Firewire Audio Control Surface Recommendations?

I'm looking to add a Control Surface for working with audio in FCP and Soundtrack. Just wondering if anyone has a recommendation. I saw a demo with a Tascam 1082, but it kept creating the "Unexpectedly Quit" dialogue box in Soundtrack.
Thanks,
Derrell

I'm currently using the FW-1082; my thoughts? With FCP - other than setting it up - it's fairly straight forward. Though with other more audio sophisticated software, it takes a concerted effort to learn how to use it, since unlike an analog type mixer, each button serves many functions and there's no clear label (it's a lot like learning to type all over again), also the functionality changes depending on the app you use it with.
I currently use mine with FCP5 and Logic 7.1, in Logic, it rocks: but it's extremely complicated - though easier to sett up with the app (Logic recognizes it natively) ... in FCP, once you've got it recognized, it's easy, but it's really weired to get it working.
You seem to HAVE to have the mixer window open in order for it to function; which is really silly, that scroll wheel and transport controls are useful with just the video alone!
Anyway, so far, no bombs for me - but it wasn't easy figuring out that you must do all these things before it works as you get no clues since nothing happen until you complete all the steps, which are:
1 - Put the device into Mackie Emulation using the 1082 software
2 - go to the control surface menu in FCP5, add your 1082, but making certain you select the "control port" as the communcations channel, and Mackie Control Surface, or else it doesn't seem to work.
3 - make certain you have the audio mix window open (in the instructions, it seems as if it's just assumed that you've got the window open - I personally didn't care about mixing at the time, I just wanted to use the scroll wheel instead of that tiny gooby thing on my mighty mouse)
Anyway, that's where I'm at with it now - hopefully I can find a way to get rid of the mix window, and still be able to use the transport controls.

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Any Video Control Surface Recommendations?

Hi Guys,
It's been some time since i've posted here i must admit, but i had a quick question and i'd appreciate some opinions!
I have been editing videos for individual and corporate clients for a while now, and have been utilising logic etc to record some of my own soundtracks - but i now feel that a video/audio control surface would help streamline my workflow (an expensive luxury though!)--- and i wondered if you had any recommendations / advice?
Note: I haven't had the need to really look into the hardware control surfaces, and googling has brought me to the Mackie MCU Pro, Tascam FW-1082 and an Alesis one... but they are a little out of my minds price-range (though not the pocket if reaallly persuaded)
Many thanks,
Adam

Shane, thanks for your quick reply! I didn't say they were too expensive... just that in my limited/low knowledge of the things they seemed like an expensive luxury for me - not that they were / were not... i am aware quality costs money (it is why we buy what we buy apple as opposed to pc's etc).
Have you had any experience with the Mackie? it seems like one would just be paying for the name- though undoubtedly it is probably a fantastic piece of kit, the Tascam does seem an equal competitor. Are there any others that you can reccomend/know of? i am struggling with net research- it mainly points me to those two..and a selection of home-user plastic jog wheels etc.
Many thanks,
Adam

Issues re Tascam FW-1082 & FW-1884 control surface - integration with FCP

The joint Tascam/Apple release put out in 2005 touting seamless compatibility between these two products (see below) turns out to be a gross exageration. Basic functions are conceivably compatible, but some do not work and there is a paucity of documentation available. The many buttons and controls on the Tascam's control surfaces are rendered useless. The consumer consumer has been wronged and these are not cheap products. Countless similar posts on this site backs me up on this.
I have the Tascam fw-1884, which has the same setup as the 1082. Have any of you been able to assign quick keys on the tascam using the keyboard customization tool in FCP? I've followed the example on Tascam's support site, but it does not seem to work.
Also, looking for more documentation/tutorials/consultants who can help me master all the features of the Tascam with FCP 5.
Thanks,
David
TASCAM interfaces now compatible with Apple®'s
Final Cut® Pro 5 & Soundtrack Pro
MCP (Mackie Control Protocol) onboard Final Cut Pro 5 allows the use of external audio control surfaces to edit and manipulate audio
Montebello, CA—April 16, 2005—TASCAM's full line of FireWire audio control surfaces and interfaces are now compatible with Apple®'s Final Cut Pro 5 and Soundtrack Pro editing software with Apple's unveiling of the Final Cut® Studio production suite that includes the Final Cut Pro® 5 upgrade.
This major upgrade to the Apple's Emmy award-winning software means that Final Cut Pro 5 and Soundtrack Pro are now fully compatible with MCP (Mackie Control Protocol) devices, so you can use external audio control surfaces— including TASCAM's FW-1884 or FW-1082—to edit and manipulate audio more efficiently.
TASCAM's newest audio controller, the FW-1082, has nine motorized faders for adjusting audio levels during mix playback utilizing the revamped software. Editors can turn up a dialog line or reduce the music level during a voiceover section without clicking on breakpoints. Just grab a fader and go! The transport buttons can be used to start and stop playback in any editor that supports the Mackie Control or Mackie HUI. TASCAM's FW-1082 also has a MIDI fader mode that can be used in programs like Apple Motion 2 to adjust parameters in real-time during playback. And since it's an audio interface as well, producers can record voiceover and sound effects right in the edit suite with professional results.
The FW-1082 has four mic inputs, four line ins and S/PDIF digital in and out – all available at 96kHz. It features 10 inputs, including four balanced XLR mic inputs with phantom power. Eight channel strips each feature a 60mm touch-sensitive moving fader and select/solo/mute buttons, and a moving master fader.
For even more I/O and surface control, the FW-1884 offers 18-channels of inputs (eight analog and eight ADAT digital and two S/PDIF coaxial or optical), eight balanced XLR mic/line inputs with high-quality mic preamps and phantom power, plus nine 100mm motorized touch-sensitive faders.
G4 dual processor 1.25mhz Mac OS X (10.4.6) FCP 5.1.1

So after writing this question I closed the laptop, leaving the Tascam on & connected. Returned 30 mins later to see if anyone had replied (where are you all??!!), opened the laptop & the Tascam suddenly springs to lift, faders move & Soft LCD app shows activity correctly.
So, all appears to be OK although I don't really know why...!!

Which control surface do you use, would like to use or have used for audio?

I am shopping control surfaces for mixing audio in Premiere Pro CC. I am buying used so I would sure like to get it right the first time. I am looking for feedback from those who have used a control surface as well as those who have just looked around. I have searched high and low for information from Premiere Pro users but have found very little. Even the Audition folks have not shared much information about experiences with audio control surfaces.
Here are some consoles I've looked at but cannot determine compatibility (due to lack of information):
Mackie Control Universal MCU Pro 8
Digidesign Command 8
Digidesign Digi 002 Pro Tools Console
M-Audio ProjectMix I/O Control Surface
Icon QCon Pro USB Midi Controller Station
Behringer B-Control Fader BCF2000
Radikal Technologies SAC 2.2 DAW controller
Avid Artist Mix Control 8 Fader Euphonix DAW Mixing Control Surface
Tascam FW-1884 Firewire Control Surface
Tascam FW-1082 Firewire Control Surface
CM Labs Motormix
CM Labs Motormix 2
CM Labs MotorMate
Novation ZeRO SL MkII MIDI DAW Control Surface
Nektar Panorama P1 USB Midi DAW Control Surface
Alesis Master Control
If you have experience with any of these consoles, or have any to add to the list, specifically with Premiere Pro, please leave a note here. I believe there will be others who will check this discussion looking for the same answers as I. Documentation of these control surfaces is very thin when it coms to discovering if they are MCU or EUCON protocol (or other) - and even if I was able to discern a flavor I still do not know which features will work in Premiere, such as transport controls, faders, plug-in modifiers, et al.
So I guess my goal here is to come up with a list of work/don't work features for each of these control surfaces and more so we can make informed bang for the buck decisions. My budget for a used control surface is $300-400, but I'd be willing to go to $500-600 or more if the features/integration were significantly better.
Thanks!

Here is the list with the responses I have received from the manufacturers, (3) so far.
Mackie Control Universal MCU Pro 8
The MCU Pro uses three different types of MIDI operating protocols (Mackie Control, HUI, and Logic Control). We have not tested the MCU Pro here in Tech Support with Premiere Pro. You will want to contact Adobe directly to see if they support the Mackie Control, HUI or Logic Control protocols with the Premiere Pro software. It is up to the manufacture of the software on how well these MIDI operating protocols are implemented into the software. With contacting Adobe directly you will be able to see what control surfaces are supported with their software.
Digidesign Command 8
Digidesign Digi 002 Pro Tools Console
M-Audio ProjectMix I/O Control Surface
The Project Mix I/O is a discontinued product. However, it should work properly with basically any DAW program. I can't speak to specifically Premiere Pro, but we have a few customers who use that combination and those customers report it works just fine.
Icon QCon Pro USB Midi Controller Station
Behringer B-Control Fader BCF2000
Thank you for your email! Yes, you are able to use the BCF2000 to control Adobe Pro CC. YOu will need to program the controller into Mackie Emulation mode. Mackie Emulation will allow full functionality within your software. Attached you will find a PDF showing each emulation mode. Here are a few informative links explaining setup and application:
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1286249
http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/control-surface-support.html
The former will provide a better understanding of connectivity.
Radikal Technologies SAC 2.2 DAW controller
Avid Artist Mix Control 8 Fader Euphonix DAW Mixing Control Surface
Tascam FW-1884 Firewire Control Surface
Tascam FW-1082 Firewire Control Surface
CM Labs Motormix
CM Labs Motormix 2
CM Labs MotorMate
Novation ZeRO SL MkII MIDI DAW Control Surface
Nektar Panorama P1 USB Midi DAW Control Surface
Alesis Master Control

Using Logic Pro 9 and Tascam DM-4800. Can't get the Tascam to work as a control surface via firewire... any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

The DM-4800 and Logic see each other, the firewire shows as 'locked' on both. Can pass audio back and fourth, no automation from the Tascam though. I know its either a midi setting or control surface settings... but I'm stumped. Newbie at Logic here. Any ideas what to check? Thanks in advance!

Plug in the usb lead.

Info please...control surface and mixer for fcp and audio recording

i'm looking for a control surface for final cut pro and also xlr/line inputs for recording guitar and vocals in cubase or audacity.
read all the info here after numerous searches. still some questions.
was looking at the tascam 1082 but not sure of the build quality...i saw one and it looked a bit cheaply built. the two demos at guitar center were falling apart. didn't look nearly as well built as the mackie. also i have been reading here and elsewhere about bugs/problems etc.
was looking at the m-audio...not sure about that one...$1250...
was also looking at mackie control surface...but no firewire...how do you hook it up to a mac? also no audio inputs. what would i need to buy to work in conjunction with that for recording audio? if i bought the mackie, i'd still have to buy an audio inpur device and that would end up costing as much as the m audio.
i know i could just buy a mixer for recording and forget the control surface...i already have a shuttle pro which works fine and i have gotten used to using the mixer in fcp...no problems. but the motorized faders on a control surface sure would be nice
so questions:
how does the mackie connect to a mac and what other device(s) would i need to record audio and how would they hook up...would they play nice together?
ppl who own the tascam...happy with it? used the mic and line preamps? are they noisy?
do i need an additional firewire bus reguardless of which control surface i get?
how does one route the audio for these when in fcp? i currently route my audio through my dsr 11 deck. will the control surface just go through firewire or would i have to actually jack into the control surface with additional cables and have to remove my present cables from my speakers everytime i want to use the control surface?
sorry so many questions. it's really tough to make an informed decision in buying something if you don't understand the mechanics of it.
btw, appreciate the info so far that i found doing my searches.
thanks
carl

I've got the Tascam FW1082 and I absolutely love it. I can't believe I ever edited without it. I'm considering upgrading to the 1884 in the future.
As for the mic preamps, they sound great. Nice and clean. There's no such thing as a line preamp, but the line inputs are clean as well.
For routing, I go to the 1082 via firewire until I turn on my external video monitor, at which point I send both video & audio to the deck and route the audio from the deck into a pair of the mixer's analog inputs. That way you avoid the delay of external monitoring. The 1082 allows you to listen to both the computer & the inputs at the same time, so switching back and forth is seamless.
As for durability, I've had it out on a few location recordings, but most of the time it's on my desk. It's still in mint condition. I'm sure if it was on a display where any 10 year old could come mess with it, it wouldn't be in as great of shape, but then again, a Neve console wouldn't look that great if every little brat that walked in the door could play with it. If you take care of your stuff, you'll have no issues with this mixer.

Can any one recommend a good mixer/control surface for Soundtrack pro?

Hey,
Can any one recommend a good mixer/control surface for Soundtrack pro? I was looking at the Mackie Universal Pro, does anyone have any experience with that or any others?
Many thanks in advance,
Gus

I have to put in another vote for OWC and against ANYTHING else. I bought a Western Digital MyBook Studio Mac Edition several years ago and it did not play well with my old G-series minitower nor the Intel iMac that replaced it last year. The drive was noisy, would cause sleep issues, lock up, overheat and, when allegedly working, dragged down performance.
I had to leave it turned off most of the time and do TM backups when I remembered--not good.
Recently I grew sufficiently browned off at the device to rip out the perfectly good WD SATA drive inside it and order an OWC Mercury Elite Pro enclosure with FireWire 800, USB 2 and eSATA ports. The old drive required only minutes to install in the OWC and has behaved perfectly since. No lockups, overheating, and the same drive is actually quieter in the new enclosure than the old.
WD makes fine hard drives but their enclosures are not very friendly, even those sold as "Mac Editions."
EDIT: forgot one point. If you have a desktop Mac, don't get a "mobile" or "portable" drive that has no source of power other than the computer. If you MUST use USB, it's possible to have dropouts if the USB bus gets overwhelmed while the drive is connected. Go with a desktop dirve with a separate power supply if you can. If you must go with a USB portable drive lacking its own power supply, also buy a powered USB hub. That usualy provides portable drives with enough power to stay with the program when used at home.

Can Anyone Help Me Set Up My M-Audio Radium As A Control Surface?

Hi Everyone,
I just bought a new keyboard (M-Audio Radium) because the old one died. There's a bunch of knobs and sliders that I hear can be used as a control surface. However, when I follow the manual there seems to be several discrepancies between what it shows and what the Logic-Preferences-Control Surfaces interface shows. So if someone could be so kind as to point me in the right direction as to the proper way to set this up, I'd appreciate it. P.S. The more that you can walk me through it the better. Thanks

I just picked up an Oxygen8v2...it just has 8 knobs and transport controls. First off, I saw a video on a guy using this with Logic, and he opened the Enigma software that is for editing M-Audio controllers. He went to the Keystation88 preset, and there is a Logic template. He just literally copied the item he wanted, say, the Stop button, and then opened the Oxygen8v2 panel and pasted it over the Stop on that template. Seems to make sense, but, I do it, and it doesn't work at all.
So, I just spent an hour figuring this out. Here's the only way so far I got this to work. First off, none of the M-audio boards are in the Controller window, or, they are not Natively supported in Logic. Why? Who knows, they are only the largest supplier of these things. Anyway, for the transport controls, I went to the Key Assignments... window, and found the stop line, clicked on Learn Assignment button, and hit the stop button on my Oxygen8v2. Works great. I did that for all the transport buttons.
Now, of the 8 knobs, the last 2 already seem to control the pan and track levels, just luck I think that the preset controller numbers match Logic's. So, I want to assign one of the other knobs to the Send level of Bus 1, another to Bus 2. Now I had to open the Controller Assignments... window. Clicked on Send 1 in Logic, and the window then said Send 1, I hit Learn, and twiddled the knob, and hit Learn again to stop, and it worked. I did the same for send 2 and knob 2...BUT, something still isn't quite right. The send 1 knob works, but the send 2 knob goes all on and all off when I turn the knob...it's not seeing all the values, just on and off. Tried it 10 times, and it still isn't working. Don't know.
I was very surprised to not find any Logic stuff for these M-Audio controllers. Both are some of the most popular software/hardware out there, yet it's as if Logic doesn't exist to M-Audio (I know, ProTools, ProTools, ProTools...)

Control surface toggle audio clip mixer

Thought I'd post this as it took me some time to work out it was possible.
External control surfaces now work with the Audio Track Mixer, but I couldn't find a way (or any info) on how to make it work with the new Audio Clip Mixer. Eventually I found 'Toggle Control Surface Mixer Mode' in the keyboard shortcuts and now everything is working well in both modes.
This works for mute, solo and level in the Clip Mixer. I've not yet attempted any automation, I can't see a way to turn on the 'record keyframes' other than manually one track at a time. Still, progress to this point is very welcome.

The Mackie device has some quirks, and while basic functionality is there, PPro does not have as strong support with mackie as it does with eucon through the avid artist series. The physical MCU keys switched between different versions of the device and what is undo on one is a different function on another, so sadly, depending on what model you get, those buttons may or may not be correct by the label that is on the device. There is no way for us to tell which one you have.
Clip mixer mode can be enabled either through the fly out menu in the clip mixer or by assigning a keyboard shortcut. When engaged, it supports the faders, pan/balance/mute and solo. If automation is engaged it will record automation, though you can't engage clip mixer automation via the control surface like you can on the track mixer.
Unfortunately there is no way to group channels at this time, aside from making a submix, but I do not think this is what you were requesting.
There is not a way to manually enter a keyframe via a button on the control surface.
It is possible to customize some of the control surface buttons by hitting the button assignments button in the Mackie control surface window. This is mostly limited to the function keys and a few others
The touch and latch mode lights is a known bug.
If you want more customization, the Avid Artist series has much better support in this regard. We set up many soft keys, but you can also create your own very easily.
I will take a look at the other issues you have raised as they sound like bugs, but I also encourage you to file them through here: https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform as it will help us to gauge how many are using the mackie protocol vs eucon.
Thanks
Todd

Low cost Mackie control surface for FCP 6?

Could someone recommend an inexpensive control surface for FCP 6? Perhaps a bit more expensive than the Berhinger but cheaper than the Tascam.

I've had nothing but grief since installing the FW-1082 and sure could use some help when you return. Here is my current situation (copied from my post on the TASCAM forum which yielded zero responses):
I know the instructions say that the FW-1082 should be plugged directly into the computer interface and that nothing should be plugged into it. Unfortunately my Intel iMac only has one FW400 and one FW800 port. There are other FW400 peripherals such as HDD's and camcorder video capture. With only one FW400 port, it means either I plug the FW-1082 directly into the computer and then connect the FW400 hub to the second FW-1082 port, or plug the hub directly into the computer and the FW-1082 into it. Which ever approach I use, it results in very unstable operation. Sometimes the 'Firewire' LED never lights. Other times the FW-1082 keeps reseting itself every few seconds. Unfortunately I no longer have the option of returning it, so I must find some way to use it with my existing hardware.
I just installed V1.06 of the Mac drivers and 'Fix for Mac OSX 10.4.10 FireWire' from the TASCAM website, restarted the computer, and now the Firewire LED on the FW-1082 never lights. The 'fix' mentioned above rolls back the extension 'AppleFWAudio' to V2.0.1. to resolve a problem with the OSX 10.4.10 update. Unfortunately, I don't know how to restore it to its previous state. Help!
(I apologize for posting this in the FCP forum, but this is the only place I've been able to find fellow FW-1082 users.)

Mixer or control surface

can anbody please recommend me which one i should go for..?
mixer or control surface?
the alesis products has stole my attention with its sleek design, im thinking of buying either their MultiMix 8 FireWire or master control..
i use my logic mostly for recording acoustic guitar and vocal..
please make me clear of waht are the advantages of control surface or mixer.
thank you!

Hi, one of the great advantage not mencioned above about mixers is you can use the sends and returns of the mixer to route hardware effect processors, about to record the guitar and the vocal at the same time i´m not agree beacause your mics pic a mix of both in each of the two diferent tracks even if you use one mic for guitar and another for vocals. It is not the way to go. The most important to get good recordings from vocal and acoustic guitars is how good are your mic preamp and your mics. But a mixer is an essencial tool in a studio environement. Me too i records guitars both electric and acoustic, i havent yet a mixer, but i use a SSL XLOGIC Superannalogue channel and a Nueman U87 mic. The result are miles away from using software emulation amps. But the budget too, I don´t belive that the Tascam pre amp are enought good for recotding acoustic guitars and vocals. recording acoustic guitar and vocalsi t is one of the most difficult taske to achieve with satisfactory results. I think you must to learn more about studio recording mixing ect... before you buy anything, get your own budget and with your knowledge try to buy the best possible adapted to your own budget.
f.
Message was edited by: Fer2007

H8-1287 Beats Audio controls do not work in Windows 8.1

I've upgraded to Windows 8.1 and installed the IDT High-Definition audio driver from HP's website. The surround sounds seems to be working but the controls do not work to modify the EQ etc. I've seen the problem has been resolved for Envy laptops but all the links for the software appear to only be for the notebooks and not compatible with my desktop system. I've downloaded the available software (IDT High-Definition Audio driver) found under my HPE HI-1287 product from HP's support site but the Beats audio control panel doesn't seem to make any sound quality changes. Hopefully there is a driver somewhere compatible with my desktop system that allows controling the audio properly. Thanks.

Hello @KICR,
I understand that the Beats Audio Console is not adjusting the audio settings on your HP Pavilion HPE h8-1287c Desktop PC running Windows 8.1. According to the HP Pavilion HPE h8-1287c Desktop PC Drivers page there are no Windows 8.1 drivers for your computer. I can only assume that this means your computer is currently using Windows default drivers or Windows 8 drivers and the Beats Audio Console is not able to interact properly with the currently installed driver.
All I can recommend is that you check back periodically to the drivers page I linked above and see if Windows 8.1 drivers have been created. Other than that your only option at this time would be to use the HP Support document: Using Microsoft System Restore (Windows 8) to restore your computer back to Windows 8 where the Beats Audio Console has drivers that are compatible.
I hope this helps. Thank you for posting on the HP Forums. Have a great day!
Please click the "Thumbs Up" on the bottom right of this post to say thank you if you appreciate the support I provide!
Also be sure to mark my post as “Accept as Solution" if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others who face the same challenge find the same solution.
Dunidar
I work on behalf of HP
Find out a bit more about me by checking out my profile!
"Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong." ~ Donald Porter

Getting my control surface to work properly

I have a usb kebyboard, alesis photon 25. when i plug it in with audition running it says midi channel one is being triggered at the bottom when i press a key on the keyboard so i know it is picking up a signal. i have enabled everything that i can think of via the sequencer window and i just cant get the keyboard to trigger the vsti, please any suggestions would be much appreciated. thanks

To see how to handle Control Surface have a look at this:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/ControlSurfacesSupport.pdf
You can find it in Logic Documents folder too (it's on installation disk).
The problem is if the system recognizes the BR in MIDI Audio Setup or if some drivers are needed.
cheers
rob

Digital distortion on external firewire audio Edirol FA-101 and 10.4.11

Hi
Not sure if this is the right forum but I have an Edirol FA-101 external firewire audio unit and it seems like prior to installing 10.4.11 update for Tiger the audio was perfect. Now however I get a constant level of what sounds like digital distortion even without any audio sources playing out of my FA-101.. I saw the forum/support notes regarding audio problem with 10.4.10.. just wondered if anyone has similar experiences..the audio device does not have it's own drivers but uses the mac built in firewire audio support.
Thanks

that's what outputs 3 and 4 are there for. You can't control one stereo output to do two different things at the same time... it says in the edirol manual that the headphone jack outputs the same as output 1 and 2 from the back.
Therefore if you want a separate stereo output pair to connect your speakers to, you must use outputs 3 and 4.
Edirol didn't make the unit for the pc - actually the hardware was designed for the mac (hence it's core audio compatibility out of the box).
Edirol's fa-101 and fa-66 (which I own) are mac product which just happen to work on the pc thanks to the driver they had to write after the fact to support windows xp. Plug the unit into a pc without the driver and nothing happens. plug it into a mac running osx and it's automagically configured for low latency, highest performance, midi and audio in and out.
Have fun owning the best interface you can get for the mac for the money!

Control surface and interface at the same time

Is it possible to plug in a control surface and an interface at the same time? My plan is to use a Mackie Control Universal Pro (USB) for my control surface and a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 IO Firewire Interface for monitor use during mixing. Will Logic Pro 9 allow me to do this?

Thank you

Firewire Audio Control Surface Recommendations?

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