A slight amendment:)

[Joseph Hanna]

Even recently here, and on other recording forums, I’ve kinda held my ground when it comes to DAW Control Surfaces especially when compared to the “feel” of analog consoles. My position has always been the Control Surfaces are just too latent to give really satisfying results. An analog fader gives instant feedback and reaction where historically with Control Surfaces there’s that kinda terrible lag involved and where a logical argument can be made that Control Surfaces are better than a mouse they’re by no means tactile. With an analog console I always felt MUCH more connected to the sonics.

I borrowed a PreSonus FaderPort 8 from a friend. I’ve had it for a week or two and where I’m still in the mind set it’s not analog in its reaction time I am willing to say it’s really, really good. Awfully close. Close enough that I’m sure it’s gonna end my journey to find an analog console solution.

As far as functionality the FaderPort (as with virtually anything coming out of the Presonus camp these days) is brilliantly thought through. It’s intuitive, streamline, intelligent and once you get it in your mind you don’t have to reach for the mouse almost completely comprehensive to the software.

Finally the single biggest plus that this Control Surface provides is giving one the opportunity to shut the dang computer screen off and mix with ears instead of eyes. It’s a biblical change and if anyone here hasn’t had the chance to mix without looking at a GUI I’m guessing you’re in for a total (pardon the pun) eye opener.

PreSonus (at least for me) continues to be “the” driving force in current DAW solutions. Many thumbs up!

[KevWind]

Interesting review thanks . So from the specs it is USB 2 connection but the bigger/older style USB connector into the PreSonus I assume the cable is supplied ?



Actually my first home system was a DigiDesigns 002 8 fader mini console type control surface
And I have to admit I sometimes do miss the faders .

[Brent Hahn]

Another big plus is that you can move several things at once. A third plus is that, by routing a mic first to an aux track (in PT) and from there to an audio track, you can ride gain on the the way in with your finger on a physical fader. Just like the olden days.

[KevWind]

Just watched this review by Sweetwater Lots of features

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

Even recently here, and on other recording forums, I’ve kinda held my ground when it comes to DAW Control Surfaces especially when compared to the “feel” of analog consoles. My position has always been the Control Surfaces are just too latent to give really satisfying results. An analog fader gives instant feedback and reaction where historically with Control Surfaces there’s that kinda terrible lag involved and where a logical argument can be made that Control Surfaces are better than a mouse they’re by no means tactile. With an analog console I always felt MUCH more connected to the sonics.

I borrowed a PreSonus FaderPort 8 from a friend. I’ve had it for a week or two and where I’m still in the mind set it’s not analog in its reaction time I am willing to say it’s really, really good. Awfully close. Close enough that I’m sure it’s gonna end my journey to find an analog console solution.

As far as functionality the FaderPort (as with virtually anything coming out of the Presonus camp these days) is brilliantly thought through. It’s intuitive, streamline, intelligent and once you get it in your mind you don’t have to reach for the mouse almost completely comprehensive to the software.

Finally the single biggest plus that this Control Surface provides is giving one the opportunity to shut the dang computer screen off and mix with ears instead of eyes. It’s a biblical change and if anyone here hasn’t had the chance to mix without looking at a GUI I’m guessing you’re in for a total (pardon the pun) eye opener.

PreSonus (at least for me) continues to be “the” driving force in current DAW solutions. Many thumbs up!

I've been using PreSonus products for over 15 years and I'm sold on their quality and value! I'm currently using the PreSonus Studio 192 Mobile interface and it's a joy to use! Thanks for your kudos on this brand!

[DupleMeter]

A control surface fundamentally changes the way you deal with a DAW. For me it made my work move much faster...like the days before DAWs...only I don't have to wait for the tape rewind

I also find that I don't think about the numerical display when I'm using real faders. For some reason my OCD requires me to move the fader in very specific increments when I'm doing it onscreen. Things like: "I can't leave that at -5.3! Let me nudge it to -5.5". I don't seem to have that compulsion when I'm dealing with a control surface.

The FaderPort is nice, but I would advise anyone who mixes to get any control surface you can afford. It changes your workflow...for the better. And just might help with your OCD

[Bob Womack]

I started early in the whole DAW thing with the precursor of ProTools (Avid Audio Station) that had no work surface available. When that was discontinued we went with the Fairlight MFX which had a fantastic dedicated control surface with zero lag to its controls, and especially that heavy, lovely alpha wheel:





Around 2003 when Fairlight went under we switched to the Steinberg Nuendo-Yamaha DM2000 integrated system where the faders, mutes, EQ, and everything from the DAW were controlled by the DM2000 console. Only, the brand-new Yamaha handlers were pretty unreliable at that point so we couldn't rely on them. I ended up learning to work with the mouse on the excellent GUI of Nuendo and added a Euphonix/Avid MC Transport with a big heavy alpha wheel to handle transport and zooming functions just like the Fairlight had. It was a tremendous transition for this longtime fader jockey but I made it. These days I have a choice of screen, DM2000 fader control or Euphonix, the last two via Ethernet and both of them rock solid and instant.


Bob

[DupleMeter]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I started early in the whole DAW thing with the precursor of ProTools (Avid Audio Station) that had no work surface available. When that was discontinued we went with the Fairlight MFX which had a fantastic dedicated control surface with zero lag to its controls, and especially that heavy, lovely alpha wheel:





Around 2003 when Fairlight went under we switched to the Steinberg Nuendo-Yamaha DM2000 integrated system where the faders, mutes, EQ, and everything from the DAW were controlled by the DM2000 console. Only, the brand-new Yamaha handlers were pretty unreliable at that point so we couldn't rely on them. I ended up learning to work with the mouse on the excellent GUI of Nuendo and added a Euphonix/Avid MC Transport with a big heavy alpha wheel to handle transport and zooming functions just like the Fairlight had. It was a tremendous transition for this longtime fader jockey but I made it. These days I have a choice of screen, DM2000 fader control or Euphonix, the last two via Ethernet and both of them rock solid and instant.


Bob

I remember those! I also remember other pre Pro Tools offerings from Digidesign: Sound Designer & Sound Tools. They were really cutting edge at the time, and now they seem so primitive.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

... the Fairlight MFX which had a fantastic dedicated control surface with zero lag to its controls...

I worked on MFX3's for a while. A really fast editor! Hard to call that keyboard thingy a "control surface," though, in the faders/knobs sense. It was really more of a proprietary computer keyboard. They did come out with the FAME system, which was a coop development between Fairlight and Amek. But even that was just an automated digital desk slaved to the MFX via LTC.

I think of a "control surface" as being a 3-D, tactile representation of a DAW mixer screen, which is itself a 2-D non-tactile representation of an actual 3-D, tactile audio mixer. Pretty silly when you think about it.

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

I worked on MFX3's for a while. A really fast editor! Hard to call that keyboard thingy a "control surface," though, in the faders/knobs sense. It was really more of a proprietary computer keyboard. They did come out with the FAME system, which was a coop development between Fairlight and Amek. But even that was just an automated digital desk slaved to the MFX via LTC.

I think of a "control surface" as being a 3-D, tactile representation of a DAW mixer screen, which is itself a 2-D non-tactile representation of an actual 3-D, tactile audio mixer. Pretty silly when you think about it.

You have to remember the time: at that point what you describe simply didn't exist. When I think about it what I remembre is how rock-solid responsive it was. Everyone else had keyboard lag and inability to navigate solidly. With that big alpha wheel you could zoom and shuttle/jog amazingly quickly and it was absolutely rock solid. I worked in a high-speed recording environment doing punch-ins for music and voice replacement for video. Once a good operator learned that system he could stay ahead of the session demand really well. Mixing could be done by splitting clips and using both clip-based level automation and EQ. It isn't anything like today, and once again I could never go back. But it was an interesting step along the way. We ran the MFX with an SSL 4048 and could use both the SSL automation and the MFX to manipulate sound. These days the Yamaha DM2000 is simply a router and a control surface that controls Nuendo for me.


By the way, I have one of the control surfaces lying in the machine room at work.


Bob

[GTR1960]

Is midi getting faster than the Eucon Ethernet? I’m using the Artist but, I’m not 100% on the layout. Last time I tried the midi setups there was fader lag.