Trackballs vs Mice

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It easy to get frustrated with mice and I'm constantly on the verge of going mental. It feels like I'm buying new mice every year now. I tried everything from cheap brands to expensive gamer type of mice and... well, they don't suck, but there are these constant annoying things, like sometimes the pointer jumps, sometimes the mouse doesn't have good precision etc and so on.

I tried to get along with a trackball once and after 30 minutes I ran off and never tried it again :dog: :lol:

Anyone here using a trackball and how was your journey and experience?

/C
CLUB VICE for ARTURIA PIGMENTS
HARDWARE SAMPLER FANATIC - Akai S1100/S950/Z8 - Casio FZ20m - Emu Emax I - Ensoniq ASR10/EPS

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DrGonzo wrote: Mon Jun 10, 2019 5:15 pmAnyone here using a trackball and how was your journey and experience?
Trackballs take a while to get accustomed to, just like any new instrument. I used to love my Kensington expert. However, I now use a combination of Wacom and Apple trackpad. The Wacom is essential for me, and has definite advantages over trackballs and mice.

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How long did it take you to become fluent with it?

/C
CLUB VICE for ARTURIA PIGMENTS
HARDWARE SAMPLER FANATIC - Akai S1100/S950/Z8 - Casio FZ20m - Emu Emax I - Ensoniq ASR10/EPS

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DrGonzo wrote: Mon Jun 10, 2019 6:07 pm How long did it take you to become fluent with it?

/C
It's one of those 'how long is a piece of string' answers. It depends on how time you out into it, but also how resistant (physically and mentally) you are to a new way of working. Due to really bad rsi issues, I had no choice but to ditch mice, so I just completely surrendered to the experience.

I don't think I ever truly got completely fluent with the trackball, but that doesn't mean you won't. There were still aspects of the design that caused problems specific to my issues, and once I bought my first Wacom tablet those problems disappeared.

The Wacom is almost as intuitive as using a pen, and for me it's almost perfect :tu:

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I've been using Logitech Trackball M570 Wireless for a few years, it took a little while (weeks) to adjust to it but I'd be absolutely lost without it now.
http://www.logitech.com/en-gb/product/w ... kball-m570
You might want to have a browse of a similar topic here;
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=392807&p=5505511&h ... l#p5505511

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@el-bo

I'm not the OP but as I'm currently also looking into mouse vs trackball vs ? (what else is out there)
may I ask: how do you scroll on a Wacom and can you name the model you're using?

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DrGonzo wrote: Mon Jun 10, 2019 5:15 pm there are these constant annoying things, like sometimes the pointer jumps, sometimes the mouse doesn't have good precision etc and so on.
I experienced this when the surface on which I use the mouse is too sleek or when I have 2 monitors connected to my computer but one is closed...

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Kensington Trackball Expert is cash. Have one of the clicks for “undo” which makes life easier/other click for “redo”. Another click for click+hold, which is good for working with some plugins that dont support scrolling for parameters. Instead of holding the click (adds up overtime, causes hand fatigue) I just click it move ball around, click to release. The scroll wheel is great too. I dig it. Makes my workflow faster as well.

Best of all, hand fatigue greatly reduced.

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Wow. Thanks for the good replies. I'm seriously eyeing an Kensington Trackball Expert.

/C
CLUB VICE for ARTURIA PIGMENTS
HARDWARE SAMPLER FANATIC - Akai S1100/S950/Z8 - Casio FZ20m - Emu Emax I - Ensoniq ASR10/EPS

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el-bo (formerly ebow) wrote: Mon Jun 10, 2019 6:43 pmThe Wacom is almost as intuitive as using a pen, and for me it's almost perfect :tu:
A Wacom Intuos or Cintiq or...?
d o n 't
w a n t
m o r e

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The programmable buttons looks fantastic. Just a quick question... is it just keyboard short-cuts or can you do more advanced stuff with them? Can you for example hook it up with Automator (Mac)? Not super important if not - just curious.

/C
CLUB VICE for ARTURIA PIGMENTS
HARDWARE SAMPLER FANATIC - Akai S1100/S950/Z8 - Casio FZ20m - Emu Emax I - Ensoniq ASR10/EPS

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Trackball stopped my wrist pain, that's the key factor.
Also it's a static object so it takes little space on desk and can be placed on anything if needed.

The drawback of my model is that it doesn't have mouse wheel or "middle mouse button".
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Tricky-Loops wrote: (...)someone like Armin van Buuren who claims to make a track in half an hour and all his songs sound somewhat boring(...)

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No_Use wrote: Mon Jun 10, 2019 9:14 pm @el-bo

I'm not the OP but as I'm currently also looking into mouse vs trackball vs ? (what else is out there)
may I ask: how do you scroll on a Wacom and can you name the model you're using?
The model I am currently using is about ten years old - Bamboo Pen and touch. It can function with the pen or as a trackpad. However, I also use an external trackpad because Apple's is very precise and the gestures are great. Without that I would just end up scrolling via scrollbars (less of a problem for me because no buttons need to be held)

I am thinking about updating my model. The current budget model has Bluetooth, which would be more practical when moving between my two workspaces. I think they are about 80€.

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DJ Warmonger wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2019 6:05 am Trackball stopped my wrist pain, that's the key factor.
I've had operations on both of my wrists for carpal tunnel syndrome, and am particularly sensitive to rsi. While trackballs provide a certain amount of relief, they still have a couple of issues. Firstly, use forces pronation of wrist and forearm, and this can cause quite a lot of stress over extended periods. And secondly, there is the issue of having to press and anchor the thumb on a button for select-hold-and-moving of objects. This can also be a stressor.

The Wacom solves both of these issues for me. The use position avoids pronation, and the pen can be set up to click on-contact. It has a couple of assignable shortcuts on the pen, and four more on the tablet.

The only real downside is having to pick up the pen to use it. Another reason I keep the trackpad, alongside :tu:

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I have an old logitech trackball, Marble Mouse USB. I've has this thing for a while. I use it for the work computer. I use the logitech G400S mouse for music production. Switching between the two provides some balance.

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