Faderfox to control Digitakt? Experience or recommendations?

Elektron Gear Digitakt
#1

I’m looking to potentially add some more knobs to my set up for my Digtakt (+Digitone Keys), and have been looking into the Faderfox brand.

Perhaps something like this: Faderfox PC4

Does anyone here on the forum have experience with using FF products with the DT, and can you provide any experiences or recommendations re. set up, or any potential unforseen shortcomings with mappings or functionality?

Also, is it possible to split/send MIDI from a FF to BOTH the DT and the DK with some sort of MIDI splitter? (sorry if this is a basic question, my knowledge of MIDI is pretty basic, still learning)

Thanks in advance!

#2

No experience yet, but I have a PC4 and am planning to control a Digitakt and a Syntakt with it. You can configure the PC4 very individually, so just assign a different channel to the DT/DK devices. I’m running it through a Midihub but that’s not really necessary. You could run the PC4 to DT midi-in and DT’s thru to DK in to feed the PC4 to both devices.
My impression is the PC4 is well made and config software seems good.

#3

To respond by adding a couple more questions: the ability to scale CC input may be an inportant consideration for you (as it is for me). The first time my Keystep 37 (set to “scale” knob catch-up mode, even) touches, say, cc74 for filter cutoff, the value will jump, and not nicely, because the cc’s are communicated as an absolute value.

The Syntakt/[edit: ]Digitone [Digitakt doesn’t have these] macro controls (MW,PB,AT, BC) let you assign up to four relative values (so moving the knob adds to current values) per knob, per track (or tracks can be grouped!), which is amazing. BUT: very few controllers seem to be capable of sending all 4 of these values, and most can just send CC’s (MW=1, BC=2), and PB/AT are off the table. Is this the case with the PC4?

My current setup is Syntakt on midi loopback, where the 4 macro controls reach all tracks (and macro parameters are set up by track groups), plus some reverb and delay settings on CC for Keystep 37sent to Digitakt. I’ve been in the market for a controller (tried MPD226, which sends MW/BC/AT with faders, but the pads were defective), and wondering if the PC4 is what I’ve been looking for…

#4

The Faderfox UC4 can send PB/AT. The PC4 manual mentions PB but not AT, but it is fairly brief, and not comprehensive. @gdrv would be able to tell for sure.

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#5

I use a UC4 with an Octatrack and it’s a great pairing. I’m using it mainly just as a basic track level mixer + panning and mutes on the buttons, though I’m considering setting up some alternate configs in other groups like controlling sample rate with the encoders or maybe track record triggering on the buttons. Still not quite sure what to do with the crossfader, might end up using it for pickup machine source level or just a reverb send mix on the master or something.

I don’t have a Digitakt but I imagine some of the same stuff would apply there.

#6

On the Octatrack I was able to pass through MIDI keyboard notes through to a Digitone, the connections were keyboard > Faderfox > Octatrack > Digitone. To do this I just needed to use one of the MIDI tracks and set the channel appropriately, and maybe make a trig and hit play once to get it going IIRC. Perhaps this is also possible in the Digitakt? It seems like it also has MIDI tracks that you can sequence external gear so I wouldn’t be surprised.

#7

Yes, the manual is brief, but the PC4 editor also doesn’t show AT, only PB:
https://www.privatepublic.de/faderfox-editor/pc4/

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#8

I just recently bought a PC-12 and it works great with Digitakt and/or Syntakt. After 10 minutes with the manual I was able to set up templates for both with e.g. common controls across 8 rows of knobs for 8 tracks of Digitakt and 4 rows of knobs left for other mapping or for the send FX etc.

Also great with software. I like it a lot. I wonder if it might be overkill but I didn’t want to be switching pages of endless rotaries, I just wanted lots of “tracks” of normal rotary knobs with direct 1-2-1 mapping.

#9

Thanks for your info everyone.

Would it be safe to assume that when you switch between patterns which have different settings, and then you twist a mapped rotary that has different settings between patterns, that you would get a ‘JUMP’ between the two settings?

For example, if you had a LPF filter mapped, and set quite low, and then you switched to a pattern where the filter was quite open - but then touch the rotary which is in the low position, would the filter suddenly jump to the lower value?

I hope that made sense!

#10

I think the PC-12 (and presumably other faderfox boxes with rotary knobs) can have the knobs do a “pickup” so the value won’t jump until it reaches the current mapped value, although this relies on the device such as the Digitakt sending the CC for each parameter back out to the controller.

I might have able to check this myself so don’t take this as gospel!

#11

Omitting the Faderfox, since you mention you have a Digitone Keys, are you utilizing the 8 custom encoders? Those can have user assigned profiles. Maybe that’s not enough for your needs though.

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#12

photo_2022-09-27_10-53-05
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one of my best decisions in recent years. A great tool!

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#13

I hadn’t even considered that - but it’s a great idea!

Preusumably you can only have ONE set of User parameters mapped to them though?

(Ie. I would have to forgoe any custom User mappings for the DK, if I wanted to use the User knobs for controlling Digitakt parameters)

EDIT: I just found this video, but I’m at work:

Hopefully that will answer my questions and save me the expense and space of the FF.

#14

Oooooh….the grand daddy!

(Nice set up, btw! Do you get overwhelmed by that many devices?!)

Also, I don’t suppose you could share a quick rundown of your FF mappings for that set-up?

#15

I’ve been searching on the forum for ways to do this, but I am trying to use the EC4 to control the Digitakt. Some people talk of it inability to send cc data back to the EC4. If this is the case, how can I use the EC4 to perform a song in song mode while adjusting track parameters, is this possible without having the value jump if the encoder isn’t in the right position?

#16

I have tried different controller by different manufacturer, but in my experience it was impossible to avoid value jump after changing the pattern or performing FUNC+NO feature.

I guess it will work effectively only in prepared situation, where 1 pattern = 1 ‘song’ and you jam the hell out of it before switching to another pattern

#17

Lacking a way to request parameters to be sent to the controller (only OT has this), the only way to sync the controller is move the parameter a tiny bit on the DT (or other device) so that the CC value gets sent to the controller. If the controller has endless encoders or a pick up mode, there will be no jump then.

I believe some controllers also have a blind/mute mode where you can move a control to the start position without the values being sent. Then unmute and you d have no or only a small jump.