There are many different digital audio workstations and software combinations that can create some great music. But few of them are as iconic as Logic Pro. Through the years it has become one of the favorite DAWs in the world. Logic Pro X is a great tool to produce music, but if you are becoming serious about production, then a control surface is a must-have.
Today we are going to look at some reasons why you might need a control surface, and check out some of the best control surfaces for Logic Pro X.
Why Get a Control Surface?
I started my love of sound and music production in my bedroom. And back then I was creating some pretty incredible stuff with just the most basic of equipment. And today the software and basic equipment are pretty incredible. If you are producing your own music and performing on your own, then you might not even need a control surface yet. Your computer and a DAW could work perfectly fine.
But it is when you start to produce other people and especially groups that you really can’t live without a control surface. This is a powerful tool that will give you massive amounts of creative freedom. It also allows you to have much better control over your DAW.
Computer software does allow you to do a lot of things, but a control surface is much more powerful and more sensitive than a mouse. At the same time, almost any control surface will work with Logic Pro X. It is popular and most companies will ensure that their products are compatible with this DAW.
But some work better than others. There are those that are great for all aspects of music recording, others that are better on your budget, and even some that you can travel with if you are going to produce in a different setting. Let’s look at some of the best control surfaces you can find for Logic Pro X.
1. Akai Pro MIDIMix
- What I Love: This is a great budget control surface
- What I Dislike: The knobs are hard to use
Not only does this control surface work well with Logic Pro X, but it has a great price range and a lot of features going for it. First, it has one of the best price tags that you can find on a control surface. And it gives a lot of value for money.
It doesn’t feel like you bought a cheap product. Instead, it has a solid build, a great feature of most of Akai’s products. All the different parts of the machine feel high quality and you won’t be disappointed with how it looks. It is an attractive control surface.
The knobs are one of the only parts that I don’t love. They are a little on the small side, if you have bigger hands you might struggle to use them. And I am also not the biggest fan of the gel buttons that Akai uses on some of their products.
But for the most part, this is a great control surface. The setup is really easy, and you can use it straight out of the box. It is also small enough to fit nicely on a desk, and it is even small enough to be portable. If you are a DJ and need to take your control surface with you to events, then this is a great product to buy.
2. PreSonus Faderport
- What I Love: A very simple design that is easy to use
- What I Dislike: The buttons are slightly hard to press
This control surface has a very basic and simple design that is easy to use. It is made to work along with your keyboard and not to replace it completely. There aren’t a lot of buttons and screens but the encoders are awesome. It is really innovative and satisfying. It will move anything that you need to. Like mixing different genres.
Along with this, it has a single mechanized fader. It is smooth to use and has great motion. It is also touch sensitive and that is a great feature to use for the Logic Pro X. This control surface gives you a lot of control and it is great for an intuitive producer.
It has tight integration right out of the box and is easy to use. There is another control surface that is small enough to fit on any surface and that can be taken with you wherever you need to go.
One of the very few downsides to this control surface is that the buttons are a little bit hard to press. It also isn’t compatible with all DAWs. But it does work well with Logic Pro X.
3. Behringer XTOUCH
- What I Love: It gives an incredible performance
- What I Dislike: It feels a little bit thick and clunky
This is another control surface that is perfect for plug-and-play with Logic Pro X. This is one of the best performers on the list. It has a bunch of different knobs, faders, and buttons that work well and are sensitive enough to be easily used. It makes for a great control surface for professional producers and will give you almost any feature that you need to use.
It even has nine motorized faders. One of the very few control surfaces that have that massive number of faders available. It gives you loads of options and a lot of control. You can make vocals sound fuller or warmer and create different sounds.
It also has loads of options when it comes to connectivity. It can be connected to your DAW via a USB port. It also has other USB ports that allow connecting to many other things. It also gives you an Ethernet Port and other connectivity options too. If there is other gear that you want to connect to your control surface then you will be able to connect it to this device.
The drawback to this control surface is its size. If you want a control surface that you can take with you then this is not the one that you should go for. It is definitely not portable. It is pretty thick and chunky, especially compared to some of the other slimline control surfaces that are available.
Even when you use it on a desk it will take up a lot of your space. You might even need to sit a bit higher than usual to be able to use all of the features. But considering the number of features that they have packed into this control surface, you can’t expect it to be a small unit.
Some Of The Best Control Surface
If you want to take your music production to a whole new level, then you will need a great control surface to combine with your DAW. Logic Pro X already gives you a lot of options and features to mix some amazing sounds. But when you add a control surface that combines well with this DAW, you have the makings of a strong system.
You will be able to have close control over the exact sound that you want to create, whether that be for you or producing other musicians. You will have the tools to create something really special and then the rest is up to you.