Control Surface??

  • Thread starter Thread starter yoohoo
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yoohoo

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Hey y'all, I'm looking to buy a control surface. I've done a lot of research but i need some advice anyway. I already have an interface, so all I'm really looking for is a DAW controller, with at least 8 channels' worth of faders. The price range would have to be between low and mid-range. Again, it doesn't need to have an interface built in. I just want to be able to control my analog inputs (mics and guitar cables). Oh, I almost forgot: do you think it's necessary for it to have a firewire connection? I prefer firewire but there are a lot of USB controllers too. Thanks for any help!
 
I don't have any specific recommendations for you as far as specific make/model, because I feel that control surfaces can be a very personal preference decision as far as overall size, control layout, number and types of controls, etc.

For me, the number of physical sliders and control knobs per slider are fairly important; I'm not a huge fan, for example, of having 24 channels of control thrown together into only 8 sliders and having to switch between 3 different "banks" of channels that the sliders can control. Also, having enough knobs per channel to handle basic channel mixing functions such as trim level and pan, including maybe an extra programmable one would be nice to have. Also, buttons programmable for Mute and Solo and maybe an extra one for buss assign or something like that would be great.

But then you gotta balance all that against your budget as well, and there is where a great deal of personal preference has to come in; which features you are willing or able to pay for is going to be a big part of the equation.

As far as the FW vs. USB, I personally wouldn't worry about that too much unless your USB bus on your PC is already pretty heavily loaded. But on the control surface end, the control surface is really little more than a complicated mouse, it doesn't really require much bandwidth at all. I find that usually the manufacturers take this into consideration, and I have not found a USB device that was really "underdesigned" by using USB tn a way where the interface itself really causes a bottleneck. Aggain, maybe if you have really loaded down your USB bus alredy with external drives, USB keyboard and mouse, audio interface, USB waffle maker, etc., then maybe there might be more of a consideration.

G.
 
What DAW software are you using? I am using Cubase Studio5 with a Mackie MCU. Not the new one but the older darker one. I bought it used and it works great.
 
Behringer BCF2000. Yes I said Behringer. 8 channels of motorized faders (a little noisy but not a deal breaker), can emulate Mackie Control Universal so works anywhere a Mackie MCU does(which is almost everywhere).
costs under $200 new and can be had used for under $100. They can be chained together if you want more than 8 faders.

Yes its Behringer but it never touches the sound. Just sends ;MIDI instructions to move the faders and pan knobs. For the price can't be beat
 
Bristol Posse said:
Behringer BCF2000. Yes I said Behringer. 8 channels of motorized faders (a little noisy but not a deal breaker), can emulate Mackie Control Universal so works anywhere a Mackie MCU does(which is almost everywhere).
costs under $200 new and can be had used for under $100. They can be chained together if you want more than 8 faders.

Yes its Behringer but it never touches the sound. Just sends ;MIDI instructions to move the faders and pan knobs. For the price can't be beat
Click to expand...


A second on the Behri. It actually gets very, very good reviews and is a freakin' bargain @ $179 or so new.:cool:
 
There was somebody selling one here, last week or so.
Check it out.
 
The Behringer is a very good unit for the price, but I got put off by the the quality (they feel cheap, the faders are quite scratchy and the motors lag a bit) and most of all the lack of touch-sensitive faders. I can't understand why they would bother motorising them but not make them touch sensitive - well I can understand... it was built to cost! But the whole idea of having motorised faders is so that they follow the automation envelope and you can 'punch in' to overwrite sections at any time... the fader will be in the right place until you put your finger on it to go to move it, at which point the motor disengages to allow you to make your change. However, it doesn't quite work like that if they're not touch sensitive.!

This probably isn't of much use for the OP, but I started off looking for an 8-fader surface on a tight budget and ended up getting a Faderport instead. I realised that even with 8-faders I would still be scrolling through banks and banks of channels in some of my projects (which often go over the 100 track mark), so if anything it would be more difficult to keep track of the assignment of 8 faders than 1. I only ever write one automation envelope at a time anyway and I mainly use it for the transport controls, so it fits my needs perfectly.
 
Bristol Posse said:
Behringer BCF2000. Yes I said Behringer. 8 channels of motorized faders (a little noisy but not a deal breaker), can emulate Mackie Control Universal so works anywhere a Mackie MCU does(which is almost everywhere).
costs under $200 new and can be had used for under $100. They can be chained together if you want more than 8 faders.

Yes its Behringer but it never touches the sound. Just sends ;MIDI instructions to move the faders and pan knobs. For the price can't be beat
Click to expand...

Its OK to reccomend Behringer as long as it doesnt touch the signal path...and I have seen them cascaded in 3 sets so you can get three and control 24 tracks.
I never liked a mouse...Ive allways liked to touch the stuff...like DAWs on computer are a lot like surfing for porn...where as having a control surface is more like fucking for real.
 
darrin_h2000 said:
Ive allways liked to touch the stuff...like DAWs on computer are a lot like surfing for porn...where as having a control surface is more like fucking for real.
Click to expand...

i just have to say, that was great haha! good work sir
 
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