KVR Audio

LoopyFruit · Post by **LoopyFruit** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 9:33 pm

Hi

Anyone using a Graphics Tablet and Pen with their Host?

I would like your thoughts please.

Thanks.

tetraplan · Post by **tetraplan** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:03 pm

I do. It's a great way of working.
I can't use a mouse for a very long time (RSI) but using a pen feels very natural.
I'm thinking about using my pen&tablet as a MIDI controller, but that would imply using a mouse again. I suppose that's for the future.

Groet, Erik

Shane Sanders · Post by **Shane Sanders** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:08 pm

Not with my host, but I use one every day for other things. I also recently upgraded myself to one of those Kensington mice with the giant roller ball. I'm starting to like it. My wrist was killing me at work and I needed a break from the way I was flailing around.

Improv · Post by **Improv** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:10 pm

tetraplan wrote:I do. It's a great way of working.
I can't use a mouse for a very long time (RSI) but using a pen feels very natural.
I'm thinking about using my pen&tablet as a MIDI controller, but that would imply using a mouse again. I suppose that's for the future.

Groet, Erik

Do either of you know about Tablet2Midi? It's still being developed, but it may be worth keeping an eye on:

http://www.livelab.dk/tablet2midi.php

They also have a kvraudio forum right here:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=72

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:42 pm

I have one sitting here taking up 1/4 of my desk but its not plugged in to my PC. Its great for painting but for anything else it is a complete PITA, even my Intuous 3 with its added buttons and touch-strip. Its just so much easier to middle and right click with a mouse.

pHz · Post by **pHz** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:46 pm

being a visual artist im happier with a pen in my hand than a mouse and ive used a tablet for ages with a variety of hosts ... i personally just find it SO much quicker and easier ...

... the only problem ive had is with ableton live where lives 'native' knobs and sliders react quite jerkily and overfast to tablet adjustments ... ableton are aware of the issue from a number of users but as yet no fix has appeared ...

slainte

rob

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:34 am

I'm also an artist and tablets have long been the bane of my existence. Wherever I work they are stuck between me and the keyboard and I can never find the perfect layout to be able to use both efficiently. Now with my medium-size Intuos I have at least solved that problem - it sits to the left of the keyboard, I'm left-handed, with my mouse to the right . Interestingly, we now ship the same size tablet with out systems products, instead of the 15"x12" that we used to. I think its for the same reason I use a smaller tablet because the way our systems products work requires one hand on the keyboard and the other on your mouse/pen. I hate it because I can't drink coffee and work at the saem time any more.

tetraplan · Post by **tetraplan** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:48 am

Improv wrote:Do either of you know about Tablet2Midi? It's still being developed, but it may be worth keeping an eye on:

http://www.livelab.dk/tablet2midi.php

They also have a kvraudio forum right here:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=72

I'm aware of it, and would like to try it sometimes. Maybe on my shuttle.

Groet, Erik

Hovmod · Post by **Hovmod** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:53 am

I use mine occasionally to draw automation curves, but like Bones I find it's really not practical to switch between mouse and pen, so most of the time it just sits there.

skipscada · Post by **skipscada** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:06 am

Personally I don't have a tablet, but I went to a experimental music concert where a guy started playing an empty loop (in SoundForge, I think), then used his tablet to sketch waves (and re-sketch, delete...) to create rhythmic patterns. He seemed to have developed a good feel for what sounds his quick sketches would produce. A bit boring after some time, but a nice parlour game.

Rune L-H · Post by **Rune L-H** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 4:02 pm

I think it's a common misunderstanding to just concider a tablet as merely a paint tool. I often use it as a complete substitute for the mouse in everyday use; i.e. doing web-browsing, filehandling etc. Fact is, that it is a much faster device than the mouse (because you can jump directly instead of traveling the cursor across the screen).

But there are some things where mouse works better. Controlling knobs & sliders in some hosts can be difficult with the tablet. On some tasks it is also easier to get precise movements with the mouse. I belive FL Studio has a option to make controls more tablet-friendly but I haven't tried it yet.

I have one of the small graphic tablets, and I actually like switching between mouse & the pen. It kind of gets a habit to choose a device depending on the specific task at hand.

Bones wrote:I think its for the same reason I use a smaller tablet because the way our systems products work requires one hand on the keyboard and the other on your mouse/pen. I hate it because I can't drink coffee and work at the saem time any more.

Yes, that's an important consideration. However...were you able to drink coffee with one hand on the keyboard and the other on a mouse?

Btw Bones: off topic...what are those systems products you are working with?

mayan · Post by **mayan** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 4:23 pm

Actually, my wife is an artist and would very much like to start using tablet/pen with the computer. Any suggestions as to model/make? She currently has a PC but folks have suggested a Mac...I don't do visual art and was wondering whether this is pretty much like the same thing in music or whether the Mac is still considered to be the "go to" for the visual arts - if so, why? Thanks...I know that this is far afield from VSTs but input at this juncture would be great...thanks!! BTW, most of her work consists of very fine line drawing...she's not into the painting thing at this point. Again, tip o' the hat.

Improv · Post by **Improv** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 5:42 pm

mayan wrote:Actually, my wife is an artist and would very much like to start using tablet/pen with the computer. Any suggestions as to model/make?

I'm just getting into the graphics thing and got a Wacom Graphire4 Tablet. (It works with Windows, Mac and Linux.)

For software, I bought Xara Xtreme and Real Draw Pro and also use the freeware Gimp and Inkscape.

She currently has a PC but folks have suggested a Mac...I don't do visual art and was wondering whether this is pretty much like the same thing in music or whether the Mac is still considered to be the "go to" for the visual arts - if so, why?

She really needs to ask the folks 'why?' When you consider that most major graphics programs are pc as well as mac now, what's the difference? (Especially for a beginner.)

BTW, most of her work consists of very fine line drawing...she's not into the painting thing at this point. Again, tip o' the hat.

The Wacom Graphire 4's pen has 512 pressure levels so that she could get different line 'looks' from varying the pressure. More expensive tablets have more pressure levels as well as bigger tablets.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:44 pm

Rune L-H wrote:I think it's a common misunderstanding to just concider a tablet as merely a paint tool. I often use it as a complete substitute for the mouse in everyday use; i.e. doing web-browsing, filehandling etc. Fact is, that it is a much faster device than the mouse (because you can jump directly instead of traveling the cursor across the screen).

My point is that it is not suited to any of that, largely because of the difficulty of double/middle/right-click which have made using a computer so much easier than it used to be. These days i find it difficult even to do without a scroll-wheel. A modern scroll-whell mouse i sfar and away the best tool for interfacing with a computer.

However...were you able to drink coffee with one hand on the keyboard and the other on a mouse?

When using your mouse you don't need to also use the keyboard.

Btw Bones: off topic...what are those systems products you are working with?

Discreet systems - Flint Flame, Inferno, Smoke, Fire and Lustre. They are all very expensive toys for film/TV.

mayan wrote:Actually, my wife is an artist and would very much like to start using tablet/pen with the computer. Any suggestions as to model/make? She currently has a PC but folks have suggested a Mac.

I use both and there is absolutely no advantage to one or the other, except for the superior value/performance of a PC. If you go the Mac route you will also be up for more expensive software. Depending on what type of work she will be doing I would recommend a Wacom Intuos or Graphire. The Intuos is a pro tablet with much finer control than Graphire, although for most of the work I do I really cannot tell the difference. Intuos is also a lot more expensive.
I can also highly recommend Xara Xtreme. I've been using Xara for about 7 years and it is far and away the easiest and most powerful vector graphics application around. That, of course, assumes that your wife won't be working with anyone else because whilst it exports to other formats really well, its not widely used professionally. If she wants somethign a little more widely used I would recommend Corel over Adobe. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is more powerful that Adobe Creative Suite and less than half the price. Draw and Photopaint are also better applications than Illustrator and Photoshop.

pHz · Post by **pHz** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:51 pm

ill give you the scrollwheel warren ... its the only thing i miss when using my tablets as mouse / trackball substitutes ... but the doubleclick / rightclick (i personally dont use a 3 button mouse so middleclick isnt an issue for me) thing is bogus ... apart from my little wacom tablet the other 2 i use (a cheap trust thing and a not cheap RM bluetooth jobbie) both have 2 programmable buttons in addition to the 'nib' itself ...

slainte

rob