Mackie Control Universal Pro--anyone use it?

[tabnetic]

Hey everyone:

I was just wondering if anyone uses the new mackie controller yet for PTLE (or HD as the case may be). I'm thinking of picking one up as the new USB compatibility appeals to me, etc. but I'd ideally like it to work very well with both PTLE and Logic as I use the former to mix and edit, and the latter to perform.

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated as I don't want to make a $1200 blind investment.

thanks so much!

[jeff markham]

Hi,
I don't know about the MCU pro, but, I had no end of trouble with
my MCU and Xtenders. I gave up and bought a control24.
jeff

[tabnetic]

thanks for the response, jeff. i was hoping that perhaps mackie had sorted that out with their new line, but i don´t know...maybe that´s more of a firmware or drivers issue than a hardware one (?) i'm not too familiar with the HUI protocol (going to do some research on it later tonight).

anyone have any more opinions/experiences?

thx
t

[Rayvenx2208]

yooooo,

i jus bought a MCU Pro and im loving it. love the fact that its just USB connection, and pro tools synchs perfectly with it. the controls are accurate and precise. i was always against using controllers because im a lot faster with the keyboard and mouse, but i find myself using my MCU more and more, especially with automation and punch-ins. And the more i learn my way around it i find that i can do the same things with my MCU just as fast as the keyboard.

[Rayvenx2208]

yooooo,

i jus bought a MCU Pro and im loving it. love the fact that its just USB connection, and pro tools synchs perfectly with it. the controls are accurate and precise. i was always against using controllers because im a lot faster with the keyboard and mouse, but i find myself using my MCU more and more, especially with automation and punch-ins. And the more i learn my way around it i find that i can do the same things with my MCU just as fast as the keyboard.

[jeff markham]

That's encouraging. It must be the USB because the old MCU was
9pin DIN Midi and it felt like a bandwidth issue from PT servicing
the ports during playback. It would sort of work for a bit with just
the MCU ... but with one or two Xtenders, it would lock up solid.

I got the "ran out of 78 byte tokens" DAE error and did all the suggested
remedies to no avail. And this was with a Digi Midi I/O box as well.

I loved the Mackie's .. but wound up selling them due to this problem.
Nice to know the new Pro works!

jeff

[tabnetic]

yeah it seems encouraging so far, i agree jeff. though its a bit steeply priced without some more feedback (or a clear word from digidesign if this is supported). part of the reason i got a 003R instead of the 003 is that i'd like versatility, though i hope to not have to sacrifice reliability as well.

anyone got other experiences? thanks again!

[jeff markham]

Not to depress you, but I opted for the 003 Factory for my take-home set up
and the unit has been performing for me very well so far. However, it's not nearly
as expandable (as a control surface) as the MCU pro. Competition is good and I hope
the MCU pro does well for you.

jeff

[Bobbers]

Im using the old MCU and the only problem i find is not being able to switch plugin parameters from the rotary dials to the motorized faders. This functionality works i every other program except for pro tools. I've written mackie and digidesign to fix this, but to no avail.

Or is it solved with the new MCU pro ?

Best wishes

[tabnetic]

Not to depress you, but I opted for the 003 Factory for my take-home set up
and the unit has been performing for me very well so far. However, it's not nearly
as expandable (as a control surface) as the MCU pro. Competition is good and I hope
the MCU pro does well for you.

jeff

i hear you, jeff. but how would the 003 factory function with Logic Pro, etc. i wonder? i think its probably the best option for controlling PT, but i'm willing to sacrifice a little seamless integration for versatility with other programs.

ok, so it was a *little* depressing.