MotorMix2
is a professional compact and powerful control surface for
audio professionals who are tired of the literally hundreds
of passes necessary to mix and edit with point-and-click
mixing with a mouse. The small footprint belies the in depth
access to all of your DAW mixer functions.
MotorMix2 features a bright 80 character backlit
display for track labels, pan positions, send levels and
plug-ins. The view switches allow a single MotorMix to
control any number of channels, 8 at a time.
Each MotorMix2 channel features a touch sensitive
long-throw motorized fader, dedicated Mute and Solo switches
and a Burn Button to control audio recording and
automation. The rotary pots give instant access to pans, aux
sends, plug-ins, input-output assignments and channel
automation modes. MotorMix2
is sized to fit on any desktop and is light enough to move
aside or put on your lap for eyes closed mixing.
The Fader flip option
is a really slick way to set up your aux levels quickly
using the motorized faders.
MotorMix2 functions as a stand alone controller or as
an 8 channel expansion unit for MotorMate.
Here
is a review of MotorMix2:
MotorMix2 is the most compact
unit of its kind that I have seen, with motorized faders. CM
Labs seems acutely aware of the variety of studio situations
in which this product is bound to be used. MotorMix2
conserves physical space, yet the layout is roomy and
comfortable. In addition, multiple MotorMix2 controllers can
be mechanically connected into a single "linear"
package or with "wedge" inserts (available from
CMLABS.net) to form an arc. Some of the 56 back-lit switches
are labeled, while others are strictly user-defined, and all
can be applied to a variety of mixer, transport and plug-in
functions. The first thing you'll notice about MotorMix2 is
its rock-solid feel. From the full-throw 100mm faders to the
40-column by two-row alphanumeric display, the unit feels
totally pro with no "flexing" of any kind when a
switch is pressed. A quick peek under the hood reveals
high-quality Fiberglas-epoxy circuit boards with plenty of
support. This is not a disposable product but one that can
grow with your needs.
Some workstations support
multiple MotorMix2 units Pro Tools accepts up to four.
Workstation manufacturers are responsible for supplying the
appropriate drivers. For example, Console Manager is the
Soundscape applet that allows users to select MotorMix2 from
a list of supported controllers. Within Soundscape's
Settings menu is a user option to boot Console Manager along
with the workstation. Once this is done the first time,
simply select "Save Settings," and it becomes
transparent.
While the
manual focuses on the Pro Tools interface, MotorMix2 can be
used with a variety of workstations, including Minnetonka's
stereo and 5.1 surround software. Working on my Soundscape
system, I got right to work on a mix from scratch, and it
sure was great to be able to put down the mouse and simply
audition individual tracks. All of my onscreen track labels
showed up in MotorMix2's LCD above each channel strip.
MotorMix2 can only display four characters for each channel.
Thus, I modified some of the onscreen track descriptions to
make the most of what could be displayed on the LCD. At the
upper left corner of the controller is a pair of View
buttons that advance channel access to either the next bank
of eight or the next group of four, depending on which of
those switches is selected. To take full advantage of the
100mm faders and of Soundscape's automation, some global
levels are set onscreen. For example, "overdriven"
electric guitars can be recorded hot, resulting in fader
positions 20 dB down from nominal. Automation systems do not
have as much resolution in this area; trimming the track's
level down 20 dB allowed the fader to "live" at
nominal. From this point, I made all fader and mute moves
from MotorMix2, including lead vocal composites. MotorMix2
always responded with speed and precision.
Features:
8 touch sensitive100mm high reliability motorized faders
8 endless hi-resolution rotary pots for
fader/pan/send/plug-in
Mute, Solo, Record / Write, Multi, Select switches in
channels
Includes accessory jack for expansion via CM Labs
Dashboard
Window controls to open and close software windows
View and Bank switches access any 8-channels at a time
Play, Stop, F Forward, Rewind and next / last locate
switches
Autopunch controls and window select switchers
Save and Undo switches for reliable file control
Plug-in selector and parameter control
4 modifier keys to increase functionality
Edit mode and tool control switches
Supported by most DAW applications, ProTools, Cakewalk,
Cycling 74, Emagic, MOTU, and Steinberg, among others.
Internal Power Supply
Small size: 10.5" (W) x 12.5" (D)
x 4.75" (H) / 10.5 x 31.8 x 12.1 cm.
Pro
Tools Support
Status :
CM Labs MotorMate and MotorMix2 support is currently available in
all Pro Tools
LE, TDM, HD and Accel systems. Support is also available for
Mbox, Digi 001, 002,
and 002 Rack.
MotorMix2 must be in in
ProTools mode. If it is not in PT mode, press Play and
Escape on MotorMix2 to turn it on. MotorMix2 will display
"Open a ProTools session to begin" on the bottom
row of the LCD display after it is powered up and the faders
have moved to the bottom.
Both
MotorMate and
MotorMix2 use the MotorMix personality.
For Pro Tools 6.4 ,
it is located on the installer CD at Additional
Files/Unsupported Software/Controllers.
Just
drag it to the Controllers folder, which on OS X is:
Applications/Digidesign/Pro Tools/Controllers.
For
Windows XP it's at: Program
Files\CommonFiles\Digidesign\DAE\Controllers
Downloads
and Information:
Learn more
about Digidesign.
Learn how to use
MotorMate and MotorMix with Pro Tools.
Download
a trial version of Pro Tools.
Download
Digidesign software updates.
Brand
names and trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.

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