MIDI Fighter Twister

Hardware
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Throiugh the efforts of @futureaztec, I was fortunate enough to acquire a MIDI Fighter Twister for evaluation from the kind folks at DJ Techtools. The Twister is one of a range of MIDI controllers produced by DJ Techtools. The Twister has a 4x4 grid of endless encoders. Each encoder has a built in push switch and there are also three switches on each side of the unit:

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I’m very impressed with the Twister. It’s clearly built from primo components. The encoders are silky smooth and the switches have a nice, positive feel. The base is heavy and stable. This thing is obviously built to last. The amount of customization that’s possible with the configuration utility is unbelievable. Not only can you assign almost any MIDI message to any control, you can change the sensitivity of the encoders, the color of LED’s etc. It’s also possible to control the Twister by sending it MIDI messages. My first project was a 4 channel stereo mixer with volume, pan, two effects buses, and a solo and mute for each channel. The Twister works flawlessly with the mixer. I then configured bank 2 on the Twister to control an 8 step sequencer. I can’t wait for MIDI out so I’ll be able to control the Twister from Audulus as well as control Audulus from the Twister. I’m still working on an appropriate demo to show off the unit.
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Here’s the mixer as well as the Twister configuration file. I also included a basic remap for the Twister without the customizations for the mixer. Because triggers and knobs in Audulus are not channel specific at this point, using the default mappings would potentially cause conflicts with a MIDI keyboard. I mapped the switches on bank 1 and 2 to MIDI notes outside the range typically played (88 piano key notes) and moved the CC number start up from 0 to 15 so it wouldn’t conflict with a mod wheel. In the Mixer config I mapped the right side switches to bank select for banks 1-3. The configuration utility is simple to use and pretty self-explanatory.
Twister Mixer 12-21-18.zip (19.8 KB)

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Greetings. New user here. I’m curious how MFT works with Audulus. If there’s no MIDI out, does that mean that the knobs are not updated on the MFT? So for instance, I turn on my system, load a patch on Audulus, and hook up the MFT, will I see the knob values, or will everything “jump” to the value of the knob the first time I touch it?

Thanks.

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At this point Audulus does not have MIDI out, so the Twister knobs do not update using the position off the virtual knobs in Audulus. Hopefully that will change with Audulus 4, but at the moment it’s one way only. Other than that I’ve be very pleased with the Twister. It has very flexible mapping options which allows it to make the most of the somewhat limited MIDI support currently available in Audulus. I particularly like the ability to configure a knob with the default position at 50%. Ideal for pan controls, fine tuning etc. It’s also nice to have a choice between high resolution and fast response for the knobs. The built in push button on each knob is also handy. All in all, it’s a very solid and powerful MIDI controller. I’m really looking forward to using more of its capabilities when MIDI out becomes available in Audulus.

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Thanks – I have one already and confirm it’s one of the most solid and well built controllers I’ve used.

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