Control Surfaces For Home Recording Studio

The concept of an interface isn't limited to converting signals from one format to the other. An interface also allows other kinds of translations, such as human impulses into computer-controller data. The alphanumeric keyboard was the earliest of computer interfaces, allowing people to type data into the computer. The mouse quickly followed, as a different sort of interface, preferable to a keyboard in many graphically oriented environments. In music production, we as recordists need an interface that will translate our musical moves as well as perform the relatively passive task of converting signals. For controlling and changing musical parameters, we now have the control surface, a digital controller that works with data but is not limited to audio conversion, and excels at the human approach to data control.

A control surface looks much like a conventional mixer: it has knobs, switches, and sliders (faders), because these are the best controls for human hands to work. The movements of these various controls are translated into the necessary digital language to, say, raise and lower the volume of a signal smoothly, boost the high frequencies of a channel, or turn on and off the mute status of a channel. Controllers work with audio and MIDI, parameter tweaking (EQ and pan), and transport control (Start, Stop, Rewind, etc.), enabling you to keep your hands away from the computer while performing more musical and mixer-like tasks. A controller is not a substitute for a full-blown mixer, because it translates data only into and out of the computer. A controller is not self-contained in the way a mixer is; it needs a computer to function.

Controllers are becoming extremely popular among desktop musicians, so there is a wide range of models to fit a variety of budgets. At the lower end is the TASC AM US-422 ($249 list), a USB device that features two tracks of simultaneous audio transfer as well as MIDI control of transport functions and parameters. At the high end is the Digidesign Digi 002 ($2,499 list), shown in the below figure, which uses Fire Wire, can transfer multiple tracks of high-resolution audio, and has motorized, moving faders, and a whole host of deluxe features.