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Experts Name Their Preferred Control Surface | Production Expert
Faders are used to control the gain of tracks in mixer and DAWs. The gain is measured in dB. When we increase the volume by 1dB the amplitude of the wave doubles. This doubling nature of dB makes the faders more complicated in balancing low-volume instruments. And with a computer screen and mouse, you have to struggle hard to achieve your balance.
Here control surfaces help us, where you can play with subtle changes in faders and get a better mixing than computer mouse and keyboard. Obviously, a control surface can change the look of your studio. If you managed to get a big control surface you can be able to change the whole look of your studio.
If you are going to automate your songs then a control surface is a must for you. With control surfaces, you can easily achieve the best automation in no time.
As compared to digital mixers with the same number of faders and controls, control surfaces are far cheaper. You can get control surfaces with a fraction of the cost of digital mixers. I know, you are wondering which is the best DAW controller for logic pro x? There are many control surfaces are available in the market that supports Logic Pro X. They are under your pocket length, full of features, and also have a great-looking user interface.
This tiny powerhouse will surprise you in every stage of your recording and mixing session. Presonus Fader Port is a perfect combination of low budget and powerful control surface. You can get it with just a fraction of money than other standard control surfaces. This 5. If you are searching for the best control surface for logic pro x then this will be my 1st recommendation. Presonus Fader Port has dedicated transport control. However, many control surfaces have dedicated transport controls but imagine a control surface you can hold on your hands when operating.
This is an added advantage of Presonus Fader Port and makes you more comfortable in a long recording session. Due to the doubling nature of dB , in the low ends, you struggle in balancing your faders on the computer screen. In the low ends like below dB, a very small movement of fader can change the sound dramatically.
Here a full-length mm physical fader helps you to optimize your mixing. With hardware faders, you can play with those small volume changes without struggling with your computer mouse. Presonus Fader Port has not only mm standard fader but the faders are motorized too. The motorized fader helps you to create some awesome automation in your tracks.
Along with transport control at the bottom, Presounus Fader Port has a full range of dedicated transport and edit buttons. Presonus Fader Port has 24 buttons covering 40 different functions, and all these features you get in a compact 5. This feature is useful for musicians who record individually. However, you have to spend a good amount of money, if you are going to own this amazing gear.
Although, this is a high-priced gear even it is far less than a good digital mixer. There are digital mixers available in the market at a low price but they have some major limitations like non-motorized faders and lack of display panel etc. If you go for one with the above features, you have to invest at least the double amount of money from Mackie MCU Pro.
This control can help you in all the major operations in Your DAW. You can add effects on your DAWs tracks. Mackie MCU Pro comes with an inclined display panel for the monitoring of your recording process.
This display panel in this MIDI mixer controller is very useful for the visual monitoring of tracks. In Presonus Faderport you just get one motorized fader, but with Mackie MCU Pro you get 8 full-length motorized faders as well as a master fader for controlling the master volume.
With these full-length motorized faders, you can seamlessly and accurately mix your projects as well as do some amazing automation. Panpots and track buttons Solo, Mute, select, record : Mackie MCU Pro has 8 dedicated panpots above the faders as well as track buttons for each track.
VPot Assign and fader banks : This area is just above the master fader. VPot assign is used for adding plugin effects on a selected track, assigning send, Equalizing a track, etc.
The fader bank panel is used to switch the track banks, and channels. As you know Mackie is known as one of the best manufacturers of audio mixers, obviously the look of Mackie MCU Pro will tell you about their rich history of manufacturing mixers.
A vintage-style finish makes it a beautiful gear for your studio. These 2 expansions will not only increase the beauty of your studio but also are very useful gears. And if you want to add some other functions like controlling sequencers or plugins of your digital audio interface then you can use Mackie C4.
Many Hollywood studios use Pro Tools for the best workflow and quality. I personally love Pro Tools as it is one of the fastest DAW and accelerates your workflow dramatically. But Avid is not limited to Pro tools or its award-winning Video Editing software. There are many more gears and software Avid has.
And one of them is Avid Artist Mix. Avid Artist Mix is a versatile control surface and can increase your workflow dramatically. If you get this control surface in your studio, it will not only increase the workflow but also give a charm to your studio. It comes with 8 full lengths ie; mm motorized faders and the same number of panpots as well as other track buttons like solo, record enable mute, etc. The knobs are small but not so small that they’re hard to use. The entire unit itself is small enough to fit comfortably on a desk.
It’s also light enough that you can drop it into your gig bag and carry it around. The included software editor is powerful and intuitive enough that you can also customize the integration as per your needs. Although it does not have as many features as some other surface controllers on the list, it offers great value for the price. It lacks Device control, which I found to be a surprising decision from Akai.
The knobs might also feel a little small if you have large hands. Some users report issues with the lights not lighting up — even when the rest of the unit works fine. A small quibble has to do with the quality of Akai’s gel buttons. These gel buttons can be found on all of Akai’s lower-tier devices, from MIDI controllers to control surfaces, and it’s never a good experience using them. They feel sticky and not tactile enough. Akai, if you’re reading this, please find better gel buttons on your devices!
It is affordably priced and works great out of the box. Perhaps it’s not the most full-featured controller around, but if you’re looking for the best control surface for Logic Pro X on a budget, you’ll love this unit. With regards to their design, I found the Behringer X Touch to be a rather thick and clunky control surface. It is not as slim as many of the control surfaces I have tested. I’d even say that when placed on a desktop, you might have to raise your chair height an inch or two if you are sitting while operating it.
The height and thickness make it a tad uncomfortable reaching for the faders and make it hard to see the display properly while sitting. Despite the less than ideal thickness, this control device performs rather superbly, especially for serious producers.
Aside from the physical dimensions, the device has connectivity options galore. While testing, I connected the device to Logic.
It offers a really stunning functionality level with all the faders, knobs and buttons. The device supports the MCU protocol quite extensively. The transport buttons here feel really firm and sturdy and are very functional. For example, they have lights to show their current status. The jog wheel also enjoys this design feature. That said, it is not as firm as the transport buttons and feels rather cheap and tacky. The large, chunky size, however, makes up for this lapse.
One of my favorite features — something few control surfaces in this budget offer — is the small LCD scribble strips at the top of each channel fader. This instantly tells you which track or parameter you’re controlling. The standout feature for me, however, has to be the motorized faders.
It’s one of the rare control surfaces on the market with a whole array — nine — of motorized faders. As mentioned earlier, the interaction with Logic is one of the best features of this device. It has full support with Logic as well as other DAWs. Despite the integration with Mac OS, the lack of a Mac editor is jarring. The build quality is a little disappointing considering the price.
The motors on the faders is tacky and feels liable to break. The lack of customization options in the editor is also a letdown. Recommended for: Gigging musicians that have a home studio will find the functionality of this device quite ideal. It’s also great if you want to move from a small home setup to something that’s more professional. For our money, this is the best control surface for Logic Pro X as far as performance is concerned.
Even the design language follows that purpose. You won’t find unnecessary screens and tabs and buttons.
Everything is limited. Some might see this as a problem, but I see this as a perfect example of a tight, single-purpose device.
You won’t have to spend hours studying the manual; everything is intuitive and easy to figure out on your own. Throw in the fact that it also has wireless connectivity though latency takes a hit and a small footprint, I rank it as the best control surface for Logic Pro X if portability is a top priority. At the bottom of the front panel, there are the long-throw faders. The top of the panel features the Mute, Solo, Record, and select buttons.
This is a departure from the Kontrol 2 which had the aforementioned buttons cradled between the faders. Aside from these buttons and the faders, the front panel has a single jog wheel and a scene button. I like the increased functionality this offers. It allows me to change through 5 controller assignment pages with ease whenever I use it in the MIDI mode.
The keyboard layout on this device is also intriguing. There are an additional 8 knobs and trigger pads as well as an axis touch controller. Given the focus on simplicity, all the buttons are clearly labeled Mute, Solo, Record, Select.
This really improves the user experience, at least for beginners. Additionally, the rear panel features a switch that toggles between the USB or Bluetooth mode. While testing, I found the connections easy to make and quite seamless.
However, I encountered some connectivity problems when using the Bluetooth function on a low battery. Latency is also questionable over Bluetooth mode, but if you’re producing on Garageband, it’s more than acceptable. The NanoKontrol Studio is compatible with a number of apps. When I connected the control surface to my MacBook, I discovered that there are plenty of modes available. The device functions just as a normal MIDI keyboard does when connected to the computer. Mapping had to be done manually as there is no Live remote script or Logic plug-in.
However, the keys afford a lot of functionality. They offer the user a built-in Arpeggiator among other functions. The touchpad has 3 different functions that are accessed by using the buttons just south of it. You can use it as pitch bend and mod wheels, you can use it as a controller, and it can be used to play notes.
It has functional issues on iOS devices — though I don’t consider this a major issue since you’ll be using it with Logic Pro i. A major concern is build quality. The entire unit is housed in a lightweight plastic body. A couple of bad drops and this plastic can crack easily. Given its portable credentials, I would have preferred a tougher body. Recommended for: If you want the best control surface for Logic Pro X with a wireless connection at a relatively cheap price, this is for you.
It’s extremely easy to use and has none of the frills and features that might confuse a beginner. This unit from Zoom is designed specifically to work with Zoom’s F4 and F8 mixers. However, since it’s USB, it works equally well with other USB-capable mixers or when you plug it directly into the computer. The entire unit is housed in a metal casing that makes it look really good.
The tough body also ensures that it can stand the rigors of live gigs. The buttons and faders on this control surface look strong, firm, and of high quality. The interface and button overlay of the device makes it one of the easiest to use.
If you already use a Zoom mixer, that’s a massive win. The faders are tight and have the right amount of give. The LED display is bright and looks good even in sunlight. The quality of the rubber gel buttons is at par with Akai that is, not great, not bad. I would have preferred at least one motorized fader, however.
On the whole, if you’re recording live or outdoors, this is one of the best control surfaces for Logic Pro X you can find on the market. It has its limitations, especially given its limited compatibility, but the solid build quality and feature-rich performance make it a top choice.
Recommended for: If you are looking for a portable and highly durable control surface to take on the go with you to locations, this will suit your needs. If you already own a Zoom mixer, then you’ll find that this is easily one of the best control surfaces for Logic Pro X on the market right now.
While most of the options on this list would be a good fit in any home studio, I feel that the X-Touch One offers the best mix of features, affordability and portability home studios need.
To start with, i t is similar to the X-Touch Mini in size, albeit a tad larger. One way to describe the design and appearance of the X-Touch One is comparing it to cutting off one end of the X-touch.
It comes with the standard controls on the X-Touch; however, it has a single motorized fader, navigation functions, and transport functions. The single motorized fader is good enough for home studios albeit limited in live settings. It’s also touch sensitive which gives you much better control over your fades and automations.
Downloads | nanoKONTROL2 – Control Surface plug-in for GarageBand/Logic | KORG (USA) – Our Best Content
You can independently determine the default behavior of each device in a group. Discover Experience Roland with an immersive collection of interactive pages and microsites. They work on everything from student films to features to immersive audio for Multiple Controls per Parameter pop-up menu: Choose the maximum number of encoders used for each parameter when editing plug-ins or surfaaces instruments. Cheers, Laurence.
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The global parameters can then be edited using the 8 rotary encoders in the top row. To exit the EG mode press the Exit button. The device is now ready to use with Ardour.
The four buttons arranged in a rectangle and located under the Behringer logo are the mode selection buttons in Logic Control Emulation Mode, currently Ardour has implemented support for two of these modes.
The order of the faders is either controlled by the order of the tracks in the mixer or can be set manually by the user. Send mode allows for the top row of encoders to control the sends for a selected channel.
One interesting option is to flip the controls from the encoders to the faders by pressing the shift 1 button and the global view button at the same time.
The operations of various buttons change while holding down the Shift 1 button:. The operations of various buttons change while holding down the Shift 2 button:.
There is a “Behringer X-Touch” map included with Ardour. The Behringer X-Touch Compact has fewer controls than the Mackie control and therefore less function as well. The control layout in Mackie Control mode is shown below.
Encoder 3 sets the foot switch mode and should most likely be set to Auto to detect how the foot switch is wired. Encoder 5 sets the device id, if you are using only 1 device the id should be set to ID 1. Cheers, Laurence. Sorry it’s driving me mad, would it be one of the settings under the Control Surface Setup page? My Studio. You might want to check in the Control Surfaces manual for details about the settings for the MC.
Thanks, I did try that. Actually turns out I am an absolute cretin though, having not used a controller with midi before I just assumed I’d only be needing a midi out Having connected up the midi in as well it’s working perfectly. What a wazzock. MIDI is always a mystifying thing. I still get confused Glad it’s working. You may not duplicate, alter, modify, rent, lease, resell, assign, loan, sub-license, distribute the whole or part of the Licensed Program, or make derivative works based on what is contained in the Licensed Program.
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Control Logic Pro Automation & Control Surface Manual. 3. About this Manual. By connecting Control to your DAW computer via Ethernet. Lay your hands on your music with the X-TOUCH ONE Universal Control Surface. This brilliant controller has everything you need for your home studio or live. Set the maximum MIDI bandwidth to %. c. De-select control surface follows track selection. You can also de-select touching fader selects track if.