<p>Q: ."What are your opinions on using control surfaces during the mix? I know a lot of this stuff is subjective, but since you've worked with many systems I'm curious what your opinion of fader controllers is."</p>
<p>A: My relationship with hardware control has had a bit of an odd history, and it probably bears going into that a bit in relation to this question, so bear with me a moment... I actually started learning about recording using the Roland VS-series multitrackers: first the original VS880, then the VS2480 (which I still own, and have only recently retired as a location recorder after more than a decade of trusty service). Those machines had an automation system that was as clunky as hell, and the only way to get them to work well was to input automation data points by hand with the data wheel. Those are a few days of my life I'll never get back!
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