I did not assume I wanted a modular keypad till I attempted this Leave a comment

The MasterHub is absolutely modular. The system itself is only a plastic base with a slew of gold-plated pins, and also you add modules on prime that safe themselves magnetically. That permits you not solely to decide on what modules you need in your MasterHub but additionally how they’re laid out. I wrote off that second level once I noticed the MasterHub earlier this 12 months, but it surely makes an enormous distinction.

I used the big dial module with an IPS show within the bottom-left nook of the system, and provided that the MasterHub is ready up on the appropriate facet of my desk, it’s the closest management to my arms. If I had been streaming, nonetheless, I would put the 15-key IPS show module nearer to my hand, or if I used to be utilizing Photoshop controls, I would use the precision fader module.

There are numerous completely different variations of the Stream Deck, however the MasterHub’s modular method is actually one thing particular. You must adapt your workflow to one of many Stream Deck’s layouts, and though Elgato makes that straightforward to do, it’s nonetheless a transition. The MasterHub adapts to your workflow. You arrange the modules you need within the structure you need, and you’ll even double-up on modules when you want extra controls of a particular kind.

You possibly can change the structure at any time, too. Cooler Grasp has finished a terrific job of constructing the MasterHub really feel aware of adjustments. Whereas writing this text, I swapped each module I had set as much as go from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation, and the whole lot populated to the proper orientation with my appropriate settings inside seconds. You possibly can retailer a number of profiles by means of the MasterHub software program (extra on that subsequent), so it’s not out of the query to utterly change the structure for various functions.

I’ve touched on just a few of the modules right here, however total, Cooler Grasp has 5 modules for the MasterHub now. There’s the big dial with an IPS show and the 15-key IPS show module, however Cooler Grasp additionally presents a module with twin scroller wheels, a module with three knobs, and a module with 5 mini faders. That’s a strong beginning lineup, however I believe Cooler Grasp will design and launch extra modules over time. After I visited the corporate’s headquarters earlier this 12 months, for instance, it confirmed off a devoted show module that would slot into the MasterHub base.

Though the Stream Deck and MasterHub are focused at streaming, it’s arduous to overstate how good it’s having tactile knobs and buttons for digital controls. I can management my quantity with a big knob, scroll webpages with a curler, and launch my frequent apps like Steam and Discord with a button. I even arrange a few hotkeys I exploit generally as buttons, together with turning on HDR and opening the quantity mixer in Home windows.

All of this comes along with the MasterHub software program, which is straightforward to make use of however a bit barebones in the mean time. You’ll discover a listing of instructions on the appropriate facet, which you’ll filter by choosing a knob or button. As soon as you discover the setting you need, you drag it over to the knob or button you wish to assign it to. If it’s a button, you should use one in all a number of icons Cooler Grasp consists of or add your individual, in addition to rename the task.

Essentially the most highly effective module is undoubtedly the 15-key IPS show, the place the entire actions in MasterHub can be found. There are dozens of settings to your system and getting round your PC, from launching web sites or functions to triggering hotkeys to adjusting media. MasterHub has a multitasking choice, as nicely, permitting you to set off a sequence of actions with a single button press. And, if 15 keys isn’t sufficient for you, you possibly can retailer a number of pages and flip by means of them immediately from the keypad.

There are quantity of choices to your system and MasterHub (in addition to Cooler Grasp’s MasterCTRL with a appropriate cooler), however these kind of management pads dwell and die by their integrations. And out of the gate, Cooler Grasp has suite of choices accessible. For streamers, you’ve gotten controls for each OBS Studio and Streamlabs. Each embrace choices to start out and cease streaming, transition between scenes, and management your varied audio sources. There are undoubtedly extra choices for OBS, although. You possibly can management the digital digicam, apply a filter, and far more.

Choices for Twitch can be found, too, from triggering an advert to speak settings to creating a clip. Cooler Grasp doesn’t have controls for another streaming platform, nonetheless. That’s not going to be an enormous deal usually, however the Stream Deck has controls for nearly each platform you can need.

Someplace the MasterHub has a leg up is Adobe apps, or at the least Photoshop, Premiere Professional, and Illustrator. You’ll discover controls for all of those apps in MasterHub, freed from cost. The Stream Deck technically helps these apps — and much more Adobe apps — however you’ll must spend $15 for the hotkeys and icons for every when you don’t wish to arrange the controls manually.

Though Cooler Grasp has a strong variety of choices out of the gate, it wants quite a lot of work. There are such a lot of instruments that profit from one of these management middle, and Cooler Grasp doesn’t have a system to combine these instruments but.