Is the Softube Console 1 compatible with GP? Anybody here using it?
I do not use it at all but I have quickly read pro and cons from several users, i.e. :
“Can be integrated into all common DAW systems in AU, VST, VST3 and AAX formats”: good to know, it can work with GP by using common functions.
“downside is that for some DAWs including Ableton Live, there is no support for track name, number and follow. Meaning that you manually have to name every track in Live AND in Console 1.”
By searching for user reviews on several reseller sites and by asking the manufacturer, you should be able to refine your judgment
Thank you I am especially interested in Console1 Fader. You have to insert it in every Channel you use, as a plugin. I wonder if it would work more or less directly out of the box with GP? In this case it would be a very easy solution to control for example the volume of let’s say ten tracks in GP, mute and unmute them etc.
I got one to test some time ago. It seemed to work out of the box as every control just generates a CC message so you just have to learn them.
That sounds good, but you so it seems you prefer (an)other controller(s) for GP?
I use an OSC app running on an iPad connected to my computer via a little wifi router inside my 19" rack. My controllers have buttons, sliders and knobs but I just use them sporadically for special cases.
Totally depends on how one prefers to operate.
Was it the the Console 1 or the unit with faders?
In either case could you insert it in GP as a plugin? And after that did the LEDs of the console fader unit react to incoming or out coming audio? Somewhere in a forum somebody said that he asked the guys from Softube about MIDI because it’s not mentioned in the manual and the said it’s not meant to be used as a generic midi controller.
Softube Console 1 — no faders.
I didn’t insert any plugin – when I experimented with it I discovered that it send CC messages for pretty much anything you could turn or press on it and that made it usable with GP.
There was no audio connection, I was just using MIDI.
OK, that would mean that you might use it to a certain degree as a generic midi controller, but the LED Metering on the Hardware will not function. I was considering the Console 1 Fader seriously as my MIDI Controller for GP, but if the LED Metering is not working than maybe it is better to use a Korg Nano Controll or something like this.
Here is the link to the forum where it is mentioned that it is not intended to be used as a generic midi controller:
I emailed Softube to clarify, here was their response on the assigning of MIDI CC…
"Both Console 1 and Console 1 Fader communicate using MIDI data. However, neither of them are generic controllers, and they’re not designed to work as such. In optimizing them for a pre-defined workflow, in combination with our Console 1 OSD, their ability to function properly and predictably as MIDI CC devices was compromised.
As far as I understand, there are a few DAWs that can read them as generic controllers, and they can work to an extent, but behaviour is not entirely predictable and we do not support this.
So long answer short: no, they’re not meant for MIDI CC stuff, they’re just not designed to be. It’s very unlikely that this will change in the future. That’s probably not the answer you were hoping for, but it’s the best I can give you at the moment."
To paraphrase Galileo, “it still works” 
I got the following answer from Softube:
This is Mattias at the Softube Support. Thanks for reaching out!
*Great to hear that you’re interested in Console 1! *
Console 1 should run in any VST, VST3, AU, or AAX compatible DAW, and no matter which plug-in format and DAW you’re using, it will always have the behaviour of a “regular” plug-in in its most basic form, i.e. you insert it on your tracks just as you would with any other plug-in. Setting up the Console 1 in your project for mixing may take some effort (naming tracks), but when it’s done it should save a lot of time.
There’s a chart of how Console 1 integrates with different DAW:s available here: Support | Softube
*In a DAW that does not have any deeper DAW integration, you’ll need to do the track numbering and naming manually in Console 1 (since the automatic transfer of track name and number is not in place, and it will not be possible to control things like DAW solo and mute, send levels, etc from the Console 1 hardware. *
In the future, deeper integration between Console 1 and DAW:s that don’t have the DAW integration features yet, is definitely something we would like to see. This is something that we must work on together with the different DAW vendors though, and we are already in contact with many about it. The more other DAWs that we get this support from, the more leverage we will have when negotiating, so with it in place in Ableton, Cubase, Studio One, Sonar, and Reaper, some others will likely follow. Unfortunately, I can’t give any time frames or promises yet.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks for your support!
I answered them that this does not really answer my questions. So I am hoping for another more precise answer from them.
When you reply, please let them know that GP has an external API that allows this kind of integration
OK, I told them - con much gusto…
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Just for the curious: Yesterday I tried the Softube Console 1 Fader. I can confirm that it can be used to a certain degree as a generic MIDI Controller, but at the end of the day you are more flexible with something like a Korg Nano Controller. It’s a shame: the Softube Console 1 Fader could be a really nice product, but for this Softube should implement an official Generic MIDI DAW Controller Mode which is not the case until today. So I did sent it back to Thomann.
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A good choice 