At Production Expert, we often get asked to recommend a mouse or trackball. Like speakers, a mouse or trackball is a very personal choice, so in this article, we asked our panel to share what they use and why.
RSI is a real issue for all of us using a computer all day and every day. Especially over the last year with more and more of us working from home and maybe not having access to a large control surface.
We asked our panel to share what current mouse/trackball they use, why they prefer it, what others have they tried and why did they stop using them. Finally, we asked if they use more than one, to explain why they have more than one.
Chris Roberts
Some years ago, I developed a work-related RSI. I knew it was serious when agonising pain prevented me from picking up my pint. I also know what caused it; a prolonged period of intense sound editing across at least three shows, using a mouse and keyboard.
After rest and medical intervention (a tennis elbow strap - thoroughly recommended) I researched and tried various ergonomically designed options to replace the standard mouse, the repetitive use of which, had caused such disruption to my drinking habits.
Nothing felt comfortable or efficient until I borrowed a Wacom pen and tablet. Initially, it felt a little strange and unwieldy, but by swapping back to the mouse every so often after a couple of days I found myself using the tablet all the time. The hand, being in a more vertical position, felt more recognisable and natural, with less ‘gripping’ to add prolonged stress to all the muscles and tendons in the active limb. Also, I found myself working a lot quicker, being able to move around the real estate of the screen so much faster - and using the pencil tool to draw out unwanted clicks became a breeze.
Predictably, sometime later I started to notice pain in my shoulder whenever using the tablet - caused by the minor but repetitive pressure applied whenever pressing the pen down. I switched to a trackball, and then some time later developed pains across my hand, so switched back to the pen and tablet. The key to the prevention of pain and injury, I have found, lies in dealing with the ‘R’ of ‘RSI’ - the repetition, so now I have settled on using both a tablet and a trackball, regularly swapping between them.
The tablet doesn’t need to be large or over specced; I currently use a medium Wacom One, which is 18.9cm x 27.7 cm, with an active area of 21.6 x 13.5 cm. Using the setup utility to put it into pen mode rather than mouse mode, and adjust the height sensitivity and speed of the pen, means I can quickly move around the three 24-inch screens I have in my setup.
For the trackball, I have a Kensington Expert Pro. It’s a solid, well built and responsive input device. The scroll wheel becomes indispensable in many applications, and the four buttons can be programmed to perform different app-specific functions.
It’s also important to ensure you have adequate wrist support, so just as essential as the devices are the gel pads I have sitting below the keyboard, trackball and tablet.
One other thing to consider is actually minimising the use of the mouse/trackball/tablet as much as possible. I have become quite evangelical about the use of macros, currently using both Keyboard Maestro and Soundflow to automate as much as possible. It is astonishing how much mousing around - and time! - can be saved by creating a few simple macros.
And of course, don’t forget to take breaks! There’s always time for a quick pint…..
Chris Roberts is an award-winning Dialogue, ADR and Supervising Sound Editor, with over twenty years experience of Sound Post-Production, primarily in television drama. After working for Sky and Soho facility houses, Chris went on to establish Resound Sound Ltd. He plays the tuba and bass guitar, rarely at the same time.
Garrard Whatley
At Seismic, I've always used a trackball (20+ years) -- and for the last 10 or so years, I have used the 4-Button Kensington Expert Mouse Wireless with the Wrist Rest. This is an older model, and I haven’t seen this version for sale in a while, but their updated version looks to be very similar.
With each new OS in Mac, I've had to make adjustments to how it is controlled. There were downloadable tools like MouseWorks (and, I think, TrackballWorks at one point?), which would show up in System Preferences, where you could assign the four buttons to specific functions within specific software. But as those seemed to fall by the wayside with macOS updates, for a while I used Keyboard Maestro to address the issue (among the many tools I still use for numerous shortcuts today) but settled on SteerMouse software about two or three years ago.
When the trackball finally wears out or accompanying software for it is obsolete, I imagine I’ll buy the newest one and stick with the program.
I've always used the four buttons (sometimes in combination with modifier keys) to control the Edit tool. It's so second-nature now with the upper left button, the selector tool, the upper right button cycles through grabber tools, and using Option with the lower-left button gives me the Trim tool, and adding Shift with the lower right button gives me the Scrubber tool.
Obviously, you can use any shortcut you want in there - and program the buttons to do some really detailed and complex things by using software like Keyboard Maestro. For me, working in film and television, using these buttons for these “boring” edit tool changes is ideal. I use Keyboard Maestro, Applescripts, and my own software development to accomplish more interesting tasks.
Garrard Whatley owns Seismic Post Audio in Los Angeles and has worked as a Supervising Sound Editor and Re-recording Mixer for 24 years. His first company RocketWerks was located in Santa Monica, primarily catering to independent films. Still working on indies and larger film productions, he has added television series work over the last 10 years, bringing a cinematic sensibility to his broadcast work. Seismic Post Audio is also home to software development for post audio applications, with an eye toward making Pro Tools session organization and navigation faster and easier.
Garrard has more to say on the bigger issues at the end of the article.
Jamey Scott
I've settled into using the Apple Magic Trackpad with a silicone gel pad used as a wrist rest. It keeps my wrist straight and eliminates all of the RSI issues I was having prior with a traditional mouse. I like that I can switch desktops with a quick 3-finger swipe because I do that constantly. Pinching to zoom is also a constantly used technique.
The only downside is that my fingertips get a little sore towards the end of the day which I haven't adapted to, even after a year of working like this. I hope to resolve that at some point because it's an otherwise perfect solution for me for now.
Jamey Scott is a multi-talented, creative sound engineer and post-production facility owner. He’s been working as a creative sound designer, re-recording mixer, foley artist, dialog editor, ADR recordist, game engine designer and implementer, and composer, contributing pivotal roles in excellent independent films, award-winning animated shorts, and some of the most successful and influential video games in the industry’s history including WB, Sony Pictures, Riot Games, Google ATAP, 2KGames and Epic Games.
James Richmond
I use a combination of an Apple Magic Trackpad and a Logitech MX Master mouse. I’ve tried using just one but I find the muscle memory for swiping through different apps/spaces and controlling zoom etc is just so embedded that using the mouse alone is not an option.
For example, whilst I am doing some fine editing with the mouse, I will take my hand off the mouse, swipe over with the trackpad, and go back and forth between the two, which probably comes from using a Mac laptop so often.
I’ve tried setting up the same functionality with the mouse that I get with the trackpad but I always forget it is there and revert back to my ’naturally developed’ approach. It might not be the most efficient way to do it but it is the most comfortable.
I have tried just using a trackpad but it isn’t precise enough for fine editing, especially for automation. When I am on my laptop with just a trackpad I find it a bit fiddly and am happy to break out a mouse.
I don’t have any issues with RSI. In the past I tried trackball - they aren’t for me. I found them too imprecise. I’m sure I would get used to it if I had to but so far there has been no compelling reason for me to do so.
James Richmond is a producer/engineer based near Oxford. He is a former SSL tech support staffer as well as having written for a lot of Australian Pro Audio magazines (Next Music, Australian Guitar, Australian Digital magazine). He was the technical editor for Next Music (a sort of Aussie Sound on Sound/Future Music style magazine). Previously he was an IT networking consultant.
Kevin Dallas
I use a variety of input devices to keep RSI at bay. In the past, I have suffered from pain in my right shoulder and after an assessment with a specialist I moved from using a mouse in my right hand to also using an Apple Magic Trackpad with my left hand, I should add I am left-handed but as most devices are positioned for a right-handed world, I had never thought to use a device with my left hand.
In my studio, I have an Apple Magic Trackpad 2 on my left side, a Logitech Marble Mouse on my right side and an Apple Magic Mouse that I rarely use. In addition, I recently purchased an Avid Dock and two S1’s to replace an Artist Mix.
I try and vary my use between the Logitech rollerball and trackpad throughout the day to avoid repetitive movements with one arm. The trackpad is great for quickly scrolling and zooming around a session. The rollerball is better for fine control when editing.
Also, I’m getting to grips with the control surfaces and using more dedicated buttons for specific commands. On the Artist Mix, I only ever used the faders but am teaching myself to use all of the buttons and knobs on the S1. I especially like the shortcut keys on the dock under the tablet, which I have mapped to my most commonly used commands and have mapped Fader layouts to the vertical touch strip.
Finally, if you’re having RSI issues seek help, I recommend that you check your chair height, I used to sit too low down, which caused neck strain. Also, check the heights of your screens and speakers.
For more on this check out our article Back Pain, Posture And RSI - What Can We Do?
Kevin Dallas is an audio specialist working remotely from his custom-built garden studio "The Dubshakk”. With 20 years of experience in the film and TV industry, he provides sound design, mixing, recording and editing to compliment the storytelling. His credits span all genres; from feature films and Documentaries to Specialist Factual, Comedy, Formatted Entertainment and Children’s.
Korey Pereira
In my home studio, I use the wireless version of the Kensington Expert Mouse. I used to use the wired version but moved to the wireless when I added a pair of S1s to my desk. I like not having to run cables under the console. Also being wireless lets me easily grab it and move to the backyard when the weather is nice and working on something I can do on the laptop. It has bluetooth, but I personally use the USB/RF Dongle as I feel like it provides a better connection. Battery life is stellar. I use rechargeable batteries that I always keep charged, but have to swap out infrequently enough that I don't really think about it.
Before landing on a trackball, I have previously used multiple generations of Apple Magic mice, trackpad and even a Wacom tablet at one point. For me, a trackball is the most comfortable and causes the least wrist fatigue when working long hours. I also like that when navigating multiple displays, you can give the ball a good spin and quickly jump across long distances with ease.
When travelling or working away from the house, I have been using the Kensington Orbit Fusion mouse. I find the Expert mouse is a bit too bulky to travel with and the ball doesn't stay put when shoved in a bag. The Orbit Fusion is a bit smaller, but not so much so that I have to adjust how I work. I also like that it is locked into the unit when going into a bag.
Korey Pereira, MPSE, is the owner and creative director of Soularity Sound, a post-production company based in Austin, Texas. They recently completed upgrading their space to Atmos. They work on everything from student films to features to immersive audio for 360.
Lucy Mitchell
I have the good old Apple Mighty Mouse - the wired version. I have had this mouse for at least a decade. Originally, I used this mouse purely because that is what they had when I worked at Envy, and it was what I was used to.
However, I have tried a few different options over the years and still always come back to my trusty Mighty Mouse. I've used the roller ball on the old Digidesign Icon desks, which I know a lot of mixers prefer to use rather than a mouse, but for editing purposes (seeing as that's what the majority of my work has been), and I guess muscle memory/what I was used to, I found working with the roller ball slow and actually hurt my wrists and thumb more!
Way back when I was in the machine room as an assistant, one of the Mac's mice got replaced with an Apple Magic Trackpad, which I HATED. I could barely use it to just navigate around the Mac/Finder let alone in Pro Tools; my thumb got really sore and my wrist kept locking. Maybe if I used my laptop trackpad more I would have been used to it - I found drag-and-dropping and anything where I needed to hold down and move, like in Pro Tools, tough to do with my thumb.
I'm sure there's an argument to say that using a rollerball or trackpad is better for your wrists as you move it around more, rather than relying on your arms for the majority of the movement, but I still move my wrists a lot using a mouse. When using a device like a trackball or a trackpad, I find the stationary-ness (is that even a word?!) of my arms hurt my wrist and my shoulders.
In terms of mice, when I first went freelance I treated myself to a wireless Apple Magic Mouse. I thought it looked good, it would save a USB socket and loved the idea of the multitouch gesturing like swiping etc. The flatness was going to take some getting used to so I gave it a chance for a few weeks despite it feeling really different to the Mighty Mouse.
I found myself using a much stronger grip on the mouse, which put a strain on my thumb and hand - not sure why I did this, perhaps it was because the mouse wasn't big enough to fit in my hand as snugly. My hand hurt for a while using this mouse so I was going to sack it off anyway, and then I discovered that in order for it to be charged, I had to plug it in UNDERNEATH the mouse, therefore could not use it while it was charging. Well, that was it... BINNED.
I tried a mouse that had lots of buttons on the side, which I thought could be handy for shortcuts. Although I didn't grip too hard on this, I kept accidentally pressing the buttons so had to loosen my grip even more which gave me less control, and again started to put a strain non my wrist, trying to avoid pressing the buttons!
A sound editor friend of mine swears by one of the VFX pen and pad things. I tried it briefly when I visited him, and it was so weird. I think if you have time to get used to it, it could be a good solution for RSI. I guess it depends on how tight your writing grip is! I'm actually left-handed so it would have been tricky for me to transition as I'd have to use my right hand so my left could stay on the keyboard for my hotkeys etc. It's an interesting alternative though.
Lastly, I tried a small 'gaming mouse' in a colleague's dubbing suite (rather than bringing my mouse) as he said it really helped his RSI. Again, I found myself gripping it so hard because it wasn't snuggly fitting in my hand. I'm sure I could get used to it, as long as it eventually proved to be better for my wrists.
However, it could only scroll vertically (it moved horizontally if you tilted the scroller, but this was. clunky). My Mighty Mouse seamlessly scrolls both horizontally and vertically, which is a crucial element for me. Moreover, when I'm editing rather than mixing, I am constantly moving forward and back along the timeline, as well as up and down through the tracks with the mouse.
I don't have any problems with my wrists or hands with the Mighty Mouse, plus being able to scroll in all directions makes it to the top of the list for me. I have had issues with the scrolling ball occasionally where it doesn't scroll in one direction. Usually, this is fixed by cleaning it a bit. I do have 2 of them that I switch between when this happens, so I can carry on working and fix it later!
I have used wrist rests in the past - they are ok, I don't see a huge improvement but I'm sure they are better than nothing if you're having problems! To be honest, I get more RSI in my left wrist when I'm editing because of how stationary it is. Depending on the type of work I am doing, sometimes it may essentially lock into position, with my fingers hovering over the zoom, trim, and shift buttons!
Lucy J Mitchell is a freelance Sound Editor and Dubbing Mixer for TV, Film and Computer Games living on the Surrey-London border, with new own facility LJ Studios in a purpose-built studio in the garden. She works on all genres and all areas of sound editorial; you name it.
Nathaniel Reichman
Early in my career, I was on a team of music editors and we had a punishing schedule for a couple of years. Many of the Pro Tools-workflows I have today came out of this period of time. I had decided that the Apple Mouse was faster and more accurate than the Kensington trackballs most studios had, so that’s what I used. But in the middle of all of this, I began to develop tension and pain in the tendons on the back of my hand and on top of my wrist. One of the composers I worked with noticed that whenever he went on vacation, all of his arm and shoulder pain would go away. He had an Apple Mouse as well, placed a little too high and a little too far away.
I searched for alternative input devices and remembered something I had seen in NYC studios on advertising sessions. It was an SSL Screen Sound or Scenaria, can’t remember which, but what I do remember was that the session was incredibly efficient, the screen waveforms went from the top of the screen to the bottom (S6-style), and the operator used a pen and tablet.
Inspired by that (it was SSL after all!), I picked up an $80 Wacom Intuos tablet and plugged that into my Pro Tools Mac. The first week was awful. I was skidding all over the screen uncontrollably, scattering clips and making mistakes. But by the second week, I had become a Wacom-ninja. Wacom’s guidance is to hold the pen in a relaxed way, similar, but not identical to the way you hold a writing pen. The tension in my hand disappeared completely and I felt like control of the pointer on the screen was faster and more accurate than with my Apple Mouse. Win-win.
But the story doesn’t end there. Years later, Apple was aggressively adding features to its new Magic Trackpad. The library of Multi-Touch gestures was expanding rapidly, and I was getting serious FOMO. But the Apple Magic Trackpad by itself was not a better device for Pro Tools editing than the Wacom. That’s when I discovered my favourite input-device combination and one that I’ve stuck with for seven years now. I have my Magic Trackpad on my non-dominant hand, and Wacom tablet on my dominant hand. This way, Multi-Touch is independent of pointer control. With a dual input-device setup you can scroll while moving the pointer.
Even though I’ve just written three paragraphs about using mouse pointer devices with Pro Tools. To end, I want to be absolutely clear; there is nothing mouse-based better than an Avid Dock. I understand there are times, due to cost or portability, that a control surface can’t be used, but there’s no Razer-Apple-Diamondback-Magic-Gaming trackball/mouse/tablet better than Eucon.
Nathaniel Reichman is a New York-based, Grammy-nominated producer and mixer, who has worked extensively in television, film, advertising, and classical music. He is the lead mixer at Dubway Studios in NYC, a graduate of Bennington College, and an alumnus of the art school Fabrica in Italy.
Rob Walker
I have never really liked trackballs that much. When I use trackballs built into D-Control desks, they always seem too slow to get to where I want on the screen no matter what I set the preferences to.
I have been lucky to have never had any chronic pain from mouse work. I have tried the Apple Magic Trackpad and Apple Magic Mouse in the past. Both of those I tried and stopped using almost immediately because I am someone who works much better with haptic feedback (controls that you can feel in other words).
I used the Apple Mighty Mouse for several years and although I like the functionality of the 4-direction scroll wheel, they tend to get dirty inside and become unreliable. I wouldn’t go back to that either.
I currently use a wireless Logitech MX Master 2S mouse on a Mac. I’ve never had any connection problems after about a year of use and it ‘wakes’ immediately. You can manually switch it off but I tend not to bother. It’s quickly rechargeable by USB and the battery lasts for weeks at a time.
There is a driver app that you need to install, which works well. It warns you when the battery is running low no matter what you are doing, but it is not intrusive. The scroll wheel has a switch that lets you select between free spinning and a detented mode, which works very well depending on the task at hand. The only downside to the free spinning is if you change apps quickly sometimes you find the mouse wheel is still spinning and it scrolls inside another app but that is not really a design issue. I’m quite happy with it.
In terms of ergonomics, it sits well in my fairly large hands, I do get some stiffness in the tendons on the top of my hand after long days or weeks of constant use but no more than with any other mouse I’ve used, perhaps less so.
I have seen reports that the Logitech MX Master 3 has an issue with its wheel scrolling so would recommend doing research on that particular model before buying, but the 2S is a good choice in my opinion.
Rob Walker works in cinema, sound installations and compose music and has over 25 years experience creating sound and music by myself and in collaboration. He is drawn to edgy contemporary subject matter and strong creative directions. Recent credits include the feature 'Parthenon' by Mantas Kvedaravicius with premiered at Venice Critic's Week 2019, and 'Busby',the story of Sir Matt Busby for Fulwell 73.
Roger Guerin
I have been a long time computer user starting with a Sinclair ZX81 with the optional 16k of RAM back in 1984, but it was with the Atari 1040ST that I was introduced to a ... mouse.
While my rich client at the time had a MacIntosh 512 running Digital Performer with a Southworth Jam4 MIDI-TimeCode interface, he soon evolved to the Synclavier II, which is when I got deeply involved in computer generated-controlled audio. The Synclavier was linked to a MacIntosh II built into a high-tech desk and my first trackball. After many hours of use throughout the months, I started to have pain in my right wrist, to a point that I had to seek medical help. The verdict Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, at least it had a name, now I had to find a solution.
Being a freelancer, I got to work and troubleshoot in many professional and celebrity studios and was always on the lookout for a solution.
Then one day I was introduced to a mouse pad with a gel wrist rest ... a revelation. It was good for a while, other muscles were being solicited giving my aching wrist, a rest.
Now I was on the lookout for a better mouse. Being an Apple fanboy, I believed that the next time they will come up with the ultimate mouse. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. I had to look elsewhere, I tried so many of them that I lost count. I have ‘large’ hands so the mouse had to be of a good size, not many of them were available at the time.
My epiphany came with the Logitech MX Master 2S, the size, the ergonomics, it interfaces well with all my Mac set-ups. It's a wireless mouse, which comes with a USB "Unifying receiver" or can be paired via BlueTooth.
I was so thrilled I bought three (3), and are still in use today.
The good news, I no longer suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and my time is now better spent looking for non-mouse related tech.
Roger Guerin comes from the music recording world, after several platinum albums he brings his quest for quality sound to the pictures. With close to 200 entries on imdb.com, he is a rare member of both the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) and the Cinema Audio Society (CAS).
Steve DeMott
Over the years I have used many pointing devices. My computing experience goes way back to when I was a kid and got my hands on an original Macintosh. I’m pretty sure I’ve tried just about every iteration of a pointing device made.
I abandoned the traditional mouse long ago because it contributed to bad habits and bad ergonomics, which led to wrist pain. I was prone to rest my wrist on the desk as I moused around, and that was an express ticket to an RSI.
As a guitarist, I was very aware of wrist health, and knew I needed an option that promoted good ergonomics, and prevented any injuries as I spent hours on a computer. Besides the traditional one-button Mac mouse, I experimented with “ergonomic” and multi-button mice, joysticks (they’re not as fun as they sound), trackballs, trackpads, and graphic tablets (like the Wacom). Each provided a very different approach to interacting with my computers, but only one has stuck with me all these years.
My pointing device of choice for the past two-plus decades has been a Kensington trackball. Originally dubbed the “Turbo Mouse”, and now called the “Expert Mouse”, navigating with these trackballs has become second nature to me.
The Kensington Expert Mouse has changed a little over the years, mostly adding more programmable buttons. The large, weighted trackball allows for precise movement with little effort from only small finger movements, rather than the whole hand movements required by a traditional mouse. This allows me to keep my wrist straight, and not constrict tendons as I work all day.
I find the programmable buttons to be real time savers. While I have my lower two buttons setup as traditional left and right-click buttons, the top two buttons give me fast navigation options. The top right button is my Exposé button, showing me all my windows at once to choose where to move to. This makes going from the mixer window to the edit window in Pro Tools as easy as tapping the button and clicking where I want to go.
The upper left button is programmed to give me a menu of keyboard shortcuts to perform various tasks without having to type the key commands. If I hit the two upper buttons simultaneously, they will perform a ‘left-click drag’ function, which is useful to lock the mouse on an object when dragging it, and you don’t want to accidentally let go too early. And, most importantly, hitting the two lower buttons together initiates a Save command (⌘-S), which I hit often.
In essence, I can breeze through sessions with my right hand on the mouse and my left on the keyboard, with Pro Tools in keyboard focus mode, hitting single keys to power through editing and mixing. In fact, I can be so fast and efficient that, even though I have control surfaces, I typically only use those for final volume automation writing of a mix.
As much as I feel at home with my trackball, over the past couple of years I’ve felt the need to add an Apple Magic Trackpad to my setup to take advantage of the navigation “gestures” that have become such a large part of navigating macOS. I only use the trackpad occasionally, and I definitely notice that it feels much less comfortable than my trackball, albeit very necessary at times. Apple has embraced the whole gesture navigation schema, and it’s only going to be a bigger and bigger part of macOS, as the lines between macOS and iOS blur more and more with each update.
Steve DeMott is a Connecticut based audio engineer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He studied Songwriting and Music Production & Engineering at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA & has been recording professionally for over 20 years. He now manages a commercial studio where they produce, record, edit, mix & master music & audio projects for artists & companies.
Simon Jones
I was using the Kensington expert trackball for years which I loved for its scroll ring and extra buttons.
But recently I bought the Apple Magic Trackpad. I forced myself to use it for a week but struggled and thought maybe I’d return it. Then after about a week it suddenly ’clicked’, a bit like learning to ride a bike. So now I prefer it, there are a few nifty scrolling tricks for ProTools and it’s very sleek and unobtrusive on my desk. It’s also silent, unlike the trackball.
So I’m a convert, but I wish there were a few more shortcuts for ProTools.
Simon Jones is an experienced Bafta Cymru award-winning freelance sound designer, dubbing mixer and Foley artist. He has his own small studio with Avid S6 and Pro Tools where he can tracklay, premix, record voice and foley, or he can work at your place. He is also musical and composes for TV and digital media.
Tim Nielsen
Years ago with the onset of some serious wrist and shoulder issues, I began experimenting with vertical mice. The first one I used was a 3M ErgonomicVertical Mouse. It took some serious time to adjust to, and in the end, proved way too unreliable. I think I had three that all broke within 6 months of us.
My current setup is to have an Apple Magic Trackpad to the left of my keyboard, and I use that for scrolling and zooming with my left hand.
On the right sits an Autley Vertical Wireless Mouse. It's closer to a normal mouse than the 3M, and while the battery life isn't nearly as well as advertised, it's quite reasonably priced and has proved to help quite a bit relieve strain on my wrist and shoulder. I have quite large hands and the Autley is the best fit I've found by far for larger hands as well.
Tim Nielsen is a Sound Designer, Supervising Sound Editor and Re-Recording Mixer at Skywalker Sound. In addition to his film work, he’s an avid sound effects recordist and enjoys writing about and teaching others about sound effects recording and design.
Tom Bullen
I am a huge fan of the Apple Magic Mouse 2 for pretty much a single reason: you can scroll horizontally as well vertically.
Almost every other mouse in existence has only an up and down track wheel, offering at best a second wheel or oversized trackball on the side. The Magic Mouse 2 eschews any moving parts for scrolling purposes and instead goes for a versatile multitouch surface. This feels incredibly natural and I find it frustrating and limiting whenever I'm forced to work with anything else, to the point where I'll often take one with me to other studios.
I've used an Apple mouse since I began working with Macs, and they have improved over time. The original Mighty Mouse's trackball would always fail in the end, no matter how many times you tried to clean underneath it with a string of dental floss, and the first Magic Mouse's AA batteries would often move about inside the shell causing the device to disconnect if you handled it too heavily.
That said, the current Mighty Mouse is still far from perfect. The now built-in rechargeable battery has its connector on the underside, rendering the mouse unusable while charging, which is pretty inconvenient if it fails mid-session. Its shape would have allowed for the connector to be placed at the front and still out of sight, allowing it to be used whilst charging like the Magic Keyboard. There is also no indicator light to let you know that it is indeed charging, and it's pretty frustrating to plug it in overnight only to discover the next morning that you didn't actually turn on your charger at the wall socket.
Other than that, this mouse is amazing. It integrates flawlessly with macOS and I've never had any connectivity issues, even though it is still using a pretty old standard of Bluetooth. I know a lot of people think it's terribly unergonomic and hard to operate but I don't find that at all; I use it all day everyday and have never had a problem with RSI, which is definitely not something I can say about my iPhone.
It is more expensive than most mice, but aside from my Mac itself it's my most used piece of equipment, so it's an investment that I regard as well worth it. That said, I'm not the ultimate Apple fanboy: I saved £20 on the Magic Mouse 2 by going for the much less cool silver version rather than the black one.
Tom Bullen is an audio engineer and editor based in London, working in both music and spoken word. He mainly uses Pro Tools and specialises in working to picture, having worked on hundreds of film and television scores in various capacities as engineer, assistant engineer and music editor.
What Can We Learn From Our Expert Panel’s Experiences?
Let’s take a look at which devices our expert panel are using…
Apple Mighty Mouse - Lucy
Apple Magic Mouse - Kevin and Tom
Apple Magic Trackpad - Jamey, Kevin, Nathaniel, Steve, Simon and Tim
Kensington Expert Mouse - Chris, Garrard, Korey and Steve
Kensington Orbit Fusion - Korey
Logitech MX Master Mouse - James, Rob and Roger
Logitech Marble Mouse - Kevin
Wacom Panel - Chris and Nathaniel
Multiple Devices
What is most interesting is that Chris, James, Kevin, Nathaniel, Steve and Tim use 2 or more devices to give them a variety of tools to use, to help reduce RSI and also to use the better tool for specific tasks.
Compact Control Surfaces
Another tread is the use of control surfaces to reduce the reliance on using a mouse or trackball and the good news is that with the growth of compact control surfaces like the Avid S1, Avid Dock and Avid S3, these don’t have to take up a huge amount of desktop real estate and this leads us onto a broader topic…
Should We Be Looking Beyond What Mouse Or Trackball We Use?
Garrard Whatley believes we should. Over to you Garrard…
This does get me thinking about an important point that sound editors and mixers need to be sure to remember. While the choice of mouse or trackball is important, especially with the potential for physical problems, I think it is necessary to remember that the job, in my view, needs to be framed in our minds as something more than a “technician at a workstation”.
Technician At A Workstation
The move from consoles to computers decades ago, with many in the workforce, now have learnt to edit and mix on computers, had the potential to change the perception of the job, by producers as well as the mixers and editors themselves.
The more we focus on the mouse and computer screen, the more we may lean forward, or look downward, hunching our backs, almost taking on the posture of devolving. While this clearly may have physical ramifications, it also may have psychological consequences.
We are recordists, designers, mixers. Our heads should be held up, not crooked forward, and, as we tune and learn to trust our rooms, judgements need to be made with our ears, and less so with our eyes.
So choices we make in something as ‘trivial’ as a mouse, or as consequential as an appropriate mix console, can help us to achieve that positive attitude, that self-worth. And anything - anything - that helps us to rely less on focusing on the computer screens, will not only keep us feeling professional, but also make the producers sitting behind us treat us professionally. In turn, as we demonstrate our value, we learn to understand how that value needs to translate appropriately to our professional rates. Get paid properly for the hard work that you do!
Stop Leaning Forward - Find An Alternative Instead
Here’s a rule of thumb I began using in my work about 15 years ago…
If I find myself leaning forward and having to focus on some detail on the screen (for example, positioning the cursor on an insert I want to open and clicking on it), then I need to create a shortcut for it that helps me to keep my back straight and not look at the screen as long (another solution might be to buy a console that makes that process easier, but not everyone can throw money at issues).
Before I even had a console, I had shortcuts that would bring up any insert on a selected track by pressing Control together with number 1 through 0 for the first ten inserts (or sends) visible (and for those wondering, Control+Shift+a number for the second set of ten if visible on screen).
I didn’t even have to touch the trackball at all! And I still use these shortcuts today.
With the pandemic making us increasingly isolated in a job that already had moved workers from studios to home workstations for many people, now is the time to reject any feelings of being a mere ‘technician at a workstation’, to look for inspiration in art (film or music), to find creative solutions to technical problems, enjoy what we do, and value ourselves.
As my dad no longer has to tell me: “Sit up straight!”
Thank you so much Garrard for this postscript, you have nailed it. You can find more about health and posture in our article Back Pain, Posture And RSI - What Can We Do?