Topic: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

Bought an HDSPe AES 16 last week.  I'm using it to talk to a Lynx Aurora 16 and running ProTools 9 on a Mac Pro (OS X 10.6.5).

I love the HDSPe AES.  It was easy to set up, locks up securely to the Aurora, and the 8 stereo submixes within the card are absolutely great.  Works 100% as advertised.

I am using an SSL Nucleus as a controller.  This lets me switch back and forth between ProTools and HDSPe Mix with one button press.  Super useful and almost the system of my dreams.

I have three requests for implementation in the Midi control section of HDSPe Mix.

1. It would be nice if Record Arm always selected the submix, no matter whether you were in Input, Software, or Output layers.

2. It would be wonderful if you could implement 16 simultaneous channels of control (often implemented within DAWS as 2 separate 8 channel controllers).  Since I have 16 channels of flying faders, I could see and control a full 16 channel layer of HDSPe Mix without paging back and forth while half my Nucleus remains blank.

3.  It would be nice to have the option for TotalMix to send metering.  I know that some older MIDI controllers don't work too well with this, but the newer controllers (i.e. Euphonix & SSL) use MIDI over IP and have no problem displaying the metering in real time.

Other than that, I couldn't be happier with the card and software.  It is rock solid, switches sample rates reliably, and maintains lock.

Thanks for making such a useful product!

Critics talk about art.  Artists talk about brushes.

2

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

Thanks for the suggestions. Regarding number 3: did you activate the option 'Full LC Display Support' under preferences?

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

I did activate 'Full LC Display Support'.  This turned on the display in the scribble strip of the Nucleus, but did not turn on metering.

Critics talk about art.  Artists talk about brushes.

4

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

We'll check.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

5

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

Regarding 1: this is how it should work (and works over here). What happens on your system?

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

Regarding 1: If the input layer is selected, it works how one would expect.  Arm a track, and the submix focus changes to that channel.

However, if the software or output layer is selected, there are more-or-less random changes to the submix focus.  For instance suppose I have the software output layer selected.  Then if I arm channel 1, nothing happens.  If I arm channel 2, all of the small boxes below the channels on HDSPe Mix turn red and say NONE.  This odd-even behavior is repeated until channel 11.  Pressing record arm for channel 11 selects the submix for channels 1 and 2.  Nothing happens when arming channel 12, then channel 13 selects submix focus for channels 3 and 4.  Very strange. 

The Nucleus works as advertised for channel arming in Pro Tools and Cubase, so I think it is sending the proper MIDI.

Critics talk about art.  Artists talk about brushes.

7

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

That works over here. You can check some more yourself. The MIDI command to change the submix is a simple MIDI note on/off, which should come from the Nucleus.

Output Channel 1: B0 00 7F/00 (MIDI Channel 1, MIDI note C -1, On/Off)
Output Channel 2: B0 01 7F/00
Output Channel 3: B0 02 7F/00

and so on. 1 to 8 referes to the current position of the 8-channel block.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

I recorded the MIDI generated by the Nucleus talking to HDSPe Mix to a track in Pro Tools.

I started with HDSPe Mix in the Input layer and channels 1-8 in focus.  I pressed record arm on channels 1-8.  As you say, I saw C1 On/Off, C#1 On/Off, D1 On/Off, etc. generated on MIDI channel 1.  HDSPe mix correctly selected the the appropriate submix.

I next pressed the down arrow which moves the HDSPe Mix to the Software layer with channels 1-8 in focus.  This generated a MIDI C#9 on/off on MIDI channel 1.  HDSPe Mix correctly moved the yellow highlighted focus to the Software layer channels 1-8.

I then pressed record arm on channels 1-8.  Again, the correct Midi notes on/off were generated: C1, C#1, D1, etc. on MIDI channel 1.  But HDSPe mix did not respond correctly.  It responded as I described in my earlier posting.

I am puzzled by our discrepant findings.  Are you sure you are sending HDSPe Mix this sequence of MIDI events?

Critics talk about art.  Artists talk about brushes.

9

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

I did, but I used a Multiface. Maybe something is wrong with the AES card's mapping. Will check next week. Thanks for the details.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

10

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

It turned out that the current Mac driver was not on par with the Windows version regarding remote support. Please re-download version 2.76. This silent update fixes several missing features and should work now for you.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

Hi - could you let me know if TM works with more than 8 faders on mackie control? I dont know if that silent update was correcting some things or others. Im looking to get an XT to extend my mackie control to 16 faders, but maybe this isnt supported?

thanks a lot

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

I am pleased to say that record arm now works as expected in all layers: the correct cuemix output pair is selected when pressing the record arm button.  MC, Thank you for your prompt action on this!

However, metering is still not displayed on the Nucleus control surface.

In answer to Matt Robertson, there are still only 8 channels of control.  Channels 9-16 on my Nucleus remain dark.  I suspect that this will require RME adding the option for a second MCU.  It sure would be useful!

Critics talk about art.  Artists talk about brushes.

13

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

Correct, metering is also not present in the Windows version. Will be added soon.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

Glad to hear it! 

Now I know why so many people speak highly of RME as being a responsive company!

Critics talk about art.  Artists talk about brushes.

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

Thanks SteveBoker, I might hang on and see if more than 8 channels get supported in the future then smile It's a shame that is doesnt work - I guess if TM supported more than one midi input it might work? Or, I wonder if theres any way to convert the MCU / Nucleas data into 'normal' midi and then we could control all faders?

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

The Nucleus data (or any MCU based control) is just normal MIDI data.  The way MCU implements channels 9-16 is by putting the same MIDI commands as channels 1-8 on a second MIDI channel.  Currently RME is only set up to read one MIDI channel at a time.  All RME needs to do (I say this with a rueful chuckle since I am a programmer myself and know that these things are never as easy as they seem) is to allow a second MIDI channel to be recognized and route those MIDI commands to their channels 9-16.

My first request would be to get metering working.  That way I can hide the HDSPe Mix window and use my full screen real estate for Pro Tools or Cubase.

It would also be extremely helpful to allow us to have the meters spread out horizontally.  The HDSPe panel takes up a great deal of screen real estate because it is almost square.  Thus, I need to make my Pro Tools windows much narrower in the vertical or horizontal direction in order to keep the HDSPe Mix meters visible.   Almost 1/4 of my monitor real estate becomes wasted space. 

Ideally, I'd like to see the HDSPe Mix meters be half as tall as they are now and have all 3 layers be displayed side by side.

I don't buy the in-line argument in the manual.  Having run interface design teams (google OpenMx SEM if you want to see one of the projects I direct), I have found that if you need to make an argument like that to your users, you almost always are forcing something on them that they would wish were otherwise.  A section like that in a manual is a sure sign that it is time to implement an interface choice.  Of course, I realize that this is not simple.

If the layers were smaller and displayed side by side, I could see what was happening while tracking and have Pro Tools windows be the full width of the screen and almost the full height of the screen and have very little wasted space.  As it is, I just slide the HDSPe Mix window mostly off the bottom of the screen so that I can see only the upper 2/3 of the input layer meters.  Not ideal, but it is the best solution available to me given the current interface.

Critics talk about art.  Artists talk about brushes.

17

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

Why not use DIGICheck for the input level meters? Much better, resizable, and even horizontally if you like...

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

Thanks for the suggestion.  I'll give it a try!

Critics talk about art.  Artists talk about brushes.

Re: Totalmix feature request: 16 simultaneous channels of MIDI control

That is helpful.  I now have the software playback layer up on DIGICheck and the input layer on HDSPe Mix side by side.  Still would be nice if HDSPe Mix could be laid out from left to right: Input, Software, Output.  That way, as you paged left to right on the control surface, you would naturally page across the HDSPe Mix GUI.

Thanks for all your help, MC.

Critics talk about art.  Artists talk about brushes.