Must... have... faders...

I don't own a controller at home yet, but after having worked on a ProControl for over a year at another studio, I really miss it at home. To me it feels like I can't *get* my hands on the music without one. Drawing in nodes and lines feels like typing in eq amounts, which can get sorta close, but seems to always fall short of what I really am listening for. And mousing on the virtual faders doesn't feel accurate enough for me.

Having a control surface also changed the speed at which I could work, which in turn changed the end-result mix-wise. It seemed to foster a certain flow, which made for a more dynamic, musical mix in my case.

Hope that's helpful,

- proxy

Mouse guy here for 5 years...... Was a little awkward at first. Now, its like second nature.

I don't use a control surface, and don't lust for faders. It's a different mind set, really. I don't really even think of tracks getting mixed in real time anymore -- it's more a process of assembly than of mixing in time. I think of a control surface as actually being another level removed from the tracks, rather than somehow closer to the mix -- something that would be a pain in the ass to learn and keep programmed more than something that would save me time or make the experience more intimate.

I do most of my automation at the event level, so there's not a lot of curves to draw. Will automate a send level here and there, and often wind up riding a fader on a vocal cause it's quicker than chopping it up into appropriate events. For the bit of curve automation I do, a mouse is more than adequate. I have one of those USB knob things, and most of the time I don't even think to use it.

I mixed on a DAW for a good 4 years without any control surfaces. I always thought it was for the birds. I got into a Sirius Sattelite radio show and I had a
Tascam interface with faders. This was low track numbers so I kinda scauffed and
stuck my nose up at it. Then I started using them. I liked it... It saved me some time. Then I took it home for one of my music mixes (28 channels I believe.)
I made that mix faster than I ever had before on a Nuendo. Since then I can't imagine going back to just a mouse. Before I would spend sooo much time listening to these songs over and over automating channels individually for the best control, and by the time I got half way through my ears were tired, and I ended up with a big steaming pile of crap. Now I get a mix done in no time and it always sounds better. Do yourself and your clients a favor, and get a good control surface.

metal mixes, mouse only.

You mean when you UPGRADE your mouse to an ICON.....!

Just kidding, I'd love one too!

i did use mouse a long time, this suddenly stopped when my right hand was starting to hurt that bad, that at the end of a mixing day, i couldn t even hold a cigarrette. soon it became that bad, that i could nt open the hand anymore, because it was "locked" into a fist. after long and busy sessions, this state could only be ended by medical injections to loosen the muscles and nerves.

therefore, i started to build a modular system with doepfer midi controllers (potis, faders, knobs) etc, and write all automations and stuff like that with those. this helped me a lot and since then i never had such problems with my hand again.

i try to use the mouse as less as possible. not because of any ideologic or any other reason, than health reasons. for me there is no point in doing what i love to do, when it hurts that bad and leads to such pain and renders you to a crippled person.

i write this for all the others to consider, that exessive mousing can really lead to really bad ass pain and health issues.

In Samplitude driving faders works great. You either drive them in rough steps or you click on the counter and move in 0.1 dB increments using the mouse wheel. Very accurate.

... Unlike Samplitudes track automation which is a pure nightmare - and seems to stay as is.

You might want to try one of those small pen boards. Also cursor manouvring is much more accurate with a pen.

Ruphus

Faders here.

I run a SAC2 with logic and PT.
Riding, muting, scrubbing, looping,.... the list is long.
Couldn't work without these days.


ruudman

I keep one hand on my mouse and the other on my Command/8. I do all my automation and editing with the C/8.