Stream Deck Adaption ....... For New Album

[Bob Bickerton]

So I'm about to embark on a new album for the next three weeks and before I start a project like this I like to get the studio space sorted.

So just for interest, this is how I set it up:



There's a mono ribbon for most of the taonga pūoro, a stereo pair behind that for instruments that benefit from stereo imaging and then the harp which has a stereo pair, plus a DI for some delayed effects that are necessary played live.

However the main point of this post is to do with an adaption I have made to a Stream Deck mini. When I'm working on projects like this, I like to let go of the technology side (having set it up) and and focus on tracking, the creative side.

I've taken the Stream Deck Mini, which is a stupid shape and removed its bottom (a bottomoscapy?), set it in a sensible rectangular box and mounted it on the mic stand:



It's working supremely well and having a great set of transport controls right at the stand (Record, Stop/Play, Undo, Back to Start Position and Left/Right markers) really helps the workflow.

I bought a K&M phone holder to connect it to the stand:



Very handy little device!

Bob

[resistorman]

Good idea!

[sonics]

Posterior panelectomy, perhaps?

This sort of setup is always a great idea, however you accomplish it. I use iPads for remote control, myself, as well as a PreSonus FaderPort.

[shufflebeat]

Arsectomy, I thought.

I do a very similar thing with a wireless number pad triggering actions/macros in Reaper:

Record
Stop - keep
Stop - discard
Go to (specified) marker
Toggle repeat
Switch on kettle (requested feature)

Good luck with the project, Bob. I’m sure we’d all love to read some diary highlights, and lowlights, obvs.

[RichardT]

That looks lovely Bob - a great setup and environment for recording.

[Eddy Deegan]

This is an excellent idea and well executed

I'm inspired to do something similar with my Stream Deck XL because currently it's not very useful in the shadow of the large mixing desk/control surface!

[Sam Spoons]

Nice room Bob,

I have always had the same complaint about the Stream Deck Mini but it never occurred to me that the Toblerone shaped back would not be full of circuit board or something. I foresee a rash of StreamDeck Mini arsectomies taking place across the World

[tea for two]

Does look bloomin handy.

Just ooot of shot is ofcourse the minibar with some fine Malts.

Buttockoctomy bit of a tongue twister.

[Eddy Deegan]

Buttockoctomy bit of a tongue twister.

I'm calling it a rearmoval, it's easier to pronounce!

[The Elf]

Glad others find the Stream Decks as useful as me.

I have an XL at studio centre, and a 15-button SD always attached to my stage keyboard. Both of these can be set flat, or placed on their included angled stand. It's a shame, it seems, that the mini version doesn't have the same facility, but you've found a solution.

[ajay_m]

I love these little devices. There are so many cool plugins for them, too.

Note that the StreamDeck MIDI plugin now fixes a super-annoying issue where it didn't recover from a disconnected device - at least, the version the author gave me fixes this so I imagine he's updated the version on the Streamdeck appstore (which is free anyway).
There's also an OSC plugin which I was able to get working with my Yamaha DM3 but unfortunately Yamaha's OSC implementation doesn't do the one thing you really want - expose all the things you could map to softkeys - I had a little fantasy of using the XL to map pretty much all the softkeys but alas, you can't currently do that, which is a shame, but no reflection on the StreamDeck of course.
Also I wish there was a general purpose plugin that could act as a front end to other plugins that let you type in from a numeric keypad and then send the result downstream. What I mean is that suppose you wanted to use the StreamDeck to send MIDI CC messages to select patches, then of course you can assign individual CC messages to individual buttons, but if you wanted to be able to type 73 then ENTER to select patch 73, then you can't do this (My Roland A800 keyboard controller can, which is useful). There is also a plugin for MS flight sim that can act as a numeric keyboard, but I don't know how you'd connect that to MIDI downstream. Ah well....

[The Elf]

I use a Cubase Stream Deck plug-in. Unfortunately there are many commands that are not supported, so I do still have to use the MIDI plug-in too. Given the hundreds of possible Cubase commands it's forgivable, but I do wish the writer would expand it.

If anyone is interested (and for anyone writing new SD plug-ins) I would urge you to take a look at how the Cantabile SD plug-in works. It's abso-bloomin-lutely amazing!

[Sam Spoons]

The only major annoyance for me is that I'm still running an old, 2008, Mac Pro on El Capitan, the new Stream Deck I bought last year would not run and after a protracted email conversation with Elgato support it was discovered that the last revision of the mk1 Stream Deck needed at least OSX 10.13 High Sierra to run

[Drew Stephenson]

Reaper has a 'remote control via web browser' function so you can use your phone Sam.

[Sam Spoons]

Thanks Drew, I have used an app on an iPad for transport control but, having got used to using my Stream Deck Mini the option to have 15 buttons with custom logos proved very attractive indeed hence the Stream Deck 'standard' idea, The problem may go away next autumn, as when I get back into music again after the summer break I may buy a refurb M1 Mac Mini which will run a sufficiently modern version of OSX. But, in the meantime, as annoying as it was to spend so much time talking to Elgato support only for them to finally come up with an answer (that there wasn't a 15 button Stream Deck that would work with my computer) I am managing ok with my SD Mini and actually recording and mixing some music.

I do have a numeric keypad as suggested by shufflebeat too but I play drums and keys so rarely that I haven't got my 5hit together and configured it for the job (I can reach the SDM whne I'm recording guitar, bass or vocals, it's only when I have to be sitting at the keyboards or behind the drumkit that it is out of reach and an alternative would be useful).

[Eddy Deegan]

I used a tablet holder as opposed to a phone one but it works a treat

Thanks for the great idea Bob!

[jaminem]

I use a Cubase Stream Deck plug-in. Unfortunately there are many commands that are not supported, so I do still have to use the MIDI plug-in too. Given the hundreds of possible Cubase commands it's forgivable, but I do wish the writer would expand it.

If anyone is interested (and for anyone writing new SD plug-ins) I would urge you to take a look at how the Cantabile SD plug-in works. It's abso-bloomin-lutely amazing!

You can work round this sir. Assign the function you want that doesn’t have a short cut to an unused key in Cubase Key commands, then assign the stream deck to that key. Sorted! I do it for switching between monitors in the control room for example.

[The Elf]

You can work round this sir. Assign the function you want that doesn’t have a short cut...

Good point - and I *have* done that in some instances. I try to avoid customisations, since transferring them can be a pain, and working away from home can become a problem. I've never been a fan of customisation in *any* software, which I know makes me a bit of a minority - I would rather Steinberg gave us a way of accessing EVERY command remotely, so we are all singing from the same hymn sheet.

And they do (sort of)... Eucon/Avid Control.

Eucon exposes every Cubase command known to man (to this man, at least) to the iPad/Android user, and can store long strings of them in macros. It is an amazing (and free!) option for the savvy Cubase user. Easy to transfer between machines, too. It's not perfect; there's no way to cut/copy/paste buttons around, which is my main gripe, but this is a gift horse that needs no further scrutination. I'm guessing that there's some sort of conversation happening between Eucon and Cubase that results in a comprehensive list of available commands - would that Stream Deck did the same.

The Stream Deck is still my most used controller, though, as it holds my basic function keys and my mixer views - the 16 buttons I'm using constantly.