Any way to control V-Rack faders with Mackie Control?

Killahurts · Post by **Killahurts** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 11:58 am

I've made a new large composing template that utilizes VE Pro for most of the instruments. I want to put all the instruments, including the VEP instances (and their auxes) into the V-Rack, so I can flip back and forth between sequences in a project without reloading all the samples. But I need to have volume control on the instruments from my console.

The only way I can do this it seems, is to output all the instruments in the V-Rack to busses instead of actual outputs (the 24 channels going out to the console) and have those feed Aux or audio tracks in the TOV. Then those tracks output to the console.

That's what I'm doing now.. but it seems like a lot of unnecessary routing, and I worry that I'm taxing the processors with all that bussing. Also, I will be mixing the work into some number of stems, which will add yet another layer of routing complexity. Is there no way to make the V-Rack faders show up in Mackie Control?

reedster · Post by **reedster** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 12:56 pm

I'd don't have direct experience with Mackie Control... but I believe Mackie faders output 14 bit bi-polar MIDI pitch messages. While the v-Rack responds mono-polar 7 bit Continuous Controller messages.

Something like Plogue Bidule could transform the messages.

csavetman · Post by **csavetman** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 3:17 pm

As someone with a mackie control who's tried to get V Racks to show up in the Mackie control mixer, I can tell you they don't. I think the mackie control driver was written before V Racks was implemented in DP if I'm not mistaken.

Carlos

frankf · Post by **frankf** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 3:41 pm

I leave the v-rack faders at unity and route to busses and Auxes as you suggest. Don't know if it's a work around. I've always thought of it as a feature

Killahurts · Post by **Killahurts** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 7:15 pm

frankf wrote:I leave the v-rack faders at unity and route to busses and Auxes as you suggest. Don't know if it's a work around. I've always thought of it as a feature

Ah Frank! There's the spirit! Maybe it is a feature! Not.

Really guys, if there's anything I'm tired of in DP, it's the constant reloading of virtual instruments. It's as though DP is comprised of compartments that all are their own thing.

I should never have to wait for a document to reload in a DP project.

Killahurts · Post by **Killahurts** » Sat Mar 12, 2016 6:21 am

I should add that I used to use MIDI faders for volume control, so it didn't matter that the instrument fader was not easily accessible. With DP9, I've had some problems.. big problems actually, with MIDI faders not staying put when documents are saved/reopened. On a template this size, that won't work. I abandoned the MIDI faders completely while mixing the last album because it was driving me crazy and wasting time. Maybe it's fixed in the newest release.. or maybe it's just my system somehow.

One very cool thing is that, thanks to my friend csavetman, I learned the secret of the "w" key, so I can select all the tracks and turn their automation play off (which now defaults to "on" so it can play automation that doesn't exist). I'm still not sure if that had anything to do with my MIDI fader weirdness..

frankf · Post by **frankf** » Sat Mar 12, 2016 10:48 am

If you use v-racks the instruments will not reload when changing active sequences. If you use SSDs for instrument libraries, project, movie and boot volumes (several or one large), loading, opening is very fast. If not satisfied try VEP. I've stopped using it as an external host though and now use DP exclusively

Killahurts · Post by **Killahurts** » Sat Mar 12, 2016 12:51 pm

frankf wrote:If you use v-racks the instruments will not reload when changing active sequences. If you use SSDs for instrument libraries, project, movie and boot volumes (several or one large), loading, opening is very fast. If not satisfied try VEP. I've stopped using it as an external host though and now use DP exclusively

I do use VEP. But anything I have in tracks will reload when switching sequences, including instances in VE Pro. If I move the instances and their associated auxes to the V-Rack, no more reloading, but also no access to the faders from my console. Hence, the original post..

On your other point, I tried to use V-Racks for all my VI's when I first built this template. It seriously bogged down the system performance, and the autosave feature was killing me. I have found that for my setup, VEP is much better at hosting all those VI's performance-wise, and the "Preserve" and "Decouple" options seal the deal.

I think Carlos is right, MCU was written before V-Racks, and it was originally written for Logic, so it probably wouldn't have made a difference.

I do wonder though, with the news of the upcoming new Pre-Gen capabilities in DP that will purportedly handle all those VI's (presumably in V-Racks), how some will feel about only being able to mix those instruments with a mouse? I know V-Racks are supposed to be lacking the capabilities of tracks, by design.. but it probably won't change, because to get MCU to see V-Racks would entail MCU having access to the mixer directly.. I'll just use busses, till I run out

MOTUnation.com