Behringer X-Touch One Universal Control Surface: hands-on DAW control
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Behringer has quietly introduced the X-Touch One Universal Control Surface, a tool designed to enhance your DAW workflow with tactile hardware control.
Working over HUI and Mackie control protocols, the unit has a touch-sensitive motorized 100 mm fader, a rotary control with LED collars, an 8-segment LED meter, 34 illuminated function buttons, a jog wheel, and transport controls for playback and recording.
The controller connects to Mac and PC computers over USB MIDI and also has a built-in 2-port USB hub that lets you connect two other controllers. There are LCD strips as well, showing the currently selected track and navigation information.
Behringer’s creation comes with pre-made overlays for the more popular DAWs out there, such as Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Studio One, Abletone Live, Reaper, and Cubase. It can be freely MIDI-mapped to whatever application you are using as well.
The X-Touch certainly looks functional and sturdy. For USD 150, it comes across as a good option for supplementing the typical mouse and keyboard control paradigm. As with existing similar products, the aim here is for the controller to put important functionality at your fingertips and provide enough visual feedback to let you operate your DAW with a reasonable degree of confidence.
Logic Pro owners may also already be accustomed to using their iPads as touch-screen controllers, thanks to Apple’s own Logic Remote application. Ableton, as you probably know, manufactures its custom Push 2 Live controller which turns the DAW into what can be considered an actual musical instrument. Hardware control surfaces are proving popular with users, and Behringer’s entry certainly has potential given its affordable price and many pre-made control overlays.
But there aren’t many products out there competing in this category of one-fader hardware channel controllers. One is the PreSonus FaderPort, which has less functionality for the same price. If you’re a Cubase user, there’s the venerable CC121, which costs more thas twice as much.
Behringer’s controller is available for pre-order via the company’s dealers.
More Information
- Manufacturer’s product page
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3 responses to “Behringer X-Touch One Universal Control Surface: hands-on DAW control”
I hope it has a better ( decent ) jog-wheel than the XTOUCH …
Hi – I have the Behringer Xtouch One – and it’s great. (I use it along side a Slate MTI2) I love having the transport and single fader available. (Especially when I don’t want the virtual faders on screen)
Two notes about your references to the Presonus Faderport. One – there is a new version which is $50 more than the Xtouch One but still has fewer features. Two – the older Faderport is still available and is $20 less than the Xtouch One.
It does not work for pro tools 10.3.10 I have tried over and over to get it to work and still nothing feels like a waste of money about now