Panorama CS12 - The Best Channel Strip Controller for Cubase, Fender Studio Pro, Logic Pro & Reaper

Panorama CS12 delivers a unique workflow never experienced before with a MIDI controller.
The channel strip DAW controller communicates directly with the DAW to operate every parameter including its own instruments and effects. Add 3rd party plugin control, color and parameter learn and you have a crazy amount of hands-on sound shaping options.

Adjusting DAW parameters on Panorama CS12.

Panorama CS12 integration supports:

Panorama CS12 - Overview

Long-throw 100mm motorized fader with touch sensor.

Dedicated channel strip controls for Pan, Mute, Solo, Arm and 6 segment volume meter.

The [Select] button activates selected parameter control. Just click and control.

Function encoders for vertical/horizontal zoom, clip gain, playhead/ scrub and more.

Buttons for DAW functions, transport and navigation.

Button 9-16 opens the plugin slot list and toggles plugin slot banks of 8.

Channel and Sends buttons illuminated in the selected channel’s color. Selects DAW channel functions such as Sends control, Cubase channel strip, macros/quick/smart controls.

Dedicated buttons (8) for plugin slot selection. Also used for slot bypass and plugin window toggle.

Analog Illuminated potentiometers (12) and 4 buttons for plugin and DAW parameter control. Display shows parameter names and matching color coding.

Panorama CS12 DAW controller viewed from top with display showing EQ parameters assigned to the 12 analog potentiometers.

Panorama CS12 Highlights

  • Channel strip control — Long-throw motorized fader and pan rotary follow the currently selected channel, updating position with each track change.
  • Pan, width, arm, mute and solo — Core channel functions with dedicated controls are always accessible, including for Dual Pan/Stereo Width.
  • Selected parameter control — Click any parameter in the DAW and control it from the motorized fader or pan rotary. Just click and control.
  • Plugin slot select buttons — Select plugin slots instantly and control the plugin as parameter names and values update on the CS12 display.
  • Instrument and effects plugin control — Full control of all hosted instrument and effects plugins including the DAWs own and 3rd party plugins.
  • Nektar advanced plugin maps — Extensive library of pre-mapped insert and instrument plugins included , covering DAW-native plugins and major third-party developers.
  • High-resolution fine adjustment — Control parameters in detail at up to 10 times 7-bit MIDI.
  • Marker navigation — Create, delete and select markers directly from the hardware or customize the buttons to trigger DAW commands.
  • Nektarine plugin mapping tool — Build page structures, rename parameters, and assign controls using drag and drop in the Nektarine app. 
  • Transport control — 20+ key transport and DAW functions accessible from dedicated buttons.
  • Zoom, clip gain and move playhead — Select clip gain, nudge, playhead jog or tempo for control from a function encoder. Control vertical/horizontal zoom from a second control.
  • Track/channel selection — Navigate and select tracks, open/close plugin window directly from CS12 without touching the mouse.
  • Display feedback — Plugin names, parameter names, values, and page names shown live on the CS12 display.
  • Native DAW API integration — CS12 communicates directly with each DAW’s own control surface API for the most stable, responsive, and deeply integrated experience possible.

Panorama CS12 Highlights

  • Channel strip control — Long-throw motorized fader and pan rotary follow the currently selected channel.
  • Pan, width, arm, mute and solo — Core channel functions with dedicated controls are always accessible.
  • Selected parameter control — Click any parameter in the DAW to control it with the motorized fader.
  • Plugin slot select buttons — Instantly select each hosted plugin for hands-on control.
  • Instrument and effects plugin control — Full control of all hosted instrument and effects plugins.
  • Nektar advanced plugin maps — Extensive library of pre-mapped insert and instrument plugins.
  • High-resolution fine adjustment — Control parameters in detail at up to 10 times 7-bit MIDI.
  • Marker navigation — Create, delete and select markers directly from the hardware.
  • Nektarine plugin mapping tool — Build page structures, rename parameters, and assign controls.
  • Transport control — 20+ key transport and DAW functions accessible from dedicated buttons.
  • Zoom, clip gain and move playhead — Select clip gain, nudge, playhead jog or tempo for control from a function encoder.
  • Track/channel selection — Navigate and select tracks, open/close plugin window directly from CS12.
  • Display feedback — Plugin names, parameter names, values, and page names shown live on the CS12 display.
  • Native DAW API integration — CS12 communicates directly with the DAW giving you a deeply integrated experience.

Instrument Control

Panorama CS12 controls virtual instruments from simple to complex. A top-level home page give instant access to favorite parameters and  get to it at any time by pressing the plugin slot button. 

Detail pages are linked from the home page so you can go deeper into a specific oscillator or filter module immediately. For very large instruments there may be more pages than navigation buttons but all pages are accessible via the Menu/Data encoder.

In Logic Pro, CS12 can access up to 256 parameters per plugin. Cubase, Fender Studio Pro, Nuendo, and Reaper support up to 1,024 parameters per plugin.

What's Your EQ?

From SSL, Waves to FabFilter, Universal Audio or your DAWs own EQ plugins, Panorama CS12 is perfect for EQ control.  The 12 analog pots are often enough to control up to 4 bands of EQ on 1 page.

More than any other plugin type, EQs benefit from Panorama CS12’s Fine (high resolution) control option. You will notice the difference when controlling frequency.

The color coding gives visual cues to the layout of the parameters, often following the colors in the plugin itself. Customize color coding to your liking and you’ll soon know how to control your favorite EQ without needing to look at the plugin UI.

The Workflow is Advanced, Yet Simple

Panorama CS12 connects directly to your DAW so you can start working straight away with any of your projects. The display shows plugins hosted in the current channel and pressing one of the corresponding LED buttons selects the plugin for control. It’s that easy.

In the video the Mai Tai synth, Beat Delay and Compressor plugins are selected and controlled immediately. The track name Mai Tai is displayed just above the display button labels.

Control is fast and feels like your plugins and hardware are one and the same. 

100mm Motorized Fader

The 100mm Alps fader follows the selected mixer channel when you work. With up to 14 bit resolution, you get detailed control with touch sensing enabling automation override and update captures in real time.

Beyond current channel control, the motorized fader can also be used to control master volume and  any parameter on the current channel (see Click and Control below).

Movement can be disabled temporarily while you are doing open mic recording.

Pan, Dual-Pan, Arm, Input Monitoring,Solo and Mute

The dedicated Pan control adjusts the selected channels Pan Balance  and is illuminated  in the color of the current channel. Pan modes with 2 parameters. such as Dual and Binaural, are also supported.  Control the second Pan parameter while holding Shift.

With buttons for Solo, Mute and Record Arm, you have instant access to all main mixer parameters on the selected channel.

Sends

A dedicated button gives you instant control over Sends on the current channel. Set Sends to pre/post fader and select destination right from the page.

In Reaper the sends page is really powerful with full control of all detail parameters. You can  create sends and control any received sends from other channels.

Focus Control

Panorama CS12 supports each DAW’s own focus control options including  Cubase QuickControls, Logic Pro Smart Controls and Fender Studio Pro channel Macros.

If you already use these features, they’ll work straight away from Panorama CS12’s Channel menu.

Click and Control

Control any parameter by simply clicking on it. The fader immediately jumps to the clicked parameters position and you take over from there.

You can use either the fader or pan rotary to control parameters across the entire project in Cubase, Fender Studio Pro and Reaper, with Logic Pro limited to the current channel.

Activate the Select button and the motorized fader now controls any parameter you click. Any mixer channel, instrument or insert effect plugin parameters.

Click, control. Super easy.

Fine Control - 10 x Resolution

14 bit control resolution is not limited to the motorized fader. With the Fine button (magnifier icon) enabled each of the 12 pots control at 14 bit resolution. In practice this means you’ll be able to adjust parameters with the same fine grained values available through your plugins UI or up to 10 x regular control resolution.

So why not keep Fine on at all times? That’s of course possible and maybe it’s even preferable for some users. When you control at 10 times the resolution it’s not possible to scroll through all values in one rotation, you need  9 or 10 rotations. Switch  So in that case switch ‘Fine’ control off.

Watch the video to see Fine control in action.

Automation, Loop Navigation and Preset Selection

Panorama CS12 Automation options with Touch selected. The options are for Cubase

Automation

Automation can be activated directly from Panorama CS12.  Better still, you can also select automation modes like read, touch, auto-latch, cross-over etc.

There are even options that are specific to CS12, such as Auto-touch. With Auto-touch selected, automation is only written when the fader is touched.

This allows you to freely adjust any other control without accidentally causing automation capture.

Set the Loop, Move the Loop

Set left and right locators to just the right loop. With complete freedom, move the loop across the timeline by turning an encoder.

Use the dedicated Goto Left and Goto Right locator to jump straight to the loop point.

Create markers and with a button press, move the play head to the marker position and the loop points with it.

You don’t have to learn Panorama CS12s power features to appreciate its liberating workflow. It’s the many details like the ability to move through your timeline, that makes Panorama CS12 special.

Function Control - Preset Select

The two function encoders are labelled Zoom and Tempo. With the Zoom control you can quickly adjust both horizontal and vertical zoom.

The Tempo encoder give you much more freedom with selection from a list that includes
Playhead (jog), Nudge, Loop (move forward/back), Vertical Zoom, Clip Gain and Focused Plugin Preset Select. 

Preset Select scrolls through the currently controlled plugin’s presets, as long as they are present in the DAWs browser. Presets must be saved for 3rd party plugins.

 

Remote Working

 

Panorama CS12 is both portable and fully featured enough to enable control of your DAW at some distance away from the computer. All you need is a long USB cable* to take you to your creative spot.

Work on your ideas, record, tweak sounds and get a different perspective on your work, wherever you are most comfortable. 

* Tested using a 30ft 4K USB c cable. (not fiber) branded Yotetion.

Cubase Channel Strip Modules

The Cubase channel strip and its 6 modules Gate, Compressor, EQ, Tools, Saturation and Limiter are key features of the Cubase mixer. Select Channel mode and Panorama CS12 instantly uses the 8 plugin slot buttons to select modules for control. Just press the button illuminated in the color of the module and control its parameters. Better still, combine your favorite parameters in 2 user pages using the MIDI Remote Manager.

Each module can be bypassed by holding shift and pressing module buttons or by pass all by pressing the [9-16] button.

Check the detail - download the manual for your DAW

Specifications & System Requirements

PANORAMA CS12

  • 100mm ALPS motorized fader.
  • 4 RGB LED control buttons.
  • 6 segment LED meter.
  • 3.5″ TFT color display.
  • 4 display buttons.
  • 4 channel strip LED buttons.
  • 18 Function and navigation LED buttons
  • 2 encoders for zoom and tempo.
  • 1 encoder with push button for Data/Menu
  • 13 endless or 360 potentiometers with RGB LED illumination.
  • 11 RGB LED buttons for selection of channel strip sections.
  • 1/4″ TRS Footswitch socket for basic handsfree DAW control.
  • Connect up to two foot switches using TRS to TS  Y-cable splitter.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

    • USB class compliant, no driver needed.
    • Nektar ControlCore installation required. Unit doesn’t operate on its own.
    • A Nektar account for registration and download of support files.
    • USB Power Requirement: 500 mA minimum, connect to a USB high power port recommended.
    • MacOS: 11.5 or later.
    • Windows: 10 or later
    • Logic Pro: 10.7.8 or later.
    • Cubase: 13.0.51 / 14.0.10 or later
    • Studio One: 6 and 7
    • Fender Studio Pro:  8 or later
    • Reaper:  7 or later

DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT 

    • 39 cm (L) x 18.5 cm (D) x 6.5 cm (H), 0.49 kg

IN THE BOX

    • Panorama CS12
    • Quickstart guide and functional overview. All other documentation is part of the download package.
    • USB A to C cable.