PreSonus Atom – a new compact and dynamic performance controller
The PreSonus Atom is a super affordable and compact performance pad controller suitable for drums and loop triggering amongst others.
The new PreSonus Atom integrates tightly with PreSonus StudioOne 4.1, the company’s flagship DAW software, however it has full-functionality with all MIDI enabled DAWs. The controller features 16 full-size velocity and pressure sensitive pads with RGB LED backlights. the PreSonus Atom features 8 pad-banks, meaning you have instant access over 128 triggers, whether that’s samples or clips.
The Atom has various nifty features for selecting different velocity and pressure curves, note-repeats and quantizing on-the-fly. There’s also a full transport control and navigation section, for controlling your DAW from the PreSonus Atom controller.
MIDI keyboard mode allows you to trigger notes via the pads, and the four endless rotary encoders allow you to tweak parameters, so you can play anything from drums to synth sounds on the PreSonus Atom. Each pad features an advanced “shift” mode, which further extends the hands-on capabilities on the compact MIDI controller.
The best feature of the PreSonus Atom has to be the price…
The PreSonus Atom is set to retail at only USD $149 (Around R2200 excl. duties), that makes it just about the most fully-featured pad controller in its price bracket. It’s a great choice for beat-makers looking at setting up a home studio, as the visual feedback from the RGB LED pads will ease the transition into a DAW based setup. PreSonus Atom also ships with PreSonus StudioOne Artist software, and a ton of custom-made loops and samples from MVP.
The Atom is set to launch October 2018, I’m pretty sure it will be a hit at this price and form-factor. PreSonus usually make affordable and good quality solutions, so I’m sure there will be nothing different here.
For more information check out the PreSonus website.
PreSonus is distributed by Tuerk Music in South Africa, visit their website to find your nearest stockist.