X-Touch One Capabilities

[cwcarter13]

I am looking to replace my aging Mackie Controller with an X-Touch One. I typically only use one fader at a time, and haven't really gotten into using the deep levels of what the MCU can do, plus it would be nice to reclaim some of that desk space. So that's why I'm not just pulling the trigger on getting a full X-Touch or FaderPort8...or something similar.

 

Here are my questions:

1. When writing automation, does the XT1 write only Volume and Pan, or will it work with whatever automation parameter is selected/active? My current Mackie controller works with whatever parameter is active, so I would assume the XT1 does, as well. But I've read some conflicting information about having to do some "hack" that reassigns the Master fader to AQA (Automation Quick Access?)...which is currently off in my setup.

2. Can you reprogram or relearn what any of the Function buttons do when it's in Logic mode? For instance, I NEVER use Write or Latch modes (always Touch)...so those are wasted buttons for me. Can I Learn/Assign them to do something else?

3. I guess the follow up question here would be if you can kind of custom program the buttons in the MC User mode and it still work with Logic? I finally found the list of button assignment options. Just curious if using MC User mode has a negative impact on performance in Logic.

3b. Follow up would be since the Modifiers (Shift, Option, etc) are available options, I would assume that means you can then program additional functionality to each button?

4. I've seen that in Studio 1, you can put the XT1 in Plug-In assignment...so the controller has that capability (kind of obvious, I guess, since it's running MCU protocol). Is there a way in Logic to activate that on the XT1? (again...maybe MC User mode is the answer here?)

 

So I've scoured as many forums as I can, and of course have confused the crap out of myself with all the information. Some info is old, some is just wrong, some is conflicting. I'm hoping that here I can get the definitive answers I need to make my decision.

Logic Pro X 10.4.8

Macbook Pro mid-2014

Mojave 10.14.6

[des99]

3 hours ago, cwcarter13 said:

1. When writing automation, does the XT1 write only Volume and Pan, or will it work with whatever automation parameter is selected/active?

It can only automate vol/pan, it has no access to any other track or plugin parameters.

I've hacked mine though so that when I go into master fader mode, it uses AQA and can thus write with the fader whatever parameter you have selected. But this does take a little hacking though (I went into this on a GS post if you search around for it).

3 hours ago, cwcarter13 said:

2. Can you reprogram or relearn what any of the Function buttons do when it's in Logic mode?

Yes, just like the MCU you can edit/change the controller assignments.

3 hours ago, cwcarter13 said:

3. I guess the follow up question here would be if you can kind of custom program the buttons in the MC User mode and it still work with Logic?

As above.

3 hours ago, cwcarter13 said:

3b. Follow up would be since the Modifiers (Shift, Option, etc) are available options, I would assume that means you can then program additional functionality to each button?

You can edit Logic's controller assignments to do different things on receipt of these MIDI messages. Remember though, as we've gone into here in great depth, hacking or changing up the functionality of the MCU is not trivial and requires a certain programmer-type problem solving mindset, unless you are doing something very trivial that doesn't affect anything else. At least the XT-one is fairly simple and doesn't implement a lot of the MCU's complexity.

3 hours ago, cwcarter13 said:

4. I've seen that in Studio 1, you can put the XT1 in Plug-In assignment...so the controller has that capability (kind of obvious, I guess, since it's running MCU protocol). Is there a way in Logic to activate that on the XT1? (again...maybe MC User mode is the answer here?)

Not easily, as none of this is supported by default, and if you wanted to implement it manually, it's a) not trivial and b) the XT-one doesn't really have enough buttons/controls to make this viable. If you want to be able to edit plugins, the XT-one really isn't a good tool to try to do that with (when my MCU's are packed away I use a combination of an XT-one for fader/transports/etc and a separate small controller for mixing and plugin editing.)

I've found the XT-one a great little tool though in Logic - recommended.

Edited July 1, 2022 by des99

[cwcarter13]

Thanks for the reply. I've read your post about the AQA hack on GS...that's how I knew about it. So on your 8 fader XT, does the channel fader automatically control whatever automation parameter is selected? If so, I'm just curious how the big version can do it but the 1 fader can't. To reiterate...I have an oooooold Mackie MCU...you know...the 9 fader dark gunmetal gray one?...and it automates whatever parameter is active at the time. AQA is turned off in my settings. And to be 100% certain, I just ran a test. I opened up the waves LA2A on a track, went into automation mode, set the track to Touch, mouse clicked on the gain knob on the plugin, which set that as the automation parameter, hit play, and automated away. So the XT1 can't do that? The big XT can?

Edited July 2, 2022 by cwcarter13
clarity

[des99]

As I said above, the XTone doesn’t implement many of the things a full MCU does. The fader by default can only control/automate the volume on the selected channel, or in Master mode, the volume of the master fader. It doesn’t implement any of the MCU modes like plugin edit mode. If those features are important to you, you’ll need to keep using your MCUs or replace them with an XT. The XTone features only a small subset of what the full MCU can do.