Presonus Faderport 8

Studio and home recording topics

Moderator: Shoshanah Marohn

Post Reply
Rick Schacter
Posts: 741
Joined: 7 Apr 2008 11:32 am
Location: Portland, Or.

Presonus Faderport 8

Post by Rick Schacter »

There were a couple of questions regarding the Faderport 8 in another thread that was suppose to be about studio furniture.

I apologize to the author of that thread for straying off topic.

Here is a great series of videos by Johnny Geib about the Faderport 8.
Almost everything about this unit is covered in this series:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k3IqYk ... ITnxhFSmVQ
User avatar
Jack Stoner
Posts: 22135
Joined: 3 Dec 1999 1:01 am
Location: Kansas City, MO

Post by Jack Stoner »

The Presonus, apparently, is not fully compatible with some DAW's. I've seen posts on the Cakewalk Sonar forum that it is not completely compatible as it does not fully support the Mackie protocol.

I have a Behringer X-Touch and use Sonar Platinum and it is compatible.
User avatar
Tim Kowalski
Posts: 266
Joined: 18 Oct 2007 12:28 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

New Control Surface (with preamps)

Post by Tim Kowalski »

I have been contemplating the Faderport 8 as an upgrade from Faderport when I came upon this - K-Mix by Keith McMillen. Does anyone have experience with it? I like the motor-less touch fader concept.

Image
Bad wine is better than no wine.
User avatar
Jack Stoner
Posts: 22135
Joined: 3 Dec 1999 1:01 am
Location: Kansas City, MO

Post by Jack Stoner »

That is a nice "do it all" unit but is designed mainly to be a digital preamp/mixer/effects unit. I went through the manual and didn't see anything about "Mackie Mode" the most often used protocol for control surfaces in DAW's. It has lots of MIDI control and the DAW you use with this would have to be able to "learn" (programmable) for the unit, where devices that use "Mackie Mode" are mostly plug and play.

The Faderport 8, from what I see on recording forums, is Mackie protocol but not the full Mackie protocol. If you are using Presonus' Studio One 3 it is 100% compatible. Sonar (what I use) it is not 100% compatible. Can't say about ProTools.

The Behringer X-Touch (what I have) is more Mackie protocol compatible. I didn't have to do anything in Sonar except select Mackie for the control surface operation. (And the motorized faders are dead quiet).
Rick Schacter
Posts: 741
Joined: 7 Apr 2008 11:32 am
Location: Portland, Or.

Post by Rick Schacter »

Tim Kowalski,

If you're using Studio One as your main DAW, I would highly recommend getting the Faderport 8.

It is designed to work mainly with Studio One.

It might have a limited amount of features that can be used with other DAW's.
User avatar
Rick Campbell
Posts: 4452
Joined: 8 May 2006 12:01 am
Location: Sneedville, TN, USA

Post by Rick Campbell »

Rick Schacter wrote:Tim Kowalski,

If you're using Studio One as your main DAW, I would highly recommend getting the Faderport 8.

It is designed to work mainly with Studio One.

It might have a limited amount of features that can be used with other DAW's.
I agree. UPS delivered my Faderport 8 yesterday. Presonus just keeps doing good things.

RC
User avatar
Tim Kowalski
Posts: 266
Joined: 18 Oct 2007 12:28 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Post by Tim Kowalski »

I am running Reaper as a DAW. It is highly programmable and is working great with the regular Faderport. Reaper offers Mackie Control as a control surface option which is said to be compatible with FP-8.
Thanks for the input.
Bad wine is better than no wine.
User avatar
Rick Campbell
Posts: 4452
Joined: 8 May 2006 12:01 am
Location: Sneedville, TN, USA

Post by Rick Campbell »

I got to spend some time with my Faderport 8 over the weekend. It is a great addition to my studio setup. I also have a single Faderport and they even work together. I use Studio One as my DAW of choice and it works seamlessly with it. At initial startup, you can choose other formats... HUI, Mackie....for use with other DAWs. So far, I'm impressed and happy with the Faderport 8.

RC
Rick Schacter
Posts: 741
Joined: 7 Apr 2008 11:32 am
Location: Portland, Or.

Post by Rick Schacter »

I relly like my Faderport 8 too.
But Presonus has come out with a new version of their StudioLive mixer that looks very impressive, IMO.
Presonus just keeps on getting better and better.
This might wind up being my next studio purchase in a couple of years from now.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--PRSSLMAD16
ajm
Posts: 1737
Joined: 13 Nov 1999 1:01 am
Location: Los Angeles

Post by ajm »

Rick: Just to be clear.......

The Faderport 8 is a controller.
You can use it to mix with your DAW instead of the mouse.
Correct?

The StudioLive is a mixer.
It can be used for live sound and recording.
However, it is not a controller.
It cannot be used to mix down tracks that are already recorded and replace the mouse.

I probably have several things wrong here.
Please help me clear things up.
Thanks in advance.
Last edited by ajm on 14 Aug 2017 1:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Rick Schacter
Posts: 741
Joined: 7 Apr 2008 11:32 am
Location: Portland, Or.

Post by Rick Schacter »

Ajm,

Look at the bottom of the features list:

https://www.presonus.com/products/Studi ... 2/features
Post Reply