Within the ever‑growing world of orchestral sample libraries, it’s become the norm to provide a large degree of control over timbre when playing, in an attempt to garner an ever more realistic instrumental performance. At the most basic level this involves using the modulation wheel to control timbral dynamics, but extended control is often available, provided you have the MIDI faders to achieve it.
It came to pass that the Holy Grail of fader combinations was a three‑fader combo, which has become something of a standard, while also being a realistically manageable scenario for most ambidextrous keyboard players. Ghost Note Audio’s new Conductor MkII is exactly that: a solid three‑fader MIDI box, specifically designed for the purpose of driving orchestral libraries.
The controller itself is just the right size at 119 x 152mm. The top and bottom of the unit are assembled from aluminium panels, with a 3D‑printed surrounding enclosure. The base also sports a silicone anti‑slip layer, although I noticed that my review model appeared to be slightly convex in shape, meaning that it had the tendency to occasionally twist when in use. It looks pretty striking on the desktop and will nestle nicely on top of many 88‑note MIDI controllers. One minor aesthetic point is that the whole unit is black, so it might have been nice to use black rivets instead of the four silver rivets that populate each corner.
On the rear is a single USB‑C socket, which provides connection for both power and data. In testing I connected the Conductor MkII to my computer directly, as well as through a powered USB hub. It behaved perfectly in both instances. There’s a supplied USB‑A to C cable, so depending on your host machine, you may need an adaptor or a different cable.
The Conductor MkII is MIDI class compliant (macOS, Windows and Linux), so within seconds of connection I was driving Kontakt and other orchestral host packages with a minimum of fuss. Each fader is pre‑configured to a MIDI CC, but can be altered easily with the browser‑based editor. This requires a MIDI‑compatible browser; Safari doesn’t work but Chrome, Edge and Firefox do. Once engaged, a simple three‑column/fader editor facilitates a number of useful settings for personalisation, before uploading instantly to the unit. Channel, values and thresholds are all assignable, along with other modes of operation, such as NRPN and pitch‑bend.
As different libraries often require different MIDI CC settings, GNA have made three fader banks available, which are accessed from the momentary switch on the front panel. The power light switches colour from red to green to blue. These indicate the three banks, mirrored on the web‑based editor page. Any setting alterations stay with the unit, even when powered off or disconnected. It’s a very helpful inclusion and easily edited, although the black momentary switch does tend to disappear against the black fascia.
I like a small degree of resistance in a fader, with a decent amount of travel, and that’s exactly what we have here.
When it comes to a unit such as this, everyone will have a preference. My personal take is that I like a small degree of resistance in a fader, with a decent amount of travel, and that’s exactly what we have here. Driving any number of the usual orchestral suspects is very easy, and exceptionally comfortable too. In the nicest possible way, I largely forgot about the interface, and got on with my musical task at hand, and that’s really what you want with a device of this kind.