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[Jim McKeveny]

I don't know if it is because of my analog upbringing, but I have found fader input - particularly multi-fader actions - to be lacking in the interfaces I've come across.

Is it just me?

[Stephen Beatty]

 I feel the same. I got a Presonus 16.4.2.when they first came out as I started doing some weekend warrior work and also was looking to do live recordings of the bands original music.
 It was a nice transition from analog to digital for me.
 I was very happy with the way the iPad control worked. After a while even in the places where I could have the board out in the audience I started using the iPad more. Not having to fight for space in a tiny establishment or wrap that sanke up at the end of the night was great.

 That being said, it worked for me working the same band. Not much constant on the board action needed.
 Now doing live local amatuer theartre mixing 20 wireless you can pry those physical faders from my cold clammy fingers if you'd like to try. Or working a festival with bands you've never heard of, I wouldn't want just touchscreen control.
 Maybe if you have a big Planar 30" touchscreen to work off of?

[Matthew Knischewsky]

I don't know if it is because of my analog upbringing, but I have found fader input - particularly multi-fader actions - to be lacking in the interfaces I've come across.

Is it just me?

It's not just you. I feel like mixing on a touch screen is like working handcuffed. Especially if I'm mixing music. There's been a handful of times when being able to remotely connect to the console with a tablet has "saved" the show but I would always rather have a console with real faders under my fingers.

I feel compelled to mention that I'm not new at this- I had a touch screen Windows tablet running Yamaha Studio Manager connected to M7s and LS9s in 2007.

[Dan Richardson]

Now doing live local amatuer theartre mixing 20 wireless you can pry those physical faders from my cold clammy fingers if you'd like to try. Or working a festival with bands you've never heard of,

Of course. You can't operate a touchscreen and watch the stage at the same time, because you have no way of knowing if you're still on the control. Especially true with multitouch.

[John L Nobile]

Can't ride a fader or 3 and tweak some knobs at the same time on a screen. I hate mixing with my head buried in the screen. I have to watch the stage to mix.

[Stephen Kirby]

I think it depends on the complexity of the moves and how much attention you can give to it.  As said, you can't watch the stage and move things because you can't be sure where your fingers are.  Same goes for small bands mixing themselves while playing.  You can grab and knob and then bring part of your attention back to the stage while twisting it.  A touch surface needs full attention.

If you have a situation where multiple moves are needed and it's not something you can automate with scenes then tactile controls make it much easier.

All that said, while I love having tactile encoders on my Soundcraft Expression there are things like comparing eqs on different instruments and moving curves around that are easier on the iPad.

I guess it depends on how "actively" you need to mix.  I prefer to just reinforce the musicians when I can and let them play their arrangements how they've worked them out.  I like having the same respect when I'm playing.  A few adjustments for how things sound in the room and as little "production" as possible.  But when there are bands who really don't have it together and need to be actively mixed, pedal or keyboard patch of doom, singers on the mic the same whether singing lead or backup, same old same old, then I like having the instant access to everything that a control surface gives me.

[Scott Helmke]

This is not a new complaint, so it's a little amusing to see what potential scenarios techs come up with to prove that an analog console is better.  "But what if I need to pan the bass from left to right while adjusting the hi-hat mic but then the guitar solo starts?" 

Touchscreen mixing is just a further step from a digital mixer with a single channel strip. You give up some instant access, but you gain tools to help reduce the need for hyperactive mixing. If the keyboard player can't get their patches set for appropriate levels then you can slap a compressor with a slow release on their channel.  Like *any* gig, you should be thinking ahead of the game with respect to organizing your channel assignments so that the important stuff can be on one specific view on the touchscreen.

[Kevin Maxwell]

I think JR came up with the idea of a transparent screen that you held up in front of you and you can see the band thru it and if you want a singer softer you just squeeze their head on the screen. Or was it a set of goggles that you would wear. I don’t remember the moves you would make but I liked the squeezing the head of the singer to make them softer. How about to mute their mic you press hard on their head with your thumb.

The few times I have played around with using a tablet or my phone I have tried to hold the tablet up more in my line of sight with the stage. It is very tiring. I have a strap on the tablet case so I can hold it in any position without dropping it. But my arm gets tired no matter how I hold it. Give me a real mixer with faders. I couldn’t imagine trying to mix the band I did last night with a tablet. I was too busy on the mixer and never could have kept up on a tablet. They were very good musically but when are bands going to get there keyboard patches right from song to song besides a lot of other things I needed to keep fixing. All on ears no monitors and the only sound coming from the stage was a loud drummer and the horns, besides the vocals that you could never have heard acoustically over the drums and the horns.

[Matthew Knischewsky]

This is not a new complaint, so it's a little amusing to see what potential scenarios techs come up with to prove that an analog console is better.  "But what if I need to pan the bass from left to right while adjusting the hi-hat mic but then the guitar solo starts?" 

Touchscreen mixing is just a further step from a digital mixer with a single channel strip. You give up some instant access, but you gain tools to help reduce the need for hyperactive mixing. If the keyboard player can't get their patches set for appropriate levels then you can slap a compressor with a slow release on their channel.  Like *any* gig, you should be thinking ahead of the game with respect to organizing your channel assignments so that the important stuff can be on one specific view on the touchscreen.

Not necessarily trying to prove analog is better, but some aspects of the workflow were absolutely better. Being able to simultaneously assess the status of every channel can be a huge advantage. Sometimes it's the "potential" scenarios that will bite you in a bad way, and you won't know it until it's too late and you've missed the cue. There's plenty of things I do not miss about the analog console days, but the ease of workflow is not one of them.

[Dave Garoutte]

The few times I have played around with using a tablet or my phone I have tried to hold the tablet up more in my line of sight with the stage. It is very tiring. I have a strap on the tablet case so I can hold it in any position without dropping it. But my arm gets tired no matter how I hold it. Give me a real mixer with faders.

I think your arms would get tired holding up the mixer too!

[ProSoundWeb Community]