New Music Gear Monday: Touch Innovations Kontrol Master Controller

Working with a mouse or trackball is second nature for some people, and torture for others. As a result, a number of different types of controllers have come to market recently, but most center around the fader, with other functions being secondary. The fact of the matter is that we use all those other functions much more than the fader, even when we’re mixing. That’s why the new Kontrol Master from Touch Innovations is so cool. It’s built around the idea of controlling the DAW parameters that you use other than the faders.

Kontrol Master consists of a large rotary knob and 10 assignable buttons. It’s designed to be used by your non-dominate hand to control any parameter that’s selected by your mouse from your dominate hand. The assignable buttons are there to quickly get to the functions that you use the most without having to use the mouse to get you there, or a series of shortcuts that combine your most used commands. Pretty brilliant.

The thing is built like a tank as the rotary controller uses a highly accurate optical encoder that has a feel more like a traditional hardware pot. The buttons are the same kind used in arcade games, with an internal micro-switch that has a reliability tested to 10,000,000 cycles. Connection is via USB, and it’s compatible with all DAW software packages and VSTs without any configuration.

Right now Kontrol Master buttons offer 24 customizable shortcut actions but current customers requested more so a new update will include a Max By Colors feature that extends the range up to 168 actions.

Touch Innovations Kontrol Master has a price of $299, which seems like a lot, but it’s a smart device that looks like it will last a lot longer than most computer hardware that you’re using. Plus, if it makes you’re workflow faster, it’s a bargain.

Find out more at the dedicated website page, or check out the video below.