It becomes challenging to select the best mouse for music production when the market has so many options, including trackball mice, trackpads, traditional mice, wired and wireless mice. Moreover, you will have to look for additional features like sensitivity, precision, and agronomics. The functionality in a studio environment or Digital Audio Workstation(DAW) is another critical feature of music production devices.
To make your way easy, we have reviewed the six best mice for music production, and here is a review.
6 Best Mouse for Music Production in 2021
- Best Overall: Kensington Expert Wireless Mouse
- Best Buy: Apple Magic Trackpad 2
- Best Wireless: Logitech MX Ergo Trackball Mouse
- Best Budget: Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Mouse
- Logitech G604 Mouse
- Razer Naga Trinity
1. Best Overall: Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball Mouse
Rating : 4.4/5
Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball mouse is an attractive option for the music studios. It is a finger-operated trackball mouse with a large 55mm trackball, giving you maximum control on your work. The mouse features an ambidextrous design and is equally useful for both left-handed and right-handed users. This mouse offers ease of usability and precise control due to the ideal positioning of buttons and trackball. Moreover, it comes with a detachable wrist pad, giving you muscle comfort and relaxation when working continuously for many hours.
Being a wireless device provides the advantage of portability and convenience. The mouse offers wireless connectivity via Bluetooth 4.0 or 2.4GHz wireless dongle. Moreover, it occupies less space and works great even on the smaller and messy tabletops.
Buttons are of critical importance when choosing the mouse for producing and editing music files. Thankfully Kensington Expert wireless has four customizable buttons. Kensington offers free software, TrackballWorks. With this software’s help, you can map these buttons according to any DAW or music production software.
The scroll ring makes it easy to scroll up and down on the screen. The Scroll ring is especially helpful when you want to walk through a multitude of files quickly. It features Diamond Eye Optical tracking giving you the maximum and precise cursor control. You can also adjust the cursor’s speed, which provides you with an edge while performing precision tasks like cropping and editing.
One of its downsides is that it relies on AA disposable batteries for power. Usually, rechargeable internal batteries are preferred; they are more reliable than disposable ones.
Kensington expert wireless trackball is compatible with both MAC and Windows OS. Four programmable buttons, ideally placed large trackball and ambidextrous design, make it ideal for music production.
2. Best Buy: Apple Magic Trackpad 2
Rating : 4.8 /5
Apple Magic Trackpad is a perfect choice for music production because of the innovative Force Touch technology. This Force-touch feature adds a lot of strength and ease of usability while creating and editing music content.
It is the updated version of Magic Trackpad with improved design and many advanced features. The measuring 6.3Wx4.5D inches has a 30% larger surface area than its predecessor. The larger surface area is helpful when you are working with music production software. The trackpad features a wedge design, 0.43 inches tall at the back, and 0.19 inches at the front. This low profile design creates a muscle-friendly and comfortable angle for sweeping and scrolling.
The edge-to-edge glass surface area is highly responsive and smooth. It offers multi-touch and Force-touch mechanisms. Four pressure sensors beneath the glass surface can calculate the amount of force you exert. Even the lightest touch is registered-thanks to Force Touch technology. Changing the force or pressure will change the function.
Moreover, it provides Haptic feedback. Haptic feedback is the modern way of communication between users and computers. It uses the sense of touch and lets you know whether the task is triggered or not. It also offers audio feedback, and you can switch to quiet mode as well. These features make the Magic Trackpad an ideal device for Visually impaired music producers.
Apples’ magic trackpad is a plug and play model. For the initial setup, you need to connect it via lightning port to your MAC. After the initial setup, it connects to the MAC device via Bluetooth. A rechargeable battery powers Apple magic trackpad. You can charge the battery via the lightning port.
The Apple Magic trackpad with innovative multi-touch and Force Toch technology offers many useful functions when working in a studio set-up. It’s easy to set up, and agronomic design makes the trackpad an ideal music production device. Lastly you won’t feel any mouse lag with this pick.
3. Best Wireless: Logitech MX Ergo Trackball Mouse
Rating : 4.5/5
Many studio owners prefer wireless trackballs over the traditional mouse. This is because wireless trackballs offer more precise control and ease of usability than any other device. Logitech MX Ergo is the best mouse for music production because it features an adjustable design with many productive features.
It is a thumb-operated trackball mouse with a scroll wheel and eight customizable buttons. By Installing the Logitech Options Software on your PC or MAC, you can program these buttons according to your choice. This software also allows you to adjust the cursor’s speed.
This type of customization is useful when working with a DAW or studio environment.
The trackball angle can be adjusted from 0 to 20 degrees-thanks to an adjustable hinge. This angle is beneficial in releasing muscle stress and makes it the most comfortable device ever.
It is a top-pick of music producers because of its multi-computer control feature. With its Logitech Flow software, it can simultaneously control three computers and enables you to copy-paste the files from one system to another. This feature helps it stand out as the best mouse for music production.
It features wireless connectivity via Bluetooth or USB unifying 2.4 GHz receiver. For power, it relies on rechargeable Li-ion batteries and has a USB Type-C port for charging. The battery can work flawlessly for seventy days with a single charge.
The Logitech MX Ego is undoubtedly the most suitable device for a studio environment-thanks to its cross-computer control feature. Power-users would love the device because it offers seamless navigation between three computers or multi-screen DAW setups.
4. Best Budget: Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Mouse
Rating : 4.4 /5
Kensington SlimBlade trackball is another ergonomically designed mouse that offers a lot of productivity and ease of usability. The mouse comes in ambidextrous design, making it equally useful for both right-handed and left-handed people.
It is a finger-operated trackball mouse that comes with a 55mm large trackball. Scrolling and sweeping with such a large and ideally positioned trackball is a real delight. With its unique twist scrolling feature, you can easily navigate long ques of racks and media files. Moreover, there are large programmable buttons integrated on top of the mouse.
You can assign any task of your choice like copy/paste, double click, app launching, and media player function. Interestingly you can program custom actions by clicking any two buttons at the same time. This button is only possible when you have TrackballWorks software installed on your computer.
It is relatively bigger and bulky than other trackball mice, but it is made suitable for the hand of any size. The low profile of this trackball gives it a sleek appearance and also releases muscle and arm stress.
It offers wire connectivity, and for this purpose, a black slim USB cord comes with this Slimblade Trackball, you will be able to use it right after plugging the mouse into your MAC or Windows system. The TrackBallWorks software also enables you to adjust the Cursor’s speed, adding more precision and control to your DAW projects.
The SlimBlade trackball features a low profile design requiring less arm and muscle movements, making it an attractive choice for power users. Customizable buttons and cursor’s speed makes it an excellent choice for music production.
5. Logitech G604 Mouse
Rating : 4.4/5
Logitech G604 is a wireless mouse with fifteen programmable keys making it an ideal option for DAW projects and studio environments. It is a bit bulky and heavy but offers sufficient palm grip to the hands of medium to large size.
It is not ambidextrous and is designed for right-handed users as its thumb-rest and side-buttons sit on the left side. On the left side, there are three buttons arranged in the two parallel rows of three. These buttons are easily reachable by the thumb, making the mouse a highly productive device.
Two DPI control buttons are present on the left-click button on the left side. This mouse has a finger-operated metal scroll wheel with up and down and two tilt inputs. This scroll wheel works in two different modes, hyper-fast and ratcheted scrolling.
Other than the USB/receiver and scroll wheel lock buttons, all of its controls are programmable. With G Hub software, these buttons can be mapped according to the tasks and projects you are currently working on. You can also program a key as a G-shift, that triggers alternate key-bindings as long as you press that key.
If you are new to this device, you may find it difficult to differentiate between closely spaced buttons leading to mis-clicks. But having so many buttons on board, you will be able to perform any task of your choice related to music production. Also, you can try out some cool mice under $50 for this purpose.
The mouse relies on AA batteries, which is one of its downsides. These single-use batteries create an extra mess and are not as reliable as rechargeable batteries. Although it’s a heavy mouse, it is still highly portable-thanks to wireless connectivity. It can be connected to your PC via Bluetooth or a USB 2.0 receiver.
Logitech G604 is the best music production because it features 15 programmable buttons to help you work in any studio environment. The wireless connectivity and dual-mode metal scroll wheel add more power to an already powerful device. If you don’t want to spend a lot then have a quick look at the top mice under $10 which can help you save a lot.
6. Razer Naga Trinity
Rating : 4.4/5
Razer Naga Trinity is a beautifully designed wireless mouse that is a powerful device for any DAW or studio. The mouse is highly responsible-thanks for its 1600 DPI control sensor. It gets the work done precisely and quickly. The sensitivity of the mouse is adjustable, and for this purpose, it has two dedicated DPI control keys.
There are twelve programmable buttons on the mouse that add a lot of functionality to the mouse. Razer Synapse software allows you to assign any task of your choice to these buttons. This customization helps you work with DAW and audio editing software. Therefore, there is no need to attach extra peripherals to the PC for accomplishing these tasks.
The rubberized scroll wheel is extremely useful when you have so many files on the list, and you want to scroll up and down. It offers both wired and wireless connectivity.
The Razer Naga Trinity is powered by a rechargeable battery that lasts up to seventy days of continuous use. If the battery runs out while you are working, you can simply plug it in and continue to use it as it gets charged. It comes only in the right-handed version, which is disappointing as it limits its use and functionality.
Razer Naga Trinity is one of the best mice under $100, with its more than twelve programmable buttons, gives you maximum control over DAW for music editing software. The highly sensitive optical sensor makes the mouse highly responsive and gets your work done smoothly and quickly.
Wrapping Up
In the end, we can safely conclude that customization is one of the critical features of the best mouse for music production. Button mapping software enables the mouse to work with any audio editing software. It offers more control over DAW or music production software, allowing you to produce highly creative content.
Ease of usability and agronomic design makes these devices more attractive for studio environments. Comfortable wrist and arm positioning make them ideal for extended use. The agronomic designs make them easy to learn and add precision and accuracy to your work.
Here are three favorites from the list,
- Apple Magic Trackpad 2 for its low profile design, multi-touch, and Force-Touch Gesture and Haptic Feedback feature.
- Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball Mouse with 55mm trackball and four customizable buttons is an ideal choice for studios.
- Razer Naga Trinity with a highly sensitive optical sensor and nineteen programmable buttons for excellent performance and maximum productivity.