The Traktor Kontrol X1 is an exercise in minimalism, reducing the various uses of Traktor to a few encoders and buttons and a compact form factor. But while it supports MIDI for use with any DJ software, its “high-resolution” mode – as with Maschine before it – uses a proprietary protocol. The unit will sell for US$229 when it ships in February of next year.

The control arrangement of the Kontrol X1 fits a selection of essential parameters into its narrow form factor. The controls are divided in right and left into the two decks, with four sets of effects controls each. There are dedicated controls for browsing through tracks, and cueing and tempo controls. The case can be used either horizontally or vertically.

The strategy appears to be to focus on controlling loops and effects, while those who want to work with digital vinyl can view this as a consolidated mixer / browser interface.

There are some nice extras, too. The box itself comes with Traktor LE, meaning someone can get started with digital DJing for about two hundred bucks. And for another $49, you can add a custom stand and case – details too often left out of controllers.

We saw this controller in September, in use in Richie Hawtin’s set. On NI’s promotional site, Richie has something interesting to say about Traktor, which is that it isn’t necessarily getting used by everyone in the same way:

You can put ten people on a stage with Traktor, and each one of them will have a different way to be creative and bring out their personality through it.

My sense is that this hardware will be well-received, because it is focused on some clear functions, it’s compact, it’s cheap, and it can be used in different ways by different people. Those trends have proved successful in controllers of late. On the other hand, it seems that a generation of hardware controllers that could have employed an open, standard, high-resolution control protocol are doing anything but. Ableton has locked certain software features to certain controllers, and in its controllers uses only MIDI. NI uses higher-resolution data, but has not continued to actively develop OSC. That could mean that, while open-source and visual software continues to progress, we may have to wait years before commercial music software comes to support any standard for this kind of communication using anything other than low-resolution MIDI. The big question may be, is there any incentive to commercial makers to do otherwise?

www.native-instruments.com/traktorkontrolx1.info

The “space bassoon” Eigenharp seems to have landed from another planet. Today, I’ve got good news: it’s bringing alien gifts with it. By next year, both the software and the high-performance protocol the instrument uses will be open source. Taken together with other advancements in the open source community and with protocols like OSC, that could mean we’re at the vanguard of a golden age for more open, more intelligent, more expressive digital instruments.

Genuinely new music controllers made available commercially don’t come along very often. So this week’s news of a strange but wonderful-looking instrument shaped like a bassoon with customizable key controls turned many heads. With high-resolution, high-frequency data and reliance on the computer for everything from sound generation to mapping the keys to different tunings, the computer connection matters. Eigenharp’s chairman, John Lambert, sets the record straight for CDM on the software, the way it talks to your computer and other gear, and how open the tools and protocol will be.

I’ll be talking more with John next week, but I want to bring you this news now. Part of blogging means that you don’t hold back – you share that first reaction and then learn more. I’m pleased to say I was dead wrong on the Eigenharp. What looked on the spec sheet like MIDI-only communication and proprietary software turns out to be just the opposite. Sometimes, being wrong is great. Here are all the details:

What protocol do the instruments use?

The instruments talk to their base station by a dedicated, high speed, differential, transformer-coupled, error-correcting digital protocol designed (and tested) for use in noisy stage environments by ourselves. The wire used is a 4 core, standard star quad mic cable and can be up to 40M long. The base station then talks to the control software running on the host PC (Mac at the moment) via a dedicated protocol over USB2. In the host system, the native protocol used between agents (our software components) is a network protocol called Eigentalk. This can run over Ethernet wires (with slightly increased latencies due to some smart jitter buffering we do). We will be making this public and freely available (when we open-source our main software) in Febuary next year. There is an open API, to be published at the same time, for our equivalent of AU’s or VST’s, hosted in our software, EigenD. This is rather richer than the AU and VST API’s, for reasons connected with the expressiveness and configure-ability (is that a word?) of our system. A couple of interesting AU vendors are looking at producing native EigenD instruments at the moment, and I think there will be many more in time. We try to avoid MIDI wherever possible as it has so many serious performance limitations.

Had you considered OSC?

We did have a look at OSC but there are a bunch of things that our protocol does that OSC didn’t (not least of which, for example, is clock syncronisation for jitter removal, utterly vital over ethernet for live performance) so we decided to grow our own and release it. Absolutely no reason whatsoever that we can’t interoperate fuly with it though, I suspect that an OSC EigenD Agent will probably come quite soon after the open source release.

Ed.: Actually, with OSC (OpenSoundControl) moving increasingly toward broader input and assimilating other standards, I can easily imagine that a future implementation of OSC could begin to implement these features. More on both protocols in the coming months. -PK

Is it possible to use this as a controller for MIDI hardware? MIDI software?

Yes, EigenD has in and out MIDI gateway programs. The incoming [MIDI] is mainly used for pedalboards at the moment (to control scale, key, tempo, etc.), although there is no reason you couldn’t use a midi keyboard to play notes. We’re using the MIDI out to do a wide variety of things, including playing MIDI sound modules, and controlling video DJ software and lighting systems. There is a huge reduction in effective bandwidth when ‘downsampling’ to MIDI, but for a lot of things it still works very well. And of course, the AU and VST standards (which we fully support) are a kind of MIDI interface.

Is it possible to access its native protocol for custom software / Max-Pd patches and the like?

Well, we’re open sourcing the whole thing early next year, and I think there’ll be a lot of work done to glue all sorts of external stuff in then. Max/MSP has attracted a lot of interest in this area. The whole of EigenD is kind of built for this really. We’re an Open Source company: my main personal desktop is Linux and I have a strong personal commitment to open standards. I offer a number of ‘programming bounties’ for Linux improvements on my personal website at http://johnhenrylambert.com.

Tell us more about open-sourcing the software. What tools did you use to build the software.

It’s written in a mixture of C++ and Python. It’s quite scary code, but very clean and pretty, with little ‘cruft’. I think the open source community are going to have fun with it. Its a big system too, 8 years of R&D in one huge release. I don’t think that there’s been anything quite like this open sourced before in the music world – it is a bit as if Logic or Ableton were GPL’d tomorrow.

Thanks, John! Stay tuned for more details, and let me know if you have specific questions for the creators.

A monome-like grid controller built for Live, shipping in November for $199 – and I’ve got a first hands-on look with the hardware.

The feature that makes Ableton Live Ableton Live has always been its Session View, an array of Lego-like blocks of music triggering samples and patterns. In the grand tradition of the MPC, mapping hardware controls that make music non-linear has been a major theme of computer music, leading to the monome and the Tenori-On. Usually, consumer gear has only combined these with traditional drum pads, knobs, or faders.

Enter the Novation Launchpad. It’s $199. It’s a grid controller and nothing else, with a set of on/off buttons in an 8×8 array, plus additional shortcut buttons around the sides for switching modes. It’s set up out of the box to integrate with Ableton Live, but it also acts as a generic MIDI controller. It’s bus powered, really lightweight, and compact. Even following Akai’s earlier APC40 this year, there’s something special about the Launchpad: its radical simplicity, and the fact that it is this compact and cheap and plugs in via USB without power, makes this a potential no-brainer for any Live user with a laptop.

I’ve just gotten one of the first Launchpads to arrive (unit “#16″ on the back), so I’ve been playing around with it and can provide some initial impressions and details. I’ve also gotten input from Ableton’s Dave Hill as well as Novation, and I expect to fill in more soon.

monoming the sincerest form of flattery? Of course, one design more than any other championed the radical idea of a minimal grid of buttons — and nothing else. That design statement was the partially open-source, fully-homegrown monome. I’m sure as a result Novation will be accused of ripping off the monome design. I think the opposite: I think the availability of the Launchpad is a huge victory for monome, and an enormous compliment. More than any other design – including the APC40 – the Launchpad really says that an affordable, mass-market device can take on the monome’s radical form. It says grids could become ubiquitous. It’s an enormous validation of what the monome project has done. Furthermore, I think the monome community can continue to reinvent what to do with grids, with software and interaction. There are also many things the monome is – locally produced, sustainably produced, running with open source software, fully community-supported, available in kit form, working with OpenSoundControl, built in a premium form factor – that the Launchpad is not.

[edited for clarification] I think the Launchpad is unlikely to dissuade a person who wants a monome from getting a monome. But what’s significant here is that the design of musical instruments and controllers can adopt new forms. The monome was seen as radical when introduced. It seemed as though the music tech industry wouldn’t produce anything without slapping on some arbitrary knobs somewhere. The Launchpad really does follow the monome’s design cue, and maps control in Live in some new ways. That gives me hope that other designs could likewise tread in new direction, both from independent and larger designers.

Onto the details… The big picture aside, here’s a first look at how the operation of the Launchpad works. I’ll have a short video a little later on today.

Control Modes

The Launchpad has a series of modes that act allow the single 8×8 grid to perform multiple duties. Different modes and shortcuts bring up different visual feedback (by lighting up the buttons) and allow you to control different parameters.

Session mode

In Session mode, the Launchpad does exactly what Akai’s APC40 does. You can trigger clips and view clip state (playing, recording, ready, empty) by color (green, red, amber, and off). You can trigger scenes. You also get the red rectangle that highlights which bank of clips is active.

Unlike the APC40, though, the Launchpad is cheaper, smaller, thinner, lighter, and bus-powered. You can pick it up like a tablet, or squeeze it into a small club space. You can also easily chain multiple Launchpads together (or Launchpads and APC40s), so long as you have enough ports or a USB hub.

Multiple units can simultaneously access integrated control surface functions and clip triggering in Session View. So, for instance, you could have two Launchpads controlling clips, or one controlling the mixer and one controlling clips, or… you get the idea.

Mixer mode + parameter pages

Hit “mixer,” and you see an overview of all your tracks, eight at a time. (You can navigate through your set using the “page” buttons.)

Each row has a different function:

• Volume
• Pan
• Sends A + B
• Stop clips
• Track on
• Solo
• Arm

The “stop” row allows you to either stop an individual track or stop all clips by hitting the “stop” button itself on the right. Solo, arm, and track enable are self-explanatory.

Where things get a bit cooler is if you press the “snd A,” “snd B,” “pan,” and “vol” controls. These allow you to use each column to set parameters. So, for instance, if you want to adjust the send level on your second track, you’d hit “mixer,” then “snd A,” then use the second column to adjust the send up or down. You can fake a “fade” by dragging your finger up or down the column. Now, this doesn’t give you the continuous control a knob or fader would; there’s no interpolation between values. On the other hand, if you’re trying to create stepped, rhythmic changes, that could make the Launchpad (or any grid controller, including the monome) more interesting.

User mode

“User modes” provide open access to the pads for use as MIDI inputs. By default, “user 1″ sends MIDI note messages, and “user 2″ sends control change values.

In the video, you’ll see these modes used for some crazy things, like programming in a sequence and having it continue to light up as you add other layers. In my test – keeping in mind launch date is still over a month away – I couldn’t replicate any of these behaviors. Some of this interaction may require the upcoming Max for Live; I’m awaiting confirmation on details.

In the meantime, you can at least use the Launchpad as a MIDI input in Live or any other software.

Use with other software

Every single button on the Launchpad sends MIDI; I opened a MIDI Monitor session on my MacBook while testing it. There’s not a single menu key that doesn’t send a message. Also interesting: each sends both an on and an off value, which makes it more useful as a button.

It should also be possible, as with the APC40, to use MIDI to light up the Launchpad, complete with color and limited dim levels. I’m assuming the mappings may even be identical to the APC40. I don’t know yet how to do this, however.

Another big selling point for Novation, of course, is Automap support. Along the top, there are alternative labels for the buttons: learn, view, page, instrument, fx, user, and mixer. These will work with Automap and Automap Pro, in case you want to use another host or map to third-party instruments and effects. I didn’t get a chance to test this functionality yet, however.

Physical form factor

The Launchpad feels really good. It’s thin, it’s light, it’s easy to toss in a backpack (as I did today), and yet the plastic case feels very solid. The pads feel good, though I find the throw a little long, making them rock slightly if you don’t hit them dead-center. Angled pads indicate the center, and four pads around them have slight nubs on the surface for additional tactile feedback.

Rubber strips underneath the unit help grip surfaces.

One possibly unfortunate decision was to put the USB port on the side rather than the top, which means you can’t easily put two Launchpads side by side.

Software

The Launchpad ships with a copy of Ableton Live Launchpad edition (aka Live Lite), version 8.0.6. On both my Mac and Windows boxes, I simply installed that version and it automatically found my full Live license. I expect that the 8.0.6 build will get pushed to everyone else in time for launch.

You select the Launchpad as other control surfaces, by looking for “Launchpad” in the Control Surface menu. This presumably means that, like the APC40, a software handshake is used to enable the red clip selection box. I’d still like to see a universal solution from Ableton, one resizable to other controllers. Why not plug in a 4×4 drum pad and bank through clips in a 4×4 rectangle instead of an 8×8 one? The red rectangle is also limited in that it’s tough to see which tracks are selected. (It’s also kind of tough to see, period.) That’s really become an Ableton complaint, though. I’m sure we’ll be working on Max for Live and Live API solutions for heads-up displays that replace all of this soon.

Questions and Initial Impressions

I like the Launchpad a whole lot. Sure, it doesn’t have knobs or faders – but you could throw the Launchpad into your backpack alongside a KORG nanoKONTROL, using the Korg for your fader and knob tasks while the Launchpad launches clips, triggers drum pads, and gets used for live sequencing and playing instruments.

I am a little disappointed that there doesn’t seem to be a way to control Devices. I’d like to be able to take the User Mode and use my eight columns to control the eight macro knobs on any active Device. Sure, you only get 8 values of resolution, but you could set up a Device so that those eight values were musically interesting. I’m investigating whether this is possible; if not, I may look into hacking a solution.

I still think there’s a big place for open tools. The Launchpad is already touting forthcoming use with Max for Live, but that’s only because it sends MIDI messages – and anything else that can send MIDI (or OSC, via work from the Live community to use it) will do the same. I think those of us working on open interaction, though, can find ways of building stuff that works in open tools and closed tools (Java, Pd, and the like are open, Max is not), and open and closed hardware (monome, Livid’s Ohm on the open side, things like the cheap-and-light Launchpad on the proprietary side). Having lots of grids could be a good thing. If everyone has the same thing, the pressure is on to make your performance different from everyone else’s.

But the bottom line is, I think this is going to be a huge hit with the Live user base. And even more than the APC40, I think it’s cheap, an easy impulse-buy, extremely compact, and complements other hardware. It also looks like it’ll be a terrific live visual controller for people who moonlight between music and visual sets.

Since I do have this Launchpad here well over a month prior to launch, and some folks at Ableton and Novation ready to share, if you’ve got questions or concerns, please don’t be shy.

Windows matters. It’s what roughly half of CDM readers use, and – for all the attention Apple gets – it’s a big part of the computer music world. Windows today also faces many of the same under-the-hood challenges that other operating systems do, so even if you’re a die-hard Linux or Mac user, you may want to pay attention.  You don’t need to love Windows, and you certainly won’t be hosting a Windows 7 launch party. You want to know if the OS will get out of your way and let you get to work.

Windows Vista proved what happens when an operating system’s many interconnected pieces are out of alignment. Even a graphics driver out of sync with underlying changes in the OS could render audio unusable, because just one missed sample can produce an audible glitch or dropout. Part of why I’m optimistic about Windows 7 is that Vista today is a radically different picture, thanks to many, many fixes delivered by Microsoft in updates and more mature audio and video drivers. But that means not just whether 7 is better than XP, but whether 7 is also better than Vista.

Vista wasn’t entirely alone: Mac and Linux have all had their share of growing pains in recent years. The devil is usually in the details. So, I again turn to one of the best guys in the business for sorting out all those technical details. Noel Borthwick, the CTO for Cakewalk, probably has a better big-picture view of how music and audio work in Windows than anyone on the planet. He’s a person hardware and software vendors outside Cakewalk often rely upon as a resource. Noel kept us technically honest on Vista, and he’s doing it again on Windows 7, with some exclusive information for CDM.

Those details get mighty technical, so here’s the punchline: Windows 7 is an OS Noel would use himself. It was hard to get anyone to recommend Vista over XP; loyal Windows-using developers I know still largely stick to XP. But would Noel switch from XP to 7?

Yes, absolutely. Windows 7 finally delivers on the stability and performance that users hoped for from Vista. The kernel changes and optimizations for large scale multi-core processors make it very attractive to DAW users who are interested in better low latency performance. I will be building a new DAW soon and Windows 7 X64 will be my OS of choice.

What’s new in Windows 7?

• Better multithreading: Improved performance of highly-multithreaded software and hardware by removing a significant bottleneck, especially relevant to a tool like SONAR
• Better memory management: Improved memory management when working with multiple threads
• Less nagging: More customization over UAC prompts (meaning they don’t have to nag you more than you want)
• More lightweight: Fewer system services run by default on a stock system, plus a leaner footprint of the OS
• Media support: More native media format support, including QuickTime MOV and H.264, plus drag-and-drop media transcoding
• Composite devices: More logical display of hardware with multiple functions (like audio and MIDI).
• FireWire: Enhanced FireWire support, with IEEE 1394b
• Multi-touch: Multi-touch display support
• Usability improvements: An improved user interface, task bar, and Libraries for managing files

If you’re ready for all the gory details, read on – including a frank appraisal of how all of this compares to XP in real-world performance, and what compatibility issues to look out for if upgrading from either Vista or XP.

Noel Borthwick of Cakewalk effectively wrote this story in response to my questions, so these answers all come from him. Microsoft has not responded to my requests for a review copy, so I’ll be able to evaluate this on my own system – albeit far less scientifically than Noel can – closer to launch.

WARNING: Extremely geeky details of the inner workings of Windows 7 follow, in keeping with our “never dumbed down” policy. If you’re a developer, you can likely get some leads on how to better support Windows 7 in a single point, something even Microsoft doesn’t provide as completely. But if you’re willing to dig, you get a rare view of the OS from a developer view – no marketing speak, no cheerleading, no fanboyism, no platform wars, no writing for the lowest common denominator.

What Actually Improves Audio Performance

Peter: In terms of performance for audio production, what are the significant differences in Windows 7?

Noel: Windows 7 on the surface is very similar to Windows Vista. It has the same audio driver support and same audio system infrastructure as Vista. However, it’s some of the under-the-hood improvements that are more significant for audio production. There are some interesting innovations and optimizations in the Windows kernel, making the OS more scalable for concurrent processing. This makes it attractive for highly multithreaded applications like SONAR. Additionally there are various new API’s/SDK’s that may be of significance to developers. Some highlights are below:

Multi-threading: Removal of the kernel “global dispatcher lock”

In Vista and earlier, on a highly multi-threaded system (e.g. SONAR running on an 8 core hyper-threaded Intel Core I7 PC), you have many threads all processing tiny audio buffers at low latency. All these threads are ultimately waiting on the dispatcher lock when it comes time for them to be managed by the Windows scheduler. This global lock becomes a bottleneck in the system and prevents efficient multi-core workload distribution and scalability. This problem gets magnified as you increase the number of cores since they are all gated by a common lock. In Win 7 the kernel team changed the logic in the Windows scheduler to abolish this global dispatcher lock and use per object locks. This effectively removes this age old bottleneck and allows Win 7 to scale better even under workloads of 256 processors.

This change means a lot to applications like SONAR that rely on multithreaded processing of very small workloads. Initial benchmark results have been promising in this regard. SONAR performs more efficiently at low latency on multi core machines.

Improved Memory Management – PFN database lock

The PFN (page frame number) database lock was used by the memory manager to lock pages of memory in the working set. Like the dispatcher lock above, this would gate memory access from different threads causing resource contention. Work in this was first done in Windows server 2003 SP1 and Windows 7 has now has this optimization as well, improving asynchronous access to memory.

Power Optimization: Core Parking

Windows 7 has a new feature called Core Parking. Core Parking is a power saving optimization that shifts processing load to one or more cores and puts other less busy cores to “sleep”. The objective is to let other cores idle if workload levels allow for it. This optimization had us scratching our heads when we ran a benchmark test on a Quad Core I7 machine. At any point in time, we would notice that some cores were idle in task manager. The reason for this turned out to be Core Parking. Core parking can be useful to save battery life while running projects on laptops.

Better WaveRT Performance

Unlike Windows Vista, Win7 now uses event mode internally. This is good news, since it will help guarantee that HDAudio drivers in Win7 support WaveRT event mode properly. Additionally event mode is now part of WHQL logo certification for driver vendors, so any WAVERT device must support this to get a Win7 compatibility logo.

Ed. note: The plain-English translation here is that WaveRT, Microsoft’s own real-time audio driver facility, now is more likely to work the way you expect. Cockos, makers of REAPER, actually provided the ability to turn off WaveRT Event Mode at the end of last year because of unpredictable results. Windows 7 should resolve these issues.

Other Improvements

Peter: Noel also assembled some other improvements worth noting in Windows 7. They’re subtle, but useful: you may finally be able to avoid installing QuickTime/iTunes just to play some video files, interfaces with audio and MIDI jacks don’t have to show up separately any more, there’s improved FireWire support, usability improvements, and multi-touch on mainstream computers is now nearly here.

Noel:

Additional File Format support

Windows 7 adds native playback support for media in MP4, MOV, 3GP, AVCHD, ADTS, M4A, and WTV multimedia containers. It has native codec’s for H.264, MPEG4-SP, ASP/DivX/Xvid, MJPEG, DV, AAC-LC, LPCM and AAC-HE

Yes you read that right – QuickTime MOV file support is now natively available in Windows 7 so you don’t need to install QuickTime. Another big plus is that this is supported under the X64 version of Windows 7 as well, something you cannot do with Apple’s native QuickTime itself!

All media files using these codec’s should play in Media Player. It appears that these new codec’s are exclusively available to Media Foundation applications and not via other legacy API’s such as DirectShow etc.

File format transcoding

File format transcoding of many popular formats is now built into the Windows 7 shell. I.e. dragging and dropping files onto a device automatically performs the necessary format transcoding if the format is supported. This was primarily done to copy formats to portable devices like cameras but should be useful in other scenarios as well.

Multi-function devices and Device Containers:

Prior to Windows 7, every device attached to the system was treated as a single functional “end-point”. While appropriate for single-function devices (such as an audio interface), this does elegantly represent multi-function devices such as a combination audio/MIDI interface. In Windows 7, the drivers and status information for multi-function device can be grouped together as a single "Device Container", which is then presented to the user in the new "Devices and Printers" Control Panel as a single unit.

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/Device/DeviceExperience/ContainerIDs.mspx

Note: this should not be confused with device aggregation as is available with Core Audio on Mac OS. On the Mac, you can treat multiple audio interfaces as though they’re one interface, so, for instance, you could get extra outputs by combining a couple of audio interfaces, and your software will see them as if they’re just one box. But SONAR provides this capability on its own, so if you’re a SONAR user, you can get the same functionality.

FireWire/USB

Windows 7 contains a new FireWire (IEEE 1394) stack that fully supports IEEE 1394b with S800, S1600 and S3200 data rates. According to reports, USB 3.0 may be supported in a future Windows Update. It was initially planned for Win7 but is not supported in the shipping version of Win7 due to delays in the USB 3 specification.

Multi-touch

Windows 7 includes integrated support for multi-touch displays.

Libraries

Libraries are user-defined collections of content including folders. It’s a handy way to categorize and create shortcuts to samples, music, etc. Special shell folders (Documents, Pictures, Music, and so on) are now Libraries.

Accelerators for Windows

Windows 7 Accelerators provide a way for learning more about selected text, optionally using voice control.

Virtual hard disks

The Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 incorporate support for the Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) file format. VHD files can be mounted as drives, created, and booted from.
An installation of Windows 7 can be booted and run from a VHD drive, even on non-virtual hardware, thereby providing a new way to multi boot Windows.

Leaner Footprint

Win7 has a leaner footprint and has been tweaked to work well on less powerful PC’s, laptops and Netbooks. I have heard reports of Win7 working more smoothly on machines that would be slow under Vista.

Listen Mode

Another nice touch in Win 7 is that they now have a listen tab in the audio properties. Turning on "listen mode" basically routes input to the default output device allowing you to monitor an input device in Windows itself. Sadly this runs via the Windows audio engine which is always running in WASAPI shared mode, so it’s subject to a 30 msec delay. Of course you can always load an application like SONAR and route the audio inputs to an output for low latency monitoring.

Compatibility: What to Watch

Upgrading from Vista

Peter: Relative to Vista, are there any changes that are likely to introduce new compatibility issues with hardware or software?

Noel: With any new OS there is always the potential for compatibility issues. Win7 is built on the Vista foundation and one of its goals was better compatibility. As such most applications that are Vista compliant should work as well or better in Windows 7. UAC in Windows 7 has been improved so this might also help with general compatibility problems with some applications.

We have run into only a couple of compatibility issues in Win7 during the course of our development/testing of SONAR 8.5.

The MMIO API in Win7 (typically used for writing RIFF wave files) has a compatibility issue with the mmioDescend API with LIST ‘WAVE’ chunks. This caused our code that reads audio bundle files to fail and read scrambled audio data. We worked around this problem in 8.5

In WASAPI exclusive mode under Win7, the minimum latency you can achieve is now unfortunately 3ms and the code reports an error if lower. The fact that Vista has no such limitation has been reported to Microsoft. Hopefully its a mistaken fence in their code and this issue is fixed via an update, since it’s a step backwards for low latency in WASAPI mode.

Ed.: That last issue is an interesting one for anyone really pushing the envelope with low latency, so I’ll keep in touch with Noel if there’s any update.

Upgrading from XP

Peter: What hardware and software compatibility issues should users be aware of if they’re thinking of migrating not from Vista but from XP to Windows 7?

Noel: The compatibility issues that typically affect users migrating from XP to Vista/Win7 are:

UAC problems: Many applications and plug-ins are not built to handle the newer security settings in these OS’s. For example, if an application relies on something that requires administrative access it will fail when running as a limited user in Win7. This is a serious issue since in Vista/Win7 even if you are running from an administrator account; programs are launched by default with limited user privileges. Unlike XP, you have to explicitly run as an administrator to use such programs. To be Win7 logo-compatible, all applications need to should support running as a limited user.

Drivers: Although for most practical purposes audio drivers in XP and Windows 7/Vista are similar (you still need to write WDM drivers) there are sometimes quirks in specific drivers may cause problems. Most typical driver issues here are caused by installers that make assumptions about the OS version. In many cases this issue can be solved by the end user by setting the “compatibility mode” to Vista in the file properties for the appropriate driver installer file. (Right click the setup exe file to set its properties)

Ed.: I don’t feel either of these is a deal-killer, as I’ve been living with Vista for some time, but they’re still worth watching out for if upgrading from XP. And it means if you have an older machine that’s still working properly, you’re just likely to leave it on XP and worry about sorting the upgrade on a new box.

Less Nagging?

Peter: We talked when Vista came out about User Account Control and particularly audio-specific tasks that required elevation or different handling of permissions in Vista. I know UAC has been streamlined in W7. Do these changes impact audio apps at all? Are there corresponding under-the-hood changes?

Noel: The UAC changes in Win7 are primarily to allow more customization over the UAC elevation prompting process. There are no changes to the fundamentals of how UAC itself works that I am aware of. The classic problem with audio applications with UAC is when programs or plug-ins write to areas of the registry or file system prohibited from standard user access. Even when you are running as an administrator, by default when you launch a program (or the program itself launches a secondary process) Windows 7 will run that process with standard user privileges. If a program or plug-in attempts to write to an area which it doesn’t have write privileges for, virtualization will kick in. While this may allow the program to work, in general it is bad practice to rely on virtualization, since it can cause many unwanted side effects and behaviors in applications.

There are now four customization settings for UAC:

1. Never notify (least secure). The user is not notified when a program tries to install software or make changes to the computer. The user is not notified when they make changes to Windows settings or when programs try to do so.

2. Only notify me when programs try to make changes to my computer. The user is not notified when a program tries to install software or make changes to the computer. The user is not notified when they make changes to Windows settings. However, the user is notified when programs try to make changes to the computer, including Windows settings.

3. Always notify me. The user is notified when a program tries to install software or make changes to the computer. The user is also notified when they make changes to Windows settings or when programs try to do so.

4. Always notify me and wait for my response (most secure). The user is notified when a program tries to install software or make changes to the computer. The user is also notified when they make changes to Windows settings or when programs try to do so.

Customization and Tuning Advice

Peter: How much customization would you advise people do to their OS? That is, you’ve just installed a build of Windows 7 for working with SONAR on a test machine. Do you run the stock configuration, or start turning off services, disabling disk indexing, etc.?

Noel: Optimization and customization is a topic that can’t be fully discussed in the scope of a brief article. In general you need to optimize a system when you have known bottlenecks. Otherwise you can spend a lot of time tweaking things that have little effect on the end goal. In fact, you may even end up destabilizing a perfectly working system. A stock Win7 machine is not optimized for audio necessarily but it appears MS put some thought into trimming out unwanted startup tasks to cut down on startup time. For example there are now “Triggered start services” in Windows 7, so out of the box you can have fewer services running after a fresh boot. There are probably many background services in a modern DAW that could be suspended if you don’t need them but they should be evaluated on a case by case basis depending on what you use the machine for.

Peter: A lot of users were advising running Vista with Aero off, certainly in the early days. Do you think it’s now advisable to leave Desktop Window Compositing switched on for audio work? (Note: I am aware that there’s actually no way to *completely* disable the Aero windowing environment in a way that it reverts to XP, as even in Class mode with no compositing settings the engine has been altered.)

Generally speaking, turning off Aero will free up some resources on your system, since it uses more costly 3D graphics rendering and transparency a lot. However on any modern graphics card, Aero offloads a lot to the GPU so unless your DAW is also competing for the same GPU resources, turning it off may or may not make an appreciable difference to performance. Most applications that are not graphics intensive use GDI for rendering to the screen and since GDI doesn’t take advantage of DirectX hardware acceleration it’s normally not contesting with the GPU. If you are using plug-ins that use Direct 2D or Direct3D, you are probably better off disabling Aero.

Launch Party, After All?

Thanks, Noel. So, the big news behind all of this is that a move from XP to Windows 7 is finally advisable.

I would still caution, as I did recently with Mac OS Snow Leopard, that you typically don’t want to upgrade to a new OS the day it launches. You’ll want to verify compatibility with your software and hardware before making the jump.

That said, this is an unusual upgrade in that it appears to resolve more issues than it introduces. I actually haven’t been able to find a single user out there testing Windows 7 who has found any issues with audio or music production. Of course, when it launches, we’ll have a much larger test base, so I expect we’ll find something – even Windows Service Packs and point releases of Mac OS have been known to create some issues. As we get closer to launch, I’ll review how you would backup your existing XP or Vista system to ensure that if you do choose to upgrade, you can revert to a previous version.

I am, however, cautiously optimistic. And now is an especially good time to make the jump to 64-bit. It’s easier on Windows than any other OS at the moment, and easiest in SONAR, because SONAR allows you to easily migrate 32-bit plug-ins into the 64-bit environment. You’ll need a 64-bit machine and enough memory to make 64-bit worthwhile, but if you’re building a new workstation, as Noel is, the timing could be perfect.

I also think there’s plenty of room left to talk about issues that go between operating systems, particularly how audio software can better support multi-threading and processing on the GPU, multi-touch, as well as emerging I/O standards like USB3. (OpenCL, much-touted in Snow Leopard, is also supported on Linux and Windows, and Linux actually beat both Mac OS and Windows to the punch in providing a first implementation of USB3.) Correction: I should also add that the excellent Reaper has also added this feature. With full 64-bit support in Cakewalk’s own Dimension and other instruments, NI’s Kontakt sampler, and the bundled 64-bit-native plug-ins in Reaper and SONAR, that means you can build a really capable 64-bit rig on Windows.

With fixes getting the OS out of your way, we can return to issues that really matter, many of which apply to every OS.

Music is, as always, the perfect place to talk about these issues. We push our machines harder than just about anyone, and in ways that are the least tolerant of timing discrepencies and glitches. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you want to look into the future of computing, ask a musician.

And that calls for a party.

Previous coverage:

SONAR 8.5 and how it can smooth the transition to 64-bit (8.5 is the build that includes Windows 7-specific improvements)

Vista Tweak: Use the Audio Profile Cakewalk’s CTO Uses

Optimizing for Vista: Inside the Mechanics of SONAR 8 with Cakewalk Engineering

Adieu, XP; How Vista SP1 is Doing, and Why This OS Generation Has Been So Tough

Vista for Audio, 1 Year Later: Talking OS Plumbing with Cakewalk’s CTO

Vista for Music + Pro Audio: Exclusive Under the Hood with Cakewalk’s CTO

And yes, I think Noel deserves an Honorary Contributing Editor position for all he’s done giving us absurdly-precise inside details for how Windows works.

Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.

There’s a curious distinction in hardware keyboards. You’ll find plenty of keyboards geared for performance with software at the low-end to mid-range. But if you want a keyboard with uncompromising durability and action – and you’re willing to pay more and lift more weight – those choices suddenly disappear. Suddenly, you have to buy a workstation keyboard or something with built-in sounds or even built-in speakers. What if you want a really uncompromising keyboard to use with software and nothing else?

It’s almost as though manufacturers assume “serious” musicians want to gig with built-in sounds on a standalone keyboard. That’s a pretty stunning assumption in the year 2009, given the versatility, reliability, and unmatched sound quality and diversity of software instruments. If you’re looking for a controller alone, your options are limited. M-Audio, Novation, and others have some great affordable options, but nothing really high-end. Roland, Yamaha, and Casio have some nice controllers, but the higher-end models aren’t dedicated to the task, and therefore there’s no way to dedicate all your dollars to the controller itself. (Dig deeper, and there’s still more sacrifices to make – yes, you can have x, but then we take away y…) My short list would probably be Doepfer’s lovely keyboard in a road case and Studiologic – and that’s about it.

Studiologic’s new Numa Nero, therefore, looks like the serious controller a lot of us have been waiting for. It’s a full, 88-note keyboard made for serious musicians. Yes, part of it is plastic, but plastic doesn’t necessarily mean “cheap” – good-quality plastic can be more durable than other materials. And the design itself finally focuses on getting you the best-possible keybed and action, assuming your software will take care of the sound generation.

• Graded hammer action (essential for piano players, as it makes the lower end heavier than the higher end)
• The last key mechanism design by late Fatar founder/designer Lino Ragni
• Double-dipped, “full-body” solid black keys – not hollow black keys. (The press release points out that most digital pianos have hollow keys, which is something I can verify. Unless you play in C major all the time, this is a major problem.)
• 20 dynamic curve settings which “sense” playing in real-time and respond accordingly. It sounds like the piano action equivalent of anti-lock brakes; I have to try it to understand what they mean!
• 4 zones with independent velocity curves, MIDI, program, pedal, and control settings
• Two pedal inputs, plus an illuminated side wheel controller. (The side is an unusual place for a wheel, but I could still see being able to reach it live.)

Now, what’s missing from all of this is a control surface, which bothered me initially – you don’t, for instance, get faders to use as drawbars. Upon reflection, though, I actually think having all that empty space is a huge advantage. If you’re an organ player, you can add a drawbar controller. If you’re controlling unusual instruments, you could add a touchscreen-equipped laptop. Or add a monome. You get the idea.

And the best feature of all may be this: “An aluminum back piece slides out to support another keyboard, sound module, or laptop, without the need for another stand.”

No, my only remaining gripe is that, while the keyboard supports aftertouch, it’s monophonic aftertouch, not polyphonic. Poly aftertouch seems to be a dying breed, but it would certainly have qualified this keyboard as “ultimate.” I’m nonetheless dying to play the Numa Nero. I’ve been waiting a long time for a worthy controller that doesn’t try to make sounds or arrange beats for you or do anything other than talk to your software setup, and this could be it.

US$1274, which goes to prove my point – focus entirely on the controller, and you can keep the cost low without compromise. Weight: 57.3 ponds.

There’s also a 22-pound Numa Nano coming at winter NAMM; keep your eyes out for that one – if it could be just as brilliantly-designed but more liftable, it could be the perfect companion, a nano on the road and a Nero back in the studio (or when you’ve got transport).

Numa Nero Product Page

And yes, it’s worth considering the entire Studiologic range. Ironically, the line they call “vintage” is the one with lots of added controls. They’re absurdly cheap for the quality, have action that can beat most of the pricier options out there, and immensely logical designs that pack maximum playability into the weight and form factor. The designs are, charitably, “workmanlike,” but if it’s more playable, who cares? I also understand they’re easy to service. Now, the only remaining question is why the Italian-based Studiologic seems to be so alone in getting this area right.

For people looking to get into music recording and production on a computer, for the first time, there’s a bundle that says “Pro Tools” on the box that costs correction: as little as just $99. It really is Pro Tools software; it’s certainly streamlined (some basic track limits, no multitrack recording), but still with a serious complement of recording, mixing, and effects, and even some nice virtual instruments. Beyond that, your choice is which hardware you’d like in your “value meal”:

For vocalists: The Vocal Studio has a cardoid condenser mic – that’s a USB mic you can connect directly – plus a stand and a case.

For “recording:” The Recording Studio gives you a simple 2-in/2-out audio interface so you can connect your own mic/line/instrument input.

For keyboardists: The KeyStudio is a 49-key synth-action keyboard with mod and pitch bend, plus and an audio interface (the 1-in, 1-out M-Audio USB Micro).

Correction: $99 is the price for the keyboard and vocal bundles, $129 for the recording bundle with Fast Track. (I had an early press release that said pricing was $129 for all three.)

The target readership for CDM may not be in the market for this bundle — though it is a ridiculously cheap way to add Pro Tools compatibility to your rig, if you just need to trade session files. But I know we also have a lot of readers who offer expertise to other folks. Do let us know what they think – if they’re turned on, or turned off.

See additional analysis on what the larger implications of Avid’s strategic shift may be.

If you’re a beginning user, I don’t doubt that this software will get you started. You get over 5 GB of instruments and loops, 60 virtual instrument sounds, reverb / chorus / delay / flanger / phaser / compression / EQ effects, reasonable track counts (16 audio, 8 instrument, 8 MIDI), 3 insert slots per track for “up to 3 simultaneous effects,” buses and send/return routing, and 2 simultaneous audio inputs and outputs. So you can’t do simultaneous multitrack input or surround hardware, but you’d need a different audio interface for that, anyway.

Actually, so that you can email this story to your nephew or niece who’s just starting out and considering options, let me translate to English:

This is a well-priced package that gives you the hardware and software you’d need to record podcasts, voice-over, and vocals for music (Vocal Studio), play some synths and instruments (KeyStudio), and input your guitar or instrument (Studio), and in each of them, record, edit, and produce musical arrangements. You get some virtual instruments to play with, some pre-stocked sounds, and all the editing and arrangement you’ll probably need.

It’ll run on Mac and Windows machines with modest specs (see the product page for the full details), though you will need these audio interfaces connected for the software to start. (You can’t simply use the headphone out jack on your MacBook or PC laptop, for instance, which is possible in some competitive software. The interface is effectively used as copy protection for the software.)

-Peter, speaking English

I believe that there are other ways to put together a good studio for this price, of course. There are some terrific “bargain-priced” music apps out there, actually more than I have time to use. It’s time to refresh CDM’s own budget recommendations for a variety of different kinds of users. But I actually think the presence of this option, with the “Pro Tools” name, could raise the visibility of the whole area. And since ultimately comfort with musical tools comes down to preference, the big question is whether a new user likes the Pro Tools interface and the package here.

More photos of the included gear below – nothing glamorous, but certainly not bad for the price, let alone with the software bundle.

“Studio” for many of us means packing musical production tools into a corner of our desk, then being able to fit the whole thing into a backpack and take it with us. It’s bringing along your entire production to a cramped rehearsal room and adjusting tracks in a hotel room. It’s putting together an assortment of unusual pieces of DIY hardware, mobile game systems and an iPod touch, and composing and performing a live PA set. So packing in functionality means a lot.

That makes it worth considering a hardware solution like Cakewalk’s V-Studio 100 in obsessive detail. Combining an interface with mixing, control, recording, and software functions makes the VS especially relevant to the computer musician.

I was one of the first people outside Cakewalk to lay eyes on the V-Studio 100. Part of the initial appeal to me was that it seemed to combine a lot of the tools I wanted into a single package.

Sure, its big brother, the V-Studio 700, is an impressive unit with loads of onboard options. But the V-Studio 100 was more my speed: it has that apartment studio, backpack-friendly attitude. And don’t let the “SONAR” in “SONAR V-Studio 100” fool you, either. While it’s great having a free copy of a special edition of SONAR on Windows you can use the VS hardware and even the plug-in bundle that comes with it on any host on either Windows or Mac. And — oh, yeah – you can also make use of all that audio I/O and mixing to do some crazy stuff with your plugged-in portable game  consoles and iPhones and homebrewed electronics.

The real test is whether this one unit can perform the tasks you need. The V-Studio 100 tries to be a number of different things:

• An audio interface (up to 24-bit/96 kHz)
• A mixer
• A control surface
• A wave recorder
• A software bundle

Correction: The street price of the whole package is US$699. (I had incorrectly put the street at $800 instead of $700!)

Anything that does that much will naturally have to make some compromises. Some of those compromises I think are rather well-conceived on the VS, while others I hope will evolve over time.

This will be partially a review, but partially a description of what it’s like using the VS, so if you do have one of these, I can hopefully give you a sense of how to begin using it.

What’s in the Package

The VS-100 itself is a tidy rectangular box with the main two audio ins on the front, USB, MIDI, and remaining audio I/O on the back, and mixer controls, menu, transport controls, control surface shortcuts, and flying motorized fader on the top. The unit feels terrifically solid, both in overall feel and the details of all of the controls. I wish it came with a carry case, but it’s the right size to fit a lot of generic gear cases out there. Documentation includes a Getting Started Guide, Hardware Manual, and two discs. One disc contains the SONAR V-Studio for Windows, a special edition of the SONAR DAW, plus a big bundle of plug-ins that will work with either Windows VST or Mac Audio Unit hosts. The other disc ships with drivers that work on both Mac and Windows. (In other words, Mac users miss out only on the free SONAR VS – not a deal-killer since you probably have a copy of GarageBand or another DAW, anyway.)

The whole unit weighs just over four pounds and can easily fit into a compartment in your laptop backpack or larger briefcase. You do need its power source – because of the pres, motorized fader, and mixer functions, this is just too power thirsty to draw all its electricity from USB – but the 9V power adapter is relatively compact.

Audio Interface

The VS-100 is a 10-in, 6-out interface. Of course, that’s actually relatively modest for interfaces of this price range. At the same time, those interfaces are just interfaces, the quality here I think is really good, and this could be a pretty practical set relative to what many people actually need.

Here’s the basic configuration:

Inputs 1-2: XLR mic jacks and balanced TRS 1/4” jacks. Input 1 has a Hi-Z (high impedance”) switch that switches to a 500 k ohm impedence for guitars. There are also mic preamps on both 1 and 2. There are also physical knobs on the front of the unit for adjusting input sensitivity of 1-2.

A phantom power switch is located on the back of the unit for mics that need power.

Inputs 3-4: Dedicated mono TRS jacks (balanced).

Inputs 5-6: Stereo phono pair (unbalanced).

Input 7-8: Digital S/PDIF input on the back. (Input only; there are no digital outs.)

Input 9-10: The mixer output can be selected as a separate two ins.

Outputs 1-4: Four channels of balanced TRS 1/4” output. Can you say quad sound, anyone? (Hey, it’s actually the most practical option for live performance.)

Outputs 5-6: Unbalanced stereo output.

You do get 1-in, 1-out MIDI, accompanied by Cakewalk/Roland MIDI drivers, which traditionally have given me good results on both Mac and Windows.

The mic pres on inputs one and two sound really transparent, much higher-quality than I would have expected, and the one indication that Cakewalk and Roland aren’t thinking of this as just an entry-level unit.

For the one-man/one-man performer, it’s a pretty ideal configuration, it’s great having unbalanced I/O, it sounds good, and you have dedicated level knobs where you need them. I’ve played out with the VS, and it’s an ideal solo computer audio interface.

Even given that, you probably wouldn’t buy this box for its audio alone. You could get a MOTU Traveler, for instance, with FireWire audio, lots of additional analog and digital I/O, more pres, and internal mixing capability. But it’s the other features that make it a contender.

Mixer Operation, Interface Operation

The VS adds to its interface mixing functions and a built-in set of effects. And note that on the mixer side, this isn’t a “software” mixer as you provided by some of the VS’ competition. You get a compact but very functional set of hardware controls that allow the VS to handle mixing functions, even when you’re also using it as an audio interface, and even when you’re in cramped spaces.

On the effects side, the VS includes a dedicated compressor and 3-band EQ for tracks 1-6 (as inserts on 1, 2, 3/4, and 5/6). Via some cleverly economic menus, you can edit parameters for these settings using the toggle buttons above the mixer knobs, in conjunction with three dedicated encoders and the value knob. It’s not hard to get the hang of toggling around, and while you don’t have dedicated controls as you might on a full-blown mixer, functions are rarely more than a button press or two away.

While it’s a bit harder to get to, there’s also a decent-sounding internal reverb included, as well. It has specific sends for each channel (1, 2, 3/4, 5/6) and adjustable send level, though you’re hard-wired to some basic modes (ECHO, ROOM, SMALL HALL, and LARGE HALL).

Quick tip: Hidden in the settings is the ability to route audio to your USB port pre-EQ. (Look for Menu > Utility > To USB > PreEQ.) Generally, recording with in-line EQ is a very bad idea, because there’s no way to go back to the raw audio. With this setting adjusted, you can use EQ for live performance but without impacting your raw tracks if you want to master, say, a live session later on.

The VS-100 can operate both as a standalone mixer – something you’d take to your gig while leaving the laptop at home – and a combination between a mixer and an audio interface. Because of that, its operation is a little different, so let’s actually walk through the signal flow itself.

Navigating Signal Flow

Scenario 1: You’ve got the VS plugged into your computer.

You might plug a guitar into input 1, depressing the Hi-Z switch, and a mic into input 2.. You can then adjust input level on the “SENS” knobs on the front. There’s no dedicated LED level meter, but you do get a level meter on the LED screen on the top of the unit.

Monitoring is a little different than on most audio interfaces. You have two places at which you control the level you hear. The “MAIN MIX” knob controls the level for the mixer – which is also your zero-latency, direct monitor level, the level from your input before it reaches the computer. For the output from your computer, you would adjust the “PLAYBACK” knob.

The advantages of working this way: you can use this as either a traditional interface, or as a mixer – handy with multiple ins plugged in. And you get dedicated knobs for 1, 2, 3/4, 5/6, and (the digital ins) 7/8 for use in mixer mode. You can also feed the main mix out to a PA, so for live performance you can keep a mix going to your audience without carrying along a separate mixer.

Embarassing side note: In my haste, I initially assumed the “PLAYBACK” knob controlled only the flash Wave Recorder. It actually controls playback of your audio interface through the main outs when you’re in USB mode. You’ll, um, want to turn that knob down before you plug in the unit, as the outs are pretty hot. You can imagine what happened to me. Happily, my monitors survived. Oh, PS – Cakewalk actually should have put that in their manual, as there is a prominent warning about the “MAIN MIX” knob, but not “PLAYBACK” – and this is called SONAR V-Studio, so they should expect people will be connecting it to the computer straight away!

Scenario 2: You’ve got the VS operating standalone.

The mixer functions are pretty self-explanatory. In this mode, the Wave Recorder can record from your main mix, it can play back tracks, and it has loop playback. The ins and outs work otherwise as they would in DAW mode, and you still get the built-in effects. The one downside in this mode is that the DAW controls – the shortcut keys, track select buttons, and flying fader – are all basically meaningless. It’s too bad that they couldn’t do some sort of double duty. But it’s still nice to have this box as a mixer and effects unit on the go. There’s even a metronome feature, so it could be a decent box to carry around to rehearsal with you, especially with the built-in Wave Recorder, if you don’t already own such a unit and just want to budget for the VS alone.

Scenario 3: Disaster strikes.

Here’s the best thing about having two modes: try yanking out the USB port while the VS is plugged in. Normally, that’s a very, very bad idea (and it’d be an especially bad idea when using FireWire, as you could theoretically fry your computer or interface). But with the VS, the hardware will automatically switch its routing to the wave recorder, and the mixer will continue operating normally.

In other words, you can have a cable come unplugged or a computer crash and save a gig by keeping sound going on the VS. With WAV playback on the WAV Recorder, you could even switch over to a flash card for backing tracks.

The Control Surface

At its simplest, the control surface gives you just the basics: transport controls, mute/solo, and arm, plus the main feature – a motorized flying fader. Of course, in a lot of situations, that’s exactly what you need for basic recording. In fact, thanks to the fact that the fader is motorized, you may not need other faders, given that most mixing scenarios involve adjusting just one track at a time. (Riding more than one fader can tend to cause you to overcompensate when fine-tuning levels, a bit like oversteering.)

The track select keys toggle tracks. (It doesn’t matter which track is selected in software, even in SONAR.) Using the shift key navigates buses (SONAR only). The value knob can also be used for additional manipulation.

Transport keys can move not only the transport but, using the shift key, from marker to marker.

For those of you who have managed to escape the experience in real production, using motorized faders is a joy. The fader will near-silently shift to whatever setting you choose. I remember using Digidesign’s motorized faders when they first came out and finding the effect almost magical, though in those days the technology was priced as high as a compact car and the faders moved with a little “thump” sound. Happily, technology marches forward.

In ACT (Active Controller Technology) mode, Cakewalk maps its own SONAR software more intelligently. By default, this includes the Value encoder and the three encoders below the LCD, so that if you, say, bring up an instance of one of the included Studio Instruments, software parameters automatically map to those hardware controls. It does make quickly accessing basic settings a little quicker, though if you’re a heavy synth user, this functionality is unlikely to compete with similar and more advanced  “automatic map” controllers and software like Native Instruments’ Kore, Novation’s ReMOTE line with Automap, and M-Audio’s Axiom Pro with HyperControl, or Cakewalk’s own ACT in combination with a range of hardware. There just aren’t enough controls on the VS, by contrast. In a pinch, though, ACT is still useful on the VS, especially if you enable the “DAW Full Asgn” setting in the menu. It automatically maps the mixer knobs for use with ACT, too.

Unlike technologies like HyperControl and Automap, ACT is limited to SONAR, but SONAR users, I think you will find yourself using it at least a little, just because it’s there. My one criticism would be that it’d be great if there were a keyboard shortcut for switching to “Full Assignment” mode without digging through menus. That way, you could easily toggle between using mixer controls for mixing and using them for ACT.

Confused by all these options? Given that all these technologies rely on MIDI, anyway, I think we badly need an open spec that allows you to easily support any host with any hardware, without the fuss. Someone out there adept at Reaper scripting, for instance, I’d love to hack into this.

What if you don’t use SONAR? Mackie Control Support

You can still get basic control with V-Studio using Mackie Control. It’s just as easy to set up: choose Mackie Control as your control surface, then select the V-STUDIO CONTROL port as your input and output. In software like Ableton Live, Apple Logic, Reaper, and others, the VS will automatically map to basic mixing functions. Transport controls work perfectly, the motorized fader jumps to the right level, and mute/solo/arm buttons work. I tried it in a number of apps and had no problem.

There is one catch: because of some of the limitations of Mackie Control, you don’t get to use those extra knobs. While Full Assignment mode remaps all the controls to MIDI and should allow you to manually create your own MIDI maps for your favorite software, it also enables ACT mode. That means that you lose all the functionality of Mackie Control if you turn it on. You can have one or the other, but not both.

It’d be nice to see Cakewalk modify the functionality of Full Assignment mode so that it can coexist with Mackie Control. That way, you could use the rest of the control surface as a MIDI control surface rather than losing the functionality of those controls. It’s a subtle point; as I said, I think people will use the transport and mixer controls far more than synth controls because of their relative convenience. But it would make a nice firmware upgrade.

Speaking of firmware upgrades, make sure you’ve upgraded to at least 1.19 firmware before attempting to use Mackie Control. This release fixed a number of bugs, including one that prevented me from switching to the “OTHER” DAW mode (from SONAR.) Once I updated, though, this performance was seamless.

The Wave Recorder

One of the reasons you might want to drop the VS in your gig bag is that it combines a mixer with a wave recorder in one box, and can replace a computer or a mixer+recorder combination. Pop in an SD card or SDHC card – capacities up to 32GB via SDHC – and you can record the stereo mix of whatever is plugged into the mixer. The Wave Recorder also supports easily-accessible playback, which could make the VS ideal for backing tracks. You could, for instance, use it in its computer interface mode in the studio for production, then load all your tracks onto SD and play them back onstage with the VS running as a mixer. Alternatively, you could record a mixed-down rehearsal or performance and take it home with you.

Like Roland’s mobile recorders, you also get basic marker and looping functionality, which could help you practice or transcribe a tricky portion of a song or create more sophisticated backing arrangements if you were feeling especially ambitious.

True, you could bring along a mobile wave recorder, but the convenience of combining the recorder with mixing functions makes it ideal in cases when a portable stereo recorder is not.

There’s one major caveat, however. Playback from the wave recorder and recording of the stereo mix are both possible when the VS is operating in standalone mode. But when it’s connected via USB, each of those functions is defeated – no playback, and no recording. The transport controls are reassigned to become software control surface functions, and the SD card slot becomes useless. That’s too bad, as one of the first things I wanted to do with the VS was to be able to record live sessions without relying on my computer hard disk, recording the same live mix I’d feed to the PA.

I was able to confirm with Cakewalk that Roland is aware of this limitation and investigating possible solutions; it may be technically possible to resolve the issue with a future firmware update. They were not able to confirm at this time when a fix was coming or what form it might take, but I’ll provide updated information if it becomes available.

In the meantime, it can still be useful to have the VS wave recording function, as it does mean you can leave the laptop at home for various recording and practice scenarios.

Driver Support

As with previous Roland/Cakewalk outings like the SONAR Power Studio, the VS-100 comes with extensive documentation on how to tweak driver settings under Windows, and you can expect extremely up-to-date and reliable support for Windows technologies, including the WASAPI adjustments made in Windows Vista. (WASAPI is Windows’ general audio interface for software; it’s supported on the software side by applications like SONAR, but it’s essential that hardware driver implementation be robust in order to acheive proper support under Windows. Translation: Cakewalk gets their drivers right, so Windows works properly and you don’t have to worry about it.)

Installation on Windows winds up being pretty easy. Install the driver disc to get up and running. Install a second disc, and you install a huge suite of plug-ins as well as the special edition SONAR VS software. The bundle installed over my existing Cakewalk SONAR Producer Installation just fine, and then the newly-installed effects became available not only to SONAR VS, but my existing SONAR install, too, as well as all my other VST-compatible DAWs (like Live and Reaper).

The Mac installation winds up being easy, too, however. The Mac version fully supports Core Audio, and I got excellent performance in Logic Studio 9. Logic also mapped easily to Mackie Control.

Bundled Software Gems

The VS Production Pack includes a set of effects and instruments for both Mac and Windows:

• VX-64 Vocal Strip – a combination deesser + “compander” (compressor/expander) + tube-emulating EQ + Doubler + synced Delay. That could have been a bunch of gimmicks. But it winds up being all awesome.
• Native Instruments Guitar Rig LE
• Boost 11 Peak Limiter – actually a pretty decent and relatively transparent limiter
• Channel Tools – a set of channel utilities for enable/disable/swap L/R channels, adjusting stereo and mid-side mode, and adding delay.
• LE versions of Dimension (sampler), Rapture (synth)
• Studio Instruments Bass, Drums, Electric Piano, Strings: all some very lovely-sounding, lovely-looking instruments

Bundling light-edition software with hardware is a popular choice, but the VX-64 is the real stand-out. The set of tools integrate beautifully, there’s a fantastic live spectrograph tool for a view of what you’re doing on each of the modules, there’s a lovely drag-and-drop routing interface, the UI is clear and well laid out, and the whole think sounds utterly wonderful. I don’t think it’d be hyperbolic to say the VX-64 is the best software plug-in Cakewalk has made yet; it just packs in all the goodness you might like for vocals in a single window.

There are enough unique capabilities here that, even if you have a collection of plugs or a DAW with lots in it from a rival maker like Ableton’s Live Suite or Apple’s Logic Studio, you’ll find something useful. The danger to all of this is that there’s a sort of kitchen sink feel to the suite, and it could well overwhelm beginners, but the VS generally feels better suited to intermediate-to-advanced users, anyway.

SONAR VS

The sleeper hit of the whole package is the VS edition of SONAR. Usually I like light editions of DAWs about as much as I like diet soda – it’s just not as sweet as the real thing. But the VS is a pleasant surprise. It feels a bit like GarageBand for grown-ups. One of the complaints about SONAR from non-converts is that its do-everything user interface can feel cluttered, particularly by providing lots of different routes to the same thing. I think that’s a fair criticism, even as I respect what SONAR does.

What’s remarkable about SONAR VS is that it feels like it sacrifices none of the functionality of its big brother, but wraps it into a much cleaner interface. Channel strip pop-ups on the left allow easy access to every parameter. A reduced toolbar icon provides essentials without being overwhelming. There are still some hard-to-read icons, and the software is likely to, again, be a bit complex for beginners. But for users with some experience, there’s a real sense that tools and options have been thoughtfully chosen.

All of this may be overkill for those of you loyal to an existing DAW, but it’s still worth noting the job Cakewalk has done. Of course, the message to Cakewalk should be clear: SONAR itself needs a window layout that’s this clear, either as the default or something you can switch on easily.

Note that you actually don’t need SONAR VS to get any special integration with the V-STUDIO 100 hardware and drivers. Driver setup is the same for SONAR VS as SONAR; it takes a few steps but in either tool, you get excellent driver support, and I don’t think there’s any question that Cakewalk’s support on Windows is exceptional – enough so that Windows really isn’t a hassle.

Conclusions

The VS hardware brings together something I’ve been waiting for in hardware for a long time. It’s beautifully compact, too – but, naturally, that means it also has to make some trade-offs to put together so many elements in one package. It’s simply worth considering if it’s the right set of trade-offs for you.

The good:

• The unit is physically lovely to work with, in terms of its layout and feel.
• The pre’s sound great, and while the audio I/O isn’t as extensive as on some interfaces, it’s practical for a lot of real-world, one-person, mobile producer situations.
• Using the motorized fader is addictive, and works in any Windows/Mac software.
• The control layout winds up being very usable, and it’s nice having compressor/EQ instances within easy reach.
• You get rock-solid Roland audio and MIDI drivers (particularly important on Windows).
• SONAR VS is actually a great little audio package.
• The VX-64 is a real gem for anyone working with vocals, and overall the software bundle is a terrific value.

The mixed:

• The WAV recorder gets defeated when you plug in a USB cable.
• The VS would be more useful as a control surface if you could more easily map the rest of the surface to MIDI – without having to use SONAR and without having to defeat Mackie Control.
• The ACT controls can be a little confusing on such a compact control surface.
• Even with those two great pre’s, the VS probably won’t be your first choice if what you really want is just an audio interface.

Despite some weaknesses, though, to me the VS’ strong points are what can make it a terrific choice. A remarkably compact mixer combined with the flying fader and transport control and the audio I/O you’re most likely to need? That could be enough to sell you, before you add in additional value from some of the software gems that come with it.

At US$699 street, there are cheaper options around, but by the time you add a control surface, a mobile recorder, a mixer, and an audio interface together, it’s a different picture. There are also other control surface-mixer-interfaces out there, but some skimp on audio quality while others lack the VS’ elegant compactness.

The VS still counts as the most control, mixing, and audio functionality I’ve seen in any backpack-friendly box. And as such, for the laptop music production warrior wanting to maximize space and power, it’s part of a handful of essential gear to consider.

Cakewalk V-Studio 100 Minisite

For another review of this unit, check out this post from Boing Boing Gadget’s excellent Rob Beschizza. And Rob takes some really gorgeous photos of the VS, too.
A Weekend with Cakewalk’s SONAR V-Studio 100 [boing boing gadgets]

Snack-sized, solid state HD video is cheap and affordable these days. Sure, a handheld video recorder like the Flip HD or Kodak Zi6 may not rival your real camcorder, but they’re dirt cheap, fit in your pocket, and with good lighting can put out really nice footage. There’s just one problem – the sound is often utterly dreadful. (I picked up a Zi6 this week because its audio is pretty reasonable, but it’s not stereo and I wouldn’t use it in an audio-critical situation.)

Hmmm… if only your favorite HD video handheld and something like the awesome Zoom H4n could combine…

It seems Samson/Zoom heard your wish. The Q3 has the stereo mic from the H4n – a really great-sounding mic for field recording, one that almost magically seems to make things sound good in tough situations. But it adds to that native MPEG-4 video recording. Pop in a 32GB SDHC card and the device promises up to 16 hours. (Or bring a few cards – they’re removable.) And you get high-quality stereo audio, something that even fairly pricey camcorders almost always lack. (Heck, even the supposed prosumer or even “pro” models are often downright awful in the sound department.)

Another unique feature: while most camcorders are limited to lossy audio, you can actually record full 44.1/48kHz PCM WAV. In fact, I could actually see carrying one of these to a gig alongside your pro camera; you can use the 640×480 picture as a reference and have an additional sound source.

There has to be a catch, right? Well, for starters this doesn’t give you HD video. Granted, the Zi6 and Flip HD are only 720p, and the sensors aren’t the best, but having that extra resolution can be forgiving and gives you a 16:9 aspect ratio to boot, plus lovely 60 fps. On the other hand, sensor quality and optics matter more than specs on paper; I’d settle for 640×480 picture if the video quality is good – and I can tell you right now, you’re unlikely to beat the Q3 on sound quality. (That said, a Q3 HD seems inevitable at some point.) Also, unlike an H4n, this doesn’t have a mic input jack, so you can’t easily switch over to a lavalier mic. Combined, that should mean if you’ve bought an H4n and a video camera, there’s no reason for buyers’ remorse. But this still has some use – and suggests some good stuff coming to us soon, too.

Availability: September (at least, so says @samsontech via Twitter – and in Q3, ironically enough). Pricing: Zoom says expect a US$250 street price.

Details from Samson:
Q3 – Handy Video Recorder

Via Darren Landrum.

Korg’s nano series has been a huge hit. Now it’s Akai’s turn, with their own mini USB pad and keyboard controllers. (Note: given lengthy product turnaround in this industry, these may actually have been designed before the nano – but that’s not as important, ultimately, as which models you like.) The Akai assumes you want something that’s a bit bulkier than the Korg nano line – with, presumably, a payoff in playability.

MusicRadar gets the scoop on the mini models to be announced at Summer NAMM. (Really? People still go to that?) Our friend Ben Rogerson says Akai tells them these are expected Q3 of this year – just in time for back to school. Matrixsynth posted the full press release though we do expect official details Friday.

Update: Akai tells CDM they will make the official announcement on Friday, by which time we’ll have more details to share.

The LPK25 keyboard looks like the biggest competitor here. Korg’s competing nanoKEY sacrifices quite a bit of playability to fit into an ultra-compact space, with an action that — while, incredibly, velocity-sensitive — feels like a laptop keyboard. The LPK25 has some sort of synth action. That ups the weight to “under a pound,” and it remains to be seen whether Akai will match Korg’s unbelievable US$60 street price. But for actually playing a keyboard, the LPK looks like it could be the one to beat – while still fitting on a coach airplane seat tray along with your netbook. And it’s got an arpeggiator, too, not that you really need one with something that only works with software.

The LPD8 is interesting, too, with 8 pads and 8 knobs. But here, to me the Korg may continue to reign supreme. I don’t see scene controls on the Akai LPD8, for one. (I thought the Akai didn’t have scenes, but it looks like program changes 1-4 are that — albeit minus those handy LEDs on the Korg.) Korg’s ultra-light pads — unlike the keyboard — are eminently playable, and feel fantastic. And while the Akai knobs are nice, I imagine I’ll still prefer the hold/flam/roll buttons and X/Y trackpad controller on the Korg. Korg also has some terrific software editing functions. Of course, some people would rather have knobs. That’s why choice is good.

That said, the LPK25 promises to fill a niche I’ve been waiting for someone to fill — a tiny keyboard you can throw in your backpack for programming tunes in a coffee shop.

Stay tuned – I’m finishing up not only a mini (ahem) review of the nanos this week, but also some new templates and scripts that make them easier to use with Ableton Live.

The PowerMate from Griffin is an affordable, very compact USB knob with glowing blue LED feedback and push-and-turn functionality (so it’s a button, too). But using just one knob may not be all that useful for control. We’ve already seen Robert Hodgin VJing with four PowerMates, but our friends Bill Van Loo and Joshua Schnable have come up with a novel solution. Using Schnable’s custom software built in Pure Data (Pd), they’ve not only mapped the PowerMate to MIDI, but using switches and the push function allow you to control four or eight channels at once using just the one knob.

At the end of last week, they offered a first look at the solution, with a basic demo in Ableton Live (though any MIDI-capable software will work), and downloadable Pd patch and manual to get you started. The patch is open source-licensed.

announcing CTRL4 + CTRL8: MIDI Control for Griffin PowerMate + PureData

Of course, if you’d rather use OSC or create an instrument right in Pd, you can do that, too, with this as a template. But if you want to get up and running with your PowerMate – even if you’ve never used Pd – this should be quite accessible.

Check it out in action in the video below. More documentation is coming.

The manual itself is written from the Mac perspective, but with any MIDI loopback tool on Windows, it should work, too – and I believe some people are even using the PowerMate on Linux. If anyone wants to share how you’re using this on another platform or with another setup, that’d be great, in a noisepages post/blog or anywhere you like – just let us know. (Documentation, suffice to say, is a huge part of going open source.)

This might be worth trying with similar hardware like the (discontinued but still available) Logitech NuLOOQ Navigator, as well. (The NuLOOQ is more expensive list, but looks like prices are as low as $30, and it adds additional controls like a ring on the top.)

Griffin PowerMate

Logitech NuLOOQ Navigator

FIRST LOOK: Joshua Schnable’s CTRL8 Powermate/PD control software from chromedecay on Vimeo.