DAW Controller question

[Vlad_Muc]

Hi,

I bought a DAW-Controller (ICON NANO) and I have few questions (I am completely new to DAW Controllers so bear with me :o)) :

1. I expected a "two-way thing", namely when I change to the next channel on my DAW - Controller, Cakewalk should also move the channel highlight to this channel. But this is not the case. Is that the normal behavior? If not, how can I connect the controller to Cakewalk so that things work in both ways (when I select something with my mouse, the DAW - controller synchronizes the settings and vice versa)? At the moment I can change channels on my controller and it gets channel names, volume and pan settings from cakewalk (and can write the values back), but Cakewalk is always set to one channel, so nothing moves.

2. Is it possible to control plugin settings (for instance the Cakewalk stock eq). I expected that I can use the fader or the jog wheel to move eq settings but fader still has the same function even when EQ is open.

Thx for help (in advance)!

[msmcleod]

How have you set it up within Cakewalk?

[Vlad_Muc]

What do you mean exactly? I set it up with "Mackie Control" protocol.

[msmcleod]

In that case, make sure the appropriate options are selected in the control surface panel ( pick "Mackie Control 1" from the Utilities menu).

In particular, you probably want "Fader touch selects channel" and "Select highlights track" checked.

Also, unless the ICON NANO has a specific Cakewalk or SONAR mode, I'd advise checking "Disable handshake" as well.

Remember to save your settings as a preset once you've changed them.

[Edit] - It looks like it does have a SONAR mode, so you'll need to refer to the manual for plugin control.  Normally the pan knob is used to alter the value of plugin parameters (unless there's a flip mode to allow you to use the fader).  I'm not sure how you would select the relevant plugin / plugin parameter on this device tho, as it doesn't seem to have the standard Mackie buttons.. best refer to the ICON NANO manual.
 

[Vlad_Muc]

It works! Thx a lot, you saved my life :o)))) !!!

Is it also possible to control the busses? When I click on a bus, nothing happens (except of the master channel which has a dedicated button on the controller)

...and: is it possible to manipulate plugins with it?

Cheers from Germany!

Edited March 18, 2021 by fdggfdgfd

[msmcleod]

For buses, there's a short cut I added for the Korg nanoKONTROL series, that might work... 

Holding "loop" down, then pressing  "8>>" should  switch to buses; holding "loop" down, then pressing "<<8"  should go back to tracks.

If this doesn't work, you can try checking "Use Scrub+Bank Down/Up to select Tracks/Buses" in the control panel, and try using the ICON NANO's scrub button instead of loop.

There's a bunch of other commands that use the loop button as a "shift" key for various functions, but as the ICON NANO only has one channel, I'm not sure all of them will work ( BTW - "Cycle" is just another word for the "loop" button):

For plugins, according to the manual:

Plug-In Assignment:

Plug-In = Select a channel, then press Plug-In.
Next press Plug-In Assign to view the selected channel’s inserts 1-4 on the LCD Display.
Turn the Encoder Knobs to add/select plug-in effects.
Press Plug-In Assign to confirm.
Turn Encoder Knob 5 to access insert 5 on knob 1.
Press an Encoder Knob 1-4 to edit the selected plugin.
Parameters appear on the LCD Display above track 1-4.
Turn the Encoder Knobs to edit the lower parameter, press the Encoder Knobs to toggle the upper parameter.
Turn Encoder Knob 5 to access further pages of parameters on knobs 1-4.
Press Encoder Knob 5 to return to viewing inserts for the selected channel.

While a plugin is open: Bypass = Toggle Plug-In Bypass Compare = Toggle previous plugin parameter settings
 

[Vlad_Muc]

Almost everything works! I can switch to busses with "Loop + 8>>" but busses don't follow the controller in terms of highlighting ("Select highlight tracks" seems to work only for tracks). 

Thx a lot!