NEW DAW CONTROLLER!

Hey guys! There's a new DAW controller on the market right now! It's the Tascam US-2400! It's a 24 channel mixing console controller with motorized faders. The unit hasn't start shipping yet, but some online retailers are already allowing people to order now. The going price is $1,600. Tascam has yet to release the full specs on this item, but I already like the price! I've been saving for the tascam fw-1884, but if the US-2400 proves to be what I hope it is, then good bye fw-1884!

Check it out at
--> http://www.tascam.com/product_info.php?pid=342&nav=computer_hardware <--

Check it out and let me know what you guys think.
Thanks.

Delamatrix

I would love to see some reviews of it. I have been thinkiong about the Mackie Control plus one or two extenders,. The Tascam would actually be cheaper. Wow, I would like to see some sort of review on it....

According to the specs it's only a controller - something folks might want to keep in mind. No audio inputs. Sure does look sweet, though.

Craig

Looks interesting.

Here's some more FYI stuff just to keep in mind.

No per track LCD display for track names and functions.

This control surface looks like it will be just transport control with faders and v-pots.

The MC does much more including: save your project, open and close functional windows and views, expand and collapse views (zoom), insert audio and MIDI tracks, delete button for selected clips and features, user programmable buttons (M1-M4), switch from track faders to bus faders, loop insert and control buttons ... etc.

I guess the select button would be the record/enable button on the Mackie Control. There's a separate select button on the MC that is not functional right now, but after the DLL is updated, it will shift the focus from one track to another.

From another thread:

1,The select Buttons need to select tracks. This is very important for me.
2, Support for the touch faders. Touching a fader should select a track.
3, Full plugin support and Eq For automation and control . Please try to make it simple and easy.
4, Latch mode for tweaking automation.
5, MC LCD meter support!
6, Need to revise what the Control Group buttons do.
7, Better scrub function
8, The MC should not display hidden tracks or make this a user switchable function.
9, Support for green per track signal activity LEDs on the MC. (MIDI and Audio)

These are MC features that work in other DAW software applications but are not yet working in Sonar.

But stay tuned... let's see what the DLL update brings... SOON I hope!

with all this talk about controllers, I wonder if anyone knows what happened to Radical Tech's Sac 2k2? I heard buzz about it, and then, NOTHING. Is it any good? better/worse/diff than the MC? I see that they can be had for dirt cheap on ebay (the $600 range)...any comments?

ORIGINAL: ohhey
Are folks having that much of a problem using a mouse?

Yep.

But you're right... it doesn't look bad either!

NOTICE*...

The US-2400 features 25 touch-sensitive moving channel faders and a touch-sensitive motorized master fader,

That's right... ONE motorized master fader, all the rest are not......apperently??

Seemed noteworthy.

Al

ORIGINAL: ohhey

I just can't see spending $2000 (or even $1000) on something that just gives me knobs. Are folks having that much of a problem using a mouse ? I could see a remote with transport controls just for a remote control but why all the faders ? Is it just for looks ?

You've got a funny way of asking for help.

John.

Logic and Samplitude show the meters as well as a lot more stuff.
The MC, as I have been saying for a very long time now on this and the old forum is far more then just some faders and knobs. It was designed to fully integrate into the DAW allowing nearly complete control of all aspects of the DAW and with a great deal of feedback to the user and user customization. I have tried to point this out to the users of Sonar that the MC is far better then the weak implementation we now have under Sonar.

Do a search on Logic Control and Mackie Control (they are the same) in Sound On Sound and other mags and see what they say about it and what it can do.

I am still waiting for the new plugin dll for the MC that CW has said is forthcoming. It really should have been done a long time ago. If not when Sonar 3 shipped.

I'm already pretty much using Cubase for the most part these days, simply because the MC has more functionality there...I bought Sonar because I love the software and respect the company...but since right now things get done faster in my old s/w because it works better with my hardware, Sonar gathers dust until I see this new MC update.

I hear you loud and clear. In my case I also have Cubase SX 2 but as much as I like the look of it and the MC support I still prefer Sonar 3 for the things I do.

I just found out that Sound Forge can be controlled by the MC even though it doesn’t support it.

Best
John

hmmm

yamaha o1x anyone???

ORIGINAL: Eric_funk

You cant beat the mackie control, after all it is a MACKIE, i hope that the new dll has the meter in the LCD option, how cool :)

Derek

There was a response in another thread from a CW developer indicating a concern for the amount of streaming MIDI traffic MC level meters would require.

I think it was John (above) who responded with the fact that Logic and Samplitude are doing it, and they don't seem to have a problem.

It seems to me that the streaming MIDI data for the MC level meters would require another Sonar update... not just a new DLL.

From what I read on this Forum and the Mackie Forum folks spend more time trying to get these things working then they save in workflow. And then they get to do it all over again the next time they upgrade or change their DAW software. I used to mix on an analog console and I can't imagine going back to that. You can't even see where you are in the track to make a change and there is no way you can more your hand fast enough to do any precise changes. Yeah you could watch the monitor and zoom around while you are trying to keep the other hand on the fader but why ? If you're at the computer just make a few nodes and move the envolope, done. I wonder how many nodes (events) are generated by the output of the controller ? Seems like you would have to thin them out at some point. As for motorized faders how much noise are those things going to make when they all start jumping around ?

ORIGINAL: ohhey

From what I read on this Forum and the Mackie Forum folks spend more time trying to get these things working then they save in workflow. And then they get to do it all over again the next time they upgrade or change their DAW software. I used to mix on an analog console and I can't imagine going back to that. You can't even see where you are in the track to make a change and there is no way you can more your hand fast enough to do any precise changes. Yeah you could watch the monitor and zoom around while you are trying to keep the other hand on the fader but why ? If you're at the computer just make a few nodes and move the envolope, done. I wonder how many nodes (events) are generated by the output of the controller ? Seems like you would have to thin them out at some point. As for motorized faders how much noise are those things going to make when they all start jumping around ?

Envelopes drawn by a faders do indeed create lots of nodes. However, if they bother you, (don't know why the would) you can easily block the ones between the end nodes and press delete. What remains is the same as if you drew them with a mouse, except you might have done it with multiple faders at once. Can't do that with a mouse.

The motorized faders are very quiet, but if they bother you, (don't know why they would), you can turn them off. Personally, I don't start mixing to the point of adding envelopes until I'm done recording... so fader movement sounds (if you can hear them... don't know why you would) never get picked up by a microphone. I certainly can't hear them over the playback audio.

The only reason people complain about loosing functionality after a software upgrade of something as useful and appreciated as the Mackie Control is because once you get used to it, you never want to work without it again.

You know... kind of like never wanting to go back to trying to mix with an analog mixer.

Do I like the fact that my Mackie Control investment cost more than my DAW? NO! I wish it was less expensive. But when I bought mine, did I put it up for sale on ebay? Heck no... instead I bought extenders!

You never hear MC owners complaining that we bought one and it's a piece of crap, and you don't see many for sale on ebay. When you buy one... you keep it until your ready for the next level... and that, in my opinion, would be a 48 track digital console. They START around $15,000.00.

http://bpgprod.sel.sony.com/Professional/images/product/front_zoom/dmxr100_z.jpg

You don't see the need. Okay, that's fine. I guess you're right... it's not a NEED... I could live without it for a while if my MC ever breaks or needs service.

Ohey, I truely think you'd like it if you owned one with extenders. There's nothing like sliding your finger across 12-16 basic rhthym track record/enable buttons to instantly set up for the next take.

Pricey? Yes.
Effecient? Yes.
Helpful? Yes.
Impressive? Yes.

Fun? OH YES!

hmmm

yamaha o1x anyone???

as I understand it, the faders aren't touch sensitive on the 01x? That was the deal-breaker for me. WTF is the point of motorized faders if they aren't touch sensitive? Just to look pretty?