Summer NAMM 2019: Avid debuts the S4 and S1 control surfaces

19 Jul 2019 by Lasse Eilers | Approximate reading time: 2 Minutes

Avid S4 control surface · Source: Avid

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Avid has announced the S4 and S1 control surfaces at Summer NAMM 2019. The Avid S4 is designed to make the workflow of the Avid S6 available to “smaller facilities and project studios”, according to Avid. The S1 is a compact 8-fader controller for use with an iPad and the Pro Tools | Control app.

Avid S4

According to Avid, the new S4 control surface is meant to be a less expensive and more compact alternative to the Pro Tools | S6. The company says that it was designed for “budget-conscious audio professionals and small- to mid-size music and audio post facilities”. We don’t have a price yet, but if Avid stays true to itself I think we can expect that an S4 setup will still be a considerable investment for a small studio.

The S4 works with any EUCON-enabled DAW, such as Pro Tools, Nuendo, Cubase, and Logic Pro. Configurations range from 8 to 24 faders, and you can add displays, joysticks, post, and knob modules as you see fit. Avid says that the S4 lets you “quickly assign and control talkback, listenback, and speaker sources and levels right from the surface to handle everything from simple cue mixes for music recording to monitoring immersive audio projects”.

: S4 x3 with additional joystick and post modules

: S4 x2 with Master Automation Module and Master Touch Module

: S1 control surface with optional iPad

Avid S1

The S1 is a compact control surface designed to give “audio professionals the hands-on speed, precision, and software integration needed to deliver better sounding mixes faster”, according to Avid. Like the S4 and S6, it uses the EUCON protocol for integration with Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic, and other DAWs. The S1 has eight motorized faders, eight rotary knobs, and eight OLED displays. It relies on an optional iPad and the Pro Tools | Control app for additional control and visual feedback. You can combine up to four S1 controllers for a total of up to 32 faders. You can also add a Pro Tools | Dock unit to create an extended all-in-one surface.

Availability

Avid says that the S4 and S1 control surfaces will be available in “late 2019”. Unfortunately, we don’t know the prices yet, but these are Avid products, so it’s probably a good idea to start saving up now.