Digidesign Control 24 - Experience?

[McPorkChoppy]

Has anyone had any experience with the Digidesign Control 24 at all?
Here's the spec page:
http://www.digidesign.com/products/control/control24/
Since i'm switching to pro tools soon (non-hd. For home use) it seemed like a good thing to have.
One other question was, I would guess that it requires an interface such as the 002R, or something correct? And does it send Focusrite Pre's from the Control to the 002R via Optical?
Any opinions or knowledge of this would help me out.
Oh yeah, one more thing, can you Use sessions created with Pro Tools HD, on a LE system? Say you mix down to under 32 tracks, would it be compatible?
Anything would be appreciated, Thanks.
Daniel

[Spark]

Im pretty sure the pre section is all analog. Otherwise its a decent control surface, not perfect but definetly kinda fun.

[MechaGodzilla]

I've worked on a few control 24's, and I like 'em a lot. Easy to work with, way cheaper than a pro control, and a totally good bang-for-your-buck. But it might be overkill for a home rig.

Do they even work with LE? I've never looked into it; One place I've used had a Mix 24 setup, and the other one HD. But I doubt it'll work with LE; That seems a little too compatible for Digidesign.

Anyway, the Control24 connects with an ethernet cable, and the mic pre's just have XLR ins and analog D-SUB outs, so you'd have to find some other converter to get all 16 into the 002. The pre's aren't much to talk about, though, but they work. They're probably the same thing that's in the 002's.

You might be better off just getting some other surface, like that Tascam one, or a Mackie HUI.

[McPorkChoppy]

Do they even work with LE? I've never looked into it; One place I've used had a Mix 24 setup, and the other one HD. But I doubt it'll work with LE; That seems a little too compatible for Digidesign.

Anyway, the Control24 connects with an ethernet cable, and the mic pre's just have XLR ins and analog D-SUB outs, so you'd have to find some other converter to get all 16 into the 002. The pre's aren't much to talk about, though, but they work. They're probably the same thing that's in the 002's.

You might be better off just getting some other surface, like that Tascam one, or a Mackie HUI.

Yeah, it says they're compatible with LE based systems.
What do you suggest for routing the 16 in's to the DAW? The Digidesign 002 only has 1 Optical in, (assuming the control 24 has optical out)..Reason why I bring up optical so much, is because i've got a motu 896HD now, and i can run 8 more channels into it from other pre's, coming out to 16 total through firewire.What would be the best way to run the Control 24 into a DAW?
Thanks for the advice too, I'm looking at the tascam, mackie, control surfaces too.

[sthslvrcnfsn]

check out "vegas mode" as it was reffered to in front of me. it's a test to see if any LEDs are out, but Digi had fun with it (or isn't it Focusrite that makes it?).

jim!

[McPorkChoppy]

check out "vegas mode" as it was reffered to in front of me. it's a test to see if any LEDs are out, but Digi had fun with it (or isn't it Focusrite that makes it?).

jim!

I've been reading about Vegas Mode, and I can't seem to figure out what it is exactly, could you explain it more?

[sthslvrcnfsn]

the damn console lights up like the vegas strip. it's supposed to be a check for any blown LEDs (without waiting until you need to see a certain LED and it's not there). it's lights everything up in these crazy patterns. not sure how to activate it or anything, but it's aweful cool.

jim!

[JGriffin]

VEGAS: Hit the "Utility" button, then your options will show up on the scribble strips: select the "Test" button, then "LED" then "Vegas."

I've used a C|24 since about '01. I like it a bunch. I use mine with an HD system (and before that, a Mix3 thingy), but I'm told by Sweetwater and digi that you could use it with an LE system if you wanted. Kinda overkill to use a $7500 controller for $1000 software, but horses for courses.

I don't think the C|24 has opto outs, you have to take the D-subs into some sort of analog-opto converter if you want to feed those extra 8 into a 002. Either way you need an I/O interface, whether it's a 002, HD, used 888, whatever.

Overall, it's a very powerful controller. Faders are nicely responsive, it's great to be able to bring just about any parameter to a knob right in front of you. I wish the panpot softknobs were touch-sensitive, but that's a minor quibble. You can assign most functions you'd want to automate to the faders. The scribble strips could have more characters. The navigation tools are great. I can work really quickly, faster than I can just mousing around.

And the pres are a step or three up from Mackies (which is what I had before), and there's a lot of them for the price, considering the rest of the stuff this console does. There's also a nice 16-channel (8 stereo pairs) submixer that's very useful.

re: HD systems on LE: Protools will make the extra tracks (above 32) inactive. If you have 32 tracks or less, the session will open up fine...although plugins become an issue, if you are using any TDM-only plugs or plugs you only have on one system, for example.

[Recycled_Brains]

we have one here at school. it's fun. once i got comfortable navigating the sea of buttons and more keyed into its capabilities, i found it made many aspects of my sessions much easier.

i found it particularly useful when working with multiple (2) engineers. rather than having to play musical chairs in front of the computer screen to visually express ideas. plus i tend to like to move around a bit in the control room.

i found that it really cut down on the tiredness factor as well. staring into a computer screen for any prolonged period of time would begin to wear on me after a while. having a C24 certainly cuts down on that.

also, there's something about the tactile feel of adjusting faders outside the DAW that is so much more satisfying than moving a mouse around the screen, and i've found that the musicians enjoyed being able to reach over and turn something up if they fealt the need or desire to do so, which is cool.

i think for a small home set up, it is a bit much, but i would like to own one someday.

[McPorkChoppy]

Thanks dwlb, and Brains, you guys answered a lot of my questions dead on. That's what I was wondering if it would be a bit much for home use. So I started looking into the Tascam us-2400, at 1/8 the price of the C|24, it seems to be a good solution for my 'mixing with a mouse' problem. My hands get extremely cramped. I don't have pro tools yet, but I think it would drastically improve my mixing in Cubase SX3.

[JGriffin]

Thanks dwlb, and Brains, you guys answered a lot of my questions dead on. That's what I was wondering if it would be a bit much for home use. So I started looking into the Tascam us-2400, at 1/8 the price of the C|24, it seems to be a good solution for my 'mixing with a mouse' problem. My hands get extremely cramped. I don't have pro tools yet, but I think it would drastically improve my mixing in Cubase SX3.

Glad I could help. FWIW, the Command8 interface also looks pretty good (tho it's PT only, but then so is C|24)--more solidly built than the 002 board and laid out a little better.

[Recycled_Brains]

Thanks dwlb, and Brains, you guys answered a lot of my questions dead on. That's what I was wondering if it would be a bit much for home use. So I started looking into the Tascam us-2400, at 1/8 the price of the C|24, it seems to be a good solution for my 'mixing with a mouse' problem. My hands get extremely cramped. I don't have pro tools yet, but I think it would drastically improve my mixing in Cubase SX3.

Glad I could help. FWIW, the Command8 interface also looks pretty good (tho it's PT only, but then so is C|24)--more solidly built than the 002 board and laid out a little better.

i was just going to post that.