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Midi controller pitch accuracy

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  • September 12, 2013 at 7:43 pm #44094
    Terry_42
    Keymaster

    Well there are more things to consider:
    1. Setup the pitch control in the software right. You can usually (VDJ, Traktor, Serato, Cross) setup how long the range of the fader on your controller will be. For example +/- 5%
    2. How many steps has the fader on your controller. If it has 256 steps and you set at 5% as in point 1 then you have about 0.02% as you want.
    3. How long is the physical fader. I love long pitch faders as much as lots of steps are nice, if the fader is so short that you cannot possibly “click” each step reasonably well, then it wont do you any good.

    So the very long pitchfaders with >256 resolution:
    – Reloop Terminal Mix 2 and 4
    – Pioneer DDJ-SX
    – Numark 4Trak
    – Numark NS6 and NS7
    – Vestax VCI 380 and 400

    Those are IMHO the controllers with the best pitchfader length vs resolution.
    Any of the softwares will work, however due to the shifting functions and ease of resolution change I prefer either Serato DJ or MixVibes Cross.

    September 12, 2013 at 7:58 pm #44097
    vestaxtyphool
    Member

    Great information, cheers. I’ve been trying to find out whether my typhoon is 128 steps midi 7 (which I think it is) but it doesn’t even tell you on the manufacturers technical specs! I think as you say i’ll be needing a better controller with midi 14 – 1024 steps?

    September 13, 2013 at 7:04 am #44126
    Terry_42
    Keymaster

    I might think that the typhoon is midi 7, since also the jogs are low res and the fader length is quite short.

    If you like to do things manual like me, then yes I would definitely recommend a controller with midi 14 resolution on the pitch faders and a long fader (see my list above).

    September 14, 2013 at 8:43 am #44164
    DJ Vintage
    Moderator

    One of the things I don’t like is a very clear “centre point” on the faders. Around that mark it kinda jumps from almost there to there, if you know what I mean. CDJ-2000s now just have a light telling you you are centered, but it runs continuously across the centre point.

    Greetinx,
    C.

    September 15, 2013 at 9:26 pm #44193
    Terry_42
    Keymaster

    The Terminal Mix 2 and 4, DDJ-SX, 4Trak, NS 6, NS 7, VCI-380 and 400 all have no middle click on the pitch fader, but the LED thing you are speaking about 😉

    December 13, 2013 at 5:54 am #1017793
    Todd Oddity
    Participant

    Sorry to dig out an old thread, but Terry, you mention the VCI-400 has high resolution faders?  Where did you find that info, because I’m having a horrible time getting my unit set up with any kind of accuracy off the pitch faders.

    At 10% the steps are sometimes as large as .2% (ex. jumping from 127.98 bmp directly to 128.03) which is making manual matching a tad more work than I’d like it to be!

    It’s driving me nuts and I’d like to get my new piece of kit out to a show!

    December 13, 2013 at 9:32 am #1017800
    Terry_42
    Keymaster

    What software are you using?

    (It is in the Vestax tech-specs that they are high-res faders.)

    I have heard that several Traktor users report that problem… I never tried the 400 with Traktor though. It worked perfectly fine to .1 BPM for me in Serato DJ.

     

    December 13, 2013 at 9:45 am #1017803
    Todd Oddity
    Participant

    Interesting.  I’m running Virtual but the unit came with a free copy of Serato DJ – I’ll install that and see if it runs a little smoother over there.  Been meaning to kick the tires on DJ anyway – see if it might be time for a switch.

    December 13, 2013 at 4:49 pm #1017867
    DJ Vintage
    Moderator

    Seriously guys … a 0.05 bpm jump is a manual beatmatch problem? Dang …

    Wow and flutter on turntables could be more than that. SL1200, which WERE actually pretty tight, even would have 0,03bpm wf on a 128bpm track.

    And lots of pre-EDM music wasn’t exactly tight. Live drummers would have a variation noticeably larger than 0,05 bpm.

    Quite frankly, if you DON’T want to use the sync button because you like manual beatmatching, then you should be prepared to do the extra work! Which means getting it somewhere near close and be on stand by to do the odd correction as the mix is in progress.

    If manual beatmatching only means you getting the EXACT right setting on your pitch fader by hand as opposed to a machine setting it for you, then I wouldn’t bother, really.

    Just mho of course.

    Greetinx,

    Chuck

    December 13, 2013 at 6:00 pm #1017883
    Todd Oddity
    Participant

    You’re right Chuck!  And on that subject – why would I expect my car to drive in a straight line when it has a perfectly good steering wheel for manual adjustments!

    Quit being sanctimonious – I’ve been doing this for 20 years now, and it has nothing to do with how much I want to play with the jogs while mixing – I can mix on any piece of equipment tossed down in front of me.  It has everything to do with wanting my expensive new gear to do what it is advertised  to do.  I think expecting any less from it would be just ridiculous.

    Just mho of course.

    December 13, 2013 at 6:27 pm #1017884
    DJ Vintage
    Moderator

    Hey Todd, if I’ve offended you in any way, I sincerely apologize. I had no intention of being sanctimonious, condescending or patronizing.

    And you are certainly right to want gear to do what it’s supposed to do.

    Greetinx,

    Chuck

     

    December 13, 2013 at 8:44 pm #1017889
    Todd Oddity
    Participant

    It’s okay, I forgive you.  But next time (insert evil laugh here) I’ll burn your house down. 😉

    ~ Todd
    (Escalating the situation to ridiculous proportions since ’93)

    December 15, 2013 at 9:39 pm #1017979
    karol NV
    Participant

    HI TERRY Traktor Kontrol S2 MK 2 isnt in this list of high resolution??

    December 16, 2013 at 9:37 am #1018011
    Terry_42
    Keymaster

    No the Traktor Kontrol S2 MK2 is not on the list for 2 reasons:

    1. The date the list was created (see post timestamp) was before its release

    2. I have not yet tested the new Traktor Kontrols myself and I will only advise on products I had first hand experience with, as I do not trust any spec sheets

     

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