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FW1884EX Control Surface


Variorum

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Well, I finished it... a huge amount of work that may benefit 3 or 4 people on Earth 😋

FW1884EX.jpg

 

This can replace the original Tascam provided plug-in. It supports WAI and ACT, and has a much cooler UI!
ACT Mode allows you to assign the 8 Strip Faders and 8 Strip Rotaries to ACT enabled controls in CbB. The 3 Rotaries and 4 Buttons in the EQ section can be toggled between full-time ACT controls or dedicated ProChannel EQ controls.

ACTInset.jpg

The UI Control labels will update according to the Surface Mode and/or the plugin currently being controlled.

Almost all of the buttons on the left side of the surface can be assigned a CbB command by right-clicking the button. ALT/CMD, SHIFT, and CTRL cannot be re-assigned.

CommandSelector.jpg

I've put a paltry set of instructions on the website (and in the included ReadMe file). Hopefully it's reasonably intuitive to use.
I didn't implement some of the functionality of the original plug-in because it was either outdated, or because it was something I never used 😁
I'll still be making a few changes to it in the future, so if there's something you (3 or 4 people) want implemented, let me know.

Let me know if you decide to try it. If you have any problems or questions, posting them here will probably get a quicker response than using the Viramor forum (nobody uses that thing 😜)

You can download it here.

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13 hours ago, Variorum said:

 Well, I finished it... a huge amount of work that may benefit 3 or 4 people on Earth 😋

First of thanks, but I am not sure I am one of those 3 or 4 very special people.  I use mine as an audio/MIDI interface / monitor mixer.  I think of it as a control surface in a very generic sense, but in terms of integration with Cakewalk, I am not using it as a Control Surface (as in controlling the Cakewalk UI / Functions from the FW-1884).

However, all your effort here has inspired me to at least put it on my to-do list to try.  It does look very cool. If I can install it and get it working, having the FW-1884 in an interactive a window might open up some new workflows.

Out of curiosity, what sub-forum was this in before it got moved?

Quote

Most functions should be intuitive. The basics work the same as the original Control Surface plugin.

  • QUESTIONS:
    • Do I need to install the original plug-in?  ( I have the v1.22 SONAR x64 installer if I need to install that.) 
    • Since I don't use it as an official Control Surface, it won't be intuitive to me.  Is the SONAR 2 (Windows) Notes - sonar_note_1_00 pdf a good document to help get me up to speed in understanding the integration with  Cakewalk? 
      • A while ago, I did use MIDI-OX to see what data the buttons, knobs, and sliders send, so I understand how the communication protocol works. I just never got around to using them with SONAR (except with a basic test once or twice to watch the faders move and to test some possibilities to control soft synths). 

Thanks.

Edited by User 905133
To ask some questions
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I put the post in Cakewalk by BandLab 'cause I wasn't paying attention...

I use my FW1884 pretty much the same way. 98% of the work is done directly in CbB (I like mice), but I'll use it for mixing and mastering when I just want to strap on the headphones, loop a section, and tweak adjustments.
It's also handy for those times when I need to adjust multiple controls at once like volume and expression on a track, or expression and filter frequency on the EQ. Having ACT enabled now makes that a lot more flexible.
Remember, you can also switch the FW1884 to MIDI CTRL mode and use Midi Learn in CbB to link any control on the surface to almost any control in the DAW (make sure you've enabled one of the Virtual Ports for all of the controls on the FW1884 via the FW1884 Panel Midi Programming tab). You don't get bi-directional controls (moving faders) in MIDI CTRL mode, but it's still really useful for parameters that can't be mapped to ACT (i.e. Track Parameters).
Once you've played around with it for a while, you may find a lot of cool things you can do flipping between normal mode, ACT mode, and MIDI CTRL mode.
The GUI isn't totally interactive... all of the illuminated buttons and faders reflect the control surface state (and moving the faders in the GUI moves the faders on the Surface and CbB... a pretty useless feature 😋 ) but most of the GUI controls don't do anything if you click them. They are, however, real controls so I'll eventually make them work. The idea was to also make a generic controller that could be run on a separate touch-enabled PC or tablet.
One day...

Installation is easy. It works the same way as MidiFX. Just unzip the folder anywhere and run Install.bat to register the DLL, then it will show up in CbB's Control Surface list. There are no hoops to jump through, unlike installing the main FW-1884 Driver 😬.
 

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Wow, I wish I had a FW1884! I have always wanted one to mix more than 1 track at a time. I looked on ebay, but funds are little low now. Food prices have jumped out of sight where we live.

Glad you get this going. Hope I can save up some money.

Thanks for everything you do here!

Max

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On 2/27/2023 at 10:55 AM, User 905133 said:

QUESTIONS:

  • Do I need to install the original plug-in?  ( I have the v1.22 SONAR x64 installer if I need to install that.) 
  • Since I don't use it as an official Control Surface, it won't be intuitive to me.  Is the SONAR 2 (Windows) Notes - sonar_note_1_00 pdf a good document to help get me up to speed in understanding the integration with  Cakewalk? 
    • A while ago, I did use MIDI-OX to see what data the buttons, knobs, and sliders send, so I understand how the communication protocol works. I just never got around to using them with SONAR (except with a basic test once or twice to watch the faders move and to test some possibilities to control soft synths). 

 

No need for the the original Control Surface plug-in, but if you ever do need it, or any other information about the FW1884, @DeeringAmps has the definitive site (here) for everything related to it.

By intuitive, I mean things do what you would expect them to; Pan knobs pan, Faders fade, Mute buttons mute, etc. Any key combinations I use are noted in the instructions. Basic stuff like Shift + Rewind moves to the beginning of the project, little red REC button + a strip Select button arms a track for Record...
When you're in ACT mode, the plug-in that has the focus is the one you'll be controlling. It's a good idea to keep the GUI open while you're figuring it out because it will tell you what the current plug-in is and what parameters are currently mapped to the controls. You can, of course, use ACT learn to remap any control.

The sonar_note_1_00 doc is good to read over to get an overall idea of how the surface can be used in Cakewalk, but I've simplified/omitted/changed a lot of the more complex button combos and things because they don't really apply to the latest version of Cakewalk. The Tascam plug-in was written about 15 years ago 😬
That said, if there's a function that would be handy, I can always add it in...

Remember that the Surface Controller plug-in only works when you're in COMPUTER mode ( the left-most button at the top right of the surface)

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9 hours ago, Max Arwood said:

Wow, I wish I had a FW1884! I have always wanted one to mix more than 1 track at a time.

Hey @Max Arwood!
I wouldn't recommend buying the FW-1884. There are better, new (or used but newer) alternatives on the market if you want a Control Surface. The FW-1884 requires a Firewire card with a Texas Instruments chipset, and you have to jump through some hoops to get everything working on a Windows 10 machine.
It also helps if you have some electronics skills. There are a few Service Bulletins issued by Tascam that recommend minor changes to the innards to correct/avoid common problems. That said, for someone with an electronics background, the FW-1884 is just old enough that it's possible to maintain and upgrade.

...and the shipping costs will kill you. The thing is a beast!

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Thanks for the additional comments.  I actually managed to get your Control Surface installed and showing up in Cakewalk.  I will make time to explore it more thoroughly.  Interestingly enough, I found Tom's FW-1884 documentation a number of year before I joined the forum.  So when I saw him here, I took the opportunity to thank him for putting together and for maintaining his excellent repository.

Footnote: I actually have it running off the FW port on my E-Mu Digital Audio Station card.  Over the years, several upgrades to Windows 10 gradually killed the use of the other E-Mu driver functions (audio, then clock), but fortunately the FW port still works (knock on wood). 

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Here's a PCI-E Firewire card with a TI chipset that I bought years ago when I swapped over to a new motherboard without Firewire support. They are apparently still making them and they are $35. Worked great with my M-Audio FW410 audio interface while running it on Windows 7, and even after upgrading to Windows 10.

Syba Low Profile PCI-Express Firewire Card with Two 1394b Ports and One 1394a Port (2B1A), TI Chipset, Extra Regular Bracket SD-PEX30009

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002S53IG8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00

https://www.sybausa.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=118

Firewire PCIE Syba.PNG

Edited by abacab
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Thanks.  I saw a couple of Syba FW pci-cards at NewEgg.    SYBA SY-PEX30016 3 Port IEEE 1394 Firewire 2x 1394B & 1x 1394A PCIe 1.1 x1 Card TI XIO2213B Chipset was $25.00.  There were others at various price points, too.   SYBA Low Profile PCI-Express 1394B/A Firewire Card Model SD-PEX30009 is $38.00.  Seem to have some differences. Will have to compare.

 

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To the 3 people that downloaded the plug-in, you might have noticed a problem with the Solo and Mute buttons. Stupid mistake on my part. I really should consider doing a little regression testing when I make a tiny, supposedly harmless change to the code 🙄

Anyway, a corrected version is on the site.

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