Control Surfaces For Pro Tools You Can Buy For Under $500 - Budget Studio Bargains
Control surfaces used to cost a fair amount of money 10 to 15 years ago and there really wasn't many low-cost solutions to choose from. Of course, there were some affordable options back then such as the Digi 003, a couple of 8 fader devices from Mackie and Avid but these all cost upwards of $1,000, not exactly what we would consider these days to be low-cost or budget friendly. Luckily, times have changed. "Low-cost" small form factor control surfaces have come down in price quite substantially and we're now rather spoilt for choice these days when it comes to choosing budget control surfaces for Pro Tools.
In this article we list a selection of control surfaces compatible with Pro Tools all available to buy today for under $500. We listed these below in ascending price order.
Behringer X-Touch ONE: $149
The Behringer X-Touch ONE is a recent release. Although we've yet to try it, it does look rather tasty even though it does look very similar in design to Presonus's Faderport. All the functions you find on the Faderport are present on the X-Touch ONE but look a little closer and you'll notice some extra features present on the Behringer such as a jog wheel, main counter display, a channel meter and more.
The X-Touch ONE can be fully bus-powered via USB, however, two USB slots are required to fully power this device along with its motorized fader. A PSU can be used to fully power this device if you only have one available USB slot in your computer.
Presonus Faderport: $199
The original Faderport was around for a number of years and was extremely popular in home recording studios worldwide. It featured a single motorized fader, pan pot, track functions (solo, mute, record arm), transport, automation, window selector view section and channel select for banking between tracks in Pro Tools.
PreSonus' single fader Faderport recently entered into its second generation making this the most developed single fader controller around. The V2 Faderport was redesigned to include better feel, build quality and a fresher more up to date look. Unlike the X-Touch One the Faderport doesn’t have an LCD, which does let the design down slightly.
One neat addition if you buy a Faderport V2 is a free copy of Studio One Artist worth £85 here in the UK. That’s a generous bundle, especially if you are brand new to recording or you wish to buy Studio One and want to save money buying a separate DAW. Being a PreSonus product, seamless integration with Studio One is to be expected but does it work with other DAWs? Yes, Faderport also supports Mackie and HUI protocols. When you first power up Faderport it will default to Studio One, this can easily change by holding down several buttons upon turning the device on to switch its function to other DAWs.
Icon Platform M: $349
Icon produces a variety of control surfaces, the Platform M is one of their entry level control surfaces. It is simple affair offering basic fader, pan and channel controls. What makes this an interesting control surface solution is it can be paired with multiple Icon devices and Icon control surfaces making this a modular system. The Platform doesn't have a scribble strip display builtin to the unit but Icon do offer a seperate display for $159.
Presonus Faderport 8: $425
Presonus did a brilliant job designing the Faderport 8 which features 8 motorised faders, transport, digital scribble strips, automation... it pretty much includes everything we expect from a small form factor 8 fader board at a bargain "no brainer" price. If the single fader control surfaces in this list come across as being a bit limited then for roughly three times the cost of the single fader Faderport you can get this, the 8 fader version. We've tested extensively and know that it is fully compatible with Pro Tools.
Behringer X-TOUCH: $449
Like the other Behringer control surfaces featured earlier in this list, we've also yet to test this, the X-Touch. On the face of it this looks to be a well-sorted device and for the money, it appears to be an absolute steal, however, we’ve done a bit of research into this which suggests this device isn't fully compatible with Pro Tools. Many of the function buttons will not work in Pro Tools. Neither Behringer or Avid appear to be running around trying to fix these issues... Until we hear otherwise, we believe the X-Touch has limited compatibility with Pro Tools.
Softube Console 1 MKII: $499
Softube Console 1 MKII isn't a control surface that enables users to control functions within Pro Tools such as mix window faders and pan pots. Instead, it is a control surface that enables users to control the Softube Console 1 channel strip plug-in within the Pro Tools Application. Console 1 can control functions within other DAWs such as Studio One, just not Pro Tools. Do not let that put you off this device if you are a Pro Tools user. Console 1 is a seriously powerful mixing system that feels and sound like your mixing through an analog console.
Have we missed any control surfaces that work with Pro Tools that cost under $500? Do you use any of these in your Pro Tools studios?