EQ Magazine - November 2008 - (Page 60)

GEAR HEAD feature, the controls and switches are relatively easy to sort out, and you can generally create presets. “Hybrid” mixers. These are often designed for DJ applications, but are applicable to any mixing scenario—they include both traditional mixing options and MIDI control. Korg’s Zero4 and Zero8 mixers are outstanding examples of the genre, as is Allen & Heath’s Xone:D series of products (particularly the Xone:D3 and Xone:D4). Digital mixers. For recording, a digital mixer can make a great hands-on controller if both it and your audio interface have a multi-channel digital audio port (e.g., ADAT optical “light pipe”). You route signals out digitally from the DAW, into the mixer, then back into two DAW tracks for recording the stereo mix. Rather than using the digital mixer to control functions within the program, it actually replaces some of those functions (particularly panning, fader-riding, EQ, and channel dynamics). As a bonus, some digital mixers include a layer that converts the faders into MIDI controllers suitable for controlling virtual synths, effects boxes, etc. Synthesizers/master keyboards. Some keyboards, like the Yamaha Motif XS and Korg M3, as well as master controllers from MAudio, Alesis, Novation, CME, and others build in control surface support. But even those without explicit control functions can sometimes serve as useful controllers, thanks to the wheels, data slider(s), footswitch, sustain switch, note number, and so on. As some sequencers allow controlling functions via MIDI notes, the keyboard can provide those while the Behringer’s BCF2000 has eight moving faders, and is a mainstay in budget studios. MAPPING CONTROLS TO PARAMETERS With MIDI control, the process of assigning hardware controllers to software parameters is called mapping. There are four common methods: “Transparent” mapping. This happens with controllers dedicated to specific programs or protocols: They’re already set up and ready to go, so you don’t have to do any mapping yourself. Templates. This is the next easiest option. The software being controlled will have default controller settings (e.g., controller 7 affects volume, 10 controls panning, 72 edits filter cutoff, etc.), and loading a template into the hardware controller maps the controls to particular parameters. MIDI learn. This is almost as easy, but requires some setup effort. At the software, you select a parameter and enable “MIDI learn” (typically by clicking on a knob or switch—ctrl-click on the Mac, right-click with Windows). Twiddle the knob you want to have control the parameter; the software recognizes what’s sent and maps it. Fixed assignments. In this case, either the controller generates a fixed set of controllers, and you need to edit the target program to accept this particular set of controllers; or, the target software will have specific assignments it wants to see, and you need to program your controller to send these controllers. RECONCILING PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL CONTROLS With any controller that doesn’t use motorized faders, one of the big issues is punching in when a track already contains control data. If the physical position of the knob matches the value of the existing data, no problem: Punch in, grab the knob, and go. But what happens if the parameter is set to its minimum value, and the knob controlling it is full up? There are several ways to handle this. Instant jump. Turn the knob, and the parameter jumps immediately to the knob’s value. This can be disconcerting if there’s a sudden and unintended change—particularly live, where you don’t have a chance to re-do the take! Match-then-change. Nothing happens when you change the physical knob until its value matches the existing parameter value. Once they match, the hardware control takes over. For example, suppose a parameter is at half its maximum value, but the knob controlling the parameter is set to minimum. As you turn up the knob, nothing happens until the knob matches the parameter value. Then as you continue to move the knob, the parameter value follows along. This provides a smooth transition, but there may be a lag between the time you start to change the knob and when it matches the parameter value. Add/subtract. This technique requires continuous knobs (i.e., data encoder knobs that have no beginning or end, but rotate continuously). When you call up a preset, regardless of the knob position, turning it clockwise adds to the preset value, while turning it counter-clockwise subtracts from the value. Motorized faders. This requires bi-directional communication between the control surface and software, as the faders move in response to existing automation values—so there’s always a correspondance between physical control settings and parameter values. This is great: Just grab the fader and punch. The transition will be both smooth and instantaneous. Parameter nulling. This is becoming less common as motorized faders become more economical. With nulling, there are indicators (typically LEDs) that show whether a controller’s value is above or below the existing value. Once the indicators show that the values match (e.g., both LEDs light at the same time), punching in will give a smooth transition. 60 EQ NOVEMBER 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - November 2008

EQ Magazine - November 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Brian Wilson Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Sony Acid 6 Abelton Live 7 Controller World New Controllers Analysis Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - November 2008

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