Softube Console 1 Fader MkIII

Softube’s Console 1 system reaches its third iteration, refining and improving the popular DAW controller.

In our April 2024 issue, Sam Inglis reviewed the new Console 1 MkIII, Softube’s channel strip DAW controller designed for their Console 1 plug‑in ecosystem and selected third‑party partners like UAD and FabFilter. Those familiar with the MkI and MkII versions will know that the mixing system comes with two units, the Console 1 Channel and the Console 1 Fader. Unfortunately, the MkIII Fader was not ready for Sam’s initial review. The two are meant to work as a unified system where the Fader unit gives basic mixing control over 10 mixer channels, and the Channel unit allows you to get into the details of EQ, compression, overdrive and other effects on the currently selected channel.

If you’re interested in the system, start with Sam’s initial Console 1 Channel review and return here to learn more about the Fader unit.

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The Console 1 Fader uses the same dimensions and case design as the Console 1 Channel. Build quality is exceptional, and together they make a fine‑looking pair. Softube even sell a smart‑looking wooden stand that will mount both units together. Alternatively, you can purchase a rackmounting kit or mount them using a VESA stand.

There are 10 100mm motorised faders, 10 OLED screens, a single high‑precision encoder, and plenty of push buttons for mute, solo, mode switching, channel selection, and more. The encoder is the same type found on the Channel unit and is used for panning the selected track and menu selections when needed. Some people may miss the lack of a dedicated pan encoder for every channel, but I didn’t find it a problem. With a click of the Shift button, the encoder doubles as a stereo width control, as with the MkII.

The touch‑sensitive motorised faders feel very high quality and include optional haptic feedback, which is new to the MkIII. For example, when you pass through unity, the fader will hit a small resistance spot. The clever thing about the haptic system is that it is entirely software‑controlled, which means it can change positions on the fader or even be disabled altogether. For example, if you have the faders in Pan mode, the haptic feedback will be in the centre of the fader instead of where the 0dB mark would be. There is even a handy option to vibrate the fader when a channel is clipping.

The screens above each channel show a variety of information depending on context. In normal fader mode, they show channel name, pan position, volume, VU meter and mute/solo status.

The faders can be put into nine different modes using the six Fader Mode buttons to the left of the faders. Volume and Pan modes control the volume and pan directly in your DAW, and Sends 1‑6 allow you to control the first six sends (there is no way to access a seventh send or beyond). Param mode will enable you to control any parameter in the Console 1 plug‑in, which is a nice way to access a single parameter across multiple channels. I particularly enjoyed assigning the Character and Drive parameters to faders, which allows you to mix using overdrive instead of volume.

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