Question

hi

I'm currently considering different alternatives for a live mixing solution in an affordable range and I do have my eyes on the StudioLive consoles, but I am also somewhat unhappy about the arrangement of the UI components for the direct fatchannel parameter control which I see as suboptimal. This I see as general limitation of many mixing consoles. I would consider creating my own control surface (of which the most simple could be some MIDI interface with motor-faders and knobs or using a Mackie control surface, etc) but I do not see any way of how to access the actual console parameters or link MIDI/OSC to UC. Even wanting to extend the existing interface of a mixing desk would not be possible, let alone using a rack-mixer with a complete standalone control surface.

I really do think there is a lot of potential to create better interfaces that allow for customization if any "software" interfaces were given. Say, many Yamaha consoles can be controlled through MIDI, either CC/NRPN or using the more complex, custom SysEx as used by the desktop control software. Going a step further a software framework / API to build custom control (software) would be rather an interesting and flexible approach - be it in combination with a UC application or standalone. And, I figure, this would also open a new market; to some degree at least.

Answer 1

Not an answer, but I agree. We are installing 2 Auditoriums and would like to control the presets from an Atlona device with a push of a button on a screen within their pre-existing hardware. A simple macro would work if we could grab a HEX code or I/O from the Presomus unit.

Answer 2

I also had a few ideas in the past for creating customized interfaces (hard- and software). For example, simple hot key functions like shutdown, load scene XYZ, master volume fader etc.

But as long as there is no API (which is open source for the community available) it will spend too much time to build something like this just by reverse engineering the commands between UC Surface and the mixer with Wireshark or similar tools.

Possible APIs to the mixer could be:

• RESTful API
• Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) via sockets

Possible APIs to the computer or mobile device with UC surface could be:

• MIDI (e.g. Mackie Control Universal – MCU protocol)