control surface for 002 rack

[Charlie_M]

I have a digidesign 002 rack system and I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a control surface for it. Ya… I can do what I need to with the mouse but it would be convenient to be able to just reach over and do it instead of having to putz around bringing the mix window to the front, making the change, then bring the transport window to the front, then if I want to mute or solo a track and maybe toggle that in real time, now bring the edit window to the front, etc…

I could just get a bigger comp screen and make all that stuff visible too, but for the money I’d spend on a decent one of those I’d prefer to be halfway home on a control surface.

Curious what are some good control surfaces out there. Are my options digidesign, digidesign, and digidesign, or can I use others? I’m sure the digidesign command 8 is a great product and all that, but if I were to try and pick up a used piece of gear it would be nice to have the flexibility to consider other types. Also… if there’s a product out there which is superior to the digidesign command 8 I’d love to hear about that too. Thanks in advance for any tips.

[richiebee]

There are several out there you can use with ProTools. I think (and I'm not 100% on this) it has to conform to Mackie HUI. Frontier Design Group, Tascam and Mackie all make control surfaces that are compatible with ProTools... just make sure it is compatibile before you buy.

Cheapest options are the Frontier Alphatrack and Presonus Faderport. Both have a single channel with motorized fader, transport controls and a few other bits and bobs.

[brandondrury]

Hang on, dude. I've got some info that wasn't included in this thread.

You told me in an email that you are still mixing on headphones. There is no way in hell I could sleep at night knowing I didn't intervene here. If you don't have studio monitors yet, I would HIGHLY recommend that you wait on the control surface. In fact, if you have a grand or so to blow on faders, I'd HIGHLY recommend you buy some bass traps LONG before you bought a control surface.

An accurate monitoring rig is the most important part of the chain on this side of the microphone. If it's screwed, everything else is too.

I wish I had a control surface, but I only have one thing against them...their price! They cost a damn fortune. While I wish I had one, a control surface is not even in my top 25 things to buy (and I have most of my basis covered pretty well).

I use a dual monitor setup. (I bought my video card back in 2002 for $75. It has dual monitor out). A dual monitor setup gives plenty of real estate without costing a ton.

I'm a super cheap ass when it comes to computer hardware and I use a dual screen setup on my main home computer as well. (It's COMPLETE hell going back to a single screen).

While not ideal, I have one LCD and one CRT screen on my recording rig. I never got around to spending the money on a second LCD screen. It's not ideal , but it's not worth messing with. A second LCD won't improve my mixes any.

So, you could mostly solve your Window clicking issues with a $50 video card with dual out and a $100 CRT monitor.

Having said that, I'd bet that there are shortcuts for these windows that would help automate the process.

Brandon

[Charlie_M]

Hey guys thanks for the info.

Brandon to your point... based on your earlier remarks I've been monitor shopping also.... leaning towards the Mackie 824's. I see those on the net in the range of $1k new and in the range of $700 for a used pair in good shape.

I had to google bass trap to know what the heck that even is. Now that I at least know what it means I think I understand their importance and why it would make sense to do that early in the process of setting things up. So far only acoustic treatments I've done consist of acoustic foam.

My situation is a little wierd in that I am likely to move in the next month or two (from Silicon Valley to Southern Cal). I currently do all my music in the shed which is not as bad as it sounds - the shed looks just like the house both in and out only difference is that it's not on the plumbing or hvac systems. Basically it's my own little world with no phone or anything and where I shut the door and people generally know better than to disturb me during the precious little time I can spend in there. Anwyay... my thought has been that wherever I end up I'll build a shed like the one I have now - probably an even bigger one, and do the acoustic treatments for the walls at that point.

So anyway yes I would totally agree the monitors are a higher priority in an absolute sense but given my wierd situaton currently it might be better for me to avoid getting to carried away with getting my acoustics right until I get to a place that I'm going to be in for a while. Until I do that.... would the monitors help or hurt relative to headphones... I truly don't know.

[brandondrury]

leaning towards the Mackie 824's. I see those on the net in the range of $1k new and in the range of $700 for a used pair in good shape.

I've wanting to get rid of my Mackie's for years. Maybe it's my room, but I hate them. They are too bright for my tastes.

We've spoken with a lot of people who use them. I know of only 2 people who are happy with them. .tom on this forum loves them and sees to know what is going on. There other is Mark from 5AM Studios in Austin, TX.

No matter what I'm never that happy with the way they translate unless I go out of my way to make mixes sound excessive hi-fi on the Mackies. This may just be my room.

Brandon

[Charlie_M]

Picked up the alphatrack today. The single fader is very handy for writing automation, and the transport buttons save a fair bit of farting around with the mouse. Of course the single fader can only do one channel at a time but ... at $200 (less than 1/5 the cost of the digidesign command 8 which has 8 channels) I'm not complaining. The fact that it only has one fader means it's pretty small so it doesn't take up much desk space. I'm real happy with it - thanks RichieBee for the suggestion!

Charlie