The PreSonus® FaderPort 8 Mix Production Controller is the “big brother” of the original PreSonus’ single-fader FaderPort Production Control Center that I’ve used for years and am now replacing. FaderPort 8 has eight touch- sensitive motorized 100-mm faders and 57 buttons covering 78 different functions and connects using a single USB 2.0 cable. In addition, there are eight high-definition (64 X 96) LCD screens or scribble strips that indicate each of the eight faders’ selected function.
The new FaderPort 8 measures 2.25-inches H x 13.15 W x 11.85-inches deep. It comes with an external 12-volt power supply and operates using any of three protocols to convey bi-directional fader and button control signals and information to and from your DAW’s software. The protocols are Native for PreSonus’ Studio One, Mackie Control Universal and HUI emulation for use with Pro Tools—my testing platform for review. Besides standard transport control and, depending on your particular DAW’s implementation of MCU and/or HUI protocols, there will be some variance in exactly what you can control.
FaderPort 8 works in banks of eight fader channels. You can move all faders’ control functions in jumps of eight channels at a time with the Bank button or use the Channel and Prev or Next buttons to jump one channel to the left or right. Or grab the Rotary Encoder knob and “crank” across your Mixer window or up/down the Edit window quickly.
The 100-mm motor faders are used for adjusting channel volume levels, panning, aux send fader levels and editing up to four parameters on a single plug-in. Also super useful are the dedicated buttons to bypass plug-ins, instantly arm all tracks for recording, clear all mutes and solos in banks of eight.
I’m getting into using FaderPort 8 in my Pro Tools mixing. It has meant some changes to speed up my workflow/process, but it is has already paid off during my very first mix session! It sits upfront on my desktop and at the ready! Super recommended for everyone!
The PreSonus FaderPort 8 sells for $499 MAP.
presonus.com/products/FaderPort-8
BARRY RUDOLPH is a recording engineer/mixer who has worked on over 30 gold and platinum records. He has recorded and/or mixed Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hall & Oates, Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, the Corrs and more. Barry has his own futuristic music mixing facility and loves teaching audio engineering at Musician’s Institute, Hollywood, CA. He is a lifetime Grammy-voting member of NARAS and a contributing editor for Mix Magazine. barryrudolph.com
