- RECAL DIGIDESIGN DCOMMAND 8 PRO
- RECAL DIGIDESIGN DCOMMAND 8 SOFTWARE
- RECAL DIGIDESIGN DCOMMAND 8 PROFESSIONAL
The eight full-length faders are touch-sensitive and motorised, staying locked to the parameters they are controlling, and jumping to new positions if you switch them to address a new bank of on-screen controls. This then gives you control of main speaker and headphone monitoring levels from the Command 8's front panel. Instead they are simply the connections for a built-in monitoring router, which can take two stereo feeds (usually your main mix and some other source). These do not constitute an audio interface for the computer you still need separate audio hardware. The Command 8 includes audio inputs and speaker outputs, allowing it to be used as a monitor controller.Īs well as MIDI connections, the rear panel sports a number of quarter-inch audio sockets. One interesting suggested use for this is to have a unit in your live room to provide remote control over transport and monitoring levels.
RECAL DIGIDESIGN DCOMMAND 8 PRO
However, you can attach a Command 8 in addition to a Pro Control, Control 24 or Digi 002 and use it for extra faders. Surprisingly, you can't use more than one unit at a time in Pro Tools in fact you can't use any other MIDI controller alongside Command 8. In Pro Tools, the only setup procedure required is to inform the system of the Command 8's presence via the MIDI Controller page of Peripherals Setup. This worked without a hitch, and proved a really useful addition given that I always seem to be short by one USB port. During testing, I hooked up my main keyboard via the MIDI input, and declared it in OS X's Audio MIDI Setup window. As well as enabling use of the controller in a hardware-only scenario, these connections turn the Command 8 into a general-purpose MIDI interface. Additionally, there are two standard five-pin MIDI output ports, and one input.
RECAL DIGIDESIGN DCOMMAND 8 PROFESSIONAL
Ultimately, though, you shouldn't be too put off by this aspect of the unit, as operationally it's a professional and classy surface.Īll Command 8's communication with the computer is via a USB connection (another contrast with the Firewire-based 002). I checked with Digidesign whether you could in fact buy Pro Control fader caps, but they won't sell them to you unless you have a Pro Control. Anyway, the good news is that the fader caps are attached by standard metal slots so they are easy to replace. I know Digi are keen to maintain the status of their high-end controllers, but I don't think it would hurt for them to use the same caps as they do in their Pro Control and do justice to the rest of the unit. The main problem is that your fingers tend to slip off them, and you have to resort to holding them between finger and thumb, making it fiddly, and hard to control several faders at once.
Maybe they're supposed to be quirky and different, but while their visual appeal is a matter of opinion, they fall short on a practical level. That said, let's deal with my biggest criticism up front! The fader caps are weird, looking and feeling a bit like squashed beer-bottle tops. So, initial impressions are mostly good, and here's a sneak preview: I'm going to say a lot of good things about the Command 8, and it's one of the best all-round controllers I've used. Despite the obvious similarities with the 002, the design of the housing is better, moving from the other surface's slightly toylike 'scooped' appearance to something more traditional. This impression is reinforced by the way that the power supply screws securely into place, a simple but reassuring touch. From the pictures on Digi's web site I thought it would be small, light and, dare I say it, plasticky, but in fact it's a hefty and impressive piece of kit. The first thing that struck me about the Command 8 was that it's much bigger than I'd expected. A significant departure for Digidesign, moreover, is that Command 8 is not just for Pro Tools: it also runs stand-alone as a MIDI controller for any other capable software. Command 8 provides hands-on control of both Pro Tools LE and TDM software, with the same high level of integration and sophistication that we've come to expect since Pro Control, Control 24 and HUI. However, while the Command 8 is indeed similar to the 002's controller, the comparison doesn't do justice to the new unit's scope. Digidesign's Command 8 aims to offer the best of both worlds.ĭigidesign already offer a rackmounting variant on their Digi 002 interface, which offers the Pro Tools LE audio interface component without the control surface, and at first glance, their Command 8 appears to be the reverse: the control-surface element of the Digi 002 without the audio interface.
RECAL DIGIDESIGN DCOMMAND 8 SOFTWARE
With fader controllers, you often have a choice of buying something dedicated to one software package, or a generic unit that gives versatility at the cost of tight integration.
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