MIDI Fighter Twister Review/Tutorial
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ค. 2024
- A look at the MIDI Fighter Twister, what it is, how it works, the utility software, and how it can easily be set up. It is quite possibly the most flexible and powerful MIDI controller available as well as being very comfortable and tactile, and therefore inspirational to use.
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TIME STAMPS:
00:00 Intro, Main Features and Build Quality
05:36 Connecting to 5-Pin (DIN) MIDI
07:01 Midifighter Utility Software
08:07 Global Settings
09:13 Encoder Settings:
09:33 Colour
11:02 Detent/Detent Colour
13:04 Encoder Sensitivity
16:55 Indicator Type
20:11 Super Knob™
24:55 Switch Action Type
32:22 Editing Multiple Controllers
34:44 Encoder MIDI Type
35:40 Primary/Secondary Channel/CC Settings
37:07 Default Channel/CC's
38:09 MIDI Channels 0-15 or 1-16
39:59 Saving and Loading Settings
40:55 Controlling the Twister with MIDI Input
47:00 Conclusions and Final Words
#MIDIFighterTwister #DJTechTools #Controllerism - เพลง
This is really well done. Very accessible, which is becoming rare these days; languaging used in video, thoroughness, etc. - A+ on completeness, including great suggestions at each item discussed. - I also love that you clearly love your topic(s) in the way of an Artist; i.e. you do not angle to plug your own ego or your own content at every opportunity. I realize that perhaps you 'should' as a 'content creator, but truly, this is why this stands out to me... You love your topic more than than you love the idea of inflated views. So thank you. - This reminds me of the way that the web used to be (and the way that pretty much everyone wishes it were still today, if they think on it). Fine work sir. This will be my "forever reference" on this device. *Appreciated!
Thanks for your long and very complimentary comment. Also nice to see you picked up on how I'm not really concerned with self promotion or fishing for views. I leave that to others.
For me it's all about the enjoyment of creating, and sharing what I create, what I think, and what interests me; and in the case of this video, also another of my motivators: for me to learn more about a device myself by making a video about its features. I get enjoyment out of making my videos, and if others also like them, sometimes to my genuine surprise, it's just an added bonus.
I notice that I in my own video watching usually prefer videos that are an expression of genuine enthusiasm rather than the scripted, polished, clickbaity, or (frequently more and more ubiquitous) pandering to viewer expectations.
Awesome video! Thanks for the killer in-depth review. Easily the best one I’ve found on TH-cam. Keep it up! 😊
Thanks for the nice comment. I am most definitely intending to keep it up.
Great video. I have a MFT on the way and found this very helpful. Nicely paced and well explained. Look forward to seeing your future videos using it.
Thanks. I'm glad you found it helpful. I have been using the MFT as a controller for my Empress Effects Zoia in many videos, particularly as a sequencer controller, for which it is absolutely awesome.
One of the reasons I made this video was actually as a way to figure out for myself what kind of features it had. I have found that the very best way to learn something is to teach something. By forcing yourself to put something into words that will make something clear to others, you have to actually understand it better yourself first,
Hakon, thank you again for responding to my request for a Twister Tutorial.
It’s making more sense to me and I was happy to learn there is software as well.
I have tendency to start watching TH-cam tutorial content late at night, so I have to watch in 2 or more sessions. I feel far more confident about using the twister with the Zoia. Thanks again, I have a lot of your recent Zoia material to catch up on. I’m always am impressed and great full for your thorough and detailed tutorials!
Thanks again for your nice comment. I am glad to be of help. When I made this tutorial in November, it forced me to learn it properly too. Actually, my most popular tutorials are the ones I've made specifically in order to learn something better myself, and what better way to learn something than trying to explain it to someone else? It's this one, and also my Soundcraft mixer tutorials that get the most steady view counts on my channel these days.
@@hakonsoreide makes sense, some say the last phase of really learning something, is to teach it to someone else.
That was really enlightening! Thank you for such an excellent look at the MFT and its software. It will be interesting to see if your remarks about the minor shortcomings get addressed in future firmware releases. In the meantime, this is really an amazing device.
Thanks, Tom. Both for watching, and for the lovely comment. Considering the age of the MFT, and how it is gradually becoming more obsolete as new gear requires more than the old 7-bit MIDI for full functionality, I wouldn't presume any new firmware updates, but with this kind of build quality, they will certainly still be around a few decades from now, and still doing a brilliant job. I certainly don't feel the need to add any further MIDI controllers to my setup.
Thank you for taking the time. Really appreciated!
Thanks for watching, and for your comment. When I make videos like this, it is partly for my own sake too, as going through the settings and explaining them in a video actually is the very best way to learn something oneself.
If I then find I am unable to explain something, I know I have to go and figure out how it works and get back to it.
@@hakonsoreide Ha, I do the same. Though I find when I do this, I never have to reference the video again.
Outstanding Hakon. Outstanding. This was easily the best tutorial I've seen on the Fighter. Well done.
Thank you. That is high praise indeed. I am glad you enjoyed it, even to the point of lavishing it with superlatives. I always highly appreciate comments such as yours, as they are the ones that most inspire me to keep making videos. Thanks again.
My pleasure. It's always a mystery to me why manufacturers never make their own tutorials as in-depth. It's almost as if they know someone else will do it for them.
Was wondering, if I map controls for a given plug-in on one channel, if I open the same plug-in on another channel will the midi still be mapped? (assuming I've saved the settings).
Apologies in advance if this is a daft question.
Thanks again.
Some manufacturers do make tutorials, but, as you say, they seldom reach the same level of depth as user-made ones, even if you'd think that would be easy.
MIDI channel behaviour with plug-ins would potentially work differently in different DAWs, and I'm not too familiar with it as I actually didn't use MIDI as much with plug-ins as I thought I would when I got the controller. I've found so much more use for it once I started making music outside of the box with the Phenol and the Zoia.
Usually, I would think the channel setting for a plug-in - in most DAWs - is mainly a track setting rather than a setting in the plug-in itself, meaning if the plug-ins remember their MIDI settings, or they are possible to save and restore, it will be as a set of controller values that will be channel-agnostic, allowing you to assign different channels to different instances of the same plug-in, for instance (which is also how you can make any plug-in MPE enabled, by the way).
In some plug-ins, however, both channel and CC will be defined by the plug-in's own settings, but regardless of how it handles MIDI, your DAW should have some means of rerouting MIDI, both from one channel to another, or from one CC to another.
I think the best way to find out is for you to go into your DAW and look at all the MIDI settings both at app level, track level, and in your plug-ins themselves. That should give you a good indication of how MIDI will behave.
Thank you. Makes sense. Think in the past when I've had other units mapped (to EQ say) I've tried duplicating the plug-in to a new channel - don't think it worked.
Ok - will check the settings as you advised (I use Logic). I'd really like the MFT but don't want to have to be constantly mapping it.
I just ordered this. This video was really informative and well thought out. Thanks for sharing the info.
Thanks for watching and commenting. I am glad to hear you found my video helpful to such an extent that you decided to get one. I hope you'll be quite happy with it. It's so nice to have at least one really good quality knob controller.
you like it?
i am looking in to this too. I feel this one really hits the spot for me
@@sanderschat yes! The only thing I don't like is it doesn't have 5 din midi.
Thank you so much for this detailed review !
You’re welcome. I am glad to hear you found it useful, enjoyable, or both.
Thanks for this great Review! My MIDI Fighter Twister arrives tomorrow. 😊This was very helpful!
Thanks. I hope you'll get a lot of use out of it and enjoy twiddling those comfortable knobs as much as I do. One of these days I should do something I've been intending to do for years: map my favourite soft synths properly to it so I can play them as if they were hardware. I usually just do it ad hoc when I am working on something, but the hands-on control makes such a huge difference to work flow I'll finally enjoy doing sound design in the box.
And thanks for subscribing too, by the way. I appreciate it.
THANKS master. All the info we needed in one video :)
Thanks, Jose. Yes, I was trying to cover most things. And it's still the only MIDI knob controller I'll ever need.
Thank you brother we all needed this🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
You're welcome, and thank you very much. I am glad to hear you found it useful and/or interesting.
Thanks for the in depth review!
Thanks, and you are very welcome.
Thank you for making this video, it's very helpful!
You're welcome, and thanks for watching. I am happy to hear you found it helpful.
Thank you for creating this informative video!
You're welcome, and thanks for watching and commenting. It is nice to hear you found it informative
I just received my Midifighter and I have absolutely no regrets about my purchase.
Your various tests really weighed on my decision.
It's 2am here in France (Paris) but I'm having a blast setting everything up with Clyphx Pro :)
Thanks again to you!
Thanks. That is wonderful to hear. I actually did regret my purchase for a while since I didn't use it much for a few years, but once I got the Zoia and realised the Fighter Twister was the controller that was missing from the Zoia, I've been very happy with it and glad I bought it.
splendid tutorial thanks so much!
Thanks for watching and commenting. It's nice to hear you found it useful or interesting.
Great overview, I will watch it as needed. I do have a much better understanding of the Twister. It's definitely a very powerful controller.
You can use it for so many applications, not just the ZOIA. Thank you
Thanks. And you're welcome. It's good to hear you learnt something from it. Yes, it's a great controller. When I got it, I was more tempted by something like the Dopefer Drehbank, but I think it was discontinued and impossible to get at the time. But in hindsight, I am rather glad I ended up with this instead as it is cheaper, takes up way less space, is far more flexible, and (as far as I know) also easier to program.
Thanks for the detailed video, man
You're welcome, Alan. And thanks for letting me know you found it useful.
Man thank you very much for all of this effort that u put in this video .. much love and good energy for you brother .. and wish u all the success 💪🏻🙏
Thanks. I hope you do well too in all your endeavours.
As for this video, I thought I might as well do it properly when I decided to do it. I didn't expect so many people to watch it, though, and I'd have been happy with 40-50 views, but since I published it, it's my video with by far the most hours viewed.
@@hakonsoreide hey there brother I finally got my midi fighter and I will start to map it to fl studio.
And I will make a video about it so if u don’t mind I will tag ur video in the description of my video to share the knowledge . And thank u again homie 🙏❤️
@@DJYotripLive Thanks, man, and no problem. Good luck setting it up and using it. If you can set it up to control the beat matrix in FL Studio, for instance, that would be really epic. I love using mine as a sequencer controller with a Zoia, which is quite a similar thing.
Feel free to come here and drop a link to your video in the comments too when you've made it. I think it's great when videos on TH-cam are connected not just by The Algorithm, but also by the community of creators sharing their inspiration, knowledge and enthusiasm with each other, as well as creating a more connected community for anyone else who finds their videos.
@@hakonsoreide sure man .. u are 100 % right about this and I’m really happy to have this kind of energy from u . And I will try my best to share the knowledge brother.
I'm also a fan of the twister but I use it for audiovisual and VJ work mainly. Its versatility is unmatched.
Yes, the Twister is great. I think there are other controllers that are as versatile at least in terms of configuration, but seldom are they combined with the kind of no-compromise quality of hardware and build-quality that the Twister offers, and also I don't think many offer the same options for visual feedback that you can get on the Twister.
It may seem pricey, but I think if I'd bought anything else, I'd have ended up spending more on MIDI controllers as I'd not been as happy with any others and would have kept looking for the right one for me.
exactly why I got one !
That's what "in-depth" means. Thank you.
Thanks. I've ended up making a few in-depth tutorials, the main reason for doing so being that I wanted to get to know the piece of gear better, and I have this idea that if I can explain it to someone else in a way that both me and others can understand, that is when I have truly learnt how something works myself.
Great tutorial. Thanks
Thanks, Uri, for watching and commenting. I am glad to hear you found it useful or interesting to watch.
Great Video!!!
Thanks. Nice to hear you liked it.
This was so helpful. Thank you
Thanks. Nice to hear you found it useful.
@@hakonsoreide unfortunately your video was more useful than the product itself. Way overpriced for its functionality
@@Blueblackngold Thanks. I know it's quite a pricey MIDI controller, with more and more decidedly budget friendly options now available.
While its feature set is decent but not unique, I get the impression the price isn't so much for functionality as it is for build quality and durability. People often throw around the phrase "built like a tank" when describing gear, but the Fighter Twister feels like you could almost run over it with a tank and it might still work.
That isn't always the kind of durability that you need, of course. The way I treat my gear, I could have got by with something far more fragile, but at the time I bought it, it also was the only controller I could find that had the features and functionality I was looking for.
Great informative video. I picked one up 2nd hand earlier for under £200. Im hoping to use it with Logic pro for some dub style mixing, so controlling a delay, eq, some other FX, send/returns and Logics main transport controls with it....Arriving next week and hopefully hassle free to set up
Thanks for watching, and for the nice comment. It's a great controller that is just so comfortable to use, and I hope you'll be very happy with it.
I am sure once you figure out how to set it up, it will be pretty straightforward, and I would think there are be some nice tutorials out there too for using MIDI to control things in Logic.
At least the Twister itself is very quick and easy to set up.
Thank You!.
You're welcome. And thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Hello Hakon,
Thanks for your in-depth review / tutorial.
If you say that the secondary setting can also be rotary (and hence that Dj Techtools messed up the terminology of the midi fighter utility, 35:55), then you seem to suggest that the midi fighter can send a 2nd cc number or a second midi note number on the same rotary knob when rotated after a switch / toggle / press. Apart from the switch functionality itself that doesn’t seem to be the case . You can still control 2 parameters (again: apart from the switch action itself) with the same rotary because it switches to midi channel 5 when pressed / toggled, but it will send the same cc or note number information as it sent before it was pressed when rotated. It's only the midi channel change that make it really "secondary" after the switch and this 2nd midi channel is not definable in the midi fighter utility. Hence: you can’t define the secondary rotary function in the utility, only the first and the the push of the rotary knob itself.
It’s important to realize this, otherwise new users (like me) will endlessly search for the possibility to use a different cc or a different midi note number on the same rotary as that “secondary function” as you would call it. This is not possible at the moment for the rotary action: the second midi note / cc is just available as a switch (when pressing the rotary). Hence the terminology of DJ Techtools doesn’t seem to be off in this regard.
Thanks for the input and clarification. At the time I made the video, having read the manual, but not used it extensively yet, I was under the impression it worked the way I say in the video, but you're right, of course, it does a lot of cool things, but it doesn't quite work like that. I guess I should have done a little follow-up video, but I haven't got around to that yet.
Great video!!!
I have a question, how can set the max value 127 ( detent ) instead of being in the middle?
Thanks. Detents can only be set for the halfway point. Since the detent is not mechanical but visual, you sort of already have one both for the beginning and end as the encoder goes beyond the end points and you already have a visual indication when you've reached the maximum or minimum values.
I'm very tempted to get one of these. I currently have a Launchpad Pro MK3 and a Launch Control XL though I would love a sturdy little box of knobs for accessing custom mappings without going into the user modes of the LCXL.
I can see they are currently updating the firmware after all these years which is fab but I am slightly concerned that there will be compatibility issues with the MIDI Fighter software in the near future which could render the hardware useless... Hopefully they will continue to update with Big Sur and M1 and beyond. :)
It's a great controller. And also the easiest-to-use MIDI controller I've ever used.
Seeing as it's still a current product, I would think DJTechtools would update the software as needed. Presumably, if it doesn't work natively on M1, it should work with Rosetta, and you'd be good to go until then.
I guess if you've already got an M1 Apple, you could just try downloading the software and see if it starts up at least before deciding.
Thanks for the video. Just as info for anyone looking at this but needing to connect to Midi Din plugs: If you do need a USB to Midi converter (the Kenton one in this video costing $140), it may be worth looking at Faderfox units instead.
USB MIDI hosts start at about $45, but Faderfox is otherwise a good option, though they have a very different look and feel.
Thank you so much for this in depth review and good through the whole software, really helpful towards making an informed decision on whether to purchase it or not.
I do have one question though, you skipped through the sidekeys and 99% of them are obvious but I struggle to understand what Shift A and Shift B can do.
Based on the manual I assume that Shift A/B modify the "press" action of the encoder, to send out a midi note. Is that all it can do or are there more settings to that functionality?
Thanks for your comment. One of the reasons I didn't really cover the side buttons in my video, as well as some other aspects of the Fighter Twister, is it's one of those things not properly covered in the manual, some things only listed exactly as it is in the configuration software, and so I simply didn't know the function of some things myself at the time of making the video, including the shift A/B settng for the side buttons.
I've not experimented with it myself yet, but the only reference I could find to it seemed to describe someone using each encoder in the same bank as two separate push switches using the shift function. I should probably figure out exactly how it works and make an addendum video about the side buttons one of these days.
Hi. Nice review. :)
38:40 - As far i know and have used MIDI gear the selectable MIDI channels were (historically) always numbered from 1 to 16.
Never heard of any 0-15 standard being before and now the trend to number them 1-16 ...
Thanks.
Internally, in the actual raw data of MIDI, the channels are 0-15, as numbering them 1-16 would actually use an extra bit of data, which would have made a big difference when the MIDI protocol was created.
I'm not 100% sure the channels were ever truly intended to be called 0-15, even from the start, but I guess when you're working on software implementations and your message values are 0-127 and channel data is 0-15, I can easily see how it got carried over into the outside world, user manuals and settings.
It could actually avoid confusion rather than adding it, which is what shifting all the numbers by one to 1-16 can cause.
Reaper has MIDI channels listed as 0-15 initially (I'm not sure when they changed it), and when I bought my MIDI Fighter Twister, the manual had the channels listed as 0-15 as well. To quote the user guide (v 1.01): "This user guide and the Midi Fighter Utility refers to these 16 channels as channels 0 through 15, the notes as notes 0 through 127, and the control change messages as CC’s 0 through 127."
@@hakonsoreide After your video i searched for instances where the channels are maybe referred to as 0-15 and Reaper came as an example and with a comment in a forum - that being a bug. :)
Yes i understand the actual 4 bit values generating 0-15.
1-16 looks and sounds more convenient. At least for me :) , and that being the standard from the beginning of MIDI.
Why these "trends" to remap the channels to their raw data values - don't know.. :)
Cheers!
@@Ingyar There was someone on the Facebook Zoia group that had a channel mismatch with some gear or other too. I can't remember what it was now, but overall, I guess it's rather rare. Still it remains something worth looking out for, if your MIDI devices don't talk together the way you expect.
Even with minor things like that, MIDI remains such a convenient and easy standard to work with once you get into it.
Hi Hakon,
many thanx for excellent tutorial. I was looking for an answer to my question in this video but i learned more then:) So, my problem is that when I open any project in Ableton, the mapped buttons and the led lights on Twister do not update themselves. Previously there was a patch that fixed this issue. now I changed my computer and I can't find that patch anymore. Do you have an idea? I know it's off topic, but if you could help I'd appreciate it.
Thanks for watching and commenting. As to your question, I am not familiar with Ableton, but a bit of googling indicates you may have to tick the Remote option in the MIDI setup which whould feedback values to the controller. It should be in Link/Tempo/MIDI Preferences/MIDI Ports.
Such a great tutorial man, thank you. I’ve been trying to use one of the knobs on filter and the button in the reset mode but rather than reset it, it takes it to 0. Is there a way to preset the reset point?
Thanks. Nice to hear you liked the tutorial. Reset, in this case, does mean take it back to zero, or to 63, possibly, for a control set to middle indent. If you want a different reset point, you would have to set the push to control a different device that then sends a value back to the Twister to change the encoder values. You could program a Zoia to do it, for example, but the Twister can't do it on its own.
Thanks for the reply mate. I tried reversing the limits in the midi mapping and thats worked ok for what i want to do but it’s either max or minimum.
Really appreciate this in depth look. I'm interested in this but am wondering if it can be updated to take advantage of MIDI 2.0? I'd hate to get one now and find out they release an updated MIDI 2.0 version.
Thanks. As for MIDI 2.0, I think it's a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist, and the transition is going to be a really long and slow one since hardly anyone needs it, and the standard is also fully compatible with older MIDI, which means there is no real incentive to upgrade.
14-bit MIDI had been around since 1991, and yet hardly anyone is using that either 30 years on because 99% of the time, 128 discrete values is all you need to control almost anything you might want to use it for, and then the 32 bits of MIDI 2.0 just seems like needless data bloating.
While there are other advantages to MIDI 2.0, of course, such as easier an automated device integration, the main market will be that of expressive controllers, such as the Linnstrument, Haken Continuum or Expressive-E Osmose, where MIDI 2.0 will allow for easier implementation of finer resolution when they are used as controllers for other gear or software instruments.
Current 14-bit MIDI doesn't do 14 bit velocity, I don't think, which is the main limitation that 2.0 will solve for such controllers, but it can theoretically do 14-bit channel pressure, which is the main expressive control, so it could have been solved within the MIDI 1.0 standard even if it seems no one has tried.
The MIDI Fighter Twister won't really benefit so much from an upgrade, but if they do decide to upgrade it, it theoretically should be possible to do with a firmware update rather than a whole new device since it already uses MIDI over USB, which is the communication protocol that MIDI 2.0 is based on in order to be backward compatible.
In short: I'd not worry about it. 7-bit MIDI 1.0 devices will be around for decades to come, and they will be more plentiful than MIDI 2.0 controllers, and their usefulness and flexibility will remain the same, with even more compatibility than the new standard that of course won't work with past and present DIN-plug MIDI devices. Those aren't going away anytime soon either.
@@hakonsoreide I so appreciate this great informative summation!!! All the info I was hoping to find about it all. Very much appreciated!
If I had to guess the system MIDI channel is likely something to do with a global MIDI In interface to the twister, ie for an external controller to control an internal knob position of the twister, would be useful to send position data to the twister which then in turn sets the channels each knob is connected to.
The System MIDI channel is actually just the channel used for the side buttons and bank switching. Changing knob positions with a message sent to the MIDI Fighter Twister is also possible, but is fixed to channel 1 with the same CC as the encoder you want to control. You can also control colours and colour animation with MIDI - but again on fixed channels only.
Hey there! Thank you for such an in-depth video, this is great for people looking to see the incredible functionality and versatility this controller offers.
I've been asking other Twister owners and was hoping you could give some input - the encoders on my unit are super "gritty" and scratchy-feeling when turning them. Have you experienced this at all? If you have, did it go away over time? I'm really bummed out about this because I adore the controller otherwise, it was just expecting the knobs to be super smooth like other controllers I've used! Thanks again.
Thanks for watching, and for commenting. It is indeed a great controller, though many aren't sure if it justifies its price tag.
The encoders on mine are super smooth, since the day I got it five years ago, and no different today. I can only presume that is how almost everyone's Twisters would be.
There are a few ways encoders can get gritty: if actual grit or sand gets into them, that itself can cause it, but - worse still - it can start grinding down the metal and add metal shavings to aggravate the problem; If it has been subject to accidental drinks spillage, stored in damp conditions, or in conditions of big temperature fluctuations, condensation and damp can cause metal parts to rust or corrode.
I presume you got it second hand since you've not asked DJ Tech Tools about it?
Even if it feels gritty, which it shouldn't, if it still works reliably, that is certainly a testament to the quality of the encoders as cheap ones quickly stop working when faced with whatever might cause the grittiness.
I'm not sure how easy it is to access the insides of the encoders for cleaning them. Basically the only thing you can do when they're mounted is to remove the knob and use some deoxidising contact cleaner on the shafts. Absolutely under no cicumstance use WD40 or other rust solvent on them as the oil in it will quickly gum and make the encoders completely useless.
The second level is to actually get into the encoders to clean them with alcohol. I've never done that, but it should be possible with a bit of careful tinkering.
@@hakonsoreide Thank you so, so much for all the info. I really appreciate you going so in-depth with everything. I haven't felt comfortable opening it up yet, but if it comes to that I really appreciate the advice because the most mechanically inclined person in my household loves WD40 and that would definitely be the first thing they went for if I asked them for help lol.
I got it from DJTechTools and have been talking to them about it. They say the feeling is not normal, so that seemed to fully confirm for me that the way my Twister feels is out of the ordinary. However, I feel less sure now that now - another Twister owner I spoke to described the encoders on their twister as "steppy," which describes the feeling mine perfectly. It almost feels like a very, very subtle version of those step encoders that have little "stops" as you turn them. Can you attest to the "steppiness" or would you say yours are perfectly smooth the whole way around, with no bumps or anything as you turn them? Thanks so much again for helping me, and I appreciate your patience with these questions. I just want to be totally sure that this feeling is limited to me (and the other person I talked to) before I try sending it in for a replacement!
@@offchristianamr My encoders are not steppy and feel exactly the same as the analogue potentiometers on my mixer, although I did notice now that I checked that the turning resistance actually varies a bit from one encoder to the next, though not enough that I have noticed before.
Stepped encoders are a thing, of course, and highly useful for many applications. The one on the Zoia is stepped, for instance, which adds control precision when the smallest unit of resolution is exactly one click.
I'm thinking one of two things happened at DJTechTools:
1) They got a bad batch of the correct encoder, or
2) Their supplier sent the stepped version of the same encoder, with a very similar product number, identical appearance, and strangely no one noticed even when the encoders passed through QC.
Hi! Fantastic tutorial
A question
is the function “ Midi Learn “ available by Itself ?
Thanks for watching and commenting. I am glad to hear you liked it.
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by MIDI learn being "available by itself". MIDI learn is a feature not of a MIDI controller like the Fighter Twister, but of something being MIDI controlled, allowing it to quickly and easily map or remap a MIDI CC to control a particular parameter.
Thank you for the great tutorial. I just received my twister today, looking forward to diving in. Question, can you assign an encoder to do the three separate functions such as turn the knob, press the button and finally the press and turn the knob. For example, in mainstage I have a delay button assigned to a press(to turn it on and off) and then on the same encoder I have a reverb level assigned to the press and turn function on the same encoder. The problem is, is that when I press and turn for the reverb level it triggers the delay button as well, and I don't want that to happen. Hopefully this makes sense!
You're welcome, and thank you for your comment. Each encoder can only do two functions in each bank - which is already twice as much as mosty other MIDI controllers - but not three. Once something does something and does it well, people often start expecting it to do even more.
The best way to do your setup would probably be to use two controllers, one for delay and one for reverb. If you only ever need the delay to be a toggle and you use it a lot, you could also alternatively set up one of the side buttons to be the toggle for it.
@@hakonsoreide Awesome, thanks for your reply. Another question. I have a knob assigned to my modulation, but I would like to use the button to reset the modulation to 0, do you have any tips on how to do this in mainstage? Thanks
@@moofusa207 No problem. To use the switch to reset the modulation, in the setup simply select "reset encoder value" in the "switch type" drop-down menu for that encoder..
Greetings, does the MFT support midi channel Program Change commands?
For example, program Encoder 1 to issue a specific midi channel Program Change to the Zoia. Probably not. Sadly, very few midi controllers do.
Hello, thanks for watching, and for your comment. The MFT does indeed not send MIDI program change, and I'm guessing the reason most MIDI controllers don't is partly because of how MIDI PC works: ideally, it needs to be set to a specific value, and then activated, also the specific value should ideally be known and therefore somehow displayed on the controller.
That said, it would have been ridiculously easy to at least let you program the side buttons as incremental program change buttons, up or down, or to let the encoders be a slightly haphazard way of sending a value. A combination of both rotation and push on an encoder would have been rather good, actually, the rotation selecting the value and a push sending it out, but that probably have required its very own subroutine in the firmware.
Yes, it's a shame not more controllers do. In the case of the Zoia, the solution could be using a second Zoia that takes incoming MIDI CC but outputs a program change to the other Zoia, and the first Zoia can then send one to the second one too so they're in the same joint patch. One of many useful implementations of having two. Some day...
Until then, at least one can get incremental footswitches easily enough for MIDI PC.
Could you please go over the side buttons and their functions? I can’t understand step sequencer mode
I might add an addendum video going over the side buttons, which I seem to have not covered as much as I should have done in this video. The step sequencer mode is a bit of a mystery to me as it's not mentioned in the manual. I've heard about it but I've not tried to figure out how it works. When I've been using it for step sequencing myself, I've let it control a self-programmed step sequencer on the Empress Zoia for full control of its behaviour.
When I open the Midi fighter utility, its not displayed in full screen. I cant see the bottom colours of the bottom row of twister knobs. Any idea how to make the utility display fully ?
My apologies for the late reply, and also I cannot really help you with that as I've never encountered the problem. On my computer, the utility in a window that cannot be resized but everything inside the window is correctly scaled and visible.
I can only suggest reinstalling the utility, in case some of its resources have become corrupted, and otherwise contact DJ Tech Tools for further support. Hopefully you'll figure it out.
So I’ve watched this video and now got to ask: I’m looking for something like this to assign knob functions of a hardware synth. I got the CC numbers for each knob but frankly switch channel, switch number, rotary channel, rotary number is confusing. Where exactly would I now assign the numbers for the twister to correspond to the synth settings (rotary?) and does the channel actually matter? The synth btw is a Kawai K5000W.
Channel does matter. All synths I've encountered only receive MIDI on a single channel, which is either user configurable on the synth itself, or it is fixed to channel 1, so when you set up a controller for a specific synth, you make sure the channel number matches. That said, the original MIDI standard used channel numbers 0-15, but at some point it got changed to 1-16, which means that you can get mismatches for some equipment using the old standard, so if nothing happens, it might be worth trying a neighbouring channel too.
As for the rotary or switch settings, a switch sends a MIDI value of 0 when of and 127 when on, and a rotary encoder sends the whole range from 0-127, so it depends what the controller on your synth expects or needs for that particular CC. Most CC's would more usefully be controlled with a rotary control.
If you're unsure how to do it, start with a single controller and adjust settings until it works.
Thanks for the tutorial, it is quite helpful! thank ou so much Sir. One question that maybe is a bit silly: now in 2023, Do you think it is still a good buy? I´m thinking about buying one. Thank you in advance!
You're welcome, and thanks for your comment. I have actually considered the question you ask a few times: would I have bought one myself in 2023? Well, I think I'd probably have had to pin it against something a bit more modern like the Faderfox EC-4. If I had been buying my first knob controller now, I'd probably have chosen the EC-4, but if I, knowing the MIDI Fighter Twister rather well, had to buy a second controller right now, I might just have bought a second one. I know how it behaves, I love how it feels, and after 10 years, it still seems as reliable and comfortable to use as when it was new, and those things matter quite a lot.
It's a little tricky to choose as there are pros and cons with each choice. The way I mainly use MIDI Fighter Twister, I think it's a better choice than the EC-4, but if I was working more in the box and needing 14-bit MIDI and also then being able to take more advantage of the digital labels, I might have gone with the Faderfox, though setting it up exactly the way you want does seem to be more of a hassle than it is with the Twister. If I had to choose now, I think I might even prefer a kind of hybrid approach to VST tactile control using the mouse together with something like the Nob Control.
So it depends, really, what you're planning to use it for, whether it is worth the extra effort to get the digital labels of the EC4, whether you _really_ need 14-bit MIDI, or get something that arguably is more likely to be more reliable in the long run.
I just realised I didn't answer the actual question you ask, but, yes, I do think a MIDI Fighter Twister is still a good buy in 2023, except there are further options that are also worth considering, depending on which features you favour and what kind of benefits you can get out of them.
@@hakonsoreide Ok sir, got the idea. Yes I was considering the Faderfox ec4 too, but I think the twister will fit the most on my ideal setup. I think the only disadvantage is that the twister is older, but…I’ll take the risk. Thank you so much for the help and the videos!
Just bought mine used and this video is so helpful. Thanks!🙏🏾
PLEASE DO A FACTORY RESET OF THIS DEVICE WHEN YOU FIRST GET IT. Otherwise, some of the features like Super Knob will not work. Found this out the hard way after losing two days trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Visited the forum and many others had the same issue. Other than that, pretty awesome device.
Thanks. That is such a useful piece of information. I was struggling to make super knob work, but I always thought it was what I connected the Twister to that couldn't handle it for some reason, and I wasn't too fussed as I didn't really need it to work.
I've done a reset now and will soon try again.
@@hakonsoreide Yes, to be clear: I was not able to use the Primary and Secondary toggle knob function like you outlined. This is what started working for me after I did the reset (pushing knob down and letting go, now twisting knob transmits secondary midi cc). I am not holding and twisting and cannot see a use for that in my purposes (midi controller for Cubase).
@@alvaromorello So, you're not talking about Super Knob, then, but secondary rotary CC value?
That also hasn't worked for me on the Zoia, but I've been rather happy just using the secondary value as a toggle or momentary switch, but it would make for some more flexible user interface implementation to have the secondary dynamic CC fully available too. I'm not so fussed about the Super Knob, really.
I'll try it out here, anyway, and see if something is different. Thanks for the information.
@@hakonsoreide I was trying both Super Knob and Secondary CC were not working for me. After checking the Twister forum, I did a reset and Secondary CC now works for me. Haven't tried Super knob again but let me know if you get it to work! Not sure it would be part of my workflow.
@@alvaromorello Hi Alvaro, thanks a lot for the tip to do a factory reset (was pulling my hears out before that). Probably the "secondary function" works now because the MFT sends the same cc / note value after switching / toggling, but on a different midi channel (channel 5). A factory reset indeed seems necessary in that regard (well here it was at least). That midi channel 5 seems to be hard coded in the twister and can't be changed in the utility. See also the manual on page 14. All in all: it's not really a secondary cc on the same rotary (yet still a secondary function you can control due to a change of midi channel).
I have this controller and it's awesome - I just wish I could get it working with my Line 6 Pod Go! :(
It is indeed a great controller. I presume your wish for using it with the Line 6 Pod Go is when not connected to a computer, as both devices connected with a PC could easily have communicated if you wanted them to. Neither of them can on their own act as MIDI hosts, unfortunately.
I don't think you can get standalone MIDI USB hosts that allow for interdirectional communicaton between two USB devices, usually it's USB to DIN MIDI, but what you could use, then, is a MIDI hub/router, like the iConnectivity mio XM that acts as a host for up to 12 USB MIDI devices and allows them to communicate with each other as well as with DIN socket devices.
I know, it's yet another box that costs money, that is of a certain size, and one more device that needs powering, which isn't always ideal, but at least that's a working solution.
@@hakonsoreide Correct, I wish to control the Pod Go when not connected to a computer. I have everything hooked up via a Kenton MIDI Host with a 4-port usb hub connected to the USB port of the Kenton. The USB hub might be the issue. I was thinking of getting a MIDI router because the Kenton only has one MIDI In and one MIDI Out, and that's barely enough for my full midi pedalboard setup.
@@SeanHyland The Kenton MIDI USB host will not send the MIDI data from the USB input out again through USB, only to the DIN socket, so while you can possibly connect several USB devices through a hub and control a DIN MIDI device with all of them, the USB MIDI devices can simply never send MIDI messages to each other.
You would need a MIDI router/hub, which also makes your setup so much more flexible if you have several MIDI devices.
Not that it matters but I don't think it's a 360 degree knob because of the color identifier stopping it from being a complete circle. Can the knobs turn endlessly for when you want a more sensitive control of something or for a very long thing like a keyboard octave position.
The encoders are endless, which allows for different transfer rates between turning and value output, as demonstrated in the video.
The colour identifiers and the rotation of the knob are completely separate.
Thank you! My English language is not good enough and I need to ask something. Can i use it with pioneer flx4?
I don't know anything about the FLX4, but I know it can receive MIDI in and send MIDI out, so that means you should be able to use them together if you can find out how to set it up.
Whether it is a good choice depends on what you are trying to do with an additional MIDI controller that you cannot already do with the FLX4.
@@hakonsoreide Thank you!
Build like a tank, but still my postal service managed to bend a knob.
The seller (2nd hand) wrapped it in paper and ducktape so he is at least partly at fault as well.
Perhaps it got squashed because someone else was shipping an actual tank that was also only wrapped in paper and duck tape? Actually, it is entirely the seller's fault, not the postal service's. There is never a good excuse for not wrapping things properly.
Anyway, even with the bent knob, does it still work? If yes, then that is what "built like a tank" means. It doesn't mean it's impervious to damage.
dude i need helo with the step sequencer, it doesn't engage on my drum rack in ableton
I've never used Traktor, which the Twister and the sequencer mode were originally designed for, nor have I used Ableton, so I don't know how or if that would work. A quick google indicated to me you're not the first person to ask that question, however, so it might be worth searching for answers elsewhere. I have seen there are possible solutions out there, but since I don't know anything about Ableton, I cannot curate them for you.
Good luck.
Hey. I'm having a problem a can't seem to find an answer to. I'm using the Midi Fighter Twister in VCV Rack. It works fine for the most part, but if I map a single encoder as Toggle CC for muting a track AND as a rotary function for track volume, when I reach the halfway point on the turn it toggles mute on. It seems like that might be part of the Super Knob function but I have checked many times to make sure that feature is off for each encoder, including in the global settings. I have even tried setting the Super Knob start point at max value to no success. Any ideas what I may be missing here? Thanks!
I haven't really used VCV rack at all (I think I just tried it for two minutes a few years ago), but if you talk me through how to set up my MFT in the same way you have, I can test it here to see if mine behaves the same or differently.
Has it always behaved like that with VCV rack? And does it only happen on VCV rack?
@@hakonsoreide Everything seems to work fine in Ableton so I'm guessing that the problem is the way the Twister interfaces with VCV Rack.
Initially I was curious if you had run into that problem with the MTF in any programs that you use it with. I'm going to settle for switching banks instead of having multifunction knobs for now.
VCV requires you to download most modules in bundles, so no worries if you don't feel like dealing with all that.
If you are curious, I'm using the VCV MIDI-MAP fundamental module with the MFT selected as the device.
I have the first encoder mapped to 2 functions; the rotary knob mapped to track one volume on the Mindmeld 8-Channel mixer, and the switch action CC Toggle mapped to track 1 Mute.
When I raise track 1 volume passed the halfway point on the encoder, the Mute toggles on.
Thanks for the reply.
@@bl00dsimple I have noticed the MFT does behave differently with different things, so maybe this is one of those. For instance, when I am using it with my Zoia, which is what I do most of the time, I cannot user super knob, and the secondary function on an encoder cannot be continuous CC but only a momentary or toggle switch, or parameter reset - which still makes it an amazing controller, but it would have been nice to have the option.
Anyway, I tried a little bit now. I couldn't find the MIDIMeld mixer, but I picked the Hora 8-track mixer to try.
I had problems mapping two controls from the same encoder at first from the same MIDIMap module, but what worked for me is to use 2 MIDI map modules, one for channel 1 (the main encoder setting on my MFT) and one for channel 2 (secondary). When the secondary encoder was set to CC hold, that made it work perfectly as a mute switch and the rotary value worked perfectly for setting volume with no glitches.
Have you tried using two MIDI-Map modules?
@@hakonsoreide Hey, this sounds like the solution I'm looking for. I didn't think to try 2 MIDI-MAP modules. I will go experiment. Thanks Hakon!
EDIT: It worked!! Problem solved! Thanks so much!
No problem. And great to hear it worked. Sometimes I seem to have a knack for solving problems even when I don't know so much about it. Perhaps not knowing so much about it even helps as my creativity can come up with a solution without overthinking getting in the way.
You never mention the price, but considering the amount of development, both hardware, firmware and software that went into the different MidiFighter devices I would say it is actually quite cheap. :) And they use durable encoders etc, I have used mine a lot, still like new.
It is a very durable piece of kit. I don't knock my stuff around much, but with the Fighter Twister, it feels like I could if I wanted to.
When it comes to prices, they vary so much from shop to shop, and they change over time, so anyone watching or reading a review would have to look up the current price anyway, and so I don't think it's a particularly useful thing to include.
The only time I think prices make sense to talk about is when people are going to trade shows and discussing products not yet released, at which point the only indication of what it will cost once it hits the shops is whatever the manufacturers tell you.
The extremely subjective and quite fuzzy perceived value for money is of course a far more useful metric, but then it really depends on the individual prospective buyer what that value is depending on how they are intending to use it, how much they would use it, and also on their disposable income.
The best way to go, therefore, for any gear, is to talk about features, benefits, ways to use something, and then whoever watches will have to look up prices and decide if it is worth it to them or not.
@@hakonsoreide Agree :)
I used mine several years for DJ-ing. The "instant gratification" mapping is brilliant gold together with Traktor DJ software. I had it in a softbag with padded walls. Never broke and barely scratched. Great finish!
I bought mine directly from DJ Techtools - to support them as much as possible. I know I could have saved some money by buying online from others, but I love DJ TT and their unique products. I have also purchased the VCI100SE Arcade and the VCI400 Ean Golden edition.
I think the Twister was developed especially for DJ-ing with stems in Traktor (can not remember if you mentioned this in your video) but this format never became popular, due to lack of support from labels and producers.
I think it is very interesting to see what other uses it had over the years. Loved your video as an example of this.
Great work.
Thanks. I am sure I've mentioned the Fighter Twister's Traktor connection somewhere. At least I know I did during recording of this or some other video, though I can't remember for sure which one, or whether it might have been a take that wasn't used.
I think it's absolutely perfect together with something like the Zoia where I can use it as a sequencer controller, or for any other parameters that need to be tweaked during performance or sound design. The Zoia and the Fighter Twister together feels like a unity greater than the sum of its parts.
It is such a versatile and easy-to-program controller it can be used for pretty much anything, really, and I'm not using it nearly as much as I could have done.
Hi I have a question, I’ve gotten pretty far into the video but haven’t seen this addressed or maybe didn’t understand (I’m a rookie). Thank you to anyone who responds….
I use this with fl studio. I use the first bank as a general automation controller. And the last three banks I assign to my mixer.
An issue I run into, is that if I work on a project(a) and jump into a new project(b), it carries over the last position from (a) into (b) and if I turn a knob it jumps to the position left behind by(a). I know it’s impossible for the mft to remember the projects position across all my projects.
Is there a way to have the mft be more additive to the value? Like turning the knob will add to the current value I’m in my daw. I basically want (if I’m at 50% in my saw for the value, turning it clockwise will add to the 50% regardless of the knob position on the mft.)
a MIDI controller just sends out the value of one of its encoders when the value changes. How that change is interpreted by something else can vary, however, and adding the value to what is already in FL Studio is something that would have to be programmed for at the software end. It's not a possible setting on any knob or slider MIDI controller itself, as far as I know.
What the MFT can do, however, is to also receive, and for the encoders to change values depending on what it gets from a DAW, so that in effect each controller can be adjusted at both ends. If an encoder is set to CC1, for example, and you send a value on CC1 on channel 1 to the MFT from your DAW, the value set at CC1 on the MFT will also change.
Some DAWs will have some easy ways of integrating this kind of behaviour, others won't and might require a bit more fiddling to set up correctly, but that is the principle of it, anyway. I don't use FL Studio, so I don't know what is possible or not in it.
So, if you can figure out how to do this in FL Studio, the values set on the controlled parameters on the MFT should change to be the same as in your DAW whenever you change projects, if the parameters are able to be sent to the MFT to update the current value.
@@hakonsoreide Wow thank you so much for that detailed explanation, I appreciate your thoroughness. How should I describe that in a way that can I can research it online? Should I just look up how to send cc# values out of go studio? Or is there a name to this.
@@hakonsoreide once again thank you.
@@adrianlara5045 While I've never needed their help, I have heard the guys at DJ Tech Tools are supposed to be super helpful, so you might consider sending them a message through their support ticket system: techtools.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
I am sure they would know how this works with FL Studio.
@@hakonsoreide ❤️
does it work under Chip M1 apple ?
The device itself is class compliant, so that should work without a hitch. I've not tried an Apple M1, and don't know much about how to make older software work on it, but if you want to find out if the setup utility runs natively or through Rosetta, it's freely available to download at store.djtechtools.com/pages/midi-fighter-utility
the page buttons on the side is a fail. they should have them on the top row of the grid.
I agree. There simply should not have been buttons on the side of something you will want to cram together next to other stuff. I’ve mapped mine so I have page back and forward on the right side as it usually is the rightmost device in my setup and that allows me to use it one-handed. Come to think of it, it would be an easy hack to move the buttons to the top. Mine is so long out of warranty now I might do that one of these days.
Is it possible to just turn the device +/- 90 or 180 deg so the page buttons orient to one's ergonomics?
bank buttons? why 6?
Probably because just having two each side would leave some extra space, so then they added a third? You'll have to ask DJ Tech Tools about that.
They're not really bank buttons as they can be used for anything, and are perhaps better thought of as six extra buttons that are available regardless of which bank you're in.
Nobody seems to notice that only Bank 1 works, bank 2-4 only mirror bank 1.
No. All banks work. If they don't work on yours, you may have a faulty unit.