Wanting to delve into FX, totally overwhelmed. help!
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  1. #1
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    Default Wanting to delve into FX, totally overwhelmed. help!

    Ok, so with Traktor I've so far only used the standard FX that come out of the box. I've never really wanted to rely too heavily on FX as I'm more into turntablism but I now would like to map some up that I can solidly use in my sets and know how they are going to perform. Thing is I just don't know where to begin, there's so many parameters and FX types to think about I just need a few pointers.

    I'm all about rotary faders when it comes to FX and not pushing buttons or using line faders. I'm using a NanoKontrol so I have 9 rotary dials at my disposal. At the moment I normally use the beatmasher, the beat slicer, the flanger and a filter on the 1st 4 knobs, and I have a button for each deck to arm the FX.

    What I would like first of all is to be able to control the beat slicer and beat masher so they don't behave so randomly. I just kinda wing it with those 2 FX. Right now I have the Dry/Wet all the way to wet, and the FX turn on as I move the knobs above zero. Can someone suggest anything better? Maybe some chained shit or advanced shit or something, or at least so I know how it performs... I mean does anyone know how to catch a bit to mash up and fuck it up precisely? Like what if I change the increments in which the dial moves or something so it coincides with the track better?

    Secondly I would like map some nice FX to the remaining knobs but unsure of how much dry wet to use & how to set parameters and what FX to use etc, I've been watching a lot of vids but they all seem to be for the VCI-100 so use multiple knobs, buttons and faders simultaneously, or they all have far too many buttons to push just to get the effect going like shift and modifiers and "the first click this does this", and "the second click does that". I just want 4 buttons that arm the FX buttons for each deck, and knobs that turn the effect on as its raised (think of say a Pioneer 800 mixer, you have your effect armed and all you do is turn a knob, no shift or modifiers or 3 different things to control it). As I have 9 dials to play with I might even forget the 4 buttons to arm the FX but have say 3 for deck A, 3 identical for deck B and 3 maybe slightly different that work on the master, all permanently armed but only turn on as the knob is moved). Or I could just have 9 FX with the on/off buttons on the decks.

    I don't want to over complicate things and have a shit load of different crazy FX thats just gonna bog me down. I'd sooner use like 3-5 FX that I know inside out and leave them permanently mapped.

    So can anyone help me get the ball rolling? Thanks
    Last edited by dodge; 11-02-2010 at 10:26 AM.

  2. #2
    Tech Guru basspenetrator's Avatar
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    get the slicer into advanced mode, record a loop with it ang get started tweaking those knobs..

    i would also recommend to have a on/off button per effect instead of turning it on with the knob itself (works great with delay and freeze at a certain point [super knob] but with the beatmasher i like it more to have a dedicated knob).

    you can map selecting effects (or set of effects) to one button
    Setup: TP 3, Kontrol S5, MF Twister, MF3D, MF Classic, DIY-Midifighter, Aiaiai Tma-1
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  3. #3
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    experimatation is the only way to come up with good fx presets.when you've found what you like you can look at where the knobs are.to get the knobs to be where you want at the touch of a button you have to select button in the mapping preferences then you can add the value.e.g0.5 for the knob to be at 12 o clock.you can select button even if your using a knob or fader.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by weltraumpapst View Post
    get the slicer into advanced mode, record a loop with it ang get started tweaking those knobs..

    i would also recommend to have a on/off button per effect instead of turning it on with the knob itself (works great with delay and freeze at a certain point [super knob] but with the beatmasher i like it more to have a dedicated knob).

    you can map selecting effects (or set of effects) to one button
    I've just followed a step-by-step vid of mapping sweeps, I've seen the vid on here before, some chick with a maschine. Thats a nice effect, gonna keep that one, but I didn't use the button delay bit at the end. I don't really wanna use dedicated buttons as I'm normally doing something with the other hand like riding the pitch on the TT or fading the the volume or messing with the EQ on the mixer. I literally want it to be a one-hand operation using dials cos I don't want to have to look over at the nanokontrol to make sure I dont miss the button while Im concentrating on say scratching with my other hand.

    I'm gonna bung the slicer & masher into advance mode and see what I can come up with. But when it comes to say the dry/wet & all the other parameters how does one know what the maximum for each should go up to and what increments they should go up in etc?

  5. #5
    Tech Guru VanGogo's Avatar
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    Even though you like the knobs, some things are better mapped to a button. Like pre-selected beatmasher & slicer values,& loops . I have them layed out on a midi keyboard and marked so I can grab the value I want exactly when I want, but then you can't do the quick rolls like Ean likes to do up and down with a knob or fader. So it does depend on how you want to use the FX.

    As weltraumpapst posted, find the slicer values you like and mark down the amounts of each parameter, and if any buttons for the adv. fx is applied then map it.

    Mapping these values to increments of a knob or fader would require bomes scripting if I am not mistaken. So a button would be easiest, but you can have a knob act like a button by having it turn on with a move to the left and off when all the way right, as in the Reverse Knob vid below.

    Also, you don't need a shift key to map Fx super knobs etc if that is the knob/fader/button's only purpose. So you can use some of the things you have seen on other controllers that need a shift key. Because the knob/fader/button being used on that controller is already being used for another purpose. In general, not always, modifiers can work the same way, so you may not always need them for your mapping, where some one else would.

    go to youtube and watch Ean's FX videos if you haven't yet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsdT4...x=0&playnext=1there are more from Ean on YouTube......

    Good sweep effect knob from ArmyofMe [ame="http://www.youtube.com/user/armyofme4340?blend=2&ob=1#p/u/4/lMbsAIBs3uE"]http://www.youtube.com/user/armyofme4340?blend=2&ob=1#p/u/4/lMbsAIBs3uE[/ame]
    My vid on how to map reverse effect to a knob http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF-KGo4uXNA
    Traktor Bible Fx use cases http://www.traktorbible.com/en/fx_usecases.aspx

    As far as dry wet amounts, use your own ears and map the value most pleasing to you. This amount you may want to change on the fly because of the song's intensity, or to build it up. So, having a dedicated Fx dry wet knob is crucial IMO. For the Slicer and Beatmasher 100% so your track continuing underneath isn't heard.

    As far as the amounts, think of 1.00 as 100% so halfway is 0.50, etc. Sometimes it just takes a few tries to get the right number for the amount you want. So just map and test, then change the amount and test again.
    Hope this helps!
    Last edited by VanGogo; 11-02-2010 at 11:57 AM.

  6. #6

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    ^^^ thanks for posting that wind down effect vid, been meaning to implement something like that into my tsi, but havent had the time to figure it out. thanks!

    to the OP: i suggest you just play around with all of the effects. just experiment with different combos, and dont forget to also experiment with the advanced fx as well, there are some true gems to be uncovered using advanced mode, which some people tend to overlook. also, dont forget that some fx sound better with certain genres and bpms, some sound better with acapellas, some sound better with just a kick, etc etc. just play around with different things, your bound to find a few that are compatible with your style

  7. #7
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    Cool, Im having a little play around. Thanks for the info, and Vangogo thanks for posting that shit. If anyone else has anything to share feel free to post it.

    Can anyone tell me how I map the filter on the deck mixer so that it doesn't drop below 0%. Basically what I want is for my knob to be at it's furthest left position and when I raise it the filter goes from 0 to +100%. I don't want to have to return the knob back to the central position in order for the filter not to drop below 0%. All I'm after is a high pass filter. Is this possible?

    Thanks

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