Which Control Surface?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Doctor Varney
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Doctor Varney

Cave dwelling Luddite
(Think I put this in the wrong section, to begin with. Sorry!)

I'm trying to decide which to get...

I use FL Studio to record and arrange tracks. I can't decide which MIDI control surface will suit me best. Can you help?

Behringer BCF2000 (Rotary)
I originally chose to go with the Behringer BCR (rotary) because it seemed very versatile, having endless rotaries. But then I got put off by the realisation the lower 32 rotaries do not multiply into banks (this is only so for the top 8 pots). Since I tend to use a lot of plugins, I think I could use up 32 pretty fast and still want more.

Another issue is labelling. Although the LEDs around the rotaries appear to give pretty decent feedback, I worry that I could easily get lost on what they are assigned to. I could label them but then the thought that there aren't enough pots to start with pops back into mind.

Behringer BCF2000 (Slide-Fader)
Now I rather fancy a hands-on mixer and this controller does seem to do it all, with motorized controllers which 'snap' back to whatever their settings were, on a previous bank. 32 might work for me. How many does it make in total? I'm rather concerned with the cost/ build ratio though. At this price point, I'd be holding my breath, between purchase & arrival, until I can actually feel the quality when it arrives. What do you think? Then there is the labelling issue again, with the pots above.

Novation SL Zero MkII
Now this has full LCD screen labelling, which is going to be very nice. My dislike is that at least one set of pots are NOT endless and none of the sliders are motorised. I can't quite decide if this is going to be an issue or not. Until now, I've been using the Korg NanoKontrol and find that without looking at my DAW screen, I can't tell where they were, before I switched banks... I'm hoping the LCD labelling would make up for this?

Novation SL Zero Mk I
I think this is discontinued? I like the fact it has two LCD labelling displays - over both the pots and the sliders, which I can see being very convenient. Question: does the unit also feature Novation's 'Speed Dial'? This is the one knob you can instantly assign, temporarily, simply by hovering your mouse over the control - and it picks up from there. Lovely. Definitely want that Speed Dial...!

All in all, which would you choose and why? Or would you recommend anything I haven't noticed yet? My budget is really limited to the price of the Novation SL, so I can't exceed that - but if there is anything else out there, in the same price bracket?

It's very difficult to decide without being able to try them out first. I'll be grateful for any advice you guys can offer.

Thanks

Dr. V
 
I have the BCR2000. It's cool for tweaking parameters in MIDI software (e.g., something other than DAW mixing), but you would really want something with faders for mixing. My preferred control surface is the discontinued Tascam US-428, which is also an audio interface.
 
I own the BCF2000 and find it to be a good control surface for the money.
The faders are noisy, but I got it for $150 on Ebay and can't complain.
 
Faders, noisy? In what way?

I watched some videos on Youtube of people unpacking and using the BCF2000 and in reviews, it seems those faders are not very smooth. They appear to 'judder' as they fade and there also seems to be quite a lot of motor noise and loud 'clicking' sounds.

Now, this wouldn't be an issue, while your monitoring is up loud - and it will only occur when you have automation present anyway... (will not afect the quality of audio) but even so, they do not seem to move very smoothly. They appear to be moving in increments - and rather large ones at that! Do you find this to be a quality issue or does it not bother you?

That's just my perception from looking and listening to videos. To the users, how do you find the BCF? Is this something you just put up with, because of it's low price or are they actually smooth in reality?
 
So how do you find keeping track of those parameters? Do you physically label them?

Please let me know how you use it. Do you set your mixer main levels with the top row of controls and use the ones below for tweaking plugins and sends, or the reverse?
 
I wasn't aware of the problems with the BCF faders. That's why I asked. I would rather forego automation and motorized faders altogether, if that's the case. And I do.

As for the BCR, I write MIDI processing scripts in VMM and use the knobs for realtime control of parameters. It has nothing to do with levels, plugins, sends, mixing, or anything else DAW-related.
 
Doctor Varney said:
I watched some videos on Youtube of people unpacking and using the BCF2000 and in reviews, it seems those faders are not very smooth. They appear to 'judder' as they fade and there also seems to be quite a lot of motor noise and loud 'clicking' sounds.

Now, this wouldn't be an issue, while your monitoring is up loud - and it will only occur when you have automation present anyway... (will not afect the quality of audio) but even so, they do not seem to move very smoothly. They appear to be moving in increments - and rather large ones at that! Do you find this to be a quality issue or does it not bother you?

That's just my perception from looking and listening to videos. To the users, how do you find the BCF? Is this something you just put up with, because of it's low price or are they actually smooth in reality?
Click to expand...

Other than the noisy faders, it been a real nice unit.

The noise when mixing doesn't really bother me, it's just when I bring up Cubase and it loads the control surface controller code all the faders slam to the bottom and it always startles me even though I'm know it's going to happen.
Maybe I'm just jumpy, the same thing happens when I open up a container of Pillsbury dough rolls and it pops open. :D
 
Well, I have ordered the Novation SL Zero Mk II. I found an ex-demo model at a bargain price, with full warranty. I've had to weigh it all up using reviews, but thanks for reading and replying.
 
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