Nektar Panorama CS12

Using Cubase 14.

I've used a lot of controllers to try and get that so called hands-on feel. Most have big flaws in the implementation and you end up reaching for the mouse or keyboard. Keyboards fine, but the mouse I want to avoid.

Anyway, out of the box this thing is plastic, but sturdy and solid. All of the buttons, knobs and fader work perfectly well and feel decent. It sits solidly on your desk and doesn't move around. So far so good.

In use for Cubase there are some things that are absolutely light years ahead of other controllers I've used. The integration with the channel strip and plugins is actually... USABLE! Amazing. Once your on a channel, you can absolutely forget looking at the screen and control almost everything about it. Wonderful... also some cool features like the programmable knobs you can use for example, changing clip gain of the selected track audio. So handy!

But wait, and this is the disappointing part. It sometimes loses track of what channel you select dragging you unceremoniously out of the experience and back to the 'pc world' so you can't rely on it and you end up adjusting settings for channels you don't intend to. I also regularly have to restart the unit in order for it to communicate with Cubase at all at the start of a session.

If they could only sort out these ridiculous flaws, it would be a masterpiece. And then please produce an expansion with 8 or 16 faders!

Another thing to bear in mind is that the colour of the backlit buttons. Its very difficult to see whether they are engaged or not as they only change slightly when you press them. That could be much better.

I’ve tried many controllers. I’ll say it upfront — this one isn’t perfect. The plastic, the fader, and so on. Having worked for over a year with SSL controllers (at work), I can say those are better. However, no other controller comes close in terms of DAW integration depth. I work 80% of the time in Cubase and 20% in Logic, and I can confidently say this controller fits better than anything else currently on the market. It will definitely earn a permanent spot in my home studio.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​