Quote:
Originally Posted by
mattiasnyc
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But the problem remains the same: Users dream of a controller that is really affordable but aren't really willing to compromise on features or quality to the extent that the company making it can actually make it work. I mean, just look at the very first post:
"24 channels
full transport
jogh wheel
normal buttons, mute, solo, record, write, pan etc
nothing crazy"
It's not crazy at all. For a controller it's totally reasonable. But to say that Nuage is too expensive and too big, with 16 faders, only to then ask for 8 more faders....!? Where is Steinberg/Yamaha going to cut costs to make that reasonable? The faders are probably the most expensive component of a controller, so how is increasing the amount by 50% helping?
In addition to that, the less specific-DAW-specific features a controller has, the less reason there is to get something from Steinberg/Yamaha specifically. In other words, if it's functions that exist using Mackie's protocol then that's all that's needed. So anything from the Behringer X-touch to the Artist series to the arguably better mixers with motorized touch sensitive faders and DAW control would now be contenders. So in a stationary setup in a studio it would make sense to re-evaluate the entire setup. If one has the need for say 16 channels of mic pres then why not just buy a 16 channel mixer with pres and that DAW control. Sure, it won't be a DAW-specific control surface, but that wasn't needed in the first place.
Yes thats the conclusion I came to as well. If you're selling a controller (Nuage) for tens of thousands of Euros and it has 1 fader and two rotaries per channel, what are you going to cut from that setup in order to wipe a zero off the price tag and still be able to sell the high end Nuage?
You could cripple the software implementation, in which case the very well integrated Avid S3 starts to look like a better choice? Don't think you can realistically have less than two knobs per channel. You could lose the touchscreen... oh wait, Avid have just released the Avid Dock with iPad functionality.
I don't think it's easy and I guess that's why we haven't seen a decent mid range Steinberg controller. Still, I'd be very pleased if Steinberg did make something in this department.