Hey all,
I wanted to let you know a little more info on specific support for Cubase/Nuendo with the Impact LX series announced as available from November.
There are 3 modes of operation, you select with dedicated buttons; Mixer, Instrument and User (user offers 5 presets for generic mapping).
Transport control is extended beyond the usual 6 buttons using a SHIFT function to access Goto loop start, set start of loop at locator, set end of loop at locator, undo, click on/off and ‘auto-quantize on record’ mode. REW/FWD jump in increments of 1 measure to ensure the locators and loop points can be set accurately using the keyboard. You can also step through tracks using dedicated buttons so there is no need for the mouse whilst building loops and tracking in the arranger.
As you might expect in Mixer mode you have control of a bank of 8 mixer channels volume/pan/mute/solo with the 9th fader controlling the volume of the selected track, or master volume (with a modifier button held down). You can select the bank using the keyboard. You can toggle the Mixer in/out of view on the computer display by pressing the Mixer button on Impact.
In instrument mode, Impact’s controls target the instrument on the active track. You can toggle the instrument’s window open using the Instrument button on Impact (note that instrument controls still work when the instrument window is closed).
The Instrument mapping technology we developed for Nektar Panorama and existing maps for Panorama are supported by Impact LX. So all the knobs and faders have intuitive default mappings. There is no TFT display on Impact of course, so multi-paging is not supported as it is too easy to get lost with no feedback as to what is under control at any time. Instead, we make it very easy to take control of any automatable instrument parameter when you want it on the fly using the Grab function.
To grab parameters, simply hold SHIFT on Impact LX, and move the parameters in the instrument you want to grab. Then, release SHIFT and move the controls on Impact to map them. You can store you new mappings by double-pressing SHIFT, or alternatively, leave them as a temporary override. When you change track, temporarily conrol assignments revert to the default mappings.
You can also step through FXB instrument presets with dedicated buttons.
All controls support soft takeover such that if the mapped parameter is at a different position, the control on Impact will not affect that parameter until it catches up with the correct position.
As with Panorama, all Nektar integration is internal to Cubase/Nuendo, no plugin wrappers or any additional 3rd party software.
Hopefully you can see you get a lot for your money with Impact LX!