic LCD constantly updates the current values, which ensures seamless editing and prevents parameter jumps—even when plug-ins are closed. Toggle instantly between Mixer and Instrument control modes. Map buttons to send QWERTY key commands right from the Axiom Pro 61. Save settings to 50 memory locations—each with four profiles of quick recall via the intuitive graphic LCD.

The ability to control plug-ins when they’re closed sounds especially interesting. Stay tuned.

Axiom Pro Product Page

By the way, one other rival out there – albeit with traditional, non-dynamic controller maps – is Akai’s MPK49 and (new to NAMM this month) MPK25, in case you don’t like the fact that their new Ableton-centric APC lacks piano-style keys.

Akai Pro MPK25

Another advantage: the Akai still looks a little silly with so many pads and knobs, but somehow less so in black than white.

Stanton is teasing a new DJ controller with touch controls, and particularly a circular scratch/control area, with live LED feedback. This allows “virtual” controllers not only for DJs, but (Stanton hopes) VJs, laptop musicians, and the like. (Stanton says “multimedia artist,” to which we suggest “visualists”.) I especially enjoy the “confidential” site, though I’m not sure marking press release with “do not publish / embargoed” has much more impact given a lot of sites these days.

It’s a little hard to tell, honestly, how this is different from a lot of controllers that use physical controls, thus giving them better tactile feedback. And the Stanton brand earns some skepticism from the discussion on the Ableton forum. But there’s some potential here; launch date is supposed to be September 19 so I’ll update with availability plus other specs then.

In the meantime, DJ/vinyl/DVS site Scratchworx deserves full credit for breaking this story posting the first video; they picked it up from the basement of one of the beta testers. (It looks reasonably cool, though, again, surely any controller could keep you from having to touch the laptop.):

Updated: Retail list is expected to be US$299; see turntable poetry which appears to be the first blog to have carried the story.

The moment I saw the DaScratch (or wait, is that da DaScratch? an DaScratch?) … I thought of the aborted Midiman (now M-Audio) Surface One. Announced in 2001 but apparently scrapped after it was determined to be overly expensive to produce, the Surface One still looks desirable. It combined touch controls with physical encoders, and the faders were arrayed in positions that made sense for, well, human beings with two hands.

Apparently I’m not the only one who is sad the Surface One never saw production.Our friend Nathanaël Lécaudé even made a fan page. I believe that prototype may be floating out there somewhere, assuming it works.

Look very closely at the Stanton controller and the Surface One, because touch sensors tend to come from a handful of vendors. (Yes, even the old iPod scroll wheel came from a third party.) A popular vendor is Quantum Research aka QProx, now owned by chip giant Atmel. (Yes, that’s the same Atmel that brings you goodies like the brain of the Arduino for you DIY geeks.) Atmel’s acquisition of Quantum speaks to the conventional wisdom that these kind of touch sensors are becoming an important commodity, so I expect the Stanton could be the tip of the iceberg.

The Surface One, in turn, owed a great deal to the ca. 1990 Buchla Thunder. Don Buchla is just one of those people in music technology who seemed to get there first – Buchla had a jump start even on waving around controllers in your arms before Nintendo caught on, and I gather a new generation of Lightning controllers is coming soon. The Thunder was actually made, too — just not in any quantities; I don’t even know where any of them are. Somehow, one of them managed to get reviewed in Electronic Musician, and at just under US$2000, costs roughly the same as today’s multi-touch Lemur, proof that every generation can have its own limited-run, pricey touch controller.

So, Stanton has another touch controller coming. But they now have to compete with $200 iPods that run any controller software you like. Stay tuned.

Related:
I should also note the DIY controller Stribe, though its touch strips are significantly less sophisticated than the options mentioned above (particularly the high-end, pressure-sensing ones originally slated for the Surface One).
Hands-on, Interview: Stribe Multi-Touch Controller

I’ve also heard from Digidesign/M-Audio public relations; I hope to have additional updates soon.

This is well worth reading whether or not you own M-Audio hardware.

From comments:

Hi all,

I’m Niels Larsen, General Manager of M-Audio. I am posting here not to throw things at Peter:-) for writing this article but to recognize to you all that we are aware that we are disappointing many of our users. With OS updates not being entirely voluntary anymore it gets increasingly frustrating for users to suddenly find that their systems don’t work from one day to the next.

I am sorry that we are prolonging this frustration by being late in delivering compatible drivers. It affects many of our loyal users and it therefore also affects our business.

So what’s the current status? I have tried to outline for you below where we are as of today:

Leopard
Today we posted release drivers for our Firewire Solo/Audiophile/410/1814/Ozonic and NRV-10. We still have work to do on Profire Lightbridge and Projectmix but outside of these two products our Leopard development is complete. I hope users who have experienced problems with the beta drivers will find the new drivers trouble-free.

http://www.m-audio.com/news/en_us-1267.html

XP SP3
The statement from http://www.m-audio.com that Peter referenced in his article above was correctly quoted. We actually did ourselves a disservice by not providing more information and have corrected that today in the following link:

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=support.faq&ID=620a9083da49326e05cbb00e653a528d

Of course we also have to fix the installers that don’t work under SP3. It’s not only frustrating for our users, its also a burden on our tech support team. We will provide more information about that during next week as we get a better overview of the timeline.

Projectmix and Vista 32
We posted the 32 bit release driver for Projectmix about a week ago and that leaves Transit, Mobile Pre and Ozone still in beta.

Vista SP-1 & Vista 64
We have been recruiting for beta testers on our website for a little while but the truth is that we are still some way off with both of these two projects. We have to finish our other Windows projects completely before we can fully engage but I hope you are getting a sense from the above that things are looking up on that front. Before long, our development should be focused entirely on these two issues and as we are in beta already we hope that development will go relatively smooth.
We are fully aware that Vista 64 is a big deal particularly because of the RAM constraints within Vista 32, so we take this seriously. We plan to give a timeline update on our website once we have put Vista 32 and XP SP3 behind us.

Going forward, I hope you will see an improvement in our support as our driver team is growing with new hires and an increased commitment to support OS updates in a timely fashion. I appreciate that we are not perfect until the day that we are able to launch driver update within minutes of a new OS revision. Recently we have been far off that mark and need to at least get closer to perfect.

Thanks for listening.

Niels

Thanks, Niels, for being so open. It may not make people any less frustrated with various updates being out of sync, but I think we do appreciate knowing more about what’s happening behind the scenes. (And based on feedback we’ve gotten, M-Audio/Digidesign are far from alone with difficulties with some of these recent OS updates.)

We have some more stories on 64-bit Windows and other operating system changes forthcoming; if anyone has more they’d like to know, do say so. I will follow up more on M-Audio specifically next week once I’ve had a chance to talk to them.

And this also illustrates why, when you are having trouble, don’t be quiet about it. Let the folks you bought your gear from know specifically what’s happening. We’ll continue to track how responsive they are to your needs.

Still, I think it’s bad to see drivers missing altogether this late in the game — especially in the case of Windows XP SP3, a minor update to a six year-old OS. Maybe some of this isn’t M-Audio’s fault — maybe OS driver development needs to be easier. But either way, when a major music hardware vendor is this far out of sync with the software shipping on new machines, it’s a problem. And while their loss may be good for their competitors in audio hardware, it’s not terribly good for the music tech industry in general.

(Okay, Digidesign/M-Audio — before you start throwing things at me, I’m not saying this to be mean or to single you out, I’m saying this because I hear this all the time from your customers. I think if there are problems on the Apple/Microsoft side, then that’s worth examining, too. But I do think this is a situation that could stand some improvement.)

Digidesign + Vista

Digidesign Windows OS Requirements

On the Digidesign side, the good news is Pro Tools 7.4 LE and M-Powered are now supported on Vista — sort of. The bad news is, you need 7.4, there’s still no support for Pro Tools HD, and Digidesign hasn’t yet qualified SP1 for anything. (M-Audio has made the same statement.) Now, I’m used to Digidesign’s lagging OS support, and to be honest, I think being cautious about support is a good idea. But in this case, SP1 largely involves fixes for Vista — some of them very significant issues. It’s a little odd that you could qualify Vista without SP1, containing most of the same fixes installed as HotFixes, but not SP1 itself, even though the latter is more likely to be stable and compatible in almost every other respect.

Then it gets odder. Vista Home Premium is still not supported by Digidesign, despite being identical to the supported Ultimate and Business editions in regards to music, audio, and driver support. Maybe Digidesign has some reason for doing this, but I can’t imagine what it is, and they’re not saying.

M-Audio + XP SP3

If you’re using M-Audio hardware, I recommend holding off on updating to Windows XP SP3. For starters, SP3 doesn’t really offer anything essential to audio users to begin with. But more importantly, I’ve seen a number of reports that M-Audio hardware refuses to install on SP3. That’s a major oversight. Unfortunately, there’s not even any information on M-Audio’s site other than a general statement that their drivers haven’t been "qualified" for SP3 (which I suspect means very little to users trying to get specific fixes):

M-Audio XP SP3 Statement

What makes this so odd is that this is what Digidesign has to say about Windows XP Service Pack 3:

"There are currently no known compatibility differences between systems with XP SP2 or SP3. All compatibility information regarding Windows XP Service Pack 2 also applies to systems with Windows XP Service Pack 3." [Emphasis Digidesign's]

Yet despite massive incompatibility with SP3, a minor service update that’s been available to developers for many months, M-Audio condescendingly tells users in a support document that we should "rest assured that supporting Service Pack 3 is a top priority for us."

M-Audio + Vista

M-Audio’s support for Vista, which had been lagging badly, has now improved somewhat:

M-Audio Vista Driver Development

Among the drivers still missing as I write this, though, is M-Audio’s flagship audio interface and control surface, the Project Mix I/O. And while Roland/Edirol, MOTU, RME, and others have supported 64-bit Windows, M-Audio has no support whatsoever.

M-Audio + Leopard

Mac OS X is slightly better off, but a significant number of drivers are lagging. The entire FireWire line and Project Mix I/O, among others, remain in beta.

M-Audio 10.5 update

Got experience with drivers on current OSes? Let us know.

Yeah, I guess once you have a Roland Handsonic and M-Audio Trigger Finger you don’t really need drums, huh? Your neighbors / roommate / significant other / Mom are going to clip that sentence out and paste it to your studio door.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point to the story this comes from: author Spencer Critchley, via the good folks at O’Reilly Digital Media, takes on eSession. It’s a Web-based, collaborative recording system, and this has to be the most extensive feature ever written about it:

The eSession Experience: Online Recording for All

Updated: In case you don’t read comments, we’re getting like an interactive caption going. Brian T writes:

The picture? I think you picked on the wrong guy there… that’s Pat Mastelotto, drummer with Mr. Mister, XTC, King Crimson, and a lot of sessions and electronic projects e.g. mastica, TU, Centrozoon. Just about the best mixer of acoustic and electronic drums (& sequencers) around today.

It’s, uh, not actually the brilliant Pat Mastelotto I’m picking on, it’s the incongruous MIDI gear amongst that giant drum setup. To make matters worse, David notes it looks like he’s giving the finger to the M-Audio. M-Audio, apologies.