Usb controller

[Angusdevil]

Ok, I know there is the Red Rover for AA and CEP but does anyone know of any other type controllers that are out there that are similar? I am just wanting something that just has the basic record, play, stop, forward, back..... but haven't had any luck finding anything.

 

[Jim Y]

I've never quite understood why a remote transport controller is such rare thing. All a program needs to understand is MMC (Midi Machine Control - the transport protocol) and SPP (Song Position Pointer - for moving to locators) , all long ago included in the midi spec, instead, CEP/Audition implements mapping midi notes to commands. This is more comprehensive in the end, but if it used MMC, you could use an old drum machine if it had midi out and transmitted MMC and also Start/Stop with it's footswitch.
The pads of a drum machine can usually be set to transmit their midi notes out, so you could use that to assign those pads to CEP functions.

I know some people have wireless pc keyboards and use the shortcuts as controllers from wherever they are, and I just might do the same as I'm planning on making a vocal booth someday.

A while back, I used to transfer to tracks to CEP from a Roland VS840 recorder using MTC sync and I can't remember if CEP was obeying the MMC from the VS840 transport or simply starting and stopping off the time code. I know I can get Sonar obeying MMC, but not sure about CEP.

Auditions controller support is not particularly wide. The Red rover already mentioned (Which was out of production but now made by ADSTech) and the rather high spec Mackie Universal. There is also support for some Tascam USB interface/controllers. That's about it.

 

[ozpeter]

The Videonics "Command Post" device does the job - they were being sold off at giveaway prices last time I heard but a search of the net might turn one up.

 

[lpdeluxe]

I have had very good luck with a Tascam US428. New ones are out there for $400 and, speaking as the former owner and user of a Red Rover, the US428 is a BIG step up. Eight faders in banks, EQ, pan, and lots of routing. I use mine for a controller - plus, an SPDIF digital stereo out from my mixer goes into channels C&D of the 428 for playback controllable independently from my headphones, headphone amp & monitors. I don't record through it, but when I was having trouble with my soundcard I did so without problems (only recorded 1 track at a time, though). Like everyone else, I am always upgrading, but this one does the job.

 

[KEN1]

Controller

EZ BUS

http://www.event1.com/Products/Digital/EZbus.html

 

[Jim Y]

One other thing, I've noticed the program gives one default controller - the Mackie. If the Mackie uses standard Midi CC commands, it might be possible to "fool" the program with any generic midi cc controller, such as an Evolution UC33. I have a UC33 but I never got any response, but if I get the time, I'll look into the Mackie specs and find out its controls. There's a similar ploy with ProTools where you select a controller type that just happens to use standard Midi CC, and program a generic controller with the same CC's.

 

[lpdeluxe]

I looked at the Mackie, but besides the difference in price, I read that the Mackie has considerably limited functionality with CEP/AA compared with the US428. I went into my research thinking the Mackie was the way to go, but now I don't think so. Adobe hasn't said anything about enhancing the controller software (I have 1.5) so I have to believe that what I found still holds true. BTW, when I installed the US428, it showed up in the "Select Controller" (or whatever it's called) immediately.

 

[dobro]

Ken1:

How about some comments/evaluations/pointers?

Presumably you like the device you linked to, but...?

 

[KEN1]

Ez Bus

Sorry.........don't own one but i've heard alot of good things about them. My CEP 2.0 does'nt support the EZ BUS.

 

[lpdeluxe]

A friend has an EZBus with CEP 2.0 and he seems very happy with it. He got it on EBay for a hundred or so less than what I paid for the US428, and it has a couple of useful features (phantom power springs to mind) that the Tascam doesn't offer. As noted above, I don't use the audio on the 428 but if you want a combination audio interface/controller I think the EZBus (if it's in your budget: new they sell for more than the Tascam) might be the way to go. Ken1, he had to do something for CEP to recognize it but I don't remember what that was, now.

 

[Jim Y]

Yes, EZbus is supported.
There are specific files for each controller supported in one of the programs sub-folders if you take a peek.

The reason the Mackie always appears as a controller option, even if it's absent, is that it connects by midi only, and cannot therefore be "discovered" automatically. Midi doesn't support plug&play. So it isn't a given that any generic controller can be made to work, but we shall see.

Despite the fact that the midi spec always had a protocol for devices to be queried (Manufacturer, model and Device ID), I've never seen any software that actually implements it.