Control Surfaces

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Vince Kreative
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2018/09/25 20:38:13 (permalink)

Control Surfaces

I'm in search of a good control surface that's motorized to work with Cakewalk bandlab. Preferably under 2k
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    Leadfoot
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/09/25 20:57:41 (permalink)
    Presonus Faderport has been great for me. I just have the single fader version. They have 8 and 16 fader versions too. The 16 fader version sells for $999.
    #2
    azslow3
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/09/26 09:09:55 (permalink)
    Till you are ready to fight with no longer produced VS-700 (driver issues), the only stable solution is MackieControl.
    It work with:
    * original unit (Mackie MCU Pro / XT)
    * full clones (Behringer X-Touch / XT)
    * partial clone (Presonus FP 8/16)
    - other clones (f.e. QCon) have some troubles with Sonar/CbB
    The first is original, so everything which has chance to work will work. The second is the cheapest solution, but some people are not happy with faders behavior. There are only good words written about FP8/16, but it has much less controls then MCU and so loose some functionality.
     
    Note that controlling FXes is tricky (you will need to write special text file with each particular plug-in layout) and controlling Synthes is impossible.
     
    Theoretically you can also try Avid surfaces throw EUCON, you can find at least partial success stories in this forum.

    Sonar 8LE -> Platinum infinity, REAPER, Windows 10 pro
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    #3
    msmcleod
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/09/26 09:59:53 (permalink)
    azslow3
    Note that controlling FXes is tricky (you will need to write special text file with each particular plug-in layout) and controlling Synthes is impossible.

     
    The Mackie C4 can be used for controlling both FX and Synths (VSti's), and works really well.
     
    Whilst you don't need to write the text file for each plugin to give it a layout, it's probably worth doing so - otherwise it lays out the parameters in the order it finds them.
     
    I spend a good few days going through all my EQ's, compressors and channel strips plugins coming up with as standard a layout as I could.
     
    I would say however, since modern vsti synths have so many parameters, that it's debatable as to whether using something like a C4 to control every parameter is practical. You end up having to wade through pages of parameters, unless you do go through editing the MackieControl.ini and organise/trim them down yourself.
     
    For FX though, the C4 is a dream and sits quite nicely alongside an MCU or MCU + XT.
     
    Also, for a motorised controller, I wouldn't write off 2nd hand original Mackie MCU's. They typically go for around £300 ($400). However:
    • They are LARGE and take up desk space (but then, so is the MCU pro)
    • Replacement faders are hard to come by - this isn't the case for MCU Pro's.
     

    Mark McLeod
    Cakewalk by BL | ASUS P8B75-V, Intel I5 3570 16GB RAM Win 10 64 + Win 7 64/32 SSD HD's, Scarlett 18i20 / 6i6 | ASUS ROG GL552VW 16GB RAM Win 10 64 SSD HD's, Scarlett 2i2 | Behringer Truth B2030A / Edirol MA-5A | Mackie MCU + C4 + XT | 2 x BCF2000, Korg NanoKontrol Studio
    #4
    pwalpwal
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/09/26 13:34:52 (permalink)
    cakewalk ain't the best for control surface support, so thank goodness we have azslow3(he's taken the cs sdk and made it his own!) and msmcleod's advice, above, can't be argued with
     
    good luck!

    just a sec

    #5
    azslow3
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/09/26 15:41:03 (permalink)
    msmcleod
    azslow3
    Note that controlling FXes is tricky (you will need to write special text file with each particular plug-in layout) and controlling Synthes is impossible.

    The Mackie C4 can be used for controlling both FX and Synths (VSti's), and works really well.

    Can it really control VSTi (Synth)? Is that in your mod or I have overseen something in the original code?

    Sonar 8LE -> Platinum infinity, REAPER, Windows 10 pro
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    #6
    msmcleod
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/09/26 18:22:02 (permalink)
    azslow3
    msmcleod
    azslow3
    Note that controlling FXes is tricky (you will need to write special text file with each particular plug-in layout) and controlling Synthes is impossible.

    The Mackie C4 can be used for controlling both FX and Synths (VSti's), and works really well.

    Can it really control VSTi (Synth)? Is that in your mod or I have overseen something in the original code?


    Yes and it's in the original code.
     
    But it only works if you've added your VSTi the "old" way, by putting it in the FX bin of an Audio track.
     
    Like I said though, there's so many parameters in modern vsti's, even with 32 rotaries it's pages and pages of parameters. Also the 7 character labels get a bit cryptic!
     
    But if you really want to control a particular VSTi, you can add it to the FX bin of an audio track and control it like any other plugin.

    Mark McLeod
    Cakewalk by BL | ASUS P8B75-V, Intel I5 3570 16GB RAM Win 10 64 + Win 7 64/32 SSD HD's, Scarlett 18i20 / 6i6 | ASUS ROG GL552VW 16GB RAM Win 10 64 SSD HD's, Scarlett 2i2 | Behringer Truth B2030A / Edirol MA-5A | Mackie MCU + C4 + XT | 2 x BCF2000, Korg NanoKontrol Studio
    #7
    azslow3
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/09/26 19:39:23 (permalink)
    msmcleod
    But if you really want to control a particular VSTi, you can add it to the FX bin of an audio track and control it like any other plugin.

    That is a nice trick

    Sonar 8LE -> Platinum infinity, REAPER, Windows 10 pro
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    RME Babyface Pro (M-Audio Audiophile Firewire/410, VS-20), Kawai CN43, TD-11, Roland A500S, Akai MPK Mini, Keystation Pro, etc.
    www.azslow.com - Control Surface Integration Platform for SONAR, ReaCWP, AOSC and other accessibility tools
    #8
    Zargg
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/10/17 14:08:06 (permalink)
    Hi. I use an ancient Tascam FW1884 (in Native mode) with SONAR in Win 10 X64, with somewhat success.
    I have control over faders, both tracks, buses, and Master fader.
    I can't (or haven't figured out how to) control any plugins from it. Would be very cool if I somehow figured it out
    All the best.

    Ken Nilsen
    Zargg
    BBZ
    Win 10 Pro X64, Cakewalk by Bandlab, SPlat X64, AMD AM3+ fx-8320, 16Gb RAM, RME Ucx (+ ARC), Tascam FW 1884, M-Audio Keystation 61es, *AKAI MPK Pro 25, *Softube Console1, Alesis DM6 USB, Maschine MkII
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    #9
    Leadfoot
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/10/17 15:03:48 (permalink)
    I would still like to pick up an old Tascam US-2400. 25 motorized faders, and you can usually find one on eBay in great shape for about $600. They appear to work well with Sonar. Not sure about CbB.
    #10
    Zargg
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/10/19 22:08:56 (permalink)
    Leadfoot
    I would still like to pick up an old Tascam US-2400. 25 motorized faders, and you can usually find one on eBay in great shape for about $600. They appear to work well with Sonar. Not sure about CbB.

    There is a US-2400 for sale almost right next door to me for under 100$. Only missing a fader cap (and I've got that on my FW1884).
    Can't really afford it now, and not sure it comes with some of the functions I've grown accustomed to.
    Would be nais with 24 faders, though
    All the best.

    Ken Nilsen
    Zargg
    BBZ
    Win 10 Pro X64, Cakewalk by Bandlab, SPlat X64, AMD AM3+ fx-8320, 16Gb RAM, RME Ucx (+ ARC), Tascam FW 1884, M-Audio Keystation 61es, *AKAI MPK Pro 25, *Softube Console1, Alesis DM6 USB, Maschine MkII
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    #11
    msmcleod
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/10/19 22:47:23 (permalink)
    I used a couple of behringer BCF2000's for a while, which were great as controllers, but as they don't have a display for the track names I found myself constantly looking back up at the monitor to see what track was what.
     
    In the end it was actually quicker to just use the mouse (or in my case trackball).
     
    As the US-2400 doesn't have a display, I'd bear this in mind.
     
    It's probably fine if you're used to using the same tracks for the same things for every song (e.g. you might when recording bus automation in your final mixdown), but for general track mixing, you might find 24 un-named tracks bewildering... but then again, maybe not, and it IS one of the coolest looking control surfaces out there.
     
    I've since moved to a Mackie MCU + XT + C4 which is far better due to having the display.
     

    Mark McLeod
    Cakewalk by BL | ASUS P8B75-V, Intel I5 3570 16GB RAM Win 10 64 + Win 7 64/32 SSD HD's, Scarlett 18i20 / 6i6 | ASUS ROG GL552VW 16GB RAM Win 10 64 SSD HD's, Scarlett 2i2 | Behringer Truth B2030A / Edirol MA-5A | Mackie MCU + C4 + XT | 2 x BCF2000, Korg NanoKontrol Studio
    #12
    rj davis
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/10/22 21:40:49 (permalink)
    The MCU Pro is very solid.  You really need the Cakewalk overlay template, so look for that if buying used. 

    Ron
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    #13
    Zargg
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    Re: Control Surfaces 2018/10/28 13:09:28 (permalink)
    msmcleod

     
    As the US-2400 doesn't have a display, I'd bear this in mind.
     

    I suppose this was for me, so I only quoted this
    My FW 1884 doesn't have a display either, so I'm used to it 
    I often use Console 1 to highlight tracks and scroll/tab banks of faders until I find it in the 1884. Not ideal, but much better than not having it at all
    All the best.

    Ken Nilsen
    Zargg
    BBZ
    Win 10 Pro X64, Cakewalk by Bandlab, SPlat X64, AMD AM3+ fx-8320, 16Gb RAM, RME Ucx (+ ARC), Tascam FW 1884, M-Audio Keystation 61es, *AKAI MPK Pro 25, *Softube Console1, Alesis DM6 USB, Maschine MkII
    Laptop setup: Win 10 X64, i5 2.4ghz, 8gb RAM, 320gb 7200 RPM HD, Focusrite Solo, + *
     
    #14
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