touch Control Traktor Pro templates for TouchOSC

all version 1.0 templates for Mac OS Xby Noël, March 2010

introductionThanks for buying this template to convert your iPhone or iPod Touch into an Midi DJ controller for Traktor Pro.

I am not a software developer. I don’t know the first thing about writing code but I have built a handful of Traktor templates for TouchOSC with existing software for DJs who don’t want to waste time programming Midi knobs and buttons.

The first time set up is a bit fiddly, but these simple instructions should have you up and running in no time. There’s also a ‘how to’ installation video at:

www.noelc.com/trackoriphone/installvid

install and set up software for Mac OS XStep 11.1 - In the zipped folder you downloaded, locate the folder “touch Control docs” and place it in your /Documents folder.1.2 - I know it sounds dull, but make a copy of the folder as a back up. The OSC files are easy to alter and occasionally become corrupted.

Before you get mixing you need to install the apps that run the templates and send Midi signals to Traktor Pro.

- TouchOSC Editor transfers the templates to your iPhone or iPod Touch.- the TouchOSC app sits on your device and runs the controller touch interface.- OSCulator receives the OSC signals and converts them into Midi for Traktor Pro.

Step 22.1 - Download the OSX version of TouchOSC Editor from http://hexler.net/software/touchosc. The download link is half way down the page. [This software is free].

2

2.2 - Place TouchOSC Editor in your /Applications folder.

2.3 - Launch TouchOSC Editor. If a dialogue window asks you about incoming connections, click “Allow”.

2.4 - Click the ‘Open’ icon and navigate to the folder you saved in /Documents in Step 1.1.

- Open the file “Control xxxx Traktor 1-0.touchosc” [xxxx varies according to the version you downloaded].

2.5 - Once the file is open, click the Sync icon. The Sync dialogue box appears. We shall return to this after setting up your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Step 3

3.1 - Purchase the iPhone TouchOSC app from the iTunes Store. It costs £2.99.

Install it in the same way as any other iPhone app - either from the App Store on your iPhone or iPod Touch, or by synching your device with iTunes.

3.2 - Sync the app with your Mac as follows. You will only need to do this once...

3.2.1 - Ensure your Mac and your iPhone / iPod Touch are connected to the same Wifi / Airport network.

3

3.2.2 - Launch the TouchOSC app on your device. Click the Network ‘Not configured’ tab.

3.2.3 - Type your Mac’s Hostname or IP Address into the app.

To find your Hostname, on your Mac go to System Preferences > Sharing and hit the ‘Edit’ button. [It’s usually the Computer Name with dashes (-) for spaces and .local at the end.]

3.2.4 - For Outgoing port, enter 9000.

3.2.5 - For Incoming port, enter 8000.

3.2.6 - Tap ‘Done’, then tap the ‘TouchOSC’ button top left.

3.3 - Add the Control template to the app. Tap the Layout ‘Not Set’ tab.

3.3.1 - You’ll see a list of sample layouts that come with the app for use with a variety of Midi instruments and software. Tap ‘Add’ to add a Traktor Control design to the list.

3.3.2 - As long as the TouchOSC Editor software on your Mac is still in Sync mode, you should see your machine. Click it and the template will be added to the Layout list.

4

3.3.3 - Select the Traktor layout and you’ll be taken back to the app’s main preference pane.

3.4 - Set the Options as indicated, left.

3.5 - The TouchOSC app displays this page when launched. Tap the ‘Done’ button top right and your Traktor control will launch.

You can return to this pref pane at any time by double-clicking the ‘i’ icon [top left, next to battery icon].

[If you experience Sync problems after a couple of attempts, there’s probably an issue with the app’s Network settings. Check back through the steps in 3.2.]

3.6 - Return to the Editor software on your Mac. Click ‘Stop Sync’ and Quit the application. You don’t need to keep it open once the layout is added to your iPhone / iPod Touch.

Step 44.1 - Download OSCulator from http://www.osculator.net/download/

The software is free to try. To unlock it from demo mode costs €29 (Euros).You’ll find the download link here

4.2 - Follow the install window instructions to copy the software to your /Applications folder.

4.3 - Launch OSCulator. From the ‘File’ menu, select ‘Open’ and navigate to the Folder you saved in Step 1.1. Select the file “Control Traktor OSCulator 1.0”.

Leave OSCulator running in the background when using your iPhone to control Traktor Pro.

5

Step 5

5.1 - Launch Traktor Pro. Open the Preferences window and select Controller Manager from the left hand menu.

5.2 - It’s wise to back up your existing preferences, just in case. Click the ‘Export’ button and save.

5.3 - In Device Setup at the top of the window, click the ‘Add’ button and select ‘Import’.

Navigate to the folder you saved in Step 1.1 and select “TouchControl-1-0.tsi”.

This file aligns the Midi signals from OSCulator with the desired Traktor controls.

All Midi inputs from OSCulator are mapped to Midi channel 2. This means they shouldn’t conflict with any existing controllers you have already mapped to channel 1 or channels 3 to 8, allowing you to use your iPhone alongside other Midi controllers if you wish.

5.3 - Click ‘Close’. Your iPhone / iPod Touch Control should now be working.

NB - The controls are programmed for ‘soft takeover’. This stops the faders and dials in Traktor jumping around when you touch the controller screen by mistake. Faders, knobs and latching buttons won’t respond to your control until the parameter of the controller matches that of feature in Traktor.

For example, if you have channel A volume fader closed on the controller, but it is half open in Traktor, you cannot control the fader until you slide it to the same half-way position that it is in Traktor, where it ‘latches’ onto the Traktor fader. Now you can control it.

Have a play with the controls and you’ll soon get a feel for how soft takeover works.

6

next time it’s really easyNow you’ve got through the tough initial set up, using your Control templates for Traktor should be straight forward as all the preferences should have been saved.

Next Time

1. Launch the TouchOSC app on your iPhone / iPod Touch. The Traktor layout should already be selected. Tap ‘Done’.

2. Launch OSCulator. From the File menu, select ‘Open Recent...’. “Control Traktor OSCulator 1.0” should be the first file listed there; select it.

3. Fire up Traktor Pro. Your controls should work straight away.

loading additional vers 1.0 layouts to the appIf you are upgrading from the free sample template, or wish to add more version 1.0 templates to the app, you don’t need to repeat the full installation instructions.

Simply save the files you download as in Step 1.1. Then perform the following steps only:

2.3 to 2.5, then 3.3.

Unless otherwise stated, the Traktor and OSCulator files should not need amending so you can get mixing with your new templates straight away.

help and supportYou’ll find plenty of information and some tutorial videos at www.noelc.com/traktoriphone, and I’ll try to answer as many questions as possible via touch@noelc.com.

the rest of this manual......describes each of the Version 1.0 layout templates available from www.noelc.com/traktoriphone. Screen by screen, get a handle on the controls for each download.

7

elements common to all template layouts

- Switch between page screens using the grey tabs down the left hand side of the screen.

- To return to the app preference pane, double-tap ‘i’ icon top left.

- To make the layouts feel more intuitive, most pages in the app reflect familiar sections of Traktor’s on-screen layout - such as the mixer, FX banks or loops & cues.

- Common colour coding is used throughout to make the layouts simple to navigate and so the designs don’t need to be cluttered up with label text.

- faders, EQ and deck select / focus buttons coded by channel: red = channel A green = channel B yellow = channel C blue = channel D

- monitor vol, monitor mix and monitor select buttons are all blue

- sync buttons are yellow

- FX buttons, FX rotary dials and matrix pads: grey for FX bank 1, purple for FX bank 2.

- The controls are programmed for ‘soft takeover’. This stops the faders and dials in Traktor jumping around when you touch the controller screen. Faders, knobs and latching buttons won’t respond to your control until the parameter of the controller matches that of feature in Traktor.

For example, if you have channel A volume fader closed on the controller, but it is half open in Traktor, you cannot control the fader until you slide it to the same half-way position that it is in Traktor, where it ‘latches’ onto the Traktor fader. Now you can control it.

- Cue button delay. To avoid accidentally stopping a deck in the middle of a track, the Cue deck transport button needs to be held down for a half second before it responds.

- You can always make your own templates with TouchOSC Editor, or feel free to doctor and customise mine. Just make sure you back up the originals before making any changes.

8

4 deck touch Control templateTake control of all four decks, loops, cue points, FX banks and more.

9

Page 1: 4 channel mix overviewA vital page for regular 4-deck DJs. Stripped back to the key features, here you can mix all four channels as well as start/cue, sync and monitor each channel.

Page 2: full-featured mixer, A & BFocus on decks A (red) and B (green) to tweak EQ, key and filters without losing control of the mix, monitors or deck transport and sync.

10

Page 3: full-featured mixer, C & DAs above but for decks C (yellow) & D (blue).

Page 4: FX controlControls both left hand ‘FX1 1’ (grey) and right hand ‘FX 2’ (purple) banks whether configured for Advanced or Chained FX controls. Also includes colour-coded FX send/on buttons for each mixer channel.

11

Page 5: FX matrix padsControl up to four FX at once with just two fingers. There’s a pad for each FX bank, and on each pad the y axis (vertical) controls the 3rd FX knob, the x axis (horizontal) controls the 4th FX knob.

The colour-coded FX send/on buttons for each mixer channel are repeated on this screen.

Page 6: loops & cuesFirst use the deck focus to highlight the deck you want to control, then punch a green number whilst playing to start your track looping. Change the size of the loop length or move the loop position, then jump out of the loop with instant access to any of your eight cue points.

‘Move’ performs as set in the Advanced Panel on each Traktor deck, where you can specify the size and type of each ‘move’.

12

Page 7: focus deck controlDetailed control for deck transport and pitch parameters. Toggle through Traktor screen layouts. Browse through tracks displayed and load tracks into the focus deck.

13

2 deck touch Control templateA multi-featured 5 page layout for mastering decks A & B.

Trigger loops, set and fire cue points, tweak FX banks and more.

14

Page 1: full-featured 2 channel mixerFull set of features laid out to mirror Traktor’s mixer. Sync and mix decks A (red) and B (green), tweak EQ, key and filters, fire off tracks with basic transport controls, manage monitoring and assign channels to FX banks.

Page 2: FX controlControls both left hand ‘FX 1’ (grey) and right hand ‘FX 2’ (purple) banks, whether configured for Advanced or Chained FX controls. Also includes colour-coded FX send/on buttons for each mixer channel.

15

Page 3: FX matrix padsControl up to four FX at once with just two fingers. There’s a pad for each FX bank, and on each pad the y axis (vertical) controls the 3rd FX knob, the x axis (horizontal) controls the 4th FX knob.

The colour-coded FX send/on buttons for each mixer channel are repeated on this screen.

Page 4: loops & cuesFirst use the deck focus to highlight the deck you want to control, then punch a green number to start your track looping. Change the size of the loop length or move the loop position, then jump out of the loop with instant access to any of your eight cue points.

‘Move’ performs as set in the Advanced Panel on each Traktor deck, where you can specify the size and type of each ‘move’.

16

Page 5: focus deck controlDetailed control for deck transport and pitch parameters. Toggle through Traktor screen layouts. Browse through tracks displayed and load tracks into the focus deck.

17

Noël’s custom touch Control templateA tweaked 7 page layout for mastering decks A & B, with basic controls for C & D.

Trigger loops, set and fire cue points, tweak FX banks and more.

18

The ‘standard’ templates on this site are based on Traktor’s screen layout, but everyone has their own way of using the software. I wanted to add some pitch controls to a mixer screen and remove some features I rarely use - such as the X-fader and extended support for all 4 decks.

Page 1: mixer with pitch controls, A & BBased on the mixer layout from the 4 deck template, with a few modifications:

- ‘Key’ dial removed (I never use it)- X-fader also removed (again, rarely use it - I find longer channel faders offer smoother

control)- the Filter pots are slightly larger for more accurate tweaking- pitch bend buttons added- pitch nudge buttons added to increase / decrease tempo by minimal increments

19

Page 2: focus deck controlThis remains as in the 4 deck template but is moved within the app to Page 2, next to the mixer.

- control of each deck’s transport and pitch parameters- toggle through your Traktor Pro screen layouts- browse through tracks displayed and load one into the focus deck.

Page 3: loops & cuesFirst use the deck focus to highlight the deck you want to control, then punch a green number to start your track looping. Change the size of the loop length or move the loop position, then jump out of the loop with instant access to any of your eight cue points.

‘Move’ performs as set in the Advanced Panel on each Traktor deck, where you can specify the size and type of each ‘move’.

20

Page 4: FX controlThis page is a copy from the 2 deck template, allowing complete control of FX banks 1 (left) & 2 (right), whether they are set up as Advanced or Chained FX. The input/send buttons are repeated from the mixer allowing you to assign channels A (red) & B (green) into each FX bank.

Page 5: FX matrix padsAs in the 4 deck template, the FX pads are the smoothest way to manage multiple FX.

- tweak up to four FX simultaneously with just two fingers- includes a pad for each FX bank- y axis (vertical) controls the 3rd rotary FX knob. - x axis (horizontal) controls the 4th knob- includes channel assign buttons for all 4 decks.

21

Page 6: 4 channel mix overviewI rarely use more than 2 decks but, stripped back to the key features, this overview page allows you to mix all four channels as well as start/cue, sync and monitor each deck.

Page 7: 2 channel vertical mixer

A vertical mixer page doesn’t allow room for many features, but the dials and faders are slightly larger for better control - and having a portrait alternative to page 1 stops you getting cramp holding your iPhone through your set!

Tap ‘shift’ to switch between pitch bend and pitch nudge modes.

22

sample templateDip your toe in the water and try this simple single-page layout for free

23

Simple 2 channel mixerGet a feel for how well TouchOSC works with Traktor Pro. This may be stripped down, but you could still play a set with this remote touch screen mixer. It includes basic start/stop deck transport, sync buttons and full monitoring.

24

contents

introduction page 2

first installation and set up

TouchOSC Editor page 2 TouchOSC App page 3 OCSulator page 5 Traktor settings page 6

regular start up page 7

loading additional / upgrade layouts page 7

elements common to all layouts page 8

4 deck touch Control page 9

2 deck touch Control page 14

Noël’s custom touch Control page 18

Free sample layout page 23

help and supportYou’ll find plenty of information and some tutorial videos at www.noelc.com/traktoriphone, and I’ll try to answer as many questions as possible via touch@noelc.com.

25

moreI plan to have a layout for the iPad ready as soon as possible. If you have ideas for iPad requirements, or additional new features for the iPhone layouts - for example, a scratch screen or uses for the accelerometer - then why not give me a shout via touch@noelc.com. I’m always up for hearing ways to improve the layouts.

thankshappy mixing!

26