Ableton Forum

djshubs wrote:what sort of flaws does the Mackie Controller have.. I know that it doesn't have a direct USB connection and requires MIDI I/O. Other than that if you guys could point out a few?

Although I live in India, I study in the United States. So I am looking for a good place from where I can purchase my controller. I am willing to spend few extra bucks for quality and service.

My experience with the MCU has been limited to Reason so far, so I can't yet speak to how it is with Live--though I have been in sessions with Adam Jay while he was using it with Live, and that's what convinced me to snag one myself.

It was sweet, b/c when AJ needed to create a new track, the MCU just flowed with it, promptly reflected name changes in the LED scribble strip, change plugin parameters, etc. The amount of stuff it can control is extensive, and I dare say that if you get one, you will be pleased with your purchase.

mackie also doesn't have a live overlay yet, but someone in other thread on this said they're about to ship. i really like the mackie, but am a little skeptical of actually being able to work on it without using the computer screen, mostly b/c you can't use it to navigate in the browse window, unless i'm missing something (and if i am, pls let me know, because i'd love to be able to use it for that).

People tell me that the Mackie Controller is not MIDI Mappable? Is this true?
And even if its not MIDI Mappable is it better than its counterpart?

Get both! If you can afford an MCU you can afford the extra for a BCR as well. Use the Mackie for mixing and the BCR for vst control.