I got a UC-33e, and I'm pretty pleased.  The knobs have some room between 0 and 1, but the resolution is okay, the controls don't stick, and it's completely programmable.  There is also drawbar mode, which reverses the faders.  Although it seems that if a button is set to the standard note on/off cc, it will not toggle, it sends note off on release.  I had to set it to cc 119 to get it to toggle.  I'm guessing that's not a problem for you, using Csound.
Also, you can set a global MIDI channel which affects all controls set to channel 00, but controls not set to 00 are unaffected.  I don't know if that's standard, but it's a cool idea.

 

 

On 10/29/05, Art Hunkins <abhunkin@uncg.edu> wrote:

Does anyone know of a MIDI slider bank (control surface) that meets the
following criteria? I can't seem to find one, though a few come close.

1) USB, deriving power from computer. (Wall-wart/AC power supplies are a
needless nuisance, and performance on a laptop is a requirement today.)

2) At least 16 CC sliders arranged linearly or in two stacked rows of 8.
Sliders should be 60mm throw or more. CC numbering should be consecutive in
banks of 8 (i.e., some configuration should permit this).

3) At least 8 buttons arranged linearly, preferably under corresponding
sliders. Buttons programmable for *toggling* note on/note off.

4) Buttons have corresponding LED's to show state on or off.

5) Compact footprint. (This rules out any units incorporating even a 25-note
keyboard. Portability is again important.)


The *closest* units I've seen so far are: 1) the Niche Automation Station
(long since out of production), which has everything except USB. (It's
basically a Peavey1600 with LED's.) 2) The Evolution U-Control UC-33, which
is limited to 9 sliders, but has *3* other nicely aligned sets of 8 rotary
pots. (No LED's, and the buttons are *not* user-friendly in their
arrangement.)

Any hardware info (recommendations) to share?

FWIW, the above hypothetical unit could perform *all* the live Csound pieces
I've done - portably, on a laptop.

Art Hunkins

--
Send bugs reports to this list.
To unsubscribe, send email to csound-unsubscribe@lists.bath.ac.uk