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Yeah, you can't beat motorized faders for tactile feedback and multitouch, but they're expensive. A touchscreen has its advantages, but it can be less responsive and precise than a mouse. A Raven is a step up from a general purpose touch screen with the features Slate builds in for working with a DAW.
 
GlennO said:
Yeah, you can't beat motorized faders for tactile feedback and multitouch, but they're expensive. A touchscreen has its advantages, but it can be less responsive and precise than a mouse. A Raven is a step up from a general purpose touch screen with the features Slate builds in for working with a DAW.
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A Raven is nice as long as money is no object!

But I really don't find the lack of precision an issue. Plus correct me if I am wrong but a Raven's screen is no more precise than the touchscreen underlying it. My understanding is that the magic in the Raven is the drivers they use and map to different DAW functions. Example, long-press something and a window pops with a bigger rotary or slider that makes it easier to adjust using the touchscreen.

If I really didn't want to ever reach for a mouse I can accomplish pretty much the same thing on Windows by using "Microsoft Magnifier" (Winkey +/-). The only thing it can't do that a Raven can do is multitouch. I can still only drag one fader at a time (just like a mouse will only work one fader at a time). That isn't a limitation of the screen since it is 10 point multitouch - it is a limitation that Steinberg never bothered to implement multitouch inside Cubase.

Slate overlays a layer on top so they make multitouch work with Cubase for about $3K. Maybe I'll get one if I win the billion dollar Powerball prize! Otherwise I would rather buy another guitar. But until then my $350 touchscreen will keep me happier than mouse & keyboard alone.
 
I don't know, if I had a 10 point multitouch enabled touchscreen I would still prefer it to physical faders now. I love the way Cubase puts their meters right next to the faders. Also a touchscreen gives you a zoomable console so you can focus different views while working with different sections or tracks. Everything is right in front of you.

To my knowledge neither SSL or Avid does that. If the meters are not embedded into the faders then you have to look in 2 places at once. Cubase spoiled me on that one. With a touchscreen you don't lose that at all.
 
Rex Rox said:
Yes the glare on glossy screens is always an issue. I can't speak for the other brands but my Dell has anti-glare treatment which helps. It's still glossy but not so bad it bothers me. In a more flat orientation on your desk I would imagine overhead lighting could be an issue. I only use bounced lighting in my studio (torchieres with dimmable, full color LEDs controllable from my phone) so glare isn't an issue.

As far as precision goes it's plenty precise for mixing and recording (dragging faders, turning on/off monitor and record switches, etc.). You still have to go a mouse/keyboard for badly designed plugin interfaces. Some make the buttons and sliders ridiculously small. No touch screens have the precision for those.

15 to 20 years ago, I used to have a Tascam FW 1082 interface (like the one below). It had motorized faders on it. So I got spoiled. Moving to a touchscreen made me happy again. :D

View attachment 123682
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Glare is an issue in my room. Between anti-glare or matte screens and placement that works out, it isn't a problem. But, I don't want to make it worse.

Also...I remember those things. And the digi version. A lot of people had those things.

GlennO said:
Raven
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I remember being really disappointed with those things when they first came out. The software has probably gotten a lot better since then, but they never seemed worth the price, especially for the crazy low resolution (for the size).
 
marsonic said:
Glare is an issue in my room. Between anti-glare or matte screens and placement that works out, it isn't a problem. But, I don't want to make it worse.

Also...I remember those things. And the digi version. A lot of people had those things.



I remember being really disappointed with those things when they first came out. The software has probably gotten a lot better since then, but they never seemed worth the price, especially for the crazy low resolution (for the size).
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I was talking about the $3K versions.

This one is 48 inches (which is silly)

1689710272155.png

I would much rather have the one I linked above with dual 27inch screens and the custom desk.

1689710406603.png


The one GlennO is talking about is just a 27 inch for $999 (probably a Viewsonic) with a license for the Raven software. So when I replace this Dell I probably will gravitate towards that Raven 27 for 1000 buckarinos. I was hoping Slate might just sell the Raven software that may work with any touchscreen monitor. But it doesn't look like they have any intention of doing that.

There's this software option and they support a few DAWs besides Cubase:
https://www.aidasound.com/index.php/dtouch-for-cubase-v2

I haven't tried it yet. They don't list any products in their online store. There's a trial and a manual that can be downloaded ... But I'm pretty damn choosey about the stuff I am willing to install on my machines. They are on my list to research though when I get time. That will involve researching reviews and "air gapping" a test touchscreen laptop to see if it works. Then an email to the company about how much it costs. In the end it may just be smart to wait for native support.

I think it is stupid that DAWs don't already support multitouch! So with every new release of Cubase I hope and then I sigh.

But I know I read someplace that FL Studio supports multitouch. So now my hope is that will put pressure on the rest of the DAW space to follow suit.

Edit: Our keyboard player just told me that Bitwig in tablet mode is pretty good for multitouch too. But he hasn't tried it on anything other than a tablet and a laptop. So maybe there's 2 to help with the pressure on the other DAWs. Unfortunately the 2 DAWs with multitouch have miniscule market share so ... probably more sighs ahead for native support from your more mainstream DAW.
 
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The Raven screens are the ones I was talking about. They're still 1920x1080, and that looks horrible at 27" to me. The colors were also terrible on that first demo one I played with...maybe they got better.

Still, to each their own. If you like it, don't let my peculiarities stop you.
 
marsonic said:
The Raven screens are the ones I was talking about. They're still 1920x1080, and that looks horrible at 27" to me. The colors were also terrible on that first demo one I played with...maybe they got better.

Still, to each their own. If you like it, don't let my peculiarities stop you.
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I have never played with a Raven so I don't know how the contrast/colors are compared to my Dell. But that would suck if they aren't any good.

As far as the 1080 resolution it is probably an advantage when it comes to the scaling issues that happen with 4K screens. But I would never pick a Raven for my daily driver monitor that is for sure.

I am perfectly happy with my Dell for now - it was an inexpensive solution to give me back "touch" faders.
 
Here is an update for anyone who might be interested in multitouch support for Cubase since Steinberg has not added native support yet.

In a post above I said I would research DTouch software when I had time. I finally got around to it and there is a lot of very positive feedback in the Steinberg Nuendo forum. So I will download it and give it a try then probably post back in a separate thread.

You can read the comments here:
https://forums.steinberg.net/t/dtouch-love/134435
 
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