Using Mackie Control in Cubase or Nuendo is really easy, and OS X users won't have to worry about configuring the Audio MIDI Setup utility in order for Mackie Control to work correctly, which is the case with other applications like Digital Performer as we'll discuss later. In Cubase or Nuendo, simply open the Device Setup window, add a Mackie Control device, and set the input and output ports to specify the MIDI ports to which you've connected your Mackie Control on the MIDI interface. Mackie Control should instantly come alive, and you can use the Device Setup window to reset the Mackie Control communication (which is useful if you need to restart the unit for some reason), in addition to configuring the actions of the function keys and pedal switches. These actions can be any Key Command or Macro, and it's quite neat to be able to assign one pedal to Play/Pause and the other to Return to Zero, for example.
The Mixer's Channels in Cubase and Nuendo are, as you'd expect, displayed in the same order, from left to right, on Mackie Control as they are visible along the on-screen mixer, and you can scroll the eight-channel mixer selection from left to right one channel or eight channels at a time by pressing either the Channel Up and Down or the Bank Up and Down buttons respectively. Mackie Control's channel strips work exactly as you'd expect them to, with the volume fader, Mute, Solo, Select, Record Enable and Pan controls all performing the appropriate tasks. As mentioned in September's Nuendo review, it seems a shame that Mackie Control doesn't automatically update the current view of eight channels to automatically encompass a newly selected track on the software, which is the case with Logic and Logic Control, but Steinberg aren't the only ones guilty of not implementing such functionality.
On the plus side, though, in order to make navigating Mackie Control really easy, the top row of function buttons (covered by the Lexan Overlay) is reserved for selecting eight Fader Groups, which correspond to the first eight user-defined Mixer Views. This is really handy as it allows you to create Fader Groups for the different Channel types (Audio, MIDI, Group, and so on), or put together convenient groups of eight Channels that you need to access on a regular basis, without having to get repetitive strain injury from the Channel and Bank Up and Down buttons.
