Question

just replaced my dead Mackie Control with a FaderPort 8 and its behaving a little oddly. I'm using ProTools 12.4, on Mac 10.11.6, Faderport shows firmware 1.01 in Universal Control.

I have a track with automation already on it. Its set to TOUCH and when i press play, the faders follow along as expected. If i move a fader, the automation gets amended as it should...BUT  when i let go of the fader it remains where i left it. It should return to follow the existing automation but it does not.

If i then try to use the fader to adjust another section, the automation jumps because the instant my finger hits the fader, the automation wants to mirror the location of the fader - which is in the wrong place because the fader failed to follow the data when i let go.

Any idea how i can set this unit up to behave correctly with Touch automation in Protools?

Answer 1

I'm having the exact same issue in both Studio One 3.5 and Pro Tools.  Yes, touch mode should work the way you are describing but it does not on the FaderPort 8.  Automation modes have been around for many, many years and so have controllers.  So I would think this would be simple.  I HOPE PreSonus gets this fixed ASAP.

Answer 2

I have a similar issue in Studio One. Touch mode only works if the fader moves. If I don't keep moving the faster, touch mode stops and reverts back to the previously written automation.

Answer 3

I am having the EXACT same problem in Studio One 3.5.1 and the 1.10 firmware for the Faderport 8!!!!

Obviously they are not going to fix this ASAP, since it has been two months now since you first reported this. The whole purpose of getting Presonus' F8 was the "supposed" tight integration with their software. This bug effectively kills the writing of automation for me, so there is no reason to continue using this controller. I'm afraid if they can't even get this working properly in their own software, you are going to be out of luck with pro tools  :-(.  On a side note, I own their studio live 32 (got it way back in January), and they STILL haven't figured out DAW control with that device either. It seems that Presonus has great ideas, but poor execution linking software and hardware.

Answer 4

Okay, I seem to have gotten slightly better results if I increase the fader touch sensitivity and speed to maximum under the settings within the FaderPort8 hardware settings. Try to make sure you aren't pushing the fader with your nail, it only starts writing when the fader senses your touch, like your capacitance sensing phone screen, this is also why setting the touch sensitivity to max can help. Also try multiple passes. It seems like the fader will pop back in line when the play cursor crosses a pre-existing automation point.

Answer 5

I opened a ticket with support, this has been logged internally as a bug. There is no fix for it currently. Hopefully this will be fixed in a future firmware update.

 Are my expectations too high?  It seems like this would be job number one.

  do the faders move? Yes? Proceed to test number two. Do the faders respond to touch? Yes? Proceed to test number three. Do  The faders follow automation in the software?  yes? Proceed to test number four. Do the faders write automation in the software? Yes? Proceed to step number five.   Do the faders respond to automation in touch mode after releasing the fader?  no? Fix this so that people don't lose faith in your skill and ability because this very basic function is not working after people pay $500 for your product.

Answer 6

I'm having the same issue here almost half a year later and it doesn't seem like Presonus is even trying to fix it. Such a shame, I bought it specifically to speed up my editing and volume leveling of takes and I can't even get the automation to write properly. It just flat lines the entire volume as a whole not by section where I'm moving the fader. And the touch feature is totally busted.

Probably going to have to fight for my money back cause this is just a huge waste of my time.

Answer 7

Is this problem solved in new firmware? I'm thinking about buying one and that can be a deal breaker.

Answer 8

Same issue here (Faderport 16, Pro Tools 2018). It only seems to happen for me when trying to automate pan using faders in Touch automation mode. Just touching the fader (and not moving it) causes the pan position in Pro Tools to jump to a random position. Multiple touches cause the pan position in Pro Tools to jump randomly all over the place even though the fader isn't being moved. When moving the fader and letting go of it, it takes a while for the fader to realize it's no longer being touched and return to null position. And lastly, when moving the fader to a different position and holding it there, after a second or so the automation stops writing and the pan position nulls even though I haven't let go of the fader. It doesn't seem to do this in Track mode writing volume automation, only in Pan mode writing pan automation using the fader....going to open a support ticket.