New controllers, brand

[MrPopinjay]

I'd want real pots that click for EQs rather than encoders. Just not the same maaan.

[zestoi]

Totally agree... I think pads like what's on the nocturn or APC40 would be a lot cooler, more professional-looking, and not so DJTT-ish. Arcade buttons are great, but DJTT has cornered the DJ market with those types of controllers... Another one would just confuse people OR make you look unoriginal/copycat.

I honestly think that a smaller APC40-type controller with encoders knobs and faders would kill it. If it's housed in an aluminum case (similar to the new MF pros) then there can't be questions of durability... If you build in a sound card, you could have one of the most killer controllers out there.

This is just a concept that I came up with in about 5 minutes so don't go critiquing too harshly

that's pretty cool - i would probably buy that if it was made.

a couple of buttons to each side of the fader would be useful - apart from that there's some dead space at bottom left+right - but theres nothing else wrong with it nice layout... 8x8 grids seem a good number ofc.maybe just a few extra pads...

I'd want real pots that click for EQs rather than encoders. Just not the same maaan.

i prefer pots for eq's but would like encoders for effects. that design up there ^^ would work well with pots above those faders ofc

edit: definately a few shift or bank select type buttons would be a nice addition to that layout

[ToOntown]

that's pretty cool - i would probably buy that if it was made.

a couple of buttons to each side of the fader would be useful - apart from that there's some dead space at bottom left+right - but theres nothing else wrong with it nice layout... 8x8 grids seem a good number ofc.maybe just a few extra pads...

i prefer pots for eq's but would like encoders for effects. that design up there ^^ would work well with pots above those faders ofc

edit: definately a few shift or bank select type buttons would be a nice addition to that layout

Thanks, buddy. I'd buy it too! Maybe I'm onto something

Yes, agreed about the dead space. Some shift buttons would be perfect down there.

The knobs above the faders would be center-detent pots and I imagined the ones above the banks of pads to be endless encoders. It wasn't clearly stated in the post but that's what I was going for.

[zestoi]

Thanks, buddy. I'd buy it too! Maybe I'm onto something

Yes, agreed about the dead space. Some shift buttons would be perfect down there.

The knobs above the faders would be center-detent pots and I imagined the ones above the banks of pads to be endless encoders. It wasn't clearly stated in the post but that's what I was going for.

ah cool.... then my comments were pretty much redundant

that would be an almost perfect layout of pots+faders+encoders and pads for me anyway very flexible...

ofc it's back to the more traditional dj controller type layout (sort of) but i reckon that'd be pretty popular...

[MrPopinjay]

Four small buttons in a square below each fader and then a cue button and 2 large buttons for cue and play/pause under that.

A big strip of buttons across the top some encoders etc for master volume, headphone volumes, etc.

[ToOntown]

ah cool.... then my comments were pretty much redundant

that would be an almost perfect layout of pots+faders+encoders and pads for me anyway very flexible...

ofc it's back to the more traditional dj controller type layout (sort of) but i reckon that'd be pretty popular...

I'm picking up what you're putting down... I agree with that. Of course one CAN use this type of controller in Ableton, the general consensus is that if it has EQs and a crossfader in the center, it's not for Ableton.

Something like this would be more like it

[sarasin]

I'm picking up what you're putting down... I agree with that. Of course one CAN use this type of controller in Ableton, the general consensus is that if it has EQs and a crossfader in the center, it's not for Ableton.

Something like this would be more like it

Thats actually pretty dope!

Reminds me of the one Ean is using currently....but with nicer knobs (with LED's!) and the pad buttons instead of arcade.

Like....2 of his....side by side....almost.

[MrPopinjay]

I don't like it for ableton. Looks to me like that's supposed to be a clip grid and there's not enough faders for one per channel. Mutes, arms, solo and column select buttons are also missing.

[ToOntown]

I don't like it for ableton. Looks to me like that's supposed to be a clip grid and there's not enough faders for one per channel. Mutes, arms, solo and column select buttons are also missing.

Don't worry, I'm designing a MrPopinjay edition that will blow you away.

[nem0nic]

@sendoushi

The best advice I can give you is to have a use case in mind when you design your controller. I'm not saying that you have to directly address a specific piece of software, but if you step back and take a look at the most popular software packages, you'll start to see some patterns that you can take advantage of.

Looking at your initial layout, I'm wondering what you're trying to do. You have 10 pots, 14 buttons, and 6 (assuming) arcade buttons. Can you name one use case where this layout is logical, or maps elegantly into any software? If this is for Ableton Live effects, you have too many pots, way too many buttons, and not enough arcade buttons. In Traktor, it's also an awkward mapping. In each case, there is a remainder, which forces the user to map an arbitrary function there.

You want to stick to using groups of 4 or 8 unless you are addressing a very specific use case. Look at this for example...



The button and knob arrangement at the top of the controller now maps into Ableton effects and Traktor effects equally well. In Live, I would probably use the bottom 8 button for plugin parameters that lend themselves to regular live use (like Stutter Edit for example). Or maybe I would write a simple Bome's preset to use the smaller 4 buttons to create "pages" to modify the output of the other controls.

In Traktor, those same 4 buttons could set modifiers to do the same thing, allowing the controller to control all 4 effects modules, 2 sample decks, and deck key and filter for all 4 decks.

And all of this would map logically into the controller, without odd overlap or out of place controls.

So don't just think about what controls you can fit in a given space. Think about how and why the controller will be used. If you can't think of a logical use case for the layout, you need to re-think your design.