Any sign of an update soon? I’m thinking about notes names instead of values and per encoder push functionality for instance.
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I was just using my EC-4 last night and thinking the same exact thing! 
I guess there is a need to add a bigger screen to the UC4 then 
Yeah i thought so too. I’m pretty sure it is not a resource issue. And the two products are not comparable because of the screen.
Why can not any developer understand that there is a need for a small footprint, deep functionality, knobby, standalone midi controller with a good screen?
So basically a small BCR2000 with a screen that actually is useful…
I can see it being a resource issue. The microcontrollers are probably only 2mb of flash.
Controllers like the ec4 arent hard to build yourself. It hard to make them look pretty. Lately i stopped building and just use off the shelf controllers but script them with translators and such to make them do what i want.
Edit: im kind curious what encoders the faderfox is using tho. Anyone open theirs up at all?
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I loved the FaderFox UC4! I had two and just sold one to a great friend of mine. They absolutely adore it and have been using it with their Octatrack.
I decided to pick up the Faderfox EC4 that I’ve been looking at for so long now. I was surprised that the EC4 was not more flexible and intuitive considering that it has such a nice display. Quite a few things about the EC4 were perplexing to me after all. Still I’m finding a way to get along with it and it’s very nice.
I wondered why in the bars view, the bars are broken down into four segments. I like it that way sometimes, it is more just a question.
However, with regards to where I felt it could use some improvement:
I definitely expected/wanted more per-encoder control.
I wished that I could set it up so that the OLED display would show the numeric values until I moved an encoder, and then it would momentarily show the encoder name. Currently I can only do the opposite of that (show names until moving encoder to show values). It is impacting my desired workflow to not have this option. I would think a very convenient way of setting it up would be how when you’re on the Name page, when you hold shift and then tap either Bar or Num to select while will be revealed momentarily. Well, for the setup I desired I wished I could go to the Num page and then hold shift and tap Name to put it in that mode of operation.
I was thinking there could be a push button mode that would work with bi-directional communication. It would be a toggle or momentary switch function with a visual indication on the OLED display (for record arming or mute state, for instance). When mapping the push button of an encoder to a record arm button in a DAW, that would be a toggle, and there could be an inversion of lit vs unlit pixels in a rectangle that is designated to the given encoder’s screen space. Lit background, unlit characters for a push button that is toggled on. It would be the way that we’re used to for “off.” I think that would be the most natural, but I’m not sure… I would have to play with it that way to really know. I am not sure if there would need to be two separate internal modes, one for toggle and one for momentary. To be clear, I would expect this inversion of on vs off state pixels would be carried over to the Bar and Num pages as well.
Most of all, I would love for the EC4 to dynamically display characters on screen based upon context.
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Does anybody uses the EC4 with the ableton live script made by faderfox to control macros ?
I do and it’s working very well but it’s limited to 8 macros. It’s quite frustrating as Live 11 now allow 16 macros…
If somebody ever managed to modify a script or create one for that purpose i would be very interested … I tried but failed miserably, I don’t realy have the knowledge…
I did mail Mathias to ask if he would modify his script for Live 11 but got no answers.
Cheers,
Kinan
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100% agree with you - for 300€, and for how powerful this is under the hood, its lacking a level of customization that would take it from “useful” to “essential and never leaving my kit”
I am happy that it does what it does - its powerful, flexible, and easy to set up with the editor, but for the money, I would also have liked:
- the ability to set different notes and CCs for encoder press vs encoder turn (like you can do on the Twister)
- dedicated next/previous page buttons (need to press group + an encoder to switch pages)
- the ability to see name and value at the same time. Decreasing font size and sacrificing a row of pixels would have been nice
- slightly deeper customization for NRPNs. Takes some experimentation to get things working the way you want the various interaction modes and ranges
Can still see this one being a keeper, though.
Hardware wise, it’s an interesting mix but I think sacrifices some ergonomics for portability. The acceleration response curves are kind of weird (even when customized), the knobs are kind of sharp-edged and a bit too cramped for my taste, and the buttons feel very DIY. This feels like the boutique DIY/geek product it is, versus the Midifighter which despite similar origins feels ergonomically solid and smooth as butter.
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I almost snagged a used MidiFighter Twister today even though I already have two of them. Such a great controller!
I bought one back when I was DJing and curious about the integrated Traktor step sequencer and overall form factor. Barely used it and it sat on a shelf. Then I got into hardware / live and am so glad I never sold it, it’s one of a kind. Just wish it had NRPN… and the ability to push-reset to max as opposed to min or 50%. But minor gripes for a product that came out years ago. Maybe I should learn to code as I think it’s open source;)
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Agree with all these points, although I am very happy with what it does… What I love about it is the screen, ive programmed a bunch of controls for a bunch of things, hardware, softsynths, daws and theres just no way i will remember what is what but I do remember I have mapped controls.
I spoke to the guy about some other thing, I got a hint he was maybe working on a bigger one, I was contemplating getting 2 more and going all in, but it woulda just been a pain with cables and stuff. Something like the MX12 or PC12 with the screen I would be all in on. Maybe something like an MX/PC 8 with the other space for the screen.
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What about a Novation Remote Zero SL mkII? Also has a screen with customizable labels, endless encoders, faders, buttons, supports NRPN, etc. It’s like an EC4 mashed up with a a LaunchControl XL
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/novation-remote-zero-sl
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yeah i actually have a 25 key version of that which is where i started to appreciate screens more. its huge though, i always liked the compactness of the faderfox stuff.
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Yeah I used to have the Remote Zero mkI and it was honken, like rackmount width.
Take away the Midi Fighter Twister and its awesome programability, and there’s really nothing left to compare favorably to the Faderfox stuff (in terms of size, build quality, haptics, no. of controls per cm2 :)).
The MFT is much better than one would think at first sight, to me it’s one of the most ergonomic knob controllers out there. But the EC4 has its own strengths…I mean…16 groups with 16 scenes per group…all accessible on the fly (push to select)…that’s sort of fantastic for that size a controller.
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Faderfox UC4 does this… it’s strange that the EC4 doesn’t…
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I find the lack of customization of the NRPN range mappings to be a big letdown. I’m hoping the Electra One will be the answer!
https://electra.one/
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I sold my EC4 some time ago because I realized that I preferred changing parameters on the boxes themselves. The one thing that bothered me most was the inability to send Midi signals by pressing a knob (eg for CC61 to OT). Otherwise, I was very positively impressed by the build quality and reliability, and I also appreciated its ability to merge its signals with incoming Midi.