Rich Takes an ICON for a Test Drive

The ICON Integrated console system. Aside of knowing that over 1,000 of them have been sold to date, I wanted to find out for myself just what the buzz was all about. Seeking a hands on approach, Digidesign product specialist and Grammy® award-winning mixer Phil Magnotti sat with me on his own personal ICON – nestled comfortably in his Connecticut home studio. After briefly reviewing its overall layout, he let me take the flight controls and mix one of my sessions. Here are my impressions...

ICON D-Control

First off, it feels like a console - which of course it is. Since Icons come in several configurations (including an Accel DSP engine and HD I/O’s), your approach will slightly change with each. The D-Command worksurface, which is a medium format console, has a dedicated center section and two multi-purpose rotary encoders per channel strip. D-Command’s base configuration of 8-faders (100mm) can be expanded up to 24, and it has 15 illuminated pushbuttons and a single 6-character scribble display per channel. The D-Control large-format console, which Phil owns, features 16-faders in the base configuration and 6 rotary encoders per channel strip - each which can be assigned to control plug-ins, pans, sends, I/O routing, and mic preamps. Expandable to 80 channels, it also had the XMON analog monitoring section and optional Surround Panner with touchscreen and joysticks, as well as 27 pushbuttons and 1 scribble display per channel. Both consoles feature dedicated center section panels for EQ and Dynamics control, but the D-Control has a centrally located Focus channel strip, which we’ll get to shortly. The overall console feel applied not just to the obvious fader and ‘knob’ controls, but also to the per channel metering. Aside of the eight LED bargraph meters in the main center section, each D-Control channel has two 32-segment tri-color LED’s – with Green showing levels up to –6dB, amber showing –5.2 and 0 and red indicating a clip. In addition, there are meter rings around the encoders, which can also display send levels. For example, if you’re using Dynamics you can watch the gain reduction happen directly on the encoder, or see it on the meter atop the channel strip. You can easily flip the top encoders down to the bottom if you don’t want to reach up. It quickly became obvious that this console is all about the ergonomics of mixing, and I liked what was happening to the ‘flow’ of my music - as I felt like the meters gave me a huge amount of instant feedback that I don’t get on my system.

ICON D-Command

The next thing I came to appreciate was plug-in mapping. You can easily map plug ins to the dedicated Dynamics Panel so when you call up a UA 1176 for example– it instantly appears on the encoders. Threshold, Release, Attack, etc. show up every time in the same spot - so you don’t have to think anymore - (well, you know what I mean!). I like that when you touch an encoder, the selected value is indicated in the display and once released, it instantly reverts to the parameters name. After a short adjustment period, these parameter changes became unconscious moves. Parameter mapping also applied to EQ – just call up a plug-in and wham, there is it on the EQ Panel. You can also choose to work in Plug-In mode and leave the plug in settings on the channel rotary encoders. Just hit Insert, the EQ button, and then press any of the encoders - the chosen EQ will show up. With the new Pro Tools 7.2 software, which has a ton of new features that enhance mixing (and ICON system integration in general), you can even choose your favorite default EQ and Dynamics in the preferences automation tab. For example, if you want to set the whole board up with Waves SSL EQ’s, you press the Do To All button and the entire board is set up with SSL’s. Awesome. For the first time in quite a while, I was not looking at the screen and just mixing intuitively with my ears and fingers. Phil noted that he rarely if every uses the Mix window and does just about everything on the console. While that would take me a bit of time to get used to, I could see it happening after just a few sessions. At first, I found myself continuing to use mouse commands, and Phil would note each time how that particular action could be done on the console. It’s like a bad habit you have to break, and once you start on the board, it becomes natural. Interestingly, this would also help those of us with carpal tunnel, since you literally become the board and avoid those repetitive typing and key commands. Very cool indeed.

XMON Analog Monitoring and Communications for ICON 192 I/O: Up to 16 channels analog and digital I/O at 192kHz 192 Digital I/O: Up to 16 channels digital I/O at 192kHz 96 I/O: Up to 16 channels analog and digital I/O at 96kHz 96i I/O: Line-level interface; up to 16 channels I/O at 96kHz PRE: 8-Channel Mic Pre for Pro Tools or standalone use SYNC I/O: Near sample-accurate lock to time code or bi-phase/tach signals and a 192 kHz–capable, high-fidelity, low-jitter Word Clock MIDI I/O: Up to 10 MIDI inputs and outputs for a total of 160 channels

My favorite (and the most useful) function of all was the Focus Channel, located in the middle of the board just left of the transport controls. If you select a channel while in Focus Mode - say channel 1 (Kick drum for me) on the far left, it will map itself to the single ‘duplicate’ Focus Channel. Now you can work on all the parameters of the Kick, but you’re sitting directly in the sweet spot without having to move. The benefits Im sure are obvious to you all, but it makes your life much easier as a mixer and becomes one of those “how did I work without this” functions. Custom Faders are another useful aspect of mixing with D-Control that lets you keep that chair in the sweet spot for the whole mix. With a few button pushes, I created a custom fader group for drums, vocals, backgrounds, keys, guitars and basses (subs, amps, and DI’s). I assigned them to sit on the fader bank just to the left of the Focus fader, thus allowing me to quickly bank between ‘stems’ and again, rarely moving off of the prime mix position. Another new feature I was pleased to see (and put right to use) in Version 7.2 is the much-requested VCA style grouping. In the tradition of old analog consoles, you can set up a VCA group with a Master – except there’s no audio running through it. Note that of course it doesn’t have that VCA ‘sound’, but it acts like a VCA master. The major VCA benefit being you’re able to control multiple tracks with one fader and still have the flexibility to change individual levels while having a master control. Yes, you can do that with groups, but you have to toggle it on and off to make small changes. I created a VCA group for the drums, and as I added compression to the overheads, etc, it was easy just to quickly adjust individual channel levels on the fly. Pro Tools mixers are going to love this one. Overall, my experience with D-Control certainly was positive. Everything and anything can be automated, and the workflow of this console is incredibly well thought out. It takes a little getting used to, but once that happens, you’re mix is flowing in ways that are not possible with mouse or traditional console mixing. There’s waaaaay more to this board than I explored in this column, and you’ll have to check it out for yourself to get the full overview. Personally, I can’t wait to do another session on one.