In this article we will take a quick look at some of the new features available to users of Avid control surfaces. EUCON 2021.10 brings a few new and interesting features across the whole range of Avid control surfaces. Below we’ve included a quick overview of the key features, and highlighted which products are affected. Once you’ve read this article and if you haven’t seen it already, check out the updates in Pro Tools 2021.10 here.
X Marks the Spot
Products affected: Avid S1
The previously unused ‘X’ key on Avid S1 now has the ability to toggle the bypass state of plug-ins. Anyone who is editing a plug-in, can use the ‘X’ key, accessed by pressing ‘SHIFT + PAGE >’, to bypass the state of EQ, Dynamics, and other Inserts on the attentioned track, a really handy and time saving feature.
Swap Layers
Products affected: S4, S6
You can now assign to up to four ‘Swap’ layers to your S6 or your S4, giving you the ability to cycle between four different tracks per S4/S6 fader strip on an individual or global basis. This adds a new dimension to the flexibility to users of layouts. The Swap keys now give you immediate control over each swap layer (A-D), with the MTM ‘Swap’ key cycling the whole console, and the per-fader strip ‘Swap’ cycling the single fader strip.
Monitor Knob Pop-Up
Products Affected: Dock
This small but useful new feature will be useful to anyone using a Eucon enabled monitoring application such as XMON or DADman with a Pro Tools Dock. Now, when you use the ‘Monitor’ knob on the Dock, a small pop-up will appear on the Avid Control app, displaying your control room dB values whilst touching or adjusting the Monitor knob, meaning you no longer need to reference your monitoring application to check your control room level.
Remote Control Your Carbon
Previously, Pro Tools | Carbon’s Eight Microphone Preamps were only adjustable via the front panel controls, however you can now remote control them directly from Pro Tools, or any EUCON control surface. This is great, as it means you can rack mount your Carbon wherever is convenient, without having to worry about keeping the mic pre controls within reach.
Along with these exciting new features there have also been a number of performance increases and bug fixes. You should notice changing between layouts on S6/S4 is quicker and navigating your session on the control surface should feel snappier!
We’re very excited about the new Swap layers feature and hope you will take the opportunity to check it out for yourselves. If you have an S6/S4 and have a current Upgrade/Support plan, you can find all the relevant installers in your MyAvid account: https://my.avid.com/products. To fully make use of all the improvements, we highly recommend updating Pro Tools to 2021.10 also. As always, make sure to do a backup, and check compatibility with any third-party applications. If you have any questions about updating or would like to get in touch for a demo of any of the products listed, we can be reached at [email protected]
