When it was released in 2007, PreSonus's FaderPort raised eyebrows because it was a mixing control surface that featured just a single fader. The device proved popular, though - in fact, it's still in production today - but if you want more control, you can now consider the new FaderPort 8.
Equipped, as you might expect, with eight faders, this is designed to be used in tandem with your keyboard and mouse and speed up your DAW workflow. The 100mm faders are touch-sensitive and motorised, and you also get 57 buttons that cover 78 functions.
Used together, the controls enable you to perform tasks such as zooming in on audio files for editing, adjusting your click-track tempo, modifying plugin parameters, managing aux mixes, and, obviously, controlling control track levels.
The buttons are illuminated for easy navigation, and digital scribble scrips provide visual feedback. There's also the Session Navigator, which enables you to access eight "mission-critical" functions at the touch of a button. As you might expect, there's tight integration with PreSonus's Studio One DAW, but support for the HUI and Mackie Control protocols means that FaderPort 8 should play nice with most music production software packages.
You can find out more about the FaderPort 8 on the PreSonus website. A shipping date is still to be confirmed, but it looks like it's going to cost $600.
PreSonus FaderPort 8 features
- 8 touch-sensitive, 100 mm long-throw, motorized faders
- 8 high-definition Scribble Strip displays
- Complete recording-transport controls: Play, Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind, Record, Loop
- Drop Marker, Next/Prev Marker, Next / Prev Event
- General session controls: Undo/Redo, Arm All, Solo/Mute Clear, Track Management, Click On/Off with tap tempo
- Session Navigator provides quick control over track scrolling, channel banking, timeline scrolling, and much more
- Channel Controls: Level, Pan, Solo, Mute, Rec Arm
- Automation Controls: Touch, Latch, Trim, Write, Read, Off
- Optional Fader functionality: plug-in edit, bus sends, pan
- macOS® / Windows® compatible with native Studio One® support and HUI and Mackie Control Universal emulation
- Footswitch input for hands-free start/stop
- USB 2.0 connectivity
