timidi
So, i've been thinking and reading and stuff.
Thinking about the Berringer vs. the MCU. Mostly because it appears that one would need at least 2 units (wallet problem). And, apparently the older (more affordable) MCU's seem to have their faders running on "strings" (as apposed to gears or belts). That doesn't sound too cool to me.
They are nylon, fishing line looking. I've had one to pieces to fix it when my cat decided to kick something off a shelf that landed smack on one of them. Fiddly but fixable. They work fine and I remember reading somewhere that was one of the things that was worse on the newer MCUs (someone's opinion of course as opposed to fact). I don't know 'cos I've never seen a new one in the flesh.
I'm sure there are more differences between the Berringer and the MCU. But, one I did notice but don't know how big of a deal it would be is, the MCU has the LED readout of the tracks. Is this as important as it may seem?
BCFView is the virtual scribble strip thatsastrat is referring to. It works in exactly the same way as the real thing but of course you have to look at the screen to see it as opposed to it being just above the V-pots. I can't imagine trying to use a BCF, in Mackie mode without it. You do get a time display on the MCU that the BCF doesn't have, either real or virtual.
Also, I was curious how the faders operate on these when switching banks or channels and how smooth that operation is. Do they slam all over the place?
No, neither are that noticeable you can move a track at a time or by bank and they both just do their thing.
Seems you guys opted for the MCU for a reason. What are the disadvantages of the Berri over the MCU?
Oh boy this'll be hard. Apologies if this turns into a Danny Danzi epic.
If the BCF wasn't so cheap it'd be a fairly easy answer, the MCU is better, but IMHO nowhere near £1000 better, not even £500 better. Here's some of the differences that spring to mind, in no particular order, and of course all IMHO.
MCU advantages The MCU has a jog wheel, the BCF doesn't. That's probably the thing I would miss most if I had to go back to the BCF. You can still FF & REW on the BCF and set it to your preference measures/beats/or ticks but you've got that on the MCU as well as the jog wheel so I set the buttons to measures, jog wheel to beats. Then to move by ticks just hold down M1 (one of the four shift keys). I use that so much when editing. Other shift keys (M2 - M4) will also affect resolution of the wheel which leads to the next difference......
MCU has 4 shift keys, there's only one on the BCF. It's not a huge difference and if you had a BCF without having used a MCU it probably wouldn't be an issue but again I'd really miss that now if I had to go back. It opens up even more functions and control (although some are now broken in X1).
The MCU has more buttons and although the BCF uses it's own shift button system to access almost as many functions it does involve more finger gymnastics, most can be done one handed though and once used to them very quickly, but it is easier on the MCU as most of the more common ones are one press functions. Probably the most noticeable are the solo buttons. There are dedicated solo & mute on the MCU whereas the BCF uses one button that needs shifting. I put together a BCF users guide that might be worth a look to give you an idea of the various shifting etc with that.
HERE BCF faders aren't touch sensitive. I don't mean it doesn't activate the track when you touch the faders it does but there is a slight difference. You do need to move the fader very slightly whereas the MCU has true touch sensitivity via a sensor in the fader. More importantly though is you can't fight the automation on a BCF, or you could but might break the motors. On the MCU touching the faders overides automation making envelope changes much easier, that only really affects volume as the rest is done via V-pots which behave gthe same although on both units you can swap control if you find faders easier for other automation. that's probably another biggie for me although I wasn't aware it was an issue before I got the MCU. Ignorance is bliss I guess.
BCF advantages Price. There is no better value for money piece of kit on the market, IMHO, of course.
Smaller footprint. That was one of the reasons i went for the BCF initially, I simply didn't have room for the MCU.
Can be used for other things. The MCU works in Mackie mode and that's about it really, it's all about DAW control. The BCF can be used in Mackie mode, which is the best way to use it for Sonar control but can also be used as an ACT device, which is how I'm using mine now or as a general MIDI controller. You can't switch "on the fly" though. It's more versatile than an MCU.
To summarize there isn't much that the MCU can do that the BCF can't, it's just easier on the MCU. Whether that's worth the extra ££/$$s is the question that ultimately only you can answer.
Thanks for your comments. I appreciate it.
Might be worth mentioning that you can run a BCF alongside and MCU as well for an XT on steroids unit but it is smaller so doesn't look as aesthetically pleasing (if that matters to you). By on steroids I mean the buttons still function whereas the XT doesn't have any buttons other than the mute/solo/record ones.
Here's a picture to show size difference between BCF & XT
and this one shows all three..................
HTH