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banevt · 29th January 2009

This has already been done by a few people but mainly Tonelux as far as I know. Check out shadowmix in google or just check out the tonelux site. You either use pre fader aux sends from your track in your DAW to output the audio or you can just make aux faders that only control the analog ones. The only thing that keeps this from being the greatest thing ever is the price. The faders in an analog console with moving fader automation have two sets of tracks. One for the audio and one for a positional reference for the motor's. At least that's the way I understand it, but I'm no tech by any means. You can't really use the faders that come in your control surface cause they only have one track and no audio path which is part of why they are so inexpensive. I don't know if it's possible to "upgrade" a control surface fader to one that also has an audio path so you basically end up needing to use the same type of faders used in the other moving fader automation systems. It's moving moving fader automation so it's still going to be a bit pricey. At least that's the conclusion I've come up with in my research on this subject. I think it's somewhere around 300-400 just for the fader, that starts to add up by the time you get to 24-32 tracks and then there's the whole bit of interfacing the motor on the fader with your DAW through HUI protocol or something like that. It'd be nice to be able to retrofit an analog console for not very much money but I think it ends up costing a bit in the end but if I had the cash to spare I'd get it done. Again, this is all just kind of what I've come up with on my search for DAW controlled analog moving fader automation, I could be wrong on more than one point. I've pondered this ever since the first time I saw a HUI and have been wishing for an inexpensive solution for years. I've had some crazy ideas for trying some sort of DIY system that I would hack together from an existing control surface but it all seems to point to being expensive. Paul at Tonelux has worked out a system so you get the highest resolution on the analog fader while keeping the volume reference the same in the analog and virtual fader until about -10 I think, below that the volume numbers will be different from each other to give the analog fader a better resolution. What would be pretty cool to see is something that had 8 faders automatable from your DAW with a transparent I/O path that you would patch into your existing setup like an insert after your outboard. It would also be cool if it were expandable. This seems to only make sense if it were less expensive, or if you wanted something you could take with you anywhere you worked.

29th January 2009	#7
banevt Gear nut Joined: Nov 2008 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 129	Tonelux Shadowmix This has already been done by a few people but mainly Tonelux as far as I know. Check out shadowmix in google or just check out the tonelux site. You either use pre fader aux sends from your track in your DAW to output the audio or you can just make aux faders that only control the analog ones. The only thing that keeps this from being the greatest thing ever is the price. The faders in an analog console with moving fader automation have two sets of tracks. One for the audio and one for a positional reference for the motor's. At least that's the way I understand it, but I'm no tech by any means. You can't really use the faders that come in your control surface cause they only have one track and no audio path which is part of why they are so inexpensive. I don't know if it's possible to "upgrade" a control surface fader to one that also has an audio path so you basically end up needing to use the same type of faders used in the other moving fader automation systems. It's moving moving fader automation so it's still going to be a bit pricey. At least that's the conclusion I've come up with in my research on this subject. I think it's somewhere around 300-400 just for the fader, that starts to add up by the time you get to 24-32 tracks and then there's the whole bit of interfacing the motor on the fader with your DAW through HUI protocol or something like that. It'd be nice to be able to retrofit an analog console for not very much money but I think it ends up costing a bit in the end but if I had the cash to spare I'd get it done. Again, this is all just kind of what I've come up with on my search for DAW controlled analog moving fader automation, I could be wrong on more than one point. I've pondered this ever since the first time I saw a HUI and have been wishing for an inexpensive solution for years. I've had some crazy ideas for trying some sort of DIY system that I would hack together from an existing control surface but it all seems to point to being expensive. Paul at Tonelux has worked out a system so you get the highest resolution on the analog fader while keeping the volume reference the same in the analog and virtual fader until about -10 I think, below that the volume numbers will be different from each other to give the analog fader a better resolution. What would be pretty cool to see is something that had 8 faders automatable from your DAW with a transparent I/O path that you would patch into your existing setup like an insert after your outboard. It would also be cool if it were expandable. This seems to only make sense if it were less expensive, or if you wanted something you could take with you anywhere you worked.