UC33e compared to launch control?

[slatepipe]

hi

i've had a uc33e for a few years now but i've recently started thinking about getting rid of it as it would sometimes lose connection and wouldn't reconnect until i restart live. i've done plenty research on this (including posting here some time ago) and other people on various other forums and suchlike appear to have had the same problem. i love the uc33 and having this problem is ok when messing around at home but it just makes it too risky to play live.

i've tried loads of tips to deal with it - using mains power, different midi cables and usb cable, different usb slot, disabling power saving options on the usb port, etc etc

currently i'm working with a quneo which has never ever dropped out, it's excellent but i miss the real faders and knobs

so i've started looking for alternatives and the launch control is the one i've found so far that resembles the uc33e closest

what are people's experiences with it? is it reliable? has it ever dropped out connection? are the buttons just on/off or are they pressure sensitive too? (i guess just on/off)

i use a windows laptop btw

cheers

[S4racen]

LCXL is very cool.... Seems extremely stable in my usage of it...

Buttons are just on / of....

Cheers
D

[slatepipe]

LCXL is very cool.... Seems extremely stable in my usage of it...

Buttons are just on / of....

Cheers
D

cheers. i got my uc33e set up with 4 presets where preset 1 has the sliders controlling tracks 1-8, preset 2 controls tracks 9-16 etc. can you do the same with the LCXL? i would think yes

[S4racen]

Yes if you want to hard midi map them, it is a dynamic controller in factory mode so can bank around your set though....

If you want to extend the control then http://isotonikstudios.com/sigabort/launchcontrol-xxl/


Cheers
D

[Pitch Black]

Hi Andy, same as you I had to retire my UC-33 due to old age/reliability issues. I'm loving the LCXL, just using it with a manually-mapped single bank of seven busses + a dub channel.

I use the lower row of buttons as channel mutes (with LED feedback - yes!) and the upper row of buttons controls my dub delay time (set to repitch mode so I can do squeltchy-squeltchy). I've programmed a set CC value for each of the dub time select buttons, and consequently the whole row of these changes colour when I select one of the 8 dub time values, an unexpected visual feedback that I've found very handy.

Since I'm not using Control Surface mapping, I've mapped the up/down buttons as reset buttons for the Dub channel and the Mix volumes/sends respectively, and the Right button for "stop all clips" and the Left button for Transport stop/return to 1.1.1.
The four buttons down the right hand side I've mapped to select different variations of my FX sends (selecting different rack chains in my Return channels).

Perhaps only 2 things to be aware of: to change presets is a two-handed operation (you press and hold either the user or factory bank buttons top right, and then press one of the 8 lower buttons to select the presets - not quite as easy as the 4 quick-access preset buttons on the UC). And another quirk: receiving modwheel (CC1) into the LCXL works as a preset select!! ie low values of CC1 (value 0-15) received into the LCXL steps thru the presets. A weird, un-documented quirk! Could be useful, I guess????

I did miss the UC's master fader, but was able to dedicate one knob on another controller for this. The knobs, faders and buttons are sturdy, they've stood up well to a year of abuse so far. I was a bit worried about the center detents the knobs have, but they haven't been an issue to me for dub mixing - I breeze through them and forget they're there. I like the lower profile of the LCXL, it fits into my laptop case and I have a lot of fun busting out full dub mixes on headphones when I'm traveling.

You could download the LCXL Editor software and check out the program-ability/features if you like, it doesn't need the LCXL plugged in to run.
https://global.novationmusic.com/suppor ... -xl-editor

[hacktheplanet]

The LCXL is good and cool. Very flexible with the editor. All the knobs have a center detent, which can be handy. For under $150, it's a solid purchase.

One thing I'd love to do is figure out how to directly modify the firmware. There must be a way. Then you could do some really interesting stuff, like multi-stage pots.... I suspect it would just be a matter of sniffing the USB communication between the computer and the controller.

[stuartm]

I've had a UC-33 some years ago.
I'd say the build quality on the LCXL is better, it's slim and sleek. Feels actually very good to work on.

Compared to the UC-33:
USB only - not a problem if your using it as Live controller only
Center detent of the pots - annoyed me a bit in the beginning as I don't need it, but it's ok after a while.

Rather than hacking the firmware, I've started to write my own "Controller Surface" using M4L, having a lot of fun because of all the visual feedback you get via the LEDs.
(Nerd note: you can access the pot LEDs only via SysEx, I'm using ClyphX and its Macrobat MIDI rack for that, work fine).

[slatepipe]

hey hey thanks for all the info fellers. yeah i guess i'll be selling the uc33e pretty soon and upgrading to the LCXL. it's been a really good controller but having the slight risk of it dropping out playing live means that i've decided to move on from it. i figure the LCXL will go pretty good for some of my sets where i'm using the quneo and joysticks and suchlike. and i like the idea of combining the control surface presets with my own presets with MFL as well. i'm not that fussed about having all those knobs to control track pans and i can already pan tracks using MFL and one slider on the quneo, so it'll be good to use those knobs for my own bits and pieces

cheers