Christmas Controller

[Nick The Man]

I want to do myself a favor and buy a control surface as a christmas treat. However, before I do so I want to know more about them (thats where you guys come in). So it hooks in through MIDI, now I have control over the mixer section of my DAW (SONAR). So for example, how do I assign certain tracks to channels on the control surface. I'm looking at this piece http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MACCONTROLUNI

I'll come up with some more questions for all of you, don't worry.
THANKS

 

[Nick The Man]

any thoughts?

 

[Zaphod B]

I think I'd like a beer.

As far as controllers go, I got nothin' - sorry.

 

[Nick The Man]

I think I'd like a beer.

As far as controllers go, I got nothin' - sorry.

30 pack to FORT WORTH .. ON THE DOUBLE you're covered

 

[ErichS]

I want to do myself a favor and buy a control surface as a christmas treat. However, before I do so I want to know more about them (thats where you guys come in). So it hooks in through MIDI, now I have control over the mixer section of my DAW (SONAR). So for example, how do I assign certain tracks to channels on the control surface. I'm looking at this piece http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MACCONTROLUNI

I'll come up with some more questions for all of you, don't worry.
THANKS

I've had one for a couple of months now and use it with Sonar 6 Producer. I've only done the most basic tasks but hope to delve into it more when I have time.

As far as I can tell, you can't assign individual tracks to an individual fader. So, for example, you can't assign track 23 to fader 1. You have to align your tracks in the order you want them. This also applies to hidden tracks. This was a problem for me at first as I had numerous hidden, muted tracks in my projects with scratch takes etc.. and I had to show all tracks and move the active tracks to the top. Once your tracks are in order, you can switch to the second bank of eight using the bank button. You can also move over one track at a time if you dont want to jump 8 at once. So, for example, if you want to tweek track 9, you can arrow over by 1 track and tracks 2-9 are available and track 1 scrolls off.

So far I like it and it does help my mixing workflow. I dont like the feel of the faders though. They don't have solid feel and sometimes feel like they are catching internally. They are also somewhat noisy when moving under motor power. It is hard to describe until you try them yourself.

The other thing is that it is not very intuitive for controlling anything besides the basics (volumn, pan, mute solo, play stop...). Controlling effects seems almost pointless as there is no logical way to assign the parameter controls. That is something I am going to experiment more with when I have time.

Feel free to ask any questions and I will try to answer.

 

[punkin]

I'm an MCU user/owner and also run SONAR 6 Producer. I've had it for about 2 years now and no regrets or issus.

EricS is right in that getting past the basics takes some time. SONAR deals with it nicely and the MCU works as advertised but delving deeply into the capabilities isn't covered well by either company. The controller controls, SONAR lets you control it. The documentation on both sides of the fence isn't real friendly when you want to get beyond the basics.

Other than that...I love my MCU. EricS covered the track control business quite acurately. The MCU gives you view to 8 tracks at a time but handles as many tracks as you want but you've got to view them in contiguous blocks of 8. A simple little button scrolls the view. If you rearrange the track assignments in SONAR, the update to the MCU is instantaneous. Depending on which version of SONAR you have, track folders come in handy for organizing your tracks. You also have buss controls which work the same way.

Get a two pedal footswitch and you've got some extra programmable controls. I use them for record and punch in.

Pretty much anything you can do with the mouse can be programmed into the bank of buttons on the right. Big fun for me is the scroll/jog/shuttle wheel.

EricS mentioned fighting with the faders. I've seen this happen when record or playback automation isn't active in SONAR. Also, if your DAW is lagging a bit, there are some deep edits you can do in the .ini file (in sonar) to improve update messages to the controller. My experience has been that's very smooth. The touch sens faders IMHO are quite nice. When the thing first wakes up and calibrates the faders you can hear them sliding up and down while they seek but after that I find them to be pretty darn quiet.

One limitation I have found is not being able to reassign the controls to softsynths. I am bummed about that. I've done a little looking into this limitation. From what I can find, looks like something SONAR doesn't want to delve into. I'd like to know more about it myself but for now, it's not doable.

It's a spendy controller. I picked mine up for about $900 but still don't regret it. I'm hearing really good things about the Behri units and they're WAY cheaper. I made my choice based upon specific feature wants and manufacturer support history. I've done business with Cakewalk and Mackie before and they've always treated me right.

So, there ya go...

 

[Nick The Man]

Thanks alot gentlemen, looks like we are all in the same boat, I also use SONAR 6 Producer Edition. This board seems to be the standard, and having two people already reply with informative posts proves that even more true. Thanks again guys, covered just about everything I wanted to know! Forgot to mention how cool it looks too!

 

[fraserhutch]

Take a look into a Kenton Control Freak. Not an obvious choice, but a tempting one once you look at it.

If you want simple and basic, the Behringer is pretty decent.

 

[Zaphod B]

30 pack to FORT WORTH .. ON THE DOUBLE you're covered

I should have 'em nice and cold by the time you get down here to help me drink 'em.

 

[punkin]

Take a look into a Kenton Control Freak. Not an obvious choice, but a tempting one once you look at it.

If you want simple and basic, the Behringer is pretty decent.

Good find! I've been looking for a nice knobby controller for soft synths. The discontinued "spin doctor" looks like the ticket. Too bad they're on the other side of the pond.