Got a basic USB MIDI controller or keyboard sitting in your studio? Got a copy of Final Cut (or any other software that supports Logic Control / Mackie Control control surfaces)? Wish you could use your hardware to control your software? Thanks to Adam in comments on a story on M-Audio keyboards, we now know you can. That bank of faders should be perfect for some occasional Final Cut sound mixing, after all.
The solution is a piece of software called LC Xmu, which stands for Logic/Mackie Control emulation and management. Simple controllers get mapped in one direction (for input), but if you have a controller that either has motorized faders or knobs, or display feedback, or both, you can set up two-way communication with Final Cut so that you see/feel the results of what you’re doing. It works with generic controllers, it has specific presets for controllers from Korg, Behringer, Novation, Doepfer, and JL Cooper, and it even works with the Mackie Control hardware for which programs like Final Cut Pro were made in the first place.
Two-way communication, easily remapped and customized — tell me again why all software can’t behave this way? US$40 buys you the application and potentially saves a lot of time and money in the process. Thanks again, Adam; I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this and I can’t wait to start using it.
