Aida Sound Users Forum

Hi ,

My name is Paul and i run a project studio in Scotland uk ; mainly based around midi composition / media composing.

I recently bought Dtouch as it seemed like a controller that could offer so much workflow benefits for me via touch .

I am slowly learning its ways, and writing some basic macros for it , but also have a few questions that i hope some of the more experienced may be able to answer.

First off, my studio is nearly complete - i work just about all ITB , and have a vast array of sample libraries, vsts etc and effects ; along side the Komplete Kontrol S88 keyboard, Neumann Monitors, VE pro , and slave pcs . Also i use lots of UA equipment, including UAD-2 and the Silverface Apollo .

D-touch is great, but i am looking to finish off the studio with the SSL Nucleus , for its 16 faders (still cant beat physical faders ) its great preamps / monitoring and how to complements Dtouch - placing inserts and sends quickly, many assignable functions on physical buttons ,and the ability to have the option of working away from the screen during long sessions .

I am wondering if any other user here uses Nucleus and does it play nice with D-touch ? It should do as its MCU and my other MCU units i have tested worked fine - but the extra ethernet set up and button config may be a problem (though i dont see why) . Any input on this would be great m before i drop alot of money on an expensive paper weight

I have gone from a studio full of many synths, control surfaces, controllers etc etc , patch bays and have found that for me , keeping things simple but powerful is the way forward - otherwise i spend half a day fiddling with settings and levels and it kills the productivity . So have a smaller, efficient studio would work best for me - and adding the Nucleus would be the finishing touch.

Sorry about rambling, i am never very good at explaining these sort of things . Any way thanks in advance and hopefully i will get some useful feedback

Paul

Hi Paul!

Sorry, I can't help you with the Nucleus. Just want to say that you should check the ergonomic part of your project. Nucleus is quite deep and high, so I'm not sure if that is comfortable when placing Nucleus in front of a touchscreen.
BTW, I made the mistake when buying my table - it is much to high to work comfortably on the touchscreen. Didn't consider this!

If you buy a fader bank, make sure it's as small as possible DEPTH wise.
If you want the touch screen to be behind the faders, the fader bank really shouldn't be much deeper than a computer keyboard.

There are very few options in that segment.

FYI. Devil Technologies are considering to release a fader bank that pairs perfectly with a 27" screen.
There' no guarantee that it'll be released, but if I were you I'd wait before buying a controller.

Hello Paul,

I want to express my opinion regarding the use of the SSL Nucleus as an "extension" of DTouch.
Lets start to say that the Nucleus is a very expensive controller. If you are not interested in its analog section (on which I cannot comment because I am not an "analog" guy), you could spend at least 4-10 times less for another controller.
That said, I would consider the Nucleus only for its analog section, not as the perfect controller.
As PeterZ said, the Nucleus is a huge controller. You must also consider that you will need a mouse and keyboard (I personally think that a QWERTY keyboart is still mandatory for fast editing).
In a touchscreen based workplace, you must have your touchscreen near to the arm rest. This is even more important if you have a 27" touchscreen where the graphic controls are not super-huge and you must precisely tap on the touchscreen.
So, try to imagine your desk and you will see that you will not have much space for a Nucleus. Honestly, if you want to have a physical motorfader, a cheap FaderPort at the side of your QWERTY keyboard could be a lot more effective than a Nucleus. But ... this is only my opinion!

Anyway, if you want to consider the Nucleus as an external controller for DTouch, we will be more than glad to answer to your other questions regarding the interfacing to DTouch.

Silvano Bettinzana
Devil Technologies

I echo the comments about not having a hardware controller that is too deep, in front of your touchscreen.

I moved away from a Mackie MCU system because I continually found myself primarily looking at the screen, and wanting to interface with the DAW itself, which is your digitial "console".

I had 24 faders, then sold off one of the extenders, and was left with 16 faders, then sold off another extender, until I made the leap to a 42" touchscreen, based on DTouch.

I understand your desire for analog preamps and analog monitoring -- but this can be done easily with a myriad of other gear.

A pair great preamps can even be found in a Metric Halo ULN-2 (which, btw, offers 18 channels of 80-bit summing), or an Audient id22, or several others. Or, great standalone preamps can be had for $500-$1000 each. Then analog monitor controllers are not that expensive either, such as those from Mammoth Cave Audio (hand-wired the old-school way).

Plus, why put all your eggs in one basket with piece of gear like the SSl Nucleus -- what would you do it one aspect of it fails?