Focusrite Cubase 5 User manual
Automation & Control
Surface Manual
Version: 1.0
2
Automation Overview Page 3
Automation Setup Page 3
Recording & Editing Automation Data Page 4
Automation Safe Page 5
Running Automation in HUITM Mode Page 5
Control Surface Panel Overview Page 6
Control Surface Setup Page 6
Entering DAW Layer Page 8
Setup Mode Page 8
Transport Panel Page 9
Navigation & Utility Controls Page 10
Zoom Functions Page 11
Banking & Nudges Control Surface Tracks Page 11
DAW Meters Page 11
Select Mode Page 12
Record Enable Mode Page 12
Automation Modes Page 12
Group Mode Page 13
Solo & Cut Page 13
Function Keys Page 14
Page Keys Page 14
Pan Encoder Mode Page 14
I/O Assign Mode Page 15
Aux Encoder Mode Page 16
Aux Assign Mode Page 16
Insert Mode Page 17
Insert Encoder Control Page 17
Mackie HUI™ (Human User Interface) is a registered trademark of LOUD Technologies Inc.
3
To set up the 8-channel fader automation system in Cubase /
Nuendo, we must use 8 MIDI tracks and place them at the start
or end of your session (we recommend the start so you can add
tracks afterwards with ease as your session progresses).
Please follow the steps outlined below:
Boot Cubase / Nuendo
Create a new session or open an existing one
Step 1: Assuming that the MIDI drivers have been detected
(which they should have) – Cubase / Nuendo will immediately
spot the available MIDI ports for Control 2802.
Check this by navigating to the Devices > Device Setup > MIDI
Ports… and verify that the Control 2802 Automation and Control
Surface ports show up as detected for both inputs and outputs.
The diagram below provides an overview of the automation
system and the parameters that can be controlled.
Control 2802 provides fader and mute automation along side its
full DAW control surface layer.
The sections of most interest when using the console
automation are as follows:
Faders
Cut (Mute) Switches
Select Mode Panel – Select and Auto Safe
DAW Transport
Assuming that you have followed all steps outlined in the main
manual networking section for Apple Mac or PC (page 42 onwards),
you will have connected Control 2802 to your studio computer and
connected to the console via .
4
Please note that inputs will be indicated as active, however
until you create a MIDI track that addresses the Control 2802
automation output, the output will be shown as inactive.
Step 5: You are now free to record your automation passes to
and from the console to these MIDI tracks. Just record enable
the track(s) and place Cubase into record.
Step 3: Label the tracks something useful so that they are easy
to locate, AUTO1, AUTO2, AUTO3 etc – perhaps with a further
addition of whatever source you are riding, AUTO1-LDVox,
AUTO3-DrumsL etc.
Step 4: Assign the channel inputs and outputs to the Control
2802 MIDI port, ensuring that each track addresses a new MIDI
channel. AUTO1 = channel 1, AUTO2 = channel 2 etc.
Step 2: Return to the arrange window and create 8 new MIDI
tracks that can be used to capture and edit the automation data.
Once recorded it is possible to copy, paste and duplicate this
data in region form. However as this data is captured via a
combination of MIDI CC controllers (modulation included) you
cannot freely edit and draw in your own curves and fades. The
best procedure here is to record new passes of automation if
you are unhappy with previous rides.
5
Automation safe should be used when you want to isolate a
particular channel from automation – for example – to audition
rides without “ghting” existing automation data or without
“printing” the rides if channels are still in write enabled.
When the console boots automation safe is engaged by default.
If you wish to automate a channel you must rst press the
automation safe switch (in the select mode panel) and then turn
off automation safe from each channel you wish to automate.
Note that all select mode layers are stored and function
simultaneously. By toggling the select mode switches in
conjunction with the large green channel select switches it is
possible to obtain rapid control of SIP safe, DAW record enable,
select, unity and automation safe channel settings.
All select mode layers are stored even after a power down, so
remember to clear them manually if the next session requires
a different setup.
6
To set up the Control 2802 as a control surface for Cubase /
Nuendo please follow these steps:
Step 1: Press the Control 2802 Setup button and select
Cubase / Nuendo in the host software option page using the
rotary encoder.
The control surface panel on Control 2802 provides access to
many common and useful DAW functions.
Please follow the setup procedure below, and read the following
pages to learn how to operate the Control 2802 control surface.
Assuming that you have followed all steps outlined in the
networking section, you will have connected Control 2802
to your studio computer and connected to the console via
.
7
Please note that the setup light may ash if you have changed
from another host software selection. Settings are saved upon
exit from setup mode.
Step 2: Exit ASP Setup and boot Cubase. Assuming that
the MIDI drivers have been detected (which they should
have),Cubase / Nuendo will immediately spot the available MIDI
ports for Control 2802.
Check this by navigating to the Devices > Device Setup > MIDI
Ports… and verify that the Control 2802 Control Surface ports
show up as detected for both inputs and outputs.
Please note that inputs will be indicated as active, however until
you create a control surface that addresses the Control 2802
output, it will be shown as inactive.
Step 5: Once assigned, click apply to conrm your settings.
Step 3: In the Device Setup menu, click on the (+) sign to add a
new control surface, here select Mackie HUITM.
Step 4: Here assign the MIDI inputs and outputs to the Control
2802 Control Surface ports in the drop down menu.
You should be ready to go, please enter DAW layer on the
Control 2802 and ensure that it picks up your channels in
Cubase / Nuendo and you can bank around the project using the
channel bank or nudge keys in the controls surface,
8
To enter the for control surfacefunctionality ensure
that the DAW switch (1) is depressed and .
Whenever it is not illuminated, the faders and channel switches
operate in the analogue layer.
However some of the control surface functionality remains
active when in the analogue layer to aid your session workow,
allowing simultaneous control of both analogue fader level and
important DAW functions.
These are:
Transport switches (3-7) jog / shuttle disabled
Cycle toggle on / off
Track / region navigation cursor controls
Shift + navigation cursor controls for horizontal and
vertical zoom
DAW meters
The switch (2) allows you to access a number of useful
networking parameters as well as set the host DAW platform of
choice and check your current rmware revision.
Once the setup switch has been pressed, the OLED displays
will show the rst page of the setup menu.
To page through various other pages on the OLED displays,
whether it be in the setup menu or when accessing insert plugin
parameters, use the page function switches (26) located under
the left most encoder.
To edit parameters in any of the OLED displays when in
setup mode, rotate the corresponding rotary encoder to change
values and then press the setup switch to select and apply
the changes.
Note that once a change has been made, the setup switch LED
will ash to indicate that a setting has changed and will return to
a solid red once changes are conrmed.
Setup Page 1 – Host Software
Setup Page 2 – Use DHCP (networking option)
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Setup Page 3 – IP Address (networking option)
Setup Page 4 – Subnet Mask (networking option)
Setup Page 5 – Port (default 1212, networking option)
Setup Page 6 – Firmware Info
The transport panel on Control 2802 provides access to the
following functions:
Rewind (3)
Fast-Forward (4)
Stop (5)
Play (6)
Record (7)
A jog wheel (8) is also
provided and can be
used to control several
DAW commands.
10
When operating the or controls (3 & 4) it
should be noted that one switch press initiates a small jump in
either direction and you must press and hold either switch to
perform playhead rewind or fast-forward. Releasing the switches
will return to the previous mode of operation ( or ).
A double tap on the control (5) provides
location functionality, placing the playhead
wherever the last start position was located.
You can activate a command in the
transport section of Cubase / Nuendo preference (see right >>>)
The (8) operates as a silent re-position of the
playhead cursor, with clockwise movements positioning the
playhead cursor forwards in time and anti-clockwise movements
positioning the playhead cursor back in time.
By using the function (12) in conjunction with the
(8), the playhead cursor can be used to ‘scrub’ through
the audio within your Cubase / Nuendo session in realtime as if
‘rocking the tape against the playhead’. This is useful for nding
edit points and punch-in locations etc. When in this mode, the
scrub switch will illuminated a solid green.
If the switch (12) is pressed for a second time, the
(8) performs shuttle operation, providing continuous
rewind or fast-forward of the playhead cursor. This is silent and
indicated by a ashing green LED in the switch.
A third press on the switch (12) toggles back to standard
jog wheel operation, indicated by no switch illumination.
Control 2802 provides several navigation and utility controls just
above the transport section.
The control (9) can be used to toggle Cubase / Nuendo’s
cycle loop on and off.
The (10) and (11) controls are currently
unsupported in Cubase / Nuendo.
Please see for the latest updates to control
functionality.
The (14) can be used to select
tracks in your Cubase / Nuendo session (up & down cursors) or
to select regions on the selected track (left & right cursors).
If used with mode (pressing switch 13), the navigation
cursors operate as zoom controls. Vertical track zoom is
achieved with the up & down cursor switches, while horizontal
timeline zoom is achieved with the left & right cursor switches.
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In order to navigate around your session and bring banks of 8
tracks onto the Control 2802 control surface, there are several
switches that are useful.
The (15) allow you to ‘bank’ in eight channel
blocks left and right, through either your tracks or arrange page
channels (for example 1-8 or 9-16).
If using the (15) in conjunction with the
function (13), it is possible to ‘nudge’ left or right on a
channel by channel basis (one at a time).
To access
for all eight channels, the (16) must be
used to access the last four channels in the bank of eight.
The channels that are active and available on the encoders
are . The encoders can be used to
access pan, aux, insert and input / output assigns for the
four active channels.
If you wish to display eight channels of DAW metering on
Control 2802’s LED bargraph meters, a global command switch
(17) , provides this functionality.
12
The select mode panel provides various functions, some
of which operate on the analogue layer and are useful for
automation control (auto safe etc), while others are specically
used for control over DAW functions on the DAW layer.
Above each fader are three illuminated push switches.
The rst switch, (18) can be used for several functions
on both analogue and DAW layers when used in combination
with the select modes available in the middle of the control
surface panel.
When is chosen (19), the large green
above the channel faders become DAW
channel selects when in control surface mode. Selected
channels are highlighted in light grey within Cubase / Nuendo
and a box is shown around the channel name in the Control
2802 OLED display. In Cubase / Nuendo, only one channel can
be selected at any one time from the hardware but shift+clicking
in software allows multiple selections.
Use (20) within DAW control surface mode when
arming tracks for recording in Cubase / Nuendo.
Activate this mode and then use the large green
(18) to record enable each track active on the eight
channel HUITM bank.
Please note that by using multiple channel select switches (18),
you can record enable more than one track at once.
The control (21) is used in the DAW layer
to set host specic automation modes like read, touch and
latch etc.
13
This control can be used to access automation modes for
channels active on the control surface.
The available automation modes in Cubase / Nuendo operate
in conjunction with the main automation panel:
Read
Write
Read/Write
Off
To access the automation mode selections using the Control
2802 control surface press the switch (21).
Observing the OLED displays, you should see a series of
options appear above each encoder. Use the or
encoder switches to set either mode or a combination mode.
The switches behave in a toggle arrangement, cycling through
the possible automation modes in Cubase / Nuendo.
Select whichever tracks you wish to
apply the automation mode to using
either the large green channel select
switches (18) or shift+clicking in the
Cubase / Nuendo mixer with
your mouse.
Press down on the encoder below
the option you require to apply the
setting to the selected channels.
(22) is currently unsupported in the initial Cubase /
Nuendo software release.
Please see for the latest updates to
control functionality.
There are three further select modes available on Control 2802
which are used in the analogue layer.
For more specc information about the functionality of these
modes, please see the main analogue manual.
– not used in the DAW layer, please consult
the full Control 2802 analogue manual for more information.
– used in the analogue layer for isolating
channels from any automation control data, ideal for trying out a
new ride before recording the pass of automation.
– used in the analogue layer to provide a quick and
easy way to position the channel fader at the unity gain (0 dB)
position. This is very useful if you are setting up a stem session
for analogue summing etc.
To use these functions press the function required in the select
mode panel and then press the large channel select switches
(18) on each and every channel that requires the application of
the function selected.
When in the large channel cut and solo switches (23
& 24) perform mute and solo functionality within Cubase.
If you are using any internal Cubase
grouping you may nd it useful to group
these functions to provide quick and easy
solo or cut auditioning across a larger
group of channels.
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Function keys F1 to F4 (25) are currently unsupported in the
initial Cubase / Nuendo software release.
Please see for the latest updates to
control functionality.
The page keys (26) are used to
page through various parameters
that are assigned to the rotary
encoders and OLED displays.
If editing aux sends, input and
output routing or plugin insert
effects, the parameters or host
options will often cover more
than one page. Scroll left to
right through the available parameter pages using the page keys
located beneath the left hand encoder.
When selecting pan (27) as the encoder mode on the right hand
side of the control surface, the encoders become pan controls
for channels 1-4 (or 5-8) of the control surface selection. The
OLED displays indicate Cubase / Nuendo channel pan position
with a horizontal slider located beneath the channel name.
15
By pressing the assign key (30) when in pan mode, the encoders
provide access to several channel functions including routing.
This is very useful for setting up inputs for recording or bussing
architecture when mixing. First a channel must be selected
using the large green channel select switches (18).
Input assigns are set on page one. Use the page keys (26)
to access page two where polarity reverse can be toggled on
and off.
Assigning channel inputs, outputs or enabling software
monitoring can be achieved on page one of mode.
To assign a (encoder one) just scroll through the
options with the rotary encoder and the assignment will change
upon rotation.
To turn on (encoder two, page one) or
polarity invert (encoder one, page two) press encoder two.
To assign a (encoder three) just scroll through
the options with the rotary encoder and the assignment will
change upon rotation.
Encoder four () is currently
unsupported in the initial software
release.
Please see
for the latest updates to control
functionality.
To aid you in navigating your studio
setup at a faster pace, try using the
VST Connections labelling system
to name inputs, outputs and buses
something simple (shortform text)
and useful.
16
Please bear in mind that the HUITM protocol only relays
4 characters to the control surface therefore short names may
be more useful.
When selecting aux (28) as the encoder mode on the right hand
side of the control surface, the encoders become aux send
controls for channels 1-4 (or 5-8) of the control surface selection.
The OLED displays indicate Cubase / Nuendo channel send
level with a horizontal slider located beneath the channel name.
Use the page keys (26) to select other available sends
(all eight sends).
To edit several useful aux parameters access aux + assign
mode.
When in aux mode, pressing the assign key (30) provides
access to several useful aux send parameters, however it
should be noted that in the release version of the Control 2802
rmware, aux sends cannot be instantiated from the
control surface.
17
To edit existing send parameters press the assign key (30).
Here you will nd access to level readout in dB, FX send on / off
switching and pre / post switching.
There are 8 pages available so that you can access this ner
level of control for all 8 aux sends.
Rotate the encoders to change level, press on them to toggle
between send on / off and pre / post fader settings.
The Control 2802 control surface can be used to instatiate and
control insert plugins within Cubase / Nuendo.
Firstly select the track you wish to instantiate the plugin insert
on via the large green channel select switches (18) banking or
nudging the control surface if needed.
Once your channel is selected, press the insert switch (29) in
the encoder mode panel. Note that the OLED display changes
to show you insert assign page (the actual assign switch (30) is
disabled in Cubase / Nuendo insert mode.
Please note that if you wish to change your channel selection
or repeat the following process on another channel, the OLED
will update for a few seconds to show this new selection in
insert mode:
18
To select a plugin for instantiation, rotate the rst encoder to
select an empty insert slot and then rotate encoder three to
scroll through the plugin list. Once the desired plugin in located,
press the encoder down to instantiate the plugin.
At this point, notice that the plugin window will open within
Cubase / Nuendo, however to close this window you must do so
manually with the mouse.
Also note that the number pages will update to reect the
number of parameter pages for the loaded plugin. To edit the
plugin parameters, simply page to the right using the page keys
(26) and adjust any corresponding encoders.
The OLEDs will display parameter values during encoder
rotation but after a few seconds will return to displaying the
parameter title.
19
The example below illustrates the mapping of some of the
controls from a Steinberg Studio EQ.
To return to slot selection page backwards to page 01.
Here you can access other insert slots for instantiation and
editing, To exit insert mode simply return to pan or aux mode.
For any future updates to the control surface functionality of
Control 2802, please see the Control 2802 webpage and latest
rmware available online at .
We hope you enjoy your new control surface and analogue
console.
Thanks from the Focusrite team.
20
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