hey there,
first time with a control surface here, and it's an s1 now, I mainly got one cause I like to use my gear like instruments, it needs to add something to the table, not stand in the way, here are some thoughts.
>to be able to do some nice live-mixing, abusing the ability to reset the faders to 0db, I had to use a bunch of kilohearts gain plugins to get all my faders to 0 to begin with, I really like the option+"tap on fader" feature. makes me wish there was a feature that lets me reset the fader to where it was when project was saved. that being said, I was able to pull off some nice chain-resets when performing some of my tracks. still, I think I should have used VCAs, seems like the smarter way to go, right?
> so, I had no idea the faders know when they are touched, so they have some touch resistor inside them, neat. I know this from an arturia beat step pro, but it's jiggly there, it works better on the s1, but one thing I noticed: for having more control over the fader, I like to pinch it with my thumb and my index, not putting one finger into the center of the know, but the side, this way unfortunately the s1's fader have trouble noticing that I touch the fader at all, even though I touch both edges with two fingers, this can lead to jerky moves, not sure if this is safe for the unit, if someone from avid could chime in, much appreciated.
> for two days I was so confused I could not change the automation modes with shift+ REC button, it would just not work, then I stumbled on a threat here that finally made me realize, this unit has TWO shift buttons
I used the wrong one.
> minor detail noticed yesterday: when resetting faders (option+touch) some would not stop at 0 and resetting all 8 would give the impression some are +-.5db off. maybe a firmware update can alleviate this? or maybe there is some way of calibrating the faders? I did not find anything on this in the manual so far.
>tried to do a big automation live mixing session (mix the whole thing in one go) and wanted to write it all, so I readied the write mode and started jamming, just to find out I had to enable automation parameters first, well, d'uh. is there a setting to automatically activate automation for parameters? or have them all enabled all the time, is this wise or silly?
so, these are my observations so far, any tips from the pros? I mainly got an s1 for hands-on experience, and so far it is far different of an experience compared to my ipad and mouse. especially when riding 4 or more faders at the same time musically, reminds me of my dj-ing days where I would control synthesizers live and rythmically altering sounds, essentially playing them like musical instruments, this thing allows for this. glad to find out the automation resolution os better than on an artist mix, on par with an s3 it seems. (saw a yt video showing an AM to have way lower resolution/precision than an S3)
also super glad to find out I can control parameters of plugin instruments, not just plugins with this, I figured this was possible with the ipad, but a rather famous foley artist friend of mine with his big studio told me "that's not possible". so controlling NI Reaktor with this? no problem.
so I guess this turned out to be some kind of review I guess. anyways, I am glad this is not just something for bread-and-butter pro tools dinosaurs, who probably don't like moving mice, but also for the upcoming usually "PT-shunning synthiekiddo crowd" like me, who like to use machines like musical instruments - it's very possible with an s1 and it facilitates it, it seems. I just think I need more input on what cool things I should try next with my s1, I guess I'll start assigning key commands for the user buttons.
so, as a newbie in controllers (apart from midi controllers) let me in on some of the secret workflows and magics revolving these things .)