DUB M4SH3R

Latest Project: Mapping Akai MPK Mini for Traktor Pro 2

Traktor Kontrol S2 & MacBook Pro

Hello World. DUB M4SH3R here. I've decided to start a blog to share some of the things I've been up to lately, improving my skills and techniques in DJ'ing and controllerism. I'm a relative newcomer to working digitally, having used good old vinyl for the last decade or so, and being a little sceptical as to whether a laptop and MIDI controller can replicate the control and experience of analogue kit. Having taken the plunge and purchased the Traktor Kontrol S2 with Traktor Pro 2 from Native Instruments, I've been really impressed. I think technology is finally living up to the hype, and is offering a viable replacement for the digital age.

So this MIDI mapping business can get pretty involved, and equally frustrating. I've spent a lot of time googling and trawling forums for tutorials and instructions. If anyone is using the same kit as me, hopefully some of the information I post here will come in handy for you. I'm planning to share all of the files that I create, and links to all the associated sites and tutorials.

Ok, so firstly the Traktor S2. I've had this for a couple of weeks now, and played out live with it once (having had about 3 or 4 hours practice to accustom myself switching over from vinyl).  It's a really well thought out piece of kit, and surprisingly quick to pick up and learn the workflow / move around the controls fluidly. I'm not going to go into any more detail on the S2 / Traktor, there are plenty of really thorough reviews out there.

The first thing I did as soon as it came out of the box was to install a custom TSI (Traktor mapping file) from DJ TechTools. I cannot recommend these guys highly enough, if you haven't seen the site already, it's a fantastic source for digital DJ news, reviews, tips, and tutorials. The YouTube demonstrations of custom mappings from Ean Golden finally did the trick of getting me to part with the cash for Traktor!

Not one to be content with one controller, I've been experimenting with some others, and with a lot of time and effort, have learned how to do some pretty advanced custom controls and chained effects. The Akai MPK Mini is a cheapy, basic MIDI controller that I use for Ableton, and has velocity sensitive pads, rotary controls and a little keyboard. It's a perfect candidate for a breakout unit mapped for controls and effects that maybe aren't so easily accessible on the Kontrol S2, or just allow for a bit more creative expression (plus it looks pretty cool for live use in conjunction with an S2 etc).

Traktor Pro 2 MIDI Mapping Project for Akai MPK Mini

This is still very much a work in progress, I've got a few of the Deck B controls to complete yet, and there are a few empty buttons (I'm open to ideas if anyone has any suggestions for those). Plus I found this video today that shows you the correct values to map two octaves of the keyboard to change the key of the track, so will incorporate that into my mapping too if possible.


Hopefully I can do a follow up post in a week or so with links to the completed mapping files for the Akai. And more details of another control project, TouchOSC for Android. This was so frustrating, I just couldn't get my tablet talking to the Mac, and good info on this is really hard to find. There will be a post dedicated to this, explaining how to set it up from start to finish, and map your custom controls.


That's all from me for now, happy mapping!