Hardware: Compare top rated Mixing Surfaces equipment for your home recording studio

Tired of using a mouse? Want to control your synth, mixer, effects, or signal processor with real controls? With the BCF2000, you move real faders to control all the virtual gear in Cubase, Cakewalk, Logic Audio, and other major audio software.

Get the Budget: Behringer BCF2000W B-Control Fader from The Music Zone now, for $691.

The Alesis MasterControl is the perfect solution for studio projects that demand a high-quality, all-in-one audio interface and control surface. MasterControl delivers up to 8 channels of 44.1-192kHz audio directly to your computer via ultra-fast, low-latency FireWire connectivity. The audio interface features 2 mic (XLR) inputs with phantom power and channel inserts, and 6 line (TRS) inputs. An additional 18 inputs of digital audio are possible with the MasterControl-s S/PDIF and dual S/MUX ADAT Lightpipe options, for forward-thinking expansion. For monitoring your recordings and sessions, the MasterControl features 6 analog outputs, configurable as discrete, 5.1 Surround or Stereo x 3.

Get the Quality: Alesis MasterControl Firewire Audio Interface and Control Surface from The Music Zone now, for $170.

The Helix Board 18 Universal is part of the new generation of USB / FireWire mixers from Phonic. The Universal mixer features a FireWire and USB interface that can individually stream up to 16 independent channels of audio to the computer and return two tracks for monitoring, all at screaming fast transfer rates of up to 24-bit/96 kHz with a zero latency.

Get the Top: Phonic 18-Input Mixer FW AND USB Model HELIX18 from The Music Zone now, for $555.