On the surface, each Midi Fighter Twister is equipped with 16 endless encoders, each with a push state, plus a full ring of LEDs. Capped off with 2 full-color LEDs at the bottom, each encoder can transform into a wide range of displays and functions depending on the mapping, configuration, or page. This provides infinite levels of control with clear visual feedback similar to a touch screen, while maintaining the tactile feel of a real knob.

The possibilities – from Ableton control to Traktor effects – are endless, but to really showcase the potential of this dynamic work surface we decided to go a little nuts and create something totally next level.

Many of you love layering drums over a DJ set, but find that loops and one shots can get stale. The next most creative step for many popular DJs is connecting Ableton and running Push or Maschine in the background. This introduces a big layer of complexity, when ideally that drum sequencing should be right inside of the DJ software.

Inspired by the work of Tomash Ghz, who first built a Traktor sequencer, djtechtools asked their engineering team to develop a completely independent clocking system in the Twister. This would turn any Traktor Remix deck into an expressive analogue style drum sequencer complete with 4 voices, each with their own 16-step velocity programmable sequencer. The results are quite simply: totally amazing. Last week djtechtools asked Michael, their engineer and the brains behind this project to help them explain what they have done. Since the Twister will ship with its own optional internal sequencer that requires zero software to function, this same technique they used in the video could be applied to anything including Ableton Live drum racks or even analog synthesizers.

DJ site DJ TechTools continues to create their own hardware, augmented by custom mappings to popular software, with the Midi Fighter Twister. From the early days of their 4×4 arcade button controller Midi Fighter, things have gotten a bit more sophisticated. The Twister keeps the compact housing and 4×4 matrix design, but swaps those on/off buttons with 16 encoders, each with push-button capability, ringed by color LEDs for additional feedback.

producer: djtechtools
period: 2013