Hi - I am consider one of the two devices above after mastering the Korg NanoKontol2 and would like to move a larger device.
I have noticed the Behringer X-Touch Compact is not officially on the approved list - has anyone used one? Will it work & how would in compare to the APC40?
Would love any feedback and I will also post these questions on the socials - thanks for any feedback, it is appreciated.
AKAI APC40 MK2 vs Behringer X-Touch Compact
-
MichelSliepenbeek
- Posts: 687
- Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2023 10:24 am
- Location: Nederland
- Real Name: Michel Sliepenbeek
First of all you need to be aware that both controllers are not what you would call "general MIDI controllers".
The AKAi APC 40 MK2 is mainly designed to be used with Ableton, the Behringer is a DAW controller.
So both units have a typical lay out and some specific features that are usefull for Ableton or DAW, but are not obvious for a Light controller.
As long as you use the controller only as input to QLC, you can get them both to work (thanks to the Auto Detect function of QLC).
The moment you also want QLC to feedback to the controller it becomes more difficult, because both manufacturers have given a twist to the original MIDI definition to add extra functionalities.
Behringer has specific modes where they use a range of SYSEX messages to have the X-Touch to communicate with their X-AIR digital mixers, as in QLC you can only send one SYSEX as an initialisation this will not be available for you.
AKAI has redefined the "Midi Channel" and uses it to control the "mode" of the RGB Buttons (Brightness, Blink, Dim). If you follow some other threads on this forum, you will notice that AKAI is not very supportive with documentation (they rely on Ableton to do the support) and it is quite a puzzle to get FeedBack working.
Furthermore, if you use multi page frames in QLC, it will require a lot of work to initialise the color buttons everytime you change a page.
The two units both have specific features, which make them more or less suitable depending on your needs (the type of show you are running with QLC).
If you prefer to use faders, go for the Behringer as it has touch sentive motorised faders. They are a lot better than those of the AKAI.
If you are looking for RGB buttons to use as a Color Selector, you should go for the AKAI (as the Behringer does not have those).
If you ask me, i would go for the Behringer for the Faders and also buy an AKAI APC Mini MK2 for the RGB buttons as a Color Selector (in fact it is more suitable for QLC than the APC 40, so why spend the extra money for features you will not use).
To be honest: i have a Behringer BCF2000 and an AKAI APC mini mk1, but i prefer to use an Elation Midicon. In combination with a 24 inch touch screen that works best for me.
The AKAi APC 40 MK2 is mainly designed to be used with Ableton, the Behringer is a DAW controller.
So both units have a typical lay out and some specific features that are usefull for Ableton or DAW, but are not obvious for a Light controller.
As long as you use the controller only as input to QLC, you can get them both to work (thanks to the Auto Detect function of QLC).
The moment you also want QLC to feedback to the controller it becomes more difficult, because both manufacturers have given a twist to the original MIDI definition to add extra functionalities.
Behringer has specific modes where they use a range of SYSEX messages to have the X-Touch to communicate with their X-AIR digital mixers, as in QLC you can only send one SYSEX as an initialisation this will not be available for you.
AKAI has redefined the "Midi Channel" and uses it to control the "mode" of the RGB Buttons (Brightness, Blink, Dim). If you follow some other threads on this forum, you will notice that AKAI is not very supportive with documentation (they rely on Ableton to do the support) and it is quite a puzzle to get FeedBack working.
Furthermore, if you use multi page frames in QLC, it will require a lot of work to initialise the color buttons everytime you change a page.
The two units both have specific features, which make them more or less suitable depending on your needs (the type of show you are running with QLC).
If you prefer to use faders, go for the Behringer as it has touch sentive motorised faders. They are a lot better than those of the AKAI.
If you are looking for RGB buttons to use as a Color Selector, you should go for the AKAI (as the Behringer does not have those).
If you ask me, i would go for the Behringer for the Faders and also buy an AKAI APC Mini MK2 for the RGB buttons as a Color Selector (in fact it is more suitable for QLC than the APC 40, so why spend the extra money for features you will not use).
To be honest: i have a Behringer BCF2000 and an AKAI APC mini mk1, but i prefer to use an Elation Midicon. In combination with a 24 inch touch screen that works best for me.
A QLC Workspace is like a Bob Ross painting: "it's your world, you can create whatever you want!"
-
matthijskooijman
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:51 am
- Real Name: Matthijs Kooijman
I've been using the X-Touch compact with QLC4 for quite a while now (though only once or twice a year), and so far it has been working quite well. Even the feedback works well out of the box IIRC, as well as VC paging (e.g. frames with multiple pages). The XT has some generic mode (as opposed to its "Mackie mode") which you can also configure with a tool from behringer (i.e. map specific midi messages to each control, configure the encoders in absolute or infinite mode, etc.), and of course QLC can just learn whatever MIDI messages the console sends.
The console also has its own paging buttons (layer A/B) that can be used, but they do not send any messages, they just operate on the console itself, so you can use that to have more controls, but the QLC screen cannot adapt to the layer selected by that (so I've used it to switch between a paged frame on layer A and some global faders on the VC on layer B so I can quickly access those).
I haven't used the AKAI or any of the other ones mentioned by Michel (though I think the X-touch Compact is very similar to the BCF200 AFAIU). Also note that the regular X-Touch is, AFAIU, significantly different and possibly less configurable, but I have not used it so far.
The console also has its own paging buttons (layer A/B) that can be used, but they do not send any messages, they just operate on the console itself, so you can use that to have more controls, but the QLC screen cannot adapt to the layer selected by that (so I've used it to switch between a paged frame on layer A and some global faders on the VC on layer B so I can quickly access those).
I haven't used the AKAI or any of the other ones mentioned by Michel (though I think the X-touch Compact is very similar to the BCF200 AFAIU). Also note that the regular X-Touch is, AFAIU, significantly different and possibly less configurable, but I have not used it so far.