XBaker

Hi Jim! I opened the editor program and it's setup properly as near as I can tell. I'm in MCP moide and each fader on the Extender is sending Pitch Bend on unique MIDI channels. It's been a while since I setup the surface, but I'm not using ACT as I recall. I just updated the QCon Firmware from v1.11 to v1.13 and tried again. Now the Cakewalk Fader properly controls the first fader on the QCon EX. BUT ... now the same fader won't control Cakewalk! It appears to be a QCon issue, because it's not becoming the selected channel when I touch the fader. I just performed the Fader Test on the QCon and the first fader isn't responding to my touch. All other faders are fine. I'll go through the calibration settings again and report back soon. Thanks for your help!

I installed 2022.11 Build 21. I'm using it with my two QCon Pro G2 control surfaces, the 2nd of which is the Ex. I cannot get Cakewalk Volume to control the automated fader on the first track of the Extender unit. All other faders on both QCons respond to fader motion in Cakewalk. And all faders in Cakewalk respond to motion on the QCon hardware. I believe the hardware fader in question is working properly, that is, is still motorized, because at hardware Startup, it snaps to 50% of the throw. To the best of my recollection, the fader was working correctly when I was using 2022.11, the official release. Possible defect? Thanks, Tom

Absolutely. I use lots of keyboard shortcuts, assign new shortcuts for the things I do often, etc. But I still rely on the mouse maybe a bit too much. Hence, my recent purchases of several DAW Controllers; QCon Pro G2 and EX, Mongram Traveler, and my Nektar Impact LX88+.

Thanks, Michael. Track Templates are indeed a big improvement over doing it from scratch each time. It was two clicks to insert a Track Template consisting of The Grandeur piano hosted in Kontakt and with a reverb inserted, vs a dozen or so to do it from scratch. I'll create a few more Track Templates for my Go To instruments.

Not to pick nits, but it's two clicks.; one to open the dropdown, another to make the selection Two clicks here, two clicks there, it can add up.

Yes, James, that's what I meant.

Thanks for the reply, Noel! I'd love to see an option for changing it to something else, perhaps in the .ini file, if not in the UI. Tom

When I choose Insert Instrument, the default Instrument is TTS-1. Is it possible to make a different instrument the Default? I searched the Help, this forum, and poked around Manage Plugin Layouts, but no joy. Thanks for any help!

Back in May I said I'd report back here after I received my Monogram Traveler control surface. Well, after a long shipping delay combined with a household move, I've finally had some time to work with the unit in Cakewalk. So far, it's met my expectations. It's quite easy to program using the included Creator software. The unit can be setup to send Windows OS, Keyboard, MIDI, and Joystick messages. I primarily set it up to send Cakewalk Keyboard Shortcuts and some MIDI CCs. For example, I setup a couple of profiles to control Play, Arm, Record, Go to Start, Go to Next/Previous Measure/Marker, Zoom Horizontally and Vertically, Jump between Tracks and Buses, etc. and send CC messages for Expression, Dynamics, and Vibrato. Scrolling through the Timeline and/or Zooming In/Out by turning Knobs is sweet, and by Pressing the same Knob I can go back to the Start. One trick I learned is that I can setup a Button to send multiple Keyboard Shortcuts. For example, I setup a Button to send Alt+F then A to perform a Save As. You can do that to access any menu item, and it can go as deep as you need to. Bottom line, it's easy to program and use, takes very little space on the desk, looks great, and it just works. I'm a fan.

Yup, I've seen that vid! And I know Mark is the man! 🙂

I have the QCon Pro 2 and EX G2, and they're great DAW controllers. I simply can't get Cakewalk to respond to them when I use them in User Defined Mode, which I need in order to send CC1, CC11, etc, when I record orchestral parts. Hence the need for the Monogram CC which I ordered about two weeks ago. Should arrive in another week of so. I'll let folks know how that turns out. FWIW, IMHO the Monogram controller is quite a bit more than a cute little controller. It'll send MIDI of course, but it'll also send Keyboard messages, App-specific messages, OS messages, and even Joystick mode . And you can program up to 15 Profiles, so the knobs, faders, buttons, etc, can have multiple definitions. I've seen a guy use one with another DAW and set it up with a profile for Recording, another for Mixing, another for Editing, etc.

Is anyone using the Monogram control surfaces successfully with Cakewalk? Christian from Spitfire uses it very successfully with Cubase, I think. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work with CbB, because it can be programmed to send just about any MIDI message. Modular Productivity Tool for Creative Pros | Monogram Creative Console (monogramcc.com) Thanks! Tom

And in this pic you can see the CC data in the PRV when recording the faders from the Impact keyboard controller. They're recorded as MIDI Events, not track automation. This is what I want, but from the QCon, not the Impact (because of the much longer faders on the QCon).

In case a picture helps. As you can see, Track 1 (High Strings) is showing the recorded CC1 and CC11 automation. But it's not shown in the PRV below.

Update to my efforts to use my QCon Pro G2 to control CbB, specifically, orchestral VST instruments like Abbey Road One by Spitfire. I found out that I can use the Pro G2 in User Defined Mode, but keep it setup as a Mackie Control control surface in Cakewalk. It sends CC messages and all other MCU-type commands to Cakewalk. The issue now is that while I can send CC1 and CC11 to Cakewalk from the Pro G2, MIDI and Instrument tracks do not record it. The track Inputs are set to All Channels, so it should be listening and receiving the incoming CC messages. I suspect it's something in the MCU protocol that's interfering. I am, however, able to record CC1 and CC11 if I setup the track's Automation Lanes to be Remote Controlled and Abbey Road One does respond to them. Unfortunately, it's a real pain to have to Write Enable each lane to record, then Write Disable and Read Enable to play the track back. There must be simpler way, such as recording simple incoming MIDI CC messages as Events. In fact, with my Nectar Impact LX88+ I don't have to jump through these same hoops to record fader movements. The Impact is also setup as a Control Surface, and it records fader movements during normal track record. The CC messages are displayed in the Piano Roll as MIDI Events. I understand the difference between MIDI Events and Automation. What I want is simple MIDI Events that I can view and edit in the PRV. For some reason, I can record them with Impact but not QCon. Should I be barking up the QCon tree instead? FWIW, their Support is very minimal; I'm hoping someone here is using a QCon and figured out how to customize it for use in CbB already.