Control surface for home recording, anyone using them?

[gfsark]

I'm taking a course in recording at the local community college. Just learned about control surfaces which serve as a hardware interface to DAW software (which of course is Pro Tools at the college). For home recording, are any of you using this piece of gear? Any anything else about control surfaces you want to share. Thanks.

[runamuck]

I've tried them but find using a mouse easier and more efficient. I don't have one recording friend here in town that uses one when working in the box.

Jim McCarthy

[muscmp]

i use an ipad in logic as a control surface/remote device. i can use it from a different room, if need be, to record, set levels, delete, pull in plugins, most everything you can do on a desktop. i love it as it has allowed much better recordings since i can just hit record when i'm ready and not have to quietly sneak across the room with my guitar in hand, and sit in a chair before the song starts.

play music!

[gfsark]

Muscmp, are you using the iPad as an interface to another daw that's on a different computer/laptop? Any by 'logic' do you mean Logic Pro? I'm interested in your setup, love to hear more details. Thanks.

[Bob Womack]

I record and edit professionally and work with mouse, keyboard, and the Avid Artist Transport.



This is a one-handed control panel that contains a really, really nice, weighted alpha wheel, a jog/shuttle wheel, transport keys, and soft keys that can be customized to your software and preferences. I place this unit under my left hand and use the alpha wheel to zoom and jog the transport. I've mapped some important navigation and editing keys onto it as well. It really speeds things up for me. It isn't cheap, but it also isn't a lightweight piece of junk with a tweaky little alpha wheel.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by gfsark

Muscmp, are you using the iPad as an interface to another daw that's on a different computer/laptop? Any by 'logic' do you mean Logic Pro? I'm interested in your setup, love to hear more details. Thanks.

perhaps he is referring to logic remote:
https://support.apple.com/logic-remote

[KevWind]

For the first 8 years of home recording I used a DigiDesign 002 which was a combo control surface and console.

But currently I am completely in the box and use the computer mouse and keyboard on the Pro Tools software mixer . Except that like (muscmp) when recording , I use my I pad with Pro Control software as a touch screen remote control surface for the DAW, which as he stated, allows me stay in the record position and control PT, with out having to walk over to my studio desk.

[endpin]

I use a Griffin Power-Mate as a simple transport jog wheel for Apple Pro-X when sitting in front of the computer and an Apple infra-red remote to start/stop recording from across the room when I am sitting at my drum kit.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by gfsark

I'm taking a course in recording at the local community college. Just learned about control surfaces which serve as a hardware interface to DAW software (which of course is Pro Tools at the college). For home recording, are any of you using this piece of gear? Any anything else about control surfaces you want to share. Thanks.

BTW Which control surface is the collage using ?

[muscmp]

Originally Posted by gfsark

Muscmp, are you using the iPad as an interface to another daw that's on a different computer/laptop? Any by 'logic' do you mean Logic Pro? I'm interested in your setup, love to hear more details. Thanks.

i'm using the ipad on logic pro an apple daw. an app called, logic remote, comes with logic and is downloaded into the ipad. i believe it will also work as a control surface with ableton live but i haven't set it up for ableton even tho i have the program.

let me know if you need more info.

play music!

[gfsark]

The college, OCC in Orange County, CA uses a digidesigns 002 for the recording cart that's used for live performances in the various audioriums and settings around campus. I see that you can buy used on ebay for $400 or less.

The recording studio control room is supplied with a 24-control digidesigns Focusrite (and a bunch of other gear...and I'm not sure how it's all connected together). About $10,000 new. $4,000 for a broken one on ebay.

[Fairlight]

Controllers these days are mainly for DJs and tweaking live music plug-ins. In the studio I've found a physical fader or two helpful when drawing a lot of automation, but mostly just use the mouse, giving me more desk space. You might instead invest in a second or third vid monitor to be able to view and access more that way.

That said, I did get a chance to demo this guy recently. Very nice integration with Cubase. Not sure about PT.

http://www.nektartech.com/panorama-p1.html

[scripsit]

I tried several iPad based controllers, but they were all unstable with my setup (Studio One as DAW on an old XP box) at crucial times.

I got one of these and have been very happy with it:
https://www.presonus.com/products/FaderPort

The main advantage of this is that I can hit record/pause or whatever from my seat at the mics, a few metres away from the computer itself.

Post tracking, I do all the mixing with mouse and keyboard.

Kym

[GuitarGreg81]

Has anyone tried the new FaderPort 8 from PreSonus? It's pretty new so there isn't a whole lot of info out there for it. I saw this review, but I'm not sure if it's worth it.

[DupleMeter]

My "home" studio, while at home, is a professional production studio. I've been using the Mackie Universal Control with a 8-fader extender side-car for a few years now. It really speeds up my mixing. I can be grabbing several faders and mixing/adjusting much faster than with a mouse.

I admit that it pretty much doesn't get used until mixing time, but the time savings is worth it for me because it allows me to get projects out the door faster without sacrificing quality.