In this free video tutorial, with the support of Presonus, Russ Hughes shows how to setup and use the Faderport 8 control surface using HUI with Pro Tools.

The PreSonus Faderport 8, has a price tag of $599 and estimated street price of less than $500. and as Dan showed in his $3000 student budget article it makes an excellent companion to Pro Tools in a starter setup as it offers support for most popular DAWs including Pro Tools.

Faderport 8 includes 8 touch-sensitive, motorised, 100 mm faders and 57 buttons covering 78 different functions, You can quickly zoom in on audio files for editing, adjust your click-track tempo with a simple tap, modify plug-in parameters, manage aux mixes—and, of course, control track levels with the touch of a finger.

Session Navigator

One feature that PreSonus are keen to talk about is the Session Navigator.  You’ll find countless ways to take advantage of the FaderPort 8’s Session Navigator. This unique and flexible control lets you edit and mix your tracks with far greater efficiency and speed:

• Navigate quickly through your track using the encoder, or one at a time with the arrow buttons

• Zoom in and out to make edits using the encoder. Need to make your tracks bigger or smaller? Tap the arrow buttons!

• Scroll through your timeline, using the encoder, or work measure by measure with the arrow buttons

• Bank through tracks quickly with the encoder or one bank at a time with the arrow buttons

• Turn on the click track and change the tempo using the encoder or the arrow button; simply press the encoder to tap the tempo

• Open the marker track and navigate markers using the encoder or the arrow buttons, and drop a marker by pressing the encoder

• Navigate quickly through sections in the Arranger track in Studio One or through Events with DAWs that support Mackie Control/HUI

• Maintain constant control over your master fader

Check out our PreSonus Faderport 8 Production Controller Review For Pro Tools. In this summary Russ says...

So is a control surface with 8 motorised faders with Pro Tools compatibility at this price any good? In a word YES! I found the build quality high and operation under HUI comprehensive enough to suit the needs of most people.

Should you buy a PreSonus Faderport 8 control surface? If you are looking for a control surface then this should be on your list to check out, but the only advice I would give if you want one is to get in line soon. I think this will be a huge hit!