Faderfox EC4

Zentrales Element meines Studios

Ich habe ziemlich viele Synths ... und habe dann oft nur Presets benutzt, weil ich nicht ständig vom Studiodesk aufstehen und wieder in eine andere Ecke laufen wollte zum Knöpfe drehen. Mit dem Faderfox habe ich jetzt ALLE Einstellungen direkt da, wo ich sitze, und alle Einstellungen für alle Synths sind jeweils beim selben Knopf an derselben Stelle im selben Menü. Der Faderfox spart mir also nicht nur das Rumlaufen, sondern er hat auch meinen Workflow stark vereinheitlicht - ADSR oder Lowpass/Highpass-Filter sind jetzt immer dieselben Knöppe, egal für welchen Synth.

Ursprünglich gab es Probleme mit NRPN durch Verwendung von 7-bit messages, das sollte aber mit der v2.0 Firmware zu Weihnachten 2023 gelöst worden sein. Diese Firmware hat zig neue Funktionen eingeführt (u.a. auch den längst überfälligen Screensaver gegen Einbrennen der Anzeige), unbedingt updaten!

Opens up all your digital synths

Just a ton of encoders. It works great. Get hands on with your vst synth settings.

The CONS are sooo minor

Love it. Absolutely.

I will only mention what I consider the non-obvious:

PROS:

- It comes preloaded with the "apparent" CC messages based on the Setup (Bank), Groups and Encoders. So, in the case of CC-ing, configuring the names is just a matter of vanity and ergonomics.

- It is much lighter than you'd think (maybe a con?)

- Changes are applied immediately. No need to press "save" all the time and no fear of losing a long work session.

- It can be configured via a web-based editor... I could not care less for the web-based editor. Doing it on the device has become a pleasure.

- The navigation/configuration is initially a bit complex but then you realise that it's natural for a device that does so much.

- The encoders feel a little hard (maybe a con? I like it)

CONS

- Its much lighter than you think. The enclosure plastic feels a little... cheap... plastic-y.

- The top LEDs have a cheap-ish feel to them.

- The top buttons also have a cheap-ish feel to them and they wiggle.

- TRS MIDI type B.

- That ugly squared USB connection.

- The manual. Absolutely awful. I just learned without it.

- There are some software features things I would love to see but I don't think they belong here (the most popular review on u-tube talks about these and more)

Small yet powerful micromodul

Excellent controller, very small and compact with huge capabilities.

I use it in Bitwig Studio and I have to admit that it works perfectly with the associated script (available on github). With EC4 you can control literally everything.

It is well designed and durable, the encoders are excellent - the spacing is just right and I personally prefer the slightly "sharpened" encoders on top. The push encoder function is also great. The very good thing is that it has an OLED screen which is top notch - EC4 is very easy to program thanks to the OLED screen.

Faderfox controllers are a bit more expensive, but the quality is worth it.

Great little Controller

Great controller, actually not that hard to get your head around. I was worried I would be a little daunted at the menus etc, but I started flying around it pretty quickly.

Very useful for live performances

Small footprint, great control.

My first complex MIDI controller. Easy to use from the box and I will try to deep dive as times comes. The high quality is evident and I will explore the more advance features.