Well looky what turned up at the CM offices today - it's the new MC Mix DAW controller from Euphonix.

Launched at NAMM, this is the more affordable of the company's new home-studio-friendly Artist Series control surfaces (Euphonix is also launching the touchscreen-equipped MC Control) and features eight touch-sensitive motorised faders, eight touch-sensitive dials, numerous buttons and an integrated LCD display strip.

So, what are our first impressions? Well, the unit is certainly well-packaged - it took several minutes to break through the multiple layers of cardboard:







It's well-built, too, with the casing feeling sturdy (the end panels can be removed should you wish to connect multiple Euphonix controllers) and the faders/dials moving smoothly. The device comes with a laptop-style power supply and a couple of optional brackets that raise it up off the desk slightly.






As has been widely reported, both the MC Mix and MC Control connect to the computer using an Ethernet rather than USB cable (they support Euphonix's EuCon protocol), and although we haven't got around to plumbing the device into our studio yet, it can be coaxed into lighting up simply by powering it on:




Nice.

So, all seems well at the moment: the unit feels good and will undergo full testing very shortly. Look out for the full review in issue 125 of Computer Music, on sale April 9, and on MusicRadar.

The MC Mix costs $1400/£699 and is available now, while the MC Control will ship in March priced at $2000/£999. Find out more at the Euphonix website.