Quest for the Best: Choosing the Right MIDI Controller for Your Studio

No matter the size of your studio — from a bedroom recording rig to a dedicated sound space — a MIDI controller is an integral tool for most sonic setups, allowing for diverse methods of interfacing with your sound when recording, writing, ideating, or experimenting. Yet as loosely as the term “MIDI controller” is used when talking about building or expanding your studio space, it’s not always obvious which controller is best for your artistic needs. Daniel Fisher, Sweetwater's synthesis scholar, is joined by Creative D’Will, our baron of beat crafting, to explore the MIDI market to show you how to choose the best MIDI controller for your studio. Check it out!

00:00 — Intro Daniel Fisher & D’Will
00:53 — Daniel’s Preferences for Controllers
02:08 — D’Will’s Preferences for Controllers
02:41 — Octave Buttons and Number of Keys
03:24 — Pad Controllers
03:47 — Mapping Controls to MIDI CC
04:38 — Battery Powered or USB Powered
05:51 — Polyphonic Aftertouch
07:51 — USB MIDI vs. 5-pin DIN
08:49 — Controlling Your DAW
10:12 — Knobs vs. Faders vs. Sliders
10:38 — Moog Theremini as Controller
11:12 — Locking Controller to a Scale
11:48 — Transport Controls
12:30 — Keys vs. Pads for Drums
12:48 — Wind Controllers
13:11 — Arpeggiators & Sequencers
13:46 — Note Repeat
14:17 — Dedicated DAW Controllers
15:03 — MIDI vs. Control Voltage
16:01 — CV Pitch, Gate, and Mod
16:53 — MIDI Controllers Wrap-up
17:56 — Thanks for Watching!

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[TheWongKeys]

Daniel Fisher really needs to take more pride in what he has done for the synth industry! He may not be a "keyboardist" but his education in helping us synth nerds definitly deserves credit.

[jamescave]

Great video. Thank you guys.
Thank you SWEETWATER!!

[raffaelesantabarbara]

Thank you, guys. Although I knew all these things, I enjoyed it very much.
It always feels nice to refresh your mind.

[vlove]

Great video as usual from Sweetwater! Personally, I’m not a a keyboard player, but I keep 88 MIDI keyboard in my home studio because I do know keyboard players and when they come over to put down a track, they have the 88 keys to do it with.

[xprophet]

Mr. Fisher is a great keyboardist. He is far too modest.

[bboymac]

This was dope! Hope to see you guys at NAMM 💪🏽

[nickdestruct]

My 2 favorite guys at sw other than my sales engi josh 😊🤘🏻💯

[smokey]

The new MK3 S-Series is great but NI needs to give us a firmware update that provides Maschine integration!