PreSonus

the fader as you jump from channel to channel
(and the subsequent volume to volume).
The Solo, Mute and Arm (for recording)
buttons all control their respective icons on the
top panel of the unit, and the Transport controls
do the same at the bottom. The Automation
features are also useful with Touch, Write and
Read options. Switching between channels
using the Prev/Next buttons (and the various
buttons beneath the main encoder), zooming
and navigating around are also a joy.
The manual is also very good and takes you
on a hand-holding journey through the other
main DAWs in terms of audio interface setup. In
terms of setting the unit up as a diferent DAW
controller you simply restart it and press Next,
then either the Mute, Bypass or Arm buttons to
enable Logic, Cubase/Nuendo and Live
respectively (in MCU mode), the Touch button to
enable Pro Tools (HUI) operation, or Solo to put
it back in Studio One mode.
In Logic, the unit works well as a controller
with broadly the same controls as Studio One. It
isn’t quite as instantaneous – which seems to be
Logic lagging somewhat – but all in all,
additional features like the Undo/Redo and
Zoom options make it a pleasing experience,
and one that we think we will quite easily grow
used to with a bit of practice.
Ableton Live (in MCU mode) performed
pretty much identically aside from the fact that
it also comes with the ability to launch clips and
scenes by pressing Scroll then Click for a clip
and Section for a scene, plus options to switch
between Session and Arrangement views. Zoom
options and the Undo and Redo are also present
and correct and while there are (pretty
obviously) better Live controllers, ioStation 24c
does a great job – one of the best we’ve seen
within the conines of the MCU standard.
Conclusion
We look at the interfacing side of ioStation in the
box top right and that, combined with its
extensive control features, make it an attractive
multi-solution box. In fact if you consider that it
also includes two DAWs (Studio One Artist and
Ableton Live Lite) plus the Studio Magic bundle
that includes Output Movement and Arturia
Analog Lab Lite plus other plugins (six virtual
instruments, and nine efects plugins in total)
you could consider this as the ultimate beginner
bundle. Certainly if someone had thrown this in
as an option when we began our journey in
music production, we would probably have
bitten their hands of. It is one great-sounding
interface, a versatile DAW controller (with the
luxury of a moving fader) and all the software
you need to make music… at just over £250 for
the lot.
Web presonus.com
Verdict
For Great, high-quality interface
Controller digs deep in most DAWs
Especially good for Studio One
Very good value for what you get
Good software bundle
Against Not buss-powered
Need to update everything for a slick
controller result
An all-in-one box that actually performs
both (actually all three) of its tasks with
some aplomb. Great value too
9 / 1 0
Alternatively
Behringer X Touch One
£122
A motorised fader and LED screen
on this MCU and HUI controller but
there’s no software bundle
Softube Console 1 MkII
246 » 9/10 » £349
Fully-featured DAW controller with
quality UA and Softube efects
With all our chat about ioStation 24C’s
DAW control capabilities, it is almost
too easy to overlook the back panel
and front controls that double this
device up as an audio interface. There
are two XLR/instrument line combos at
the back plus two quarter-inch outputs,
a headphone-out and a Footswitch
control that can be used to start and
stop recordings and the like. (Useful if
you have your hands full with a guitar
or something).
The interface incorporates two
XMAX mic preamps and 24-bit, 192 kHz
analogue-to-digital converters which
pay of with the resulting sound which
delivers crystal clear recordings.
Around the front you get Gain pots
for the mic preamp inputs, a Line level
button (that changes the input from
Instrument level to Line level for
keyboards and drum machines) plus a
48v phantom power button. Most
useful are the Mix dial (that allows you
to mix the recorded signal with your
DAW playback at zero latency) and the
Mute button which enables you to
switch of your monitors when
recording. A headphone level dial
completes the controls. It’s a very solid
interface, very useful for a wide variety
of recording tasks – from singer-
songwriter to bedroom producer,
there’s plenty of lexibility here.
The Interface
The Studio Magic bundle contains pretty much every plugin you need to make music
The interface section ofers high quality recording options and some useful hands-on controls
“It really comes
into its own
for proper colouration
of beats, basses
and beyond”
December 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 71
presonus iostation 24c / reviews <
CMU289.rev_presonus_iostation24c.indd 71 13/10/2020 10:07