hi strophoid,
i got my cc121 this morning and have been playing with it for a few hours now, what can i say -
i really really like this thing AND i really really hate this thing, having it side by side with the alphatrack and i now think the AT feels pretty bad, way more resistance than the 121, so much so that my finger slips of the controls when applying the same pressure, not sure if its the fader itself or the fader cap (the cc121 has a much deeper concave where your finger sits more comfortable), same with the knobs, the AT has stiffer smaller knobs (excuse the expression ) that are also cone shaped so a tight grip is required to turn them.
everything about the feel and quality of the 121 is superior and i really like using it, if i got this 6 months ago i would have been very happy indeed- but 6 months ago i never used automation (im not that experienced), and thats where this falls on its face, if you have the time listen to this
Stream Where ever by thehornyscotsman | Listen online for free on SoundCloud ,
at around the 1.20 mark i have a backing vocal on 2 tracks with a delay, i use the pan automation to sweep the delay from left to right on 1 track and right to left on the other (possibly known as a cross over, again excuse my inexperience) then at the end just before the guitar solo i automate the send level of the reverb to go from around 25% to 95%, this type of automation is not possible with these clicky knobs so the AT knocks the 121 on its ass here through the simple flip switch to swap the fader with the corresponding knob.
i understand the flip switch may not be as easy to implement on the 121 , the AT has 5 buttons - pan, send, eq, plug in and automation, when in pan mode the fader switches with pan knob, when in send mode it swaps with the send level of the selected send fx, so when in these modes im guessing the fader knows what its supposed to swap with. not sure the 121 would know what parameter to swap with since it has no particular mode as it has dedicated controls
i also dont like the quick controls, well i do - but i dont , i think a better approach would have been like this:
there are 8 transport buttons - there are 8 insert slots
instead of going into quick control mode by pushing eq type and eq bypass together give the transport alternate funtions of selecting insert 1-8, which ever insert you select you can assign the 12 knobs to, this way we have 12 knobs per insert instead of 8 per channel, then while in this mode and you push the bypass button (usually for sends 5-8) the Q and F rows of knobs could be sends 1-8, that leaves the gain knobs to spare, knobs can also be set to toggle so you could use these to turn the motorised fader on or of, switch the fader to pan, switch the fader to send level and scroll through sends 1-8 so the fader knows which send its controlling.
i’m really on the fence about this, i really like using it but its what i cant use it for thats the problem, suppose i’d rather have a working renult in the drive than a ferrari that just sits there looking pretty, but then again its a ferarri in my drive