Mcu pro In cakewalk by bandlab

[Mcu pro]

I’m using MCU Pro with Cakewalk by bandlab and was curious  if there is anyone out there using it and could you tell me how to get instructions? I have it working to a point. I don’t know how to insert plugins? When I configure it to work with two extra XT units it doesn’t remember  when I coles the session and reopen it.

thank you 

Stan

[msmcleod]

Hi Stan,

When you open up the Mackie Control dialog, pressing F1 should bring up the help which will take you through everything in detail.

However, here's a quick guide:

1. Go to Preferences->Control Surfaces and add a new surface of type "Mackie Control" specifying it's MIDI IN & MIDI OUT ports.

2. Add a new surface of type "Mackie Control XT"  specifying it's MIDI IN & MIDI OUT ports.

3. Add another new surface of type "Mackie Control XT"  specifying it's MIDI IN & MIDI OUT ports.

4. Click OK, and select "Mackie Control - 1" from the utilities menu:

5. Select the following options shown in red below:

6. Next, click the Configure Layout button (shown in yellow above)

7. At this point the channels being controlled will be shown on your MCU / XT.

• If your XT are to to the left of your MCU, turn the VPot on your 2nd XT so it shows channels 9-16, and turn VPot 1 on your MCU so it show channel 17 - 24;
• If your XT is to the right, turn VPot 1 on your first XT so it shows channel 9-16, and turn VPot 1 on your 2nd XT so it shows channels 17-24.

8. Press "Press Again When Done":

9. Finally, give your configuration a name and save it as a preset by clicking the save button:

 

 

[John]

Nice Work Mark. 

[Mcu pro]

Hi Mark 

Thank you for responding

  I did everything the way you explained it. I have MCU Pro in the Middle  XT on the left and XT on the right when i configure it I put Left XT 1-8 MCU 9-16 =-XT right 17-24

i save it   it works  Cake walk then crashes   it crashes about 5-6 daily?  when i reopen Cakewalk I have to configure it all over again? it doesn't remember the settings? Do you have any Idea why Cakewalk crashes so much? I appreciate all your help  When I move any fader on XT1  it moves the same fader on other 2 units?

Thank you

Stan

Edited September 2, 2019 by Mcu pro
Added information

[msmcleod]

When exactly does Cakewalk crash?

You should close the dialog immediately after setting it up.  If you've left the dialog open when using Cakewalk, that might be the issue.

If this isn't what you're doing, then check you've excluded Cakewalk's directories from any anti-virus or cloud sync service (e.g. OneSync, Dropbox etc).

[Mcu pro]

 would One Drive be the problem? if so can you tell me how to solve it  I noticed it starting crashing since i've gotten One Drive?

I'm using windows 10 with defender?

Edited September 2, 2019 by Mcu pro
Added information

[msmcleod]

I had issues with OneDrive, so I disabled it. Microsoft is pretty heavy handed about backing just about everything up using OneDrive, so it may be that OneDrive is accessing files that Cakewalk has in use - that was my experience, and was the cause of crashes for me.

In hindsight, I could have probably configured it to ignore the Cakewalk files, but it's a real pain to configure compared to most cloud providers. 

If you want to continue using it, I recommend pausing the syncing when you're using Cakewalk:

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/how-to-pause-and-resume-sync-in-onedrive-2152bfa4-a2a5-4d3a-ace8-92912fb4421e

If you just want to disable it altogether:

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/turn-off-disable-or-uninstall-onedrive-f32a17ce-3336-40fe-9c38-6efb09f944b0

[Mcu pro]

It seems to not crash yet since i paused one drive, but i don't understand why it won't remember the settings in utilities? everytime i open a session, i have to configure it or when i moved a fader the same fader on all units move?

[Mcu pro]

Thank you 

everything so far is working. Can you guide me on how to insert and work plugions on MCU Pro in Cakewalk by bandlad

Thank you again  You've been very helpful

Stan

[msmcleod]

Hi Stan,

You can't insert plugins using the MCU, but you can edit them.

Click the Select button on the track you want to work with, then click the Plugin button:

You can then use the cursor keys on the MCU to navigate through the plugins on that track, and the bank left/right keys on the MCU to navigate through the parameters in banks of 8. Use the VPots to alter the parameters.

Currently only effects in the track's effects bin are supported via the MCU (so no ProChannel).  VSTi instruments aren't supported unless you insert them "the old way" by inserting them in the effects bin of an audio track.

To be honest though, most synths have so many parameters, I've found controlling synths to be pretty useless via the MCU (or even the C4 for that matter), as you have to wade through pages of parameters and the 6 character parameter name limit is kind of cryptic.

Before I officially joined Cakewalk, I did some enhancements (actually, most of the work was done by @azslow3) to add support for the ProChannel EQ & Track/Bus Compressor. 

You can download an installer for these enhancements here: http://msmcleod.co.uk/cakewalk/MMcLMackieControlSetup.zip

You may want to wait however....  these changes will be available officially  in the next version of Cakewalk by BandLab, and will be picked up automatically (the version above will require you to re-configure your setup)

Finally, there's a utility I wrote that allows you to configure the layout of your plugin parameters (again, before I joined Cakewalk - so it's unofficial). It's written primarily for the Mackie C4, but will work for the MCU as long as you restrict yourself to the top row of knobs (using the M1- M4 buttons as alternate parameter banks). This utility will work regardless of whether you're using the official Cakewalk version of MackieControl, or the version above.

http://msmcleod.co.uk/cakewalk/C4Mapper.zip

A couple of things to note when using this utility:

• For a plugin to be available on the list, you must first have used the plugin since configuring your MCU, and restarted Cakewalk. The utility takes its plugin list from "%APPDATA%\Cakewalk\ACT Data\genericpluginparams.xml" which is only added to when Cakewalk has a control surface configured, and only updated when you exit Cakewalk.
• You need to run the utility as Administrator if you want it to update your MackieControl.ini (where all the mappings are stored). Otherwise, it'll store them in your Documents folder and you'll have to copy/paste the changes manually within Notepad.

 

[Mcu pro]

Thank you for you help, unfortunately I can't seem to get anything working today? I disabled one drive but cakewalk crashed 3 times this morning?  I wish I knew what was making it crash? it's getting very frustrating

Please help me

Stan

[Mcu pro]

[chuckebaby]

1 hour ago, Mcu pro said:

I wish I knew what was making it crash? it's getting very frustrating

Can you post another screenshot, only this time zoom in on that pop up box (the one that's giving you the error). Its too small to read. you can use a housing site for better results but for right now, what that text says in the pop up will shed light on whats going on.

[msmcleod]

@Mcu pro - FYI : if you use ALT + PrintScr instead of CTRL + PrintScr, it'll just copy the dialog rather than the whole screen.

[chuckebaby]

2 hours ago, msmcleod said:

if you use ALT + PrintScr instead of CTRL + PrintScr, it'll just copy the dialog

Theres a keeper.

[Mcu pro]

40 minutes ago, Chuck E Baby said:

Theres a keeper.

 

5 hours ago, Chuck E Baby said:

Can you post another screenshot, only this time zoom in on that pop up box (the one that's giving you the error). Its too small to read. you can use a housing site for better results but for right now, what that text says in the pop up will shed light on whats going on.

 

46 minutes ago, Chuck E Baby said:

Theres a keeper.

 

[Mcu pro]

[chuckebaby]

That looks to me like a typical case of Visual C++ runtime libraries/Microsoft Visual Studio needs to be installed/updated.

[Mcu pro]

thank you  there are so many options to download  i hope i did the right one?  I'll keep you posted

[Mcu pro]

I downloaded Visual Studio? I don't know what this does or what it has to do with cakewalk crashing?  I opened cakewalk after downloading visual studio and it crashed immediately with the same error message?