Oct31

Written by:Garry Simmons
Sunday, October 31, 1999 6:00 PM

Let's face it. Working with many music/audio programs using a mouse can be tedious. I love my "studio in a PC", but sometimes I just want to reach out and grab a fader or knob to get the job done.

It's more than an old habit that won't die. Hardware faders and knobs make good user interfaces. It's the same reason that we don't drive cars with joysticks or fly airplanes with steering wheels. A modern mixing console contains hundreds of knobs and dozens of faders. The knobs and faders are as small as they can practically be, and crammed onto a board that measures in terms of square feet. It is ridiculous to think that we can place all those controls onto a screen that measures in terms of square inches - and control them all with a single finger.

Enter control surfaces. Manufacturers have been scrambling to provide programmable boxes of faders and knobs that will easily integrate into the computer-based recording studio. By providing the user with a set of intuitive, tactile controls, these companies hope to offer us the best of both worlds: the programmability and granular control of a DAW as well as the ease-of-use of a hardware-based system.

By now you've probably seen the full-page ads for the CM Automation Motor Mix controller ($995 list, more info at http://www.cmautomation.com). Perhaps you're curious as to what it will buy you. Motorized faders. Big display. Lots of buttons and knobs. It's a pretty sexy device. This article will hopefully answer all your questions about what the Motor Mix is - and what it isn't. I've even included a supplemental on programming for the Motor Mix in case you're inclined to roll your own Motor Mix support.

I've been using a Motor Mix since May '99. I got a beta unit to beat on in conjunction with MxTrax for the DSP Factory (more info at http://www.minnetonkaaudio.com). I saw the potential for the Motor Mix to control most of the DSP Factory's parameters, so I added extensive support for the Motor Mix to my LUI program and dubbed it "LUI Plus" (more info at http://www.simmonsinteractive.com). I'm a Motor Mix developer as well as user, so this is the inside scoop on the unit.

Hardware

The Motor Mix is fairly compact, measuring 10.5" wide x 12.5" deep x 5" tall. The Motor Mix has eight channel strips that are surrounded by four banks of buttons. The LCD display (2 lines x 40 characters) and the Encoder knob complete the front of the unit. That's a grand total of 8 motorized faders, 67 buttons, and 9 knobs. That's a lot of controls.

The back of the Motor Mix includes the AC connection (no wall wart!), a power switch, MIDI In and Out ports, a 15-pin serial port, and a contrast control for the display.

Most of the buttons are clear plastic, with a green or red LED inside them. The LED can be on, off or blinking. Most of the buttons have two labels near them, much like a scientific calculator. The idea is that you can use the "Shift" button in conjunction any other button to have access to more functions. Note that the button labels mean absolutely nothing. It's up to the application that is talking to the Motor Mix to decide what any given button actually does.

For the purpose of this discussion, the banks of buttons surrounding the channel strips will be called the Left bank (left of the faders), the Right bank (right of the faders), the View bank (left of the channel strip buttons), and the Effect bank (right of the channel strip buttons). Please remember that the button labels on the Motor Mix are only suggestions. The Motor Mix Developers Guide gives examples of how these buttons could be used (given their names), but these are only suggestions. What the programmer actually does with any given button is up to them.

The Left bank has eight buttons labeled (from bottom to top) Shift, Undo, Default, All, Window, DSP, Suspend and Auto Enbl. The Shift key is supposed to be used in conjunction with other buttons. The other seven buttons provide a variety of handy "verbs" (especially Undo and Default for editing).

The Right bank also has eight buttons that are labeled (from bottom to top) Escape, Enter, Last, Next, Rewind, F. Forward, Stop, Play. Obviously these buttons are expected to be used for selecting data and transport control.

The View bank includes left and right arrow buttons, a Bank button, a Group button and three "burn" buttons. The arrow keys are typically used to change the "window" of channels that the Motor Mix is controlling. If the Bank button is lit, then you move in banks of eight channels. The Group button is used to move through "groups" of instruments. The "burn" buttons include a Record Ready button, a Write button and an "Other" button. The state of the burn buttons is supposed to control what the "burn" button on each channel strip is doing.

The Effect bank (my name, the Developer Guide calls them Multi Controls) includes four buttons labeled FX Bypass, Send Mute, Pre/Post and Select. I find the "shifted" labels more useful (for LUI Plus) which include Eff-1, Eff-2, Eff-3 and Eff-4. The state of these buttons indicates what should happen when the Effect button (the button below the knob) on each channel strip is used.

The Encoder knob and display are located just above the Effect bank buttons. The Encoder knob is a continuous knob that clicks like a ratchet. The idea is that you use the Encoder knob to select a typical channel strip parameter, such as pan or an aux send level, and then use the knobs on the channel strips to change the parameter selected by the Encoder knob. The two character display above the Encoder knob gives you a way to tell what parameter is currently active (such as PA for pan, or A1 for aux send #1). The knob can also be used a button (push the knob down).

Each channel strip includes a 100mm motorized fader, five buttons and a knob. The buttons closest to the faders are labeled Mute and Solo. The other three buttons on the channel strip are not labeled with any special function name, but are called (by me anyway) the Burn button, the Effect button and the Select button. The background coloring around the buttons gives a clue as to how CM Automation envisioned the buttons being used. The next button up the strip (above the Solo button) is called the "Burn" button. It has a gray background to indicate it could be related to the state of the buttons to the left of channel strips (also with a gray background). CMA suggests using this button to control the "record ready" or "write automation" status of a channel. The Effect button (located below the knob) has a tan background and could be associated with the bank of Effect buttons to the right of the channel strips. This button would obviously be tied to editing effect parameters. The Select button (located) above the knob could be used as a switch that works in conjunction with the content of the LCD display since they are right next to each other.

What It Does

The Motor Mix is not your standard MIDI fader box. It can not be programmed or configured by the end user in any way. You turn it on and twiddle controls. The Motor Mix sends out MIDI data (CC messages) in response to user actions. It is up to the receiving application to determine what the user is doing, how to respond to it and what to do to the Motor Mix (change the display, turn on LEDs, whatever) in response.

The application can send messages to the Motor Mix to position the faders, control the button LEDs and to write text to the LCD display. Fader positioning and LED control is accomplished using CC messages. The LCD is controlled via SysEx messages.

The Motor Mix does not save any "state" information. What I mean by that is that the Motor Mix has no idea what should happen when the user pushes a button. It's simply a way to trigger events (via MIDI data) that your program can deal with. For example, if I press the Solo button on a channel strip, the Motor Mix simply transmits a bunch of data saying a button was pressed and then released. It is up to the application to associate that event with solo'ing a channel. It is up to the application to tell the Motor Mix to turn the light On in the solo'd channel and (perhaps) to turn the Mute buttons on for all non-solo'd channels.

Software Support

As I've stated earlier, the Motor Mix doesn't do anything particularly useful on its own. It requires your application be Motor Mix-aware. With the winter NAMM show approaching, I'm sure that many software companies will be releasing updates to their products that include Motor Mix support. The Motor Mix ads sure have a lot of logos on the bottom of the page, so support is on its way.

As of this writing (Nov. 99) the following software makers have committed to providing Motor Mix support. Be aware that the level of support can vary wildly, so be sure to check with the vendor first. The "Support" page on the CM Automation web site lists the following companies along with a URL to hit their web site for more info.

· APB Tools
· Be
· Bitheadz
· C-Mexx
· Creamware
· Digidesign
· Emagic
· Minnetonka
· MOTU
· SEK'D
· Simmons Interactive
· Soundscape
· Steinberg
· Symbolic Sound

Cut to the Chase

In a nutshell, if your application has extensive support for the Motor Mix, it's a wonderful way to control a music/audio program using real faders and buttons and knobs. It's so much nicer to use a well-built hardware controller than twiddle controls with a mouse. I can't say enough about how much I like using the Motor Mix to control the DSP Factory. It really makes the DSP Factory feel like a mixer now. The cool factor with clients doesn't hurt either. They dig seeing those faders jump when you change banks.

If, the other hand, your application doesn't have built in support for the Motor Mix, or can't be programmed to do something useful in response to the messages the Motor Mix sends, you've bought yourself an expensive doorstop. Given the wide support that exists (or is coming) for the Motor Mix, that isn't likely to be the case for many people.

So how does the Motor Mix compare to the current crop of digital mixers? The obvious answer is that the Motor Mix is NOT a mixer. Audio never runs thru the device. There are no mic preamps, no equalizers, no compressors and no effect units. The Motor Mix is simply a way to control your software using a mixer-like device. Think of the Motor Mix like a specialized mouse for audio engineers. It's really aimed at people that are mixing inside the computer, not ones that are using the PC like a digital tape deck and feeding an external mixer. If your software fully supports a digital mixer (such as the Yamaha 01V) as an external controller, then maybe the added functionality (preamps, etc.) is worth the extra cost and bulk. Only you can decide what gear fits the way you want to work and your budget.

As always, research a product before spending your money. The Motor Mix is a fine value, but it isn't cheap. Make sure you understand the level of support your application provides for the Motor Mix since it can vary widely. I use my Motor Mix every single session and love it to death. If you've found yourself wanting to grab a real fader or knob instead of messing around with a mouse, you owe it to yourself to find out if your favorite audio app(s) support the Motor Mix. I recommend it highly.

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