Control 24 Question

[ctyelvis]

Looking for opinions of the original Control 24?
Also, how do these units hook up to an HD system? In particular, a 96/io?
Do you need special software to use them?
Any downsides to these units?
Are the mic pre-amps about the same as on the Digi PRE?

Thanks!
-Chris

[scotsman]

Chris,

Good control units make recording and mixing much easier, and it looks great in the studio.

To connect to your 96 I/O you'll need 2 sets of stereo jack to d24 cables if you want to use the preamps and the monitor section, plus others cables for other inputs (download the manual to see the connections).

Yes well documented power supply problems, some folk don't like the monitor section and the paint comes off the oldest ones (do a search for further info). Also there are several buttons that have functions that are "not implemented" only for Icon upgrades, which is annoying!!

The preamps are of the Focusrite entry level standard, but work fine if you set them up right, be aware they overload quickly. Over the years I have bought much higher quality pre-amps, so don't really use them now. The Digi Pre would be a step up to the much higher quality standard. But in the end it all comes down to taste and the depth of your pockets!

Basically it makes a great difference and if you can get one for a good price, go for it. I wouldn't like to use PT without and the C24 is not worth the upgrade cost.

Enjoy

Scotsman

[scotsman]

Correction db25 connections to stereo jacks.

[Scott Goldberg]

Chris,

The Focusrite preamps are actually the "Silver Series" which are a bit better than the entry level ones, and the board is a great one if you get one that was built a bit later than the earlier boards. Like Scotsman says, they have a well documented power supply issue, so you have to make sure that it is a board that has no history of problems there. I have one and I love it and have no problems with it as well. It's also true that some of the functions that you can do on the Icon are unavailable on the Control 24, but they, to me, are marginal differences, especially when you look at bang for the buck. I have a friend with a pro control and he bought it before the control 24s came out and he can afford anything but he would have picked up a Control 24 if they were available at the time. You don't need special software to run them but there is firmware that needs to be correct for the version of Pro Tools you have. The only downside I could for see is if you were to get one with a bad power supply. They are easy enough to fix but why bother worrying about them when IMHO, it's truly the best bargain they ever had on a board.

[BradLyons]

The pres in the Control24 were based on the original Focusrite Green Range, but really sound more like the Platinum Range (aka an Octopre). Early on there were some issues with the Power Supplies, but Digidesign quickly resolved that issue. I remember a client of mine had a new Control24 go down just a week after buying it---Digi sent a new unit all the way across the country OVERNIGHT Saturday delivery to take care of him! This was several years ago, I've seen very little problems since then. I have (2) Control24's (one of which I'm selling) which are totally fine. I had a third one awhile back that I sold which has also been fine.

Back to the pres....that's not the reason users buy this product. If you need them, they are there---but they are really a plus rather than a feature, IMHO. I use the Control24 extensively and plan on moving up to a C24 (which is why I'm selling mine)..... I get quite involved when I mix, turning knobs, pressing buttons, zooming in, toggling, assigning parameters all on the fly...You just can't do this on any other control surface unless you get a C24 or higher from Digidesign.

I have (2) cables connected into my Control24... the power cable and the ethernet cable. I don't dare use the monitor section in there, I have a Central Station for that!

[ctyelvis]

Thanks for the info folks!

-Chris

[SethAnger]

If you can afford it I would go with the C|24 over the control 24. I own a control 24 with PTHD and enjoy it but, I did an install with the new C|24 for a friend and the improvements are worth the upgrade. For one the monitor section is much better. The volume control on the control 24 is stepped (very annoying IMO). C|24 volume is smooth. The pre's are irrelevant but a great thing to have in the arsenal when you need them. Trust me they don't sound bad. They do tend to peak easily on the Control 24. The C|24 has upgraded pre's that behave a little better. Sound slightly more open as well. They just won't do anything magical to your sound like an avalon or something.
The fader layout on the control 24 is all silver and very hard to identify channel 10 vs. channel 11 or whatever near by channels, you get the idea. The C|24 has very clearly layed out 8ch. sections which make it much easier and quicker to address the channel that you need. (very important feature when it comes to getting things done quickly). The downside to both of these controllers is just that. They are controllers and not consoles so you have to adjust your thinking a little to get used to them if you're coming from a console. i.e. you don't have metering for the pre's other than in protools itself (and the meters in PT are not necessarily a true representation of the signal actually hitting the pre itself). So if you have a mic plugged into channel one on the controller but are recording to channel 8 in protools then the meter above channel 8 on the controller is what will light up, if that makes any since, LOL.
The other downside is you will need to spend a lot of money on DB25 to XLR cables to make all the connections happen (all DB25 connectors). They do however sell a cable kit for like $2000 or something but it will take care of all your connections. I'm sure Brad can get you a much better deal on but you'll have to check with him on that.
Both consoles connect via ethernet. PT software will automatically update the board when you go through the connection process.

At the end of the day you will be much happier to have one of these controllers which ever one you decide on. Your clients will like it too.
Hope this helps.

[crizdee]

Originally Posted by ctyelvis

Any downsides to these units?

Hi,

Mine is about 4 years old now and the rotary controllers are quite worn and many of them no longer give accurate control often randomly sending incorrect changes to the parameter i'm changing.

I use the rotary controllers all the time to control plugins so thats the reason they have worn fairly quickly! so i really need to get them all renewed at some point.

Other than that i love the control 24 and could never live without one.

Chris

[BradLyons]

Originally Posted by crizdee

Hi,



Other than that i love the control 24 and could never live without one.

Chris

I hope for you that your Control24 doesn't stop working, because I'd hate to see you take your own life over it!