Icon Platform, X-touch or Faderport ?

hi,

i’ve been looking for this answer for weeks around forums and manufactures support or manual… can’t find it :
So i asked this question on nuendo 10 forum but as this question is the same for cubase maybe there’s more users here :
I struggle to know what motorized faders to buy.
Platform M+, x_touch or faderport with nuendo 10.

I want it for one and one only function :
Record volume automations on different tracks at once.
I don’t care about managing eq, plugins, i don’t care about transport functions.

My only concern is : is it possible to display on those platforms specific tracks you have selected in nuendo ? I never want to automate track 1 with track 2 but more #1 with #48.

No infos in manual, no infos on forum… Hard to know.
Finally a serious Platform M+ user on YouTube (LetiMix) said that icon Platform M+ will display whatever is in the mixconsole (F3)
Other youtube user says faderport will not display what you select (but he’s using Live)

Your experience about tis specific point with any of those controllers ?

Thx

I’ve been using an X Touch One (single fader controller) the last few weeks. I bought it mainly for tactile fader automation. I’m using it in Mackie user mode. Should I want to automate more than one track at a time I need to be banked to one of the tracks, and then I select any other tracks I want to automate with the mouse (inside or outside the Mackie bank of 8) and use the Cubase quick link feature in the mixer. If you then press write on the X touch, all selected tracks will go into write mode and you can apply parallel automation to all the tracks.

I imagine with the full size X touch the same would apply if you are wanting to automate tracks outside the current bank of 8, though it will only display tracks within its current bank. So you wouldn’t be able to apply different discrete automation to your selected tracks outside of the Mackie bank. I’m sure someone who actually uses one will give you a definitive reply. I haven’t used the other controllers you mention.

As above - I use a MCU and it operates the same, just Q-Link the faders you wish to link and Cubase manages it, no matter what controller you’re using. All controllers listed here will do the same.

If you want to see the display update then set up VCA faders and group that way is a much simpler workflow. (i.e. if you want to control all Drums, all Bass via one fader) all levels will move relative that way too. So it’s important if you want to be able to control relative values or absolutes.

The controller follows the mixer(F3) layout.
If you want to automate different tracks with different fader movements, they need to be inside the fader bank.
You can of cause move the tracks in Cubase, or let the first 8 tracks be VCA faders Controlling other tracks.
You can’t assign fader 1 to be controlling track 5, fader 2 track 20, fader 3 track 99… directly from the controller.
So reorder the tracks in Cubase in banks of 8 simultaneous controllable faders, or use VCA or groups.
You can always move tracks back when automation is written.
Don’t know how Nuage handles it, anything more evolved than MCU controllers tend to get pricey.

Well there could be a way using generic remote, but that gives me a headache just thinking about it.

By “display what you select”, do you mean selecting a track in Cubase will cause the control surface to automatically bank to the selected track? If so, my understanding is the Artist Mix is the only control surface capable of doing that in Cubase. But I’d be interested to know if any other control surfaces are capable of doing that.

I think you are right.
I have read in multiple gearslutz forums that certain versions of Logic with MC protocol, supports auto-bank, but I think that is the exception. So with the exception of Logic, I would assume there is no or little auto-bank support with any other DAW using MC protocol. If there is, I hope users chime in here.

I’ve read also that Logic supports Mackie auto-banking (via an option), so Logic presumably wrote some extra code to enable this. I wish Cubase had the same option and have put in a feature request for this. Having to bank every time is a little bit annoying. In fact the whole Studio/Remote section in Cubase looks very tired, to my eyes anyway, and much more up to date in other DAWs. I have noticed quite a few posts from people using that section, perhaps for the first time, finding it confusing and non user friendly. Might be getting away from poster’s specific question a little bit here, but with more and more people using controllers, an update to that whole Studio/Remote section would be welcome.

Finding out how different DAWs assign Mackie control adds yet an extra layer of confusion. As the poster wrote, it is difficult to find the answers. This goes both for online searching or in the often inadequate product manuals.

Biggest issue i have with Cubase and MCU (Moving from Logic) is that the plugin windows don’t open when you enter their parameters - i.e. if i adjust the EQ in track 1 and then move to track 2 - i can select and control the EQ for track 2 on my MCU, but i’ve not found a way of ‘seeing’ it as i adjust. Anyone know?

Ideally i’d also like the other windows related to track 1 to hide when i move to track 2 - for example.

Sorry if i was not clear in my post.

For example i want to be able to write different automation at once on track #1 and #8
Thx for the vca idea or groups but i don’t want to go that complicated. Either it’s straightforward or i won’t buy one.
Also vca were never working on my nuendo 8 and put me in trouble for clients. I’ll use them on nuendo 13 hopefuly.

I was asking the same post on nuendo forum and had an answer for someone using x-touch in that specific way Here’s the link to it i hope it might help.

Can any Icon, X-Touch, or Faderport users confirm or deny autobanking works with Cubase?

Yup, i use X-Touch in MCU mode and it doesn’t autobank for me.

However, if you select a track in cubase you can press the edit/eq/instrument buttons and control the track that way, so it does autofocus which is critical for me as i use it for sends/eq/cs when controlling from Cubase - if i’m setting levels i’ll use the bank buttons on the hardware itself.

Yes. I have always assumed auto-focus is part of MC protocol. But not auto-bank.