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Looking for some experienced comments.
I would like to know anyone's likes/dislikes using control surfaces with Cubase as well as control of VST Plugins for a PC platform...
Any preference you have on Firewire or USB protocols.

Some of the units out there I've looked into.

Steinberg CC121
Korg
Mackie MCU Pro, Extender Pro, Control C4
Euphonix
Novation
NI Kore 2.1
Tascam
and any others I've missed or not aware of!

Thanks

Comments

jammster Mon, 09/28/2009 - 19:14

Say djmukilteo,
I was reading more about the zed r16 on another forum [[(Dead Link Removed)

I recently have encountered great frustrations with updating firmware on my FireStudio.

All I can say is that each device behaves different for updating firmware.

Be sure to call the manufacture and follow every instruction carefully before attempting a firmware update with your device.

I've found its way too easy to make mistakes.

Something that you should be aware of, there are a number of these units being sold as "b" stock for $1699.

I would recommend that you consider paying full price so that you can be sure that you don't receive more problems from someone else's mistake. A factory sealed device will ensure that your firmware is good from the factory.

Believe me, saving $300 only to find that you have to send it back and order another will not make you happy.

Also, perhaps ordering it from a store near you gives you an easy way out if something goes terribly wrong. Having people there to help often makes this type of purchase more secure.

Of course, I suppose just shipping it back to a retailer would work too, certainly saves a few bucks.

djmukilteo Mon, 09/28/2009 - 19:50

Yo jammster:
Sorry to hear about FireStudio issues....
Yes...I admit...I have also been trolling the other forums...(my bad no names please LOL) :roll:
Of course this is what I do when I'm on the hunt for knowledge, input and reviews...Google everything....in fact now these threads come up now if you Google A&H ZED16R....LOL....what power!

Firmware: Ya I'm usually the one who does that for others here because it's pretty much the same as updating your bios!...gotta be very careful with firmware and understand what your doing...not alot of options if something goes wrong!

B-Stock: I've been assured that this is being ordered from A&H because it is not a stocked item and will be the newest S/N from them A-Stock, factory sealed....no ground loop problem which they had with some earlier shipped units...

I still have a few days to change my mind on it but right now I'm still sold
I would have to find some other reasons to not get it....so wish me well and I will post any gory details.... 8)

jammster Mon, 09/28/2009 - 20:26

Hey, djmukilteo

thats good news to hear, I too will be really looking forward to reading about your experiences with the Zed R16. 8)

I'm sure it will be good, possibly even fantastic!

This looks like a really great mixer, I may consider getting one as well down the road a bit. But for now I'll be looking forward to hearing how it performs with your mixes.

BTW, its going to cost me $95- to get PreSonus to fix my firmware :shock: issue. I mainly am not looking forward to sending it off :?

A note to all you out there:

Firmware:

Its easy to think we have to update it.

My lesson learned ( well, maybe? ):

If it works don't bother updating it, because if you do you may make your interface into a paperweight. :roll:

djmukilteo Mon, 09/28/2009 - 20:51

I am sooo sorry to hear that....
I had a similar thing happen recently with this frickin NI Kore 2 controller update to 2.1 which was supposed to give it all these new controller functions that it didn't originally have....like mackie protocols, abelton, trackion, plugin blah, blah,blah,yada, yada,etc etc.....
So I'm all excited thinking this is the answers to my DAW controller needs....download the frickin update install it and there ya go....Cubase has a nasty hum, the Kore app locks up, freezes, then Cubase locks up and crashes....F*^@k me!
I was sooo mad, I almost threw sh*T! around the room....it was hilarious....not at that moment of course...but later on when I calmed down....."paperweights" almost an understatement but real close to describing that sinking feeling....but I recovered and removed it all....luckily Cubase returned to normal so there was no doubt Kore was the cause....and of course that's the problem with all this software.....it's just real hard to make it install correctly on everybody's machine first time every time....too many variables....humans!....were the flaw!
uninstall is easy though.....fixing boot up, initialization sequences in firmware is not!!
I'm sure it will be back up and running very soon and with the latest firmware to boot!

jammster Mon, 09/28/2009 - 21:28

djmukilteo wrote: I was sooo mad, I almost threw sh*T! around the room....it was hilarious....not at that moment of course...but later on when I calmed down....."paperweights" almost an understatement but real close to describing that sinking feeling....but I recovered and removed it all...

Lol! I can totally relate.

NI has not been the greatest with their products.

I have the synth collection with FM8, Massive, Absynth, Pro53. I just have not found much inspiring about them. About the only one that I somewhat use is FM8, programing them is a serious pain.

Try Arturia sometime. Much more inspiring IMO. I got the specials they been having lately, ya know the 50% off deal. There comming out with V2 of all their synths and their blowing out the V1 product at 50% off, plus a free update to V2 included. I got Prophet V( which blows pro53 to iran), Jupiter 8V and CS-80 V. I must say they are fantastic!

Try this seller if your interested:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Arturia-3-Pack-Prophet-V-Jupiter-8V-CS80V-Soft-Synths_W0QQitemZ310170447026QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4837996cb2&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_8129wt_941

On an unrelated subject, this morning I was headed to work, this lady in a white lexus with black tinted windows cut me off and almost made me rear end her.

I rolled down my window while passed her and chucked a banana at her car. :P

Shucks, I missed! Lol! I was aiming for her windshield but passed a foot or so in front of her bumper instead. I really wished I could have hit her perfectly shiny white car, I tried.

At least I got my frustration out, hopefully she saw I was not pleased by her actions.

djmukilteo Mon, 09/28/2009 - 22:41

Road Rage eh.....Hehe
Gotta let it go man! LOL
NovaMusik good, I've purchased from them and they are easy fast and smooth online!
My main synth is my Roland Fantom X7 and even though I love experimenting with softsynths, (well any and all sound really) I still go back to the Fantom over and over...I use the NI alot though, Massive, FM8...all of them actually....and the Kore controller is absolutely the way to go on tweaking that stuff around....almost all of my original stuff gets started with something from NI first....seems that way anywho!
But I will definitely take a listen to the Arturia.....
BTW....do you have some music you've made or stuff you've recorded with some examples of the Arturia stuff, I would love to hear anything you have!
Here's some of my stuff: FWIW

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=438555&content=music

jammster Tue, 09/29/2009 - 19:56

djmukilteo wrote: Road Rage eh.....Hehe
Gotta let it go man!

I know, its totally not like me to do anything like this, kinda dumb, but my way of thinking was she made me almost trash her car anyway, doesn't she even bother to check who is behind her before changing lanes or does she get into pissing people off? I don't know, good morning, have a banana. LOL!

Hey, thats some really great music, I really like your style. That song "birds can fly away" is really relaxing, reminds me of Patrick O'hearn. I used to go to school and lived out in Seattle for a while. Here is a song I did last summer, yeah, its been a while since I had been actually recording new songs in my studio or my soundclick account.

cord blood banks

I have hardly had a real chance to enjoy the new Arturia stuff I got, I would love it if I could get some time right now to delve into songwriting again. But with me it takes me the usual three days of sitting around before I get comfortable enough to really make a go of it.

I have to admit that I had just wiped my hard drive on the mac, updated my computer to Leopard and got sick doing it. Literally the moment I decided to do it I got the itchy feeling and got congested.

Well, its been a couple of weeks things are a little better. The job is really dragging me down to be honest.

I also just added Logic 9 to my system and then I made the fatal decision to update the firmware on the FireStudio without making sure that I really needed to in the first place. It still works fine until you get too 96k, it pops and clicks. It really makes me upset because some of my songs are at that rate. Anyway, this gives you an idea of what a crazy kind of artist's life I live at the moment.

I have been really stressed out lately, can you tell? I'm working with some people that are kinda driving me nuts, its not right, well its money. They say its the root of all evil, I wished I could say I like what I do right now. Well things do change, I hope things will get better with jobs, its just been a rat race for me.

djmukilteo Tue, 09/29/2009 - 20:22

See that's the deal....ya just let them drive right into you like the dumasses they are and then you make them pay.....for everything....maybe then they'll figure it out....you just calmly get out of the car and say well now you've done it....then throw the banana!! LOL
and Wow....I really like your music.....I heard some really cool vocals in that tune Sevenfold.....we're not that far apart on style either...that is exactly the kind of stuff I like to zone out on....I see we are also in similar genre categories "Electronica"....very cool...I added you to my favs!
I'll have to look up Patrick O'Hearn because I've never heard of him, but then I'm pretty stupid when it comes to remembering or knowing people and their songs....
Sometimes wiping everything down and reloading fresh is the best thing to do....even if you have to do it over a couple times to get it perfect....been there done that and I found that I was way more happy with a freshened up system with everything re-organized from previous setups that were haphazard....plus you learn exactly what to do first and what should be loaded next etc etc....if you take a calm definitive approach it will be better than it was before....if it isn't start over again and just make sure the order you install and load and update is correct and then you'll be very happy and pleased with the results....maybe the whole thing was a sign....! :lol:

Keep on playing!

jammster Tue, 09/29/2009 - 21:18

You got it right! I've been inspired by Patrick for many, many years along with others.

If there is one album I would recommend of his to get its the album titled, "Rivers gonna rise". Its a great album, but most of his I have really liked.

Anyway, yes wiping the hard drive clean and starting over is has become a sort of annual event for me. You see, I once tried to update my system and lost the whole thing. So, I figure its worth the headache to wipe it and start fresh.

Its true, the sound of my system is better than it was in the last OS, Tiger.

Part of this is due to Apple making Logic Studio 9, which is a really great DAW IMO. Of course I have been a Mac addict for many years, its hard for me to switch over to PC, but I do have an old beast, and I'm glad that I do because it will come in handy for running other chores in the studio.

Anyway, thanks for sharing that music with us. I'll be looking forward to hearing your new mixer, and I'll be sure to get some of my new tunes recorded soon.

djmukilteo Tue, 09/29/2009 - 21:46

Well, I just placed my order with NLS tonight and pulled the trigger....so I'll post the tale when it arrives...I don't plan on changing anything in my setup at first....I think I will install it solo with the SonarLE and then start tracking...it will be good for me to try out Cakewalk anyway...I haven't used any of their products for many years...since the old sequencer stuff which was pretty cool in its day....then I got into Steinberg back in the Cubasis/VST days and have been using them to Cubase 4 now and probably Cubase 5 upgrade will be next....but who knows....it may be a Sonar 8 upgrade instead.
I've always wanted to own a Mac and that story goes way back to the beginning of personal computer times....(with my computer/electronics background and all)....but I always seem to go back to Intel, AMD and Microsoft...been an electronics geek long before anyone knew what that was!

Well...I'm afraid this thread has been turned into a chat room, LOL but I've enjoyed the comments and chat 8-)

jammster Thu, 10/01/2009 - 16:14

Alright djmukilteo,

Congrats on the purchase, that should be one sweet sounding little {Big} thingy.

Good idea not to change your setup yet, I'm sure it will inspire you in ways not yet known.

IMO, thats the best thing about a new piece of gear. It has the element of surprise.

Yeah, its easy for me to ramble on and on about our chat, but just think it sure beats all the discussions that end up in arguments, eh? :wink:

But back to your topic, the control surface. Seriously, I got major league lucky for what I paid, the Mackie C4 can do wonders with Logic Pro, especially programing synth sounds. I have really no idea how it works with other DAW's. I'm considering giving Reaper a try.

djmukilteo, do you have a CD? I would like to get one if possible, I really like having music from others on the forum. It's refreshing to hear that you use the NI sounds, they sound great the way you use them in your songs. Your music is very good, and I mean its got soul.

And, to be honest, I am such a flip flop kinda guy as far as what I like at any given point in time, I ought to give the NI programing a try with the C4, maybe I can get some really great new sounds to inspire me.

Anyway, whatever control surface one desires, one can consider what you really want to do with it. For me the 32 knobs with the display and pages of parameters are a control freaks tweaky dream!

djmukilteo Thu, 10/01/2009 - 17:51

Sorry jammster, no CD
I realized that Patrick O'Hearn played bass with Frank Zappa (which a friend pointed out to me....chuh) Frank was (and still is) one of my favorite artists of all time!!....pure musical genius!
See...ya should learn something new everyday!!....and I did!

The only tunes I have are really on Soundclick...so feel free to download anything you like from there (all free)!
I do have 3 tunes released online for sale on iTunes, Napster, Emusic but check Soundclick first....you can do a search on iTunes or any of the other music sites for "Doon" or "The Doon"...should pop up on sale for 89 cents or even free....LOL

A friend of mine wants me to make some CD's and wants to collaborate so I'm hoping this winter I can get all the toys playing nicely together and lay down some new tracks....and maybe tweak a few old ones...

Just waiting patiently for my new mixer/control surface to arrive from England!!....oh sorry UK...either way that sounds cool!
Excited in Seattle

jammster Thu, 10/01/2009 - 18:08

djmukilteo wrote: A friend of mine wants me to make some CD's and wants to collaborate so I'm hoping this winter I can get all the toys playing nicely together and lay down some new tracks....and maybe tweak a few old ones...

Just waiting patiently for my new mixer/control surface to arrive from England!!....oh sorry UK...either way that sounds cool!
Excited in Seattle

Ah, yes nothing like excitement.

Cool, I can wait to get your CD, and I will do my best to get my newest CD together too. My guitarist bud lives in California, bay area. We exchange garageband files via snail mail and I load his tracks into Logic and tweak um.

Cool photos with those songs too, keep up the good work!

BTW, I hope thats your guitarist friend. You two sound great together! And, sure I will be loading up your MP3's to listen to.

Till next time,
jamm

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