Hardcore Eks XP5 modding
Hardcore Eks XP5 modding Posted on: 31.03.2010 by Nadia Shelmadine Hi!XP5 is a midicontroller with built in audio interface by a company named Eks. It's bigger brother is propably known to you all -Otus. But anyway, this post is about XP5's. Here's a picture: So I've bought two used Eks XP5 midi controllers pretty cheap (130 | |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 23.10.2010 |
Originally Posted by Fatlimey
http://www.usdigital.com/products/en...otary/shaft/s5 quite expensive! |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 22.10.2010 |
Originally Posted by dJ dAb
where did you get the parts from? I'm particularly interested in the 'socket' piece (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5173972_n.jpg) that attaches to the XP10 encoder spindle. Did you get the metals custom made/cut or are they available to buy anywhere online? |
| Shelby Blancaflor 03.09.2010 |
Originally Posted by Archies'bald
btw. considering the touch sensitivity ... I believe that has to do something with the metal casing. I have the same problem on mine if cables are directly unterneath the bottom of the jog wheel. But so far I couldn't believe of a way to avoid the effect. Maybe you have to cut out a peace around the bottom of the jog and replace it with some kind of plastic. |
| Lucius Pasque 19.09.2011 | Has anyone fixed xp5 crashing issues somehow? Basicly Traktor Pro sound device crashes, if there is some disturbance in electricity. For example turn cooling fan on/off in same extension cord, or put the lights out from the room or just mess with rca behind mixer. I saw a video of same kind of behaviour in youtube, but couldn't find any fixes. |
| Shay Wyche 24.10.2010 | Wrong thread...... |
| Nadia Shelmadine 24.10.2010 | My project died and I sold my XP5's. Right now I have a new project in mind. I'm glad though I got people to realize the "modding possibilities" of Eks controllers. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 23.10.2010 |
Originally Posted by Fatlimey
http://www.usdigital.com/products/en...otary/shaft/s5 quite expensive! |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 23.10.2010 | thanks! I need to do some measurements but this looks like it might do it: http://www.studiospares.com/mics-goo...FFYeL21A%3D%3D |
| Matt Kays 23.10.2010 | The "socket piece" is actually a large dial used for electronics kits / DIY and it has a screw for tightening it to the post. You would probably find something like it on the mouser site. As you can see I modified it a little so the plate and the CDR could be attached. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 22.10.2010 |
Originally Posted by dJ dAb
where did you get the parts from? I'm particularly interested in the 'socket' piece (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5173972_n.jpg) that attaches to the XP10 encoder spindle. Did you get the metals custom made/cut or are they available to buy anywhere online? |
| Carroll Guglielmetti 21.10.2010 | very cool stuff..i've also been believeing about using the xp5 for deck c and d control |
| Matt Kays 21.10.2010 | Wow, crazy... very cool!!! Sorry guys that I have not posted something in response to this (other then occassional tips here and there) btw... I'm uploading pics of my wheel mod assembly, in case anyone wants to do something similiar. Kind of a bummer, here is my new rig... (But, I want to do something else crazy with my xp10s now) -dJ dAb |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 21.10.2010 | any progress? would love to see a video of it all working |
| Shay Wyche 13.10.2010 | If you have a cheap continuity tester you can test the buttons with that. If you get one with a beeper on it, that makes things a lot simpler. When you connect the tester across two terminals and press the button, the tester should beep. If it does then that's the correct terminals, if it beeps continually without pushing the button, then that's the incorrect terminals. Once you find your first set of terminals, it's easy to work out the rest of them. |
| Tamiko Vandergriff 13.10.2010 | wow this is really cool stuff, well done. the eks xp's need such a mod. i want to do a similar projekt. so my obstacle is now that i dont know where to solder the buttons on. the micro buttons have 4 legs, and im not able to recognize the exact routing of the print. |
| Shelby Blancaflor 03.09.2010 |
Originally Posted by Archies'bald
btw. considering the touch sensitivity ... I believe that has to do something with the metal casing. I have the same problem on mine if cables are directly unterneath the bottom of the jog wheel. But so far I couldn't believe of a way to avoid the effect. Maybe you have to cut out a peace around the bottom of the jog and replace it with some kind of plastic. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 02.09.2010 | that looks pretty sweet man... must be nice now that you're getting close to completion eh how about a video demo / performance? |
| Shay Wyche 01.09.2010 | Finally got one of the XP10's up and running. I've tested it all out with the X mapper and it seems to be working great. I've even had it running in Traktor for a few minutes, but it will take a little while to get the mapping right. The most recent problem I had to overcome was the touch sensitive wheel did not want to work as it did when the unit was cased in plastic. It was only acting as a pitch bend and I wasn't able to use it for scratching. I have put in a latching led button, which when operated will enable scratch mode for the jog wheel. It's the orange one, just above the jog wheel. I also thought it would be a good idea to extend the usb and phono plugs to the casing for ease of connection. These cables can be easily unplugged to inside the unit if I ever need to do any fault finding. All in all I'm very pleased with how it's turned out. It's very rugged and I'm hoping these will last me for a good few years. I also have the added bonus of being able to use the integrated sound card on an analogue mixer if I need it. |
| Jessika Kienast 05.08.2010 | Put on a hydrographic transfer finish on that thing and you'll be the coolest DJ in town for quite a while! |
| Dulce Wanga 19.07.2010 | Pretty wild stuff. Surprised to not see a crossfader anywhere. |
| Antonetta Wikel 19.07.2010 | I'm loving the "retro Star Trek console" look juxtaposed with it being a midi controller. Very sweet custom setup brother. |
| Shay Wyche 19.07.2010 |
Originally Posted by kodiak
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| Dulce Wanga 19.07.2010 | Great job man! Do you have a link to the mixer build? I'm getting a pair of XP5s (in the mail now) but I don't believe I'll mess with them like this. |
| Joan Kollmorgen 19.07.2010 | Looks sweet man - you should definitely be chuffed with yourself. Wouldn't mind having a go on them myself. |
| Shay Wyche 19.07.2010 | Got a little bit more done, hopefully I've sorted any platter touch sensitivity problems before I start wiring. I've put the black perpspex sheet on top of the unit and drilled down through it (leaving a much larger hole on the metal). I've still got more drilling and metalwork to do, but most of it is finished. I've got usb and phono extension leads to fix in to the casing so I don't have to open the unit up to connect it, or have it permanently wired with a cable coming through a hole in the casing. Hope you guys like how it's looking, cos I'm pretty chuffed. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 24.06.2010 | that's fricken genius! and so obvious... will give it a go... edit: just gotta be careful with the touch sensitivity conductivity... might have to insert a metal washer between the platter and the cd... also, loving the enclosure so far Archies'bald |
| Joan Kollmorgen 23.06.2010 | Milo have you thought about using a hot glue gun to stick the cdr's on? Just a few dabs round the outer edge and making sure to push the cdr tight onto the platter so not to lose touch sensitivity? Might be worth a try? |
| Shay Wyche 23.06.2010 |
Originally Posted by mikesena
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| Merideth Chedid 23.06.2010 | What's going to be controlling the screen btw? I reckon the acryllic would look good. |
| Shay Wyche 23.06.2010 | Buttons arrived yesterday, I'm quite happy with the look, but I'm believeing of putting a black acrylic sheet underneath the jog wheel, as I cant believe of another way of stopping the touch sensitive part of the jog wheel intruding on the metal casing. I might put the sheet right across the unit and hide the milled out hole for the pitch fader. After all that I will need to get my soldering iron out and spend a few hours connecting the buttons to the XP10 circuit board. Lots left still to do. |
| Merideth Chedid 16.06.2010 | what you've done so far is absolutely crazy man. How much will this end up costing you out of interest? The 7" screen can't be that cheap. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 16.06.2010 | the trouble is, I don't want to interfere with the spindle potentiometer in any way... I believe I'll need to use two small bolts and attach the cdr with bolts on either side of the spindle, rather than one bolt through the centre. |
| Shay Wyche 16.06.2010 | Pilot hole and self tapping screws, rather than a bolt? Either that look at getting the bolt in from the underside and get some kind of decorative nut to screw in from the top. All the work done on my unit has been done with a hand drill, centre punch, various drill bits and a milling tool. I wouldn't recommend using a milling tool with a hand drill. It's extremely difficult to control. I thought I would get away with using it as aluminium is a relatively soft metal, but I broke one bit and nearly ruined one of my boxes. Plastic is they way to go. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 16.06.2010 | that's looking very impressive Archies'bald! How are you machining the metal? It looks completely badass!! I believe you're right though - the 'spindle' shouldn't touch the aluminium edges on the case otherwise it'll cause you problems with the touch sensitivity. Can you insulate the edges or make the hole bigger? This is what I'm currently working on: I'm trying to attach a 'vinyl' cdr on to the touch sensitive platters (just like djDaB has done). I believe I'm going to need to use two more, much smaller, bolts and nuts for each deck to hold the vinyl in place on the platters. This part of the project is surprisingly harder than I first thought... you got any ideas? |
| Shay Wyche 16.06.2010 | I've got a little bit more done, but it's mostly on the metalwork side of things. I'm still waiting for the arcade buttons to come. I've got to this stage on both controllers. The most difficult thing again, so far, has been cutting the slotted holes for the pitch fader. If I were to start again I'd look at using different boxes (as much as I love the aluminium ones). Plastic does seem to be much easier to work with but it's no where near as strong as these boxes. I'm hoping these last a long, long time. *I'm also a little worried about the aluminium box and the touch sensitive wheel. I believe if I touch the box it might stop the tune from playing as it believes I'm touching the platter sensitive part. |
| Merideth Chedid 16.06.2010 | Hey man, any progress on this? I have two XP5s and that planned setup looks absolutely awesome. |
| Shay Wyche 02.06.2010 |
Originally Posted by hoxoboxo
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| Arcelia Siebeneck 02.06.2010 | btw - those Verbatim vinyl cdr's work really well with the touch sensitive platters... even though they're made of plastic, the touch sensitive'ness still works through them. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 02.06.2010 | hehe you're planning on almost exactly the same mod as me! glad to see you're gonna essentially create a new front panel for the XP10's - will make the mod look a lot better than just sticking an unmodded XP10 into the hole in a DIY case (which I'm probably gonna do, unfortunately). i'm planning on picking up a soldering iron and arcade buttons at the weekend so I won't be far behind you... looking forward to how yours turns out! This is my planned mod btw (very rough): |
| Chara Ravine 02.06.2010 | What about replacing two buttons for a rotary encoder? I believe you can then convert note on/off commands into cc singnal via a translator program. That would be cool for something like track search or effect parameters, since the controller has enough buttons. |
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