Hey what’s good fam! If you’re in the US, hope you had a safe holiday yesterday.
Now it’s back to business…or play, whatever you wish to call it!
Today I’m reviewing my Presonus Faderport controller.
Many have asked me about it or asked what it is, so I figured I’d share my thoughts on it.
Let’s check it
So what is the Presonus Faderport?
The Faderport is a dedicated control surface for your DAW
It allows you to get hands on control over transport and other functions directly from the surface of the controller.
It has a single motorized fader, in addition to multiple transport buttons as well as a single pan knob.
It can be usb powered, however if you wish to have the fader motorized you need to plug in the power adapter.
It’s very compact so it doesn’t take up a ton of space but the design is good quality so it doesn’t feel like it’s gonna break on you.
The fader will also write automation data as well as the pan knob so you can record your movements as automation directly into your host application.
Quick Specs
- power: USB and 9V DC (required for motorized fader operation)
- price: $129.95
How does it work?
Man…I love this thing
Setup is a breeze, especially in Studio One, it just works. But don’t forget, the Faderport was out on the market even before Studio One existed
So it was designed to work with most major DAWs
There are some specific setup instructions for programs like Cubase, Ableton, Pro Tools, etc, but all were pretty easy to setup.
The fader is sexy…I love the way it moves….yes…I LOVE the way it moves man! I said it!
Really though, having it automatically update with the level of whatever track you’re on is BOSS…really allows you to move and adjust quickly and by feel.
So what’s the bottom line?
Bottom line is I love my Faderport. I was glad I picked it up. Trying to map various controllers to your DAW can definitely be cool, but having a dedicated transport/fader control just feels more natural.
It doesn’t take a lot of space and is well constructed.
I give the Faderport 4.5 out of 5 subs, it’s definitely improved my workflow in Studio One or any DAW I use it in as I can use it based on muscle memory so I don’t have to think about it much.
I don’t like the pan knob…period. I just think it needs to be a smoother encoder for pan adjustments.
Other than that, I really have no faults with it, it just works, and feels solid, I’m sure the top is metal while the bottom part of the unit seems like plastic.
If you use Studio One it’s a no brainer, if you have other DAWs and you don’t want a huge control surface, this is definitely one to look at.
Check it out: http://www.presonus.com/products/FaderPort
let me know what you think, leave a comment below.
SJ: Thanks for covering this daw controller. This seems to be a nice addition to any studio. Another great video review from S&G.com
No problem man, just trying to mix it up a bit, I get a lot of questions about my gear so want to start reviewing it as well as software and libraries.
Yes!!! Told you it was sex! Lol
yesssssssssssssssssss lol
It’s cool cause it’s fairly small footprint.I’ve used it for a couple years with my “old school” Sony Acid Pro and Vegas for quick edits.
Sometimes size doesn’t matter…naa mean?!?
yes indeed man, thing is nice
What a great and universal device Saint…. Oh and have you’ve seen or heard of soniccouture’s new crowdchoir ? It has 1,000 voices and 4,000 notes 500 mb Library plus yes you can use it on kontakt 4+5 .
thanks for watching fam, yeah I’m downloading crowd choir right now actually, gonna see what’s up with it.
Nice piece to have.great addition..good look.
no doubt fam, thanks for the comment
Thanks for Review. I’m thinking about get this. Seems like it would make my work faster.
no problem, I dig it, it’s a nice tool
May have to cop one of these. However, I’m wondering if when I really start using my daw (instead of relying on Maschine for everything), will I long for a larger DAW control or would something with one fader work? But with my keyboard, my axiom, my maschine and my Wacom board, this may be the best option considering my limited space. Cool.
yeah that’s a tough decision, really depends on you and what you do. For me, while I wouldn’t mind a larger controller, the truth is I probably wouldn’t use more than one fader at a time, maybe 2. I wish they did one with 4 faders, I’d be good with that but I don’t find the single fader limiting as I can quickly switch tracks.
is it possible to use controller messages to double the fader as the pan???
I don’t know I never tried that, not sure how customizable it is or not, I just use it in default mode.
Hey Joe,
What type of computer and os are your running? I just got the faderport and I’m running studio one 2.5, winddows 7 64bit.
I’m running the same as you fam
Is it possible to control plug-ins with Faderport?.
I haven’t actually tried that, you may be able to assign via midi but I just use it for transport functions.
Absolutely can’t get mine to work in Logic X. I have tried everything. This thing is terrible.
Did you check their setup instructions for Logic? Is Logic X supported?