Ableton Forum

Im looking into a cheap controller to coincide with my Axiom 25 (Mixing controls)

Im just a little confused with my research however... Im not sure about its automap system...

Anyway is the controller good?

anyone?

i like it, easy to use, knobs are nice. run a search on the forum, we've talked about it a bit in the last year or so. the automap system basically creates "new" versions of your plug ins, and the controls are laid across the knobs and buttons and pages. the default mappings will prolly suck, you can spend a bit of time, and customize them how you want. you can create midi maps for ableton, djsynchro created a userconfig file for the nocturn to show up in live, for native device control, and you can even control external synths with it... i dunno, depends on what you want to do, but it shines with a bit of user customization. not sure if it would fit your needs, you really didn't list any but if you are using the axiom for track levels and such, and would like a little more "hands on" for your plugs, nocturn should be high on your list.

my biggest gripe with it is it doesn't have a midi out and it relies strictly on the usb port for information.

So is it better with its auto map stuff or is it just as good midi mapped?

Can you still have pages midi mapped?

MetalCube wrote:So is it better with its auto map stuff or is it just as good midi mapped?

Can you still have pages midi mapped?

both, you mash the user button for midi maps, of which there are 16, and you can have like 16-27 pages of each 16 midi maps. to use the automap pages, you mash the fx or inst button, and all of the automap plugs you have loaded in your seq can be selected using the gui and hardware.

Its pretty goddamn sweet, and you'll be hard pressed to find ANYTHING else as powerful for that price. well worth it IMO

I'll sell you mine for $80 US. Automap is great if you can stand it. But I can't so I don't use it anymore.

I trashed the crossfader on mine really quickly, kinda on purpose, it is not meant to scratch with at all, just know that from the start, it has a stiff volume style fader, not a standard loose crossfader like you find on DJ mixers.

when I bought mine at guitar center I paid the extra $20 for the product insurance and replacement program, I am so glad I did, knowing I could get it replaced for a full year gave me the freedom to really put this thing through the ringer, it lasted about 4 months worth of everyday scratching and then the crossfader started jumping around when it was not being touched.

it's actually a really solid build overall as I've traveled with mine for a while now packing it in and out of my luggage over and over again, dropped it of the table a few times, everything still works fine (except the crossfader).

the best bang for your buck in the controller market hands down, just dont scratch on it.

Blip the Kid wrote:...Automap is great if you can stand it. But I can't so I don't use it anymore.

The problem is that Automap is still dumb. For a synth like Stylus RMX with boatloads of assignable parameters, Automap just assigns them sequentially but unintelligently to the next assignable rotary or button. This is absolutely worthless. Fair enough so if they haven't developed the technology to assign parameters logically then at least they should distribute tons of usable presets to their user base. Instead of leaving it up to the user to spend hours doing so. Mine's in the drawer, I'm not using it.

Anubis wrote:

Blip the Kid wrote:...Automap is great if you can stand it. But I can't so I don't use it anymore.

The problem is that Automap is still dumb. For a synth like Stylus RMX with boatloads of assignable parameters, Automap just assigns them sequentially but unintelligently to the next assignable rotary or button. This is absolutely worthless. Fair enough so if they haven't developed the technology to assign parameters logically then at least they should distribute tons of usable presets to their user base. Instead of leaving it up to the user to spend hours doing so. Mine's in the drawer, I'm not using it.

yeah but its pretty nice to be able to create your own controller map and save it it either for that particular project, rack, or for that plugin overall. Same with creating custom midi maps that make the controls behave however you want them to.

The automap thing isnt useful as an off the shelf automatic thing unless its a map included with the software. For other plugins its just going to assign them sequentially, which is useless. but to have the ability to clear out the controls, design you own that acts EXACTLY how you want it to (not just where but HOW it reacts), save it so it automatically comes up whenever you load that plugin again, and be able to seamlessly switch between all of your project's plugins AND 16 channels of MIDI maps all with a virtually unlimited number of pages of controls for each, is a beautiful fucking thing.

definitely dont scratch with that fader though

I dont plan to use it for scratching but more as a midi interface for mixing my tracks in ableton. So if I understand correctly I can set the controller with pages to several Ableton devices, effects, and knobs, for an overall stable set up?

Oh ya and is there any alternative controllers you can recommend?

bump?

the m audio x-session pro is the closest thing, but its standard midi only.