Can a dedicated controller like this
actually help you edit your videos faster?
I’ve been using the Tour Box Neo to edit my videos
for the last couple months, and in this video,
I want to tell you about my experience with it,
some of the things I like about it, and what I don’t like.
Hey guys, what’s up.
My name is Serge, and welcome back to my channel.
I spend a lot of time editing videos,
and to be perfectly honest with you,
I love using keyboard shortcuts.
By learning and using specific keyboard shortcuts,
at no extra cost, you can significantly speed up your workflow.
One of my first upgrades, was getting a Logitech MX Master 3 mouse.
Just a few extra buttons you can customize to specific functions
made a huge difference.
Between using this mouse, and my trusted keyboard shortcuts,
I could crank out these videos quite a bit faster.
So, when the team at TourBox reached out to me
to see if I wanted to try out this controller,
promising to make editing video even faster, and more convenient,
I was willing to try it, but at the same time, a bit skeptical.
I’ve invested the time to optimize my workflow,
so adding another controller,
meant I would have to completely change my trusted old system.
Or would I?
The Tour Box Neo, is a dedicated controller,
specifically designed for photo and video editing apps
like Photoshop, Lightroom, and more.
It features a scroll wheel.
two physical dials,
four primary buttons,
four directional buttons,
and three smaller, secondary buttons.
All these can be customized to pretty much anything you want.
To customize and and use this controller,
you need to first download their software,
and the preset you need for your specific app you want to use it with,
which in my case, is Final Cut Pro.
This is a great starting point,
but to get the most out of this controller,
you need to customize it to your individual needs.
This is also pretty straightforward.
You just select the button or dial
you want to assign function to in the TourBox App,
and either select one of the functions from the list,
or add your own.
This will take a bit of time, and at least for me,
I found myself constantly going back and reassigning these button quite a bit,
until it made sense.
What I ended up doing, is splitting up my most used commands
between my Logitech mouse and the TourBox Neo.
This way, I could do most of my editing without even touching the keyboard,
only occasionally having to move my hand over to the keyboard.
After using the Tour Box for a while,
you really get to appreciate the time that went into the design.
The physical buttons and dials are really well placed,
and feel very natural to use.
These dials are smooth and responsive,
and with the physical buttons,
you get that nice, satisfying click every time you press one.
The vertical scroll wheel is clicked,
and works great for functions that need to be adjusted in increments,
like zooming in and out on your timeline, or adjusting the volume.
Overall the ergonomics of this controller should be just fine for most people.
Every once in a while, I did wish the overall size was maybe just a little bigger,
with the buttons spaced out a little more,
but I do have fairly large hands.
There’s also a couple things I didn’t like about this design,
but they’re fairly minor.
First, you do need to connect it with a USB cable.
A bluetooth connection with a rechargeable battery
would be so much nicer,
but at this price point, that may be asking a bit too much.
Another thing to consider,
is the small size of this controller and close button spacing,
might be limiting to some people,
especially if you have larger hands.
And, just like any other dedicated controller I’ve tried in the past,
the learning curve is fairly steep.
Right off the start, you do need to invest quite a bit of time
and effort into setting it up, and getting used to using this controller.
I found it took me at least a couple weeks of daily use to really get used to it.
Did this controller help me edit more efficiently?
Right off the start, no.
It actually took me quite a bit longer to edit my videos.
But the more I used it, a the better it got.
I started to develop muscle memory for button placement,
and after a number of times of reassigning the buttons,
I finally figured out what worked and what didn’t.
After that, things got considerably faster.
So, with the TourBox Neo, or any other dedicated controller for that matter,
if you commit to it for a while, set it up so it’s right for you,
it does help you edit more efficiently.
Just like using keyboard shortcuts,
right off the start it takes a while to get used to, but after a while,
it becomes an indispensable tool.
And last, the price.
You can pick up the Tour Box Neo for 170 USD
from their website with free worldwide shipping.
But you can usually find it even cheaper on Amazon.
That’s considerably less than some of its competitors.
Overall, if you’re willing to put in the time to set it up,
and get used to using the TourBox controller,
it can be a great tool.
Just don’t expect it to be life changing right off the start.
If like me, you edit videos or photos on a daily basis,
this controller could be a great investment.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you back here next week.