My ultimate controller for Traktor FX

**TWD** · 02-03-2010, 03:34 PM

I doubt I'm the first person to say anything about this, but I haven't been able to find anything else similar. I want to have complete control over all 4 of traktor's FX units as well as enough buttons for cuepoints etc. Here are the major things I'm looking for.

* Scratchable crossfaders for the wet/dry of each effect.
* Dedicated knobs and buttons for each FX deck.
* Pads for hotcue's or loop control.
* Extra knobs for filter/key that could also be used as super knobs, or 2 deck EQ control.
* Buttons for mode switching ie switch between hotcues and loop control.

Right now my concept has a total of 56 controls.
*20 knobs
*4 faders
*16 buttons
*16 pads

If I make this custom it looks like the livid instruments diy controller would have what it takes. I'm just not sure about where to get the rest of the controls. Particularly the pads/buttons since everything else I see just uses the arcade buttons. Would I just have to forget that part, and use an Akai instead?

**MONSTA** · 02-03-2010, 04:22 PM

http://www.ucapps.de

DIY MIDI community of epic proportions!

**V-Hoff** · 02-04-2010, 07:50 AM

MIDIBOX or ARDUINO?
What's better for a DIY Project like this?
I have a controller project too...

**Flash101uk** · 02-04-2010, 08:29 AM

Do you not think that having all of these buttons is a bit too much? How the hell do you control it all? You only have 2 hands after all and if you want to do cue juggling aswell, your stuffed!
Is it not better to be more intuitive with a smaller control surface? Traktor has many modifiers at different levels that can be used to great advantage.

I too have been pondering effects lately and have devised a solution that, while only partially implemented so far, seems like a good step forward.
Why dont you have a button that sets up your preffered effect selection to the deck currently in focus. This way, you wont need 4 knobs for each effect bank. Have this button activate a modifier too and connect all the effects, dry/wet, on/off, everything, to one knob. This leaves the other hand free for tinkering with cues

. You could have multiple buttons to do a different effect combo each!
Oh, I also found it useful to have another button that sets all the effects back to their original place / decks and turns off modifiers. It could get very messy otherwise.

**TWD** · 02-04-2010, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by Flash101uk

Do you not think that having all of these buttons is a bit too much? How the hell do you control it all? You only have 2 hands after all and if you want to do cue juggling aswell, your stuffed!
Is it not better to be more intuitive with a smaller control surface? Traktor has many modifiers at different levels that can be used to great advantage.

I too have been pondering effects lately and have devised a solution that, while only partially implemented so far, seems like a good step forward.
Why dont you have a button that sets up your preffered effect selection to the deck currently in focus. This way, you wont need 4 knobs for each effect bank. Have this button activate a modifier too and connect all the effects, dry/wet, on/off, everything, to one knob. This leaves the other hand free for tinkering with cues

. You could have multiple buttons to do a different effect combo each!
Oh, I also found it useful to have another button that sets all the effects back to their original place / decks and turns off modifiers. It could get very messy otherwise.

Well it's not like I plan on modifying all 4 decks at once per say. I just want to be able to get to them instantly. Right now I have good control over 2 FX units with my LPD8. I have to switch to a different FX bank to do anything else and it drives me nuts. I just think that there could be an advantage to having dedicated controls for all 4 decks. If you want to do something with a smaller control surface that allows you to modify a lot of things at the same time there's already stuff out there that is effective at this (IE MPD24).

As for having a reset button this can certainly work, and I even think there's room for 4 more buttons. You'd just have to make sure you use soft takeover for the knobs.

**niietzshe** · 02-04-2010, 06:34 PM

MIDIBox is probably better for you at the moment as MIDI hasn't totally kicked off on the Arduino. Although some people are doing it, there's not much of a community dedicated to ArduinoMIDI. MIDIBOX however has a very good forum dedicated to making midi controllers...

I agree, clever access to everything you want is key. Check out the controller I'm making, it'll give me access to everything I want, but isn't to convoluted. Everythings laid out in a nice logistical manner and I can swap between the different sections at will, just like my mixer.

You can see it here:
http://www.monstamusic.co.uk

Good luck!
MONSTA

**Flash101uk** · 02-05-2010, 04:16 AM

Originally Posted by TWD

Well it's not like I plan on modifying all 4 decks at once per say. I just want to be able to get to them instantly. Right now I have good control over 2 FX units with my LPD8. I have to switch to a different FX bank to do anything else and it drives me nuts. I just think that there could be an advantage to having dedicated controls for all 4 decks. If you want to do something with a smaller control surface that allows you to modify a lot of things at the same time there's already stuff out there that is effective at this (IE MPD24).

As for having a reset button this can certainly work, and I even think there's room for 4 more buttons. You'd just have to make sure you use soft takeover for the knobs.

Fair enough mate. If your only using an LPD8 i can see your a bit short on buttons to do anything with. I too have an LPD8 that i used alongside a digital jockey 2 and even that wasnt a big enough control surface to do much with. I recently upgraded to an MPD24 which, alongside my other controller, is offering enough buttons and knobs to be really expressive.