MusicRadar

• Review
• Manufacturer's Description

You know that a music-making package has truly arrived when it gets its own control surface.

No right-minded developer would release a piece of application-specific hardware if they didn't believe that said application was in widespread use.

It makes sense that if the software isn't doing the business then the controller doesn't stand a chance.

The release of iControl, then, marks another important step in GarageBand's evolution.

Apple's software may initially have been pigeon-holed as a beginner's package, but most would now agree that, although it's insanely easy to get to grips with, GarageBand is also powerful enough to be used as an end-to-end production tool.

That said, the success of iControl is not guaranteed. Although there are thousands of GarageBand owners out there (it ships with every new Mac), M-Audio can't be sure of how many people are actually using it on a regular basis.

What's more, they're banking on the fact that a good number of the software's users will also be willing to go the extra mile and spend upwards of £100 on a dedicated controller.

Hands on

First impressions of the iControl are excellent. Its design is very similar to that of the GarageBand interface – right down to the wood-effect side panels – and the controls are well spaced.

It's also worth noting that the build quality is far superior to that of M-Audio's other controllers – this is a neat and well-constructed device.

Setting up takes seconds – all you have to so is plug in the USB cable (the device also has a MIDI In port so you can attach a controller keyboard).

There are no drivers, and because iControl is designed to work exclusively with GarageBand, all the knobs and buttons are configured right from the word go.

This will be of some comfort to people who've never used a hardware controller before; there's no need to worry about assigning knobs and faders if you're an iControl owner.

GarageBand is notable for its lack of a traditional mixing console, and similarly, the iControl has no bank of faders. Instead, there's a panel of controls that mirrors the Track and Mixer sections in GarageBand.

This contains eight vertically stacked channels, each of which features track select, record enable, mute and solo buttons, plus a rotary control.

Tracking

iControl has two modes of operation, the first of which is All Tracks. When you're in this mode, the rotaries (which are notched and endless) are used to set the tracks' volumes or pan positions. You can easily flick between these two parameters by pushing the corresponding buttons.

The other mode is Selected Tracks: when this is engaged, all eight rotaries are used to manipulate a single track. What they control depends on which one of the five selection buttons you've pressed – Track Info, Generator, Effect1, Effect2, or EQ.