[ukoldschool]

Okay here is a description of my setup:

Logic 9.1.5
Mackie D8B running HUI via OS 5.1
Mackie MCU and 2 Extenders
Mac Pro Nehalem running OS 10.6.8

I have set up the Mackie MCU + Extenders as a control surface group and the Mackie D8B as a separate control surface on Logic in the "Control Surface Setup" window. What I want to achieve is to dedicate the D8B to the first 8 channels as this is always my MIDI Drum channels and I want to use the 24 channels of the MCU for the rest.

The only way I could figure out how to achieve this is to set the "Fader Bank for Tracks View" in the Control Surface Display Parameters to 8 so that the MCU starts at channel 9. This works fine until I touch a channel on the D8B, which then causes the MCU to reset this setting.

So is there a way to lock the MCU so it always ignores channels 1-8 or is there another way to force the MCU to skip these channels but let the D8B see them as I am stumped.

[oscwilde]

Have you tried adding the D8B as part of/the first device in the MCU CS group?

[ukoldschool]

oscwilde, on 25 January 2012 - 02:42 AM, said:

Have you tried adding the D8B as part of/the first device in the MCU CS group?

Thanks for the reply. Yes I tried this and this would partly work, however banking would then pass the next 1st 8 channels to the D8B. Is there a way to prevent one device from banking?

In the Logic manual it makes out by setting the Fader Banks to a number other than 0 will shift channels for that device, however although this works the minute you press any channel on either device it resets.

Is there really no way to isolate channels to a particular device?

[oscwilde]

Hmmmm, I'm a bit confused as to how your rig is configured.
I'll preface this by saying that I own a Logic Control (MCU) / XT.
I have used the D8B as a mixer (V2 or 3), not as a control surface.... so don't know it's ins/outs/quirks.

Is the CSG laid out -onscreen -as a single horizontal row?

D8B - MCU -XT - XT

If so, channel assignments would always be:

D8B MCU XT XT
1-8 9-16 17-24 25-32

....unless you manually offset them...by channel or bank (correct me if I'm wrong, the d8b/HUI can switch between 1-8/9-16....right?)

If your layout is on separate horizontal rows...
MCU -XT - XT
D8B
The D8B will be it's own CSG (and the MCU/XT units another group).

Typically, the second CSG is used for buses/auxes.....or FX/EQ/plug-in use....and the other group for traditional duties (mixer channs, a.s.o.)
In this scenario - a bank shift shouldn't affect the other CSG....but it would if both groups were controlling chann strips, for example.

[ukoldschool]

I actually wanted to have 1 group of MCU/XT/XT and a second group of D8B (in HUI mode).

However I wanted both in Arrange view, but perhaps its not possible.

I thought of an alternative option. Put MCU/XT/XT group in Arrange view, D8B group in All view but filter out everything but Auxes. My first 8 channels are from a drum VI (Superior Drummer) split out as multitimbral channels via 1 Instrument Channel and 7 Auxes.

What I could do is create an extra Aux and shift everything so that the Instrument channel has no output from the VI and maybe route all the Auxes to a Bus then feed this to the channel so it acts as a Master volume. Would this work?

And apart from setting the MCU/XT/XT group to Fader Bank 8 is there a way to hide Auxes in Arrange view (currently I added the Aux channels to the Arrange area as Physical channels)?

PS Thanks for replying so far, it has given me some ideas and at least I know its not possible to do it as I hoped. I find it annoying that the mixer filters update a control surface in All view but not in Arrange view.

[ukoldschool]

Okay I find a way that kind of works.

1. I assigned the HUI to All View and deselected all channel types apart from AUX then activated "Track Lock"
2. I switched off "Control Surface Follows Track Selection" so the MCU layer does not respond to pressing Select Channel on the HUI
3. I adjusted the "Fader Bank for Arrange View" on the MCU to 8

So now the HUI shows the Auxes and the MCU Channels 9 onwards (hiding the first 8 containing the multichannel Drum VI)

However the problem is if I use the Bank Right button on the MCU it works fine, once I use the Bank Left button it returns the Channels right to the start effectively resetting the "Fader Bank for Arrange View"!

Anyone know a way to either make the Bank Left button ignore channels 1-8 or a way to filter the mixer in the environment so that the Bank Left button never goes back to channel 1?

All this is because the MCU does not update its display if Instrument aux tracks are hidden in Arrange view (it works in All view).

[oscwilde]

ukoldschool, on 27 January 2012 - 07:52 AM, said:

Okay I find a way that kind of works.

1. I assigned the HUI to All View and deselected all channel types apart from AUX then activated "Track Lock"
2. I switched off "Control Surface Follows Track Selection" so the MCU layer does not respond to pressing Select Channel on the HUI
3. I adjusted the "Fader Bank for Arrange View" on the MCU to 8

So now the HUI shows the Auxes and the MCU Channels 9 onwards (hiding the first 8 containing the multichannel Drum VI)

However the problem is if I use the Bank Right button on the MCU it works fine, once I use the Bank Left button it returns the Channels right to the start effectively resetting the "Fader Bank for Arrange View"!

Anyone know a way to either make the Bank Left button ignore channels 1-8 or a way to filter the mixer in the environment so that the Bank Left button never goes back to channel 1?

All this is because the MCU does not update its display if Instrument aux tracks are hidden in Arrange view (it works in All view).

Cool....sorta

Let me check out the last two points...in partic.
Is there an issue with using All view or switching between it and Arr. view?
By this....I mean a technical quirk with the hardware, rather than your preference not to switch between view modes.
Just to double check - bank switching works fine (up/down) in All view....or does the issue also exist in Arr view?
Can you also post a screenshot of your CS Setup window?

Unfortunately, it's gonna be a couple of days - father/sons day tomorrow.
I know you're a patient (and persistent) man....so hopefully I can come up with something.

[ukoldschool]

I found another solution thats closer to what I want to achieve:

1. I assigned the HUI to All View and deselected all channel types apart from AUX and BUS then activated "Track Lock".
2. I switched the MCU to Track View then activated "Track Lock"
3. I switched off "Control Surface Follows Track Selection" so the MCU layer does not respond to pressing Select Channel on the HUI.

So now the HUI shows the Auxes and Buses and the MCU only channels that appear in the Arrange window (in Track view Auxes do not appear).

However the issue I have is that Logic seems to confuse one of the Extenders for a Control frequently. I have backed it up but its very hit and miss whether it loads right. I wish I knew why, it seems less buggy when there is only one control surface group.