I’ve had a Houston in service here daily since it came to market some 14 years now without so much as a glitch. No 64 bit USB drivers, but the standard MIDI interface works very well, and the integration with Cubase and Nuendo is deep. I use it simultaneously with a Tascam DM4800 and couldn’t be happier.
By the way, the Houston was built by Soundcraft, and other than some issues with the powder coating on the finish, the build quality is very nice. It took a lot of knocks back in the day, but if you can get your hands on one (Seen them for $200.00 USD), you can’t beat it.
+1 million
Gawd…this has been a gripe for me for at least 10 years. I started originally with CM MotorMix, then the Mackie MCU and now the Tascam DM-3200. Been seriously looking at both the SSL Nucleus and the Slate RAVEN MTI. However, with the downtime involved in changing (as well as the cost) if and when I move to a new control surface, the newbie I get HAS to be it. When money permits, the Neve Genysis Black will be it.
Of the three I’ve owned, the Mackie was the best implemented. I’m at a loss as to why Mackie hasn’t stepped up and build upon the MCU and create an updated unit/system.
Must haves for me:
- modular - start with master unit with 8 channel faders/1 master with bankable and real signal metering and full plug-in control; then add specialized and meaningful modules as your needs require/budget allows
- multiple DAW/video compatibility – I regularly work with Cubase, Pro Tools & Premiere; but plug and play templates that allow very tight integration with your DAW(s) of choice
- professional looks, feel and ergonomics;
- connects to the computer via USB AND ethernet, perhaps a WIFI option
A base or master unit should cost no more than $3,500 MSRP. I don’t know why at this point such a product does not exist.
Oh thanks a bunch! Just as I was thinking that I had sated my desire for more gear, someone mentioned the Icon QCon Pro. Now I’m thinking one of them has got my name on it.
Can anyone tell me that they are any good?
Tell me greggybud do you like using it despite your reservations stated in a previous post? It is certainly the right price. I am sure the the revision to version will be more expensive.
It’s all relative to the competition. Unfortunately I haven’t read of many users who use and really know the Mackie, Qcon, or the new Behringer Xtouch.
What are your expectations?
I believe the Qcon is much more popular in Europe because the Mackie is higher priced there.
Here is more information how it has evolved since 2010.
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-electronic-music-production/557777-new-icon-qcon-controller-any-good.html
Probably what you want but few objective answers:
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/1049637-icon-qcon-pro-vs-behringer-x-touch.htm
And the future (I think is still many months away) It will be nice not having an overlay.
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/1001017-qcon-icon-pro-g2.html
As far as functions, I know Mackie has some bank functions not found on QconPro. As far as build quality I think the worst is behind for Icon. Personally I feel the Behringer is too small and not as easy on the eyes.
Good luck!
Hmmmmn! Food for thought. £418 over here in the UK is not a bad price at all. Thanks for the reply greggybud. You didn’t say whether you have used one or if you liked it?
I purchased the QconPro a couple years ago. In the USA at the time I think I paid around $750 while the Mackie was about 1,000.
My first unit arrived DOA and I sent it back. The 2nd unit has worked fine, however at one point I had to downgrade the firmware because it had an issue with Cubase where a fader would physically “vibrate” between 2 small parameters. (its like it cant focus on the exact step so it vibrates between the 2 steps. Simply touch the fader and this behavior stops. This happened for only a very few parameters in Cubase.) Anyway I sent a video of the problem to IconUSA and the solution was to downgrade the firmware. There were no advantages to having the latest firmware for me anyway.)
My 3 biggest wishes/gripes.
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The very common one: Due to MCU protocol, (meaning any controller with MCU I believe) the QconPro won’t follow Cubase. Example if you have 48 audio channels in Cubase, and click on channel 47 on your monitor in Cubase the QconPro should automatically follow. But it will not follow. Instead you have to press QconPro bank control shift button (shifts in groups of 8) 6 times to get to channel 47 on the QconPro. It is cool that Cubase shows you the currently focused 8 banks on the QconPro so you always know where you are. I’m pretty sure this is standard with any MCU protocol.
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While you can select and open any VST/VSTI using the QconPro, it’s not practical to do so unless you have a very small amount of VST/VSTI’s like just the stock Cubase VST’s. I think I have explained this lousy selection behavior in prior posts.
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I like the blue/white splash screen, but there honestly isn’t enough space. I wish the LED’s were smaller so you could get more letters in. Therefore for every VST/VSTI when I configure it in the Cubase remote control editor, I greatly abbreviate every parameter, usually 2-4 characters if I want much space between the channels. Unfortunately, the built-in Cubase EQ parameters can’t be changed to my knowledge, so on the QconPro the readout is a horrible mess as there are no spaces between the channels. Therefore I never use the QconPro for Cubase EQ.
Next Question and answer: How often do I use the QconPro to edit a VST or VSTI on the Qcon instead of simply using a mouse in Cubase? It depends on if I think it’s just a quick adjustment or if I’m going to experiment or spend time with several parameters. Any VST/VSTI parameter can be controlled by the 8 pan knobs on the QconPro after you have edited them and customized them in the Cubase remote control editor. Also make a note to where Cubase stores the customization’s for the remote control editor because if you change PC’s all that will be lost.
Keep in mind some parameters in the Cubase remote control editor don’t work quite like they should. For example sometimes you have a simple on/off switch on a VST. With the Cubase remote control editor that should translate to a simple “push down” on/off on the pan knob for the QconPro. But sometimes that doesn’t work. Instead it translates to pan knob behavior where you have to turn the knob extreme right for “on” and then extreme left for “off.”
So do I like it? Yes. Bottom line is it has enhanced my workflow, especially volume automation or any VST automation etc. But it’s a far cry from a Eucon or Nuage.
Thank you very much for your detailed response. That has given me a pretty realistic set of expectations. I have to consider whether it might be worth waiting for the next version in September - and being able to put some money aside for it. This might be an improvement being able to order one already set up for Cubase.
I used to have an Yamaha O1x. To be honest it was a real struggle to justify it’s existence, but then it was a soundcard too with quite a lot of latency. The thinking behind a control surface for me is a tendency to tendinitis when using the mouse a lot. Being able to vary the use of my right hand would be useful. Although I am pretty good with the keyboard shortcuts.
Hi There
Are you using Windows 10 ?
Theo
For me, the bang for the buck is the Tascam DM3200. It gives you basic Cubase/DAW control (even more if you explore the User Defined MIDI layer) and has 16 quality mic pres and long-throw faders. With the firewire expansion card you have a built in audio interface giving you 32 I/O all the way up to 96Khz using a modest PC. You are able to record 32 tracks simultaneously at 96Khz. It has a built in talk-back system. It allows you to route your DAW channels back to the mixer for old school console mixing yet still letting you use your DAW plugins. The console has it’s own automation if you prefer. Oh and monitoring your live inputs through the mixer guarantees zero latency. What a joy!
These bullet points only scratch the surface of what this machine can do. Yes it is just about end of life but it still supported and all required drivers work fine in Windows 10 as well as the latest MAC OS. Affordable digital consoles as robust are a dying breed and I’m afraid the DM3200 will be the last of them. In fact, the DM3200 even at its conception was affordable compared to it’s competitors at the time. It’s pretty much an all-in-one studio solution minus the computer. You can find a used one for about 1000-12000 on eBbay. Do a little research. They are still amazing when compared to what’s being offered today.
After a great deal of thought I decided to go for the Nektar Panorama P1. The reason for this is I managed to find a new one for £150 and thought that this would give me a valuable insight into how I would get on with a control surface and maybe later upgrade to something more substantial like the Icon Qcon Pro 2.
I did have a little adventure setting the P1 up. I set up the Pi midi ports but I forgot to set the right Windows midi ports with the resultant aberrant behaviour. I also had trouble moving remotely across the tracks as it would jump randomly from some tracks to a previous track. A visit to a very efficient support immediately spotted the problem. I had a number of tracks with the same name as I had just copied a track twice and omitted to rename them. When I rename the tracks everything worked perfectly.
Mixing a set of four guitar parts made me realise what I had been missing through using a mouse. The endless faffing about to balance them was done very quickly with multiple real faders. The P1 does not have motorised faders, but the excellent LED screen shows a red line where the DAW fader is currently and the fader on the P1 is inert until it passes the red mark.
It works well with plugins and you can midi learn the most important controls very easily. Inserts, sends, instruments etc
It’s not perfect so don’t bother trying to add an insert vst if you have a list as long as mine.
So thank you to smapmap for pointing me in that direction. It really will help my tendency towards tendinitis. I guess I am now part of the DAW Controller club. My worry is that it will not end here.
Anyone out there Using the Behringer X-Touch with Cubase 8.5?
I am having some issues… go figure?
Maybe some one else is experiencing this… but the X-Touch in MMC will only see channels starting at channel 9?
Also is there any way to manually configure individual buttons on the Xtouch inside of Cubase save the the function keys?
Any help would be greatly appreciated???
Do you have any other controllers connected?
Perhaps this will help?
Have you tried using MCU?