My first controller with touch sensitive motorised faders is here and working!
I set it up using the Surface Editor, everything’s working mostly fine. Some things that I wonder about:
This is unit is probably different enough than the full X-Touch, or the Extender, so that I can’t really use the scripts right out of the box, right?
The unit comes with an Editor app, that allows us to fully costomize the MIDI assignments of all controllers. That’s excellent! I have adjusted all encoders to be in relative mode, and the faders to be Pitch Bend for layer A (which will be the “main” MCU style level control of channels) and to CCs for layer B.
The one thing that I cannot deduce from the documentation or from reading around is IF those assignments remain on some kind of on-board memory once I’ve dumped them to the device from the editor or not. In my experience so far, it’s a not. The device needs redumping of the custom assignments each time it is powered on. Busywork, but I can live with it.
Touch sensitvity. Here, I’m not sure if I’ve set up things correctly or if I’m missing opportunities, or the whole point actually. What I’ve done is create a button (momentary) that activates Write Automation for the track. I don’t know if that’s the correct command to assign, or if it should be select track or whatever else. @Martin.Jirsak, sorry to shout you out of your warm bed so gracelessly, but I’m you sure you know this stuff pretty well. If you can give some advice, I would truly appreciate it.
Encoder steps. The encoders are set up in Relative 2 mode (unit) and binary offset (Cubase) and they work. However, the smallest step is quite big for EQ purposes, especially low frequencies, or general control of Cutoff Filters. I was hoping that a single click (value 65?) would produce a smaller step, and a more brisk turn (value 68-70?) would produce bigger steps. I can’t seem to make this work, I wonder what’s up with that.
Layer B. I still can’t make up my mind about what to do with the faders… Program them to send CC1, CC11, CC13, CC21, CC10, CC7 and leave their MIDI Remote assignments blank so that they pass through to the tracks and I get CC data directly on the track? Or just leave them at any random CC they currently are and then assign them to instrument parameters from the MIDI Remote so as to have them as automation on a track? I can’t decide.
Layer B continued. Since this unit will now be controlling the parameters of all plug-ins, instruments etc, wouldn’t it be a good idea to do the colossal task of editing the Remote Control Editors of my favorite plug-ins one by one so that they all (parameters) fall on the specific knobs and faders as I would expect them to? I’m looking for a “focus” based approach. (Click plug-in window so that it comes to the front, control. Click another one, control, and so on and so forth. I can’t wait until when the MIDI Remote gives us direct access to each plug-in slot’s “Edit” button!)
Any design philosophy ideas, preferences, objections, advice are very welcome.
If you mean your custom X-Touch Compact settings… As fat as I know, the settings is stored in the device.
There are still open issues with the touch sensitivity and MIDI Remote.
I believe, this is not part of the MIDI Remote Assistant. If I’m not mistaken, you just trigger the value when you assign it this way. By scripting, you can do this.
Hm, it looks like that they ARE stored, but I’m in a strange place.
Boot up computer. → Power up Compact → Launch Cubase → Load Project → Failure. The faders are stuck, some motors are trying to move but don’t, crazy parameters are shared back and forth, something’s wrong.
Exit Cubase → Launch compact’s editor → Faders go to where they should have been when the project loaded!
But.
Boot up computer. → Power up Compact → Enter Compact’s Editor and Exit again (no adjustments)-> Launch Cubase → Load Project → Success, everything works fine.
Strange.
So, I’ve just added the app to Windows Startup and forgot about it for now, I can’t explain it and it’s easily bypassed.
I have read about this, but I haven’t encountered anything strange yet, apart from what I wrote above. When I touch the fader, Write is enabled for the track and I just move it freely. It doesn’t fight back even when automation is already present on the track and being read. A stroke of luck?
Everything is going pretty well. The only thing I’m a bit worried about is Instrument control.
I’ve settled to an 84 parameter bank set up which I suspect is “very much out of the sweet spot!” as Jochen Trappe would say. But, I have (most) of my instrument parameters lined up from the RCE, and I’m happily tweaking parameters like there’s no tommorow. Once it loads, everything works like a charm. The only thing is that when changing tracks, there’s a quite noticeable system-wide hickup (GUI stuttering, sluggishness) until the page is refreshed with the new parameters, and then dumped to the device so that faders and pots fly to their positions.
But I can’t figure out a less demanding set up. By having 84 parameters [(16 encoders + 16 push + (8+1) faders + 1 bypass button) x 2 Layers (A & B), I have the whole device assigned in front of me. I don’t know how I could break it down into “chunks” of parameters so that they load quicker, and on demand. I could make this even worse by the way, by assigning an extra 74 parameters (37 more buttons x 2 layers), but I’m quite hesitant to do so. I dont need that many buttons, but I could easily use them in some instruments.
So, any tips to make things just a bit faster? Does ASIO Guard play into this (MIDI remote) when an Instrument Track is enabled, or is it irrelevant?
But, I have (most) of my instrument parameters lined up from the RCE, and I’m happily tweaking parameters like there’s no tommorow. Once it loads, everything works like a charm. The only thing is that when changing tracks, there’s a quite noticeable system-wide hickup (GUI stuttering, sluggishness) until the page is refreshed with the new parameters, and then dumped to the device so that faders and pots fly to their positions.