-
Hi and welcome to the Studio One User Forum!
Please note that this is an independent, user-driven forum and is not endorsed by, affiliated with, or maintained by PreSonus. Learn more in the Welcome thread!
Faderport... new version soon?
- Thread starter madFloyd
- Start date
OP
OP
madFloyd
Member
I think there's an extra $100 off now ($200 savings according to Sweetwater).
lokeyfly
Active member
Hi madFloyd,
$599 at Sweetwater. Very nice. I'm afraid you have to weigh the better price, versus what may be out in a few. It doesn't hurt to ask, that's for sure. If you can hold out perhaps a few months, then do that. Let's face it, the price won't go up at that time.
On the other hand, a 16 track 100mm controller with a motorized fader layout is a serious tactile tool. If that takes you and your music for years to come (Oh, it will), then go for it!
My only complaint with my FP8 and the same holds true with the FP16 is the meter bridge was poorly implemented. You almost have to look straight down on it, and they're illuminated LCD. Some combat that angle issue by tilting the whole Faderport on a stand. For me, that is counter productive to being tactile. A mixer should largely lay flat or maybe at worst sit at 15 degrees angled towards you.
I beat the bridge issue by purchasing a glass prism from China (cheep too!). Now my FP8 sits flat and the meter bridge is directed right at me. Presonus should have directed the meter bridge differently or made a flip out bridge that could be folded down for transport. If you do nothing, don't expect to see meter activity, other than on your monitor which is then a little disengaging to the hardware.
Otherwise the Faderport series is a phenomenal winner for the price. Even the single FP is sonething to not be without. Maybe that's your answer for now. Buy a single FP.
$599 at Sweetwater. Very nice. I'm afraid you have to weigh the better price, versus what may be out in a few. It doesn't hurt to ask, that's for sure. If you can hold out perhaps a few months, then do that. Let's face it, the price won't go up at that time.
On the other hand, a 16 track 100mm controller with a motorized fader layout is a serious tactile tool. If that takes you and your music for years to come (Oh, it will), then go for it!
My only complaint with my FP8 and the same holds true with the FP16 is the meter bridge was poorly implemented. You almost have to look straight down on it, and they're illuminated LCD. Some combat that angle issue by tilting the whole Faderport on a stand. For me, that is counter productive to being tactile. A mixer should largely lay flat or maybe at worst sit at 15 degrees angled towards you.
I beat the bridge issue by purchasing a glass prism from China (cheep too!). Now my FP8 sits flat and the meter bridge is directed right at me. Presonus should have directed the meter bridge differently or made a flip out bridge that could be folded down for transport. If you do nothing, don't expect to see meter activity, other than on your monitor which is then a little disengaging to the hardware.
Otherwise the Faderport series is a phenomenal winner for the price. Even the single FP is sonething to not be without. Maybe that's your answer for now. Buy a single FP.
Last edited:
OP
OP
madFloyd
Member
Hey, I really appreciate your thoughts. I was reading reviews on Sweetwater which mentioned the same complaint you have, which is partly why I'm now curious if Presonus will bring out a new version.
I do have the single Faderport (in fact, I have an additional one to use when I travel) and I think it's great. I don't do much serious mixing (only because I never finish my damn songs) but I'm itching to and feel the larger Faderport would be great. That said, I am wondering how you know which 16 tracks are active and when happens when you open and close folders etc.
I think your advice to try and wait to summer makes sense. Thank you.
Craig Anderton
Active member
Do you have a link to where you bought it?
As to FP in general...for what it's worth, hardware controllers don't have a great track record for sales. At seminars, I always ask how many people mix with a mouse vs. a hardware controller, and the mouse crowd dominates by far. I've done seminars with 100-200 people where not one person used a hardware controller. It's risky to devote the considerable time and effort needed to bring a hardware product to market when the demand is questionable.
That said, controllers for Ableton Live sell quite well because at least AFAIC, Ableton Live needs a hardware controller if you're going to perform with it. So maybe with the introduction of clip launching, PreSonus is going to revisit hardware controllers. The limited compatibility with existing controllers for Live might be an indication. Or might not. Always in motion is the future...right?
Jemusic
Member
I solved the issue of not seeing the scribble strips and meters etc by just having a piece of wood about an inch high underneath propping up the Faderport 8 at the top. They are readable now for me but its still flat enough to feel like a mixing console. Something else I also found too. I have got a high refresh rate monitor as well (144Hz) Not that you need it so much but two things it does really well. The mouse (wireless) and its pointer on the screen are totally locked. No lag. Also when I move a Faderport fader up and down the software fader in Studio One is totally locked to that movement as well. Its instant also with no lag. YMMV with that of course.
With practice you can do about 80% of everything in Studio One with the Faderport and not the mouse. A really good mouse (Logitech Master 3S) and Faderport is a very powerful combination.
With practice you can do about 80% of everything in Studio One with the Faderport and not the mouse. A really good mouse (Logitech Master 3S) and Faderport is a very powerful combination.
Last edited:
lokeyfly
Active member
I'm 95% sure I got this one on Amazon.
Although mine is slightly smaller at 7-1/8" x 1-1/2" (182 mm x 40mm) approx. An 8 inch long prism will also be ideal. I'll see if I can grab a picture later. I had one in the old Presonus forum in the Faderport section, but I guess it's swimming with the fishes.
It's a beautiful piece if crystal, and I remember the description was the same
"Teaching Light Spectrum Physics and Photo Photography Prism"
lokeyfly
Active member
About the prism.
Naturally from the farther away shot, the illuminated channels will have their exposure blown out. So I added a closer view. Because the prism is a real good quality cut class, the actual viewing is very, very good at any distance and there is no over exposure from our eyes as the pictures might suggest. It's as least as good as viewing the meters without a prism. Only the benefit of the correct angle is there.
Mounting can happen a number of ways. I chose a quick and easy Touchpad pointer (or pen). Another option is to cut a black piece of cardboard into two squares. Roughly the same size of the triangular shape of the prism. Set the desired viewing angle and use something simple like silicone to adhere the squares at each end. I'll eventually do that.
About $20 and I've never found a viewing issue with the FP8, since.
Naturally from the farther away shot, the illuminated channels will have their exposure blown out. So I added a closer view. Because the prism is a real good quality cut class, the actual viewing is very, very good at any distance and there is no over exposure from our eyes as the pictures might suggest. It's as least as good as viewing the meters without a prism. Only the benefit of the correct angle is there.
Mounting can happen a number of ways. I chose a quick and easy Touchpad pointer (or pen). Another option is to cut a black piece of cardboard into two squares. Roughly the same size of the triangular shape of the prism. Set the desired viewing angle and use something simple like silicone to adhere the squares at each end. I'll eventually do that.
About $20 and I've never found a viewing issue with the FP8, since.
lokeyfly
Active member
Good move on the single FP. I understand about finishing songs and the difficuly that is. A few good friends of mine have spent a lifetime saying they will write that song, they make the purchases to do so, and just dont finish. Whatever those complexities come down to, I won't go into here my friend, but I will tell you, getting a FP16 or potentially the next iteration of that, won't help. You don't need that to finish songs, but I get the buzz doing so, or having one.
The 16 channels can be positioned based on banks of 16 chennels, or can be scrolled one channel at a time. While send & receive automation exists all the time, there's no way of knowing where your banks are, unless you either look at the number from the meters, or easier (when visible) the active track (illuminated channel/track select button). It's a very good question because a single FP reacts all of the time to any channel you go to on the fly. A multi FP reacts all of the time, but won't shift banks (slave to the selected channel such as from a mouse selection. The beauty of the FP16 is that's typically only going to amount to two or maybe three banks. Pretty easy to work with. Where shifting from channel 3 ro channel 30 on an FP8 will require (if set at the first 1 thru 8 channels, bank #1), to move 3 banks over to get to channels 25-32.
The FP8/16 will return to the same bank the song was last saved to, upon song startup, so no worry there.
Anytime! As Craig pointed out, such hardware is pricey and not necessarily the norm for the general Studio One end user. Makes perfect sense. Studio One is not PT, nor is it chasing the same clientele, but the home or performing recordist/song writer/ performing artist is still being defined, and hardware has to complement that end user. With a clip launcher now available, and Presonus always having something of a live mixer heritage and home Studio producer in mind, they'll likely be some piece of kit that compliments that, similar to what Ableton is enjoying. That along with some third party offerings like Akai, Berhinger, etc.
My guess this time around might not have motorized faders though. Possibly instead touch fader strips with led indication off to the side. Not as tactile, but useful for the performing artist. Likely some similar matrix of buttons found on the clip launcher. Maybe like an Atom SQ, but with eight banks? Who knows. I'm just dabbling. The Atom SQ already has some clip launch capability, and was a pretty smart offering. I'd imagine, something along that design, only ramped up for quicker access & control.
In short, it may not be another uodated FP mixer like controller, but I'm merely shooting from the hip, guessing. Presonus already have their well established Studiolive series for the long haul who want a deeper automated mixer.
Last edited:
Craig Anderton
Active member
While you're waiting, don't overlook using the Studio One Remote program with a tablet. You can also buy a small touch monitor as an auxiliary mixing surface. For example, the Viewsonic VA1655 is a 15" 1980 x 1080 monitor for under $100.
But I gotta say the prism idea is brilliant
lokeyfly
Active member
I was meaning to get back with this very same point about a touchscreen monitor. Craig got there first, and it's a good one. I'll just "ditto that". Although I'd recommend a 24" or larger, but every type is going to have their tradeoffs. Smaller = portability, larger = mix-like surface, although it needs to be right up close, and somewhat flat.
Last edited:
The Faderport exactly follows your on screen mixer. I like to put related tracks into a folder (say, all my guitar tracks), send them all to, say, a guitar bus, and assign that bus to the folder. That way, when I click on the folder icon on the bus (in the mixer), the tracks expand/collapse into the bus. And they appear and disappear on the Faderport. You can even define one of the softkeys to act as folder open/close.
Unless it's truly out of your budget, I'd strongly recommend going with the 16, particularly if you like the folder workflow. If you have 8 busses, you still have 8 faders available for tracks when you open a folder. It's a really quick way to fly around. Hopefully, the explanation makes sense.
Also, the Softube Console III works incredibly well with the Faderport.
.
OP
OP
madFloyd
Member
I organize my tracks/folders/busses the same as you. Very helpful to know that the Faderport matches on-screen.
I see all the buzz on the Softube Console but the fact that it takes a plugin on every track was off-putting to me.
Btw, the Faderport price drop from March 4th has ended. Due to tariffs it's back up to $699 and going up to $799 soon
And there doesn't appear to be a new version forthcoming from what I've learned.