Review: MC Color control surface

The EDITBLOG on PVC by Scot Simmons

Euphonix’s entry into the more affordable color grading surface is a strong one

A bit earlier this year Euphonix began shipping its highly anticipated MC Color control surface. This unit was designed for use with Apple Color and has been welcomed by Color users to add another option to their hardware based control surface choices. Until the MC Color came along your choices were either one of the JL Cooper units or the more affordable Tangent Wave. At $1,499 the MC Color doesn’t break what I think is the magic $999 mark (magic in the sense that it will put a control surface in the hands of a lot more users) but it’s right along side the Wave in price and less than the JL Cooper offerings. The MC Color is also a very new unit. There’s a few glitches and bugs than can probably be worked out in software but the hardware is what it is at this point and there’s both a lot to like and a missing feature in the hardware itself. But there’s one thing that’s certain, the MC Color makes the Color application much more useful than a mouse alone.

I wrote down some first impression of the MC Color the weekend that I got the unit in hand. To recap those (you can also read the whole article here): The MC Color, while it has its fair share of plastic in the construction, is well built and looks right at home on your desk. It’s smaller than the Tangent Wave and from looks alone appears to be a more “professional” looking unit, though that type of thing is totally subjective. To me the Wave looks more like a toy with its red trackballs, blue displays, big knobs and its expansive plastic surface. The MC Color can be elevated by individually adjustable plastic feet built into the bottom of the unit or lifted even further with included riser brackets. You’ll be able to easier integrate the MC Color on a desk with a keyboard or tablet due to its overall smaller size than the Wave. I do wish the trackballs had some type of locking mechanism instead of just resting in their sockets. I never spilled them out once they were in place but someone was in my room examining the unit and out they went into the floor.

I think easily the two most professional features on the MC Color are the look of the OLED displays and the feel of the trackwheels. The displays are bright and easy to read. Each letter is made up of lots of little tiny dots so it’s very highend looking with a nice font. The trackwheels are weighted well; heavy but easy to move and very smooth. They are a pleasure to use over the Tangent Wave’s dials that sit above the trackballs. read more...