- Product design has traditionally been only about optimising functionality, cost and manufacturing time. In the age of the multi-coloured iPod, however, customizability is increasingly a major factor, as the technology we use becomes more and more a part of our identity. Mathias Fuch, the designer of the Faderfox MIDI controllers, knows this. These five micromodules are compact pieces of kit which are intended to be combined in different ways, used with mixers or picked and chosen to fill out an existing controller setup in whatever way the user sees fit. Although they're geared largely towards use with Traktor, and therefore DJ-focused layout-wise, they can be used in all the usual programs that can be controlled with MIDI. And the more you use them, the more you realise the amount of thought that has gone into packing in as many functions as possible in a usable way, and into designs which make sense both when using one alone and when combining them with others from the range.
There are five to choose from. The DJ3 is a two channel DJ mixer clone with added transport buttons. The DX3 and DL3 include knobs for effect tweaking, and a section either for software-only deck functions such as pitch (DX3) or for looping work (DL3). The FT3, meanwhile, gives access to four decks at once, and the FX3 contains knobs and buttons for effect assignments. They all end in 3 which means, you guessed it, that this is the third generation of these critters, which have evolved from their initial focus as companions to Ableton Live. So instead of fascias full of knobs or buttons, and six-channel fader blocks, we've got more sophisticated combinations of controls each of which might appeal to a certain school of software jock. The joysticks are gone, and they all now have encoders to select and load tracks.
Faderfox FT3
Best of all, far more controls are available on each device than there are actual knobs, buttons and faders on the front. A shift button doubles up every action, but there's more to it than that. On the FT3, for example, there's one button for each deck, with indicator LEDs. And then for whichever deck is set, you have control over the EQs and filter using one set of four endless rotary encoders, with four other endless encoders selectable between each of four effects, deck or global parameters. Since the knobs also depress, and you've got the shift button, this gives eight knobs and eight buttons for each of your four effects, deck, global, and the EQ section. Starting off this can understandably get confusing, but the helpful presets which are included on disc are set out intuitively and you soon get the hang of it.
This condensed nature is something of a double-edged sword, though. Since the EQs for all decks are controlled from only three knobs which act on whichever deck is selected, you can't adjust the full equalisation of more than one deck simultaneously with just the FT3. 4xEQ Low and 4xfilter switches are handy innovations which open up control to either all of the low EQs or filter cutoff frequencies at the same time, but this doesn't really suffice. Also, the endless rotary faders, which act with acceleration (i.e. the twist speed helps determine how much the parameter is changed by) aren't particularly well suited to EQ control, despite push-button-zeroing. The answer, of course, is expansion, and the FX3 added on is a must for four-deck control in a classic manner (separate channel EQs and kill switches). At this point, things start to become expensive: These devices are not as cheap as their diminutive nature would have you believe, and there are more economic options out there which do the same thing.
Faderfox FX3
To weigh a certain combination up in these terms is missing the point however. You're paying for idiosyncratic design, remember, which the micromodules have in spades. This is immediately obvious from their playful crayon-box primary colours and pop-art lines. Like the aesthetics of Live, they suggest a fun approach to making music. You also can't forget their frequent boast: These are the world's smallest DJ controllers. Individuality is paired with quality, and the rubber pots, fingertip-sized buttons and smooth faders all feel durable and satisfying. Feedback data from the software is smoothly executed, and LEDs indicate things such as deck selected, effect preset number or kill switch state. They're class compliant, meaning plug and play, and a welcome upgrade from the second generation, for many, will be the USB rather than MIDI connection, with the according loss of a battery bay.
If you're not looking to tailor a creative combination of hardware controls, or a miniature gigging setup, you might be better off looking elsewhere. Akai's APC range sets the ideal base of an Ableton setup, M-Audio's X-Session Pro gives four-deck fader and EQ for $75 and Behringer's BCR2000 is a cheap block-of-knobs-and-buttons solution. The focus on Traktor control is pretty overt, although mapping software is provided to help you in other programs. All of these alternatives are, however, much larger than the Faderfoxes and even the disco neoned Akai range looks less cool. It's not only the size and looks that make them stand out, though. It's also the way the controllers are systematically configured, the modular nature and corresponding versatility, the whole experience of having them as part of your setup. In other words, their aesthetics, in the broadest, philosophical sense of the word, are unique. There's nothing out there like them.
Ratings:
COST: 3/5
VERSATILITY: 5/5
BUILD: 5/5
EASE OF USE: 4.5/5