Why do so many people diss stuff for what it isn't? This box is is the smallest controller I know of with visual labels that can control an absurd number of parameters across an entire multisynth rig with a minimum of button pushing. I just got one. I have tons of other controllers, but nothing that's this small and this powerful. No it doesn't do everything or solve every problem, but it's tiny, well-built and well thought out. The whole thing is the size of my hand, so it fits almost anywhere. Yes, it's expensive, but it's clearly a boutique thing. People will spend $400 on a guitar pedal these days without hesitation. This thing opens up control possibilities in a pragmatic way that I'm totally excited about. Size matters and small is great when you want to take it everywhere. I can't wait to control a software looping rig with this thing (among many other things).
I previously used "BOME MIDI Translator Pro" to enable a "small" controller to control up to at least 10.000 parameters. It was for the most part somewhat intuitive to use, and i had it programmed so that when i pushed the button to select a certain plugin that i wanted to control, it would also do a mouse click on the plugin in my DAW, and bring it up on the display. So pretty awesome if you ask me - but the "Faderfox EC4" have very similar functionality, in addition to that freakishly awesome display..! God how i have waited for something like this. I had started looking into hardware options, but now i can finally take advantage of owning Komplete 11 Ultimate. Was thinking of getting Maschine MK3, but i think maybe ill just get this one and a good sequencer. Already got a nice keyboard and drum pads.
@@adamoliver82 it'a boutique manufacturer and there are no other such controllers this size and this robust. Faderfox boxes are well built pieces of gear. But then, the price for North America is pretty high compared to the European price (300 Euros incl. tax).
A very thorough review, thank you. As attractive as this is you've just reminded me of the functionality already available in some of the controllers at my disposal, if only I could hire a knowledgeable youngster to program the darn things :)
It's almost worth it. But considering what's available in CPUs and oLED screens, this could have been so much more with more information and higher resolution.
I’ve been waiting for exactly this for a while... Perfect for controlling the mixer on the MPC 2500 with JJOS. The knobs are even laid out to match the pads / tracks and can be made to mimic the 4 x banks of pads on the MPC. First saw it and thought ‘aw, this will be USB only’ but no, actual DIN outputs too. The final sell for me was the encoders over pots. Perfect.
Longer names could be displayed using scrolling, maybe with adjustable modes. Once, bouncing, scrolling, fast, slow and so on... I think that this can be implemented into future firmware updates.
A year and a half later and no significant firmware upgrades. :( Totally a missed opportunity in the limitations with the encoder push behavior being a global setting.
Great review 👍 But it's a bit unclear how the push encoder function works. More specifically can an encoder be reseted to zero with an encoder push? I am on the verge of replacing my BCR2000 with this only because of the screen. But for me the "reset to zero on encoder push" is a must.
Cool! Can it receive MIDI program change messages to trigger Setup/Group changes from another piece of gear (ie a sequencer changing to a different pattern)?
In my opinion it would have been much better with a controller with a 2 line display running over each row of encoders, to show both parameter name and value + it would then offer more room for parameter name. And it would offer a bit more space between the lines of encoders for easier access, and the overall size would not have to be that much bigger. The midi over TRS, could be useful, if it could connect directly over a compact cable, that one might be able to pick up at an electronics store, rather than music store, but, as is it only work sometimes... if they can't switch between the two connection versions, in software, at this point a full DIN, would have been much better. Built by a small company like faderfox, such a solution would probably be more expensive, but offer better workflow, thus motivating a higher cost. When using a single display, there are also some rather cheap touch-enabled screens, that could offer advantages, in that they could offer additional parameter control, and qwerty text input, adaptable on screen buttons, and quick selection. If it has been a matter of build with what you got, in that they already had product(s) with the same display, and had an over-stock, or could re-use the same firmware, to reduce the cost, that display and that end price, would have made more sense to me. As it is now, I can't follow their logic. I still interested since there is little competition out there, I just feel it could have been better, even if that meant paying a bit extra.
I love it that the editor is browser based. That way you are not limited to Mac or Windows only. For me as Linux user a BIG plus! And I love the fact they put midi in/out for 5-pin DIN instead of only USB midi on this device. But the price... I know, you get a lot of functionality, but a controller for € 299,-?
Not worth the price and like many others have said this needs far better screen facilities, better midi connectivity etc, I would sooner spend a little more and use something like BlackBox which will do all this and give you a lot more too for a portable size.
thanks loopop for another great video. As soon as I saw it, I ordered one of these and this thing is amazing! The ability to label controls along with having 16 X 16 unique controller groups of 16 controls makes it sooo much more useful than standard MIDI control surfaces. I am using it to control multiple hardware and software synths, each with their own unique set of control groups. So, for example, in Diva, I use one of the 16 Diva-specific sets of 16 controls to control Diva’s 3VCO (mini Moog -style) module, another set for Diva’s Ladder Filter module, etc. and because I have 16 sets of 16 controls dedicated to Diva, I can dedicate a unique set to each of Diva’s unique oscillator, filter and envelope modules. In total, I think Diva has > 16 unique modules, but I don’t use them all, so it’s not an issue for me. Because I have a unique EC4 control set for each module, I can orient the mapping of controls so that the layout of each module’s controls on my computer screen is close to the physical orientation of the controls on the EC4. This allows me to find the right control by muscle memory, as well as looking at the labels… A huge advantage. In addition to having a control set for each module, I have one “Live Set” control set for Diva that covers controls that I most often use in a live setting (Bank/Patch selection, Cutoff, resonance, ADSR, etc.). I have one of these “Live Sets” for each of my synths, each with some synth-specific control labels and CC/NRPN assignments, but mostly the number and position of controls are the same, so I can use my muscle memory to locate the right control within these “Live Sets” across all my synths. Another thing that I appreciate about EC4 is that it’s small enough to fit in a space on my Novation SL mark II MIDI controller, and with a little bit of Velcro, the EC4 stays there and has extended immensely the MIDI controls of my SL Mark II, which, thanks to the great DriveByMoss script, are all mapped to control my DAW, Bitwig. I’m in MIDI control heaven! :-). The only thing that I think it would make it more heavenly is if the EC4 controls could function in a “pick up“ mode and display values fed back from the device...both of which I think would require two way communication between EC4 and the MIDI device. I’m guessing this would add greatly to the cost of such a device… If it is even possible to do. I’m guessing such features are probably only possible in a controller such as those made by SoundForce, which are probably a better choice if you only need to control a specific synth... but that’s not my case.
Thank you for adding your comment, I think you succeeded doing exactly what I'd like to, a synth per control group, being able to keep multiple synths on board. That's heavens! I just couldn't see the possibility for programming sysex msgs, as some midi implementation requires it. Kindly confirm this is actually possible. Thanks a lot in adv. !!!
Oh, I'd just try and order directly from them. $30 to FedEx, and it is a musical instrument from Germany (an NTR - Normal Trade Relations country) tax import rate would be 2.9%. So overall a bit under $325 shipped with taxes all in.
Help me Loopop (or anyone else)...you're my only hope! (Mathias from Faderfox doesn't know the answer to this as he's not familiar with Logic)… Needing some help with this (potentially great) unit...I use this with Logic Pro X. When I create settings for Logic’s EQ, reverb etc, the EC4 display updates the values when I go between instances of those native plugins. However when I use plugin synths such as Omnisphere 2 and Repro1 etc and go between instances of them, the values are not updating on the EC4, therefore the data values jump each time as they’re not reflecting the newly selected instance of the plug-in. Should it be possible for it to work the same as the native Logic plug-ins? The manual states "Any incoming MIDI feedback data will reflect to the encoders and displays. So the encoders can work without value jumps if your software/hardware is able to send back remote data.” but I’m not sure if I’m missing something here with the EC4 set up or settings within software synths or Logic settings. I’m unsure if it’s even possible with plug-ins such as Omnisphere 2 etc. Basically I can get the plug-ins to learn the midi control, but values do not update going between instances. Any help would greatly be appreciated.
check out "Midi Fighter Twister". I bought it for the LED rings and versatile configuration options. The endless encoders are also clickable with various modes. Each knob can be mapped twice, toggle or hold to send another cc, individually colored and you have 4 banks of 16 knobs (and that times 2 if you shift-map). The best aspect of it is that it will reflect the current value visually, hence there are no value jumps, and you have some performance features like "click to reset". You can also add a "detent" if needed. It doesn't have a screen but you can color code it in a logical way. I think it is the perfect companion for a DAW and very affordable.
the EC4 shows the feedback data too, also as bar graph with a resolution of 20 segments. further you have a selectable MinMax function on the push buttons to reset or set to max or set to center
@@faderfox1452 thanks for chiming in. Can bar mode display bipolar values? Where as 0 would be a single line in the middle, -63 would be half the line, going toward the left, and +63 would be half the line going toward the right. Would be great for EQs if it can do this.
Unfortunately, it doesn't have a MIDI port, so there's no way to use it exclusively with hardware. It also doesn't have a display to indicate what each knob controls.
Problem with MIDI Fighter Twister is that you have to memorize what knob is mapped to what parameter. The colors help but you still really have to use it regularly to be able to remember your mappings. Or resort to writing down a mapping, which is what I usually did, but having to constantly reference a chart kinda kills the efficiency boost of the device. The other caveat with Twister is that it blasts a flood of messages across at least 6 MIDI channels, which is problematic when using it to control hardware devices in a heavily populated MIDI network. I still like the Twister a lot, but I ordered one of these EC4s a couple weeks ago and looking forward to integrating it into my setup.
Personally, I am excited for the future of midi and midi controllers. The prices will work themselves out once we get companies realizing the meta market for building flexible midi controllers, especially to accomodate the deluge of affordable synths and hardware coming out. Space is limited so a controller that can act as a flexible master controller that can easily be customized and controlled from the hardware to quickly switch from handling one piece of gear to the next - it will be a big value add to studios and bedrooms studios. Here's to hoping manufacturers and designers don't forget about sysex and NRPNs..... make me a Native Instruments Jam mixed with a novation Zero SL MK2 and configure it to work with all the future functions of MIDI 2.0 and that will make my nerdy midi controller dreams come true :)
Yeah I have a remote 25, way more knobs and faders and two screens. I can store 40 synth settings on it this seems a little over priced for less functionality
@@SnaFOo75 You're paying (too much) for the (too much) compactness of faderfox looks like. It doesn't seem hard to accidentally turn knobs you don't want to turn, looking how close they are each other: the whole thing is smaller than his hand.
300 euro isn't that bad for a versatile device such as this ec4. I don't have it spare, but still it's about the amount I'd pay for a device like this.
@@MarceldeJong I'd go for it if it was 200 maybe. The problem is that even if it can store 4000 commands it takes some flicks and presses to actually reach them. Instead you could buy a device with more physical knobs and do it without having to wander through the menus.
In the US it's priced within $50 of a Faderport 8. I own one and would never trade its motorised faders and dedicated e-scribble strips for small buttons and a tiny screen. I still have a beloved Novation SL25 MK II, which gives me far more encoders, a keyboard as well as 8 (non-motorised) faders, dozens of buttons and even a few pads. The MK III upgrades to multiple scribble strips as well, but drops the 25 key model, and gives HUI compatibility as well. The 49 key model is within $50 of the EC4 and far more capable. It's connectivity includes USB; MIDI In, Out, Out 2/Thru; three pedal inputs; Analogue Clock Out; and two CV Pitch, Gate, and Mod outputs.
@@MarceldeJong True - I now work in a fixed studio setup. The SL25 was bought with travel in mind, (and worked well - controlling both software synths and a few homebrew gadgets), but I wouldn't have wanted a 49 or 61 for that.
I just bought one of these because it does a few special things. PC, labels, CC, NRPN and it's small and manageable with encoders. I got it cheap so am happy, I wanted the other one but it''s almost 2x the price, the one you have helped work on. I am just happy now i can get to my AS1 hidden features without a PC, and that's priceless.
Lots of stuff is a arduino / raspberry Pi project. It's all about effort and time I don't want to put in to implement. You may feel differently but I like to play, not build.
@@basicnoise turning knobs 10 times to reach min/max value is horrible, you still have to look at some screen to see where you are at. Knobs with start and end IS the only practical solution.
@@SebastienLeger exactly the way my first contact with encoders was and I hated it. But there are controllers that have led rings and one turn is one turn. The midi fighter twister for example. It's my most beloved controller since years now.
Great review as usual! However, I will NEVER spend over $200 for something like this. Ridiculously priced at over $400. $400! Sure! If it also had an audio processor and a hard drive! I’ll stick with novation’s clunky zero. I’ll say this just leaves field wide open for someone else to come in with a very similar product for half the price. We’ll be waiting...
Faderfox is a one man company, so if you consider the amount of work required to run a company + design the devices, create firmware updates etc, the price is understandable. Trying to make a living making controllers is not that easy. For those who can't afford something like this and would rather buy something mass produced and cheaper, they can do that :). I bought this the day it was released and actually buying these things is the only way the price can go down :)
K0001 Anyway; props to Faderfox for stepping up and offering a high quality product that EVERYONE wants. I’m just saying the field is still wide open at that price.
I’ve been using the EC4’s predecessor the PC4 to control my Zoia for a few months now. It really opens up the possibilities of complex patches that you can “play” in the Zoia. The Faderfox stuff is pricey, but quality doesn’t come cheap!
@@existenceternal I use the Faderfox TRS-B to DIN adapter with a DIN MIDI cable and back to the TRS-A adapter needed by the Zoia. I'd like to get a TRS B to A adapter cable to simplify things, but this works fine for now
This looks nice to control my ES-9 iPad effects but since this and the iPads connect via USB it would mean active hub with power again ... the ES-8 and now ES-9 were me trying to get away from too many cables and power supplies ... hm.
I’m a few years late but if ya haven’t seen Faderfox made exactly what ya asked for. Their UC4 has 8 faders and 8 encoders on it and I’d love to see your thoughts on it!
I think it was available back then too. It's cool and I'm sure it works well, but what I particularly liked about this one is the screen that shows multiple names and values at the same time. But faders are useful too!
Any thoughts on a comparison to the midi fighter twister? I’m thinking that the light rings around the knobs on the twister are in general a better representation of values when working with Ableton. You can map less values on the twister than on the ec4 but different mapping get uploaded in a second which means you can change it on the fly during a performance. I think the ec4 has the general advantage of working with hardware. As for Ableton, the twister definitely wins. And if one needs some cues about the mapped parameters - one can easily programme an m4l device to show some names on the computer screen every time you change the layout (if such a device doesn’t already exist). Would be happy to hear what the community thinks.
@@joaehun yeah that makes sense. They just keep coming up with new cases for the MFT but no firmware updates. What I really want to see is the ability to switch between an Ableton integrated script and the user mappings with the press of one of the side-buttons. On the arturia mini lab 3 you can switch between the Ableton script (which maps to the selected track) and the user mappings by pressing two pads.
Nice bit of kit! It’s got me thinking of the untapped potential in a controller of this size and form factor. Would love to have one with a touchscreen taking up most of the upper portion (which would double as an X-Y controller) with built in smart features like sequencing, chord bank, arp, CC recording/playback, etc - maybe an open source platform, able to run custom third party extensions. Encoders that have at least one more axis of control (push/pressure control) .. MPE encoders ;)
Looks interesting. I guess it can also make my Alesis Micron be controlled as if it was an Ion. Some Argentinian manufacturer makes dedicated controllers/programmers to do this very thing. It's half the price of this one, but it can only mimic one synth: if you then want it to control let's say a Microkorg, you have to reset the controller first, so it's not plug and play. And that switching you can do many times, but not infinitely. I've got many rompler modules from E-mu, and also the Korg T-rack and Yamaha TG-77. Can it control all of that, even FM?
Great review of a very feature rich EC4 controller. The small size and label display make this a great and unique investment. Have one on order. Here is a wish list (one can dream right :) : 1. Master/slave mode to support ganging of multiple slave encoders per Group 2. MSB/LSB (Bank Select/static) & Program Change/dynamic via single encoder (with min/max support) 3. User Programmable custom midi string per encoder (Perhaps already supported in Learn mode?) 4. User Programmable custom midi string on depress per encoder (Perhaps already supported in Learn mode?) 5. Browser support to transmit midi string to EC4 when in learn mode (verses sysex dumps). The EC4 controller clearly supports and satisfies 1000s of general midi function use cases. The ones mentioned above are perhaps outliers that may already exist in the product or could exist in the future based on user demand. There is so much to explore with what the EC4 can already do! Looking forward to getting one in a few weeks. Gratefully.
Thanks! PRGC+MSB/LSB indeed would be nice, as would immediate browser changes (there's something scary about replacing the contents of the entire device...). Let me know which MIDI strings you'd like me to send and I can try... or maybe Faderfox can comment? I've seen them respond to other comments.
@@loopop While it is unreasonable to anticipate unlimited use cases for a controller, the venerable 20 year old plus Peavy PC-1600x has held it's own. Although it is an "obsolete" FADER controller (which lacks all the benefits of "modern standalone midi controllers ie: portability, USB support, great display technology, warranty, etc.), the 1600 still has quite a bit of "juice" even when compared to todays standalone controllers. To get an idea of the types of strings I'm referring to feel free to reference Appendix B of the either the PC-1600 or 1600x PDF here: assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/80301652.pdf ; 1600 assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/80304309.pdf ; 1600x Comparing apples to oranges I suppose. The EC4 and 1600 may complement each other well. Reflecting deeper into the 1600 User Manual makes one appreciate how clever the developers were over 20 years ago. I will take a look at the new FaderFox Faders next to see how they compare to the "obsolete" Peavy :)
I had a look - probably not... definitely not for long sysex strings as that's not mentioned anywhere in the documentation. 1600x looks awesome. If it had a per encoder/fader LCD it would be quite compelling even without USB
Seems like an awful lot of cognitive overload to bring into a creative session. I'd be totally happy with just a cheap, reliable board of a dozen or so encoders - maybe with few stored mappings to easily switch between VSTs or whatever.
Hi! I’m saying that in loopop voice. Anybody have any experience ordering one of these? The US dealer is charging close to twice what the website says. So has anyone ordered directly from faderfox?
I ordered mine from musicstore.com. It cost about $350… Which included shipping and euro to dollar conversion. this was the best deal I could find a few weeks back… But it was worth every penny!
Yep, wire transfer through Wise directly to FaderFox for $365 USD out the door.... Smooth sailing, which is great because nobody has any of these right now except FaderFox 🤙🌌
Nice review as always ! Unfortunately you went over the question I had ! ^^ Can it merge MIDI input with its MIDI datas to the MIDI output and the USB MIDI output ?
I'm looking for a cheaper option with similar features. Korg nanoKONTROL 2 doesn't have any indicators at all. Behringer x-touch mini has levels but no labels. AKAI MPD 226 only has 4 knobs and 3 banks. The minilab 3 and mpk mini plus both have 8 endless encoders and banks (mpk with custom labels) but the controller I'm about to buy is the keystep 37 for its led per key, custom scales, and strum. So is there anything like ec4 that's new since early 2020? When I buy I'll make sure to use your affiliate link. Thanks so much for the comprehensive and exhaustive info.
I’d like to use this with an iPhone while also connecting my iPhone to either an audio interface or Digitakt, also in audio interface mode. Can someone recommend a decent usb hub that would make connecting the iPhone to the EC4+Digitakt+added usb midi controller ? I might want to use Digitakt only to pass midi back and forth from Digitakt to sequence some ios synths and use a separate audio interface. Im thinking AUM on the phone will let me do all the setup. The iOS device would be the usb host for the rest of the gear. So I think I just need a good usb hub. I also have a Blokas Midi hub which will be part of this setup as well. Thanks
I’d love to have this but more than any gear shown on this channel I would just love to have the free time to learn these things and be able to enjoy them more because of all the knowledge.
Don't get me wrong, I hear you. We all struggle with the time issue, but I recommend just to take baby steps. It's super easy to get overwhelmed by all the information out there nowadays. I have a fulltime job and a child, wife and many other activities which I'm also super passionate about and which all require my time. I still have had the time to learn new stuff in music. And I just recently released my first album (you can find it on Soundcloud and Bandcamp with my name, if I peaked your interest) and have released many tracks before that. I've just taken one step at the time. I recommend writing it down which things you'd like to learn and in which order - think about it really, which order would make the most sense to YOU and benefit you the most in order to accomplish your OWN goals. For example: it usually makes sense to start learn about mixing (and mastering), when you actually have something to mix and so on. Hope this helps, motivates or gives you some ideas. This said, in all honesty, I've also made some sacrifices, mostly in my social life, in order to have that needed time. This is something many people are not willing to do, but life is unfortunately about choices. :( That said, I'd be down, if someone would sell extra freetime. ;)
hey such am awesome vid! so im actually using a faderfox uc4 and im running into weird behavior. im slaving ableton and a model samples to an erm midiclock. if i unplug and replug the faderfox while the midiclock is running there will be a bump in the tempo which isnt ideal for live gig senarios. loopop do you know how this is possible? im using the ableton script from Mathias (tha UC4 script is selected in the midi preferences for this) and only Remote is turned on (Sync and Track are turned off!). its a mystery to me… thanks so much!!
check out MIDI Fighter Twister, along with a USB MIDI host (Kenton, etc.). You won't have to deal with the system wide push button functionality. You lose the screen but gain LED indicators, LED color bars, and a slightly higher level of customization, on a more per encoder basis.
@@AdamJayTechnoElectro I was aware of the midi fighter twister, but never considered it for the OT :) It could indeed be a match ! But I've got to say, for me any setup for the OT involving a midi host is a deal breaker... I like the simplicity of having a native midi device that I can just output with a din plug. On thing less to carry around (and possibly forget)
@@MarcDupuis50400 I feel you but with a Faderfox, there's not much difference since it also uses 1/8" MIDI dongles, and USB for power. I chose the Twister over the PC4 (at the time) with this in mind. The USB on the host powers the Twister, so it's literally trading one box for 1/8" midi dongles (which could also be forgotten)
What are the pressable knobs for? Besides choosing menu options, I so wish they could be used for sending MIDI CCs. Would that be possible to add with a firmware update?
Lovely gadget. The screen and the size make it super useful. The big problem with it for me is the price. I haven’t seen it for under $300, which to me, is high for a controller without keys (or more complex pitch control interfaces). I’ll have to stick with my cheap Arturia Beatstep and sticky labels.
If you order direct, it's 251€, which is ~$277. Unfortunately, shipping is a whopping 50€ (~$56). The total is still high, but it beats the $399 it costs to buy it in the US.
this is DIRT CHEAP, people have no clue whatsoever about hardware and it's cost, this is why 99,99% of all controllers are toy quality crap that is completely useless.
Need to show how it work with VST synth like arutria dx7 ! The market really dont have norm controller with more knob's for control vst synth with so many many parametrs!
sadly the screen is just too small.. four letters per parameter? .. please give at least ten and arrange the screen like the MPCX next the button would be a killer
I wish the display could be a min, max. I might want to control euclidean fill etc and my destination may map the full midi range to say, 16. No way to linearly scale the display while still sending 0-127? Bonus would be to support curves as well, ie. frequency.
Does anyone know if this unit can control more than one box at a time? I would like to have my Digitakt and Syntakt controlled by one instead of having to buy 2.
The standard also calls for a 2.5 mm jack, which practically nobody uses. The whole TRS midi thing is still a mess unfortunately. I wonder why TRS-A to TRS-B cables aren't sold yet, they're very easy to make and I'm sure there is some demand by now.
![[Live] ศึกมหึมันส์มวยไทยสังเวียนเดือด เวทีมวยชั่วคราวสวนสยาม | จันทร์ 30 กันยายน 2567](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pM1k6f7JXUc/mqdefault.jpg)
New firmware with note names and non-global buttons released finally!
The good thing is they’re small and look inexpensive so my wife won’t know how much it cost 😅
Spot on!
Yes lol
🤣😂😂
Yep
@@lomozliveset3862 its called marriage tax. And it comes before wife tax.
This is the one!
Love this. It's a MIDI Fighter Twister with lots more functionality, at only a slightly higher price.
This would be great for VCV Rack
I’m looking at it for mi rack
yes it is great for that , for the moment i use a pyle PMIDIPD30 with the vcv rack , it is not so sophisticated but it make the job and it is cheap
@@IgnisCygnus147 hey kind internet stranger Did you end up grabbing this ? I hope you’re making music either way !
Why do so many people diss stuff for what it isn't? This box is is the smallest controller I know of with visual labels that can control an absurd number of parameters across an entire multisynth rig with a minimum of button pushing. I just got one. I have tons of other controllers, but nothing that's this small and this powerful. No it doesn't do everything or solve every problem, but it's tiny, well-built and well thought out. The whole thing is the size of my hand, so it fits almost anywhere. Yes, it's expensive, but it's clearly a boutique thing. People will spend $400 on a guitar pedal these days without hesitation. This thing opens up control possibilities in a pragmatic way that I'm totally excited about. Size matters and small is great when you want to take it everywhere. I can't wait to control a software looping rig with this thing (among many other things).
1010music’s Black our Blue Box?
Sure, it’ll control those boxes.
I previously used "BOME MIDI Translator Pro" to enable a "small" controller to control up to at least 10.000 parameters. It was for the most part somewhat intuitive to use, and i had it programmed so that when i pushed the button to select a certain plugin that i wanted to control, it would also do a mouse click on the plugin in my DAW, and bring it up on the display. So pretty awesome if you ask me - but the "Faderfox EC4" have very similar functionality, in addition to that freakishly awesome display..! God how i have waited for something like this. I had started looking into hardware options, but now i can finally take advantage of owning Komplete 11 Ultimate. Was thinking of getting Maschine MK3, but i think maybe ill just get this one and a good sequencer. Already got a nice keyboard and drum pads.
Interesting but...400$ for Midi, knobs and a small display? C'mon...
I just saw the price. Too much
I was just going to look for the price, that's pretty steep.
no midi din for this price...
@@adamoliver82 it'a boutique manufacturer and there are no other such controllers this size and this robust. Faderfox boxes are well built pieces of gear. But then, the price for North America is pretty high compared to the European price (300 Euros incl. tax).
Yeah, this is a couple of a days project with RasberryPi.
A very thorough review, thank you. As attractive as this is you've just reminded me of the functionality already available in some of the controllers at my disposal, if only I could hire a knowledgeable youngster to program the darn things :)
Took 200 years for someone to make this...
Faderfox is the real G bro... his knobs also feel like butter.
Hillarious how the comments are full of people with with "much better ideas". If you need a spoon, why get angry with the guy who makes forks? Jeez.
nice, but too small and too expensive. A modern version of the Behringer BCR2000 with a decent display would be ideal.
This! I was just saying this to a friend.
pppl have no idea how expensive qulaity contrrollers are, this is dirt cheap let me tell you.
real high end would cost like a car for this unit
It's almost worth it. But considering what's available in CPUs and oLED screens, this could have been so much more with more information and higher resolution.
It's pretty annoying that MIDI, which was developed to be a universal standard, is no longer universally standard.
Did faderfox addressed any of those cons?
My sole disappointment is the global pushbutton function assignment. I'll buy this as soon as that's fixed.
I’ve been waiting for exactly this for a while... Perfect for controlling the mixer on the MPC 2500 with JJOS. The knobs are even laid out to match the pads / tracks and can be made to mimic the 4 x banks of pads on the MPC. First saw it and thought ‘aw, this will be USB only’ but no, actual DIN outputs too. The final sell for me was the encoders over pots. Perfect.
As an MPC1000 JJOS user, this comment sold me on this product!
I’d love to do tests with this on on iOS. Would be perfect for something like miRack. Being able to label stuff like that is invaluable.
Btw, forgot to say, great review! 👊🏼
I’d watch that!! Btw.....you both do fantastic reviews
Longer names could be displayed using scrolling, maybe with adjustable modes. Once, bouncing, scrolling, fast, slow and so on... I think that this can be implemented into future firmware updates.
A year and a half later and no significant firmware upgrades. :(
Totally a missed opportunity in the limitations with the encoder push behavior being a global setting.
Man, that global setting seems to be the deal breaker. Still no update?🤔
So you only have number of 16 knobs for this whole thing??
@@soacker25they will sell more units this way 😂
build the device bigger and with display direct over the knobs!
16 little screens would make it expensive I bet. From a small company too! I bet it'd pricey :)
Feel free to make and market your own 🙄
Great review 👍 But it's a bit unclear how the push encoder function works. More specifically can an encoder be reseted to zero with an encoder push?
I am on the verge of replacing my BCR2000 with this only because of the screen. But for me the "reset to zero on encoder push" is a must.
Think you could use it with fireball or lemon drop?
sure
Cool! Can it receive MIDI program change messages to trigger Setup/Group changes from another piece of gear (ie a sequencer changing to a different pattern)?
its amazing when used with an octatrack ;)
In my opinion it would have been much better with a controller with a 2 line display running over each row of encoders, to show both parameter name and value + it would then offer more room for parameter name. And it would offer a bit more space between the lines of encoders for easier access, and the overall size would not have to be that much bigger.
The midi over TRS, could be useful, if it could connect directly over a compact cable, that one might be able to pick up at an electronics store, rather than music store, but, as is it only work sometimes... if they can't switch between the two connection versions, in software, at this point a full DIN, would have been much better.
Built by a small company like faderfox, such a solution would probably be more expensive, but offer better workflow, thus motivating a higher cost.
When using a single display, there are also some rather cheap touch-enabled screens, that could offer advantages, in that they could offer additional parameter control, and qwerty text input, adaptable on screen buttons, and quick selection.
If it has been a matter of build with what you got, in that they already had product(s) with the same display, and had an over-stock, or could re-use the same firmware, to reduce the cost, that display and that end price, would have made more sense to me. As it is now, I can't follow their logic. I still interested since there is little competition out there, I just feel it could have been better, even if that meant paying a bit extra.
Thank you. But can this ec4 control parameters of such various synths like korg poly800/dw8000 or roland jx3p??
No, it can't.
I love it that the editor is browser based. That way you are not limited to Mac or Windows only. For me as Linux user a BIG plus!
And I love the fact they put midi in/out for 5-pin DIN instead of only USB midi on this device.
But the price... I know, you get a lot of functionality, but a controller for € 299,-?
Not worth the price and like many others have said this needs far better screen facilities, better midi connectivity etc, I would sooner spend a little more and use something like BlackBox which will do all this and give you a lot more too for a portable size.
thanks loopop for another great video. As soon as I saw it, I ordered one of these and this thing is amazing! The ability to label controls along with having 16 X 16 unique controller groups of 16 controls makes it sooo much more useful than standard MIDI control surfaces. I am using it to control multiple hardware and software synths, each with their own unique set of control groups. So, for example, in Diva, I use one of the 16 Diva-specific sets of 16 controls to control Diva’s 3VCO (mini Moog -style) module, another set for Diva’s Ladder Filter module, etc. and because I have 16 sets of 16 controls dedicated to Diva, I can dedicate a unique set to each of Diva’s unique oscillator, filter and envelope modules. In total, I think Diva has > 16 unique modules, but I don’t use them all, so it’s not an issue for me. Because I have a unique EC4 control set for each module, I can orient the mapping of controls so that the layout of each module’s controls on my computer screen is close to the physical orientation of the controls on the EC4. This allows me to find the right control by muscle memory, as well as looking at the labels… A huge advantage. In addition to having a control set for each module, I have one “Live Set” control set for Diva that covers controls that I most often use in a live setting (Bank/Patch selection, Cutoff, resonance, ADSR, etc.). I have one of these “Live Sets” for each of my synths, each with some synth-specific control labels and CC/NRPN assignments, but mostly the number and position of controls are the same, so I can use my muscle memory to locate the right control within these “Live Sets” across all my synths.
Another thing that I appreciate about EC4 is that it’s small enough to fit in a space on my Novation SL mark II MIDI controller, and with a little bit of Velcro, the EC4 stays there and has extended immensely the MIDI controls of my SL Mark II, which, thanks to the great DriveByMoss script, are all mapped to control my DAW, Bitwig.
I’m in MIDI control heaven! :-).
The only thing that I think it would make it more heavenly is if the EC4 controls could function in a “pick up“ mode and display values fed back from the device...both of which I think would require two way communication between EC4 and the MIDI device. I’m guessing this would add greatly to the cost of such a device… If it is even possible to do. I’m guessing such features are probably only possible in a controller such as those made by SoundForce, which are probably a better choice if you only need to control a specific synth... but that’s not my case.
Thank you for adding your comment, I think you succeeded doing exactly what I'd like to, a synth per control group, being able to keep multiple synths on board. That's heavens! I just couldn't see the possibility for programming sysex msgs, as some midi implementation requires it. Kindly confirm this is actually possible. Thanks a lot in adv. !!!
Cool little gadget... if only could hold the parameters value after powering off/on
$450 after Tax?!!! I’m OUT Way too pricey🤬
not even real midi and only one adaptor, somebody wants us to pay for his new Mercedes xD
Agreed, when controller became more expensive than DAW or to controlled hardware devices
Where did $450 come from? Faderfox's website says €261 without VAT which translates to about $285 US. Still not cheap, but far better than $450!
Ash you need to add transportation cost, customs and duty plus US retailer margin
Oh, I'd just try and order directly from them. $30 to FedEx, and it is a musical instrument from Germany (an NTR - Normal Trade Relations country) tax import rate would be 2.9%. So overall a bit under $325 shipped with taxes all in.
Help me Loopop (or anyone else)...you're my only hope! (Mathias from Faderfox doesn't know the answer to this as he's not familiar with Logic)…
Needing some help with this (potentially great) unit...I use this with Logic Pro X. When I create settings for Logic’s EQ, reverb etc, the EC4 display updates the
values when I go between instances of those native plugins. However when I use plugin synths such as Omnisphere 2 and Repro1 etc and go between instances
of them, the values are not updating on the EC4, therefore the data values jump each time as they’re not reflecting the newly selected instance of the plug-in.
Should it be possible for it to work the same as the native Logic plug-ins? The manual states "Any incoming MIDI feedback data will reflect to the encoders and
displays. So the encoders can work without value jumps if your software/hardware is able to send back remote data.” but I’m not sure if I’m missing something
here with the EC4 set up or settings within software synths or Logic settings. I’m unsure if it’s even possible with plug-ins such as Omnisphere 2 etc.
Basically I can get the plug-ins to learn the midi control, but values do not update going between instances.
Any help would greatly be appreciated.
sorry not familiar with logic either - perhaps someone will chime in
@@loopop Thanks. I'm hoping so...battling with technology is always an inspiration killer.
check out "Midi Fighter Twister". I bought it for the LED rings and versatile configuration options. The endless encoders are also clickable with various modes. Each knob can be mapped twice, toggle or hold to send another cc, individually colored and you have 4 banks of 16 knobs (and that times 2 if you shift-map). The best aspect of it is that it will reflect the current value visually, hence there are no value jumps, and you have some performance features like "click to reset". You can also add a "detent" if needed. It doesn't have a screen but you can color code it in a logical way. I think it is the perfect companion for a DAW and very affordable.
yep, this is what I use and the deep level of customization is appreciated. Love the click to reset, and the center detent is perfect for EQs.
the EC4 shows the feedback data too, also as bar graph with a resolution of 20 segments. further you have a selectable MinMax function on the push buttons to reset or set to max or set to center
@@faderfox1452 thanks for chiming in. Can bar mode display bipolar values? Where as 0 would be a single line in the middle, -63 would be half the line, going toward the left, and +63 would be half the line going toward the right. Would be great for EQs if it can do this.
Unfortunately, it doesn't have a MIDI port, so there's no way to use it exclusively with hardware. It also doesn't have a display to indicate what each knob controls.
Problem with MIDI Fighter Twister is that you have to memorize what knob is mapped to what parameter. The colors help but you still really have to use it regularly to be able to remember your mappings. Or resort to writing down a mapping, which is what I usually did, but having to constantly reference a chart kinda kills the efficiency boost of the device. The other caveat with Twister is that it blasts a flood of messages across at least 6 MIDI channels, which is problematic when using it to control hardware devices in a heavily populated MIDI network. I still like the Twister a lot, but I ordered one of these EC4s a couple weeks ago and looking forward to integrating it into my setup.
Personally, I am excited for the future of midi and midi controllers. The prices will work themselves out once we get companies realizing the meta market for building flexible midi controllers, especially to accomodate the deluge of affordable synths and hardware coming out. Space is limited so a controller that can act as a flexible master controller that can easily be customized and controlled from the hardware to quickly switch from handling one piece of gear to the next - it will be a big value add to studios and bedrooms studios. Here's to hoping manufacturers and designers don't forget about sysex and NRPNs..... make me a Native Instruments Jam mixed with a novation Zero SL MK2 and configure it to work with all the future functions of MIDI 2.0 and that will make my nerdy midi controller dreams come true :)
Yeah I have a remote 25, way more knobs and faders and two screens. I can store 40 synth settings on it this seems a little over priced for less functionality
You're paying for the compactness of faderfox looks like. Remote 25 is huge
Unfortunately they stopped making those years ago.
@@SnaFOo75 You're paying (too much) for the (too much) compactness of faderfox looks like. It doesn't seem hard to accidentally turn knobs you don't want to turn, looking how close they are each other: the whole thing is smaller than his hand.
@@paolomoretti9291 ya you're right. It's for little people
I can see this partnering my Elektron Rytm Mk2 very nicely. So reasonably priced too. Awesome. 🖤
Did you buy it? Good with ARMK2?
I detest mini jack MIDI adapters.
WORD!
Finally indeed 🖥️! Very well thought out MIDI controller/ comprehensive review as per usual.
These Faderfox controllers are really cute but they're so expensive.
300 euro isn't that bad for a versatile device such as this ec4. I don't have it spare, but still it's about the amount I'd pay for a device like this.
@@MarceldeJong I'd go for it if it was 200 maybe. The problem is that even if it can store 4000 commands it takes some flicks and presses to actually reach them. Instead you could buy a device with more physical knobs and do it without having to wander through the menus.
In the US it's priced within $50 of a Faderport 8. I own one and would never trade its motorised faders and dedicated e-scribble strips for small buttons and a tiny screen.
I still have a beloved Novation SL25 MK II, which gives me far more encoders, a keyboard as well as 8 (non-motorised) faders, dozens of buttons and even a few pads. The MK III upgrades to multiple scribble strips as well, but drops the 25 key model, and gives HUI compatibility as well. The 49 key model is within $50 of the EC4 and far more capable. It's connectivity includes USB; MIDI In, Out, Out 2/Thru; three pedal inputs; Analogue Clock Out; and two CV Pitch, Gate, and Mod outputs.
@@DavidHHermanson more capable perhaps but less travel friendly
@@MarceldeJong True - I now work in a fixed studio setup. The SL25 was bought with travel in mind, (and worked well - controlling both software synths and a few homebrew gadgets), but I wouldn't have wanted a 49 or 61 for that.
I just bought one of these because it does a few special things.
PC, labels, CC, NRPN and it's small and manageable with encoders.
I got it cheap so am happy, I wanted the other one but it''s almost 2x the price, the one you have helped work on.
I am just happy now i can get to my AS1 hidden features without a PC, and that's priceless.
novation remote zero mk1? 10 years ago? 2 huge lcd screen ok no oled. portable. automap was terrible but otherwise it was great
Isn't this just an intermediate level arduino project that looks pretty?
Lots of stuff is a arduino / raspberry Pi project. It's all about effort and time I don't want to put in to implement. You may feel differently but I like to play, not build.
Endless knobs is, for me, a no go. Always. It is so unpractical.
Parameter pick up or jumps are unpractical :) totally depends on your needs.
@@basicnoise turning knobs 10 times to reach min/max value is horrible, you still have to look at some screen to see where you are at. Knobs with start and end IS the only practical solution.
@@SebastienLeger exactly the way my first contact with encoders was and I hated it. But there are controllers that have led rings and one turn is one turn. The midi fighter twister for example. It's my most beloved controller since years now.
I use a UC4 to control an H9000. Very slick. I too would like to see the UC4 which has 8 faders and 8 knobs upgraded to the OLED screen.
Wow. Actually i kinda need something like this. Thank you. :D
Would be nice for my dozen+ iOS synths... 3 or 4 which are active in AUM at one time.
Hmmm... this appears to be another thing I need but can't afford.
Evergreen comment
@@maryepworth still true
This is exactly what I'm working on on a Teensy Arduino lol
Keep going! Many more improvements still to be made.
Hi, any links about your project? Thanks
i think it's a great tool, really
and yes it's a small company to
but i think they should ship it with two instead of one Midi adaptor
just saying
Great review as usual! However, I will NEVER spend over $200 for something like this. Ridiculously priced at over $400. $400! Sure! If it also had an audio processor and a hard drive! I’ll stick with novation’s clunky zero. I’ll say this just leaves field wide open for someone else to come in with a very similar product for half the price. We’ll be waiting...
Faderfox is a one man company, so if you consider the amount of work required to run a company + design the devices, create firmware updates etc, the price is understandable. Trying to make a living making controllers is not that easy. For those who can't afford something like this and would rather buy something mass produced and cheaper, they can do that :). I bought this the day it was released and actually buying these things is the only way the price can go down :)
K0001 That’s cool! I’m just saying the field is still wide open. He could triple his profit by halving his markup I’d bet.
K0001 Anyway; props to Faderfox for stepping up and offering a high quality product that EVERYONE wants. I’m just saying the field is still wide open at that price.
I’ve been using the EC4’s predecessor the PC4 to control my Zoia for a few months now. It really opens up the possibilities of complex patches that you can “play” in the Zoia. The Faderfox stuff is pricey, but quality doesn’t come cheap!
@@existenceternal I use the Faderfox TRS-B to DIN adapter with a DIN MIDI cable and back to the TRS-A adapter needed by the Zoia. I'd like to get a TRS B to A adapter cable to simplify things, but this works fine for now
Word Yes it would! And now I’ve ordered some. Thanks for the tip
This looks nice to control my ES-9 iPad effects but since this and the iPads connect via USB it would mean active hub with power again ... the ES-8 and now ES-9 were me trying to get away from too many cables and power supplies ... hm.
thank you (but a bit less hand shaking and moving on screen would be better for me to concentrate)
I’m a few years late but if ya haven’t seen Faderfox made exactly what ya asked for. Their UC4 has 8 faders and 8 encoders on it and I’d love to see your thoughts on it!
I think it was available back then too. It's cool and I'm sure it works well, but what I particularly liked about this one is the screen that shows multiple names and values at the same time. But faders are useful too!
Any thoughts on a comparison to the midi fighter twister?
I’m thinking that the light rings around the knobs on the twister are in general a better representation of values when working with Ableton. You can map less values on the twister than on the ec4 but different mapping get uploaded in a second which means you can change it on the fly during a performance. I think the ec4 has the general advantage of working with hardware. As for Ableton, the twister definitely wins. And if one needs some cues about the mapped parameters - one can easily programme an m4l device to show some names on the computer screen every time you change the layout (if such a device doesn’t already exist).
Would be happy to hear what the community thinks.
i've been undecided about this lately! changing my view towards faderfox because the MFT doesnt have a firmware update in like what 8 years?
@@joaehun yeah that makes sense. They just keep coming up with new cases for the MFT but no firmware updates. What I really want to see is the ability to switch between an Ableton integrated script and the user mappings with the press of one of the side-buttons. On the arturia mini lab 3 you can switch between the Ableton script (which maps to the selected track) and the user mappings by pressing two pads.
@@joaehun EC4 had 1 bugfix firmware update since it came out..
Have anyone used this thing with Digitakt 2?
Looks very complicated, I’m cool
Nice bit of kit! It’s got me thinking of the untapped potential in a controller of this size and form factor. Would love to have one with a touchscreen taking up most of the upper portion (which would double as an X-Y controller) with built in smart features like sequencing, chord bank, arp, CC recording/playback, etc - maybe an open source platform, able to run custom third party extensions. Encoders that have at least one more axis of control (push/pressure control) .. MPE encoders ;)
iphone can do this with open stage control and bitwig with mossgraber script
stickers on nobs 4 life
This would be amazing for my Elektron boxes...
The screen reminded me of the Elektron boxes. This would be a perfect match.
their mx12 and pc12 controllers are actually the same size and shape as the Elektron boxes.
Dooooope...you're my Hero Loopop!! Xx
Looks interesting. I guess it can also make my Alesis Micron be controlled as if it was an Ion. Some Argentinian manufacturer makes dedicated controllers/programmers to do this very thing. It's half the price of this one, but it can only mimic one synth: if you then want it to control let's say a Microkorg, you have to reset the controller first, so it's not plug and play. And that switching you can do many times, but not infinitely. I've got many rompler modules from E-mu, and also the Korg T-rack and Yamaha TG-77. Can it control all of that, even FM?
yeah id like to know if it fits with a Micron, Old Yammy gear and JV-series...
Excellent. We need more of this sort of thing.
Great review of a very feature rich EC4 controller. The small size and label display make this a great and unique investment. Have one on order.
Here is a wish list (one can dream right :) :
1. Master/slave mode to support ganging of multiple slave encoders per Group
2. MSB/LSB (Bank Select/static) & Program Change/dynamic via single encoder (with min/max support)
3. User Programmable custom midi string per encoder (Perhaps already supported in Learn mode?)
4. User Programmable custom midi string on depress per encoder (Perhaps already supported in Learn mode?)
5. Browser support to transmit midi string to EC4 when in learn mode (verses sysex dumps).
The EC4 controller clearly supports and satisfies 1000s of general midi function use cases. The ones mentioned above are perhaps outliers that may already exist in the product or could exist in the future based on user demand.
There is so much to explore with what the EC4 can already do! Looking forward to getting one in a few weeks. Gratefully.
Thanks! PRGC+MSB/LSB indeed would be nice, as would immediate browser changes (there's something scary about replacing the contents of the entire device...). Let me know which MIDI strings you'd like me to send and I can try... or maybe Faderfox can comment? I've seen them respond to other comments.
@@loopop While it is unreasonable to anticipate unlimited use cases for a controller, the venerable 20 year old plus Peavy PC-1600x has held it's own. Although it is an "obsolete" FADER controller (which lacks all the benefits of "modern standalone midi controllers ie: portability, USB support, great display technology, warranty, etc.), the 1600 still has quite a bit of "juice" even when compared to todays standalone controllers. To get an idea of the types of strings I'm referring to feel free to reference Appendix B of the either the PC-1600 or 1600x PDF here:
assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/80301652.pdf ; 1600
assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/80304309.pdf ; 1600x
Comparing apples to oranges I suppose. The EC4 and 1600 may complement each other well. Reflecting deeper into the 1600 User Manual makes one appreciate how clever the developers were over 20 years ago. I will take a look at the new FaderFox Faders next to see how they compare to the "obsolete" Peavy :)
I had a look - probably not... definitely not for long sysex strings as that's not mentioned anywhere in the documentation. 1600x looks awesome. If it had a per encoder/fader LCD it would be quite compelling even without USB
whoa that one angle is trippy...
Seems like an awful lot of cognitive overload to bring into a creative session. I'd be totally happy with just a cheap, reliable board of a dozen or so encoders - maybe with few stored mappings to easily switch between VSTs or whatever.
@@yarobrock When is the test, Professor?
@@yarobrock F off, grammar nazi, nobody cares
Hi! I’m saying that in loopop voice. Anybody have any experience ordering one of these? The US dealer is charging close to twice what the website says. So has anyone ordered directly from faderfox?
I ordered mine from musicstore.com. It cost about $350… Which included shipping and euro to dollar conversion. this was the best deal I could find a few weeks back… But it was worth every penny!
Yep, wire transfer through Wise directly to FaderFox for $365 USD out the door.... Smooth sailing, which is great because nobody has any of these right now except FaderFox 🤙🌌
No sysex? Would have been nice as an editor for older synth.
if they add sysex support I am a buyer. Its worth then €€€€ to get access to lots of older synths then!
MAAAAANNNNNNNNNNN! I love these detailed breakdowns!!!
wow......mind blowing....another amazing vid...
Novation Remote Zero, anyone?
Exactly. Yes, it is bigger, but I just bought one on Reverb for $30. Works great, and does the exact same thing, plus with MIDI DIN connections.
not comparable, faderfox is high quality
I’ll stick with my novation remote zero. Though I like how cute this little guy is
Nice review as always ! Unfortunately you went over the question I had ! ^^ Can it merge MIDI input with its MIDI datas to the MIDI output and the USB MIDI output ?
I think I did cover that? Anyway the answer is yes - it can merge USB and MIDI in to either output or both (it's in the settings page)
@@loopop Well at 13:20 you mention the menu briefly, I wanted to be sure. Thanks for the reply ! 👍
of course you can merge midi / usb in ports to both midi / usb outs...see setup mode (encoder 1)
One of the best tutorial I've ever seen. Great! :-)
I'm looking for a cheaper option with similar features. Korg nanoKONTROL 2 doesn't have any indicators at all. Behringer x-touch mini has levels but no labels. AKAI MPD 226 only has 4 knobs and 3 banks. The minilab 3 and mpk mini plus both have 8 endless encoders and banks (mpk with custom labels) but the controller I'm about to buy is the keystep 37 for its led per key, custom scales, and strum. So is there anything like ec4 that's new since early 2020? When I buy I'll make sure to use your affiliate link. Thanks so much for the comprehensive and exhaustive info.
Does this have standalone sysex programming? This would be perfect for Motif XF Perf mode.
Thanks for having me want to own this as well.
I appreciate your videos so much
The fact that the push function is a global setting really ruins it for me. 🤦♂️
Does anyone know if it’s been fixed with a firmware update?
Cool device. $300 is a fair price. Unfortunately it's currently made of unobtanium.
I’d like to use this with an iPhone while also connecting my iPhone to either an audio interface or Digitakt, also in audio interface mode. Can someone recommend a decent usb hub that would make connecting the iPhone to the EC4+Digitakt+added usb midi controller ?
I might want to use Digitakt only to pass midi back and forth from Digitakt to sequence some ios synths and use a separate audio interface.
Im thinking AUM on the phone will let me do all the setup. The iOS device would be the usb host for the rest of the gear. So I think I just need a good usb hub.
I also have a Blokas Midi hub which will be part of this setup as well.
Thanks
I’d love to have this but more than any gear shown on this channel I would just love to have the free time to learn these things and be able to enjoy them more because of all the knowledge.
Don't get me wrong, I hear you. We all struggle with the time issue, but I recommend just to take baby steps. It's super easy to get overwhelmed by all the information out there nowadays. I have a fulltime job and a child, wife and many other activities which I'm also super passionate about and which all require my time. I still have had the time to learn new stuff in music. And I just recently released my first album (you can find it on Soundcloud and Bandcamp with my name, if I peaked your interest) and have released many tracks before that. I've just taken one step at the time. I recommend writing it down which things you'd like to learn and in which order - think about it really, which order would make the most sense to YOU and benefit you the most in order to accomplish your OWN goals. For example: it usually makes sense to start learn about mixing (and mastering), when you actually have something to mix and so on. Hope this helps, motivates or gives you some ideas.
This said, in all honesty, I've also made some sacrifices, mostly in my social life, in order to have that needed time. This is something many people are not willing to do, but life is unfortunately about choices. :( That said, I'd be down, if someone would sell extra freetime. ;)
@@tomikokki7626 Very well said. 👍👍👍
The intro sounded like a SUNN O))) Song
Just what my Yamaha Reface DX needs!! Exciting.
I'm wondering about the DX7.
If it just wouldn't cost as much as a brand new Reface DX...
Haha! True. Looks like a solid build though and could be seen as a long term investment as it can be used on all MIDI kit. ...until MIDI v2 comes out.
Great video. Thank you. Is it possible to send a custom Sysex message ?
hey such am awesome vid! so im actually using a faderfox uc4 and im running into weird behavior. im slaving ableton and a model samples to an erm midiclock. if i unplug and replug the faderfox while the midiclock is running there will be a bump in the tempo which isnt ideal for live gig senarios. loopop do you know how this is possible? im using the ableton script from Mathias (tha UC4 script is selected in the midi preferences for this) and only Remote is turned on (Sync and Track are turned off!). its a mystery to me… thanks so much!!
I could well see this pair with an Octatrack 😊
check out MIDI Fighter Twister, along with a USB MIDI host (Kenton, etc.). You won't have to deal with the system wide push button functionality. You lose the screen but gain LED indicators, LED color bars, and a slightly higher level of customization, on a more per encoder basis.
@@AdamJayTechnoElectro I was aware of the midi fighter twister, but never considered it for the OT :) It could indeed be a match !
But I've got to say, for me any setup for the OT involving a midi host is a deal breaker... I like the simplicity of having a native midi device that I can just output with a din plug. On thing less to carry around (and possibly forget)
@@MarcDupuis50400 I feel you but with a Faderfox, there's not much difference since it also uses 1/8" MIDI dongles, and USB for power. I chose the Twister over the PC4 (at the time) with this in mind. The USB on the host powers the Twister, so it's literally trading one box for 1/8" midi dongles (which could also be forgotten)
@@AdamJayTechnoElectro Fair point :)
@@AdamJayTechnoElectro what do you think, the Twister is better then this ? And why?
What are the pressable knobs for? Besides choosing menu options, I so wish they could be used for sending MIDI CCs. Would that be possible to add with a firmware update?
Lovely gadget. The screen and the size make it super useful. The big problem with it for me is the price. I haven’t seen it for under $300, which to me, is high for a controller without keys (or more complex pitch control interfaces). I’ll have to stick with my cheap Arturia Beatstep and sticky labels.
Forgot you could use the beatstep like that, I've only ever used the sequencer! GAS temporarily averted
If you order direct, it's 251€, which is ~$277. Unfortunately, shipping is a whopping 50€ (~$56). The total is still high, but it beats the $399 it costs to buy it in the US.
this is DIRT CHEAP, people have no clue whatsoever about hardware and it's cost, this is why 99,99% of all controllers are toy quality crap that is completely useless.
Need to show how it work with VST synth like arutria dx7 ! The market really dont have norm controller with more knob's for control vst synth with so many many parametrs!
Hi guys, is it possible to send midi program change by pressing the encoders? Thanks
Anyone know how this compares to the Electra one? Other than being cheaper...
Hmmm, with Ableton, is it limited to only controlling the first 16 tracks? Or is there a way it can shift past the 16th track?
sadly the screen is just too small.. four letters per parameter? .. please give at least ten and arrange the screen like the MPCX next the button would be a killer
Why did it take until 2020 to get a basic midi controller with screen...
I wish the display could be a min, max. I might want to control euclidean fill etc and my destination may map the full midi range to say, 16. No way to linearly scale the display while still sending 0-127? Bonus would be to support curves as well, ie. frequency.
Does anyone know if this unit can control more than one box at a time? I would like to have my Digitakt and Syntakt controlled by one instead of having to buy 2.
Did they implement any of the firmware suggestions?
Disappointing that it’s TRS B - given that the midi association standardised this a year back.
The standard also calls for a 2.5 mm jack, which practically nobody uses. The whole TRS midi thing is still a mess unfortunately. I wonder why TRS-A to TRS-B cables aren't sold yet, they're very easy to make and I'm sure there is some demand by now.
who cares, midi is ancient and obsolete anway
Hi ! does anyone know if I can map this to control an ssl type channel strip plugin/switch from track to track efficiently ? (in Ableton)
is it possible to change to the different groups by sending Program changes to the ec4? cheers