MIDI is a powerful utility for DJs to master because it opens up a new realm of creativity that usually lies in the background. In our first piece on MIDI mapping, we helped you become familiar with navigating the MIDI mapping features of Traktor. But once you become familiar with the basics to fit your workflow, it may become apparent that there aren’t enough buttons, knobs, etc.. Each button doesn’t have to have only one purpose though. This second piece will show you how modifiers can help you go beyond the basic MIDI mapping. Although this tutorial is tailored to Traktor, more and more programs are starting to support modifiers so be sure to reference the manual for other DJ software.

What is a Modifier?

Modifiers in Traktor are awesome features of MIDI controls that turn any knob, button, or platter into an intricate control with multiple functions. The way a modifier works is it can be mapped to any button on a controller just like one would map a cue point or play/pause button. The button that is mapped as a modifier now becomes a way of turning a new function for other controls on or off.

Think of modifiers as a light switch for a DJ controller. A DJ controller will have two states: regular functionality (when the modifier is flipped off) and bonus functionality (when the modifier is flipped on). For example, a two deck MIDI controller can become a four deck MIDI controller by assigning modifiers to each deck. When the modifier is off, the left platter can be used to manipulate Deck A. When the modifier is turned on, the left deck now controls Deck D. Each mapping can hold up to two modifier conditions. These conditions tell Traktor to check if the modifier is true when MIDI data is sent from the controller. Following our light switch metaphor, is the light switch on or off?

Mapping a Simple Modifier

Modifiers can be a little tricky to understand by just explaining them so below we will walk through a common way modifiers are used to delete cue points with the same buttons that are used to set cue points. I will be demonstrating this with my MIDI Fighter but the concept can be translated to any MIDI controller.

1. Go to Traktor’s Controller Manager and create a new mapping by clicking Add… then Generic MIDI. With your controller plugged into your computer be sure to select in the drop down menu for the In Port and Out Port.

1. Click Add In… at the bottom of the page and then select Modifier and then any Modifier number. The Modifier number doesn’t matter but for this demonstration we will chose Modifier #1.

1. Click Learn under Device Mapping and choose a button to be the modifier. In our case, I am using the button on the side of my MIDI Fighter. Be sure to turn off Learn when you are done.
2. Once you have your button mapped we will change the Type of Controller (under Mapping Details) to Button. The Interaction Mode for a button like this can either be Toggle or Hold. I find Hold to be the best option so I won’t worry about forgetting to turn the modifier off. Then put the Set to value to 1. Now when the modifier button is pressed we will see the modifier table at the top change from 0 to 1 on the corresponding modifier number.

The next step is to add our modifier to other mapping controls to utilize the functionality of our newly mapped modifier button.
1. Click Add In… -> Track Deck -> Cue -> Select/Set + Store HotCue. Decide which button will become hot cue 1 for Deck A and then map it to your button on the controller. For me this was one of the arcade buttons on my MIDI Fighter. The Type of Controller will be Button, the Assignment for this demonstration will be Deck A and the Set to Value to HotCue1. Here is where we bring it home. Set a modifier condition on this hot cue to be M1 = 0, so when the modifier button is not pressed, then the hot cue will be selected or stored.)

1. Click Add In… -> Track Deck -> Cue -> Delete HotCue and map to the same button we used in step five. Again, Type of Controller is Button, the Assignment is Deck A, the Interaction Mode will be Direct and the Set to Value is HotCue1. In order to delete the cue we need to tell Traktor that when we hold the modifier button and press the cue button to delete the cue. To do that select a Modifier condition of M1 = 1.

And by the magic of MIDI mapping we can now use the same button for two different purposes! The modifier is now letting us have the ability to delete hot cues which can become useful to the DJ who wants to swap out their 8 hot cue points during their set or just to have a way to quickly delete accidentally set cue points. The beauty of the modifier feature is that it can be used for every control in Traktor such as Play/Pause, effect triggers, and loop controls so there really is no limit to the different controls a button or knob can do. Just remember that only two modifiers can be assigned to each MIDI control which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because more than two modifiers could be really confusing! Modifiers open up creativity and allow the DJ to utilize his/her controller to do way more things than originally intended. So, get your money’s worth and map modifiers to your controllers!

Dean William will field any questions that you have about Traktor, MIDI mapping, and modifiers. He's on Twitter: @deanithon

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