DP and Mackie Control Universal Pro

anamorphic · Post by **anamorphic** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:48 pm

Anybody know...

If I purchase the Mackie Control Extender Pro (8 additional faders) and connect it with my MCU will my onscreen mixer reflect the default 8 faders or all 16?

Thanks!

Dwetmaster · Post by **Dwetmaster** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:42 pm

If configured properly DP should only see one 16 channel Control Surface. You know you can disable that auto view sync hey? It can be desactivated in the pref menu of the MCU.

larryf · Post by **larryf** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:09 pm

You can configure it a few different ways. My MCU+EXT is set up (traditional style) to interact with DP as a 16 track mixer. However, you could also set it up for the MCU and the EXT to control the same 8 tracks, which is actually quite useful for tracking/mixing versus just mixing, and was my previous default setup, and note, you can choose whether the EXT is to the left or right of the MCU, which will correspondingly determine whether the EXT or MCU controls the "left hand" 8 tracks or right-hand tracks 9-16 of the 16. THese choices are all made in the Control Surface menu item.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:57 pm

Can someone tell me what the main advantage of the new Pro units are versus the older MCU? They're blowing out the older ones for around $700 so it's tempting... probably for less on eBay, etc.

Dwetmaster · Post by **Dwetmaster** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:38 am

James Steele wrote:Can someone tell me what the main advantage of the new Pro units are versus the older MCU? They're blowing out the older ones for around $700 so it's tempting... probably for less on eBay, etc.

I've been looking for an old extension since last May now and I never got a good deal...

anamorphic · Post by **anamorphic** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:03 am

James,

I'm no shill, but the Mackie site has this in their faq;

What is the difference between a Mackie Control Universal and a Mackie Control?
The Mackie Control Universal merges the Mackie Control and Logic Control technologies into one professional control surface. The Mackie Control Universal will allow you to boot the control surface in one of three modes, Mackie Control, HUI, or Logic Control. The default labeling on the Mackie Control Universal will be for Logic. Lexan overlays are included for each of the other software programs that support the Mackie Control Universal.

Personally, I was finally able to afford the "newest and bestest" of something for a change, so I decided to go for it. I only use it for DP, tho. But if they can upgrade it for Final Cut Pro, maybe I can use it on my Avid eventually.

Dwetmaster · Post by **Dwetmaster** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:34 am

anamorphic wrote:James,

I'm no shill, but the Mackie site has this in their faq;

What is the difference between a Mackie Control Universal and a Mackie Control?
The Mackie Control Universal merges the Mackie Control and Logic Control technologies into one professional control surface. The Mackie Control Universal will allow you to boot the control surface in one of three modes, Mackie Control, HUI, or Logic Control. The default labeling on the Mackie Control Universal will be for Logic. Lexan overlays are included for each of the other software programs that support the Mackie Control Universal.

Personally, I was finally able to afford the "newest and bestest" of something for a change, so I decided to go for it. I only use it for DP, tho. But if they can upgrade it for Final Cut Pro, maybe I can use it on my Avid eventually.

He was not asking for the difference between MC and MCU but Rather MCU and MCUPro...

From What I've found, the knob and slider are a bit different built but I think the biggest difference is USB capabilities. Why would I care when I have 4 available MIDI port on my Express XT?

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:08 pm

Thanks for the info! Does the USB unit have finer resolution it is able to transmit to faders? I'm wondering if using MIDI limits the faders to 128 values or something MIDI-ish like that?

rknaub · Post by **rknaub** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:22 pm

James dont know about the resolution of the fader, but they are new faders and they are smoother and faster then the older ones.

Have had mine for 3 weeks now and love it

Cheers,

Randy

Dwetmaster · Post by **Dwetmaster** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:50 pm

James Steele wrote:Thanks for the info! Does the USB unit have finer resolution it is able to transmit to faders? I'm wondering if using MIDI limits the faders to 128 values or something MIDI-ish like that?

I remember Reading in Mackie's forum that USB Is not necessarily an improvment over MIDI in terms of speed, bandwidth etc...

The hardware is probably better on it though. I wish I could try one side by side with my MC...

guyreilly · Post by **guyreilly** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:38 pm

The usb doesn't inherently improve performance at all. It should behave excatly the same as if you had it plugged into a dedicated MIDI interface.

It is strongly recommended that you use a dedicated MIDI interface vs sharing one with other MIDI gear as there is a lot of traffic coming and going from the MCU. Since the MCU pro essentially enforces that you use a dedicated interface there is no was you will have latency. If somebody was sharing a MIDI port with other devices then maybe they would see a performance lift.

I am actually running my Alesis QS7 (main MIDI controller) and v-Drums thru port 2 on my Axiom (I never use all there at once) and have my old tascam US-122 acting as a dedicated MIDI interface for my MCU. No problems at all. In fact it is a tight connection... the level meters seem spot on.

Hope this helps.

The only thing that is better about the MCU Pro is colors and a better jog wheel.