http://www.avid.com/US/products/Artist-Mix/features it says, "Supports EUCON, HUI and Mackie Control protocols"
While the faders/mutes all work with recording and motorized playback,
- 0 dB in the DAW places the fader between the 0 and 6 positions, not at 0.
- It's not possible to navigate the faders to control return channels or the Master channel.
- Only Channel 1 shows any VU-Meter. I believe the level shown reflects the Master meter: If I have audio on channel 2,3,4, etc, only, the Channel 1 vu-meter displays level, but no others.
- There doesn't appear to be any MIDI Learn mode
- Browsing configured plugins, using the knobs to control plugins, and controlling channel sends from Chan and Insert modes are not implemented.
- There is no way to Solo multiple channels at once, even using the computer keyboard. If I hit shift and use the mouse to set up Solo in my sequencer, I can solo more than one channel at once.
I'm trying to use it with Ableton Live 9.1.2. MackieControl is described as being supported on the website and Ableton Live support is described in the manual. Since Live's MackieControl implementation works well with other devices that emulate it, it's apparent that the limited functionality is a result of the Artist Mix only supporting a very limited subset of the MackieControl protocol.
Until I had already bought and started using the device, there was no way to tell from the documentation or marketing materials that Mackie Control support is essentially limited to faders, mutes, pan, and banking, which is frustrating. It's not what I expected from the company who says they deliver "the industry's most open, innovative and comprehensive media platform."
I originally posted about this in December and emailed Avid personnel but haven't ever heard back from anyone. I feel misled by the marketing literature which put EUCON and Mackie Control support into the same sentence and disappointed by Avid's support. I'd appreciate hearing from Avid, whether:
- Avid plans on more fully supporting Mackie Control
- If not, will Avid better document the limited Mackie Control support and do the honest thing by changing the marketing literature so other people aren't misled into buying an Artist Mix, like I was?
The hardware itself is very nice, I'd love to keep it and get the promised and expected functionality from it. I'd prefer to be a satisfied Avid customer compared to my current state of being a disappointed customer.