Discuss the new PreSonus CS18Ai
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The following was compiled by a fellow member themuzic (aka Johnny Geib). Johhny also runs the Home Studio Trainer website (homestudiotrainer.com), providing one/one training for Studio One and other presonus products.

This list should be considered "Un-Official", as it was not compiled by Presonus directly. There may/may not be features not listed here. We will try our best to keep this updated as things are added/deleted from the feature set. I am also attaching a text doc of the same listing for download.

CS18 WORKING FEATURES:

Faders, Mute, Solo, Select, Pan
Faders control DAW faders
Busses are in “Mix Masters”
FX Busses are in “Returns”
“Mute” mutes DAW channels
“Solo” solos DAW channels

Pan is controlled by 16 encoder knobs at the top and can also be controlled by encoder under the Touchscreen for currently selected track.

Select button color matches Studio One channel color

Track Channel Mode (mono\stereo)
Selecting a track and then clicking the Stereo "Link" button will change the channel mode between mono and stereo.

Scribble strip
Shows:
channel name
Automation mode
Pan
Control Link parameter for Plugins

Record arm
Hold "Option" and press channel "Select" to toggle record arm on/off per channel. When in record arm the scribble strip will display a large "R" to indicate an armed channel

Channel layer navigation
Channels 1-16, 17-32, and so on. Press Shift and channel layer to go to channels 65-128. Press CTRL and channel layer to go to channels 129-192.
(Not implemented) Groups button used for mixer "scenes". Select a scene to hide channels not in the scene. Option to add a scene/group, page to show selected group with exit and delete buttons.

FX/Aux Returns button show FX channels

Mix Masters button shows buses

Group Masters button shows output channels
Group Masters Button (under fader selectors)
Any Cue mixes created in Studio One can be controlled, independently, by a fader when the "Group Masters" button is selected. (This is only active when the output in the Studio One Output matrix has the "Cue" box checked)

Flex Fader
Pressing “Edit” in “Assign” section will assign currently selected channel to the Flex Fader
Deselecting and pressing "Edit" again will release the Flex Fader.
This will also work with tracks that are grouped together in Studio One.

Mix navigation
Press Main Mix button to have the main L/R mix on faders
Press Mix button 1 - 8 once to bring the associated send mix to the faders. Mix number corresponds with Send slot numbering from top to bottom
Press Mix button 9 - 16 once to bring the associated cue mix to the faders. Mix number 9 - 16 corresponds with Cue Mix slot from top to bottom

Automation modes
Uses Mute group buttons.
All On = All Read
1 = Read
2 = Touch
3 = Latch
4 = Write
5 = All Read
6 = All Touch
7 = All Latch
8 = none

Transport
Uses Transport buttons as labeled
Modifiers for additional funcitons
“Option” engaged - Stop is “Fast Forward;” RTZ is “Rewind”
“Ctrl” engaged - Stop is “Next Marker;” RTZ is “Prev Marker”

Solo clear
Clear and channels that are “Solo” enabled

FX Inserts/Sends
Tapping FX on Touchscreen opens list of Inserts or Sends for selected channel
Inserts - shows top down list of plugins on channel
Sends - shows top down list of sends on channel
Tapping plugin in Inserts list will map plugin parameters to 16 encoders
Parameter names show in 16 mini screens per channel
Parameter value shows in Touchscreen and via meter bridge
Tapping again dismisses plugin from computer screen and unlinks plugin parameters from encoders
Tapping Sends will select it.
Send level controlled by encoder below touchscreen

Jog Function
The knob under the touch screen can be used as a "Jog" when enabled from the Markers button and then hitting "JOG" at the top of the screen.

Control Link Mode
De-activating all buttons to the left of the "Selected Channel" meters, activates the Fat Channel for Control Link assigning of the knobs and buttons.

Foot Switch
Make sure the CS18 is in DAW mode
Select "System"
Now go to Footswitch Mode
Press it and you will now see a drop down
If you can not see the DAW options, select the last option and then select again.
You will now see 2 DAW options "DAW Rec/Start" and "DAW Drop Markers"
Select the one you need and then press home.

Attachments
CS18-StudioOne-WorkingFeatures.txt
(3.74 KiB) Downloaded 908 times

Matt

Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 Win 10 64bit, 8GB RAM, Intel Xeon
Lenovo Thinkpad E520, Windows 7 64bit, 8 GB RAM, Intel i5 Processor

S1Pro V5
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by hraudio on Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:39 am
Record arm !!

There is no longer a "big R" when you put a channel in record arm mode.
Obviously the big R consumed to much real estate in the scribble strips and therefore Presonus changed it.

Now when arming a channel there is a bright horizontal stripe to indicate this mode.

Hans
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by Eardrums on Tue Mar 07, 2017 3:46 pm
Footswitch still not working ??
I have a footswitch with normally open switch plugged in the fooswitch-chassis, and it doesn't do any thing hen my CS18 is connected to my mac pro with studio One pro (latest version)
i see the dropdown menu when in DAWmode. i selected normally open, then i pushed Home...
but when i'm in a songfile and wanna record (in recordmode), my footswitch does not function.
the footswitch works on other gear.
What's up ??

Senior audio-engineer @ WWW.LGS.NL for live audio, recording and studio productions in the Netherlands and abroad.
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by Eardrums on Mon Jul 03, 2017 4:43 pm
Anyone on the foot-switch issue ??

Senior audio-engineer @ WWW.LGS.NL for live audio, recording and studio productions in the Netherlands and abroad.
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by Mac Money on Wed Jul 05, 2017 10:43 am
No sorry not using this feature

George Ware
StudioOne v6.6.2 Pro 64bit
Waves SoundGrid Studio 2
Waves DigiGrid IOS
Waves DigiGrid IOX
Waves SoundGrid Server One
PreSonus CS18ai & BCR2000 Control Surface
Intel 6 Core i7 3.2Ghz.
Windows 10 Professional 64bit. v20H2
Arturia KeyLab-88 Essential
URS, Waves v14 (Everything), EMI, Sonnox Oxford (Everything), Antares Unlimited, Plugin Alliance (Everything), Nomad Factory, TL Labs, Massey, Komplete Ultimate 13 CE, Arturia VC9 (Everything), Korg Collection, UVI Falcon v3.1, Melodyne Studio 5.2, VocAlign, Eventide (Everything), Softube and IKM Total Studio Max.
As of 20 Jun 23
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by gaetzsch on Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:56 am
I opened a new feature request post in Presonus Answers:

CS18AI & Studio One feature requests and manual

Please vote for it to get more functions for CS18Ai to control Studio One.

Thank you.

Windows 11, Intel I5-12600K, Gigabyte Z690 GAMING DDR4, 32 GB RAM, Presonus R65, ESP 400 Series Telecaster, Ibanez LR 750, Fender Precision Bass, AMS Neve 88M, Fireface 400, SSL UF-8, Studio One 6.5 Pro, EZ Drummer 3, Melodyne Studio, VocAlign Project 5

https://www.justsimplyclyde.com
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by michaelbaisch on Wed Sep 20, 2017 12:23 pm
I give up and sell it - it will never be a real controller for studio one and presonus makes no new firmware for that.
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by darthMatthis on Tue Jan 02, 2018 9:22 am
Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but is it normal that I do not have control over 3rd party plugin parameters when selecting them?
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by matthewgorman on Tue Jan 02, 2018 9:40 am
darthMatthis wroteSorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but is it normal that I do not have control over 3rd party plugin parameters when selecting them?


No. however the parameters need to be manually added for each plug via control link in studio one.

Matt

Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 Win 10 64bit, 8GB RAM, Intel Xeon
Lenovo Thinkpad E520, Windows 7 64bit, 8 GB RAM, Intel i5 Processor

S1Pro V5
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by tinjokleinsevert on Thu Aug 10, 2023 7:27 am
Sorry to give this topic a very big jump, but I am experimenting with S1 (v6) and a CS18Ai to make it a live mix environment.

Most functions do work perfectly to have it as a FOH mixer, but some detail leave me in the dark.

I can use the 16 encoders under the LED meters to control plugins, this works fine, but it works only well for encoder parameters in plugins, but sometimes I need just buttons.
Can I map the TAP button of the CS18Ai to control the TAP of a delay plugin? Or another button on the CS18Ai maybe?
If yess, I need the TAP button to work even without the plugin opened/focused in S1.

Hope for some answers. Otherwise, I may need a small midi controller for it.

Studio One Pro 6.x
HP Elitedesk 800 G3 mini
Windows 10, i7-6700 processor + 16GB RAM
RM32Ai + Dante SL-Mix
CS18Ai
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by wahlerstudios on Thu Aug 10, 2023 3:04 pm
The Studio One stock plug-ins Analog Delay and Beat Delay do not have a 'tap' button, they use encoders instead. The buttons of UCNET Remote can handle any Studio One on/off command, but they can not change values. As the screenshots of the two UCNET Remote versions show, only the encoders and buttons of the 'Fat Channel' can be used. There is no option to use other encoders and buttons for DAW functions. Nevertheless, the 'tap' button will work for internal delays because the delays were designed to use this button.

Attachments
UCNET_comparison.jpg
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by tinjokleinsevert on Fri Aug 11, 2023 1:38 am
wahlerstudios wroteThe Studio One stock plug-ins Analog Delay and Beat Delay do not have a 'tap' button, they use encoders instead. The buttons of UCNET Remote can handle any Studio One on/off command, but they can not change values. As the screenshots of the two UCNET Remote versions show, only the encoders and buttons of the 'Fat Channel' can be used. There is no option to use other encoders and buttons for DAW functions. Nevertheless, the 'tap' button will work for internal delays because the delays were designed to use this button.


Thanks for the quick reply.

I do not use the stock delay plugins, I us H-Delay from Waves. Do I understand right that I can nott use any of the "fat channel" buttons (beneath the encoders) to link it to the tap button of the H-Delay?

Then, can I use multiple, but different midi controllers at the same time in S1? So I use the CS18Ai in focus mode for the processing plugins and (for example) an X-Touch mini in Global mode for the H-Delay? If so, how do I map the X-Touch that it is in Global mode?

I have read the manual, but I try to understand it and sometimes need a bit of help with it.

Studio One Pro 6.x
HP Elitedesk 800 G3 mini
Windows 10, i7-6700 processor + 16GB RAM
RM32Ai + Dante SL-Mix
CS18Ai
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by wahlerstudios on Fri Aug 11, 2023 5:20 am
I don't know how 'cooperative' Waves plug-ins are. The encoders and buttons of UCNET Remote are individually assignable, but the plug-in has to 'allow' the use of its parameters. Many producers of plug-ins and especially Waves restrict the access to parameters, because they have their own hardware solution and want their users to buy their equipment. You have to check which parameters are represented in UCNET Remote and if there are more parameters available.

UCNET Remote allows to control plug-ins and there is DAW Mode available for three DAWs (Studio One, Logic, Pro Tools). It would be interesting to know if UCNET Remote can handle plug-ins of VST hosts like LiveProfessor or SuperRack Performer. Using a VST host and by that a computer will probably allow to use external hardware. You will never get any button of the CS18AI work as tap button. MIDI might be an interesting option, but I have no idea if it works and what is possible.

DAW Mode is a special solution made for three DAWs. It's not 'open' for other or additional information, it works with the stock plug-ins and partly with other plug-ins. The CS18AI is a very nice DAW controller, much better than the Series III mixers. But both versions work in their ecosystem. I was a CS18AI user before and enjoyed the introduction of DAW Mode very much. I still enjoy DAW Mode on my Series III SL 16. It's a phantastic feature, especially with the extended hardware and network support of the Series III ecosystem. Interface Mode is a keyword.
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by tinjokleinsevert on Fri Aug 11, 2023 12:02 pm
Thank you very much for the detailed reply.

I could map all parameters of the Waves plugins I want to the CS18Ai, so that part works perfectly, now I just need a dedicated (small) midi controller for just the H-Delay, but that won't break the bank and I guess it would work fine, just hoped it would work with only the CS18Ai.

Studio One Pro 6.x
HP Elitedesk 800 G3 mini
Windows 10, i7-6700 processor + 16GB RAM
RM32Ai + Dante SL-Mix
CS18Ai
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by tinjokleinsevert on Fri Sep 01, 2023 9:09 am
Followup question:
If I am in plugin mode on the CS18Ai, I can see the plugin list and tap on a plugin to open it. When it is opened, I can see the mapped parameters on the scribble strips and control them with the encoders on just under the meter area. The strange thing is that when I tap another plugin in that list to show that plugin, sometimes I still see mapped parameters of that previous opened plugin. In that case sometimes it has mapped parameters in the same place so for that encoder I am still controlling the previous opened plugin and sometimes, when mapped parameters are not in the same place, it adds the mapped parameters of the new opened plugin to the displayed parameters of the previous opened plugin.

To make it work the correct way, I first have to close the opened plugin by taping it on the touchscreen again and then open the new plugin.

Is this how the integration of the CS18Ai with S1 just is or is this a firmware fault in the CS18Ai and is this unfixable because Presonus isn't supporting the CS18Ai anymore?

I believe I have the latest firmware on the CS18Ai. Updated it by USB a few months ago.

Studio One Pro 6.x
HP Elitedesk 800 G3 mini
Windows 10, i7-6700 processor + 16GB RAM
RM32Ai + Dante SL-Mix
CS18Ai
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by wahlerstudios on Fri Sep 01, 2023 4:11 pm
I suppose that Studio One plug-ins do not show this behavior. You should be able to open any plug-in and the scribble strips follow the selection. PreSonus can do this for their own plug-ins, but not for plug-ins of other companies. UCNET Remote should make this possible, but it also has limits (access to parameters). The workaround you found seems to work, so get used to the on/off. The CS18AI is a discontinued product and the final updates also for DAW Mode have been made, so use it as long as it works and enjoy this special 'controller'. The development of DAW Mode for Series III also seems to be more a long-term project, but for Studio One it actually works quite well. I use a SL 16 currently.

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