Nektar Pacer – Hands-off control for your DAW and more.
Nektar Technology step up to the plate with their new product, the Nektar Pacer, a pedalboard solution for the modern musician.
The Pacer is not a new concept, although it’s one that a lot companies have tried and failed rather miserably, because they forgot to add a pretty important feature in today’s market – USB. I know, it seems silly, however the problem starts with the fact every device reacts differently to MIDI and without the ability to configure it easily with a USB connection, it’s hours of digging through manuals and MIDI standardization charts – not your average musicians idea of a fun time.
The Nektar Pacer plans to solve the nightmares, as it claims to be very easy to program and comes with 24 factory presets for a variety of industry leading hardware and software. It features 10 programmable footswitches, each with their own programmable RGB LED making it easy to distinguish what’s going on, on your pedalboard.
Pacer also features a multitude of pre-assigned transport controls for your DAW, alongside a plethora of other nifty features for controlling VSTs or virtually any MIDI software on the market. I can already see this becoming a staple in looping artist and performer’s rigs.
Not just for the software musicians.
Nektar Pacer comes loaded with a variety of presets for products from Kemper, Line 6 and more. Control your guitar amp, pedals and DAW all from one MOTHERBOARD. It offers two external inputs for expression pedals and an additional four for more programmable triggers.
I use a similar, albeit very primitive system in my studio, I find while playing something and that spark of inspiration hits, to break away from it and start fiddling on the computer often kills the vibe. So, I have macros to add new channels, start/stop recording, and other handy tools assigned to footswitches, so I can start recording without breaking my concentration. I would highly suggest anyone doing home recording get something like this, as it will save you a lot of time and stress in the workflow!
Expect to pay USD $230 (Around R2700 excl. duties) when it hits the market, to find out more visit Nektar’s website.
