I know there are pros and cons to using touch screen.
But rather than getting a control surface I'm thinking of getting a 24" or 27" touch screen.

Any experience with the current crop of touch screens?
I see the Planar 24 and 27, an Acer 27 and a dell 24 which people seem very happy with. Any experience with these particular monitors?

And 24 vs 27 ?

Touch screen vs control surface?
Thanks,

Kevin

Touch screen is nice because you dodge the mapping steps of a control surface.

You can move a bunch of faders independently at once if your screen allows this.

The number of concurrent touch points tracked is usually in the specs on the touch screen.

Some things work really well. Other things did not. Sonar is not designed to work exclusively with touch. For example, envelope editing is much easier with a mouse.

Where touch shines...
Touch is silent. Keys and mice are not silent. While recording, you can use touch without fear it will be picked up by the mics.

Touch is intuitive live.
Take a hand off your guitar to disable an effect. Just touch the screen (maybe twice... Once to set focus and again to toggle value).

Grid controls
Rapture pro has really nice touch enabled live controls. Drag your finger around a box to change the levels of 6 different sounds/elements. Use two xy controls to change parameter pairs in tandem. This means you could pair filter cut-off with tube distortion. The xy box enables you to move the values together. It is pretty awesome if you like synths.

Transport controls
Hitting record and stop are easy and obvious. I move the control bar to the bottom of the screen so I don't have to reach as far for the transport controls.

Eq
You can use touch on lp-eq. It works ok and you can change q, but I find it hard to change q. Takes two finger magic that sometimes results in other nodes jumping around. Changing frequency and db impact of a node is pretty easy. Sweeping is easy.

Fx
With the browser it is easy to drag in fx. Fx are usually single point touch but it works fine.

Practically
I use touch mostly while tracking. When straight up mixing, my hand is usually on the mouse. You can be much more precise with the mouse.

I sometimes attempt to touch my non-touch screen. I have a 23 inch touch screen. Bigger is better.

I'm thinking of the Wacom In stylus. Currently other models  in the range re rechargable, but this has a tiny AAAA battery, so I'm hoping that's the next model
 
https://www.wacom.com/se-...ucts/stylus/bamboo-ink

 
Don't even consider a touch screen monitor if you aren't running Win 10, Win 7's support is OK for somethings, seriously lacking for DAW control.
I've been interested in this for quite some time now but always get put off by the price of a good touch screen monitor with 10 point touch functionality, fast enough response time and high resolution for video editing, and I definitely agree with bigger is better. BIG enough that it would turn Cakewalk's mixing console into  some kind of a Star Trek type of large format mixing console could be quite fun and inspiring to work with.
 The only real put off for me is the prohibitive expense of What I consider such a virtual reality toy as there is no real tactile feel or response. Last time I checked for anything with reliable quality, they were well into the $1000's + dollar range that wouldn't lag or bog down with latency. Yes, they are out there, but only if you are willing to spend more on a monitor than most people spend on their entire computer DAW systems.
 
 I've also tried the Windows tablet route through Bluetooth which was flaky for anything other than using the computers keyboard on the tablet.
 Android powered DAW controllers work much better, but cell phones and tablets are way too small of a screen which absolutely required using a touch pen, ppbbttthzzz, but I don't have the best of tablets. It's even flakey controlling my Line 6 Spider V120 thru USB which works great from my computer.
 
 
 Adequate Touch screen monitors I feel have to be at least 27 " wide screen to be useful.
 And keep in mind that the functions/commands run through USB , which shares buss traffic with most modern MIDI devices.
 Specifically in my case my Behringer X Touch DAW controller which can spit out and transmit 100's of MIDI messages with one swipe of a fader of turn of a knob. As does a pitch wheel or modulation wheel on any synth does.
With the hands on tactile feel of it's motorized 100 mm faders, knobs, and buttons, it already makes Cakewalk's deeply and fully automated mixing console into a large format desk with stellar automation, and can be actually "expanded" into a 36 channel per bank DAW controller for a fraction of the cost of a good touch screen monitor. It also has foot control for hands off stop/start and punch in/out recording. I shouldn't have to explain how useful that is.
 However, expanders take up valuable desk space I'm fine working with a single unit working in 8 banks at a time, and really can't afford the desk space.
 
Believe me, ever since I first laid hands on a Mackie DAW controller I soon realized my recording life experience would not be complete without one.
 I had a Mackie for about 10 years, until it met it's death with an unfortunate roof leak. Replacing it ASAP was my second most important priority, my first being of course was replacing the roof.
 And that's when the X Touch caught my attention as is was much less expensive, able to run great in the very familiar Mackie protocol, and was expandable to Ethernet protocol, which my money says, it's the next big tech improvement that is sure to kill USB and Thunderbolt interfacing. The X Touch can control a DAW and a Behringer X Air digital mixer both at the same time.
 And that means, you can record and mix FOH (front of house) lives performances in multi-track on a laptop.
 And if it has a touch screen monitor all the better, as long as you don't try to use them at the same time and instance, you shouldn't have a problem with either.
 
 And so the best touch screen DAW experience I've had so far is with Bandlab's "Mix Editor" on Bandlab.com.
 Bandlab as achieved things I didn't think would be possible in my life time. I am actually collaborating with artists who record and create music entirely on a smart phone! And I can download it, import separate tracks into Cakewalk, do my thing(s) than upload it back to Bandlab where the cycle can continue on and on
 It is a workable cloud based DAW, that alone blows my mind.
 Every time I open it I get a message it recognizes my X Touch, and so I can only wish and pray that they are trying to integrate the Mackie protocol into the Mix Editor.... WOWZER! How COOL would THAT be??
 NOT having to rely on a touch screen or mouse I'm betting would have great appeal to everyone. 

Seeing the wacom link reminds me that there is a lot of cool pen stuff available in piano roll view. I don't use a pen but you should be able to find videos.

Also there is a full touch piano keyboard you can use to enter midi data or just play happily.

I bought a nice monitor on sale for around 500. There were cheaper available. Honestly, I think i could live without ten point touch fairly easily. There are times it is nice, but i wouldn't want to give up every day touch usefulness because i couldn't afford 10 point.

I did resist buying a second monitor because I wanted all my monitors to be touch and found it price prohibitive. In the end, my second monitor is a large tv. I use it for ambient light during sessions routing the music to win amp for a visual display built off the performance.

*** Size ***
My 23 inch monitor is on a stand that allows it to go flat. This is nice when i want it out of the way. While i would have gotten the biggest possible when i bought it, I found 23 inches adequate and also moveable. My quick search says you can have this today for around 300 dollars. Don't argue yourself into the crazy expensive. Most of the value will be present in the cheaper ones.

I have weighed the pros and cons of both touch VS. Control surface and I came to a few conclusions...
 
1- the way in which you work: If you work with single tracks or multiple tracks at a time.
 
2- A quick way to navigate: A jog wheel is 10X better than transport buttons
 
3- The costs: 300 Vs. 150
 
I chose to go control surface. Now I know I could use both but for my needs, control surface only made sense.
How ever the more I work with my control surface (Mackie Control 8 fader) I realize that I could probably get by with a singular control surface like the Behringer X Touch One.

They are only 150 bucks and include everything one needs to control a track, do some editing, use a foot switch and assign buttons to their favorite commands.
I barely use more than one fader in the recording process. In the mixing and mastering stages I am so concerned with track levels, EQ, FX that it is unreasonable to be riding all 8 faders at a time.
I use one at a time to hone with detail.
 
Its all about your own needs and what those needs are.

I have an alpha track that I love but it isn't always plugged in. That has the foot pedal that you can map to record.

I agree the little control surfaces are cool.

I have had a Planar 27 for 3 years. Up to ten points of touch, and the screen reclines back well. I use it for controlling my Motu, my RM via UC surface, S1 remote, Cakewalk.. it costs a bit, but it’s sturdy. All in all, a really good purchase decision. Production worthy.. I would buy it again..

The planar 27 was recommend ed by another user as well and is currently $470 the same as the x touch.
The Acer 27 is that price also.
The dell 24 is $270.

Interesting that others have had good luck with the Planar touch screens. Mine is a few years old, and Windows 10 is not supported - though it may work for a time. Or it was because I was also using an X- Touch at the same time (?). I’d love it if that were true. Those three hours with the Planar a few months back with my new PC were fantastic.

ALL OF WHICH TO SAY is that be VERY careful with Planar and W10. There is conflicting information on Planar's site and third-party sellers. On Amazon, for instance, the “Amazon specs” say one thing (W10 compatible) but the specific Planar specs, as written by them, and on the same page specifically list compatibility with W7 and W8. Or it’s the other way around.

Also, some of the reviewers say they called Planar and asked about W10 and were told it wasn’t supported - though most reviewers also said they ordered it anyhow and it works fine.

I’m simply recommending due diligence. I would give anything for my Planar to integrate with my setup!