Hi again list,
I forgot to mention in my message below that somehow Surface Reader is not
remembering port settings after shut down, and I have to reenter them almost
every day I power up the system. My shut down sequence is, Sonar first,
then Surface Reader, then shut down computer, then turn off the control
surface, Focusrite 18i20, and Native Instruments S88. Power up is the same
sequence in reverse.
I don't know if this is related to the same problem I described in my
Sunday message shown below, or if it is something else. I hope one of you
has the time to look at this in the near future.
Best regards,
Fran Franks
----Original Message-----
From: Fran Franks [mailto:fm.guitarlady@xxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Sunday, April 28, 2019 6:33 PM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [ddots-l] Re: Trouble installing MCU Pro and Surface Reader
Hi Tim and all,
I have been dealing with health issues lately, and have not been able to
spend much time in the studio since the last communication. Tim, I'm very
grateful for the time you have taken to give advice on my problems.
I now seem to have everything working up to a point, including the MCU XT
extension. I get functionality where it should be, but the speech doesn't
seem right. For one thing, even though the extension is functioning
correctly, the speech acts like it is in ID mode, even though in Surface
Reader, both surfaces are in live mode. Also, I'm not getting any speech
when touching faders on the main surface, though they are otherwise
functioning with Sonar volumes controls. I am also not hearing any value
changes when moving the faders of either surface while focused on the
volume control of a track or bus. The situation is somewhat perplexing
because this is my first ever control surface, and I'm not too clear on
what to expect or what speech I'm supposed to get when everything is set
up correctly. I've carefully followed the setup and configuration
documentation in Surface Reader, Sonar, and advice I have received here on
the list. I've done triple and quadruple checking that I am not missing
something. But here I sit scratching my head. Is there anything
straight-forward that jumps out from the description of my symptom? Do
the cakewalk and extension application configurations in Surface Reader
need to be looked at or modified?
Despite the problems I have had in this setup, I'm very excited to finally
have something physical to touch and control my DAW. Once I have this
under my belt, it will be almost better than chocolate, And no worries
about gaining weight from overindulgence!
Best regards,
Fran Franks
-----Original Message-----
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, April 15, 2019 3:46 AM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: Trouble installing MCU Pro and Surface Reader
Hi,
There's a complete description of how Sonar and an MCU interact to be
found
at:
C:\program files\cakewalk\shared surfaces\MackieControl.chm
Here's the section that relates to setting up an extender within Sonar:
Configuring XT Units
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
----
You can connect as many XT extension units to your Mackie Control as you
have ports on your MIDI interface (each unit uses a separate input and
output port).
To Configure an XT Unit
Connect the XT unit to SONAR (see To Connect the Mackie Control (or XT) to
SONAR).
Open the property page for the main Mackie Control.
Click the Configure Layout button in the property page.
Turn V-pot 1 on the main Mackie Control to select the tracks you want the
main unit to control.
Turn V-pot 1 on the Mackie XT unit to select the tracks you want the XT
unit
to control.
In the property page, click the Press Again When Done button.
This article relates to the older units where extenders connected to a
MIDI
interface. The newer, USB-connected MCU provides ports on itself for
connection of extenders, so use those. Additionally, when you add the
extender to Sonar, pick the input and output ports that match where you've
got the extender plugged in - I don't have a USB version of an MCU here,
so
can't be more specific. Make sure that the extender is working (i.e. its
faders initialize) using its hardware ports before proceeding.
You now need to add 2 more virtual ports to handle the extender before
configuring SurfaceReader, so please do that using LoopB30, then change
the
ports for the extender in Sonar as you did for the MCU itself. I'd suggest
having Sonar configured to use virtual port 3 for input and virtual port 4
for output. Remember to disable the actual hardware inputs and outputs in
Sonar's MIDI Devices dialog using the same pattern as for the MCU.
In SurfaceReader you just need to add a surface from the Surfaces menu,
just
like you did for the MCU. The only differences should be:
1 - Give it a unique name (e.g. MCU-Ext1);
2 - Pick Mackie Extender as the protocol;
3 - Configure the ports to match your setup.
This is the first time I've had a user with an extender (I don't own one
myself), so I'm really keen to know how you get along.
Best wishes.
Tim Burgess
-----Original Message-----
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf
Of Fran Franks
Sent: 11 April 2019 17:58
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: Trouble installing MCU Pro and Surface Reader
Hi Tim and everyone,
Thanks again for your advice, which has got me through the installation.
Now I need to get the extension running. What must I do with ports and
other settings?
Then, on to learn the functions and other particulars. I'm just now
launching into the tutorials built into the Surface Reader help. Is there
additional instructional material available for study?
Best regards,
Fran Franks
-----Original Message-----
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On
Behalf Of tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2019 1:32 AM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: Trouble installing MCU Pro and Surface Reader
Hi Fran,
Many apologies for taking so long to reply, but I'm the author of
SurfaceReader, so want to get you up and running. Having said that, my
availability is likely to be sparse over the next few days.
Your configuration looks good to me, though there are a few things
missing:
1 - In Sonar you need to disable the ports presented by the MCU itself.
You
can do this in the Options|MIDI Devices dialog. You also need to disable
the
Internal MIDI 2 input and the Internal MIDI 1 output to prevent MIDI
loops;
2 - Within SurfaceReader you'll need to highlight your MCU then go to the
Surfaces menu and choose Load Application Configuration. Within the dialog
that appears, select Sonar then Tab to the OK button and press Enter -
this
configures SurfaceReader to act properly when used in conjunction with
Sonar.
A couple of notes:
- Please continue to use the USB connections, as this is the way the MCU
Pro
is designed to work;
- There are additional steps required in both Sonar and SurfaceReader to
handle the extender, so please ignore this for now - let's get the basic
setup working;
- The very latest versions of SurfaceReader can be had from:
32-bit:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g04w58c36fl7lcz/SurfaceReader32.msi?dl=0
64-bit:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/56kx7cb8v2f4zkl/SurfaceReader64.msi?dl=0
Please make sure that you uninstall the previous version before installing
the new one. I'd also recommend deleting the following folders by hand
once
you've done the uninstall of your current version:
C:\program files\raised bar\surfacereader
C:\programdata\raised bar\surfacereader
Please note that, depending on what version you currently have installed,
there might be a space between "surface" and "reader" in the folder names
above.
Best wishes.
Tim Burgess
-----Original Message-----
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf
Of Fran Franks
Sent: 07 April 2019 03:23
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Trouble installing MCU Pro and Surface Reader
Hello everyone,
I am installing my very first control surface, a Mackie MCU Pro and one
extension, plus Surface Reader to get it talking. I have done my best to
follow the Surface Reader documentation, but I'm hitting a snag, and I
hope
someone in the group here has time to look at this email and suggest what
is
going wrong.
My system is running Sonar 8.5 on Windows 7, 64 bit, Jaws 16, and Cake
Talking, and the MCU Pro is connected to the computer via USB.
Here is what I have done so far:
1. Set the mode on the MCU pro to Mackie control.
2. Installed LoopBe30, with default settings and 2 virtual cables,
which Windows calls Internal MIDI.
3. I added the control surface to Sonar with the initial port
settings
to test communication between Sonar and MCU pro as follows. Mackie
control
1, Input port, MCU Pro USB v3.1, Output port, MCU Pro USB v3.1. The MCU
Pro
main unit showed positive functionality and communication with the DAW,
however I'm not getting anything with the extension, a problem to work on
later. Then I reset the input port to internal MIDI 1, and the output
port
to internal MIDI 2, the two virtual MIDI cables from LoopBe30. Then I
shut
down Sonar before the next step.
4. Opening Surface reader, I added a new surface as Mackie MCU Pro
with
the Mackie Control protocol. In the Hardware MIDI Setup, I set the input
to
MCU Pro USB v3.1 and output port to Internal MIDI 1. In the Display MIDI
Setup, I set the input port to Internal MIDI 2, and the output port to MCU
Pro USB v3.1.
5. Then, when restarting Sonar, there was no functionality with the
MCU
Pro, and later after rebooting the computer and first running surface
reader, I got the following Surface Reader error message. "MCU Pro USB
v3.1
could not be opened." Followed by still no function when running Sonar.
Even though Sonar and the MCU Pro initially worked together with the
seemingly same input and output port, MCU Pro USB v3.1, I wonder if this
is
somehow part of the problem in Surface Reader despite the care I took in
following their documentation. But, that is a very uneducated guess at
this point.
I hope someone here can point me in the right direction.
Best regards,
Fran Franks
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