Just picked up a Touchscreen Monitor to Use with X3- My Initial Thoughts

Bestbuy here in the States has an Acer 23 inch on sale for $299 so I decided to pop for it. 
 
My very first impression is save your money for a larger display.  I've used it with X3 with reasonable results.  I'll admit I've only had it a day and DON'T KNOW all of the guestures.  I'm basing "wait for a larger display" on the amount of real estate on this 23 inch model.   Things like opening a song are much more quickly done with a mouse.  In fact, it seems most things are done more quickly with the mouse but maybe it's going to take a bit of getting used to.  I DO like the concept though!  I'm hoping Cakewalk will dig deeply into touchscreen technology in future releases!  I'm not taking it back either.  I'll dig more deeply and if I feel I can suggest something that will help, I'll report it.
 
I'd like to hear from others who are using touchscreens!
 
 

I love mine. Try practicing your instrument using just the screen. I move the control bar to the bottom. I also like it with synths and th2. Me and my friends can sit on opposite sides of the desk and make concurrent changes to our FX.

Check out what Slate is doing with Raven 2.0... now THAT is worth saving for..

I have a Dell 23" touchscreen and really love it with Sonar and VSTs. I'm used to a touchscreen from my Surface Pro but I wondered how much I would really use it on a desktop. Turns out that when I'm in Sonar or just load up a standalone VST to play, I use it a lot. In fact, I haven't set up ACT for my Akai MPK Pro 88 on my new rig yet (it has a good set of sliders and knobs). I like dragging the faders right on screen and I have access to all of my tracks instead of switching between track banks in ACT.

I think I have the save Acer and LOVE it. However, I'm using it as a 2nd monitor (primary is 27") and mostly for manipulating plugins... The only thing that seems janky is I can't slide the faders on the console view with any consistency at all. Usually they don't move...

backwoods
I got a 24 inch touchscreen specifically for Sonar. I had it on a 30 degree angle below my main monitor.

 
I agree about placement. I had a touch screen for a while to evaluate with Windows 8, and I placed it like a mixer front panel.
 

Sonar felt too fiddly when using touch.

What worked for me was touch for the big gestures, mouse for the details. The biggest advantage for me wasn't so much touch per se, but that i could use both hands to control Sonar.

If they worked well in Sonar. I'm selling my Mackie Control Pro because it just isn't reliable in Sonar. :(

I had a 25" non-touch and added a 27" touch.  But the vertical resolution on the newer bigger monitor is actually less, which is a bit annoying.  So far, I haven't found touch particularly handy, but I need more time.  The one place where it really helps is in quickly scrolling through a song or zooming.  That's much easier than with the mouse.  
 
I don't have a control surface.  If I do envelopes I usually do these manually by dragging handles on the envelope rather than using faders.  For what I do, the touch is good enough when using faders that I don't really have a desire to have a separate control surface now.

LJBCheck out what Slate is doing with Raven 2.0... now THAT is worth saving for..

Just saw the video... holy crap. Been looking at the MTi for a while now but I've been unsure because I didn't know how well it would actually work with something like Sonar or how well it actually worked in general, but those batch commands. That is impressive. Wish I could afford an MTX.

TerraSin
Been looking at the MTi for a while now but I've been unsure because I didn't know how well it would actually work with something like Sonar

Apparently, it won't. According to the blueb on Guitar Center's web site, "Compatible with Mac OSX.
Initially supports Pro Tools 10 and 11. PC-compatibility will be available in a future release. Compatibility with Logic, Cubase/Nuendo and Live DAWs is coming soon."

cparmerleeI'm a little confused.  As I understand it, the Raven system is basically a large touch-screen in a frame or in a desk console, bundled with Raven's DAW software (not not including the PC.)  Considering that a DAW and touchscreen together cost well under $1000, their price seems way over the top.  Their use of touch is way ahead of the pack, and I'd expect to see a lot of that capability in Sonar X4

Their software works along with ProTools. If it works as good as the v2.0 video showed with the batch commands, it would be a very good tool and worth the price. Think of it as sort of a command overlay or a third party command tool bar that works with the underlying DAW. They do have their own console view and it looks to be well designed and specifically designed to work with their monitor which you have the option of using either you choose.
 
The biggest problem with touchscreen monitors at the moment is that most of them suck. I don't think there has been a demand for them so companies haven't put a whole lot of time into developing them properly. The reality is the average consumer has no need for them when they use a keyboard and mouse. I was really hoping that with Windows 8, Microsoft would lead the way in touchscreen technology and in many ways they have with MS's Applied Sciences Group making a touchscreen with 1ms of latency, but we still don't have it available in consumer products. I will say that the Surface has one of the best touchscreens I've ever used, but it's still too small a device to be used as a main control monitor (though would be lovely as a mobile transport control).

The reason it is not a bigger deal to me is that the best position for viewing is not the best position for touching.  It is an ergonomic question.  I find touch screens very tiring on arms, back, and shoulders after a long session because of the physical positioning.  The Raven is better ergonomically, but it still is not as convenient as an old-style console.
 
I will agree if you do not have a physical console and you want to get a rough mix, touch-screen faders are better than a mouse.

I think it would be nice to have a touch toolbar for working in Track View. A bit like the Raven, have buttons you click to tell Sonar what you want to do. I kinda suspect this already exists but you have to be a personal friend of Noel's to know how to launch it. :-) If anyone wants to share the secret, I promise I'll not re-share.
 
For me, touch makes me faster when I'm tracking or practicing.

• from playing guitar to taking action on the computer, I'm faster if I touch the screen to do these things...
  • Adjust volume of faders
  • adjusting fx
  • transport controls - stop play record.
  • marking tracks for record enable
  • inserting a track template
  • Working with Sonar based Synths - some synths are a drag with touch, but most Sonar ones like DP, Rapture and Zeta2 work fine.
• 2 people can use touch at the same time. You can't share your mouse, but if you have a touch screen, it's natural to share control of the console (screen).
  • This is limited by effect focus. If me and a friend both have our own instance of TH2, only one instance can have the focus at a time. It's not really a problem, but something to be aware of. So one of us makes a change, then the other, rather than both of us doing things simultaneously.
  • In the console view, two people can happily make concurrent changes. Limitation: you cannot use touch to insert new PC modules as far as I know.

One of the things I wish touch was more useful with is changing the tempo. I often practice alone and I hate to only be able to play a song at one specific tempo. In order to be more ready to play with my friends, I need to regularly alter the tempo of the piece between tries. That way, if the band kicks off a little fast or a little slow, I have a hope of being able to handle it. If I've ONLY practiced at 120 and they play it at 115, I find I struggle.
 
Using touch, I have seen the tempo value scroll, but it doesn't work very well. If you use insert tempo value, it increments in hundredths. You can tap a new tempo and that works ok. I guess what I'm looking for is something like how it works on my phone where I can scroll through the tempos and pick the one I want easily. For now, when I want to change tempo, I have to go to the keyboard.
 
I almost completely avoid touch in track view. Alt+Z does not work to undo zoom settings when you use the screen to set them. I find some of the targets small and hard to hit. Like expand and contract the bus pane. I can tap 3 or 4 times before managing to adjust it.
 
In general, I really like touch. It makes me faster. It is something I need to practice with in order to be efficient.

Is it possible to edit clips (slip editing, adjust/crop clips and fade curves), or create/edit MIDI notes in the piano roll, using touch screen? Draw automation perhaps?

As long as those things aren't supported, I see no reason for me to invest in a touch screen.

    You can enter notes using touch in the step sequencer. You can trigger cells in the matrix view.
I wonder how difficult it would be to make everything work using touch. How would you differentiate touching the screen to edit a clip versus touching track view to scroll or zoom. It looks as if Cake had to decide which functions to allow to be touchable in a given view without it becoming confusing.
  I don't believe that it will ever replace a mouse, but what will?
  IMO a $500 touchscreen still blows away a control surface of equal cost.