What control surfaces are people using?

[FigBug]

One of my tasks for W12 is improved controller support.

So far on my list is Icon's line of controllers and Komplete Kontrol M/S. I should have time for one or two more, anything else popular that people are using?

[terrynoakes]

Still using frontier tranzport wireless controller,
Please don't remove support. Cheers

[Dark Lane]

I'm using my Arturia KeyLab Essential 61 as a control surface as well as a MIDI controller. It supports Mackie standard so anything that can be done to expand support for that would be appreciated.

[asprog]

Behringer X Touch Mini, it also supports Mackie standard.
All that could be done for the X Touch range would be also appreciated, I started my Waveform journey with version 8 OEM that was included with this Mini version...

[Peter Widdicombe]

Akai's MPK2 series. Running as a generic setup with "midi-learned" for a few basic functions only. Mapped last fader to master level, and play/record/jog controls. Haven't figured out a great way of selecting tracks; and arming them is weird when using the "button toggles" - just press until (visually on the Waveform screen} the armed button shows up, as the display on the MPK doesn't get feedback from Waveform.

Writing macros per button might do a better job. Can macros call other macros with parameters B-/ ?

[Watchful]

Yamaha Montage for old school. Obviously I'm no help here to you: it's easy to use MIDI learn to control things from the Monty.

For MPE, a Roli Seaboard RISE. As above, have had no issues with Waveform.

That said, I think this is a really good idea to address as controllers are becoming so widespread.

[FigBug]

Still using frontier tranzport wireless controller,
Please don't remove support. Cheers

They are standard midi interface, so they should work forever. Automap however is obsolete and will disappear at some point (Already has on ARM Mac). I have no way to test / work on it, so I'll leave it in on systems where it's working, but once it breaks, it's gone.

The idea going forward is that control surfaces will be implemented in Javascript and will have full access to the macro system. These will be in user editable files, and will be more powerful than the standard macros, since they will have variables that will persist and can run actions on timers, etc.

[Pie Tears]

Just started Using a Korg Nanokontrol Studio. But will can't the jog wheel to behave the way I want. Everything else is very cool

[carllackey]

novation launchkey 25

[toddbooster]

Oh my gosh, I've been waiting for exactly this question! Presonus Faderport V2 (single Fader). It supports a number of MCU modes (Ableton, Cubase, Logic) and HUI, but despite that, it has some very weird behaviour in Waveform.

Not my video, but a good demonstration of the Faderport's current limitations:

[Kott]

I saw that Novation ReMOTE SL was added in tracktion_engine, just wondering, will it work with Novation SL 49 MkII ?

[Jason_ZA]

I would like to be able to use my Roli Live Block to control start/stop, Record, Metronome, etc. if possible.

[frankpain]

M-Audio Oxygen Pro-25 in Mackie Control mode

[ChiroVette]

Do you mind if I ask a n00b question about this thread topic? What is the purpose and use of a control surface? I Googled it, but would like to hear it from living people. From what I have seen, they seem to provide a physical surface with retro'ish buttons, knobs, and faders, like an old school studio mixer? I assume that this somehow makes workflow easier?

Another question is, as someone who is really slow on the uptake with this stuff, having been pretty much an old-school guitarist and singer my whole life, how does one determine if they need or would seriously benefit by one of the work surfaces you guys are all bandying about?

Is there a minimum DAW skill level recommended before this becomes necessary or useful? Is it mostly good for a limited subset of people using a program like Waveform? Oh, also, can anything you do on a Work Surface also be done with a keyboard and mouse on a PC?

Thanks and sorry for the interrupt.

[Watchful]

Chiro,

A control surface is a means to control what the DAW is doing on a given track at any particular moment.

Think of it like a keyboard without keys. They take an astonishing number of shapes and sizes, with buttons, knobs, sliders, ribbons, and all sorts of things. And many of them do have piano-style keys. What do they do? Well, that's really up to you.

Some control surfaces are used to start/stop/record playback. If you have your MIDI gear over here, but your DAW and computer is way over there, these can help act like a remote control to tell the DAW "start recording...now!" You then start playing your hardware...and when done, press the button on the control pad to say "Stop." And DAW stops.

You can use them to augment live recording. Some keyboards come with knobs and sliders to control effects and sounds...but sometimes that's not enough. You can use a control pad in addition to your keyboard to do more stuff. For example, a control pad knob can be programmed to increase the filter cutoff on the synth, the next button can be used to advance to the next programmed sound, and this slider over here can be used to change the attack envelope on the sound you have. Or whatever.

A live DJ or performer might use one to play sound effects, samples, or trigger background sounds during a live gig *while* he or she is playing other instruments.

They're basically universal remote controls for your DAW and/or MIDI equipment. I do say "and," because a lot of people use one control pad to control multiple things at once. It's usually easy to do, and folks find countless ways to use them.

And a lot of people use them as simple keyboards. You're out on the road, you have a DAW loaded on your laptop, so you connect a small control pad with keyboard-style keys to the laptop. Now you can record live jams right into your DAW, complete with pitch bends, modulation, expression, and whatever you program it to do. So much better than step-editing on a little MIDI editor window.

Do you need one? Probably not!

So why get one?

- You get tired of going back to the computer every time you need to make an adjustment on it.
- Your hardware doesn't have enough knobs/sliders/controls to do what you need (especially live). Or, your hardware does--but it's a pain to go through menus and submenus to change settings. You can pre-map a button on a control pad to do a task in a split second for you. That's awesome on stage.
- You want to get into MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression), and your mouse/keyboard just isn't going to be able to handle that.
- You don't want to drop $2500 on a full MIDI synthesizer workstation when all you want to do is record some melody lines or chords on a plugin on your DAW.
- You play drums, and want a control surface that emulates a drum set, not a keyboard.
- You play guitar and don't know jack about playing a piano-style keyboard--you just want to remote control your DAW, do some basic controls of plugins on that DAW
- You need something portable, and lugging a 40-pound, 61-key keyboard around isn't great for your back.


I could keep going on. If you look up "MIDI control pad" on the internet, especially on a major music store website, you'll go dizzy looking at the many, many different types, shapes, sizes, colors, bells, whistles, and more. That's not meant to discourage you, but is meant to impress you at how many uses people find for these.

Again, lots of very successful music professionals--from recording artists to engineers--work for decades without ever touching one. Lots of amateur musicians can't go 10 minutes without one. There's no plan or logic to it: if you need one, you'll know soon enough. If you don't need one, you'll always find a way to do any given task without one.

I'm personally in the middle. I prefer my instrument controls right on the instrument itself--making live adjustments on the fly. I have an extensive list of shortcuts on Waveform memorized, so I can do all sorts of tasks quickly by pressing a couple of keys on the computer. But we do have a couple of controllers around here: one to control software synths when my hardware ones are occupied, and I have a Seaboard RISE to handle MPE, since no other hardware I own can handle that complexity.

For you, you could set up your vocal mic and guitar rig in one corner of your studio, and have a control pad nearby to start and stop recording. Or if you use software-based effects, you can treat it like a stomp box: tap this button, and it can activate a software-based phaser, or this button can activate your overdrive. In that sense, a control pad is like a bank of stomp boxes--but you decide which box goes where.