Icon Qcon Midi Mapping
A few weeks back, before we had this shiny new forum, asking if anyone could tell me how well an Icon QCon Pro X control surface would work with CbB. I got a good number of helpful responses, some of which recommended the Behringer XTouch. Someone also mentioned the Icon QCon Pro G2, which unlike the Pro X, officially supports CbB (though they still call it Sonar on the Icon website).Long story short, I ended up getting a G2, and wanted to post back on how well it's been working, as no one in the previous discussion had tried one.And. It works very well! It even allows navigation into the FX bins to any plug-in, which I call out specifically because I think I remember reading that there was a point in the recent past where one could not navigate past the first plug-in with the MCU and/or XTouch. In fact, the G2 has so far successfully controlled every parameter of every plug-in I’ve tried it with (about 6 or 7 plugs so far).As I've never used an MCU or an XTouch (or any dedicated surface), and the G2 didn’t come with any DAW-specific documentation (and I couldn’t find any online for using it with CbB), I had to go through the MCU.chm help file (found in the same directory as the Mackie Control DLL) to figure out how to use everything.
DAW Controllers. The QCon Pro is a USB-MIDI control surface designed to control most DAW software with tactile inputs rather than a keyboard and mouse. The QCon Pro has 8 touch-sensitive motorized faders, a full illuminated LCD scribble strip for track names and parameter values, a full LED time display in both bars/beats and SMPTE time, and a whole array of customization and mapping options. The Icon QCon Pro is a USB-MIDI Controller station with 8 touch-sensitive motorized faders. It has 8 encoder knobs, a cool backlit LCD display for channel name, control values etc, a jog wheel for fast search, and illuminated buttons for each channel - Play, Stop, Rec. I've submitted the MIDI map for the Qcon Pro X in Studio One mode to Harrison, perhaps they will include the Qcon Pro X map in a future release, and will no longer need to use the MIDI translator. Mixbus 32C v5 - MX Linux 18.2 - Dell 3847 i7-4790 16GB RAM - Motu 8pre-ES - Icon Qcon Pro X and XS.
This was difficult because the G2 has different button names as well as a few differences in available buttons as compared to the MCU. These differences meant that, in some cases, I was reduced to just stabbing random buttons to see if I could get the G2 to do something described in the help file.But I’ve now gone through the whole help file and tried 99% of the functionality described therein. The G2 can do just about everything the original MCU can do.
I found only a handful of functions referenced in the help that either don’t work on the G2 or work slightly differently, though some of that may be due to me not finding the right button combo, bugs in CbB or the Mackie Control DLL, or to changes in CbB since the help file was written (examples of that last category are: the duplicate track function opens the Duplicate dialog instead of directly duplicating a track and one of the hide track functions opens the Track Manager). Really, though, all the discrepancies I found were quite minor IMO.Anyway, because it took so long to figure out the G2’s functionality, I decided to make a spreadsheet that includes most the functions I tested (I left most of the really obvious ones out, and didn’t bother mussing much with entering digits into text fields because that’s what keyboards are for) and the G2 button combos required to execute them, as well as a list of the functions that didn’t work. I'm going to post it here in case it may help someone with a new G2 (or in case anyone is curious).Before I do that – and keeping in mind that I’ve never used an MCU – here are the biggest downsides of the G2 as compared to the MCU (and I think the XTouch would not suffer from these, but this is based only on viewing photos of it).There is no 2-character 'Assignment' display. On the MCU (and, from pictures, on the XTouch as well), this tells you what state the device is in. However, this isn’t that big a deal, as the G2 indicates some of the info that would otherwise be displayed on the Assignment display in other ways (e.g. Via lighted buttons or by what’s displayed on the scribble strip). Still, there are a few states that are maybe not obvious, which can lead you to think you're in a state that you're not.
Icon Platform Nano
But I've not been much hampered by this.Back on the MCU (and, I assume, on the XTouch) one could easily switch with a single button whether the channel/bank change buttons would change the track/bus assignments or instead change the parameters assigned to the encoders (or, if working in the FX bin, the plug-in whose parameters are available for assignment). Further, I think which of those states you were in was clearly indicated by the Assignment display or by an LED or button backlight. On the G2, though, you must be in a toggled shift mode (Layer 2) and then hit a completely non-obvious button to toggle between these two sets of channel/bank change button functionality.
The button differences aren't the problem, though - the real issue comes from the fact that there is zero indication of which mode you’re in until you try to change the channel assignments, only to have the parameter assignments change instead, or vice versa. Wow, thank you so much for this, I was pulling my hair out trying to get this unit to work, thanks to you I'm on the right track.I got rid of my x-touch for a g2, mainly for the LCD screen, the Icon is working out much better for me, I'm thinking of getting an extender.I have one question though, do you have issues with the pan knobs remembering their position? (not a deal breaker)I'm glad you found the spreadsheet helpful! Also, thanks for confirming the scribble strips are tough to read on the XTouch - I almost didn't mention that in my post, as I felt some trepidation about casting shade on something I had no personal experience with.I don't think I've noticed an issue with the Pan knobs, but, to be clear, are you asking if the value of the pan changes even if you don't turn the knob?
Does this happen all by itself, or do you only notice it after using other controls on the G2? E.g., do you have to, say, change track banks, and then come back to the original track, at which point the pan value has changed? Have you seen this with other parameter types assigned to the encoders, or just Pan?Or are you talking about the LED indicators that surround each pan knob? (If so, make sure you open the Mackie Control config dialog in Cakewalk and set the 'Meters' box to 'Signal LEDs + Meters'.The only wonky thing I've seen - and in only one project - was some solo button problems: if I hit a solo button when the G2 is assigned to certain tracks, sometimes the wrong track solos, and sometimes two tracks solo.
Most of the tracks were fine - it was only on a few. This project has a lot of tracks, and track folders, so don't know if that's it, but I've not been able to recreate in other projects. Have you seen this? You're welcome.No, I don't think I've seen what you describe with actual Pan values being changed.
Whether you are tracking or mixing, the QCon Pro G2 provides intuitive tactile control over your session. Set your levels, fine tune your EQs and effects, record automation, punch in and punch out of recordings, all at the tip of your fingers. The QCon Pro G2 sports nine motorized faders, eight multi-purpose push encoders, 78 buttons, jog shuttle wheel, and 2 foot pedal connectors. 12-segment LED level meters are provided for each channel, and a large backlit LCD screen displays channel names and parameter values. A 12-segment LED display is also provided for SMPTE or MIDI beat clock.The Icon Pro Audio QCon Pro G2 utilizes Mackie Control and HUI emulation to control your favorite digital audio workstation and includes overlays for most popular DAWs including Cubase/Nuendo, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, ProTools, Studio One, Digital Performer, FL Studio, Samplitude, Reaper, Bitwig, Reason, Sonar, and Audition.
A User Defined mode is also included to create custom presets and midi mapping.The QCon Pro G2 is class-compliant with Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7/8/10, and Mac OS X and features a high speed USB 2.0 connection. The QCon Pro G2 is expandable to up to 32 channels using three Qcon EX G2 extenders. 8 touch-sensitive motorized channel faders.
12-segment LED level metering for channels. 1 touch-sensitive motorized fader for master channel. 8 x dual function encoder knobs (Enter & rotate). 11-segment LED surrounding the encoders to indicate the rotating position. Large backlit LCD to display channel name, control values etc.