Nektar Pacer USB MIDI Footswitch Controller with Nektar DAW Integration

Product Information

The Pacer is USB powered, but can also be powered by a power supply (9V/600mA, not included), provides space for custom presets, and Nektar have also been kind enough to load in presets for relevant models including Line6, Fractal Audio, Avid, Kemper, Elektron and Electro Harmonix. If you would like to configure several presets to have similar functions it can be useful to copy a preset to a different preset slot. Dedicated RGB LED illuminated icons show the control mapping and status of important transport and track functions for popular DAWs such as Bitwig Studio, Cubase, Nuendo, Logic, GarageBand, Reason and Reaper. The majority of decisions are given instantly, so you could get your new gear sooner than you thought! you can’t send start stop continue from Pacer, but if you enable MIDI clock in a DAW and transmit to Elektron, the start, stop and continue messages will be transmitted that way.

Nektar DAW integration provides the highest level of integration with additional options for track and patch selection, customized RGB LED color feedback and in some cases additional functionality. Having just received it today, I can’t speak to longevity, but the hardware has exceeded expectations. I am mainly looking to control quantiloop or loopy along with being able to switch on some effects like tonestack and add some additional controls to my Eventide H9 pedal for patch switching. Main Features49 full size, velocity sensitive keys9 faders, 8 rotary encoders, 8 pads and transport controlsHighly sensitive LED backlit pads with 4 colours: Green, Orange, Yellow and RedWorks with. The data encoder with push switching right below makes parameter selection and programming swift and easy.You can also use Pacer’s foot switch inputs, if you have an external foot switch (such as a sustain pedal). It's main competition is the Behringer FCB1010, but in a direct comparison we'd prefer the Pacer, just because it feels stronger in your hands and seems to be built tougher. However, none of these offer the dedicated DAW control and integration that are, for me, the Pacer's main strength. To this point in my Nektar Pacer review, I've already covered most of the details of the setup I used to test the unit, but I'll do a quick summary for those skimming and to pull it all together.

For example, the widget and footswitch are set as a toggle, and so the Pacer will alternately send values 0 and 127. Based on the available labels, I set the top row of switches for Next Song, Play(/Stop), Next Song Part, and Prev Song Part. Don’t stop the music: PACER is the only true hands-free solution for controlling a DAW and features a complete set of dedicated track and transport controls.All this packed into a rugged, solid steel casing to make the Nektar Pacer MIDI Foot Controller ideal for any studio or stage application.