Knobs and faders, rotaries and sliders...

[Lanz the joiner]

Having to create my own Traktor mapping from scratch on a controller with a limited selection of knobs, faders and buttons, I was forced to re-think some of the configurations of a standard DJ setup.

EQs as used by a DJ are almost always set to knobs, rather than faders. But why? The Xone:32 by Allen & Heath had its VCF filter cutoff on a fader, while most of their subsequent mixers have the filter cutoff controlled with a knob. Why might this be?

My view is that knobs (or rotaries) are generally better suited to slow and precise adjustments, whereas it's easier to perform quick adjustments with faders, and it is easier to instantly see the position of a fader - good for when there are lots of tracks along a mixing desk. A knob is also harder to move by accident - so this could suit a master volume control.

During my mapping experiments, I've found that some of the configurations that are almost completely universal on standard DJ mixers, would be a lot more fun assigned to a different type of control (in my opinion):

- Track volume controls are just so much more satisfying to tweak with a knob (I mix techno and tech-house). I have always struggled to get the smoothness, accuracy and headroom I want from faders.
- Headphone volume and headphone mix are wayyy better on faders.
- Filter cutoffs are better suited to sliders as well. Resonance not so much, because I like to set-and-forget most of the time.

Does anyone else have their own idiosyncratic preferences between controller types? Do you think the industry standards are decided mostly out of tradition, marketing and trends, rather than technical or ergonomic reasons?

[Nicky H]

Probably for space reasons as much as anything.
It would be a big mixer if they were all faders.

I used to have a mixer with faders for eq but it was on the master channel not each separate.