# Why does nobody make a compact, inexpensive USB MIDI fader controller with three or four 100mm faders?



## Justin L. Franks

Everything on the market is large and/or expensive with 8+ faders, designed more for mixing than controlling an orchestral sample library, or cheap with much smaller faders (like the Korg Nanokontrol 2). All I want is something small, with three or four 100mm faders. No extra buttons or knobs. With the surge in popularity of affordable orchestral libraries that sound great, it seem surprising that no companies are making a compact fader controller with just a few full-size faders.

Imagine taking something like the Softube Console 1, which already is only 16" wide with 10 faders, and chopping off all but the first four faders. You'd end up with something less than 5" wide. Then just have simple software to assign the faders to different CC's. Just like this, with non-motorized faders, and without the buttons or meters:


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## ag75

I have thought about making my own. That’s a rabbit hole you don’t want to fall down.


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## Virtuoso

You could look into this. It's modular so you can just buy the parts you need. I have one arriving in a few days:-









Modular Productivity Tool for Creative Pros


Creative Console is the only controller powerful and versatile enough to increase productivity and creativity for photographers, artists, editors, music producers, and any digital creatives.




monogramcc.com


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## vitocorleone123

Korg and Behringer I think have some. Or for a modest expense, the Faderfox UC4.


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## dzilizzi

I just use the ones st the top of my Launchkey.


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## Morning Coffee

I've often thought the same. I guess it is build price in the end? Making a smaller unit at a cheaper price might not be worth it for their profit margins? 

Still, I think this could be an interesting area for a small start up company to enter the market.


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## PaulieDC

You'd think PreSonus would pop one of those out, they already have the CC bit sorted, a la FaderPort 8/16 firmware.


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## Justin L. Franks

Virtuoso said:


> You could look into this. It's modular so you can just buy the parts you need. I have one arriving in a few days:-
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Modular Productivity Tool for Creative Pros
> 
> 
> Creative Console is the only controller powerful and versatile enough to increase productivity and creativity for photographers, artists, editors, music producers, and any digital creatives.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> monogramcc.com



Great concept, but the 3 fader block, and all bundles with a 3 fader block is sold out, and it only has 60mm faders. Priced nice at $119, but requires the $149 "Core" block to make it even work.



vitocorleone123 said:


> Korg and Behringer I think have some. Or for a modest expense, the Faderfox UC4.



Small 40mm faders on the Korg. Giant beast with 8 or 9 faders and many, many more buttons and knobs for the Behringers. Eight tiny 30mm faders on the Faderfox, and again, lots more buttons and knobs.



dzilizzi said:


> I just use the ones st the top of my Launchkey.



My Keylab also has faders, but yet again, only 30mm. 



Morning Coffee said:


> Still, I think this could be an interesting area for a small start up company to enter the market.



Exactly! It would be a very simple build with inexpensive components. I'm on the verge of just making one myself (I have a bit of experience with electronics, having built a few guitar pedals and a couple of Arduino-based machines)


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## Paul Jelfs

I personally think NI missed a trick with their intergrated keyboards - Could of Put four CC sliders on their and made it alot more useful in midi mode.


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## Justin L. Franks

Paul Jelfs said:


> I personally think NI missed a trick with their intergrated keyboards - Could of Put four CC sliders on their and made it alot more useful in midi mode.



Seriously...all that extra space, and you only get 8 encoders and a little thin touch pad?


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## Zero&One

https://www.nakedboards.org/mc8.html


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## mybadmemory

Naked Boards should really make a square 3 or 4 fader version of the mc8. And have it available in black or white. It could cost exactly the same. I’m sure many of us would choose it anyway!


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## Ashermusic

I was the guy who talked the member who created a controller for himself and then one of the first people here to order it, the FaderControl. Too bad he stopped making it.

it isn’t _that_ compact but for me having the long throw faders is worth it.


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## Rory

Monogram has started shipping its consoles. One person here expects to receive his on Monday, and I should have mine a few days later.

The faders are less than 100mm, but there's also an interesting module called Orbiter. Brief demo of Orbiter with Logic at 5:15 of this video posted yesterday:





There's a thread on Monogram at https://vi-control.net/community/th...-palette-gear-its-new-midi-controllers.95025/


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## vitocorleone123

Justin L. Franks said:


> Great concept, but the 3 fader block, and all bundles with a 3 fader block is sold out, and it only has 60mm faders. Priced nice at $119, but requires the $149 "Core" block to make it even work.
> 
> 
> 
> Small 40mm faders on the Korg. Giant beast with 8 or 9 faders and many, many more buttons and knobs for the Behringers. Eight tiny 30mm faders on the Faderfox, and again, lots more buttons and knobs.
> 
> 
> 
> My Keylab also has faders, but yet again, only 30mm.
> 
> 
> 
> Exactly! It would be a very simple build with inexpensive components. I'm on the verge of just making one myself (I have a bit of experience with electronics, having built a few guitar pedals and a couple of Arduino-based machines)


Oh. You’re looking for one solution only. Got it. Good luck!


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## Dietz

Twice as wide as the OP requested, but it still looks slim and handy:

-> https://iconproaudio.com/product/platform-x/


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## MGdepp

This is easy to build, but leaves a lot of flexibility in the design you need. It is not cheap, but worth the money, I would think. The only thing I am missing is the software that makes it as easy to configure the controller to your needs that is as easy as the building process. They say they are working on it. I will be waiting for that and then buy a first kit. You can have a group of 4 motor faders- both 60mm and 100mm.



MakeHaus will be back


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## MGdepp

Dietz said:


> Twice as wide as the OP requested, but it still looks slim and handy:
> 
> -> https://iconproaudio.com/product/platform-x/


I thought these looked great once, too - until I bought one!  I’d say now, beware a typical Chinese manufacturer with the typical problems. They are cheap, but ...

... many units have problems and their faders are notorious for being noisy and faulty.

... their software is not up to the standard and bugs are not fixed in a timely manner or at all.

... Their faders are only 128 steps resolution (midi CC). This is not a problem for riding midi CCs, of course, but as soon as you want to use it as aN MCU emulation to grab your DAWs faders, these lack the precision. If you don’t plan doing that, why choose motor fader in the first place?


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## Dietz

MGdepp said:


> Their faders are only 128 steps resolution (midi CC)


What a pity. The spec sheet talks about 10bit encoders, though.


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## AdamKmusic

Nakedboards MC8 all the way


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## ALittleNightMusic

Nakedboards is great. I thought I didn’t need 8 but now I am already using 6 of them.


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## MGdepp

I might have gotten an older unit or there are different versions. I am just sure my motor fader unit from Icon had only 128 steps resolution. I sold it a few years ago. And I think I read somewhere the near one are the same in that regard. But I cannot verify that, of course.


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## Zero&One

ALittleNightMusic said:


> Nakedboards is great. I thought I didn’t need 8 but now I am already using 6 of them.



Here's a solution for the last 2


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## Gary Williamson

I started using Touch OSC on a spare tablet I had lying around. A bit of a PIA to set up, but dirt cheap if you already have a tablet. Obviously they're not physical faders but I think I'll get used to them. They have "simple" layout that is just 4 "faders".


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## Golden Frog

An option for macOS users: I made this app *AudioSwift* that transforms a trackpad into a MIDI controller. It has different controller modes and one of them divides the trackpad into 1 to 4 sliders. Its smooth glass surface can give a great response. Some of our users changed their keyboard built-in faders or nanoKontrols for this approach. Plus, it's wireless and compact.



And here is a demo using the trackpad as two XY Pads:


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## JEPA

Golden Frog said:


> An option for macOS users: I made this app *AudioSwift* that transforms a trackpad into a MIDI controller. It has different controller modes and one of them divides the trackpad into 1 to 4 sliders. Its smooth glass surface can give a great response. Some of our users changed their keyboard built-in faders or nanoKontrols for this approach. Plus, it's wireless and compact.
> 
> 
> 
> And here is a demo using the trackpad as two XY Pads:



can you handle more than one track pad at the same time?


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## Golden Frog

JEPA said:


> can you handle more than one track pad at the same time?


You can have two trackpads but only one will be the MIDI controller at a time; the other one will deactivate AudioSwift to let you move the pointer.


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## JEPA

Golden Frog said:


> You can have two trackpads but only one will be the MIDI controller at a time; the other one will deactivate AudioSwift to let you move the pointer.


what if I had an USB cable mouse, and two track pads? could it work with both activated?


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## Golden Frog

JEPA said:


> what if I had an USB cable mouse, and two track pads? could it work with both activated?


Only one of the trackpads will send MIDI. AudioSwift freezes the pointer in order to avoid random clicks and dragging. The general workflow of AudioSwift is you tap one of the trackpads with a four fingers tap to turn AudioSwift on, start touching the trackpad to send MIDI and press Esc to turn it off. AudioSwift will also be turned off automatically if you touch the second trackpad or move the USB mouse.

And there’s a setting in the Preferences panel to turn on AudioSwift automatically when just touching the trackpad without the four fingers tap.

AudioSwift can divide the trackpad into 4 sliders, but you can have three banks of them for a total of 12. The banks are changed via key shortcuts. Only three fingers can send MIDI at the same time.


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## Drundfunk

AdamKmusic said:


> Nakedboards MC8 all the way


Do they have 100mm faders?


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## Ruchir

MGdepp said:


> This is easy to build,
> 
> 
> 
> MakeHaus will be back



heres another very easy to make:









Midi Controller for Arduino slider / fader by ruchirlives


Works with Dual Slider of length: 120 mm Width: 40 mm Height: 30 mmAmazon link




www.thingiverse.com


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## mallux

I went the Arduino route back in March, mainly because I had all the parts already, except for the faders themselves. Ugly as hell, but it works well enough for me (speaking as a hobbyist messing about with Logic for a couple of hours a day, not a professional).

The faders I bought from Amazon were pre-soldered in pairs to little circuit boards, which makes them super easy to connect to the Arduino with jumper leads. They were only £7 per pair at the time... now seem to be £19.99 (I wouldn't have spent that much). "dual slider 120mm" is the magic Amazon search query.






A few words of caution if you're attempting it:

- It took a fair amount of hackery to get the code working on both sides (the Arduino controller code, and the python code that runs on the Mac to bridge serial to midi). There are lots of examples out there, but they didn't work out of the box (for me at least), because the libraries (like rtmidi) have changed a fair bit over the years.

- The (physical) resistance of all the faders is different... in a commercial unit you'd expect them to be matched, but you don't know what you're going to get here. Your fingers kinda get used to it, but it's not ideal. You can't really tell from the photo but they were also soldered not quite vertically, so they kinda lean a bit.

- They have no weight to them, so you'll need to stick 'em to something, or mount them inside a project box with some sort of ballast in it. I blu-tacked mine to a heavy box of screws, that stops it drifting across the desk.

cheers
Chris


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## GtrString

Justin L. Franks said:


> Everything on the market is large and/or expensive with 8+ faders, designed more for mixing than controlling an orchestral sample library, or cheap with much smaller faders (like the Korg Nanokontrol 2). All I want is something small, with three or four 100mm faders. No extra buttons or knobs. With the surge in popularity of affordable orchestral libraries that sound great, it seem surprising that no companies are making a compact fader controller with just a few full-size faders.
> 
> Imagine taking something like the Softube Console 1, which already is only 16" wide with 10 faders, and chopping off all but the first four faders. You'd end up with something less than 5" wide. Then just have simple software to assign the faders to different CC's. Just like this, with non-motorized faders, and without the buttons or meters:



+1 

I would buy this at day 1 if it was around the 130€ mark.


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## MGdepp

mallux said:


> I went the Arduino route back in March, mainly because I had all the parts already, except for the faders themselves. Ugly as hell, but it works well enough for me (speaking as a hobbyist messing about with Logic for a couple of hours a day, not a professional).
> 
> The faders I bought from Amazon were pre-soldered in pairs to little circuit boards, which makes them super easy to connect to the Arduino with jumper leads. They were only £7 per pair at the time... now seem to be £19.99 (I wouldn't have spent that much). "dual slider 120mm" is the magic Amazon search query.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A few words of caution if you're attempting it:
> 
> - It took a fair amount of hackery to get the code working on both sides (the Arduino controller code, and the python code that runs on the Mac to bridge serial to midi). There are lots of examples out there, but they didn't work out of the box (for me at least), because the libraries (like rtmidi) have changed a fair bit over the years.
> 
> - The (physical) resistance of all the faders is different... in a commercial unit you'd expect them to be matched, but you don't know what you're going to get here. Your fingers kinda get used to it, but it's not ideal. You can't really tell from the photo but they were also soldered not quite vertically, so they kinda lean a bit.
> 
> - They have no weight to them, so you'll need to stick 'em to something, or mount them inside a project box with some sort of ballast in it. I blu-tacked mine to a heavy box of screws, that stops it drifting across the desk.
> 
> cheers
> Chris


I have only very limited experience with Arduino and that is some years ago, but ... I think I remember that the Arduino Teensy can act as a class compliant midi device via USB to Mac OS or Windows. Only Arduino coding required then ...


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## babylonwaves

MGdepp said:


> I have only very limited experience with Arduino and that is some years ago, but ... I think I remember that the Arduino Teensy can act as a class compliant midi interface vie USB to Mac OS or Windows. Only Arduino coding required then ...


the discontinued Fader Ctrl has a Teensy and practically nothing else on the PCB


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## Trevor Meier

GtrString said:


> +1
> 
> I would buy this at day 1 if it was around the 130€ mark.


+2 ... me too!


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## rhizomusicosmos

@puffer3 used a Teensy for his DIY fader box:





DIY 100mm MIDI fader control box


I play synthesizers and drums mostly, but as I've pivoted towards learning about scoring, I found the little knobs and sliders on my MIDI controllers to be sort of inexpressive for playing with sample libraries and even more limiting when working with tricky filter combos in Zebra2. I found this...




vi-control.net





Edit: appears to be inspired by this project:








DIY MIDI CC Controller w/100mm sliders for under $100 - 2018 Edition - Gearspace.com


I brought this over from another forum that didn't have much traffic. I built a 3-channel, programmable MIDI controller, for about \\\5. Since then, I have found linear sliders for much less, bringing the total down to \\\. It works awesome! The detai



www.gearslutz.com





A collaborator of mine built a PIC-based CC fader box using the BASIC Stamp module back in the late 90s when the commercial alternatives were silly money. The info is out of date, but it wasn't difficult to make or program: http://www.rossbencina.com/code/midipic


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## Pier

mallux said:


> It took a fair amount of hackery to get the code working on both sides (the Arduino controller code, and the python code that runs on the Mac to bridge serial to midi). There are lots of examples out there, but they didn't work out of the box (for me at least), because the libraries (like rtmidi) have changed a fair bit over the years.


A better alternative could be using a Teensy instead of an Arduino as it is midi compliant (you wouldn't need the python code).






Teensy USB Development Board







www.pjrc.com





See this tutorial on making a simple controller:









Building a Simple DIY USB MIDI Controller using Teensy


Teensy is similar to Arduino, but perhaps better suited to making a USB MIDI controller. Liam Lacey shows how to make your own DIY MIDI controller using Teensy



ask.audio





Edit:

Apparently with this library you can make an Arduino MIDI compliant too:






MIDIUSB - Arduino Reference


The Arduino programming language Reference, organized into Functions, Variable and Constant, and Structure keywords.




www.arduino.cc


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## mallux

Pier said:


> A better alternative could be using a Teensy instead of an Arduino as it is midi compliant (you wouldn't need the python code).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Teensy USB Development Board
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.pjrc.com


Agreed, if buying from scratch I would have chosen a different board. But I already had an old Uno development kit lying around unused.



Pier said:


> See this tutorial on making a simple controller:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Building a Simple DIY USB MIDI Controller using Teensy
> 
> 
> Teensy is similar to Arduino, but perhaps better suited to making a USB MIDI controller. Liam Lacey shows how to make your own DIY MIDI controller using Teensy
> 
> 
> 
> ask.audio





Pier said:


> Edit:
> 
> Apparently with this library you can make an Arduino MIDI compliant too:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MIDIUSB - Arduino Reference
> 
> 
> The Arduino programming language Reference, organized into Functions, Variable and Constant, and Structure keywords.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.arduino.cc


I still think you need a board with native USB to use MidiUSB, it doesn’t work with any old Arduino, as far as I can tell. I might buy a new board at some point and give it a go.


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## Paul Cardon

Justin L. Franks said:


> Everything on the market is large and/or expensive with 8+ faders, designed more for mixing than controlling an orchestral sample library, or cheap with much smaller faders (like the Korg Nanokontrol 2). All I want is something small, with three or four 100mm faders. No extra buttons or knobs. With the surge in popularity of affordable orchestral libraries that sound great, it seem surprising that no companies are making a compact fader controller with just a few full-size faders.
> 
> Imagine taking something like the Softube Console 1, which already is only 16" wide with 10 faders, and chopping off all but the first four faders. You'd end up with something less than 5" wide. Then just have simple software to assign the faders to different CC's. Just like this, with non-motorized faders, and without the buttons or meters:


I think the main reason is that most of these control surfaces are made for mixers, and there's a balance between functionality and fader count alongside the Mackie control standard working in 8-fader banks. So you find 1-fader or 8-fader surfaces more than anything else. Then any cheaper options will have short faders, and more expensive options will prioritize the quality of a single fader or higher fader counts.

There are a lot more people buying control surfaces for mixing than there are for MIDI CC control.


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## Soundhound

Ashermusic said:


> I was the guy who talked the member who created a controller for himself and then one of the first people here to order it, the FaderControl. Too bad he stopped making it.
> 
> it isn’t _that_ compact but for me having the long throw faders is worth it.


I have one as well Jay. Doing less orchestral stuff these days, so haven't been dealing with it as much, but I'm wondering - someone was talking about developing an app that could be used with FadrCntrl that would allow saving sets of cc controller values. Do you remember anything about that, or did you ever find another solution for that, if you had found it necessary?


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## dentpuzz

TouchOsc on iPhone. either fader or X/Y pad


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## Trevor Meier

dentpuzz said:


> TouchOsc on iPhone. either fader or X/Y pad


It's my main controller right now, but the glass surface of the phone isn't ideal for subtle CC changes


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## badhaircut

Check out @choisaucedesigns on instagram. Looks like he is making exactly what we all need.


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## Golden Frog

Trevor Meier said:


> It's my main controller right now, but the glass surface of the phone isn't ideal for subtle CC changes


If you’re on macOS, a Magic Trackpad has a smooth glass surface and with AudioSwift, you can get subtle CC changes. Here is a demo:


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## companyofquail

I just sent off for the prototype boards for this. 100mm faders.9 buttons for multitude of things(key switch, presets, midi on/off, etc. Programming on device(no computer software). Machined aluminum enclosure. USB and midi out. Expandable with more fader boxes or other modules that I am working on. Once I get the prototype back and get it up and Running I will post more info on a new thread I create.


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## Trevor Meier

companyofquail said:


> I just sent off for the prototype boards for this. 100mm faders.9 buttons for multitude of things(key switch, presets, midi on/off, etc. Programming on device(no computer software). Machined aluminum enclosure. USB and midi out. Expandable with more fader boxes or other modules that I am working on. Once I get the prototype back and get it up and Running I will post more info on a new thread I create.


Looks great!



Golden Frog said:


> If you’re on macOS, a Magic Trackpad has a smooth glass surface and with AudioSwift, you can get subtle CC changes. Here is a demo:


I'm giving it a try now. It's quite nice! The feel of the touchpad works very well. Nothing quite matches having a real, physical fader to grab - but AudioSwift seems to work well when hardware's not available.


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## Pier

Trevor Meier said:


> It's my main controller right now, but the glass surface of the phone isn't ideal for subtle CC changes


Also, if you're on Windows you need to install iTunes to get data via USB.


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## Trevor Meier

A couple updates... I’m really enjoying AudioSwift. The tactile feel of Apple trackpads is much better for smooth movements than a glass phone screen. There’s a few annoyances with AudioSwift, like it taking over the keyboard and having to remember that it’s key commands are different than Logic, a few inadvertent activations etc but overall I’m very happy.

On the physical fader controller front:



Trevor Meier said:


> The Rodecaster Pro just added MIDI control for its faders & pads in the latest beta update. Currently the faders are fixed to CC15 on incremental channels, but that’s easy enough to re-route in Logic. Might make a good interim CC controller?


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## Golden Frog

Trevor Meier said:


> A couple updates... I’m really enjoying AudioSwift. The tactile feel of Apple trackpads is much better for smooth movements than a glass phone screen. There’s a few annoyances with AudioSwift, like it taking over the keyboard and having to remember that it’s key commands are different than Logic, a few inadvertent activations etc but overall I’m very happy.
> 
> On the physical fader controller front:


I’m glad you’re enjoying AudioSwift. For technical reasons, AudioSwift becomes the key app on screen when it’s called, so all keyboard inputs are not passed to Logic. However, there’s a workaround to have at least transport control shortcuts for Logic from AudioSwift, by configuring the AudioSwift in Mixer Mode. Once configured, the space bar is play/stop and R is record. AudioSwift can also be turned off automatically when the playhead stops. Here is more information: https://audioswiftapp.com/transport-controls-automation-modes/

Also, if you use a secondary input device like a mouse or trackball, AudioSwift can be automatically turned on by just touching the trackpad and turned off by moving the mouse (or touching the surface of a magic mouse). It’s better for the workflow. Go to AudioSwift > Preferences > General > Enable trackpad to automatically turn AudioSwift on.


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## synthetic

As a manufacturer, the cost difference between a 3-fader controller and an 8-fader one is almost nothing. In fact the 3-fader controller would cost me more because only 13 people would buy one and I'd end up selling the rest for a huge discount.


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## companyofquail

synthetic said:


> As a manufacturer, the cost difference between a 3-fader controller and an 8-fader one is almost nothing. In fact the 3-fader controller would cost me more because only 13 people would buy one and I'd end up selling the rest for a huge discount.


It just depends on the enclosure type and the faders you are using. You might be surprised how short on desk space people are, I know i was surprised to find that out when I started researching this idea.
I’ll let you know how many 2 fader units get sold in a couple of months. I actually have no clue how many will sell but, I wanted one so I figured I would make it and an extra 49 to begin with in case anyone else wanted one. So far 15 of them are spoken for.

also, to be fair to your comment if we are talking about a sustainable business model with employees it’s def not the kind of product to make. But for a guy like me that does it on the side for fun it works out to be doable.


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## Justin L. Franks

companyofquail said:


> It just depends on the enclosure type and the faders you are using. You might be surprised how short on desk space people are, I know i was surprised to find that out when I started researching this idea.
> I’ll let you know how many 2 fader units get sold in a couple of months. I actually have no clue how many will sell but, I wanted one so I figured I would make it and an extra 49 to begin with in case anyone else wanted one. So far 15 of them are spoken for.
> 
> also, to be fair to your comment if we are talking about a sustainable business model with employees it’s def not the kind of product to make. But for a guy like me that does it on the side for fun it works out to be doable.


Have you decided on the costs for the 2-fader and 5-fader units? Is there a way to pre-order?


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## companyofquail

The prices should be available in the next couple of weeks. I am sorry but I do not take pre orders. The ones that are spoken for are just previous customers that I have confided in. 

They will go up for sale when they are built, boxed, and ready for shipment. Some of Us musicians were already crazy before the modern day internet and somehow it’s made us even more impatient and obsessive. Lol.

Jokes aside the last time I did a pre order it was a disaster due to manufacturing issues and I just don’t have it in me to put myself or other people through that again.


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## Justin L. Franks

companyofquail said:


> The prices should be available in the next couple of weeks. I am sorry but I do not take pre orders. The ones that are spoken for are just previous customers that I have confided in.
> 
> They will go up for sale when they are built, boxed, and ready for shipment. Some of Us musicians were already crazy before the modern day internet and somehow it’s made us even more impatient and obsessive. Lol.
> 
> Jokes aside the last time I did a pre order it was a disaster due to manufacturing issues and I just don’t have it in me to put myself or other people through that again.


100% understood. People always expect the one-person operations to be like ordering from Amazon.


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## scarkord

The DIY route was actually quite simple. I just followed the instructions on this Gearspace post...

Diy midi cc controller w 100mm sliders under 100


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## ReelToLogic

scarkord said:


> The DIY route was actually quite simple. I just followed the instructions on this Gearspace post...
> 
> Diy midi cc controller w 100mm sliders under 100


I followed the same thread on Gearspace and built my own (see this thread on VI-Control https://vi-control.net/community/threads/built-a-midi-cc-controller-that-includes-a-foot-pedal-for-cc1-or-other-cc ). It was very simple to build a simple and compact 5-slider controller. Mine got a little more complicated because I wanted to be able to select from five "banks" of CC assignments on the fly, but for a simple pre-defined controller, the code is basically cut-and-paste from the Gearspace thread.


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## MA-Simon

This remids me, was looking for a simple Mod/Pitchwheel controller a few years ago. Because my Digital Piano did not have that. Did not find any.


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## scarkord

ReelToLogic said:


> I followed the same thread on Gearspace and built my own (see this thread on VI-Control https://vi-control.net/community/threads/built-a-midi-cc-controller-that-includes-a-foot-pedal-for-cc1-or-other-cc ). It was very simple to build a simple and compact 5-slider controller. Mine got a little more complicated because I wanted to be able to select from five "banks" of CC assignments on the fly, but for a simple pre-defined controller, the code is basically cut-and-paste from the Gearspace thread.


That bank select is a great idea and would certainly help save space. I could probably integrate a simple toggle switch to get an extra 3 CC's out of it. Definitely given me some food for thought


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## Soundbed

Trevor Meier said:


> A couple updates... I’m really enjoying AudioSwift. The tactile feel of Apple trackpads is much better for smooth movements than a glass phone screen. There’s a few annoyances with AudioSwift, like it taking over the keyboard and having to remember that it’s key commands are different than Logic, a few inadvertent activations etc but overall I’m very happy.
> 
> On the physical fader controller front:


I’ve installed AudioSwift but I really want a hardware controller (with a small footprint).

So I ordered the 8 fader version of this (with mixer console style fader caps). They have a 5 fader version and might be open to offering something smaller (although the physical size is already pretty small). They also have several colors. 






Sparrow 8x60 MIDI Controller - Etsy


Our 8, 60mm travel fader MIDI controller supports MIDI mappings within the applications you use for photo, video, audio applications and more! These controllers are MIDI compliant and plug-and-play compatible with Windows and OSX The controller connects using an included 6 foot USB cable and passes




www.etsy.com


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## Land of Missing Parts

Soundbed said:


> I’ve installed AudioSwift but I really want a hardware controller (with a small footprint).
> 
> So I ordered the 8 fader version of this (with mixer console style fader caps). They have a 5 fader version and might be open to offering something smaller (although the physical size is already pretty small). They also have several colors.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sparrow 8x60 MIDI Controller - Etsy
> 
> 
> Our 8, 60mm travel fader MIDI controller supports MIDI mappings within the applications you use for photo, video, audio applications and more! These controllers are MIDI compliant and plug-and-play compatible with Windows and OSX The controller connects using an included 6 foot USB cable and passes
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.etsy.com


I'd be interested to know how the Etsy midi controller works out. That five fader one looks nice because it wouldn't take up much desk space.


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## Soundbed

Land of Missing Parts said:


> I'd be interested to know how the Etsy midi controller works out. That five fader one looks nice because it wouldn't take up much desk space.


It’s shipped. Even the 8 fader one should be really small. I’ll try to find this thread and update with my experiences after I plug it in!


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## Soundbed

Just arrived! Faders feel great. About to plug it in.


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## Expression control

Hi all I made this recently. I'm in the UK.
Cost £89. If there is any interest.

2 100mm faders I use it with spitfire orchestra.


Nick


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## mybadmemory

Expression control said:


> Hi all I made this recently. I'm in the UK.
> Cost £89. If there is any interest.
> 
> 2 100mm faders I use it with spitfire orchestra.
> 
> 
> Nick


Very interesting! Could you tell us more and show some more pictures?


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## Expression control

mybadmemory said:


> Very interesting! Could you tell us more and show some more pictures?


Hi it's based on jsbensons instructions on this forum.









DIY MIDI CC Controller w/100mm sliders for under $100 - 2018 Edition - Gearspace.com


I brought this over from another forum that didn't have much traffic. I built a 3-channel, programmable MIDI controller, for about \\\5. Since then, I have found linear sliders for much less, bringing the total down to \\\. It works awesome! The detai



gearspace.com





It's quite compact 165mm x70mm x25mm, with a 3d printed lid.

I was pleased with how it turned out. 
I've currently loaned it to a composer on the Spitfire Audio forum to see what he thinks, so I can't take any more pic's at the moment.

Nick


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## jononotbono

I think they should have put the knobs to the right, faders to the left and left the middle empty so you can put your qwerty keyboard dead centre and make use of the space.


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## mallux

Pier said:


> A better alternative could be using a Teensy instead of an Arduino as it is midi compliant (you wouldn't need the python code).


Finally got around to updating mine with a Teensy as you kindly suggested @Pier (since I found one at the bottom of my xmas stocking).

It's still an ugly brute but at least it's all self-contained now (no breadboard), and best of all no drivers or usb-over-serial hackery required, just plug and play.

I've temporarily taped it to the top of a plastic project box but it should all fit inside quite happily, once I've worked out how to cut four grooves in the lid without losing a finger.






Here's the program, if anyone else wanted to try it. You can see I've configured it Spitfire-stylee:



C-like:


#include <Control_Surface.h>

// Remember to set Tools->Board = "Teensy 4.0" and Tools->USB Type = "MIDI"
// before deploying

USBMIDI_Interface midi;

CCPotentiometer fader1 = {
  A3, {MIDI_CC::Channel_Volume, CHANNEL_1}, // Volume (CC7)
};

CCPotentiometer fader2 = {
  A2, {21, CHANNEL_1} // Vibrato (CC21)
};

CCPotentiometer fader3 = {
  A1, {MIDI_CC::Expression_Controller, CHANNEL_1}, // Expression (CC11)
};

CCPotentiometer fader4 = {
  A0, {MIDI_CC::Modulation_Wheel, CHANNEL_1}, // Dynamics (CC1)
};

void setup() {
  Control_Surface.begin();
}

void loop() {
  Control_Surface.loop();
}


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## dijon

I've been loving this Nuances controller. A bit on the pricier side, but feels great and can be easily configured to any midi CC in seconds.



Nuances Controller – hand made @ home by Pierre with love


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## Pier

mallux said:


> It's still an ugly brute but at least it's all self-contained now (no breadboard), and best of all no drivers or usb-over-serial hackery required, just plug and play.


Looks great to me!


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## Pier

dijon said:


> I've been loving this Nuances controller. A bit on the pricier side, but feels great and can be easily configured to any midi CC in seconds.
> 
> 
> 
> Nuances Controller – hand made @ home by Pierre with love


Looks like a good device, but for its price I would expect at least 4 10cm faders.


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## amc3midicontrollers

Throwing my name in the 3 x 100mm fader hat! 
New design is completely sealed and fingerprint free. https://amc3midicontrollers.com/


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