The latest addition to my studio is a big help when editing in ProTools (although it works with MANY other programs as well). This would be the ShuttleExpress by Contour Design. By using the Shuttle with my left hand and the mouse with my right, I rarely need to use the keyboard shortcuts, thereby saving me time by no longer moving my hands back and forth on the keyboard and looking down to be sure I’m hitting the correct key.
While it comes with some presets for using with ProTools, every button, wheel and knob is completely programmable, so I have mine customized with the features I use the most during playback and editing. Once I decided on how I wanted to set it up, it took practically no time to get the hang of using it. It makes editing so much easier and faster. I’m hooked.
Actually, there was one little problem. I have a rather small keyboard tray at this desk, so the Shuttle just barely fit with room for my mouse and over-sized keyboard. So…I shopped around and found a nice, compact, minimalist keyboard, and all is good. : )
BTW, as I said earlier, the Shuttle has the ability to work with many applications — it’s not just for audio. It comes with presets for pretty much every Adobe program out there, including Photoshop, and most every Microsoft Office application, too. The list is huge, so it’s pretty likely there is some program out there that would be made easier with a ShuttleXpress. It comes highly recommended by yours truly. : )
