Your Perfect controller Would Have?
Assuming that it could be built, please tell us what specific software functions your perfect controller would be designed to match. Please list them in 2 groups.
I must have:
It would be cool if it had:
Don’t know if this is what you would like to see, but this is what I could come up with.
(I also added an extra category 
)
I must have:
- rotaries,
- sufficient buttons, arcade buttons by preference
- faders,
- crossfader, Infinium crossfader by preference
- MIDI In, Out, Through
It would be cool if it had:
- touchpad for quick XY assignment,
- loadsa LED lights
- Motorized jogdials/platters (Like the Stanton SCS.1d)
The likes of:
Basically I would be happy if they came up with A BCR2000 that was combined with an M Audio x session pro and a Korg kaos pad2, because of MIDI on kp2.
Must have:
Everything that’s on the VCI-100, with the jog wheel fixed
If would cool if it had:
Have to agree with Tekki, the XY pad.
Either motorized jog wheels or jog wheels similar to the Pioneer CDJ-1000’s
I must have:
Large mashable arcade buttons, minimum of 6 per deck max 12 per deck
Multiple faders with chunky handles - min 8 max 24
Multiple knobs with a button for each, minimum of LED backlit - 5 knobs/ 5 buttons for the Eq/filter section max 8 knobs / 8 buttons
Low resistance cross fader/s - min 1 max 4
XY pads - essential because there are certain effects you cannot perform without one - min1 max 4
I would like to have:
Pitch Wheels/joysticks - min 1 max 4
Motorized jogs min 1 max 2
Touch strips - min 1 max 4
Laser distance to midi sensors min 1 max 4
Ports for multiple foot switches min 2 max 8
I really should draw up some dream midi device plans 
12 rotory knobs with matching buttons (backlit)
an additional 8-10 buttons, backlit
3 band EQ and trim (push buttons on EQ for kills)
compact, 100% symmetrial design
tempo, channel volume faders and crossfader
customizable templates
good to have
jogwheels
XY pad
sandwich
Must have-
EQ and Kills
Jog wheels (bigger the better)
Loadsa buttons
4 faders
crossfader
Cool to have (Ideal set up)-
12 inch motorized jog wheels (Build me preaze =))
4 band EQ per deck w/ killz
10 band paragraphic EQ per deck with bypass opt
Highpass / Lo pass
4 faders
Crossfader w/fadercurve switch
Assload of buttons
Assload of knobs
Pitchwheel
On board sound
XY controlls
Footpedal support
File navigation/transport
A kitchen sink
Fit this all into 4ft x 2.5ft =)
A friend of mine and I started building this controller for Traktor 3 a few years ago but didn’t finish, largely due to dissatisfaction with Traktor 3 itself. Shame, really.
The design makes me think that an “all things to all DJs” controller isn’t easily attainable; as you can see, I don’t care if I have jog wheels, and to me, anything that looks as if it’s trying to act like a turntable is just taking up real estate. 
I must have:
-
Controls for more than two sound sources - three good, four better.
Each sound source needs to have: -
transport, play, pause, stop, volume, pan, crossfader assign A,B or Main Mix.
-
cue points*6, cue select (without play), loop drop, loop length incr-decr.
-
note bend, note lock, 4-bar/1-bar/note jump back/forwards.
-
controls for moving a running deck to another sound source, either as duplicate or as a simple move-while-playing.
-
Monitor cue on each sound source.
-
A shallow FX chain on each sound source (limit of three?) and another chain on the output mix. Modelled on n the Ableton Live style where filters are just one effect you can add either before or after reverb or flange. Controls for each effect: on-off-level, CCs for controls A,B,C,D, on each effect, kill switches for A,B,C,D on each effect, LFO speed, LFO sync-to-beat. Enough control to be able to Hold and shape short sounds in the reverb over the top of a running track.
-
Global controls - cue-volume, cue-mix, master-volume, file navigation & selection. (Record Mix is a button that gets pressed once an evening, no need for that on the controller!)
-
Above and beyond: Once these basics are provided, some of what would usually be put in the “It would be cool to have” group is not IMO negotiable. Any controller MUST have buttons and knobs that have no default assigned purpose other than to be the place where you get to put your personalised controls and patches. You can provide more of them by having a mode for the standard buttons that gives them an unassigned purpose, but switching mode should not force you into a workflow where you’re switching back and forwards between “Custom Mode” and “Standard Mode” to alternate between your custom gear and normal transport operations. I’m essentially arguing that some of the “Standard Mode” controllers be unassigned.
It would be cool if it had:
- Performance friendly controls that will add to the visual impact of your DJing - distance-to-MIDI CCs using lasers to wave your hands around and alter things, X-Y control pad or a ribbon controller so people can watch you making changes.
- Lights and colors that reflect the current “mode” in a visually powerful way i.e. not just a red “Rude LED” up in the corner - make all lights switch from white to orange when a mode is engaged.
- The ability to customize LED colors for each control group (TKS color “Skins”!) - something like the Monodeck II already does. Sounds like a frivolous addition, but I think this kind of interface personalization will end up being be a big selling point especially when people can share their “skins” online.
- A standard remapping solution, either in the DJ software or in the device software that works on ALL MIDI coming into the system, not just locked to the device itself (Akai, Roland, I’m looking at you two). I don’t want tens of MIDI remappers littering my setup when one good one should be able to control everything.
- A midi remapper that allows me to share my setups online for free. Mmmkay?
For the onboard sound thing, every year there are cheaper and better sound cards released, the last thing we need is a sound card in these devices- they will remain much more timeless without all the audio crap in there that people will eventually never use and feel sour 2 years down the track after having purchased something with a sound card they carry around but never use for its sound card properties.
Death to devices with on-board sound i say !
My two cents exactly Bento!
But what if it was really a good quality sound card? Something on the level of the firebox or audio8? headphone volume and master volume all on the controller makes it feel a lot more like a mixer dont you think?
If you ask me, it would be better to have it in a combo package, just to be on the more flexible side. 
If all these companies start throwing audio cards on their stuff its going to add to weight/space/$ - i think it needs to be squelched before i end up with 45 million sound card devices even though i am only using one of them.
In 18 months time there is going to be a smaller, cheaper, lighter soundcards that sound the same if not better. With the eventual creation of even lower latency, more inputs/outputs, usb bus powered, higher throughput interfaces(think USB3) this will render the audio card obsolete while all the midi is still damn useful.
While the midi devices have been shown to stand the test of time analogue->digital, digital->analogue devices have not and generally are replaced more often because of new innovations in technology. The basic structure of midi however has remained unchanged for many years and i will believe using my VCI-100 longer than my firebox in the years to come.
I agree headphone volume and everything on the mixer makes it feel more like an analogue mixer, but we really need to move away from the analogue paradigms - is that not what we are about here on DJTT anyway, moving away from ways of the past where practical ?
Hey now thats a pretty good idea
i personally prefer built in sound - i love my bcd3000 because the master and headphone out and their volume controls are ON the mixer.
I sort of want to upgrade to something better but it just works so damn well.
as for the initial question…
I must have:
all the functionality of the BCD3000 plus at least 8 additional knobs/buttons
(This is for Traktor Deck A and B FX controls)
not really relevant to your initial question but - solid metal construction wherever possible, I usually end up blind drunk by the end of the night because i only do houseparties and stuff, Not sure how much more the BCD can take 
It would be cool if it had:
4 band EQ
was some sort of standard size so road cases were available for it.
You could use a midi knob to adjust your monitor volume if you need it that badly, as long as your levels are good this should not result in much of a quality loss. Get it in the ballpark range before your set and adjust to taste with the midi knob though your set.
Mmmm… setting up my BCR2000 with traktor actually makes me feel the BCR2000 is actually fulfilling my needs more and more, even though I expected otherwise.
hey tekki - do you just use the bcr to control traktor? i got one lying around that i dont use might be interesting, are there any pre-made files for it?
Will be getting back on this with an excel sheet telling you the layout.
The set up is not yet flawless, but will post tks when it is.
I have to agree - MIDI-only devices will find a place in setups 15 years from now, but devices with build in sound cards will have to have driver updates that follow your platforms, and where’s the incentive for music hardware companies to update drivers for 10 year old devices to the latest and greatest version of Windows/OSX/Linux? They want you to buy a new device.
MIDI only devices will futureproof you, especially if you have the option to get MIDI out from th device without a USB cable.