Softube Console 1 + Fader (initial prob's & resolution)

[TobyB]

I had wondered about Console 1 but didn't do more.
Then, at around the same time as I decided to add an Apollo X4 to my UAD X8 setup, Softube released the Faders as an add-on ... and with the apparent synergy between the two ... I've bought in to UAD and it's impressed me greatly, so I'll buy-in some more. The X4 is really nice.

Initial impressions weren't good. I couldn't get the Softube to run. The software was there in Task Manager, the hardware in Device Manager, the VST was there in a variety of DAW's I tried and worked in Live 10, Bitwig 3.1, Studio One 4 and Reaper 6 ... the hardware had lights on and sometimes the buttons reacted ...

Initial "support" from Softube was ... "disappointing" ...
I explained the situation as I saw it and all the steps I'd done like re-installing, resetting, different cables and USB ports and the like, with OS and software versions, screen grabs of functioning (or not!) Softube Central and DAW's, Task & Dev Manager, SysInfo, etc., photo's of hardware ... and I was offered rather inane things like "Have you run the OSD app?" and "make sure that your OSD app is allowed "to control your computer"? " with screenshots of a Mac OS settings page!!!
Not impressive ...

I eventually wrote in exasperation and annoyance asking "Support" to escalate to someone who might actually read and understand all the information I'd sent, and try a better solution than trying switching everything off and on again.
Someone else, apparently more senior got involved. They apparently had considerably more technical ability, and we got to looking at things like settings files along the lines of "Edit the true to false in the following lines in the Global Settings file. "ENABLE_OPENGL": true, "USE_OPENGL_FOR_OSD": true". Unfortunately we were still struggling ... mystifying ... but at least there were signs of some thoughtful engagement. "This one is indeed one of the most difficult Console 1 tickets we have had so far. It seem like stuff is working, but then greyed out OSD icon. There is so much info that contradicts itself? Hmmm."
Delays ... holiday period ...

In frustration ... I started unplugging all sorts of things and restarting them to look for a conflict ... and suddenly, coincidentally it seemed initially ... IT ALL WORKED!!!
What was different? I used a different USB cable!
I had been using a couple of different ones ... high-quality and apparently tried and tested, that worked fine plugging in powered stuff like my Linnstrument and Maschine Mk3, synths like Modals, Modor or Peak ... in both native and powered-hub ports. I had checked the leads on three cable testers (a TrendNet TC-NT3, a KkMoon 4-in-1, and a Sound Lab G027EB) and they all came up as clean passes. So, I had thought I'd checked and eliminated this component in the chain.

I've cobbled together some bits of testing kit... a USB voltmeter/current tester and a load-tester resistance model (0.5 - 3.0 A range) ... and a couple of adapters to make the B-A connections ...
Off the USB ports I'm reading 5.02 V@ 500 mA.
With the leads that work, 4.79 V @ 500 mA.
With the leads that don't work, 4.30 V @ 500 mA.
I'm not that good on electronics ... would that apparent voltage drop of 0.5 V be above-below a critical threshold? Might this explain?
Softube tell me that Console 1 is "power hungry" ...

SO ... A tale of woes? Well ... yes and no ...

Now that I have found a couple of USB leads that mean I can plug in Console 1 and the Faders ... open up any of the DAWs I have available and UAD Console ... open up a project with a whole lot of VST synths/samplers and audio tracks ... stick the Console 1 VST on every track and bus as suggested ... and it ALL WORKS BRILLIANTLY! OK, in some DAWs I actually have to type the track names in myself (not a hardship in my world, but perhaps a time-pressed pro-studio environment with 100-track projects might see it differently) ... but I can see UAD and other plugins wherever I place them (DAW or Console inserts) and Console 1 buttons/knobs/slides all match up ... I can listen and watch EQ and similar graphs while my fingers and ears learn what works ... flicking between DAW, UAD Console and Console 1 is SO easy and sensible ...
I have yet to use the whole works to complete a project ... but I am looking forward to it ... it's certainly going to be a whole lot easier than what I did a few months ago. I might even learn something and do a better job?

Overall ... REALLY IMPRESSED ... it seems to have all that the enthusiastic reviews I looked at suggested ... and it sounds great ...
Disappointed by Softube's "Support" initially - but they responded and I persisted - and all seems good now ...
IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED? - Softube Console 1 is "power hungry" and may be sensitive to voltage drops or other variations in the quality of USB cable connections?

Now ... a non-musical job ... find some pieces of wood to make a stand for the pair ...

[coloringelectriclike]

What was the lucky usb cable?