Many years ago, we worked with Elliot Marx from Audio Innovate to create a reimagining of a fader in a box. Project Faderbox was the best concept to never get made, but it’s clear to see its influence in the Kontrol Z1, Akai Pro AMX and others. But DJ and modder extraordinaire DJ RhYmEs (remember his take on the fretless fader?) has run with the original simple fader-in-a-box concept, and after a couple of very glossy prototypes has arrived at V3. This one however combines an Innofader with buttons, and thanks to Livid’s Brain Jr, the Faderbox V3 is effectively a fader and Dicers combined.
I’m sure there’s a bunch of you wondering what the point of such a device is. But before we get deluged with turntablists explaining why this is the best thing since sliced bread, allow me to explain. DJs in the wider sense mix music with two decks, often playing tracks from beginning to end. But scratching is a very solitary process, one where a turntablist can get lost for hours with a single beat and a single scratch sound. Stripped back, you really only need a single turntable and single fader to do this, which is where devices like the faderbox come in, but they’ve been few and far between and never available commercially.
And I fear that it’s the same with this too. Of course you could take it further, add more stuff, and end up with something approaching a mixer. But that’s not the point, and for me this is ready for Kickstarter to turn into an actual product. God knows I wish we’d made ours back in the day.
The Faderbox — is it for you?
Aside from the fact that it’s not commercially available, if it was would you buy one? Would you drop cash on a Kickstarter campaign to make it happen? Are there things that you’d like to see in such a product?
Faderbox Gallery
