Korg nanoKONTROL2 vs PreSonus FaderPort V2

The Korg nanoKONTROL2 is the cheap way to stop mixing with a mouse. At about $71, it's the least expensive pick here, and it still covers eight faders, eight knobs and a full set of transport buttons.

Each of the eight channels gets its own fader, knob and record/mute/solo buttons, plus dedicated play, stop, record and marker-navigation controls. It runs on USB bus power alone, no separate supply, and the slim body is thin enough to sit under a laptop.

The tradeoffs match the price. The faders are short-throw and not motorized, so they can't move to show automation you already wrote. It doesn't speak Mackie Control or HUI either, so most DAWs need it mapped by hand. And there's no display, so channel assignments live in memory, not on the hardware.

The PreSonus FaderPort V2 is the desk-sized sweet spot: one fader instead of eight, but motorized and touch-sensitive instead of a plain slider. At about $210, it's roughly three times the nanoKONTROL2, for a different kind of control entirely.

The 100 mm motorized fader moves on its own to show automation you already wrote, and it's touch-sensitive enough to grab mid-move. It natively controls Studio One and speaks HUI and Mackie Control for Logic, Cubase, Ableton Live and Pro Tools. At the time of writing it ships with Studio One Artist, Ableton Live Lite and the Studio Magic plug-in suite.

The catch is in the name: one fader. Mixing more than a channel means constantly re-assigning it rather than reaching for the right one. There's no scribble strip or display, so track names stay on your screen, and the connection is wired USB 2.0 only, no wireless.