Using a Control Surface

A control surface is a hardware device that uses knobs, faders, and buttons to control user interface elements that are normally controlled with a mouse. Using a control surface lends a tactile feel to your editing sessions.

Unlike keyboard shortcutswhich determine the shortcut's behavior based on the portion of the Acid window that has focusa control surface's mapped functions work no matter what part of the application has focus. ——

When your control surface is enabled, an indicator is displayed in the track list and the Mixing Console to show which channels are under external control. Multiple bars are displayed if a channel is under the control of multiple devices.

In the track list, vertical bars in tracks 1-4 indicate that those tracks are under external control.

In the Mixing Console window, horizontal bars at the top of channels 1-4 indicate which channels are under external control.

Connect your control surfaceClosed

You can use one Mackie Control Universal (with up to four Mackie Control Universal Extenders), one Frontier TranzPort, and up to five generic control surfaces with Acid.

If you’re using Mackie Control Extenders, you'll need a multiport MIDI interface with MIDI In/Out ports for each device.

Perform the following steps for each device.

  1. Connect the MIDI Out port on your MIDI interface to the MIDI In port on your control surface.

  2. Connect the MIDI In port on your MIDI interface to the MIDI Out port on your control surface.

  3. If you're using Mackie Control Extenders, repeat Steps 1 and 2 for each Mackie Control Extender.

NOTE If you're using a USB interface such as the Frontier TranzPort, just plug in the USB cable.

Configure Acid to use your control surfaceClosed

Use the MIDI tab in the Preferences dialog to select the device to which your control surface is connected.

  1. From the Options menu, choose Preferences to display the Preferences dialog.

  2. Enable your MIDI input and output ports:

    1. Select the MIDI tab in the Preferences dialog.

    2. In the Make these devices available for MIDI track playback box, select the check box for the MIDI port that is connected to your control surface's In port.

    3. In the Make these devices available for MIDI input box, select the check box for the MIDI port that is connected to your control surface's Out port.

    4. Click Apply.

    NOTE MIDI ports that are in use by a Mackie Control or Extender display a icon to indicate that they are not available for MIDI track input or playback.

  3. Choose your control surface:

    1. Select the External Control & Automation tab in the Preferences dialog.

    2. Choose a device from the Available devices drop-down list and click the Add button. Adding a device loads its default profile. If you want to customize the behavior of the control surface, double-click its entry in the Active control devices list.

  4. Click OK to apply your changes and close the Preferences dialog.

  5. From the Options menu, choose External Control to enable your selected control surfaces.

Configure or customize your control surfaceClosed

Use the External Control & Automation tab in the Preferences dialog to select the control surfaces you want to use and adjust their configuration.

  1. From the Options menu, choose Preferences to display the Preferences dialog.

  2. Select the External Control & Automation tab.

  3. Choose a device from the Available devices drop-down list and click the Add button. The device is added to the Active control devices list.

  4. Double-click the entry in the Active control devices list to display the configuration dialog.

  5. For information about setting up a Mackie control, see Using a Mackie Control.

  6. For information about setting up a generic MIDI control, see Using a Generic Control Surface.

Use your control surface Closed

This section describes how to use your control surface in general terms.

For information about your specific device, please refer to the manufacturer's documentation.

  1. From the Options menu, choose External Control to enable your selected control surfaces.

  2. If necessary, press the Automation button on your control surface.

  3. Click the Automation Settings button for each track you want to edit with the control surface and choose Automation Write (Touch) or Automation Write (Latch) to enable automation recording.

    To enable automation recording for audio busses and soft synths, use audio bus tracks.

  4. Use the functions on your control surface to edit your project.