bassface Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 Hi all.. I already have a Roland A300 pro which does ACT learn/control of my plug ins knobs perfectly. I also have a behringer X Touch which also works perfectly.the only thing is that i am restricted for space so when i am not using the A300 for midi input i would like to find some thing much smaller i.e no keyboard which will do ACT learning and control my plug ins .E.G does the x touch mini have ACT capabilities? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckebaby Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 2 hours ago, bassface said: does the x touch mini have ACT capabilities? It's Mackie Control (like the regular X-Touch). Still pricey though (around 3-4 hundred for the mini X) Here's another option that works with ACT and is fairly cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmcleod Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 3 hours ago, Chuck E Baby said: It's Mackie Control (like the regular X-Touch). Still pricey though (around 3-4 hundred for the mini X) Here's another option that works with ACT and is fairly cheap. Its big brother is also a good option... and it's only 6" x 10.5" I have both, and they're both great. The nanoKONTROL 2 is stuck to the wall on my studio next to my vocal mic, and I use the nanoKONTROL Studio for general DAW duties in the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassface Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 thanks for that.. so are you saying it will work the same as the A300... i press ACT learn on the vst ,touch a knob on the nano and one on the vst and hey presto it controls the knob? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steev Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Chuck E Baby said: It's Mackie Control (like the regular X-Touch). Still pricey though (around 3-4 hundred for the mini X) Here's another option that works with ACT and is fairly cheap. The X Touch Mini is only $58 (us) https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XTouchMini--behringer-by-touch-mini Also it works "Out of the Box" off Mackie MCU protocol so you don't have to use Cakewalk ACT to create MIDI maps if you don't want to. Edited August 31, 2019 by Steev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassface Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 it is so much simpler to just touch and assign the button/knob/slider i want to control.. this is the only ability i want ..i have the x touch to do everything else. also prefer the nano coz it has knobs AND sliders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steev Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 Well almost sliders, more like 1/2 throw sliders which I found are kinda awkward in real life hands on mixing control. The X-Touch CAN do anything and everything else and can be easily and instantly switched back and forth from DAW controller to Plugin controller to Instrument controller with the push of a single button. One separate button assigned to each in the "Encoder Assign" section in the very top right hand corner of the X Touch. You don't need to clutter your desk with another device. And if you want to create any elaborate exacting customized MIDI map(s) that you can't find in Mackie MCU for the X Touch with Cakewalk ACT, simply boot the X Touch up in MIDI mode and start programming away. """!!!DON'T FORGET TO SAVE YOUR CUSTOMIZED MIDI MAPS IN A SAFE PLACE LIKE DOCUMENTS FOLDER!!!""" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassface Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 i appreciate that the x touch does plug in control.. but it is still not as intuitive as just ACTing the few buttons i need rather than deciphering the led s on the x touch all i need to know is if the nano works with ACT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckebaby Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 I must have confused the X touch mini with the X touch compact This is the one I thought you were referring too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steev Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 Well maybe you should just buy one and find out. ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckebaby Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 16 minutes ago, bassface said: all i need to know is if the nano works with ACT No it uses Mackie Control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassface Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 Thanks steev but thats the the kind of experiment i am trying to avoid by makng this query i have the X touch the one with 8 motorized faders and the jog wheel and yes i know it can can control the plug ins but its not as easy as when i use my A300 and just assign whatever buttons /faders i want so without having to buy something only to have it not do what i want does any body else have a suggestion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steev Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 4 minutes ago, Chuck E Baby said: I must have confused the X touch mini with the X touch compact This is the one I thought you were referring too. These are really REALLY KILLA GREAT for deep in depth control and parameter automation of hardware synths and synth modules! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckebaby Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 Have you dug in to the Mackie Control protocol ? As in open the Mackie control preference menu ? you can assign almost any button, anywhere. You can also use "Midi learn/ Vs. ACT to assign knobs and buttons. I used to love ACT back in the day, but it has become dated. Though I totally respect where your coming from. you want to work comfortably and you know how ACT works. I understand that. But I believe makie Control has more depth, as in you can assign any button to perform actions such as "Bounce to clips" exc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steev Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 4 minutes ago, Chuck E Baby said: Have you dug in to the Mackie Control protocol ? As in open the Mackie control preference menu ? you can assign almost any button, anywhere. You can also use "Midi learn/ Vs. ACT to assign knobs and buttons. I used to love ACT back in the day, but it has become dated. Though I totally respect where your coming from. you want to work comfortably and you know how ACT works. I understand that. But I believe makie Control has more depth, as in you can assign any button to perform actions such as "Bounce to clips" exc. I totally agree, ACT was a God send for creating MIDI maps back when every vendor had the own ideas how and what to control from their hardware. Mackie Control (MCU) and HUI are pretty much cover the universal industry standards today. And I think it would be nice and or cool if Cakewalk did bring ACT and or MCU up to speed or modernize it if you will.. For instance, Propellerhead includes a very large selection and vast array of different preset MCU configuration maps for Reason. Even and on/off switch which is very handy to use before "Rewiring" Reason to another DAW such as Cakewalk. Believe me you DON'T want to see and experience what happens when you have 2 different DAW's fighting and competing for control over one MIDI controller. Saying things get unpredictable is an understatement. And so the best that can happen is you crash and or lock up both Reason and Cakewalk and don't lose or destroy your projects. And that being said, I'm not sure it would be wise to try to run both MCU and ACT at the same time in the same project either, even with 2 separate DAW controllers?? Anyone here ever have any success with doing that? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azslow3 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassface Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 thanks azlow, thats precisely the information i need, do you know if the Korg Nano works with ACT as well. it is more attractive as it has 8 sliders plus the rotaries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azslow3 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 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). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassface Posted September 11, 2019 Author Share Posted September 11, 2019 Thanks aslow i already have a Behringer x touch which works fine..what i want to do is get something small for my studio desk that will learn (thru ACT?) the vst plugins (Knobs /sliders) EQ /comps etc..i find ACT much easier than going thru the XTouch presets so what i want is something like Behringer Mini/korg Nano that i can assign buttons quickly like i can do with my A300 with ACT Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azslow3 Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now