# Good Fader Controller for MIDI CC data w/transport controls?



## benmwatson (Oct 8, 2018)

I'm currently making do with a Korg NanoKontrol2, which works ok, but it has a few drawbacks:

* In CC mode, the transport controls don't work as well as in pure Cubase mode, despite my efforts to program and mimic them. 
* The faders are a bit short. I don't feel like I can easily control the curves with this.
* It's too small. It slides around too easily. Hard to do one-handed operations. 

I'm strongly considering getting Steinberg's CC121 because it's made for Cubase after all, but it doesn't seem to support using the fader for CC data at all.

The most commonly recommended controller on this board seems to be the X-Touch Compact. It doesn't seem all that compact, honestly, but I could get it to work in my space, but I don't think I need all those faders and knobs (maybe I will in the future...I'm relatively new at this).

My questions are:

1. CC121 -- good investment?
2. Is there a good 2-3 fader high-quality controller to supplement for CC data? I know there was the FaderCtrl, but it seems like that it is not being consistently supported or offered now.
3. Should I get the X-Touch Compact instead of the CC121, or both?
4. Will the X-Touch Compact allow both the transport controls and the faders to work with CC data simultaneously?

I'm leaning towards getting both, but this seems like it could be overkill.


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## Geoff Grace (Oct 8, 2018)

I've been looking into this for awhile, and there's an option missing from your list that may be worth considering: Palette Gear controllers. Here's a thread about them:

Anyone using Palette Gear Controller?

I haven't purchased one (yet) myself, but I like Palette Gear's configurability. Their fader throw is relatively long as well. Unfortunately, some people haven't been able to get them to work properly with their DAWs; so make sure before you buy that you can return it, if necessary.

Best,

Geoff


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## benmwatson (Oct 9, 2018)

Geoff Grace said:


> I've been looking into this for awhile, and there's an option missing from your list that may be worth considering: Palette Gear controllers. Here's a thread about them:
> 
> Anyone using Palette Gear Controller?



I'll take a deeper look at that, but it seems like it might be too much trouble. I'd really like something that is mostly plug-and-play.


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