5/1/2021 0 Comments Mackie Hui Driver
This articles walks through how to setup the Code series controller with Pro Tools.A class-compliant device is one that doesnt require extra drivers to connect your Windows or Macintosh computer.
![]() We recommend going into the back of your computer, as this is closest to the power supply. This will provide the most power necessary to the controller for optimum performance. This is basically a control language that will allow us to set up the controls of the keyboard without any mapping files or individually learning the functions. Each bank of parameters will have a Mode button that will change colors based on the mode the parameters are set to. Once this is confirmed, your keyboard is now setup with Pro Tools. Most of the major applications already support Mackie Control XT, such as Digital Performer, Pro Tools and Sonar Nuendo and Cubase are notable exceptions. And while this criticism has become something of a clich, it still remains true that a large number of users simply dont want to use standard computer devices, such as the mouse, to carry out mixing and other common tasks with a digital audio workstation. To use the obligatory cartechnology metaphor, youd never consider driving by manipulating an on-screen steering wheel with a mouse, so why should those in the audio industry control visual faders with the same rodent-inspired device. Perhaps the first significant control surface for a desktop DAW that really mimicked the design of a mixer was Mackies HUI (Human User Interface), which was launched for use with Pro Tools in 1998, offering eight channel strips with LED VU metering, along with transport and other editing and mixing controls. Kie Hui Software Packages SuchHUI has since become supported by other software packages such as Steinbergs Cubase and Nuendo, and the command set used to communicate with HUI has also become something of a standard, emulated by many other devices. Pro Control is still going strong, and an optional Edit Pack was later made available offering a QWERTY keyboard, two joystick panners for surround work, and more. However, the Pro Controls impressive feature set comes at a correspondingly high price tag, with the base, Fader and Edit Pack expander units costing 9758, 5282 and 6098 respectively, putting the system out of the reach of many home and project studios. However, you dont have to use Pro Tools or have a big budget to add hardware control to your own computer system; companies like JL Cooper, GMedia, Kenton, Peavey, Radikal and Evolution have for many years offered generic control surfaces suitable for a range of budgets and software, with varying degrees of functionality some models work by simply generating MIDI Continuous Controller information, for example. Logic Control, with the required Logic 5 update, took Emagic slightly longer than expected to ship to the public, and it later transpired that Emagics exclusivity agreement with Mackie was time-limited. So when Mackies agreement with Emagic ended last year, the company was free to release the same hardware as their own product, which they did in the guise of Mackie Control, a desktop control surface for which any third-party developer was free to incorporate support in their DAW software. For more information about the original Logic Control and Logic partnership, its worth taking a look at Paul Whites original review from SOS April 2002 issue; and if youre wondering what exactly the differences are between Logic and Mackie Control, aside from the name, the Logic Vs Mackie Control box should help remove the mud from the windscreen. Kie Hui Code Or BarsTheres a raised section at the top of Mackie Control that features an LCD above the mixing channels, a two-character eight-segment LED display designed (depending on the host software) to show the current mix scene, and a further LED display to show the current position of the song from your host software in either timecode or bars and beats. This display can be switched via the SMPTEBeats Display button, although such behaviour is actually implemented by the host software rather than Mackie Control itself. In applications such as Digital Performer, multiple Mackie Control XT extenders can be added to provide as many faders as you need. The main mixing area of Mackie Control features nine motorised and touch-sensitive 100mm Penny Giles faders for the mixing channels and master channel. These feel fairly smooth under the fingers, although they can be a tiny bit noisy when a group of them are responding to automation nothing serious, but marginally more noticeable than on, say, a Yamaha digital console like the DM2000 (which is admittedly over 10 times the price of Mackie Control). Above the eight mixing faders are three rows of buttons taken straight from Mackies D8b console, which light up when enabled for channel solo, mute and selection, followed by a row of eight channel activity LEDs. Despite the fact that some host software manufacturers implement channel metering to some extent in Mackie Controls LCD above the channel faders, a further nice touch would have been for Mackie to use a tri-colour LED for channel activity so you could see some indication of the signals strength, especially if there are any peaks. For those who havent played around with one before, a V-pot is an endless rotary controller and button, with the current value indicated by a ring of LEDs around the circumference not quite the same as the pots on a System 5 Euphonix console, for example, but easy to control and get feedback from all the same. No big deal, you might think, but firstly, not every MIDI interface has a large number of inputs (compared with the number of outputs); secondly, not every DAW user requires more than a couple of MIDI ports anyway; and third, if you buy the optional Mackie Control XT and C4 units as well (see box below), this means youll need three pairs of MIDI ports, as they each require their own connection. ![]() The SAC2k even goes so far as to offer a built-in USB hub as well. For some, one of the most appealing aspects of Mackie Control is the potential for expansion: if eight faders arent enough, you can build a bigger system by purchasing Mackie Control XT units. The Mackie Control XT is basically the eight channel strips from Mackie Control built into a horizontally smaller, but otherwise similarly styled enclosure, complete with an additional LCD strip along the top, although without the transport and function buttons, and the master fader, of course. As mentioned in the main text, each additional XT unit connects to a dedicated MIDI In and Out port on your MIDI interface, and the XT units need to be directly supported by the host software, so this is something you will want to check before purchasing.
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