Dave Modisette
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Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
EDIT: Thread retitled in order to keep parallel threads to a minimum. Jump to the last post. Talk to me a bit about this unit. I think I'm outgrowing my Alphatrack. I like the Mackie over the VS700 in that it is expandable. I'd love to have 16 -24 faders eventually if need be.
post edited by Mod Bod - 2012/06/25 09:16:14
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pdlstl
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Re:Anyone got a Mackie MCU Pro and hate it?
2012/06/20 20:38:38
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Don't have the Pro but do have MCU and 2 XT's. Could not live without them! Seriously.
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Anyone got a Mackie MCU Pro and hate it?
2012/06/21 09:57:29
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Saw the previous model MCU on Craigslist (locally across the bay) for $250.00. If I take a drive to look at it, what would be the things to look for? Any problem areas? Two fifty is pretty attractive.
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Dave Modisette
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Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/06/25 09:23:13
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Decided that the owner of the used Mackie seemed a little dicey and the saying that anything that looks too go to be true... well, you know.
Seriously, what do you have to be concerned about with a used unit? Faders worn out? Firmware? I don't feel like lack of support from the manufacturer is a factor because Mackie seems to be in it for the long haul. I'm not desperate to get one but if a good deal falls in my lap...
BTW, are the overlays glued on in case the original owner is using a different DAW.
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pdlstl
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/06/25 10:30:39
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Dave,
The faders generally go bad because the little string attached to the motor breaks. I personally have never had this occur although I keep a second MCU around in case I need to replace a fader. My buddy has had to do this and it was amazing smooth and simple. There is additional info available on the 'net regarding how to clean/lubricate the faders.
The displays can over time become dim or go out completely but again I've never experienced this. Of course, both items I've mentioned could possibly happen with any controller.
It's important that the firmware version be at least 2.0. There is a revision beyond that (2.1.1 I think) but can be updated via the MIDI port. The earlier versions (1.0 etc.) need an EPROM update to be brought up to speed and the chips are no longer available. Do some research on this as I'm not sure of the revision numbers I've posted.
The overlays are held in place with an adhesive but they come off very easy with no mess left behind. You would definitely want the SONAR overlay.
I had no problem paying $350 as it's a good price in light of the flexibility and workflow increase you will gain with the Mackies.
The biggest problem you will encounter is the desire to buy an XT or two although I operated for a long time with just the MCU. That original MCU (still fully functional) is now my parts unit.
Good luck!
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/06/25 10:53:33
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The biggest problem you will encounter is the desire to buy an XT or two although I operated for a long time with just the MCU. That original MCU (still fully functional) is now my parts unit. I've already got that desire and the Sweetwater 18 month - no interest deal is working it's Mojo on me at the present.
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pdlstl
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/06/25 11:03:17
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petec
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/06/29 11:09:55
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Hi ModBod, /n Got the MCU Pro here and like you, wondered about the quality and reliablity of buying second-hand. Took the chance as was from 'known/reliable/checked out' source. /n It's a tough, weighty, solid, traditional-style (no over-bendy plastic), chunky machine. Looks good on the desk, especially with the additional faders and C4 control. (I got those as well). /n This was the one I wanted. Yep, it's a bit dated now, and there's loads of plastic stuff coming out. But this has a professional build, look and feel. It's worked a treat with X1. Yeah there are a few niggles (see BikerBoy's thread elsewhere), but nothing to prevent daily usability. /n It strikes me as one of those pieces of equipment that lasts way beyond obsolete and still does what is expected of it. /n
post edited by petec - 2012/06/29 11:16:06
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Jesse G
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/02 22:29:43
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I was using a behringer BCF2000 because of it similarities to the MCU, but once I purchased my used MCU from sweetwater, I was in love ith it.
I say get it and enjoy it. I could not use my DAW without the controls and the faders offered by the MCU.
Peace.
Peace,Jesse G.  A fisher of men <>< ==============================Cakewalk and I are going places together!
Cakewalk By Bandlab, Windows 10 Pro- 64 bit, Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI, Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell Processor, Crucial Ballistix 32 GB Ram, PNY GeForce GTX 750, Roland Octa-Capture, Mackie Big Knob, Mackie Universal Controller (MCU), KRK V4's, KRK Rockit 6, Korg TR-61 Workstation, M-Audio Code 49 MIDI keyboard controller.[/
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/05 19:28:03
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I believe I just scored a used MCU Pro and an Expander here locally. Got a sweet price on it. I have go it tomorrow afternoon. Yippeee.
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rtucker55
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/05 20:42:51
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Great news Dave,
You should really like the MCU and Expander using Sonar. You'll also be glad that you got at least one expander with it.
Kind regards,
Rick
Purrrfect Audio DAW here. Wow!...
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/06 09:08:35
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rtucker55
Great news Dave,
You should really like the MCU and Expander using Sonar. You'll also be glad that you got at least one expander with it.
Kind regards,
Rick
Thanks for the confirmation of my purchase. I think that with this purchase, I may back off of the GAS for a while. (Unless another extender falls in my lap.)  ... or a Vintech X73i comes along. 
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pdlstl
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/06 10:33:29
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I have two Xtenders...just' sayin' :)
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/06 10:54:35
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pdlstl
I have two Xtenders...just' sayin' :)
Xtender envy ensues. 
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petec
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/06 11:42:14
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"I have two Xtenders...just' sayin' :)" It's wonderful what the medical profession can do these days... :-)
post edited by petec - 2012/07/06 11:43:25
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FastBikerBoy
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/06 16:20:45
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A bit late to the party but I bought an MCU & XT off ebay at a silly price considering what they were new.
My cat managed to knock something off a shelf that landed smack on top of one of the faders so it wouldn't calibrate properly.
Took it to bits myself and sorted out the fishing twine mess that the fader had become. Fiddly, in fact, very fiddly but fixable. Now working fine again. The faders are the weak point but they clean up okay and there is a great site out there somewhere for fixing and cleaning faders including the touch sensitive strip bit.
I wouldn't be without mine.
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rtucker55
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/06 17:48:09
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Glad you mentioned the site for fixing and cleaning the faders. I found the below in my bookmarks but it appears to be for the older P&G faders. Might help someone or just a good point of reference. http://www.761mph.com/200...s-on-a-mackie-control/ Kind regards, Rick
Purrrfect Audio DAW here. Wow!...
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/06 21:14:09
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I got the units today and I have them set up and running. There was no SONAR overlay so I have to either buy one from Mackie or just memorize (or label) the buttons. I'm impressed by how useful this thing will be after just the short time I've worked with it. Question: Is there any negative hit on resources by using the meters mode on the scribble strip? Question: I accidentally got into the busses somehow and had to turn the controller off and back on to get out of it. How do you change to the busses? I'm guessing a button combo or something. EDIT: I discovered that the SAVE button shifted the faders into the bus paneand the TRIM button shifted the faders into the tracks pane.
post edited by Mod Bod - 2012/07/06 21:54:29
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Melodic Kid
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/07 01:39:47
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pdlstl
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/07 10:17:26
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pdlstl
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/07 10:20:45
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Also, the top row of 8 buttons (F1 - F8) can be assigned to any function you choose. This is done in Tools > Mackie MCU -1 in SONAR. At least on my machine...
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/07 12:35:51
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FastBikerBoy
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/07 15:23:17
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Mod Bod
I got the units today and I have them set up and running. There was no SONAR overlay so I have to either buy one from Mackie or just memorize (or label) the buttons.
I'm impressed by how useful this thing will be after just the short time I've worked with it.
I've always thought of a good control multi motorised fader surface like this........... When you haven't got one you wonder why on earth you'd want one, once you've got it you wonder how on earth you managed without it. 
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/07 18:34:41
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When you haven't got one you wonder why on earth you'd want one, once you've got it you wonder how on earth you managed without it. Holy crap, isn't that the truth? As I dig into the feature set, I am blown away with what it can do.
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FastBikerBoy
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/07 19:34:56
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Mod Bod
When you haven't got one you wonder why on earth you'd want one, once you've got it you wonder how on earth you managed without it.
Holy crap, isn't that the truth? As I dig into the feature set, I am blown away with what it can do.
You'll find a lot of help in the helpguide accessed by pressing F1 while you have the Mackie properties open (Under the utilities menu). I'm really hoping that CW sort out access to the Prochannel modules which isn't as well implemented as the per track EQ and compressor access in previous versions. There's also a thread here ---> http://forum.cakewalk.com/fb.ashx?m=2156782 about how to adjust the ini file to suit yourself but it's not as helpful as it once was because of the limitations accessing the ProChannel modules but might still be helpful on how to organise the parameters for other plugins you may have.
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/07 20:01:53
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FastBikerBoy
Mod Bod
When you haven't got one you wonder why on earth you'd want one, once you've got it you wonder how on earth you managed without it. Holy crap, isn't that the truth? As I dig into the feature set, I am blown away with what it can do.
You'll find a lot of help in the helpguide accessed by pressing F1 while you have the Mackie properties open (Under the utilities menu).
I'm really hoping that CW sort out access to the Prochannel modules which isn't as well implemented as the per track EQ and compressor access in previous versions. There's also a thread here ---> http://forum.cakewalk.com/fb.ashx?m=2156782 about how to adjust the ini file to suit yourself but it's not as helpful as it once was because of the limitations accessing the ProChannel modules but might still be helpful on how to organise the parameters for other plugins you may have.
I found that thread via a forum search and implemented the changes that you created to access the Pro Channel EQ. To bad that only the top plug in the PC hierarchy is the only one that is found by the MCU. That definitely makes the Pro Channel less valuable to me when I have better ones available.
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FastBikerBoy
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/08 03:03:10
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Yeah I agree. I've been banging on about it ever since X1 first came out. I FR'd an improvement, bug reported it and even started a thread to campaign for a Mackie.dll improvement FR.
IMHO it was actually better (than the present) in the earlier X1 days - at least the EQ was always available regardless of its position in the PC chain. The plugin button didn't recognise the PC at all.
I live in hope it's somewhere on the "To do" list for the future.
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stonehedge
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/08 11:00:26
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Mod Bod
pdlstl
Try this Dave.
You can see by looking at this overlay, there are three buttons grouped together (labeled Control Group) to switch from Track to Aux (Buss) to Main. This assigns your fadres to which ever you choose.
http://www.mackie.com/products/controlsurfaces/pdf/MCU_Cakewalk_Overlay.pdf
Thanks. This is going to be very handy till I can buy an overlay.
Dave What I did with mine was to take the overlay pic and resize it to the overlay size in photoshop, printed it and then just cut the naming strips from the printed one. Then I just attached them to the MCU with double sided tape over the other. I still use it that way. Works fine if you are not constantly changing the overlay to something else.
Home built i7 6850k Broadwell, 16GB corsair RAM, Asus X99 Deluxe II/Gen 3, EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6gig, Win 10 creators with no windows updates since jan 2018, Sonar Platinium, Sony Vegas Pro 15, Sound Forge 11, Pro Tools 10, Superior Drummer 3, Easy Keys, Melodyne Studio 4, MOTU 2408, Motu MTPav, midisport 4X4,Behringer X32 Compact with X-Adat and (2) ada8000 strips,Mackie Control Universal, Monitors by JBL, Tannoy, Fostex.
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/08 14:31:08
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stonehedge
Mod Bod
pdlstl
Try this Dave.
You can see by looking at this overlay, there are three buttons grouped together (labeled Control Group) to switch from Track to Aux (Buss) to Main. This assigns your fadres to which ever you choose.
http://www.mackie.com/products/controlsurfaces/pdf/MCU_Cakewalk_Overlay.pdf
Thanks. This is going to be very handy till I can buy an overlay.
Dave
What I did with mine was to take the overlay pic and resize it to the overlay size in photoshop, printed it and then just cut the naming strips from the printed one. Then I just attached them to the MCU with double sided tape over the other. I still use it that way. Works fine if you are not constantly changing the overlay to something else.
I guess great minds think alike because yesterday I found a PDF of the overlay with the square holes and had it print full size and I got lucky and it was the perfect size. I used a blade from a box knife and cut out the squares (tedious) and it's held on with cellophane tape. I think it will work for me until I can get a factory replacement.
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timidi
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Re:Would you buy a used Mackie MCU Pro?
2012/07/08 16:32:57
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