4MidiLoop Arcade Button mod + 4 Jog Wheels !!!
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  1. #1
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    Default 4MidiLoop Arcade Button mod + 4 Jog Wheels !!!

    Hey just wanted to post pics of my new setup.

    I recently bought a 4MidiLoop thinking that it would be a solution to the dreaded "Layer" theory that drives me insane while playing Live. Perhaps I stand alone on thinking that "layers" are a drag, but I do think "layers" interfere with the natrual work flow....especially while playing live.

    Anyways I do love the 4MidiLoop, but its not the be all end all 4 Deck solution it boasts. First of all the Button are small and the Play & Cue Buttons are way to close to the Volume fader IMO. Also the Buttons are not the most responcive Buttons ive dealt with. If you dont strike them dead center they dont engage, and even if you do strike them dead center, but not hard enough, they dont engage or they will engage for a millisecond then stop. I can deal with this Button behaviar on most functions (Cue Points, Key Lock ect etc) but I CAN NOT deal with this problem on "Play" buttons. Addmittedly there is a learning curve with these Buttons, but still I dont think getting use to these Buttons will totally enliminate the possibility that they might not engage. Its not fun to DJ live while thinking that there is a possibility that the "Play" Button might not engage properly when stricking it.

    Also The 4MidiLoop doesnt have a good Jog Wheel solution. It does have deticated Endless Encoders that try to act like a Jog Wheel, but it is an Epic Fail if you are used to using the standard Jog Wheels that most Midi Controllers have, mainly because you cant spin the encoders in a constant way, you always have to stop then turn again as your fingers cant continually turn the encoders. For this reason....the Encoder Jogs pretty much suck.

    So after much thought and research I decided to tackle the Jog Wheel problem first. I wanted 4 Jog Wheels to acompany the 4 Deck situation that the 4MidiLoop offers. So I ended up buying 2 ICON IDJ midi controllers and stripping them of everything but the Jog Wheels. Then went to EVERYTHING PLASTIC and got 2 Plastic top plates custom made to cover all the holes from the Buttons, Dials and Faders that I stripped out. Once the face plates were on, all that remained was dual Jog Wheels on both controllers. The ICON IDJ Touch Sensitive Jog Wheels are THE strong point of the contoller. I would compare their usability to the VCI-100 Jogs. The dials faders and buttons on the ICON IDJ are total crap and its not possible to get LED feedback from the buttons (even while using the included software). However you can use the included software to change Midi Channels and velocity etc etc, so thats pretty useful. Also if you make changes to the controllers with the software, they are fed to the controller and the controller then stays in the state you program it in without having to run the software again. Also there are several Buttons that have an "always on" state (which I covered with the top plate), as well as the Jog Wheels which also have an "always on" State (Red & Blue) depending if the "touch senser" is engaged or not. When I custom made the top plates, I made sure to make seperate holes under the Jog Wheels where the "always on" LEDs where so the Jogs are always lit from underneath. This is great in low light siuations.

    Next I tackled the Button problem (4MidiLoop Buttons dont always work) by adding Arcade buttons to the bottom of the 4MidiLoop. For the brain of the Arcade buttons, I used a MidiFighter board that easily fits inside the 4MidiLoop. BTW there is PLENTY of room inside the 4MidiLoop for modding. Of course I couldnt fit an "assembled" MidiFighter inside the 4MidiLoop, so I just used the brain portion of the board and soldered wire from the board to each Arcade button and made sure to insulate the board so it is seperated from the 4MidiLoop board.

    To drill the holes in the 4midiloop I used a step drill for metal. The trick was to make the drill speed slow and to take my time. But all I used was an adverage drill, no machine shop of press of anything. And for the template, I used the top of the MidiFighter for a guide to mark the hole size and spacing.

    The final width of this this entire setup (including the Jog Wheels) isnt even as wide as an NI S4......

    Here is pics of the finished project !!!!
    Attached Images Attached Images
    • File Type: jpg 2.jpg (31.2 KB, 262 views)
    Last edited by thictool; 08-27-2011 at 11:08 PM.

  2. #2
    Tech Guru DJDoubleYou's Avatar
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    Why do you only use the jog's

    Ps those arcade buttons look sweet
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  3. #3
    Tech Guru zestoi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thictool View Post
    I wanted 4 Jog Wheels to acompany the 4 Deck situation that the 4MidiLoop offers. So I ended up buying 2 ICON IDJ midi controllers and stripping them of everything but the Jog Wheels.
    The ICON IDJ Touch Sensitive Jog Wheels are THE strong point of the contoller. I would compare their usability to the VCI-100 Jogs.
    nice to hear from someone else on this forum who actually has an idj. i think the jogs are pretty responsive but have never tried a vci-100 etc so had nothing to compare them to. except my hercules mk2 who's jogs are quite sluggish

    The dials faders and buttons on the ICON IDJ are total crap and its not possible to get LED feedback from the buttons (even while using the included software).
    the right hand pitch fader on mine doesnt even really work so i keep it taped down and out of the way. pots are ok but too close together. i've ordered some replacement taller/thinner/more-rubbery caps to try and help that tho. worth a shot for a few quid.

    personally i quite like the buttons, tho they're pretty small. and didnt realise there'd be no led feedback when i bought it. maybe they'd fix that with a firmware update? maybe not...

    very cool mod and creative use of the idj's to get 4 cheap touch sensitive jogs cool photos

    btw you mentioned some software that came with your idj's. do you just mean the imap or something else too? still hoping somehow/sometime i can get midi led feedback on it
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    Quote Originally Posted by derschaich
    "wohoo, i'm touched, turn on the FX"

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by rutierut View Post
    Why do you only use the jog's

    Ps those arcade buttons look sweet
    I only use the IDJ Jogs because the 4MidiLoop has more than enough buttons and faders etc etc and it only lacks Jog Wheel department. Plus as I said the quality of everything BUT the Jog Wheels on the IDJ is total crap.

  5. #5
    Tech Guru Yul's Avatar
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    Great stuff and good mod, thanks for showing us.
    Your unit is nice.

  6. #6
    Tech Guru zestoi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thictool View Post
    I only use the IDJ Jogs because the 4MidiLoop has more than enough buttons and faders etc etc and it only lacks Jog Wheel department. Plus as I said the quality of everything BUT the Jog Wheels on the IDJ is total crap.
    i think thats slightly harsh pots are ok but very close together, faders are usable, buttons i think are ok personally.
    11mba / 13mbp / tsp2 / live9 / audio10 / 2x reloop rp7000gold / 2x xdj1000 / 2x d2
    maschine mk2 / x1 mk2 / z1 / f1 / midifighter / lpd8 / 2x launchpad / launchkontrol xl
    Quote Originally Posted by derschaich
    "wohoo, i'm touched, turn on the FX"

  7. #7
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    I thought the idea behind the 4midiloop was to move away for jog wheels?

  8. #8
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    And on that note, what are you using the jog wheels for even?

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nephew View Post
    And on that note, what are you using the jog wheels for even?
    Jeez....and your what, "The Jog Wheel Police" ???

    Im useing the seperate Jogs cause.....ummm, I like em? and cause the Jog / Endless Encoder functionallity on the 4MidiLoop completely SUCKS.

    BTW if the 4MidiLoop was moving "away" from Jog wheels, I highly doubt they would include Endless Encoders labeled SCRATCH / SEEK

  10. #10
    Tech Mentor ranzerox's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zestoi View Post
    nice to hear from someone else on this forum who actually has an idj. i think the jogs are pretty responsive but have never tried a vci-100 etc so had nothing to compare them to. except my hercules mk2 who's jogs are quite sluggish



    the right hand pitch fader on mine doesnt even really work so i keep it taped down and out of the way. pots are ok but too close together. i've ordered some replacement taller/thinner/more-rubbery caps to try and help that tho. worth a shot for a few quid.

    personally i quite like the buttons, tho they're pretty small. and didnt realise there'd be no led feedback when i bought it. maybe they'd fix that with a firmware update? maybe not...

    very cool mod and creative use of the idj's to get 4 cheap touch sensitive jogs cool photos

    btw you mentioned some software that came with your idj's. do you just mean the imap or something else too? still hoping somehow/sometime i can get midi led feedback on it
    where did you buy the icon idj? i wanted to buy one but it seems to not exist at all D:
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