Throughout December we offered the opportunity for over 30 people to win a prize of your choice from an amazing bundle of prizes that we pulled together from our generous partners, worth around £30,000.

Each day, we took a closer look at each of the prizes in turn. Today we are looking at the Faderport 16 from Presonus worth $1,300.

The competition closed on December 31st 2019 and we’re pleased to be able to announce the winner is Andrea Pestarino

I’m Andrea Pestarino, I’m a sound engineer and a spaghetti eater. After many years of my adolescence spent in the garage recording friends and band-mates, in 2007 I took a master in sound and I started to work in one of the main audio post production facilities in Milan (Italy), working as sound designer on the most important advertising campaigns and brands in Italy and Europe, such as Audi, VW, Fiat, Voiello, Barilla, Seat and many others. At the same time I started my own company, “Bravagente”, a mobile studio that works mainly in the field of classical music recording. In 2015 I decided to start to work only for my company, so “Bravagente” became a proper recording studio, based in Milan, where we work on movie, tv and advertising post production/sound design (also with “big names” in movie directions) and in classical music mixing. I’m also, from 2015 a teacher in sound design (location recording and post production) at NABA Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, the largest private academy in Italy.

The Faderport 16 will certainly improve my workflow, mainly during complicated and very busy classical music sessions ad movie mixing sessions. By now I’m using the very first “Faderport” that’s a very interesting device, but it’s not so friendly to use when I need to automate more than one track at the same time. Probably I’ll use the Faderport 16 also for his transport section, during the long audio book editing sessions I make, just because for my workflow it’s faster to use only one hand on the transport tools and in the same time read the book, without looking at the computer screen. I will certainly use the device to adjust volumes during each recording sessions, just not to swipe monitors every 2 seconds…

What Is The Faderport 16?

The Faderport 16 Mix Production Controller is a 16 fader control surface for use with any DAW. It connects via USB 2.0 to provide precise tactile control over your favourite DAW’s mix and automation functions, including complete transport control. The new control surface offers full level, solo, and mute control over 16 channels at once, with 16 touch-sensitive, motorised, 100 mm faders, and 89 buttons covering 102 different functions. Quickly zoom in on audio files for editing, adjust a click-track tempo with a simple tap, modify plug-in parameters, manage aux mixes—and, of course, control track levels with the touch of a finger. 

The FaderPort 16’s unique Session Navigator provides easy access to eight mission-critical functions for maximum flexibility. Dedicated buttons are provided to instantly arm all tracks for recording; control mutes and Solo Clear; view only the tracks, buses, and VCAs you want to see; and more. You’re not limited to preset controls, either: Four programmable User buttons let you quickly and easily access your favourite functions. Large, illuminated buttons make finding the function you need quick and easy. Sixteen high-definition digital scribble strips provide visual feedback.

Faderport 16 And Studio One

Streamlined workflow and support for the Mackie Control and HUI protocols make it fast and easy to control virtually any DAW. No driver installation is necessary; just plug the control surface into a USB port and take command of your mix and plug-ins. 

When used with Studio One, the FaderPort 16 is a revelation, letting you do things like bypass all the plug-ins on any track with one button-press and open the Channel Editor and enable your faders to control each channel's custom macro. Use the Control Link feature so that the Pan/Param encoder can follow your mouse, providing instant hands-on control of any parameter—or lock the encoder to the current parameter. Use the Session Navigator to quickly scroll through the different sections in the Arranger track; and more. You’ll be amazed how much faster you can work.