DAW control surface that resembles a tape machine remote?

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Family Hoof
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DAW control surface that resembles a tape machine remote?

Post by Family Hoof » Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:56 pm

It should have only transport control, track arm buttons, and hopefully a counter, but nothing else. No faders. Does such a thing exist? Has it ever? According to my research thus far, absolutely not!

I love my DAW editing, not as a crutch but as a creative tool. I use it for compositional purposes and really can't work without it at this point. The problem is that I can no longer tolerate having to look at a screen all the time or be stuck utilizing a mouse to accomplish the simplest tasks (such as arming a track!!!). I would much rather track to a linear format with only the aforementioned controls to worry about... and solely for tactile reasons.

I'm hoping to build a new DAW setup by the end of the year where I'll always be monitoring and mixing through an analog console, treating the DAW strictly as a multitrack. The goal is only turn on the monitor and start using the mouse when I absolutely have to - when an edit needs to be done. Granted, I'll need a controller with transport control and track arm (aka record enable).

I've thought long and hard about getting a dedicated HD recorder, e.g. Tascam, Alesis, Radar, but I get too many projects that began in Logic or Pro Tools and I need to stay compatible. I know some would say "just track to a dedicated HD recorded, then dump and edit", but my work flow is incredibly quick and I feel like I need everything under my fingers all the time to stay in the creative zone. I'm just sick of having the virtual interface (no buttons!!!) stuck between my ideas and manifestation. By the time you're done clickng that mouse and navigating to the necessary function, the idea is fading. It's counter-productive! In any creative process you want the shortest and most intuitive path between your ideas and reality, and computer mouse is not it!

I guess if I get ambitious enough I will have to build said controller sometime in the next few years. In the meantime, does anyone have recommendations? Thanks!

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Post by chris harris » Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:03 pm

Frontier Tranzport. end of story.

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Post by Family Hoof » Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:13 pm

Definitely one of the better ones I found. Would be perfect except for the part about having one set of track arm controls and having to scroll through to each track. I'd rather have everything in front of me. Speed is key. But thanks very much for your suggestion!

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Post by chris harris » Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:30 pm

the problem with having dedicated track arm buttons for each track in a DAW session is that there will be different numbers of tracks depending on the session.

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Post by DJ RELAX » Mon Jul 24, 2006 12:38 am

Mackie HUI or Baby HUI, you can even turn the screen off and run your DAW.

edit: baby hui dosent have a counter or scribble strips so HUI or Mackie Control.

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Post by cvanwinkle » Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:54 am

http://www.adstech.com/products/RDX-120 ... id=RDX-120

Even though it doesn't say this on the site, it should be supported by Sonar 4.2.x as well.

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Post by tateeskew » Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:00 pm

i know this is an old thread, but i'm with hoof on this one. i'd love to have a controller almost identical to the RADAR controller, but for other DAW apps. something that could be on a roll around stand and feels good like a tape machine transport. it would also include the keyboard, so it wouldn't always be in the way like the LARC always was.

even something along the lines of a BRC with keyboard.

anyone designing something like this? i've seen the 2 million dollar euphonix deal, but that thing has faders on it and is too big before even talking about price.
Last edited by tateeskew on Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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stevedood
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Post by stevedood » Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:16 pm

Another option is to make your own controller...
There are plenty of generic MIDI input cards, some USB-types with terminal blocks (like the MidiTron) to which you could wire various switches/buttons, etc.
Using MAX/MSP in-between this device as a translator, you could remap the MIDI code to correlate with your DAW triggers. (The MIDITRON may not even need MAX/MSP as it has some software that comes with it)
It would be abit of work upfront for the hardware but totally worth it because you could custom-code your own control patches, add the hardwood endpanels, brushed aluminum plates, etc etc as you see fit.

Here are some places to get started...
http://www.cycling74.com/products/miditron
http://www.cycling74.com/products/eobody
http://www.cycling74.com/products/teleo
http://www.cycling74.com/products/kroonde

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Post by joel hamilton » Thu Nov 02, 2006 5:49 pm

subatomic pieces wrote:Frontier Tranzport. end of story.
Yep.

I love the thing.


The new one, with the fader on it looks amazing as well.

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TapeOpAndy
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Post by TapeOpAndy » Mon Nov 06, 2006 8:58 am

Program and label this sucker. Track arm, transport, whatever.

Or if you've got a DAW, you're gonna need a QWERTY keyboard, so get one of these bad-asses from Cherry with programmable, label-able (um, is that word?) keys. Make 'em track arms, transport, or whatever the heck you want them to be (assuming your DAW has a user-configurable interface or you've got a generic macro program that you can run on top of the DAW). I have one of these keyboards... review in upcoming Nov/Dec issue.

Or maybe what you need is a way to make iControl work for your DAW. Eight record arm buttons & encoders, transport buttons, etc.

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stevedood
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the monome

Post by stevedood » Mon Nov 06, 2006 9:19 am

the monome is a pretty insane device, there was one of those in the MAX/MSP class I took and I recall the prototype also had inertial sensors (i.e. lift, tilt, bump, or move the unit creates an analog control signal that you can also map control to)

Image

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Post by tateeskew » Mon Nov 06, 2006 9:20 am

Thanks, Andy.

I've also come across these. The one with the jog-wheel looks promising.

http://www.ymouse.com/xkeys.php

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Post by TapeOpAndy » Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:09 am

AWESOME! They're kinda expensive, but there's good variety in the line. And the one w/ the jog wheel is cool!!!

If you end up getting one, lemme know.

(I still like the Cherry QWERTY keyboard with the extra programmable keys on it better... with the X-keys products, you'll need a separate QWERTY keyboard to run your DAW.)

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Post by b3groover » Tue Nov 07, 2006 6:45 pm

formzero wrote:Thanks, Andy.

I've also come across these. The one with the jog-wheel looks promising.

http://www.ymouse.com/xkeys.php
Wow. This company is located about 20 minutes from me, in the town where my wife works! That's crazy!

I'm going to have to check these out. Pretty cool stuff!

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tateeskew
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Post by tateeskew » Tue Nov 07, 2006 6:56 pm

I think what I'm going to do, Andy, is to get the xkeys with the jog/shuttle and then buy a QWERTY keyboard with a built in trackball. The thing is, I can't decide if I want to get one with a large trackball like this

http://www.fentek-ind.com/trackball-keyboard.htm#kbtbl

or a mini keyboard with a smaller trackball so that the custom case I build for both will fit comfortably on a roll around stand. For instance, this one:

http://www.fentek-ind.com/wireless.htm#kbmwtb

i'm thinking a really nice wood casing built in the woodshop.

t
TapeOpAndy wrote:
AWESOME! They're kinda expensive, but there's good variety in the line. And the one w/ the jog wheel is cool!!!

If you end up getting one, lemme know.

(I still like the Cherry QWERTY keyboard with the extra programmable keys on it better... with the X-keys products, you'll need a separate QWERTY keyboard to run your DAW.)

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