Hey Guys 
I am in the studio recording on my new project mix i/o..Every feature works beside the ACT TECHNOLOGY feature I have  no control over my pro channel controls or plugins ..etc I have followed the ACT set up videos to the letter. My axiom 49 keyboard is working great! . Okay... I when back into the preference menu... to see what I have missed. on the section of project mix line I see that one of the little boxes A -N thats normally  is checked... The [A] box is  unchecked and grey out.  I do not have the option to checked the box ...Please can someone  help me. I know this is the lease of my problems here now as a storm heads our way.. But the love of  recording  my idea surpasses all.   Do I delete project Mix i/o as an ACT controller surface and do it again as silly as it seem.    

Carlisle Oneal      

Carlisle, does this seem similar to what you are seeing?

http://forum.cakewalk.com...?m=2230632&mpage=1

Hey Michael 

thanks for replying...No I do not have the same situation. Sonar sees all of the (Project Mix) inputs and out under every menu aspect. The problem is " When I click on the control surfaces menu ..(1) I click on  the add new controller surface button. (2) I selected Mackie control from the drop down menu. (3) Then I selected Project Mix control surface in both the ins/ and out box  and click apply.

 However in the area which indicates that your device is now ACT listed,  are  two small boxes [A] and [N] that will be checked automatically by Sonar. In my case only the [N] is checked and the other box is grayed out I close the window and proceed to 

 Lets say work in the console view window and trying to modulate anything using the encoder knobs of the (Project MIX) via Sonar's ACT feature, nothing works...I can not adjust anything  hope this is a little more explanatory.

Really look forward to some help.... because this is a  pretty expensive piece of gear where I am from and would like to have at lease this features within sonar  functioning with the project Mix.


   Please note that Project Mix is working prefect as control surface, but it is the ability to use sonar ACT functions that is my problem  

Carlisle Oneal   

 Hi, I think I might have a clue what might be happening, but I am traveling right now and not near my studio or a computer with Sonar. If I can ask some questions, maybe I can help still, or someone who also has the projectMix unit ( I don't)  or is better with ACT will chime in an make short work of this.
 
What it sounds like could be happening is that you are running as an MCU (Mackie control), rather than ACT.  They are mutually exclusive, I think, as Sonar provides support for the mackie that includes bi-directional data flow and a fixed midi-mapping, while ACT is one directional control - inbound only.  That is why the 'A' box is gray, if I am thinking about the right box - it is in the control surfaces dialog, in a grid, following the midi port assignment?   I have a novation that uses automap that does this - disables ACT for this reason.  But I got it to work with some maneuvering that might also serve you, if we can narrow it down.

Does this make sense to you?

Also, could you please tell me what Midi devices you see on your system?  To make this work, I think we are going to need something like a 'projectMix external' midi port which we'll configure as a separate controller with the ACT template instead of the Mackie. That's how I got mine going, but we'll need the port apart from the one used in mackie mode...
 

Hey Michael 
I think am seeing your line of reasoning: 

On my system under the MIDI Device INPUT section  I have selected:

Axiom 49 MIDI IN 
Axiom 49 External MIDI IN
Project Mix control surface MIDI 
Project Mix External MIDI

Under  MIDI Devices OUTPUT section I have selected :

Axiom 49 MIDI OUT
Project Mix Control surface MIDI
Project Mix External MIDI


Thanking you in anticipation

Hey Michael 

One more question...when I do manage to get the Project Mix functioning with Sonar ACT feature.. will I loose the general mapping that is now working perfectly  in Mackie Mode..... will both features ( correspond / correlate) or will it  be a case of either one of the other ?

carlisle oneal

No, Carlisle, I don't think you'll lose Mackie mode - that's the point, if it works, of the two different midi ports - you set them up as two different controllers. Basically what you do is go to the control surface dialog and add another controller, as you did already for mackie, but using the external midi port  of the project Mix instead of the control surface port.  Also, you do not choose mackie from that dropdown, rather one of the ACT choices - generic ACT controller, or something like that. There are two possibilities, if I recall, related to ACT on dropdown, it's one of them(I'm still not at my DAW, so I can't confirm accurate specifics).

I know that's probably not enough info, but it's the basic concept we're after.  I have to go do something else right now, but if you'll bear with me, I'll try to find and post a link or two to some Cake instructions or tutorials that got me on the right road.

Again the idea is making the projectMix appear as two logical controllers in Sonar, one on each midi port - a MCU surface, running through the Mackie surface plugin internal to Sonar, and a generic ACT surface, running through ACT. There's a bunch of ACT setup, but it's straightforward once you get it.

Here's the catch - the knobs, etc, that you want to use with ACT have to be transmitting their midi values on the midi external port.  So we'll have to determine how to make the Project Mix do this.  Ideally it will be as simple as a button on the unit that switches it from one controller mode to the other, that's how (sort of) the novation works (the button switches templates, so it can have a large number of different 'surfaces' configured for various things, but that's beside the point). 

anyway, I'll try to get you a link up later on. Will you be back on this evening?  also, if you have a link to the manual for your gear would you post it please?

Okay Michael ..

your argument of making sonar view the project Mix as two distinct controller is  compelling  and I will attempt is this method.. Before I had post my message (sos) I had deleted the Project Mix from the ACT device list and re-entered it as standard ACT device form the drop down menu, but I select project control surface both in the in/out section. And both the [A] / [N] boxes where checked perhaps this why it did not work On the project mix there is MIDI BUTTON that switches the unit into a MIDI MODE. I  will wait until you relay the specifications or other information  and let you known my results.

Peace Bro

hey, here's the link to cake's act setup article. I think you can pretty much follow this process as soon as you know how to get your controller to transmit on the external midi port.

http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013008
 

yep, sounds like that midi button will be the trick.   When you add the new surface, choose ACT Midi Controller from the  list, and external midi port of the project mix, not the control one, and put it i midi mode and follow that procedure.    I don't know if there is a preset in the ACT Midi Controller properties for the project mix (there is for Axiom), but use it if there is.  Lemme know how it's going.