Because knobs and sliders are fun and make you feel like a real recording engineer.
Honestly there is no other reason, at least for this function.
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Best answer yet LOL
I was a little surprised that it is only 36 Pages but I guess it is what it is 
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They are much, much more convenient that grabbing the mouse and tweaking things in the UI.
As a real example, each patch in my synth has eight macro knobs (in addition to all the other controls) to change various large-scale parameters of the sound. Now I could tweak these on-screen with the mouse if I had no better option, but mapping them to real knobs on the controller takes seconds and is much more convenient and immediate to find the sound you want.
Look, Iām not going to try and talk anyone in to it. But this conversation is kind of amusing me. Itās like you have either done this in your workflow or not, and if you had for any length of time, you would immediately understand.
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All Iām saying is if I could see a real world example of how these controls would benefit me while playing piano, Iād be all over it. Even if they could make Reaper better, I would be interested in them. Theyāre there in front of me, and Iād use them if I could find a purpose.
You do a lot more synth stuff than I could ever dream of doing, so I understand your affinity toward those controls.
Not to bash on anyoneās opinion but you could almost compare this conversation with any external device versus computer. Sure, I donāt need a drum machine, synth, guitar or even a bass because I can do all of this on the computer too and it will probably sound even better. But if it was up to me I rather have my own drum set or any of those instruments at home! Using a real instrument is just more fun and helps me in my workflow (and musical understanding). For example my drum machine would not work if I canāt connect it to my external sequencer.
This is actually a much discussed topic by Glenn from SMG. 
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Even setting the synths aside mapping the sliders to the track and master level sliders in reaper is something I am actually considering buying another external midi controller for.
I would also like four more knobs (my alesis only has four).
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I might try that just for the heck of it. I donāt know what benefit it would be, but Iām willing to give it a try.
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The more tracks you have, the bigger difference it will make. Most of my projects tend to have five to ten tracks or so, sometimes more.
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Thatās impressive! Mine usually have only 2, backing track and my bass track.
@howard as you know many can have way more than that as you start layering on sounds.
@PamPurrs probably worth asking you what your goals are? Do you want to make your own backing tracks? Full production of a song with your own bass lines?
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Thatās a good question. If youāve followed me at all during the 2+ years Iāve been on here, you know my goals change like the summer breeze.
When I started looking at getting a keyboard, it was for the purpose of transcribing basslines, but now that Iāve gotten my fingers back on those keys, Iām spending a lot of time re-learning piano playing.
I canāt tell you what my goals might be other than that. Donāt be surprised if I end up creating music with synths at some point
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Always like your honesty and straightforward way 
I get it, this is all one giant rabbit hole.
I asked because I donāt want to waste your time on something your not interested in. Like others have said, all this music production has improved my bass playing and understanding of how I fit into the mix.
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@sully @Celticstar or @howard do either of you know what those pads on the right rear of the board are for? Right now if I tap them, they play a single tone, which seems rather silly, since I can do the same thing on the keyboard.
Those pads, like all of the knobs and sliders are programmable.
Yours is obviously set up for just playing a single note but is changeable.
Watch the video @howard gave a link to above and just reprogram the pads in Reaper to whatever function you want them to control
l have not done this yet, but I plan to tie my pads into the drum kit virtual instrument.
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Yep @Celticstar is spot on, most use them for finger drumming, as a way to get a quick drum line setup.
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Pam is adjusting the level of her bass. Thatās it.
I do the same, thatās it.
The mouse isnāt a burden.
@howard you do a ton in the DAW and yes, it is more convienient, but, for her function, it isnāt really. Especially if the laptop is in front of her and the keyboard is somewhere else.
This was my point from above is all.
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Yep some of my projects have a couple dozen tracks. Five would be the absolute minimum possible while still getting anything done.
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itās exactly analogous to the question as she was previously asking, āWhy would I want a keyboard controller if I am happy plonking on the virtual keyboard while transcribing?ā
It turns out, mapping things onscreen to physical controllers is worthwhile in general when it comes to using them to make music. Thereās lots of uses where twisting a knob, moving a slider, or tapping a pattern on a pad is more immediate and convenient than mousing on the laptop.
For the sliders mapped to DAW faders specifically (which you are likely to adjust while not using the keyboard) then having them on a separate controller can be convenient, yes, which is kind of why I want something like this:
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Donāt get me wrong, I want one of those too just cause its awesome, but I also see no need for it for what I do (backing track + bass + once in a while sax).
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