What is the best control surface for Sonar 8.5?

kevvvvv


My 5 year old midi keyboard sliders and knobs don't work as well with ACT as they should.

So a new control surface would be great.

I need something flexible as I record midi and audio, as well as use loops, and lots of fx and synths.

What works really well with Sonar for both tweaking and mixing, taking full advantage of ACT, and doesn't cost a fortune?

Your advice / experiences welcome

thanx = kev

Take a look at the Cakewalk v-20 or v-100, etc. Not a keyboard controller, but has a lot of other bells and whistles. I compared it to other units and the price is not that bad. Plus, I heard another user sell the Sonar 'lite' that came with it on Craig's list.

PS. I'm buying a V-100 for remote recording and it will double as a control surface.

The best is the VS700C, which is available alone or part of the V-Studio 700 system... http://digifreq.com/?VStudio700 and http://digifreq.com/?VStudio700eBook

But if that it too expensive, you might want to check out the V-Studio 100 (only 1 fader) or the V-Studio 20 (8 faders but not motorized).

There's also the Frontier Design AlphaTrack... http://digifreq.com/?AlphaTrack

Scott

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tried the a500 pro and the a500s and those are excellent for the price !!
also got the vs 100 everything smooth !!

alphatrack here ...a pure pleasure !!

AlphaTrack user here as well, love it with Sonar. Got a long USB cable, makes a fantastic remote. Or, just sit way back in your studio chair and mix/edit away.

kev,

you can buy the VS700 C w/o the synth/audio interface.  Yea, it is still nudging $2000 but it is an unparrelled controller.  Not just a fader unit, it has individual buttons for almost every function, and the jog/shuttle knob w/ buttons keeps your hands on the unit for navigating.  It is really a different paradigm - not quite one knob as on an analog console but as easy, while navigation is superb.

On the other end of the price spectrum the vs-100 is nice.  I had it for a month or two for review so I didn't get into the controller aspect of it heavily, but the fader worked well.  In fact, it felt smoother than the vs-700's.  But it is a lot of scratch for a controller, tho it is a capable interface and a nice stereo portable recorder.

At the bottom is the Presonus fader.  It feels nice.  And I have the feeling that using it in conjunction w/ a keyboard controller w/ knobs etc. might be the best of both worlds - a good fader for channel vol w/ the knobs of a novation/cakeroland etc. for all the other track controllers.  I'm not sure how you'd implement 2 controllers, but it would be nice.

@

again on the lower end....... is the Presonus Faderport running on Windows 7 64 bit yet?

Houndawg


AlphaTrack user here as well, love it with Sonar. Got a long USB cable, makes a fantastic remote. Or, just sit way back in your studio chair and mix/edit away.

Sorry to hijack thread but with AlphaTrack can you assign the fader to CC1(mod wheel) control?

I would say MCU, but I have one and two Xtenders and am looking for something better myself.  I am annoyed that the backlighting on the LED channel strips is so dim.  I can't even read them up close.  Faders far from smooth.
 
 

I wish Roland had done a little better than the VS700.  It looks clunky and toy-like to me.  Why didn't they come up with a cooler, sleeker design, like the Digi C|24?  Also, with no extender, I just can't deal with just 8 faders.  I'm sticking with MCU until I get more faders.

Kev I've gone from mouse/kboard to Behri BFC to Fostex VM to Mackie MCU and finally ended with the 700C. Along this journey I've looked at most options and even got quite serious with building a dedicated unit and custom coded to get dedicated surface functions... the thing we all really want.. I absolutely love the Digidesign products but they will leave you hanging in the world of Sonar and unless you are in HD land, PT is not a comparison anyway.

The 700C is simply the best Sonar option period (right now) and anything else you run with (for economic reasons) I honestly think will lead you on a simlar path as me. The 700C is not perfect but it sure does fit like a glove and I do not miss the MCU which was very solid and 80% functional to workflow. Having said all that, the MCU is really around the same dollars (here in Oz anyway) and will do most of what you want the surface for. The 700C will do all that plus quite a lot more.. but will leave you grinning because you can finally concentrate on making music. The MCU  does not match up to the 700C after having the 700C for a while. 700C pushes it aside in it's wake to be honest.

Happy shopping.

VS-700 system all the way.
If you can afford it, it doesnt get any better.

8 ohm


VS-700 system all the way.
If you can afford it, it doesnt get any better.

Ref (a little off-topic) query above on AlphaTrack CC control support (negative).
 
Does the VS-700 allow full control of whatever MIDI CC parameter one would wish to control in real-time. CC1, CC7, CC11, and so on?