Trying to get motorized faders to work with BEHRINGER BCF2000 for ACT

IIRC, the ACT surface is not bi-directional. The only way to get that feedback is to use Mackie mode.

ACT just needs some attention and a v2.0 to get it up to snuff. Hopefully v9....

dont use act and define it as a control surface in mackie mode. thats the only way it will work correclty. do a search here. Theres a thread that will help you step by step on how to do it
Cj

Plugins are fully controllable in Mackie mode but you have to use the plugin mode which by default assigns the controls to the v-pots. You can use the 'flip' mode to use the faders instead if you prefer them. The parameters aren't assignable as such though, they are always assigned sequentially whether you are using faders or v-pots.

I meant plugin mode within the Mackie mode (if that makes sense). Put it into mackie mode and then you can control plugins (not softsynths) by pressing 1st shift+track which without an overlay is E1 + Learn. TBH I've never used the BCF in anything other than Mackie mode, mainly because it does everything I need it to in that mode.

If you've tried Mackie mode and didn't like it fair enough but if you haven't tried that mode then do. You'll be surprised how much control you get over the whole of Sonar, not just plugins.

I'm a bit confused about how you are assigning the faders to parameters while in Mackie mode. You shouldn't be able to do that. Mackie mode is set when you switch the unit on to assign Mackie mode for the first time and it stays that way until you change the mode by restarting the BCF while holding down one of the v-pots. Are you sure you are using the Sonar Mackie mode?

The LCD display on the BCF should read NCSo when you first turn it on if you are in that mode. The Sonar Mackie mode is assigned by holding down the V-pot 4th from left while turning the unit on. Once you've done that once it will stay in that mode when you turn it on until you change it.

In this mode once you control plugins you can't assign the controls to parameters they are preset and apart from moving through the channels and banks or using the flip option there is no control over them. I stress that this only applies to plugins. That is any plugin that is in the effects box. You can't control synths in the synth rack from the Mackie mode so it may not be what you are looking for.

Regarding the faders moving to the next 8 tracks, in Mackie emulation mode this is simply done by using the bank buttons. I suspect you may not be in the Sonar Mackie mode, assignment of controls from that mode is impossible.

That's bizarre. Pressing the button to the left of "exit" should put you into pan mode, so the v-pots control the pan of a track and the faders volume. Do you mean you can assign the faders and v-pots to parameters via ACT when you press it? That is definitely strange behaviour.

Hmm, I tried Plugin mode (which comes up as Pl on the led) using Mackie mode and I dont get how I can control plugins still. Do I use ACT? Or what? Also what is Pl. as opposed to Pl? (without the dot)

hi Blades, i actually did watch it and the standard stuff assigned to mackie mode is super. but the controllin of plugins just isnt workin for me in mackie mode. Im not even sure what to do to get that goin. I dont recall anything about controllin plugins too in depth on your nice vid. Thanks for doin it by the way

I don't talk about the control of plugins really, because I don'[t really find a lot of use in the unfortunate default layout of parameters.  Basically, you go to "plugin mode" while in Mackie Emulation by pressing the button in the four group.  Off the top of my head, I don't remember which it is, but if you look at the group of four where the Pan buttone is, pan is lower left, track is upper right.  The other two are "dynamics" and "plugins".  Dynamics will basically control a compressor inserted (a particular one and it would have to be inserted first, I think).  Plugins will let you cycle through the available plugs on the track and control them.  There is a Mackie.ini file that describes the effects that are controllable and which parameters line up where - you can edit this.  this works for other plugs that are not in the ini file, but it bascally just exposes the available parameters in a completely non-sensical order.

With the plugin mode, the control of the Cakewalk FX Reverb is very logical (the sliders control - gasp - the sliders in the GUI).

Hope this adds something.

Not really the issue here, John.  There is a Blue strip that goes on your PC monitor that emulates that Mackie parameter strip (not under anything but WinXP, however as far as I can tell).

So you can see the parameters, but they lay out in silly ways - like the first knob might be the enable/disable for the effect, next would be the eq frq, then gain, then Q, then Freq, then gain, then q, then freq - then you'd have to go to another bank - so not-intuitive, learning the layout would take a lot more work than just using the mouse.  I'm just making up these exact controls, but it's just like that. 

It's not just a feedback problem from my perspective - and I'm sure this works basically the same way on an actual Mackie since it's the same emulation - but it's not intuitive like it is for me.

Blades


Not really the issue here, John.  There is a Blue strip that goes on your PC monitor that emulates that Mackie parameter strip (not under anything but WinXP, however as far as I can tell).

So you can see the parameters, but they lay out in silly ways - like the first knob might be the enable/disable for the effect, next would be the eq frq, then gain, then Q, then Freq, then gain, then q, then freq - then you'd have to go to another bank - so not-intuitive, learning the layout would take a lot more work than just using the mouse.  I'm just making up these exact controls, but it's just like that. 

It's not just a feedback problem from my perspective - and I'm sure this works basically the same way on an actual Mackie since it's the same emulation - but it's not intuitive like it is for me.

Everything you say Blades is true except I think that you are dealing with an emulation. The MC has 51 buttons not counting any channel strip or transport buttons or faders. Some of these buttons are for controlling how the MC works with various modes it can be in. It could be a very long post if I went into just what is controlled by different buttons add to that some buttons can be hit more then once to activate a mode that changes the how controls work. Also what is displayed has some control on the MC. 
When one considers all the possible button combinations that the MC utilizes I wonder just how complete an emulation can be. First even to be close to what the MC can do you would need just as many buttons. They would have to be able to be used in the same combinations and so on. I haven't worked with the Behringer unit so I don't know what it can do. I do know that you have done a lot to make it work well for Sonar users.
But I wouldn't think it is as easy to use in a mode it was not built for or with all the hardware that it would need to be an exact copy. In other words I don't think you can compare the two.   

Well, I'll take my Mackie and go home!

Yeah I definitely got all that. I understand the different modes and imrunning in mackie emu mode. And I know how to switch to the plugin modes, track modes, etc. WHat Im originally asking is how do I assign controls to plugins when Im in plugin mode? Thats my issue. Once imin plugin mode, what do I do. I know ACT doesnt work. So how do i assign controls when in plugin mode?

If anyone has found a way to make the BCFView application work in Vista/Win7, that would be helpful, as I can't use it on my system right now - so I can't really show what the plugin control would do (provided I could make the time to cover this in a seperate video).

You actually COULD use ACT for all of the plugin (and mixer strip) control if you are willing to sacrifice the motorized faders, but I'm guessing they are part of why you bought it.  ACT doesn't support the motors (though it's theoretically possible for someone to program an ACT control for it according to a few posts about the SDK - but I don't see any takers and I wouldn't know where to begin).

In my case, I use the BCF for mixing stuff and use the non-motorized knobs and sliders on my Edirol PCR-800 keyboard for the ACT control stuff.  The Plugin mode on the Mackie emulation would be only able to control a set list of plugs (intuitively, at least), and if those are plugs you use a lot, great.  If not, you will have to deal with parameter exposed order or will have to figure out how to code the .ini file for your specific VST.

Granted, the same exposed order problem exists within the ACT controller realm as well, but it's pretty easy to reassign stuff for most synths, where the Mackie stuff is tied to that ini file.

With regards to what John as submitted, while the Physical Hardware of the Mackie is way different, prettier, and more capable, the BCF does handle most of the modes, and the plugin within Sonar is the Same plugin, so whatever communication is going to the BCF is the same thing that would be going to the MAckie.  IOW- there would be no automagical way that the Mackie control would have any better idea how to display fx parameters than the BCF would - you just get to see those parameters on the face of the Mackie itself and have to use less shift-key combos to access them.

HTH

Thanks, I appreciate you guys explaining this. But it seems this thing is probally gona go back. Unless I got another one, there seems more or less to be a compromise made with just one. Either use mackie mode or ACT. But ACT I see I can really share controls between plugins and tracks because whatever setting I leave for one or the other stays there for the other, so u just cant work that way. I just wanted to be able to control track stuff like the way it is in mackie mode, thats nice but then also have an ACT sort of set up for plugins so that any plugin, 3rd part stuff too like freeware or uad, etc I open up in whatever order i'd be able to control according to how I set them up and assign controls to.