Faderport 2 will keep you away from the mouse for sure. But not completely. ATOM will as well and ATOM covers slightly different territory in terms of not using the mouse e.g. it does things that Faderport doesn't and visa versa. Any chance you can get both. That is a really cool combination.

Haha...

Not at moment I'm afraid.

Will my launchpad pro work well with the step sequencer mode?? Not that I really plan to use step sequencer mode much but it would be nice to have the option.
If not I will possibly I will possibly go Atom..... I already use a Beatstep pro too which I use a lot with my mini synths.... owning another pad controller seems a bit bonkers. On the other hand I think the Atom would really suit my way of working.
There are quite a few original Faderports on Ebay for reasonable money.

This whole thing only came along as I couldnt get anywhere arranging in ableton.... perhaps I should revisit that option before committing to another unexpected spend.

I will check Launchpad Pro in terms of using the step sequencer and also the pattern mode as well for you. It should be fine. I managed to get it all setup and working with Studio One for sure. I will get back to you on that. The original Faderport is nothing like the new one though. The new version is much more powerful.

Thank you very much for your time.
I really appreciate your help as I am away from my studio until Friday evening.

The other thing I should mention is that I also own a Novation Circuit which when used as a controller is like half a launchpad. Maybe I could lose the Launchpad afteral.

It really is quite a tricky old game getting a little studio to work well for you.... haha

Cheers again

It's done..... I finally commited.

Shiny new Atom on its way.... gosh choosing a DAW is quite an effort.
Fingers crossed I will never look back.

now you're gonna want a FaderPort 8... it's a disease.

True, but he doesn't even have full Studio One Pro yet (or did I miss something?)

The Atom is a great controller. I'm not super high on the pads but what it does for the money is quite liberating. Love the precount switch, the "full" mode and the "show/hide" , they are really handy. In Impact I also do a lot of loops so it's native with the onboard drum stuff and has the full 16 pad mode.

It's easy to read, lit and the knobs are smooth (though a little slow). Presets are easy (as long as it's a native S1 instrument) and it has enough transport controls to be an addition.

For me, I have a Nektar older LX 61 (perfect integration) and Faderport 2018 (pretty slick) and the Atom. I do wish I'd have gotten the Faderport 8 but I'm cool for now. I just miss the sends adjustment.

Hi thanks for your input.

I fancied a faderport as I have a launchpad pro but the atom plus S1 pro upgrade was such a good deal I had to go for it (£221) A faderport will deffinitely come in the future.... maybe a used mk1, what functions can a mk2 do that a mk1 cannot??

The launchpad is great, it has actually taught me quite a lot about scales I have actually learned some piano. So much so I have been considering selling it on and getting a proper keyboard again... might be a good plan now I have the atom. I read the Nektar have among the best feel of the lower end offerings??

If you get the launchpad working with studio one using the step sequencer mode will you let me know that it works.

This seems really interesting to me.

Will do.

Everything worked brilliant last night. Changed nothing and today midi is going mental. Cant make any sense of it whatsoever... haha.

Oddly I upgraded from the original FP to FP8 and guess what...I still only use it a transort

timmorris wroteOddly I upgraded from the original FP to FP8 and guess what...I still only use it a transort

And that is one end of the stick. At the other end is my experience going from the original Faderport to a FP8. I use it to the max, all the functions on the right hand side, the transport, I mix with it using all 8 faders banking through many many tracks, I use it for setting sends and even edit plugins with it. So it is really quite amazing. It depends on how prepared you are to learn it and use it. Once you use it to this level you will never go back. You can move around in a session much faster and you end up using the mouse and QWERTY keyboard much less with very little effort.

The new Faderport 2018 features many of the extended functions on the right hand side of the fader. It just has one fader instead of many. It is far superior to the original. I am also using it to control Ableton as well and it does an excellent job of that too.

ATOM is an excellent companion to the new Faderport as well. I can highly recommend it. It features extra functions from Faderport and between them there is even less reliance on the keyboard and mouse.

Jemusic wrote

timmorris wroteOddly I upgraded from the original FP to FP8 and guess what...I still only use it a transort

And that is one end of the stick. At the other end is my experience going from the original Faderport to a FP8. I use it to the max,

And I'm somewhere in between, probably closer to Jemusic but I haven't used it to that extent. i tried to get into using it for controlling plugins but it just didn't gel with me. BUT I recently added a Console 1 and even after less than a week it has totally transformed my workflow. What an amazing combination! The default SSL 4000E has become pretty much all I need for most every channel. Sure, there is still room for a purposefully-chosen specialty compressor or special effect but the simplicity of having one "go-to" strip that you are familiar with is totally worth the cost of it IMHO. It's even easier to control send levels on the C1 than on the FP8.

Jemusic.... do you use the FP8 for editing audio events at all? Like moving bend markers, cutting out noisy "silent" regions... that sort of stuff. Still lots of mouse/keyboard going on there for me.

darrenporter1 wrote BUT I recently added a Console 1 and even after less than a week it has totally transformed my workflow. What an amazing combination! The default SSL 4000E has become pretty much all I need for most every channel. Sure, there is still room for a purposefully-chosen specialty compressor or special effect but the simplicity of having one "go-to" strip that you are familiar with is totally worth the cost of it IMHO. It's even easier to control send levels on the C1 than on the FP8

I also added a Console 1 to my setup, that and a Faderport V2 are a killer combination. Fastest work flow for me yet!!

Yeah I'm even wondering now if downgrading the FP8 to a single-fader FP2018 would be better for me.

darrenporter1 wroteYeah I'm even wondering now if downgrading the FP8 to a single-fader FP2018 would be better for me.

Let's do a straight swap

One of things that I really like about Faderport 8 is the fact you can see 8 channels at once in terms of level for example. If you are clever you can organise whole sessions in groups of 8 making it very easy to bank up and down.

Sometimes during a mix I have found seeing 8 channels at once can be very good because it allows fine tuning of the 8 channels in that group. Something you may not necessarily be able to do even with Console 1. I know you can switch tracks easily but sometimes that is not quite the same as seeing a whole group in one hit and just be able to push faders around in that group of 8 without doing or switching anything.

Going from FP8 down to the new Faderport will put you back into that single track at a time mode. Many may work with this very well so it is all a matter of personal workflow.

ATOM and the new Faderport is a powerful combo but so is ATOM and FP8 too. I would imagine ATOM with Console 1 and either new FP or FP8 would be really powerful. I love the way ATOM does things Faderports don't do as well. Plus the fact you can belt out patterns and grooves and play scales and chords on it too.