M-Audio's ProjectMix I/O combines an 18 × 14 FireWire interface with a full-featured control surface that can operate all of the major software audio applications. The unit is compatible with Macs (OS X 10.3.9 or later) and PCs (Windows XP with Service Pack 2) and supports Mackie Control, Logic Control, and HUI protocols, as well as WDM, ASIO 2, CoreAudio, and GSIF 2. The ProjectMix provides a surprising degree of analog input capability, making it possible to digitize multiple mics and instruments for simultaneous multitrack recording.

However, like other multifunction control surface/interfaces, the ProjectMix does not have analog mixing capabilities. It's strictly designed to pass input signals to your DAW, and control the app's functions, including routing and mixing of digital signals. With its dedicated modes for just about every popular audio application, the ProjectMix provides an awesome amount of control for that job.

Total Package

FIG. 1: M-Audio''s ProjectMix I/O provides a wide range of control surface features and I/O options, including eight mic preamps and an instrument input as well as ADAT Lightpipe, S/PDIF, and FireWire.

The ProjectMix I/O (see Fig. 1) uses nine touch-sensitive moving faders — eight for the channel strips and one master fader. The moving faders disengage from automatic control when you touch them and remain under manual control until you release them. Bank-select buttons allow the eight channel faders to control multiple tracks of a recorded project. Each channel strip features buttons for record enable, mute, solo, and select functions. A rotary encoder knob on each channel gets its assignment from one of 15 dedicated buttons that include EQ, aux send, and other functions. Information is displayed in an excellent high-contrast LCD directly above the encoders, which can also control plug-in parameters.

The control surface includes illuminated transport controls for record, play, stop, fast-forward, and rewind, as well as a jog/scrub wheel and locate buttons. Sets of keys handle punch-in and -out points, zooming, region nudge, looping, and other functions.

Eight analog input channels feature preamps with individual mic/line switches and balanced ¼-inch TRS and XLR inputs (see Fig. 2). Phantom power can be switched in globally for all eight inputs. Input 1 features a front-panel instrument input. A nice touch is the two ¼-inch headphone outputs with separate volume controls — a useful aid for collaborating while playing or when you can't monitor loudly. Two stereo output pairs give you choices for routing to monitors, processors, and mixdown devices. There's also an A/B headphone source-monitoring switch for DJ-style cueing.

FIG. 2: The ProjectMix I/O''s rear panel hosts eight mic and line inputs, four assignable outputs, a footswitch jack, and Lightpipe in and out, optical S/PDIF, word clock, and FireWire connectors.

The ProjectMix's digital implementation includes ADAT Lightpipe, S/PDIF, and word clock. The versatile options allow for feeding higher-quality analog signals to the unit from multichannel mic pres with digital outputs or other devices.

Connectivity

The unit also functions as a 1 × 1 MIDI interface. Using the included ProjectMix Control software application (Mac/Win), you can assign special MIDI commands to the control surface faders, encoders, and buttons, which will let you access outboard sound modules, effects processors, or virtual instruments. You enter this separate MIDI mode by pressing the MIDI button in the Encoder Operations section of the top panel.

M-Audio's FireWire Control Panel, which monitors and controls any of the company's connected FireWire products, becomes a ProjectMix Audio Interface control panel upon installation. This software (see Fig. 3) is integral to operation of the control surface and provides full control over level matching and signal routing.

FIG. 3: The ProjectMix Audio Interface control panel governs digital I/O configurations, -output assignments, and other global functions.

The panel consists of four tabs: Mixer, Output, Hardware, and About. Each provides status information about signals moving to and from the computer and within the interface. The panel can be used to assign analog and digital inputs to your chosen outputs, select sync ports and settings for monitoring, and set overall panning and level settings for output and aux sends. In the Output section you can assign the master level pot on the control surface to handle the input bus, output bus, software return bus, or aux-send level. The panel can also be resized to fit in just about any space in your DAW's screen.

Setup Project

Setting up the ProjectMix for audio was somewhat less than intuitive. After connecting a FireWire cable and outputs 1 and 2 to my Mac, I was able to confirm audio communication quickly by selecting the ProjectMix option in the Sound control panel and playing iTunes. But listening to some plugged-in keyboards through the unit required a careful reading of the PDF manual that was included on the installation discs. To complicate matters, the manual included with the review unit I received had been updated and expanded, yet there was no clear notice about checking the company's download page on its Web site for the newer version of the manual.

A red insert card included with the application CD made it clear that a firmware update would be required for certain apps that weren't directly supported in the original release. One of these was MOTU Digital Performer, my main DAW. However, after I spent the time downloading and launching the firmware update, it turned out that it was already installed. Much time and confusion could have been saved with an updated — and printed — manual in the box. A device this complex calls for a hard-copy manual, and you could reasonably expect one for the ProjectMix's price. It's cumbersome to switch between a PDF reader, the ProjectMix's software control panel (which shows up in the Others section of System Preferences), and a DAW just to ensure that audio is moving back and forth properly.

For example, if you want to hear an input source (as anyone might on a device with eight mic pres and a front-panel instrument input) before setting up your audio app for recording, you must assign the input channel to an output in the software control panel. Although the flexibility and features of the ProjectMix make some detailed setup unavoidable, anyone trying to configure the unit without the correct manual will have a tough time. After I contacted M-Audio and the company informed me of the updated manual, the ProjectMix became fun to work with. (According to M-Audio, the updated and expanded manual is now included on the installation disc that comes with any currently shipping unit. If you have the older manual, there's a link to the current one at www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/ProjectMixIO-main.html.)

Project Performer

With the correct manual, it was easy to establish full communication among the Mac, the ProjectMix, and Digital Performer 4.61 (DP), which I was running on a Mac mini with a 1.33 GHz G4 processor and 512 MB of RAM.

One of the most attractive features of the ProjectMix is its ability to boot into dedicated modes for specific applications. By pressing predetermined button combinations and hitting the power switch (assuming your firmware is updated), you can boot the unit into preset configurations for Digidesign Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered, Ableton Live 5, Apple Logic, MOTU Digital Performer, Steinberg Cubase, and Cakewalk Sonar.

I added a Mackie Control device in the Mac's Audio/ MIDI control panel and loaded a country-rock project with about 20 combined audio and MIDI tracks. When I set all the audio tracks and master fader to output to the ProjectMix's outputs 1 and 2, the faders snapped to their mix positions, and it was fairly smooth sailing from that point on.

The ProjectMix handled all the tracks in my song file without a glitch, and once I had the navigational controls down, I could move around the project as quickly as I did onscreen with a mouse. I could easily discern functions beyond track names in the LCD. It was easy to select effects on individual tracks. You select the track by using the bank buttons and the Sel button on the corresponding fader channel, push the Plug In button, and presto — the first effect in DP's list for that track appears, with an asterisk indicating the effect is loading. Turn the encoder pot at the top of the strip to scroll through the other effects. Press the down arrow button to pick an additional effect for that track. In terms of basic control-surface functionality, the ProjectMix was able to access every parameter in DP that I looked for, and controlled it with very little noticeable lag. And that was only one audio application.

Of course, trying to be all controls to all DAWs is tricky, and despite the ProjectMix's thorough command set, its button layout doesn't work elegantly for every function. As I checked out the ProjectMix's performance while listening to my country project in DP, for example, I often wanted to play back the song from the beginning. It took a while to find the Return to Zero function in the manual (it's the very last entry in the list of DP button assignments). If the ProjectMix is configured for DP, you must press the Alt and rewind buttons on the control surface to return to zero. Because of the distance between the two buttons, you'd have to be a contortionist to manage this with one hand. It's much easier to use the computer keyboard's numeric keypad (dot-0-enter) for this function in DP.

Session in Progress

I overdubbed some parts onto my country-rock opus to check routing and ease of integration with Digital Performer, and was impressed with the ProjectMix's smooth handling. For a lead guitar part, I added an audio track in DP and set up channel 1 on the ProjectMix to receive input by putting the Mic/Line button into line input and then pressing the Instrument button. Then I hit the channel strip's Rec button, confirmed that DP was getting the signal, hit the Record button on the ProjectMix transport control, and started jamming. DP recorded the signal with the right amount of gain; the ProjectMix's signal and clip LEDs at the top of the channels were clearly well calibrated to DP's. Using the bank buttons, I scrolled over to my new audio track and processed the overdubs using only the control surface.

A vocal overdub went just as smoothly. The ProjectMix's mic preamps are serviceable, but they seem best suited for basic digitization only. For a serious project, I would recommend, as I would with just about every computer interface, a multichannel outboard mic pre connected by line outputs or Lightpipe to the ProjectMix. The ProjectMix's interface, routing, and control surface features are well implemented and performed flawlessly in my sessions, and they are clearly the strong suits of the unit.

Projected Mix

M-Audio's ProjectMix I/O is a versatile control surface and interface that handles digital audio functions expertly and without any apparent degradation of signal quality. It could use some more-obvious level indicators in hardware and some additional analog functions to make it a more convenient audio processor. Its price, which was recently raised after an introductory discount, seems based on its mic pres and versatile I/O options. But its input section is not likely to appeal to pros who work with analog a lot, and the appeal of its clearly well-done implementation of various DAW control schemes depends totally on a user's desire to not work with a mouse or trackball.

However, the ProjectMix has a lot going for it, and as a digital controller and signal router, it works extremely well. It would make a great complement to any of the major DAWs in a studio where engineers and producers need an all-in-one interface with moving faders.

Rusty Cutchin is an associate editor of EM. He can be reached at rcutchin@comcast.net.

GUIDE TO EM METERS

5 = Amazing; as good as it gets with current technology

4 = Clearly above average; very desirable

3 = Good; meets expectations

2 = Somewhat disappointing but usable

1 = Unacceptably flawed

PROJECTMIX I/O SPECIFICATIONS

PRODUCT SUMMARY

M-AUDIO ProjectMix I/O
control surface/audio interface
$1,599

PROS: Boot-up configurations for popular DAW apps. Multiple analog and digital I/O options. Dual headphone jacks. High-contrast display.

CONS: PDF manual only. Analog monitoring requires control panel setup.

FEATURES
EASE OF USE
AUDIO QUALITY
VALUE

MANUFACTURER

M-Audio
www.m-audio.com