Controllers:

[stray411]

I'm relatively new to the site but I have been lurking and uncovering the wealth of knowledge here for the last few months and I'd like to say that I much appreciate it. I just found out about the available Comp CD, which I'll soon be purchasing to show my appreciation and support of the site.

I have a question that I've been researching here and elsewhere to no avail as of yet. I'm looking to control the parameters of my sound modules to take full advantage of each mods capabilities. Before I get into it I'll list my set up to let you better understand what exactly I'm trying to control. My set up is as follows:

*Roland JX-305 with 8 part sequencer (functions as my main workstation)
*Roland MSE-1 String Ensemble, MVS-1 Vintage Synth, MBD-1 Bass and Drum and MGS64 General MIDI Sound modules (basically Roland Expansion cards in 1U racks)
*Peavey Spectrum Bass
*Emu Proteus 3 World
*Akai S2000 Sampler

Here's the deal. With the JX I can control level and pan positions of all the mods. I can also control all effects and key shift settings for the Roland modules with the JX. I have very little documentation on the Roland mods but I believe I should be able to control, at the very least, brightness and resonance because I already have this control over the MGS64 with the JX. I would like to be able to control all parameters of the Roland mods and record these changes in to my sequencer.

I also would like control over the Spectrum Bass, which is set up to be used with the Peavey PC1600, but I'm assuming can be controlled with a 3rd party device as well. And finally I would like to control the Proteus 3.

In my quest for controllers I found a few possibilities and I'm not sure which would be best. Among the possibilities are Peavey PC1600X (yes I found one of these babies used!!!!), Evolution UC-16, MIDIMan Oxygen 8, Encore Electronic Knobby, Deopfler Pocket Control and Keyfax Phat Boy. Which would be best? Which would offer the most programmability with a reasonably user friendly interface? Which device would be the best suited to control the aforementioned mods?

Any help/advise/recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Stray

[stray411]

I'm still looking for help/suggestions/advice on this issue if at all possible. I've since ruled out the Oxygen 8 as a possiblity as I've heard some bad things with regard to latency. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Stray

[Flo' Dolo]

Based on your needs, I'd go for an evolution controller. In fact, I'm ordering one in about 2 weeks for my home setup... Lots & lots of control...

http://www.evolution.co.uk/

BTW- Wanna sell that Spectrum Bass?

Good luck.

Flo' Dolo

[stray411]

Flo, thanks for the recommendation. If you get a minute give me a review on that controller when you get it. Is it the UC-16?

I just got the Spectrum Bass and it is really the reason I'm looking for a controller. Just based on presets alone that unit is the best $100 I ever spent. However, I've heard others who use it with the PC1600 controller and get some pretty wicked results.

If you want one of these they're relatively easy to find used for a good price (I've seen them for anywhere from $75 to $150 USD). Check Daddy's Junky Music (www.daddys.com) that's where I got this one.

Thanks again for the suggestion.

Stray