Manual mapping is imo a terrible solution in almost all cases (let's not get into the why on this, for now, for brevity
).So MCU's are great, but they basically have two downsides:
A) 8 physical channels per unit (meaning 8 plugin parameters per display page)
B) They are quite big (and require power supplies, two MIDI cables per unit etc)
Now, you can get extra extenders to add sets of 8 channels, which gives you more parameters per page (which helps with A, but makes B worse). You can also get a C4 unit, which gives you 4 sets of 8 pages in one unit, so you can control up to 32 parameters at once, but still B.
I was looking for a smaller, more portable solution for a long time. I used to use LC Xmu, an MCU emulation software, which lets you use a different controller but still pretends to be an MCU to Logic (I used a little Korg microKontrol for this) and this solution was far better than the native Logic handling of the microKontrol - but still, the 8 parameters per page limitation was a pain, as I really wanted more than this under direct control.
I then went to a manual mapping solution, using bespoke controller assignments per plugin, to get me 16 parameters to control per plugin (ie, filter and oscillator stuff on the 8 knobs, envelope on the 8 sliders) but this involved many hundreds or even thousands of parameter mappings, and didn't let me control audio plugins, much less different instances of the same plugin on a channel. And it would randomly break in Logic for years (until LPX finally fixed that) as the controller assignments were flaky.
It was far from an optimal solution, but was the best I had to (sort of) achieve what I wanted for a long time - which is musical control over my plugins.
Aside from a real synth controller (which I've talked about to death in other threads), I now have close to my idealised controller setup for Logic. I picked up a Novation Launch Control XL, a simple, cheap controller, which has 32 knobs/sliders, arranged in 8 channels, plus a few other buttons.
In Factory mode, it behaves as a HUI (ie, a mini MCU for mixer), so I can use those 8 channels for faders/pans/sends/track selection/mute/solo/rec.enable and bank up and down to control the mixer. It's really nice.
Then I press the User template button, and I'm into my custom controller setup, which pretends to be a Mackie C4 to Logic (which can control 32 parameters on one "page").
(My custom setup is evolving as I develop it, but I've already implemented the core stuff I need.)
I can be in Instrument Edit mode, in which case all my 32 controls target the instrument plugin on the currently selected track. Or I can flip to Plugin Edit mode, in which case all the controls target the audio plugins (and I can choose which insert I'm controlling).
So, I hit the Instrument Edit button, and up comes my synth on screen, and the knobs control it. Hit the Plugin Edit mode button, and I'm controlling the audio plugins on that channel. I can choose which insert to control with the 1-8 buttons along the button, so I can call up eg EchoBoy on insert 3 which opens it's gui, control that, press insert 5 which calls up the plugin on that insert, flip back to Instrument Edit mode to continue to control the synth, instantly and seamlessly.
I also have a few custom things set up - eg, one knob is always the volume on the selected channel, so I can always grab a physical volume knob (important!). I have patch up/down buttons so I can flip presets. I can also turn instrument/plugins on/off directly, and some other things, like track selection, and track lock so I can select different track in Logic but leave the controls targeting the plugin on the original track, etc.
For instruments, I have a more or less consistent setup for all plugins (important) - the first row of knobs is Oscillator controls (usually four for Osc1, four for Osc2), the second row is filter controls (so cutoff, resonance, env amount etc are always in the same place), row three is a random grab bag of plugin specific stuff, whatever makes sense to have under my fingers, but usually I've got stuff here like macro controls, portamento, and so on, plus my important channel volume knob at the end, and the sliders are always amp ADSR and filter ADSR.
So, I have a reasonably consistent setup of all the controls I want under my fingers to make musical changes to sounds (oscillator waveshapes, pitches, levels, filter controls and envelopes are the main things), and I have 32 parameters under my fingers in a small, portable controller.
And I can flip to editing plugins, which will be laid out across the controls in a way that makes sense per plugin - for instance, reverb plugins with slider controls (eg Lexicon) will be controlled by the sliders, compressor plugins will typically have the same layout for the common parameters like threshold, ratio, atack, release, make up gain etc. EQ's are laid out with the frequency bands running across the controls, one row alway being freq, one for Q, and the sliders for gain, etc. I can control multiple instances of the same plugin on different inserts on the same channel.
Any controls I don't want in my layout will be left empty (ie ordered above the first 32 parameters) so I only have what I need assigned.
Because I'm always using the first 32 parameters the plugin reports to the host, I do need to change which parameters appear in that first 32, and Logic let you reorder the parameters for control surfaces per plugin for just this purpose - there are a few custom utilities people have made to help with this, but I find it just as quick to use a text editor. So I can quickly put the filter cutoff parameter on the knob I want to be the filter cutoff, and lay out the parameters I want - it generally takes a minute or two for each plugin - a bit longer if the plugin doesn't necessarily nicely map to a simple layout, as you have to make decisions about what you want to control and where, but in practice, it's really quick and easy to do, and you don't even have to have Logic open to do it.
A side benefit is all this will work exactly the same if I do get a real C4 as well.
So - I have a little controller that will be a mixer controller, and a synth controller, and a plugin controller, set up exactly how I like it, that can control up to 32 parameters on a given plugin in a consistent way, lets me choose which plugins to control (and calls up those plugins on screen), and it's ace!
And there is still room to develop this more - things I may also do include supporting smart controls, user modes for custom assignments/key commands, better controller feedback, on screen parameter displays, page flipping to control more sets of 32 parameters and so on.
Other notes: The HUI mode has two rows of knobs left unused for manual mapping should I choose to do something interesting with those. And I also have Logic's automation quick access mode to instantly control any single parameter with a MIDI control (eg knob, or mod wheel etc).
For such a little controller, I have it working really nicely, and am really maximising the possibilities in a useful way.
It's really putting plugins back under my fingers, in a consistent manner, which is the point.
