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Stream Deck - killer REAL button controller

whinecellar

whinecellar

Jim Daneker
E326CDFC-0182-4F06-9C7C-1C4161550C41.jpeg 1136F40B-951E-4A75-8D8F-33A276755348.jpeg 2E6B8784-88E8-4400-A319-6B0A89F3AD3E.jpeg 7BFD2802-69F8-496E-B16C-D04686186661.jpeg 9C9851E3-6227-452A-AB69-BB0C84DD429E.jpeg Hey Guys,

Forgive the following rave, but I’m betting a lot of you will find this useful.

I saw this little box a few weeks back and shrugged it off because I already have 2 iPads running TouchOSC and several heavily mapped hardware controllers (Behringer X-Touch & XT Compact, Contour Shuttle Pro, and so on). However, curiosity got the better of my so I ordered an El Gato Stream Deck. The more I use it, the more I love it; I just ordered a second one, and the two of them will replace one of my iPads.

The thing I like about it over TouchOSC, Lemur or even a hardware XKeys unit is that each key instantly becomes anything you want and graphically represents that function - in *any* app, not just your DAW. As nice as XKeys is, pulling all those key caps off to add custom printed labels is a big job - only to have to repeat it any time you want to change something. And those paper labels will only reflect that one function. Same idea with TouchOSC: creating custom layouts is tedious and doesn’t have graphic support, let alone the ability to do entire macros unless you set it up with OSCulator - also very tedious.

On Stream Deck, a button might be a key command (or entire macro) in your DAW. But switch to Mail, and it could apply a junk mail filter. Or type your ridiculously lengthy email address. Or add your signature. All in one press. Switch to Photoshop and that same button could become a smart tool, start a batch process, or apply a filter. Switch to Finder and that button could batch rename a bunch of files. Or open a project folder on a specific drive. In Safari it could open VI Forum in a new tab... ;)

And the best part: that button will have any graphic/text/picture you want for each assignment in any app - and the whole thing switches instantly depending on the current app. And it’s all wicked fast to set up - it’s a simple drag & drop interface.

Nothing else does this. I’ve wanted this kind of device forever - with real tactile buttons - so TouchOSC, XKeys, etc. were only stopgaps for me. I’ll still use my TouchOSC templates for articulation switching and custom CCs, but for everything else, I’m hooked on Stream Deck. Here are just a few shots of my initial setup in a few different apps.

Cheers!

Jim

P.S. FWIW, I have no ties to El Gato whatsoever - I just think this is a killer little game-changer. Best $139 I've spent in a LONG time!
Click to read more...
 
Noted this on Reaper Forum recently with emphasis on Win 10 and macOS 10.11 or later.
No problem here and looks very cool.
 
Beware maybe? Just read one guy saying it doesn't operate w/ W7. So one guy may be wrong, but I gotta look further into this - or I suppose I could always join the rest of the planet and up to W10.

Edit: Damn you fast-fingers Sostenuto. Beat me again.
 
That’s great Jim. I have to check and see if we ordered this or not. How did you get the graphics in there? And how to do you switch between ‘layers’. ?
 
tmhuud said:
That’s great Jim. I have to check and see if we ordered this or not. How did you get the graphics in there? And how to do you switch between ‘layers’. ?
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Hey Terry! Trust me, you will love it! I can't wait to add my second one when it shows up tomorrow ;)

Adding graphics is simply drag & drop onto the setup application; it mirrors the hardware so you just drag a jpg/png to one of the buttons and voila! Couldn't be easier.

And switching between layers is just as easy - assuming you mean multiple layers *per application* - you just tell one of the buttons to be a folder. When you press that button, it takes you into that folder; that same button takes you back out a level. In that case you effectively have 14 buttons available to use per layer.

And the whole thing automatically and instantly switches layouts for each app you set up. It's a brilliant little box. It's essentially Metagrid, but with "roll your own" icons/graphics, which Metagrid can't do.
 
I've had my eye on one of these for a while. I have an X-Keys pro that has served me for about a decade. I've always wanted something with LCD keys.

Your review and the price are making me want to take the plunge. 2 of these should replace my x-keys nicely.

@whinecellar, please report back on the success of integrating 2 Steam Decks into your system.
 
JJP said:
I've had my eye on one of these for a while. I have an X-Keys pro that has served me for about a decade. I've always wanted something with LCD keys.

Your review and the price are making me want to take the plunge. 2 of these should replace my x-keys nicely.

@whinecellar, please report back on the success of integrating 2 Steam Decks into your system.
Click to expand...

They had quite nice Updates meanwhile, including the possiblity to use two stream decks simultaneously.

Here some features that are nice (through random versions):

Introducing Multi Actions
If you think tapping a key to execute an action is impressive, you’ll love Multi Actions. That’s right – assign as many actions as you want to a single key, and launch them all with a tap. Either one after another separated by intervals, or simultaneously. It's your choice. Example: Start your stream, and switch to your intro countdown scene, wait 1 minute, tweet you are live, wait 3 minutes, change your scene to full screen webcam, unmute your mic, and post a welcome message to your chat - all with 1 key press.

Multi Device Support
15 keys just don't cut it? Rejoice! You can now use multiple Stream Decks on the same PC. Unlimited actions just became, well, super-unlimited!​

Smart Profiles
Stream Deck can now automatically switch to the profile assigned to an app when that app is brought to the foreground. Think Apple's Touch Bar, but cooler!​
 
tmhuud said:
Very nice. Something tells me 2 of these are in my future. 1 is on its way. Now to work out the ergonomics...
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Be warned, it can be a black hole once you start dreaming of all you can do with it, especially if you go nuts with graphics & making it pretty - but man it's fun once you get it the way you want!
 
whinecellar said:
Be warned, it can be a black hole once you start dreaming of all you can do with it, especially if you go nuts with graphics & making it pretty - but man it's fun once you get it the way you want!
Click to expand...
How long did it take to get yours set up and customized?
 
Nice - got mine in the mail. I did some pre-setup yesterday (design some things already, put it in the companion software). Then plug it in and bam - done

Very quick to set up (if you don't go full OCD on graphics). The current version allows you to simply drag shortcuts onto it to start Applications - which is very nice for quick set up.

The rabbit hole is the same as with TouchOSC...What Action do I want on there? Where to position them? Maybe leave that one on the Keyboard, and put that on on the StreamDeck....
 
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