My choice is an XR18. It works well with Cantabile, allowing me to open/close the stage talk mic between tunes, for example, and multi-track record the gig.
I sometimes miss physical controls (even though I have the X-Touch, if I could be bothered to use it), but as far as compromises go this is a good one.
the XR18 can be controlled directly by CC commands (CC0-31 on Ch 1-3). This way Volumes, Mutes and PAN for Input-, Output-, Aux- and FX can be controlled continuously.
So, think of a rack with bindings inside that can be controlled from whatever you intend (song load, media player markers, external faders,…).
If settings for EQs are static you’d not even need scenes. Otherwise you also can combine scenes with CCs for more flexibility ( f.e. one scene / song & a multitude of changes on volumes & PANs during the song). This also would have the advantage that most of the content is stored inside Cantabile ( more of a total recall approach).
Please take into account that scenes will always stick to the stored volume and PAN levels. This means: if you want to combine EQ levels from scenes with fader volumes you will be forced to first call the scene and then substitute volume levels and PANs by CCs out of the mentioned rack. This may work very well at the beginning of a song (everything quite) but may introduce massive glitches in between.
Dunno if this is easy but should be manageable if you use a well organized rack. I‘d strongly recommend to contact @dave_dore concerning complex rack implementation: he‘s teriffic at that and will surly be happy to support you.
Wot 'e said. I don’t use snapshots in the XR18 (other than as a ‘clean’ starting point), but program everything via bindings in Cantabile. I find this not only more flexible, but it keeps everything in one place.
I don’t know if the delay can be synced. Personally that’s not something I’d even consider. I would try it for you, but my live rig is still all packed away, awaiting the first post-lockdown gig.
In the meantime it may be worth you downloading the XR18 manual and see what it says in there on the subject.
I’m not sure exactly how you plan to use it, but I used scenes extensively a few years ago on my PreSonus studio live 1602. One thing to think about is what will happen if something changes down the road, for example the lead vocalist gets a new mic. That forced me to adjust the mic EQ and level on every single scene. Then the bass player got a new bass, same exercise.
On the other hand, all the individual CC commands to change the effects didn’t need to be changed.
After that, I went to a single scene approach for all songs but I kept the effects commands. It takes a little more work in getting everyone’s levels on each song set properly, but it was worth it in the long run.
I’m also in the process of routing the vocals into c3. My quantum 2626 interface has 8 ins and outs, so I’m using one of the aux sends on the mixer to go into one input on the interface, then using c3 to handle all the effects, with physical button bindings or media file position as the triggers. I’m still fiddling with the CC commands to adjust the aux levels for different songs but so far I’m pretty confident this approach should work well.
I’ve taken this approach before. I wanted to set all vocals with processing and changes in songs. Also wanted to process drums, bass…and so on. All that with C3 instruments and fx will bog down your system. I would be very careful in using it that way. @Torsten discussed this with me awhile back, and he was right not to throw everything into C3. It’s like playing with fire, and could really destroy a live performance. Just my 2 cents.
Thanks Corky… True, I’m concerned about that as well. I haven’t gotten to testing the max load yet but so far it’s doing just fine. I got a rack PC a little over a year ago and it’s pretty beefy. For now I just want eq, reverb, and delay, and that seems to be okay for the handful of songs I’ve tried it on.
What I really need to do is break out my backup laptop which is not nearly as fast, and test on that first. Just have to find the time!
Thanks,
Tom
