Motor Mix Control Surface
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Figure-1: (use image "motormix.jpg") Annotated Motor Mix layout indicates how some of the "soft" keys are used by Soundscape (click for larger view).

SOFT WARE
The unit I tested was running Version 1.08 firmware with Version-2.0 of the operator's manual. Firmware can be updated in the field. While the manual focuses on the Pro Tools interface, Motor Mix can be used with a variety of workstations, including Minnetonka's stereo and 5.1 surround software.

HERE's LOOKING UP YOUR OLD ADDRRESS
Figure-1 shows the front panel layout of Motor Mix. The most used functions are Solo (Q ~ X), Mute (Y ~ Z) and Record Enable (I ~ P). Motor Mix also includes several plastic overlays so the unit can be re-labeled to reflect a specific workstation. There are five rows of buttons on the upper half of Motor Mix. The first row is labeled 1 thru 8, while others go from A to Z ending with 0, 9, *, =, /, and "." so users (and programmers) can keep track of the available "button resources" until they are assigned a function.

Figure-1 is annotated to indicate the "soft buttons" that Soundscape uses. While you can see the transport control functions (switches 1~8) on the bottom row of the display, also note that F1 ~ F4 perform a similar function when activated by SHIFT-F1. SHIFT-F2 turns switches 1~8 into Locate functions. SHIFT-F3 turns switches 1~8 into zoom / scroll functions. Table-1 shows how these Soundscape functions are mapped to the display and the buttons immediately below. See (Optional) Table-3 for full details of these functions.

On the upper right of Motor Mix are four buttons re-labeled on my overlay as track, eff-1, eff-2 and eff-3. Pressing the button alone activates the green led, while pressing SHIFT and the button activates the yellow led. Table-2 details the various panning and mute options accessed from the 8 rotary knobs and buttons A thru H, respectively.

<= View =>
Bank = 8	Track-1	Track-2	Track-3	Track-4	Track-5	Track-6	Track-7	Track-8	Upper Row
Group = 4	Track-5	Track-6	Track-7	Track-8	Track-9	Track-10	Track-11	Track-12	Upper Row
Shift F1	Rew	FF	Stop	Play	Rec	Pin	Pout	Loop	Lower Row
Shift F2	DrLl	DrRl	GtLl	GtRl	Xxxx	Xxxx	GtAs	GtAe
Shift F3	ZHin	ZHout	Zvin	Zvout	ScL	ScR	ScU	ScD
Buttons	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
TABLE-1: On the Upper Row, the LCD display will indicate track names from the mixer. On the Lower Row are three sets of examples of what can be seen plus the buttons activated immediately below. (See "optional" Table-3 for the complete detail of these functions.)

IMPLEMENTATION
It is basically the job of the workstation manufacturer to the "port" their graphic interface to the physical interface, thus taking maximum advantage of Motor Mix or any controller. This is no small task when you consider the variety of plug-ins and controllers available.

Knob 1 ~ 8 Button A ~ H	LED Shift - led	Soundscape Overlay	Motor Mix Label
Track L/R Pan Input Mute	Green	track	equaliz
Track F / R Pan Input Mute	Shift - yellow	track	eff-1
Send-1 Level Send-1 Mute	Green	eff-1	dynmics
Send-1 Pan Send-1 Mute	Shift - yellow	eff-1	eff-2
Send-2 Level Send-2 Mute	Green	eff-2	delay
Send-2 Pan Send-2 Mute	Shift - yellow	eff-2	eff-3
Send-3 Level Send-3 Mute	Green	eff-3	special
Send-2 Pan Send-2 Mute	Shift - yellow	eff-3	eff-4
TABLE-2: Accessing the Aux Send layers.

Just as a word processor has "short-cut" keys to access special characters, so too should workstations provide an optional "layer" or window that allows users to link the controller with the available mixer features - especially plug-ins. There will always be a natural lag from the time a plug-in is released to the time the controller interface can be created. Why not give users the option rather than have no controller access at all?

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