MUSIC | AUDIO POST | VIDEO | FILM professional control surface i USER GUIDE Document Revision: C
USER GUIDE professional control surface In the interest of continued product development, Euphonix reserves the right to make improvements to this manual and the product it describes at any time, without notice or obligation. MC Mix, MC Control, MC Pro, System 5-MC, and EuCon are trademarks of Euphonix, Inc. ©2008 Euphonix, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
Canada This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003 Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada USER GUIDE professional control surface European Union Australia ABN 91 051 557 905 Japan iii
USER GUIDE professional control surface IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS The lighting flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electrical shock to persons.
13) Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time. 14) Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.
Table of Contents List of Figures ........................................................................................................ xi Chapter 1: Introduction to the Artist ................................................................. 13 Chapter 2: Setup and Installation ..................................................................... 15 Setting Up the MC Control .......................................................... 15 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.2 Elevating the MC Control........................
professional control surface USER GUIDE 4.5 Knobs ........................................................................................ 33 4.5.1 4.5.2 4.5.3 4.6 Soft Keys.................................................................................... 37 4.7 Jog Wheel and Transport Controls............................................... 38 4.7.1 4.7.2 4.8 Chapter 5: Touchscreen and Controls ............................................................... 41 5.1 Tracks View...................
Preferences................................................................................ 54 6.4.1 6.4.2 6.4.3 6.5 Assign........................................................................................ 56 6.5.1 6.5.2 6.5.3 6.6 Display application’s track numbers............................... 57 Lock to application ........................................................ 57 Clear All Assignments .................................................... 57 Layouts ..................................
List of Figures 1-1 MC Control and MC Mix .................................................................................. 13 2-1 Foldout leg (left); riser bracket (right) ............................................................. 15 2-2 Removing side panels (left); removing riser brackets ...................................... 16 2-3 Removing screws from the bottom panel ........................................................ 17 2-4 Removing connecting part and side panel ...................
USER GUIDE professional control surface 6-2 Surfaces tab ................................................................................................... 48 6-3 Workstations tab ............................................................................................ 50 6-4 General tab .................................................................................................... 52 6-5 Preferences tab .......................................................................................
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Artist The MC Control and MC Mix comprise the Artist desktop control surfaces. They use a 100 Mbs Ethernet EuCon connection to control audio/video applications running on a workstation computer. EuCon is a high-speed communication protocol and enables control of virtually every application feature.
USER GUIDE professional control surface Conventions Used in this User Guide The User Guide refers to all functions labeled on the MC Control surface and rear panel with all caps in bold type (i.e., NUDGE X, PAN, SEL, SOLO). The Shift key is used in conjunction with other keys to access secondary functions labeled in blue above the primary function. Two Shift keys are located at the MC Control’s bottom-left and -right.
Chapter 2: Setup and Installation Euphonix is dedicated to making your MC Control experience enjoyable and trouble-free so we will periodically update the following software and documentation: • EuControl: This software runs your MC Control and communicates to your audio/ video application. Always download the new version if prompted to do so when you launch EuControl. • MC Control User Guide (PDF): This is the complete user guide for your MC Control and the document you are currently reading.
professional control surface USER GUIDE Two larger, detached riser brackets elevate and angle the unit more than the foldout legs. Use moderate force to snap them into the bottom panel as shown in Figure 2-1. To remove the riser brackets: 1. Slide the side panels off (Figure 2-2 left). Figure 2-2 Removing side panels (left); removing riser brackets 16 2. Press the tabs to release the riser brackets (Figure 2-2 right). 3. Lift the riser bracket out of the MC Control to remove SETUP AND INSTALLATION 2.
To join an MC Control to an MC Mix: 1. On the MC Mix, use a #2 Phillips screwdriver to remove the two silver screws (Figure 2-3). The screws may be tight, so you may have to use some force. USER GUIDE professional control surface Figure 2-3 Removing screws from the bottom panel 2. Lift the black plastic connecting part and side panel up and out of the MC Mix (Figure 2-4). 17 3. On the MC Control, remove the side panel (see Figure 2-2 left) on the end where it will attach to the MC mix. 4.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 2.2 Installation 1. If you downloaded the latest software from the web, double-click the installer. Otherwise, insert the installation CD into your Macintosh. NOTE: Be sure to eject the installation CD in your Mac if you downloaded the latest software from the web. 2. Follow the instructions to install the software. If prompted to download the most current version of EuControl, follow the onscreen instructions.
6. Plug one end of the Ethernet crossover cable into the Ethernet jack (labeled with ) on the rear panel of the MC Control (Figure 2-8). USER GUIDE professional control surface o Euc n Ethernet cable Figure 2-8 Ethernet cable and rear panel jack 7. Plug the other end of the Ethernet crossover cable into an open Ethernet jack on your computer, router, or Ethernet switch (Figure 2-9). An Ethernet router or switch is required to connect additional MC Mixes or to a local area network.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 9. Press and release the POWER switch on your MC Control. Look at the top-right of your screen and wait up to 60 seconds. A green icon in the menu bar indicates correct installation. If you did not see the green icon: • See My Surfaces on page 40 and add the MC Control manually. • Shut down the MC Control and the Mac and repeat steps 8 and 9.
Connecting a Footswitch The MC Control has a ¼-in FOOTSWITCH input on the rear panel. The footswitch can be used to punch in and out of recording. Plug the footswitch in before powering on the MC Control. See page 46 for details.
Chapter 3: Common Tasks If you completed the steps in Chapter 2: Setup and Installation, you are ready to start learning about your MC Control. We recommend performing these simple tutorials of common tasks in the order presented. The following important user interface items and terms are used in the tasks: • The Soft Knobs can be turned like a conventional knob and pressed like a switch to access an additional context-sensitive function (some do not have a second function).
USER GUIDE professional control surface Fader Strip 1. Press strip 1’s fader SEL key on your MC Control (Figure 3-2). The corresponding track is selected in your application and highlighted on the Touchscreen. 2. Move strip 1’s fader up and down. You are now controlling the level of your application’s first track with your MC Control. The top of the Touchscreen displays a level meter and other track information.
7. Press the BANK X key (Figure 3-2) to shift tracks over four at a time. If tracks 1–4 were assigned to strips 1–4, tracks 5–8 are now assigned to strips 1–4. NUDGE W and BANK W keys perform similar operations but in the opposite direction. Inserts USER GUIDE professional control surface 1. Add a plug-in on track 1 of your application. 2. If tracks 1–4 are not assigned to strips 1–4, press and hold the Shift key (Figure 3-3) and press the BANK W key to restore tracks 1–4 to strips 1–4. 3.
USER GUIDE professional control surface Transport Keys and Jog Wheel 1. Use the PLAY, STOP, FF, and REW buttons to navigate the timeline of the edit window of your application. 2. Press the JOG key. 3. Spin the Jog Wheel clockwise and counterclockwise to move forward and backward, respectively, on the timeline.
ON 40 30 20 10 5 0 6 12 SEL Y ASSIGN AUTO REC N SOLO ON 40 30 20 10 5 0 6 12 8 8 Figure 4-1 MC Control surface Soft Keys MC CONTROL FF Transport and Jog Wheel ZOOM HORIZ OP ST ZOOM VERT JOG SHUTTLE REW APPLICATION USER GUIDE Shift key BANK END NUDGE CLOSE PAGE CFG WORKSTATION POWER Power switch Chapter 4: Surface Controls SURFACE CONTROLS END SOFT KEYS HOME BANK HOME NUDGE MIXER PAGE CFG TOP BACK PLAY Soft Key navigation 60 SEL Y ASSIGN AUTO
professional control surface USER GUIDE The MC Control has four channel strips each with a touch-sensitive fader, eight touch-sensitive knobs surrounding a 7-in touchscreen, twelve soft keys, transport switches, a Jog wheel, and various navigation buttons. The MC Control comes with an external DC power supply. Rear panel jacks include: DC power input, RJ-45 Ethernet, and ¼-in footswitch. 4.1 Power Switch Press and release the POWER switch to turn the MC Control on/off. 4.
4.3 Fader Strips The MC Control provides four fader strips, each with a touch-sensitive fader, that control tracks in an audio or video application. 4.3.1 Fader The fader controls the track assigned to this strip. It is motorized, so it reflects changes made in the application, such as automation. It is also touch sensitive, which some applications use when automating.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 4.3.3 SOLO The SOLO key lights red when that strip’s track is soloed and is unlit otherwise. 4.3.4 SEL Pressing a fader’s SEL key selects that track in the application and attentions it on the MC Control. The SEL key lights yellow when the track is selected and is unlit otherwise. All knob functions operate on the attentioned track. NOTE: Some applications allow selecting multiple tracks if the Shift key on the workstation is held down while selecting tracks.
4.4 Navigation Controls Scroll through the application’s tracks using the BANK and NUDGE keys. HOME and END are shortcuts to the first and last banks, respectively. TOP WORKSTATION CFG CFG APPLICATION BACK PAGE PAGE MIXER CLOSE USER GUIDE professional control surface NUDGE NUDGE HOME END BANK BANK Figure 4-3 Fader navigation controls 4.4.1 BANK and NUDGE The BANK and NUDGE keys change which tracks are assigned to the strips.
professional control surface USER GUIDE BANK W Moves the window one bank (four tracks) to the left. If strips 1–4 had the bank starting at track 5, they now have the bank starting with track 1. Pressing BANK W again does nothing because the first bank is already shown. BANK X Moves the window one bank (four tracks) to the right. If strips 1–4 had the bank starting at track 5, they now have the bank starting with track 9. 4.4.2 MIXER and CLOSE Not all applications support these keys.
4.4.5 WORKSTATION The MC Control can control applications running on a second computer, referred to in this guide as a workstation. Press the WORKSTATION key to attach the MC Control to another workstation. You must first use EuControl to create a list of workstations that this key switches between (see Workstations on page 42). While attached to a second workstation, your Mac’s keyboard and mouse can be configured to control that workstation and not your Mac (see page 51). 4.4.
USER GUIDE professional control surface INSERTS Pressing the INSERTS key displays the inserts knob set for editing plug-ins. The first plug-in is displayed on the knob. Pressing one of these Knob Tops displays the first eight plug-in parameters for editing. Pressing a plug-in’s Knob Top displays its parameters for editing. EQ Press the EQ key to display the EQ knob set to configure equalization controls and filters. This shows four EQ bands on eight knobs.
4.5.2 Knob Functions Each knob has the following controls: • Touching the knob’s image on the Touchscreen toggles the state of its primary parameter, such as EQ Band 1 on/off. When on, a small green LED lights on the lower left. • Pressing the Shift key and touching the knob’s image on the Touchscreen toggles its secondary parameter (if it exists). This is used to toggle an aux send between pre/post fader.
USER GUIDE professional control surface Configuration Pages (CFG) Many knob sets have a configuration page to set up that knob set. The configuration page for the Inserts knob set, for example, is used to assign plug-ins to a track. The configuration page for the Aux knob set assigns aux sends to a track. Some applications use the configuration page to recall plugins and EQs. Press the PAGE W + PAGE X keys simultaneously to display a knob set’s configuration page, if it has one.
4.6 Soft Keys The MC Control supports Surface Soft Keys (discussed in this section) and Touchscreen Soft keys (Soft Key View on page 43). This is one of the MC Control’s most powerful features so be sure to read Soft Keys on page 59 to learn how to best work with and customize these powerful keys. Underneath the Touchscreen are 12 soft keys (six per row). The bottom of the Touchscreen contains labels for each soft key.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 4.7 Jog Wheel and Transport Controls The Jog Wheel controls jog, shuttle, zooming, and other functions. Surrounding it are keys that control Jog Wheel functions and transport keys. Many EuCon applications control far more functions with the Jog Wheel, such as trimming clip head and tail, setting clip gain, making cross fades, etc. These functions are accessed using Soft Keys.
Transport Controls REW Press REW to rewind. This function varies with the application. Implementations include: • Rewind until STOP or another key is pressed. • Rewind a fixed amount. • Rewind while the REW key is pressed until it is released. FF Press FF to fast forward. This function varies with the application. Implementations include: • Fast forward until STOP or another key is pressed. • Fast forward a fixed amount. • Fast forward while the FF key is pressed until it is released.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 4.8 CONTROL ROOM/MONITOR Knob Turn the CONTROL ROOM knob to adjust the volume of the control room. The knob controls either Studio Monitor Express or an application that supports a EuCon monitor section. Press the CONTROL ROOM Knob Top key to mute the control room volume. Press it again to unmute. Turn the MONITOR knob (Shift + CONTROL ROOM) to adjust the volume of Monitor A, commonly used as a headphone volume.
Chapter 5: Touchscreen and Controls The MC Control has a wide aspect ratio Touchscreen mounted in its center. Info Area Channel Strip Display knob knob displays displays USER GUIDE professional control surface 41 menu Surface Soft Key Labels Figure 5-1 Touchscreen The Touchscreen always shows the following: Knob Displays: There are four on each side of the Touchscreen. They show the current knob function for their corresponding knob.
USER GUIDE professional control surface Menu Bar: Displays the Tracks view, Soft Key view, or Setup Screens on the Touchscreen. The center of the screen changes to reflect the selected Menu view. 5.1 Tracks View Tracks view shows 32 tracks at a time so it allows quickly muting, soloing, arming, and selecting tracks that are not assigned to the faders.
Mute: A dark grey button shows the track is muted. Sel: The track’s rectangle is highlighted in yellow to show it is selected. The last track selected is attentioned. TS: Scrolls down/up one line of eight tracks, if there are more lines of tracks in the project. Press the Shift key on the MC Control or the workstation keyboard and touch one of these buttons to scroll up/down a full page (32 tracks). The TS buttons are disabled if there are no further tracks to display.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 5.3 Setup Screens Less commonly used functions are found on the following Setup Touchscreens. The Soft Keys navigate through them. The top-right Soft Key is Exit, which returns to the Touchscreen last used. 5.3.1 Control Room The Control Room Touchscreen selects the source of the control room volume knob, and provides talkback, dim, and mute functions.
Dim: Dims the control room volume (lit when dim is active). Cut: Mutes the control room volume (lit when cut is active). Monitor The Monitor Touchscreen selects the source of the monitor volume knob or mutes monitor A. Holding down the Shift key and turning the control room knob changes the volume of Monitor A in Studio Monitor Express or the attached application if it supports a EuCon monitor section. 45 Figure 5-5 Setup: Monitor Monitor Source: Lists the possible sources to the monitor volume control.
Chapter 6: EuControl EuControl is launched automatically upon starting your Mac and runs in the background. EuControl is responsible for finding, linking, and communicating with all MC Controls and MC Mixes on the network. EuControl’s configuration tasks are accessed by clicking the green icon on the Mac taskbar and selecting EuControl Settings. USER GUIDE professional control surface Only one instance of EuControl can run on a workstation.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 6.1 Surfaces The Surfaces tab shows all Artist devices on your network and those connected to your instance of EuControl. 48 Figure 6-2 Surfaces tab All Surfaces All Surfaces shows all Artist devices on the network. A device shown in light gray is already connected either to your own or another instance of EuControl running on a different workstation. In both cases, it is not selectable.
Add B Click Add B to add the selected All Surfaces entry to My Surfaces. This connects this Artist device to your instance of EuControl. You can also click and drag an Artist device from All Surfaces to My Surfaces. Add B is disabled if all Artist devices in All Surfaces are connected to any instance of EuControl. USER GUIDE professional control surface Remove Click Remove to remove the selected surface from My Surfaces and make it available to other instances of EuControl.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 6.2 Workstations An Artist device can control applications running on a second computer, referred to in this guide as a workstation. The Workstations tab establishes the list of workstations that the WORKSTATION key cycles through. Any workstation running EuCon software can be in this list, including those controlled by the System 5-MC, MC Pro, and MC Control.
It is possible to put a workstation in the My Workstations list that is already attached to another instance of EuControl running on another computer. It cannot be attached here until it is unattached from the other instance of EuControl. This was done to allow multiple users to share workstations without having to frequently edit their My Workstation list. Add B USER GUIDE professional control surface Click Add B to add the selected workstation from the All Workstations list to the My Workstations list.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 6.3 General This tab controls how the Artist device and application software work together. 52 Figure 6-4 General tab 6.3.1 Workstation tracks knob set changes The workstation is aware of which knobset is selected and displays appropriate controls. 6.3.2 Open plug-ins on workstation when editing When a plug-in knobset is selected on the MC Control, the workstation opens the plug-in’s window. 6.3.
Auto-bank to selected track Selecting a track in the application causes the MC Control to display the bank containing that track. This keeps the selected track assigned to the surface. 6.3.6 Display track numbers on surface The track number is included with the track name in the channel display. 6.3.7 Solo Mode Solo in place Mutes all tracks except solo track. After-Fader Listen (AFL) The Solo level is derived after fader level. Pre-Fader Listen (PFL) The Solo level is derived before fader level.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 6.4 Preferences Figure 6-5 Preferences tab 54 6.4.1 MC Mix display screen dim time Drag the slider to set the amount of inactive time before the display screens of any MC Mix(es) in your system dims to half intensity. 6.4.2 Footswitch The footswitch punches in and out of recording. It is useful when recording and getting ready to play an instrument.
Operation This category selects what happens when the footswitch is pressed. Choose the option that best suits your application. Record | Record: Pressing the footswitch presses the RECORD button, which punches in to record. Releasing the footswitch does nothing. Pressing the footswitch again also presses the RECORD button, which punches out. USER GUIDE professional control surface Record | Play: Pressing the footswitch the first time presses the RECORD button, which punches in.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 6.5 Assign 56 Figure 6-6 Assign tab This tab manages how tracks are assigned to the MC Control’s strips. By default, tracks are automatically assigned in banks of four. NOTE: When a project is reopened, the first four tracks are assigned to the strips. EuControl Click in the Assigned To column to pop up a menu with the following options: • auto assigned: Tracks are assigned automatically in response to the Bank and Nudge buttons.
6.5.1 Display application’s track numbers Select this checkbox to display the track number in addition to the name. NOTE: Not all applications support track number display. 6.5.2 USER GUIDE professional control surface Lock to application Transport: Select this checkbox to lock the transport controls to the application listed at the top-left of the dialog (Logic Pro in Figure 6-6). The controls stay locked even when the selected application is not top-most.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 6.6 Layouts 58 Figure 6-7 Layouts tab The tracks assigned to the MC Control strips can be saved as a Layout. A Layout is created from the current strip assignments and can receive a name. It can then be recalled at a later time. 6.6.1 Recall Highlight a name in the Name column and click Recall to recall that Layout. 6.6.2 Store Click Store to store the MC Control’s current track assignments as a new Layout.
professional control surface USER GUIDE Soft Keys Figure 6-8 Soft Keys tab This tab controls Surface and Touchscreen Soft Key assignments. The only difference between them is that the Surface Soft Keys are accessed by the 12 circular buttons below the Touchscreen (see Soft Keys on page 37) while the Touchscreen Soft Keys are accessed from the Soft Keys Setup Touchscreen (see Soft Key View on page 43).
USER GUIDE professional control surface 6.7.1 Save Click Save to permanently store any changes in assignment and/or function to the Soft Keys. Changes are retained even without clicking Save until you quit EuControl. 6.7.2 Revert Click Revert to revert to the Soft Key assignments since the last Save command. This discards any changes made since EuControl was last started. 6.7.3 Restore Click Restore to restore the Soft Key assignments to the factory default settings. 6.7.
6.7.10 Icon Click the Icon button and select an icon from the standard Mac dialog. 6.7.11 Font Click the Font button and select a font from the standard Mac dialog. 6.7.12 USER GUIDE professional control surface Color Click the Color button and select a color from the standard Mac dialog. Command Select a Soft Key (its outline highlights yellow) and click Command to view or edit the command(s) assigned to that Soft Key.
USER GUIDE professional control surface Key Key commands can execute menu commands, other application-specific commands that have key equivalents, and even inject a specific text string if necessary. Key commands can also be used to make a macro, which consists of multiple commands executed sequentially by one Soft Key. Figure 6-10 shows the Key Command dialog. 62 Figure 6-10 Key Command dialog Type keystrokes into the text field in the Details pane.
USER GUIDE professional control surface Figure 6-11 EuCon Right Wheel Command that zooms horizontally Each application supports many EuCon commands. Browse them to determine the most useful commands for your projects. Consult the application’s documentation for specific questions about the commands. 63 NOTE: Non-EuCon-aware applications that do not support HUI or Mackie Control do not have EuCon commands.
USER GUIDE professional control surface 64 Page The Page command configures a Soft Key to jump to a specific Soft Key page. Select Touchscreen or Surface from the Section menu, and then select Next Page, Previous Page, or Jump to Page from the Action menu. The Page field, active only when Jump to Page is selected, specifies the Page number.
Create a New Soft Key The Record command is created in the default application set for most, if not all, applications. This section shows how to create a new Soft Key using the Record command as an example. 1. Select Touchscreen or Surface from the Section popup menu. 2. Select a blank key and click Command. USER GUIDE professional control surface 3. Select EuCon the Add popup menu. 4. Select Transport Controls from the left column. EuCon commands automatically label the button but do not select an icon.
Appendix A: Setting the IP Address Although most MC Control users will never have to set a static Internet Protocol (IP) address, the MC Control does allow it in the rare cases that require it. Normally the MC Control uses Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to obtain its IP address, typically from a router.
USER GUIDE professional control surface Figure 6-16 Network Setup Touchscreen with IP Address and Subnet Mask fields 3. Touch the first box of the IP Address field. Adjust its value by turning any of the eight knobs or the Jog Wheel. 68 4. Use this technique to adjust all values of the IP Address and the Subnet Mask fields. 5. Touch the OK button to save this static IP address. Power the MC Control off and on to use the new IP address.
