Mackie Control Universal Pro

Reviews | Mackie Control Universal Pro
94
O
ver time, everyone develops
their own way of using their
sequencer, and their own
way of fl itting between
different programs to create their
personal workfl ow. Even the boundaries
between ‘disciplines’ have become
blurred as Live allows DJs to mash-up
and perform intuitive edits on the fl y,
which can be recorded and edited later.
Had these been designed from the
ground up as hardware we’d have
become used to octopussing our way
round them. Sadly hardware controllers
have always played catch-up, so there’s
always a period of re-learning while you
work out whether or not a hardware
controller actually helps you.
For Pro Tools users who also use
Logic in their rig, the Mackie MCU has
always been a bit of a no-brainer. It was
always rock solid, and talked to other
software unlike the Command 8 or Pro
Control from Digidesign. The D-Control/
Command options from Digidesign
remain prohibitively expensive for all
but those money’s-no-object pro users.
And you can achieve a good level of
control with an MCU, and run your
monitoring with the equally good
Mackie Big Knob, and all for a tenth of
the price. But with Pro Tools, the MCU
was emulating Mackie’s HUI protocol
and not operating at its full capabilities.
In Logic Control mode however, a more
comprehensive set of controls meant
that this was a fi rst-choice controller for
Logic users who could also benefi t from
the C4 controller bank (available
separately for £869) too. The third
mode of operation – Mackie Control –
enabled free reign over almost all the
other popular DAW applications, which
makes us wonder: if it ain’t broke, why
are they fi xing it with this ‘Pro’ unit.
The new MCU, MCU Extender and
C4 updates now bear the suffi x ‘Pro’.
This always worries me a little –
traditionally, adding the word ‘Pro’ to a
product name is often wishful thinking
on the part of the manufacturer
(products used by professionals rarely
carry this label). What have
we been
using all this time? MCU Amateur?! But
WHAT IS IT?
An expandable, modular
hardware controller for
your DAWs, plug-ins and
even software control your
old MIDI gear too
CONTACT
Who: Mackie
Tel: Tech support only
Web: mackie.com
HIGHLIGHTS
1 Grown-up build and looks
2 USB hook-up and
extended MIDI ports
3 Bundled sequencer
Mackie Control
Universal Pro
| £999
Mackie’s DAW controllers update is more than just
cosmetic but will
Steve Evans let go of his mouse?
C4 Pro: The perfect partner
The C4 Pro features 32
continuous rotary
encoders with which to
control virtually anything.
It doesn’t have a USB
connection, but Mackie
say that one USB
connection for the MCU
Pro and then small MIDI
cables from the MCU to
C4 or MCU Extender Pros
is tidier, and means less
demand for USB sockets.
But what if you use the
C4 as a standalone?
Each pot has its own
LED scribble strip so you
can see what you’re
editing, but layout of the
parameters of complex
plug-ins or software
instruments is down to
the manufacturers.
Consequently you can’t
position the parameters in
exactly the positions you
might want, but several
banks of 32 parameters at
a time should make for
easy access.
Bundled with C4 Pro is
C4 Commander Pro,
which has an ever-
expanding library of MIDI
synths and effects
enabling hardware control
via the C4, and all from
your comfy spot in front
of the computer.
FMU194.rev_mackie 94 9/10/07 14:41:46