4 FIT Controller Mackie Control Mode Feature Requests

Request for features for Mackie control mode. I’m using the controller with Ableton and observed that the following would enhance usability:

  1. Always Show Channel Names. When picking VPOT ASSIGN->Send, the display removes all the channel names and shows only the send names. However, there is plenty of room on the screen to show both: the channel names on the top half of the screen, and the send names and level amount on the bottom half.

  2. Meters HUI supports meter levels. There is plenty of room on the screen to draw them. Just a line on the right hand side of each screen would work. So would horizontal.

  3. VPOT Assign default to Sends, not Pan Make the VPOT ASSIGN default to Sends mode rather than Pan. More often than not, people are going to be reaching for sends rather than the panner when going to VPOT SELECT. If you just change the default setting to go right to Sends mode, I would be surprised if there were complaints. After all, normally the knob is in panner mode. You don’t need to hit VPOT SELECT for that. Rather, when a user changes modes it’s probably because they want something else - like access to sends.

  4. MIDI CC assignment user mode for MCU There is currently no user mode for Mackie Control. The User key, in combination with some other key, enters User Mode. In User Mode, all the faders, channel select buttons, knobs, mutes, and solo can be mapped to MIDI CC, like any generic MIDI controller. Buttons 1-8 would select a MIDI channel, allowing the user to have 8 layers of controls. Then it could be used for detailed control of synths and plugins.

Thanks!

Waves,

Of the four features mentioned above, #2, level meters for Mackie Control/HUI modes, are the feature I could see being a deciding factor for purchase, for many people. That is because most other professional motorized fader controllers have visual level meters per channel since it’s supported by the protocol. Since there aren’t any press photos or videos of it running in MC/HUI mode, when I purchased the controller I was surprised to see that volume meters weren’t present on its lovely OLED displays in those modes.

It looks like Waves knows how useful meters are - it offers the feature when controlling an LV1, via an external display that visually lines up meters/channels. Using a DAW with MC mode doesn’t display level meters, and it takes extra moments to visually check which channels have and levels and which don’t, since the DAW screen and controller aren’t going to be lined up or necessarily even physically adjacent.

If you add visual level meter functionality to the OLED display I have no doubt that Fit will be one of the top products in this space. If not, I am guessing it’s going to be the most frequently mentioned things in reviews. I emailed MIDIPLUS and they told me that all feature additions would be decided by Waves, so I hope you will further collaborate to support level meters on the OLED screens in MC/HUI modes.

In any event, thanks for making this. I love the design/form factor.

Bump
Waves, are you considering this? It would make the Fit a lot stronger

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