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Control Surfaces by Marc Schonbrun

In the digital home recording studio, a control surface is an amazing tool. Back in the day, you had consoles with lots and lots of knobs and faders to manipulate in real time. In the first edition of this book, studios-in-a-box were still popular and came complete with control surfaces that you could use to manipulate the volume, pan, and other effects on your computer.

Today, computer DAW systems are becoming the standard way for users to record, so many users miss out on the experience of having tactile control. Another important reason to think about a control surface is that manipulating onscreen controls with a mouse can feel a bit unnatural, especially if you're used to real knobs and faders. Thankfully, you can buy control surfaces that allow you to get “hands on” control of your mixing.

Figure 17-1: Control surface with integrated interface Courtesy of Avid Technology, Inc.

Control surfaces exist in two flavors: dedicated control surfaces and interfaces that combine physical inputs and outputs with control surfaces. Figure 17-1 shows an integrated control surface, which combines a control surface and an audio interface.

One of the big wins with a control surface is that you can record your physical actions into controller automation—your DAW will record and playback your movements automatically. Another big win is that the faders on many control surfaces are motorized, so they recall back to their correct positions when you come back to a mix or move your song position. Once you invest in a control surface, you may wonder how you ever survived without one!

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THE EVERYTHING GUIDE TO DIGITAL HOME RECORDING

By Marc Schonbrun

Digital Home Recording Sections
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  3. Mixing and Mastering
  4. Control Surfaces
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