Want a custom controller???
Want a custom controller??? Posted on: 09.06.2009 by Graham Frazier When i am finished with the 3... yes 3 controllers i am building right now, i have decided to give back to the community
that has helped and inspired me so much.So sometime around the end of the summer, maybe sooner, i will be offering my services to the good people here. Just tell me the design/features you want and i'll use my ample free time to construct a high quality midi controller, custom built for you. The cost will be: cost of parts, shipping, and a very small charge for my time and effort. The rewards: a top notch custom controller for you, and the chance for me to work on new ideas beyond my own, and build up my portfolio. Start coming up with ideas/layouts, and you could have your custom controller by this fall, maybe sooner. | |
| Lilliana Perris 17.07.2009 |
Originally Posted by Str8upDrew
Bloody Nice one! |
| Graham Frazier 19.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by MisterMoleyMole
Just tell me what you need the controller to do, and i'll be glad to help you come up with a solution. Chances are, if you're looking to convert an existing mixer, that there is a good solution out there for you. And you'll save a bunch on pots, faders, switches, and the casing. |
| Alessandra Dussinger 19.06.2009 | 1. Are the 3 unmarked spots under the "Monitor Select" Knob, Buttons of Knobs? KNOBS 2. For the "Monitor Select", would you like a standard knob, or something like a 5-way turn switch? STANDARD 3. Are the "Track Seek" knobs rotary encoders (endless turning)? ENDLESS, forgot to mention that 4. Did you want USB or MIDI cable hook ups? USB 5. You mentioned pitch faders. There could be room for them next to the corresponding volume faders. And to make it less confusing we could simply put different colored caps on them. Thought of that, but then again if you're really into the party when you're djing, then i'm sure you will touch the pitch when you adjust the volume fader. so i guess it's not worth the hustle. unless maybe knob pitch adjust? hmmmm... endless fader might do the thing? maybe anyone have any thoughts of what i might put in between the EQ knob lines? and is it worth putting anything? can you |
| Alessandra Dussinger 17.06.2009 | hey, i've had an idea of doing my own controller for a long time, but i have zero skills and knowledge in all the electronics+mechanics. and then i saw you, the nice helpful guy here's a start of the layout. any ideas what is missing? i thought having pitch faders would be nice, but cant find a place to fit them in and i dont know if its worth the hustle. |
| Karine Noe 16.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by Str8upDrew
Originally Posted by Str8upDrew
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| Xavier Emanuels 16.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by autonic
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| Lilliana Perris 17.07.2009 |
Originally Posted by Str8upDrew
Bloody Nice one! |
| Graham Frazier 14.07.2009 | Right on. I'll add this to my projects list. And i'll keep you updated. As for everyone else, updates coming soon. |
| Dolores Sefcovic 12.07.2009 | Okay I did a really crappy picture to get the idea. From left to right its Pitch fader, Toggle switch, jog wheel, 12 square arcade buttons over 6 round arcade buttons, 3 pots over 1 square arcade button, 8 buttons for song selection (4 for direction, 4 for load deck a,b,c,d), and then mirroring from the pots in reverse. I'd like it to be 19inch rack mount style. |
| Graham Frazier 10.07.2009 | Alright, i've been super busy lately, but i haven't forgot about all of you. This has been the #1 thing on my mind. And it won't be long before i'll have this ready to go and i'll be getting some price quotes out to everyone. @ djlokifl, If you could just sketch up a simple picture, either by hand and take a picture, or something simple done in MS Paint. It would be a lot easier for me if i had a visual reference of what you wanted. Then i could do a CAD design and make sure its to your liking. @autonic, now that you got some experience with this kinda thing, maybe you can build that Awesomo yourself. I could help you come up with a parts list, and a circuit diagram and then you could pretty much just assemble and program it. Keep the ideas coming everybody. Buy the end of the summer i'll be able to invest alot of time into these. And i'm hoping that these controllers can be the platform that launches my new business. Think about having controllers available on the market, that were design by/for controllerist. One more thing. I've been talking to a company about using their very high quality audio interface processors. And i plan on designing a Controller/Mixer. This would feature analog mixing, and midi controls. Think of this like a Korg Zero or a DJM 800, but with high audio quality, higher quality parts(i hear the knobs/faders on the zero's are pretty bad) and designed for the digital dj/controllerist. |
| Karine Noe 08.07.2009 | Hi again... I've got a new project here that you might want to look into: http://www.djranking s.com/community /showthread.php?t=6029 all the buttons are standard momentary push buttons and the knobs are just regular knobs.... Right now I'm looking at a $300 solution (just for the controller boards) If you could help me out (I need 96 channels in total) in some way it would be much appreciated. (the only trickery in the whole layout is the blue led that needs to be activated from within traktor when a song starts playing, oterwise it's all what it looks like) |
| Dolores Sefcovic 06.07.2009 | I have an idea but basically wouldnt have any idea how to draw it, since I suck at those things but its basic enough I believe I can describe it well enough. Basically it will be 4u rackmountable and have 3 sections with the two outer sections being mirror images. the outer sections will start from the edge with a pitch fader, next to it will be a jog wheel and a toggle switch (deck select, a/c on one side and b/d on the other). Next to that will be 3 rows of 6 arcade buttons, the top row square button for loop control, second row square buttons for transport control, third row will be round buttons for cue points. Next that would be three pots and a button for fx. Then the middle section would basically have 4 buttons for library browsing and then 4 buttons around that for load a,b,c,d. Think that is a pretty good description of what I want and shouldnt be too hard to make, I could probably build it myself but have no clue where to start. |
| Graham Frazier 21.06.2009 | Come up with a design, and i'll see what i can do. Right now i'm really busy with designing Nephew's controller. That thing has got me trying things i've never imagined before. But if you can come up with just a simple sketch like some of the people on here have, and a little explanation of the key functions, it would be no problem to look it over and see what i can come up with. |
| Roni Batchan 21.06.2009 | I'm really interested in this, as I'm currently using an M-Audio Oxygen 8v2 (purely out of habit..) - and I outboard the decks from Traktor into the dedicated mixer. I really like the idea of the VCI-100 and what Ean does with it, especially with the cue point juggling, which is something I do with the white keys on my controller (although they aren't tactile enough and are really unreliable - I often clip a cue point accidentally and restart the song just as its about to drop - not a fun recovery!) But I don't want to break from the club mixer (DJM 800) and move to the internal mixer on the VCI 100. I'm yet to find a controller with enough decent buttons to control cue points (like the arcade buttons..) and rotary knobs or faders (or both) to control effects. The perfect hybrid I can believe of would be the combination of a couple of xone 1D or 2D's, along with a good few tactile arcade buttons or keys to screw about with the cue points... any ideas?! Cheers Belch |
| Graham Frazier 19.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by MisterMoleyMole
Just tell me what you need the controller to do, and i'll be glad to help you come up with a solution. Chances are, if you're looking to convert an existing mixer, that there is a good solution out there for you. And you'll save a bunch on pots, faders, switches, and the casing. |
| Doug Bieling 19.06.2009 | Str8upDrew > any chance you could let me know what it is you use for the brain of these controllers? I fancy a go at adapting an old mixer i have into a midi controller, would be great to know where to start ? Cheers Gav |
| Graham Frazier 19.06.2009 | I personally really like this layout. It seems very functional, and also easy to adapt. I'll get at you with in estimate soon. |
| Alessandra Dussinger 19.06.2009 | 1. Are the 3 unmarked spots under the "Monitor Select" Knob, Buttons of Knobs? KNOBS 2. For the "Monitor Select", would you like a standard knob, or something like a 5-way turn switch? STANDARD 3. Are the "Track Seek" knobs rotary encoders (endless turning)? ENDLESS, forgot to mention that 4. Did you want USB or MIDI cable hook ups? USB 5. You mentioned pitch faders. There could be room for them next to the corresponding volume faders. And to make it less confusing we could simply put different colored caps on them. Thought of that, but then again if you're really into the party when you're djing, then i'm sure you will touch the pitch when you adjust the volume fader. so i guess it's not worth the hustle. unless maybe knob pitch adjust? hmmmm... endless fader might do the thing? maybe anyone have any thoughts of what i might put in between the EQ knob lines? and is it worth putting anything? can you |
| Graham Frazier 18.06.2009 | This should be a pretty nice, and fairly simple build. With that said i have a few questions. 1. Are the 3 unmarked spots under the "Monitor Select" Knob, Buttons of Knobs? 2. For the "Monitor Select", would you like a standard knob, or something like a 5-way turn switch? 3. Are the "Track Seek" knobs rotary encoders (endless turning)? 4. Did you want USB or MIDI cable hook ups? 5. You mentioned pitch faders. There could be room for them next to the corresponding volume faders. And to make it less confusing we could simply put different colored caps on them. Ok so that last one was more of a suggestion than a question, but oh well. Let me know what you decide, and i'll be able to get back to you with some more details. And feel free to e-mail me any suggestions or anything else. [email protected] |
| Graham Frazier 17.06.2009 | looks nice. Give me a little bit and i'll get back to you. |
| Alessandra Dussinger 17.06.2009 | hey, i've had an idea of doing my own controller for a long time, but i have zero skills and knowledge in all the electronics+mechanics. and then i saw you, the nice helpful guy here's a start of the layout. any ideas what is missing? i thought having pitch faders would be nice, but cant find a place to fit them in and i dont know if its worth the hustle. |
| Karine Noe 16.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by Str8upDrew
Originally Posted by Str8upDrew
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| Graham Frazier 16.06.2009 | Autonic-- Could you do me a favor and gather all of your info and send it to me in an E-mail @ [email protected] Just to get everything in one place. I can get a custom aluminum case. A buddy of mine owns a metal shop, check out these killer 45 adapters he made... |
| Xavier Emanuels 16.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by autonic
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| Karine Noe 16.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by MiL0
Yes of course you could assign a cue drop function to either button if that's what you wanted... |
| Karine Noe 16.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by Str8upDrew
Originally Posted by Str8upDrew
Regarding the jog, it would be nice if it were touch sensitive but it's not a must. The EQ knobs should not be push-rotarys, however all of the effect knobs must be. There is no need for any kind of toggle functionality midi-wise, just plain midi signals sent for each push/turn of a button/knob. (And the ability to send MIDI-out data from traktor to toggle the LED's of some buttons). Something like this was what i had in mind for the big transport buttons with a size of about 3cm in diameter (sending one MIDI-note per click): The houtcues, and all of the other rectangular buttons should just be plain square buttons (some with LED possibilities) that sends one MIDI-note per click. The EQ rotarys should be big knobs that "clicks" at 12o clock sending a different midi note there, (with at least 1cm in diameter). The effect rotarys works exactly the same besides the fact that they also can send a midi note when pushed down. And the dry/wet also needs to have some kind of LED (or perhaps just a standalone LED on the side). The enclosure needs to be of some kind of sturdy material, either a hardened plastic composition or in a best case scenario: aluminum. |
| Graham Frazier 17.06.2009 | Whoa... this just went from a really simple build to something a little more complex. Figure out how you want the layout to be in the final model, and what you want each Knob/Button to do. I don't really need the function in traktor, as the mapping will be up to you, but if you want push knobs for the eq cuts, toggle/locking buttons for anything, which buttons to be lighted, size and spacing of everything, what you would like the enclosure made out of, and pretty much all the specifics that you are looking for???? When we've got that done, i'll be able to get a parts list and a beginning estimate on the cost, minus the enclosure, as i'll have to get quotes from several different people. But once you know exactly what you want i'll be able to get the ball rolling. I've already got one really complex one i'm designing right now for nephew on here. Plus the 3 i'm currently building, 2 for me and 1 for a friend. So it's going to be a little while before actual construction can begin on this, but that doesn't mean we can't get it all planned out. So there is less to do later on. |
| Karine Noe 16.06.2009 | And finally the transport controls. The enormous CUE - PLAY - PREVCUE - NEXTCUE buttons are that big because... well... because there is no other buttons that are nicer to hit than the CDJ-1000's in my opinion (no I'm not a fanboy that owns a pair myself, and yes I've tried basically all of Denons products too). And with the PREVCUE and NEXTCUE buttons I hope that it will raise stuff to a new level. (This is the mapping I've got on my VCI and I love it) The 1-8 buttons are just for activating the hotcues - plain and simple. The Volume fader is pretty short since I don't really use it that much... keep at 80% when starting mix and slamming it down when you are done (after you've filtered out the other song or just hit a massive break/buildup). |
| Karine Noe 16.06.2009 | This is the JOG and tempo section, the jog wheel is by default functioning as a pitch bend (CDJ-style). The IN and OUT buttons are for setting loops, and is lit up in some color when active (the same color as the PLAY button will emit but not the same as the effect LED's, hotuce LED's and EQ LED's. IN sets an in-point and OUT sets the out-point and enables the loop. Pressing OUT again disables the loop and the button LED's. There is no "Reloop" button as you probably can see, but I can't really say that I've ever needed it as an "want to be 100% EDM DJ", especially not when you've got all of the transport controls that will be explained in the next post. The sync button does what it says - it syncs the BPM's... however it won't keep them locked in SYNC when you let go of the button. This is because I've found out that beat grids really can't be set with 100.000% accuracy due to the fact that different base kicks fits differently together (this is for all of you who want rock fucking solid beat matching not the "it-will-suffice-in-my-bedroom" beat matching). The only disadvantage this has is that you can't ride the pitch on an other deck and have the other song follow it's tempo - UNLESS you keep the SYNC pressed down on the deck that is supposed to follow. How many times per gig do you really need to do that, when playing out in clubs or at real events? (I do about 2-3 tempo switches during a regular gig and sometimes none at all) Now for the long pitch fader... You see... unless you are axwell, dj tiesto or pete tong you are not going to get all of those "play whatever you want and the crowd will love you no matter what"-gigs. Eventually you will find yourself having to play some old stupid pop song from the early 90's or perhaps some old stuff Guns N Roses did - or something else that you relly didn't count on. Stuff that doesn't have a straight BPM throughout the song. And you didn't have any time to time warp it in Ableton. Or the new song that you bought from beatport has a break that changes in BPM. Then you will need a decent pitch fader with accuracy unless you want to do a horse run with your kick drums or keep on constantly pitch bending to keep it aligned. The VCI's pitch fader is really not that good - if everything is in sync you don't need it - if it isn't the fader is not accurate enough (yes, I find the pitch fader on the VCI a complete waste of time). Bigger controls gives you better control (hence the argument two posts above about the EQ knobs). Oh, and there is one last thing that isn't visible in my sketch-up: the jogFX button. It will either be placed at the opposite side of the OUT button (in the lower right corner of the jogwheel) or it will be placed in the effect section. Anyhow.... when pressed down it will let you scroll through jogadjusted effects by scrolling the jog and then activating them by just hitting the jog. (this will of course inactivate the pitch bend functions of the jog). This part isn't 100% thought through yet, therefore I didn't include it in my sketch up. |
| Karine Noe 16.06.2009 | The effect section isn't quite worked out yet, but here is the first draft at least. The Dry/Wet knob is a big push-endless-rotary. When pushed down it emits a light somehow and this enables the effect with the choosen settings (And turns the effect ON inside traktor). The three smaller knobs are the parameters and the two buttons at the far right are for selecting effects (advanced mode). The A-H buttons at the bottom are for enabeling quick selection of FX or perhaps loading different settings for the choosen effect - take your pick. The two Advanced effect buttons inside traktor will be added, I just haven't figured out where the best place to put them should be. |
| Karine Noe 16.06.2009 | Before I start explaining my ideas keep in mind that I'm not a scratch/urban DJ, even though I often "has" to play that kind of music due to drunk obnoxious girls. I've been DJ'ing for almost 10 years and these ideas are the results of my own experiences out at the clubs/events. Totally whacky ideas and "could be":s are not intended for this design - only what actually works and is important. When playing at home or at a friends party you can go crazy with all kinds of setups reaching the absolute limits of what traktor can achieve, but in reality when you are out at a club, playing for an unknown drunk crowd, atleast I for one, tend to see what is really needed from my controller. Most of the crazy bells and whistles tend to seem not as important. Here is a first explanation of my ideas including how it's supposed to be mapped with Traktor PRO: The EQ knobs: All of the EQ rotary knobs are going to be BIG sturdy pieces with that nice "slow" feel to them and lots of space between them so that you can turn two knobs next to each other simultaneously without getting your fingers tangled up/touching each other. The small yellow buttons next to each knob is going to be a kill switch (and now i discover that the upmost knob shouldn't have a kills switch since it's the filter) - when shining the kill is active (easier to find out which frequency is cut out at the moment when looking at the controller). At the bottom we have the gain button - not as big as the EQ knobs since you really only use it during the first seconds of a mix to adjust the levels. |
| Graham Frazier 16.06.2009 | @^ I'm curious about the pitch faders too??? I don't know where to find any bigger that 120mm, but then again i haven't really looked. @Awesemo- Do you want the platters to be touch sensitive as well??? Even though you don't really need it with all those cue points. |
| Setsuko Noname 16.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by autonic
I am rather curious about those pitch faders?? |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 16.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by autonic
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| A M 16.06.2009 | After reading some posts here: Isn't MIDI a perfect way to work around the need to work around the need for expensive modular hardware? Just create one controller that has all the buttons you need and multiple settingfiles for the different (/changing) software you use.. @ the OP: Good luck on the builds! |
| Karine Noe 15.06.2009 | Here is: The Awesemo (rev0.1) A brief explanation for you (gotta hit the bed): - The 1-8 buttons are for hotcues and the < > buttons are for jumping to the next/previous cue point. - The IN and OUT buttons are for looping. - The small LED's next to each EQ knob are for kill switches. - The small knobs above the volume faders are GAIN knobs. All of the knobs shall be pushable (you can press them down to reset them). Why are the pitch faders so long, the crossfader non-existing and the EQ knobs/transport buttons enormous? I will explain all that later (tomorrow) |
| Graham Frazier 15.06.2009 | Right on brother. (Hulk Hogan Style) |
| Karine Noe 15.06.2009 | This sounds very interesting, I'm at work right now but I'll post a picture of what has been buzzing in my mind the last months as soon as I get home. |
| Kayleen Positano 12.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by Str8upDrew
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| Graham Frazier 11.06.2009 |
Originally Posted by midifidler
It could be very interesting to try, steal a few ideas from Mawzer(uses dip switches to assign address), or make it out of lego's like the http://www.stekgreif.com/stekgreif:main. But i don't believe i'll be tackling a modular system anytime soon. Maybe sometime in the future, but most likely not. |
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