| In my case, MCU won the vote for the reason that it is easier to build a larger controller set using MCU pieces than Euphonix without the controller growing too wide. The Euphonix artist series are nice looking but imo seem to be designed in a way that you buy only 1 or 2 of them. Because they are not as deep as MCU, they probably fit easier to smaller desks but combining several of them results in a very wide system with unnecessary unused space between the units even when removing the additional plastic end pieces.
The size and looks of the MCU is more like a larger mixing desk when you combine several of them and the faders are closer to each other when you add more extenders because the individual parts are designed from the beginning to be put side by side. For my studio desk, the MCU was the optimal choice due to their dimensions, as I have enough room between my lcd screen and the keyboard & mouse. For now, I have managed to grab the MCU Pro and C4. I will add the 8ch fader extender soon when they have stock again. The setup will then be complete with 16+1 faders & c4 for plugin parameters. They fit my 200 x 100 (cm) studio desk nicely between the tabletop 4u racks. The C4 has a very good price right now, go get one. I managed to get the MCU main block for very cheap too. It was the last one in the store and they had a great deal for it.
The integration with MCU and Logic is very good. The MCU parts are built like tank, very heavy, each part weighting 7-9 kg. The transport buttons and the jog wheel are large (just the right size) and feel solid. Using the controls and zooming is very easy and comfortable. In logic, you can select from the preferences whether you want the transport buttons to click or not. The parameter changes the feel of the buttons. There is quite alot to tweak in the logic preferences related to the MCU settings. The MCU faders are a bit noisy when there's a lot of movement but it doesn't bother me. The c4 gives the plugin parameters in the order presented in the plugin controller list but you can make your own layouts if you want using the logic's built in learn control features. I must say that there are many more features and settings that can be tweaked for the MCU's in logic than has been mentioned anywhere in the forums. For example, some time ago I still didn't know that MCU also show channel levels using either horizontal or vertical meters.
So far I am very happy with the MCU system. I still need the extender and the setup is complete. I highly recommend these if you use logic. And the prices are much lower than euphonix. |