I have revived my old Mackie Control and extenders as I have a new multitrack project and it would be really handy to have the physical faders under my fingers.
I am running macOS Sequoia 15.7.4 on an iMac Pro.
The Control surface is running in “Mackie Control” mode.
I have connected the device via USB, and added it in studio set up. The MCU Pro is connected to the MCU XT via MIDI, all as in the MCU manual.
I get the familiar window, but the device doesn’t seem to be recognised.
My memory (which could be playing me up) tells me that when I last set it up, I connected it via USB and it all worked perfectly. It is plugged into the same USB hub as my UR44, which works fine.
I have also tried plugging it directly to a USB-A port on the back of the Mac
I’m a bit confused about the midi set up - I’m using a Steinberg UR44 audio interface, and the options in the Studio Set Up window offer:
MIDI in either “All midi inputs” or “Steinberg, UR44 port 1”
MIDI out either “not connected” or “Steinberg, UR44 port 1”
I’ve tried all the combinations and nothing happens - no fader movement and no track names appearing in the scribble strip.
I did have this set up and working correctly with Nuendo 12 (along with custom function button assignments too) back in 2023, but I’ve tried in Nuendo 12 and 15 too today with no joy.
Am I doing something wrong/missing something obvious? Or is the MCU Pro no longer supported in cubase?
I had seen that youtube video [man, does that guy talk fast!] but it seemed to refer to an earlier version of Cubase.
In 15 Pro, the Mackie doesn’t appear as a device under “midi port set up”, although it is a selectable device under “add devices”, so i assumed [perhaps wrongly] that it must still be supported…
in “add devices” it is to select،let’s say the protocol you are going to use, and on the right side is where you decide which ports you are going to use that protocol.
for example, I am using a couple of faderports, which are using the Mackie control protocol. I add the devices and then on that right side I tell it which ports to use each “protocol”
I hope I have explained myself.
if nothing appears when you connect your mackies to the mac،, then it is not compatible with your system. Maybe in Windows they do work.
on Mac it surely works on previous versions (pre-Apple silicon).
go to Mackie’s website to see if there is a driver or something more current.
The iMac has an Intel processor, and the unit did work a few years back with Nuendo 12.
I checked USB devices in the MacOS and it doesn’t show there. Figured maybe the USB port on the unit was faulty. I tried different cables, and also different ports on the Mac - all of which I had ‘proved’ with other devices
So - I connected it up via midi and the display comes up, showing channels 1-8 of the project.
When I load the project, the faders move into the correct positions, and faders move if I move a fader in the Cubase mix console. The pan pots show the correct pan and respond to changes in pan position in the software mixer too.
Pressing ‘play’ on the cubase transport bar initiates the meter on the MCU, which increments in time with the song, and stops when I hit ‘stop’ on the Cubase transport bar. If I move the project cursor, the display on the Mackie updates to reflect its position.
But none of the controls on the MCU have any effect; Cubase is able to control the MCU but not the other way round.
I’m guessing it must be a midi issue? I’ve tried the possible midi combinations in Studio Set Up, but nothing seems to make any difference.
The MCU functions fine now over midi, just not via USB. However, according to the Mackie Manual, connecting via midi disables the other MIDI ports on the back of the MCU, so I’ll need a separate midi interface to connect the MCU XT Extension Units.
Thanks for taking the time to respond and offer advice.
Maybe it doesn’t because you’re trying to have the device connected via MIDI and USB when you should only use one or the other? As per manual, if you want to connect it via USB, only the Mackie Control goes in there and MIDI connects the extenders to it.
Thanks
The first method I tried was connecting via USB only, and nothing happened.
When I managed to have it work over MIDI, only the MIDI cables were connected.
So, are you saying that, if it’s connected via USB, the MIDI fields in ‘Studio Setup’ should be set as ‘not connected’?
I’ll try that tomorrow and report back.
If you’re connecting it via USB, the only thing that gets connected to the PC is the USB port. If you have extenders, they get connected to the midi ports on the MCU unit.
If you want to use MIDI instead, you’ll need a multiport MIDI interface and the MCU and extenders are connected to their own MIDI ports on that MIDI interface.
What I’m saying is if it’s connected via USB, you should set it to point to the MIDI ports presented by the USB interface. Have you tried connecting the MCU to a different computer to see if it gets recognized there? These devices are quite old and maybe the USB will not work on Apple ARM devices.
I suspect I may not have been very clear about what I’ve done so far.
I have tried setting up the MCU via USB and nothing happens. On the Studio Set Up page the midi ports are populated automatically with the ports on the Steinberg UR44 interface, regardless of whether there are any physical connections.
I have re-tried this with selecting “not connected“, just to be sure there are no MIDI conflict
With these options, the MCU is still not recognised - does not show in the list of USB devices.
BTW the Mac I am using is Intel based (has a Xeon processor), not ARM.
I followed your suggestion and tried plugging the MCU into my MacBook Pro, running macOS Monterey. It doesn’t show in the USB section of system report there either.
My supposition is that the USB port on the MCU is defective.
However, if I connect the MCU to the MIDI ports on the Steinberg UR 44, the unit functions as it showed in a previous pic– taking the track names from Cubase and moving the faders to the right position.
I have got my hands on a MIDI interface, and will try setting up the MCU and the XT extension solely via MIDI.
After identifying that one of the midi leads i was using had failed [bit of a head-scratcher, that!], I now have it all set up and working via MIDI, with two instances of Mackie Control in Studio Setup.
[The USB socket on the Mackie has obviously failed, as it’s not recognised on either the iMac pro or the MacBook.]
