In digital recording studios & live performances today there seems to be more & more musicians, producers,engineers etc using midi control surfaces/ keyboards. I will admit i am one of them. Do we rely on them too much? Again i will admit that i rely on the faderport quite a lot. (I will never forget the time a few years go when the faderport was faulty & had to be sent away 2-3 weeks for repair. It made me realise how much i relied on it).
These days controllers/ keyboards come in all shapes & sizes. Types include: Pads, keyboard, faders, rotary knobs, sliders, DJ controls etc. I have tried a few of these. Yes they are useful. However, sadly not all controllers/ keyboards work the way they should. A year or so ago i had a midi controller with faders that used Automap. I thought this would be a good addition to the studio. Unfortunately i was wrong. The controller itself was ok (I dont think i ever got the pads working). It was Automap where the problems started. (I have read on the internet others have had problems with Automap, so i am not the only one). Anyway in the end Automap & the controller had to go. (Causing more problems than i would of liked).
So now i'm looking at maybe getting another midi controller with faders (motorised would be good)! I have looked at various controllers including: Mackie Control Universal Pro (looks good, the word expensive springs to mind though), as does the Euphonix MC Mix, then there's the Behringer BCF (a friend of mine has this. The faders are noisy & too clackety for my liking, also it is not touch sensitive), which brings me to Steinberg CMC FD (I have seen photos & faders & still cannot decide whether or not i would find this option suitable. If any of you have had any experience with the CMC FD please feel free to let me know. I would be interested to know.
Some of you maybe reading this thinking 'Why don't you use an ipad using an app that can do this?' Well i have looked also into this option however i cannot get internet in the studio. (Wi-fi seems to be the only way to get this to work. So at the moment the ipad option is out).
Do any of you use a midi controller/ keyboard (maybe you use a few)? If so whats your favourite & why? What do you think we could expect in the future regarding Midi Controllers/ keyboards?
Until next time
Law