azslow3

ACT is Cakewalk API for Control Surfaces. MackieControl.dll is also ACT based. They label "ACT" Plug-in Dynamic Mapping, which is a part of ACT API. And they call "ACT MIDI" one of DLLs. A bit confusing... AZ Controller should work correctly with any resolution up to 14bits. By "correctly" I mean careful precision auto-detection, including 7bit transmitted over 14bit messages (most "Mackie compatible" devices which do not claim high resolution explicitly). Exotic value ranges (some iCon devices used that) are also supported. 7bit controls apply special (non linear but invertible) mapping, so pan center can be set exactly. Touch sensitivity and feedback are supported. Too good to be true? Yes... Unlike "plug-and-play" MackieControl.dll and simple to configure ACT MIDI, AZ Controller is a DIY platform ?

There are several way with a game controller. Interesting that people do not like "simple" solutions. My "Not a..." extension for REAPER does not attract people. While it is definitively the winner as a transport controller, in terms of price and size. The extension makes any mouse a dedicated MIDI controller from the DAW perspective (the mouse no longer works as a normal mouse, but buttons/combinations can be assigned and the wheel works as a pushable encoder ). Plus a dedicated 100+ buttons MIDI controller from any computer keyboard, as a bonus ? But I think OP can fix IP addresses for devices inside local router configuration and that will make network based solutions stable. To press "Record", this toy http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,288.0.htm should do the trick, as long as IP address of computer running CbB is fixes. TouchDAW involves extra service, this one http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,295.0.html has no external dependencies. But again, stable IP is a must.

I do not see any reason... There are "normal" gamepad controllers, which are already supported. Yet after 3 (!) years this relatively complicated preset exists, I have not spotted a second person which use it. The person for which I have written that preset originally was using it on stage, some people was wondering in which game he plays, in parallel with drumming ? The preset has an extra features, using second sound card (Windows sounds) it audition all operations. Up to the level it was possible control Sonar/CbB without monitor. Really control, with adding/removing effects, sends, detecting clipping, etc.

Big X-Touch (with displays) in MCU mode has exactly the same controls as MCU. Original HUI is different, X-Touch does not have related (physical) controls. I have not heard about color displays in HUI. X-Touch color is an extension, it works in MIDI mode (when it is connected with MIDI cable) and throw Ethernet, when the device thinks it talks with Behringer mixers. I have not found the way to change colors when it is connected with USB.

If controls are sending the signal throw MIDI (different), you can "Forget all assignments" in the Options tab and then in the Hardware tab assign actual values.

I will try to explain the question, but I am not sure I have undersood it correctly. In short, try USB hub. I know at most places it is suggested to plug an audio interface directly without any hub. There is even a rumor that slow USB device connected to a hub slow the whole port. All that is not always true. If the hub is implemented according to the USB specification, everything should work just fine. Especially with low IO interfaces like UR44, the bandwidth is sufficient and USB was specially designed to share connections. F.e. I have an USB hub with 10m cable and 8x8 interface, DP and surface coexist on it without difference from direct connection. Now the answer. MIDI cable support just one "connection", while USB can carry many MIDI connections. That is why connected by MIDI your keyboard does not operate the same way as connected by USB. You can reconfigure your keyboard so it sends all controls to MIDI, then reconfigure AZ Controller preset to react on that messages. But without such modifications there are no signals or they are different.

My whole site is about what you can do with AZ Controller... What you expect people write here? ? You can assign whatever ever was possible to do with controllers in Sonar/CbB. And till some degree you can implement what was never supported in CbB. F.e. tempo change with knob, use your nanoKontrol knobs and faders in "instant" or "endless imitation" modes, make CbB speak what it is doing, up to the level it is usable with switched off monitor (except the content editing), combine different devices into one controller (f.e. make android tablet/phone be a display for your nanoKontrol). And there are unusual features: f.e. you can sync settings in one plug-in instance with another, do something when time pass particular markers, control your digital mixer or interface with digital gain using knobs of dummy FX chain, etc.

ACT (Active Controller Technology) requires the controller connected throw ACT plug-in (Control Surface plug-in). F.e. "Cakewalk ACT MIDI", "Generic controller", "AZ Controller" or special devices with dedicated plug-ins (Roland). It does not work with MIDI directly, so MIDI received by plug-in itself is irrelevant.

In my tests Cakewalk in fact silently drops everything MIDI time code relates. You can try to set Cakewalk as "MIDI slave" (https://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR X3&language=3&help=Synchronizing.05.html) but this will not work in case your keyboard is not sending continues time code when played. If I remember my early tests, that also has other problem. Check if you can ask buttons to send something else. Even MMC (SysEx based) will work. Just not MIDI system realtime.

If it does and AZ Controller is in use, Options/"Block all channel messages" and "Block all SysEx messages" should filter our the keep-alive (or dummy control can be assigned to it). In HUI mode that is a different story, still that is the job of control surface plug-in to tell Cakewalk which messages should be filtered.

@OP: http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,406.0.html describes what and how is (and not) converted by ReaCWP. REAPER has full functional demo, ReaCWP is free. So you can easily check how that combination works. Written 2 years ago, that could save me a lot of fun writing ReaCWP ? But I guess, as with other AATranslator formats, you are not going to touch MIDI and FXes. Still, respect if you manage to distribute file chunks along tracks correctly ?‍♀️

Another option: http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,163.0.html If buttons do not work as expected (but fader does), in the CbB preferences, MIDI, Playback and recording enable Key aftertouch.

Sonar/CbB is long time not extremely smart when working with MIDI devices, in part of detecting which device should be connected where. So disconnect both devices, cleanup all of them (there can be several instances) in Windows (device manager, with show hidden devices set), delete CbB MIDI settings file, install both (on location/hub/port you will always using them) and there is some chance that will be stable. Precise instruction how to remove MIDI devices and CbB MIDI settings you can find in many posts on this/old forum.

I am hard to find in this forum, I am almost in stealth mode last 5 years ?

Long time ago there was Frontier Transport and BB3 fro Jl Cooper... But except some second hand staff nothing is cheaper then X-Touch Mini. Any MIDI device can do what you want, f.e. some 25 keys MIDI controller. Also any (Windows compatible) gamepads can do that. PS. I have not ported my "Not A Mouse/Keyboard" from REAPER, that (any mouse/keyboard) are truly cheapest transport controllers (some are wireless, without BT/Net) ?

Or you can use alternative solution: http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,298.0.html This does not require extra track nor MIDI loopback. But can be a bit "slower" (~0.1 sec delay between marker is reached and stop is executed). But playback/recording can be started immediately after stop, "Stop" is triggered only in case current marker name is changed with transport active.

You can use Generic Surface/ACT MIDI and "learn" the message you use for Stop.

If you connect right cable to properly working MIDI keyboard, "In" LED should blink when you press keys. That is independent from CBB. In case you have just one keyboard and one USB-MIDI cable, it is hard to check what is not working. You can partially check that USB-MIDI is working at all: enable USB2.0-MIDI Output (!) in CBB, put(create in piano roll) some MIDI clip on MIDI (!) track with output set to this (USB-MIDI) output. When you play the clip, you should see "Out" LED blinking. In the Windows system tray there is an icon with 2 "LEDs" (when CBB is running). These should be in sync with LEDs on cable. If you do not see "Out" LED blinking in the test, check that Out on this icon is blinking. If it is not, you setup something wrong for the test.

In general, any controller can work with "Plug-in Dynamic Mapping" (that is what ACT Learn is). Cakewalk ACT plug-in supports up to 8+8+8 controls only. Korg Nano and most other controllers have more buttons. Generic Surface has no controls limit, but just 12 parameter for Dynamic Mapping. Also both have no feedback. With under an hour of effort, you can make simple preset for any controller using AZ Controller (without feedback, you will need another hour or two for that...). Using X-Touch (you already have) you can check how X-Touch Mini is going to work. X-Touch Mini in MC mode is a small subset of X-Touch controls, once you found which buttons are assigned (which is easy, AZ Controller shows which controls are assigned and which do not), you can use your X-Touch with X-Touch Mini preset. Do not forget temporary remove MCU plug-in during tests, 2 plug-ins with one controller will produce unexpected results.

I also think that will work. So, some MIDI message (f.e. some CC) which looped back as a Control Surface message (f.e. Generic Surface), with this messages assigned to Stop command. It is not going to be extremely accurate in time...

There is no complex ready to use preset for Korg Nano. While it has more buttons, faders and knobs, all of them are tiny and except buttons do not sync automatically. That you know from A300, but do not expect the same device quality... The list of good integrated controllers is small: * special original support: Roland VS-700, A-X00; Naktar Impact; Presonus Faderport (old one); Alphatrack * AZ Controller: Behringer X-Touch Mini, BCR2000, X-Touch Compact (audio feedback only, not good for general use) * MCU module: Mackie MCU Pro, Behringer X-Touch (big one) and other devices with complete MCU emulation (more or less Presonus and ICon). No ACT Learn. All other controllers are working throw MCU module. The number of available controls is way less then on MCU (over 100!), so the result is more like "somehow works" then "integrated". Simple controllers can work with Calewalk ACT or Generic Controller. But in this case there is no feedback at all and available set of operations is limited. It can take some time to learn X-Touch Mini operations, I mean memorizing all modes and switches. But once you have learned that, I bet that is the most usable with Cakewalk controller in that form factor for today. With some extra effort you also can adopt what the contoller is doing, from simple changes (encoder resolution, executed command) up to complicated tasks (everything available for Control Surfaces).

X-Touch Mini will do the job. It works as "ACT Learn" and can control almost everything else. It has no motorized faders, but unlike other "mini" controllers it has endless encoders and so always in sync with parameters. WARNING: make a backup of ACT XML files before using ACT with any other controller, in case you do not want to loose your A300 mappings ! http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,377.0.html

That approach can be used even more sophisticated way. I have not ported the code to CbB (at least not yet), but the following works: http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,423.0.html So a mouse can be the cheapest and smallest wireless transport controller (and it can work without charging for a month or more...). And a keyboard can be the cheapest wireless button controller (with 102 buttons) ?

Connection is normally as stable as local network configuration (which is easy to configure wrong). "Deep integration" is a personal thing (in range of Control Surfaces support in CbB, f.e. content editing is not really supported). F.e. http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,295.0.html

Have you opened its GUI (f.e. from Utilities Menu) and set "Disable handshake" option? When everything is correct, there should be no more "Connecting..." (even without any device attached). I do not remember exactly, at least some Mackie devices can think that the connection no longer exist and so there is no reason to work when there is no heartbeat. But I think that was HUI, not MC. Some of us are more programmers then musicians (I mean professional programmer and hobby musicians). I am a one of such kind ?