Converting a D8B to a full fledged DAW Controller (w/o MIDI)

[frama78]

uh uh uh.... i´ve got another question

the D8b has no touch sensitive faders. right? does D8Bridge has a button or function implemented to handle this issue? something like a "hey-console-i´ve-pressed-this-button-here-and-this-is-the-impulse-to-go-to-touchmode-please"-button ?

[NigelC]

Just a response to a previous comment. The US-2400 is much maligned by many however its actually a solid controller let down by lack of scribble strips and not so great shortcut keys. However it does have 10-bit faders and because of the above second hand versions are relatively cheap.

I actually have one as well as the D8B (my studio looks like mission control NASA!). As a workaround I use the HUI layer to view which channels I am tweaking. However I am still not 100% happy as I find that I cannot locate channels quick enough. I know its better than the old days of tape and marker pens, but back then there were less channels and less variations.

I am not sure the D8Bridge will be perfect either as the thing that is missing on both solutions is the lack of scribble strips above every channel and I still think many will find this in the long run counter productive.

I am in discussion with the head of a UK MIDI gadget company called Kenton electronics who are the only ones out of several I contacted who expressed any interest in considering developing an add on USB LCD Scribble Strip. I feel there is a gap in the market for such a product as there are plenty of budget controllers that lack them (Behringer, Tascam, Korg etc).

[Petersueco]

BEFORE:

My sad, dark and dusty console was sitting in the studio.




AFTER THE D8BRIDGE INSTALLATION:
The console came to life and now shines again!!!

[m33]

*drool* sad this won't work for a mac.

[exitmike]

Same.. Once there is a workaround or softcoded version for the mac... I will definately purchase a kit...
although i am tempted to fire up my old nuendo sessions... its been a while since ive used my good old VSTs

Peter... I'm jealous... I want mine lit up for christmas.. all those red and green leds just in time for the season.
have you run into any major errors yet ?
How do you engage touch mode on the faders ?

[High C Double G]

Hi Peter,

This looks very cool! Hey do you remember when you did your studio blog for your last build in the basement of your new place? ... two summers ago??? Has it been longer??? Probably longer huh? anyway...

I was thinking it might not be that much trouble to document your "dailies" on using the bridge in the same way - just a thought. I am just asking because you are good at it and it would give us all a real sense of the stuff and situations (good and bad) you are going through independent of this forum's thread.

Tired over here in rainy LA CA... Thanks for your testings of this new product - Can't wait to hear more!!!

Michael

PS:
Anyway, it is just a thought I am throwing your way.

[Petersueco]

Hi Peter,

This looks very cool! Hey do you remember when you did your studio blog for your last build in the basement of your new place? ... two summers ago??? Has it been longer??? Probably longer huh? anyway...

The studio construction was almost three years ago.

I was thinking it might not be that much trouble to document your "dailies" on using the bridge in the same way - just a thought. I am just asking because you are good at it and it would give us all a real sense of the stuff and situations (good and bad) you are going through independent of this forum's thread.

Well, I don't have any written disclosure agreement with Marc, but in all honesty, I have to respect some sort of discretion here. Please have in mind that the version I have is the very first one and it needs some ironing. It wouldn't be fair I were telling everyone what doesn't work and what flaws it has. Let's give Marc some time to refine the software first.

On the other side, I did record some videos with my phone last night to show Marc what I'm controlling from the surface. I can tell you that Nuendo's channel EQ works wonders from the console. I have also managed to control individual plugins from the surface. This is something I didn't expected to be possible.

Same.. Once there is a workaround or softcoded version for the mac... I will definately purchase a kit...
although i am tempted to fire up my old nuendo sessions... its been a while since ive used my good old VSTs

Peter... I'm jealous... I want mine lit up for christmas.. all those red and green leds just in time for the season.
have you run into any major errors yet ?
How do you engage touch mode on the faders ?

Yes, there are some minor fixes to do, have in mind this is a very early version of the software.

The auto-sense option works by default. As soon you move a fader, or v-pot, the relative channel gets selected. It's an option that you can change in Nuendo's MCU settings window.

In my case I have it disabled. My console is in a very, very bad shape, and I have around 9 or 10 faders that behave erratically, snapping up and down spontaneously with no apparent reason and therefore selecting undesired channels. At first, before I disabled the option, I was EQing a channel using the v-pots and I didn't realize that one fader had made a "ghost snap" selecting another channel. Suddenly I was EQing another instrument... The auto-sensing feature is not good for consoles in bad shape.

Peter Holmquist.

[Axeman098]

I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT!!!!! IWANT IT ****NOW***** (Throws little kid in Wal-mart tantrum)

[Marc Girard]

Hey guys!

I wanted to let you know that I haven't dropped the ball on the Mac version yet. I'm looking for a cross platform MIDI library that could work with D8Bridge. I might have found something (it's called PortMIDI) but it's very early to tell. Many of you sent me suggestions for a Mac MIDI port looper and such, thanks! Right now, I'm even before this step. I'll look at your solutions as soon as I get passed the MacOS X CoreMIDI implementation.

So far, the beta phase has been working great for me. I installed the D8B at my studio and I haven't had a single crash! Yes there's some rough corners still, but the software is stable! That's my main concern, set it and forget it!

Peter, thanks for your respect! You can tease our friends if you'd like, there's not much secrets that I haven't told already around here! As I told you before, D8Bridge is some sort of a comprise. I have to deal with the limitations of the console (buttons and all), the limitations of the MCU protocol (not all commands supported) and the limitations of the DAW itself (how the MCU protocol is implemeted). So, all in all, we're in very very good shape considering all the limitations!

MG

[Petersueco]

Hey Marc, thank you for your trust!

As you say, there are no big secrets to be revealed. And you are right, considering all the limitations, the d8bridge is a huge benefit for the d8b community of users. Now that I have tested your software and enjoyed the benefits, I can understand why all the Mac users are worried about it. The should!

I really hope you'll give them the d8bridge, as well as I hope, along the time, the d8bridge to become a complete solution for d8b, not just to work solely as a controller, but also to integrate the audio capabilities of the console into the program.

I mean, how cool would it be to have the controlling capabilities of the d8bridge merged with the consoles audio system (or at least part of it).

Peter Holmquist.