Single-fader Control Surfaces

Hands-on DAW control doesn’t necessarily mean you need to surrender your entire studio desk...

Much like the consoles they set out to replicate, control surfaces come in all shapes and sizes. At one extreme you have the likes of Avid’s S4/S6 and Yamaha’s NUAGE systems, large-format modular beasts that can be kitted out with a huge number of physical controls — a fully loaded S6 can support three operators and house a staggering 192 faders! At the other end of the scale are desktop-friendly devices equipped with a handful of controls and a single fader.

On first thought, it might seem strange to have a control surface with just one fader, but having hands-on control over a single DAW channel at a time can still prove to be incredibly useful: level and parameter adjustments are easier and more intuitive, and writing in automation is far less tedious, to give but two examples. Throw some encoders, function buttons and transport controls into the mix, and you’ve got a genuinely helpful addition to the trusty old mouse and keyboard combo. They also take up less space and generally come in at a lower cost than their multi-fader counterparts, which is always nice!

Avid Dock

The Avid Dock pairs with a tablet running the company’s free Avid Control app, and delivers much of the functionality of their large-format S4 and S6 surfaces in a far smaller and more affordable package. The device supplements the touchscreen interface of Avid Control with a 100mm motorised fader, eight touch-sensitive rotary encoders (with an additional rotary encoder for controlling compatible monitoring software), 32 function buttons, 16 assignable soft keys, two programmable touch strips and a large jog wheel.

Avid Dock

The encoders provide hands-on control over mixer functions and plug-in parameters with detailed visual feedback provided via the tablet app, while the fader provides an ‘attention’ channel strip control over the currently selected DAW track. The likes of session navigation and automation modes are handled by dedicated function buttons, and it’s possible to assign the soft keys and touch strips to a huge number of tasks using Avid’s EuControl software — EUCON offers control over just about every element of the DAW, including menu options and recalling custom layouts.

Along with a Channel view and comprehensive metering, the app also features a Mixer page with touchscreen control over additional channels, and those who want to extend the functionality to physical faders can pair the Dock with Avid’s S1. Up to four eight-fader S1 surfaces can run alongside the Dock, each of which can also host a tablet with additional instances of Avid Control. Being an Avid product, it’s no surprise that the Dock boasts tight integration with Pro Tools, but it can also be used alongside a number of other DAWs such as Cubase, Nuendo, Logic Pro, Sequoia and Pyramix.

$1195.

www.avid.com/products/avid-dock

£1198.80 including VAT.

www.avid.com/products/avid-dock

Behringer X-Touch One & X-Touch Mini

The single-fader member of Behringer’s X-Touch family houses a 100mm motorised fader with a rotary encoder and LCD ‘scribble strip’ that displays track names and parameter values, with a Channel section offering control over functions such as mute, solo and record enable.

Behringer X-Touch One

A second, larger LCD then indicates the rotary controller’s current assignment along with a DAW...