Anyone Map the Native Instruments S4 yet?

[MusicMeister]

remember my z2?

If there´s stuff NHL only on there, it´ll be wasted time and effort...

Edit: just checked in their controller editor and the deck-buttons (A/C B/D) are either NHL or the they default MIDI-output is crap.

see, MIDI-out for DeckA and C is the same by default

S4DeckA.PNG

S4DeckC.PNG

Yea, yea, yea.... at the surface it looks that way...

The thing is that hitting the deck button in MIDI mode on the S4 still changed the Deck A/C B/D lights and they send the same MIDI signal - but on different channels.

Hitting play while on Deck A is on channel 1, on deck C is channel 3. B is channel 2, and D is channel 4.

The MIDI isn't 'that' crippled if you actually scan and know what to look for.

BTW, I'm reading the actual MIDI generated by the device using MIDI Monitor on my Mac.

I'll start working on the base mapping this weekend and see what I come up with.

(Side note: Shift+Browse puts the S4 into MIDI mode).

[MusicMeister]

Started dabbling with this mapping and let's just say... 'interesting'...

To make this work the way I want it's going to be REAL interesting to do a mapping and may require some rather extensive hand coding...

Not impossible, just very time consuming...

Looks like this is going on the back burner for a week or two - I have a few major events coming up I need to prep for and this is going to take WAY too much time on the short term.

Once I hit it again in a few weeks if someone else doesn't do it before then.

[MusicMeister]

Ok... overhauled the template in the controller editor and the mapping is actually pretty straightforward.

I won't have much time to do this... but if you need the template I made in controller editor I can share.

I mainly turned all the buttons and push knobs to notes, and made a few other minor tweaks. Need to make sure they're all set to gate though.

I'll get there soon enough unless someone beats me to it.

[Support@MixVibes]

Not impossible, just very time consuming..

I know this...

Ok... overhauled the template in the controller editor and the mapping is actually pretty straightforward.

I won't have much time to do this... but if you need the template I made in controller editor I can share.

Honestly if you can share this with me, I guess I could finish the mapping on the Cross side.

[MusicMeister]

Will do as soon as I get home.

Have to make a few tweaks though. The buttons are set to 'toggle' instead of 'gate'. But I can knock this out tonight and post it up.

[MusicMeister]

Ok, give this a shot...

The rotaries remain CC with most being set to absolute with a value of 0-127.

I tried the gain controls at relative but they were quite unresponsive, but it's something that I may need to address in the template for the S4. As for now, they're set to absolute but don't have stops on the gain controls so they may need addressed.

All the buttons and knobs with push buttons are set to MIDI Notes as gates. Meaning you get a 127 when you press them, and a 00 when you lift. The same goes for the tops of the jog wheels.

Most everything else is a CC message as well with a range of 0 to 127.

Keep in mind the shift and deck c/d buttons are NOT modifiers. They actually change the pages in hardware and send on different MIDI channels. That means when Cross gets 4 decks the functionality is already there without having to add modifiers or get creative.

All in all, the S4 is a pretty nice bit of kit with a lot of flexibility if you're willing to put in the time. Sure they use a proprietary protocol for Traktor, but at least they put in the MIDI functionality so we can hack it and map it.

If you need anything tweaked let me know... I'm eager to give this a shot.

I have a big event this weekend and likely won't be working on the mapping much between now and then, but afterwards, I'd love to dig in some more and do some testing.

[Support@MixVibes]

I can do the mapping, but I'm too lazy with the controler editor

[MusicMeister]

The controller editor is just time consuming and you sort of need an idea of what you want.

While I think I could map the S4 with the native CC mapping, it would take some SERIOUS handcoding and creativity to make it work.

As it is, I did a little trial and error to realize I had to make some of the changes I did.

For example, switching a button to send a MIDI note defaults to toggle as the action. Which means if you press the button it sends 0xF7 and when you press it again it sends 0x00. Which means if you set the button up in Cross you press once and it comes on. But to turn the feature off you have to press twice because it's expecting a second 0xf7. And then you have to press twice to turn on again.

Setting the button to gate fixes that and makes it respond as you'd expect.

So the controller editor gives you a LOT of flexibility, but it's time consuming and you need to have a good idea of what you want. But all in all, I think I'm close with the mapping.

BTW, I may get more resolution if I change the pitch faders from CC messages to pitch bend, but I figured I'd try to play with that later.

[Support@MixVibes]

Using the controler editor, is just like "designing" a controler, it's very time consuming.

[MusicMeister]

It is a little time consuming and part of the trick is knowing what you want. I was pretty straight forward. Buttons should be gated MIDI notes. Faders and rotaries with stops are CC absolute 0-127. Endless rotaries are relative (although the gains are set to absolute).


On a side note... how's the mapping coming along? hehehehe....

Do I need to tweak the template any more on the s4? Did I miss anything?