Traktor kontrol F1. Manual in english (2015)

Disclaimer

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a

commitment on the part of Native Instruments GmbH. The software described by this docu-

ment is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this

publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose,

without prior written permission by Native Instruments GmbH, hereinafter referred to as Native

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ply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.

Document authored by: Brian Smith, Chad Carrier, Patryk Korman, Christian Schulz

Version: 2.9 (08/2015)

Special thanks to the Beta Test Team, who were invaluable not just in tracking down bugs, but

in making this a better product.

Table of Contents

Welcome to the TRAKTOR KONTROL F1!

1.1

Document Conventions

1.2

Names and Pet Names for Software and Hardware

1.3

The TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Documentation at a Glance

1.3.1

Recommended Reading Order

Because the F1 is an add-on controller, we assume that you are already a TRAKTOR user and

are somewhat familiar with how TRAKTOR works. If not, the TRAKTOR 2 Manual explains each

and every detail of the TRAKTOR 2 software.

If you want to jump right in, go to ↑3, Tutorials and Workflows. Working through the tutorials

will get you going quickly. For more detail on each and every element of the controller, refer to

↑4, TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Reference. This chapter will also be your main reference for the

F1.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 12

Welcome to the TRAKTOR KONTROL F1!

The TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Documentation at a Glance

For most people, the best way to learn their way around the F1 is to work through the tutorials

while at the same time referring to relevant sections in ↑4, TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Reference.

Above all, don't forget to try things out for yourself and to have fun!

1.3.2

In This Manual

Here's an overview of what's in the TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Manual:

•

↑2, TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview: This chapter gives you an overview of the F1, in-

cluding a brief introduction to the concept of Remix Decks and an overview of the but-

tons, knobs, and faders on the F1. For a detailed description of the Remix Decks' inter-

face elements, please see the relevant chapters of the TRAKTOR 2 Manual. You can ac-

cess the TRAKTOR 2 Manual via the Open Manual... entry from the Help menu in the

TRAKTOR software.

•

↑3, Tutorials and Workflows: In this chapter, we'll walk you through a number of typical

tasks and workflows in order to familiarize you with operating the F1. Don't miss out on

this section of the manual!

•

↑4, TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Reference: This is the chapter you'll want to refer to when

you have a specific question about a particular function or feature. Used along with ↑3,

Tutorials and Workflows, this will give you the knowledge you need to become an expert

F1 user. We will go through every one of the F1's modes, starting with Performance mode

and ending with MIDI mode.

•

↑5, F1 Preferences: Here we will explain the various options you have in TRAKTOR's pref-

erences for changing various settings relating to the F1.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 13

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

About Remix Decks

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

On the following pages, you will find a summary of the most important aspects of TRAKTOR's

Remix Decks and the TRAKTOR KONTROL F1.

First of all, you should know that as the proud owner of the F1, you have the ultimate control-

ler for manipulating and performing the Remix Decks. Although you can use the F1 as a MIDI

controller, it was designed principally for one thing: controlling the Remix Decks. This is why

we call it an add-on controller and assume that you are using another controller (such as the

X1, the S2 or S4) for other TRAKTOR software functions such as transport, scratching, FX set-

up and performance, and so on. Note that you can also control and scratch the Remix Decks

using Timecode control with TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2.

2.1

About Remix Decks

If you are dealing with TRAKTOR's Remix Decks for the first time, please check out the chap-

ters about TRAKTOR's Decks, and specifically about the Remix Decks in the TRAKTOR 2 Man-

ual. But we know that you are burning with impatience, so here's a quick rundown.

TRAKTOR's Remix Decks might seem like an improved version of the Sample Decks from pre-

vious TRAKTOR versions, but they are much more than that. Here is an overview of some of

the most important aspects:

A Remix Deck consists of 4 Sample Slots, each holding 16 Sample Cells to be loaded with

Samples from the Browser, or for capturing Samples live from Track Decks and the Loop Re-

corder.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 14

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

About Remix Decks

A Remix Deck in the TRAKTOR software.

The Remix Deck is a proper Deck: It is completely independent with its own tempo, time-

line, transport controls, sync, and can be scratched using Timecode.

A few more specifics:

• A Remix Deck can hold up to 64 Samples: This is provided by the new 4x16 Sample Grid,

which is the "playground" area of the Remix Deck.

• Samples are color-coded: The colors for each Sample Cell are selectable, and they are re-

flected on the pads of the F1. The color on the F1 will always be the same as the color on

the Remix Decks in the TRAKTOR software. Naturally you can also assign colors from the

controller.

• Each Sample has individual playback parameters: Customize trigger, play, and loop behav-

iors for each Sample, alter tempos and Sample starting points, and choose if Samples

should be synced to their Remix Deck or not.

• The contents of the Remix Deck can be saved as a Remix Set: Reload Remix Decks via a sin-

gle-line-item in TRAKTOR's Track Collection, and include Remix Sets in playlists.

For a detailed description of the Remix Decks' interface elements, please see the relevant

chapters of the TRAKTOR 2 Manual. You can access the TRAKTOR 2 Manual via the Open

Manual... entry from the Help menu in the TRAKTOR software.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 15

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

About Remix Decks

2.1.1

The Remix Deck: A Full-Featured Deck Flavor

A Remix Deck behaves like a Track Deck: you can pause, play, cue, loop, and scratch with

Timecode control. You can also beat-match Remix Decks manually or let TRAKTOR do the

work for you via the new SYNC and MASTER buttons.

2.1.2

Remix Deck Terminology

With the new Remix Decks, we need new ways to describe things. Here is a list of some of the

main terms that specifically relate to TRAKTOR's Remix Decks and the F1:

•

Remix Deck: TRAKTOR's Decks can be operated in different modes, called Flavors in

TRAKTOR terminology. The Remix Deck Flavor is what the F1 is all about. A Remix Deck

behaves just like a Track Deck, but also gives you additional possibilities to load, capture,

and remix with Samples on the fly.

•

Remix Set: This is what the F1 controls so elegantly! TRAKTOR let's you load one Remix

Set into any given Remix Deck; since you can use up to four Decks in TRAKTOR, you can

have up to four Remix Decks if you decide to use only the Remix Deck Flavor. Remix Sets

are stored like normal Tracks in TRAKTOR's Track Collection. Make sure to regularly

check the website for free Remix Sets provided by NI. Also there is an increasing number

of third-party producers making Remix Sets for TRAKTOR, but you'll probably want to cre-

ate your own Sets as well. We'll explain that in ↑3, Tutorials and Workflows.

•

Sample Slot: There are four Sample Slots in each Remix Deck. Each Sample Slot contains

a Slot Player and sixteen Sample Cells, but only one Sample can be playing in one of the

Sample Slots at the same time. You can see the physical arrangement of the Sample

Slots by the four vertical channels at the top of your F1 controller. Each Filter knob and

Volume fader controls the respective parameters of a single Sample Slot. In addition, the

Pad Matrix on the F1 provides a secondary function (obtained by pressing SHIFT) which

activates the Sample Slot parameters (see ↑4.1.2, A Word on Sample Slot Parameters for

further information).

•

Sample Grid: The entirety of all Sample Slots' Sample Cells amounts to the Remix Deck's

Sample Grid. There are four Sample Grid pages in a Remix Set. Each page contains six-

teen Sample Cells (four per Sample Slot). A Sample Grid page is represented by the six-

teen pads on your F1. This means that there are sixty-four Sample Cells in total per Remix

Set. You'll get the hang of it quickly...

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 16

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

Hardware Overview

• Sample Cell: Each Sample Cell can hold one Sample, and has its own playback settings.

You can load the same Sample into different Sample Cells, and give them unique settings

so that the Sample plays back at different speeds, direction, or pitch in each Sample Cell.

• Operating Modes (or just "modes"): The F1 controller offers various modes for configuring

settings of Sample Cells, loading and manipulating Remix Sets and Samples, etc. All

these modes are accessed from the controller's Mode buttons in the middle of the control-

ler. The main mode that you will be using with the F1 is the Performance mode, which

also is the controller's default mode (read about the different controller modes in ↑4.1.1,

A Word on Modes).

2.2

Hardware Overview

As an add-on controller, the KONTROL F1 is designed to provide controls which the other NI

DJ controllers do not provide. The F1 controls the "inner" aspects of the Remix Deck, such as

triggering individual Samples, scrolling the Sample Grid, and adjusting Slot volumes and fil-

ters, while a traditional Deck controller (such as an X1 or a Timecode record) controls the "out-

er" aspects of the Remix Deck, such as the general playback of the Deck, its tempo, scratch-

ing, and so on.

2.2.1

Top Panel

The top panel of the TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 consists of three main areas, as you can see be-

low.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 17

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

Hardware Overview

The top panel of the F1 with its three main areas.

(1) Sample Slot Filter Knobs and Volume Faders: The four Filter knobs and the four Volume fad-

ers make up the upper part of the F1's top panel. The functions of these controls do not

change in the different controller modes! For example, even when changing a Sample's speed

in Speed mode, you can still tweak the Filter knobs and Volume faders in each of the Slots

(read about the different controller modes in ↑4.1.1, A Word on Modes).

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 18

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

Hardware Overview

(2) Browsing and Modes: The central part of the KONTROL F1 consists of the Browse and Mode

buttons, along with the SHIFT button and the dual function encoder knob (rotary and push).

The MODE buttons are all dual-function. The function written on the surface of the buttons is

the "main" mode that occurs when pressing them, while the name of the "secondary" mode

(when pushing SHIFT at the same time) appears just below the buttons. For example, the SIZE

(SPEED) button will do just that when you push it: activate the Size mode. But if you press the

SHIFT button at the same time, then you will call up its secondary function, Speed mode. In

this manual, the buttons are referred to by both functions. For example, the middle button on

the second row of the F1 is referred to as TYPE (PITCH) button.

(3) Pads and Mute (STOP) Buttons: The biggest part of the F1's control sections contains the six-

teen pads and the four Mute (STOP) buttons below the pads. The primary function of the pads

is to trigger different Samples on the Sample Grid, while the Mute (STOP) buttons either mute

the sound of the associated Sample Slot (the Sample continues to play, but the sound is mut-

ed) or stop the playback entirely (when pressed together with SHIFT).

In addition, the pads have a set of secondary functions, governing the Sample Slot parameters,

which will be described in section ↑4.2.11, The Pads.

2.2.2

The Back Panel

The back panel consists of:

• A sturdy USB connector, providing a firm grip on your USB cable.

• A slot for a Kensington lock to secure your TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 hardware.

2.2.3

Types of Control Elements

There are six types of control elements on the F1's top panel.

Mode Buttons

A Mode button on the F1 with its primary and secondary function (The BROWSE (MIDI) button in this case).

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 19

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

Hardware Overview

With the exception of the SHIFT button, the F1's buttons have two states, which means that

they have both a primary and secondary function. The secondary function is attained by push-

ing the SHIFT button at the same time as the targeted button. In this manual, each button is

named by both functions, with the secondary function written in parentheses. For example, the

top-left button in the middle section of the F1 is called the SYNC (MASTER) button. The F1's

Mode buttons are:

• SYNC (MASTER)

• QUANT (EDIT)

• CAPTURE (DELETE)

• REVERSE (COLOR)

• TYPE (PITCH)

• SIZE (SPEED)

• BROWSE (MIDI)

All Mode buttons govern certain modes of the controller. See ↑4.1.1, A Word on Modes for fur-

ther information on the controller modes.

Faders

One of the four Volume faders on the F1.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 20

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

Hardware Overview

The four Sample Slot Volume faders at the top of the F1 control the volume levels of the four

Sample Slots. Usually you will want them all the way up, but if a Slot (or just a Sample that is

playing in that Slot) is too loud, you might want to bring the Volume fader down a bit. See

↑4.2.2, Volume Faders for further information on the Volume faders.

SHIFT Button

The SHIFT button.

The SHIFT button modifies the behavior of other buttons on your TRAKTOR KONTROL F1, giv-

ing you access to those buttons' secondary functions.

For further information on the SHIFT button, please refer to ↑4.2.8, SHIFT Button.

Knobs

One of the four Filter knobs on the F1.

The four Filter knobs at the top of the F1 control the filter settings of the four individual Sam-

ple Slots. See ↑4.2.1, Filter Knobs for further information on the Filter knobs.

Encoder Knob

The F1's encoder knob in the middle of the controller.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 21

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

Hardware Overview

The encoder knob has several functions, e.g., scrolling through the Sample Grid pages of a Re-

mix Deck, or changing the controllers focus from one Remix Deck to another. The encoder

knob is an endless rotary potentiometer. By turning it, you can dial a value for the parameter

relatively to its current value in the software. The encoder knob has a step-by-step (incremen-

tal) movement.

Additionally, the encoder knob has a “push” action available: pushing the encoder knob can

trigger some other function, such as loading a Sample into a Cell. In certain situations, push-

ing SHIFT while turning the encoder knob will activate a secondary function. See ↑4.2.7, En-

coder Knob for further information on the encoder knob.

Pads

The Pad Matrix on the F1.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 22

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

Hardware Overview

The pads are obviously where you'll be triggering your Samples and building up your remixes.

But they also have secondary function, which is activated by pushing SHIFT. The secondary

function names are written along both sides of the Pad Matrix. See ↑4.2.11, The Pads for fur-

ther information on the pads.

2.2.4

Visual Feedback

The TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 is not only designed to give you complete control over the Remix

Decks — it will also give you constant visual feedback, so that you will know what's going on at

a glance. Obviously, the positions of the Volume faders and Filter knobs show the relative posi-

tions of their equivalent controls on the TRAKTOR software. But the buttons and pads on the

F1 go much farther and feature an intuitive illumination scheme, keeping you constantly in-

formed on what's going on in the Remix Decks.

SHIFT Button Illumination

The SHIFT button can be either continuously on, blinking on and off, or dim.

BROWSE (MIDI) Button Illumination

The BROWSE (MIDI) button is either dim (not active) or blinking on and off (active). Also note

that it is the only blue-lit Mode button, making sure that you know it is active so that you don't

accidentally load a Sample or Remix Set during a session!

The Dual-State Mode Button Illumination

When the secondary state of a button is active (for example, in Color mode, Pitch mode, Delete

mode, etc.), both the activated and the SHIFT button will flash. In their primary states, the

buttons will flash alone (without the SHIFT button).

The Pad Matrix Illumination

The individual pads have a number of illumination states:

• Brightly lit in color: the Sample associated with that pad is playing.

• Dimly lit in color: there is a Sample in the Sample Cell, but it is not playing (and not about

to play).

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 23

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Overview

Hardware Overview

• Pulsating in color: the Sample associated with that pad is about to play — typically when

quantize is on and you've fired the Sample (by hitting the pad), but the Quantize Value

hasn't been reached yet and the Sample is not yet playing.

• Bright white: this only happens in special cases, such as with the Overview function (see

also ↑4.2.7, Encoder Knob).

• Dim white and pulsating in white: these are also "special-case" states, and described in

↑4.2.11, The Pads.

• Off: no Sample is loaded.

Mute (STOP) Button Illumination

The Mute (STOP) buttons have just two illumination states: lit (orange), and unlit. When the

button is lit, you can hear the corresponding Sample Slot. When the button is unlit, the corre-

sponding Sample Slot is muted.

You can adjust the levels of the on state and dim state brightness of the F1's buttons and

pads in the Traktor Kontrol F1 section of TRAKTOR's Preferences. See ↑5, F1 Preferences

for further information.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 24

Tutorials and Workflows

Overview

Tutorials and Workflows

3.1

Overview

In this chapter, the idea is to walk you through a number of typical workflows that you'll need

for getting proficient at using the F1. We've organized this from the very basics — such as nav-

igating and loading — to more sophisticated manipulations for masterful live performance us-

ing your F1. We'll also show you how to build, set up, and save your own Remix Sets and give

you a general overall feel for using the F1.

Keep in mind that the F1 is really about getting into the guts of TRAKTOR's Remix Decks and

controlling every aspect of them. On the other hand, the F1 is built to be an add-on controller.

In other words, we assume that you already have another way of controlling the more global

features of TRAKTOR, especially concerning transport control, cueing, and FX management.

Although it is possible to switch the F1 between its normal Remix Deck control mode and MIDI

mode (or use it with it in the User Map mode), you'll probably want to use it as a completely

dedicated Remix Deck controller.

You might want to periodically refer to ↑4, TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 Reference in order to have

more in-depth understanding of some of the features we will introduce to you here. The main

objective, however, is to make you very comfortable at using your F1!

3.2

A Note to the Impatient!

Of course, the first thing you want to do with your F1 is to PLAY it! You probably don't want to

work your way through the handbook before getting your fingers all over your new piece of

hardware. We understand. If you want to load a Sample into a Remix Deck and get it going,

you need to:

1. Set the Deck Flavor to Remix Deck (see ↑3.3.1, Setting Deck Flavors).

2. Make sure the F1 is controlling that Remix Deck (see ↑3.3.2, Setting the Current Remix

Deck Focus on the F1).

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 25

Tutorials and Workflows

Preparations

3. Load in a Sample or entire Remix Set (see ↑3.4.1, Browsing Through the Tree and Load-

ing the Tutorial Remix Set).

4. Trigger the Sample, making sure that volume is up on that Sample's Sample Slot.

5. Once you've done that, come back to this tutorial section to learn more.

3.3

Preparations

At first, we need to prepare a few things to:

• enable a Remix Deck in TRAKTOR,

• and set the F1's focus to it in order to control it.

3.3.1

Setting Deck Flavors

To make one of TRAKTOR's Decks a Remix Deck, proceed as follows:

► Click on the Deck letter of the Deck you want to use as a Remix Deck. For the purpose of

this tutorial, let's pick Deck B and set it to Remix Deck.

You can also change the Deck Flavor via File > Preferences > Decks > Deck Flavor. If you

have an S2 or an X1, you might want to designate either Deck A or Deck B as your Remix

Deck, since you'll be able to control the transport of either Deck with your controller. If you

have an S4, this doesn't really matter, since you have transport control over all four Decks.

3.3.2

Setting the Current Remix Deck Focus on the F1

If you have more than one Deck set as a Remix Deck, you can quickly switch between Remix

Decks with the F1 by changing its Deck focus:

1. Press and hold the SHIFT button.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 26

Tutorials and Workflows

Preparations

2. While continuing to hold SHIFT, turn the encoder knob to the left or right one notch —

the Pad Matrix is divided into 2x2 squares, and the square representing the current Remix

Deck begins to flash. At the same time, the 7-segment display indicates the current Deck:

"dA" is Deck A, "dB" is Deck B, and so on.

3. As you continue holding SHIFT, keep turning the encoder knob to skip from one Remix

Deck to another until you land on Deck B, which is the one we want to control. Each

notch on the encoder knob will move to another Deck, if more Remix Decks are available.

If there is no Deck set to the Remix Deck Flavor, then the F1's 2x2 quadrants will not

light up.

4. Release the SHIFT button.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 27

Tutorials and Workflows

First Steps With the F1

3.4

First Steps With the F1

Now you're all ready to go! Of course you don't need to use the Remix Sets that we provide for

you — the idea is also to build your own, once you get your chops. But for now, it's a good idea

to gain some experience with a pre-built tutorial Remix Set so that you can get a feel for using

the F1 to quickly and easily navigate and load the Remix Sets as well as individual Samples.

3.4.1

Browsing Through the Tree and Loading the Tutorial Remix Set

As a TRAKTOR user, you already know that the Track Collection (also "Collection") is organized

within TRAKTOR's Browser Tree (also "Tree"). With the F1, in addition to the files in your Col-

lection, you can also navigate through your entire computer file system. But let's start with the

Collection:

1. Hit the BROWSE (MIDI) button on the F1 — it should start blinking.

2. Rotate the encoder knob and watch the selection move up or down in the Browser List (on

your screen).

3. Now press and hold SHIFT while moving the encoder knob. Notice that you can now move

up and down the Tree on the left side of the Browser. While still holding the SHIFT but-

ton, navigate to the "Track Collection" folder, and push and release the encoder knob once

to expand the node in the Tree.

4. While still holding the SHIFT button, scroll the selection down to the "All Remix Sets" en-

try.

5. Release the SHIFT button. You are now back in the Browser List on the right side of the

Browser.

6. Turn the encoder knob to scroll until "Remix Deck Tutorial" is selected.

7. Push the encoder knob once. The Remix Set is now loaded into the Remix Deck.

8. Push the BROWSE (MIDI) button once to leave Browse mode.

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 29

Tutorials and Workflows

First Steps With the F1

→ Congratulations! You've just loaded a Remix Set into a Remix Deck!

Make sure the Deck speed of the Remix Deck is 130 as this is the speed the tutorial Re-

mix Set was designed for.

3.4.2

Triggering the Samples In a Remix Deck: Start and Stop Playback

For the sake of this tutorial, we will refer to the F1's 16 pads as a grid with four columns (cor-

responding to the Remix Deck's Sample Slots), A, B, C, and D. We'll call the rows 1, 2, 3, and

4. So the top left pad is A1 and the one just below it is A2, while the one in the same row as

A2 but all the way to the right is D2:

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 30

Tutorials and Workflows

First Steps With the F1

The F1 pads as we will refer to them throughout this tutorial section.

To start playback, proceed as follows:

1. Hit the first pad in the top row (upper left corner), pad A1. It should start playing.

2. Hit a few more pads, this time in the other Sample Slots. Notice that only one Sample

can play at a time in any given Sample Slot (e.g., in any of the four columns A, B, C, D).

If, for example B2 is playing, and then you hit B3, B2 will stop playing as soon as B3

begins to play.

3. Now press and hold the SHIFT button, and then press the four Mute (STOP) buttons be-

low the Pad Matrix one by one. As you'll see, the four Sample Slots will stop playing; de-

pending on whether Quantize (QUANT (EDIT) button) is active or not, the Slot Players will

stop when the next Quantize interval is reached, or immediately. The Slot Player's play-

heads will also be reset to the Sample start positions.

To stop the whole Remix Deck from playing, you need to click the Deck's Play button on

the TRAKTOR user interface (or the corresponding button on your S4, S2 or X1, or stop

the Timecode record). This will completely stop all four Sample Slots (any Samples that

you have triggered by hitting their corresponding pads) in the Remix Deck; however, the

playheads will not be reset to the Sample start positions in that case. All Samples will

start playing from the position where the Deck was stopped the next time you activate the

Remix Deck!

TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 - Manual - 31

Tutorials and Workflows

First Steps With the F1

4. Let's start the Deck again by hitting pad A2.

5. Now hit the pad just below it on the same slot, pad A3. Notice there is a slight delay be-

fore the pad starts playing. This is because Quantize is on to ensure that your loops start

in sync with each other, according to the phrase (quantization length) that is set for them.

Only one pad (Sample Cell) can be playing at a time in a given Sample Slot!

3.4.3

Adjusting Quantization

To change the Remix Deck's Quantize Value, proceed as follows:

1. While the Remix Deck is still playing, push and hold the QUANT (EDIT) button. Now turn

the encoder knob until you get to the value "1" and then release the QUANT (EDIT) but-

ton. You have just set the Quantize Value to one beat.

2. Now hit some other pads. Notice that the change from one pad to the another happens

nearly immediately.

3. Push and hold the QUANT (EDIT) button again. This time, look at the Pad Matrix on the

F1. The first two rows of pads have transformed into eight differently-colored pads repre-

senting the same eight Quantize Values available on the encoder knob. Since you had pre-

viously chosen a Quantize Value of one (beat) with the encoder knob, the corresponding

pad (pad A3) should be more brightly lit than the others. While continuing to hold the

QUANT (EDIT) button, tap the third pad in the second slot (B3). The underlying Quantize

Value is sixteen beats. Release the QUANT (EDIT) button.

4. Now hit a pad that is not currently playing. Notice that — depending where you are in the

phrase — it can now take up to sixteen beats for the new pad to start playing once you've

hit it. During this time, it will flash to show you that it is "next in line" for playback.

And here's what quantization really means in the Remix Deck context: the Quantize Value does

not represent the amount of beats it will take before a Sample starts playing, therefore, it is

not a "delay" value; the Quantize Value represents a mark in the Remix Deck's internal timeline

(such as a bar line on a sheet of music). E.g., when the Quantize Value is set to 4, a Sample

you hit will start playing with the next 4/4 bar of the Remix Deck's internal timeline!

It's a good idea to experiment around with Quantize Values. Depending on the scenario, you

will often want to keep the values long (four beats, eight beats, or even longer) to keep your

musical phrases synced up. But for rapid changes between sounds, and a more "active" re-

mixing, try for values of one beat or less.

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First Steps With the F1

Tapping the QUANT (EDIT) button once will toggle the Quantization on/off.

► Press and hold the SHIFT button, and then press the four Mute (STOP) buttons below the

Pad Matrix one by one to stop all Sample Slots and reset all playheads to the Sample

start positions.

3.4.4

Muting, and Tweaking Volume and Filter

To mute Sample Slots, and tweak volume and filter settings:

Hit all four pads in the third row (pads A3-D3). Note the pads are all blue on this page of

the tutorial Remix Set. All four sounds should be playing together.

Below the pads there are the orange Mute (STOP) buttons. They should all be lit up right

now because all of the slots are audible. Tapping on them will toggle them on or off, mut-

ing/unmuting the sound in the corresponding Sample Slots. Mute Sample Slots 1, 3, and

4 so that you can only hear the Sample playing in Sample Slot 2.

At the top of the F1, grab the second Filter knob and twist it slowly back and forth to pro-

duce filter sweeps.

Now unmute Sample Slot 3 by hitting its Mute (STOP) button, and then lower the Volume

fader.

Continue to unmute and adjust the filter and volume settings of the other Sample Slots.

→

Congratulations! You can now load Remix Sets, play them, and do some basic tweaking

as they are playing. Take some time and have fun tinkering with muting, and volume and

filter settings. You can load up to four Remix Sets at a time (one in each Deck) and prac-

tice switching around "on the fly."

Keep in mind that if you want the Remix Decks to play in sync, you'll have to designate a

master and then make sure the SYNC (MASTER) button is activated, so that each deck is

playing the same tempo and in phase.

In the next section, we'll see that there are some problems in our tutorial Remix Set that we'll

need to fix.

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Fixing the Second Page of the Sample Grid

► Press and hold the SHIFT button, and then press the four Mute (STOP) buttons below the

Pad Matrix one by one to stop all Sample Slots and reset all playheads to the Sample

start positions.

3.5

Fixing the Second Page of the Sample Grid

In the following section, we are going to concentrate on the second page of the tutorial Remix

Set ("Remix Deck Tutorial"). First of all, we'll need to put the F1's focus on to page two of the

Remix Set.

3.5.1

Flipping Through the Pages

Right now, the F1's display should read "P1" to indicate that you are looking at the first page

of this Remix Set. Remember that a Remix Set can have up to four pages, with a total of sixty-

four Samples loaded into it.

► Now turn the encoder knob one notch clockwise. You'll see a brief pad animation to indi-

cate that you've switched pages. The display now shows "P2," indicating that you are on

the second page of the Remix Set. If you continue to turn the encoder knob, you'll see

that pages three and four are empty. Flip back up to page two.

The F1's display indicating page 2 of the Remix Deck's Sample Grid.

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Tutorials and Workflows

Fixing the Second Page of the Sample Grid

The Page Selector on the left side of the Remix Deck also shows you are on page 2 of 4 of the Sample Grid.

3.5.2

Changing Pad Colors

Notice that the second page of our Sample Grid is colored differently than the first. There is a

clear pattern of red pads alternating with other colors. Each of these non-red colors is unique

to a row of pads. All looks fine until our eye catches the pad in the lower-right corner of the

Pad Matrix (pad D4). For consistency, it should be red, but instead it is yellow. To "repair" this:

1. Enter Color mode by pushing SHIFT + REVERSE (COLOR). Both buttons start blinking.

2. The F1 is now waiting for you to tell it which pad you want to change. Hit that rogue pad

at the bottom right and an animation transforms the pads into a color palette with the six-

teen possible colors that you can assign on any of the F1's pads.

3. The color we want — the red — is at the top-left corner of the Pad Matrix (pad A1). Hit

that pad and another animation brings you back to the normal color states of the individu-

al pads.

→ The pad's color has changed to red.

If we wanted to continue changing other pads, we could just repeat the process, but we are

done, so:

► Press the REVERSE (COLOR) button to return to Performance mode.

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Tutorials and Workflows

Fixing the Second Page of the Sample Grid

Using the Encoder Knob to Change Colors

In many cases, it might be easier to use the encoder knob to change colors. This might be es-

pecially true if you want to match the target pad's color with another pad's color by keeping the

assigned colors in view. To change pad / Sample Cell colors with the encoder:

1. Enter Color mode as before, by hitting: SHIFT + REVERSE (COLOR).

2. Press and hold the target pad.

3. While continuing to press the pad, rotate the encoder knob and notice the color changing

on the pad you are holding down.

4. When you have found the correct color, release the pad.

5. Exit Color mode by pushing the REVERSE (COLOR) button.

Use colors as a creative way to remind yourself what is in your Remix Set. There is no one

way to do this — some remix artists might prefer to color-code by type of instrument, with

all the kicks being one color for example. Others might prefer to code by intensity or densi-

ty. Still others might just create a different pattern for each page in a Remix Set for easy

orientation. It's up to you!

3.5.3

Fixing Reverse

If you've already started playing around with this second Sample Grid page of the Remix Set,

you might have noticed that the pad A1 on page two of the Sample Grid is playing in reverse.

Although this might be a nice temporary effect in certain contexts, you probably don't want the

Sample to play in reverse by default. Let's fix that:

1. Make sure you are on page two (P2) of the Sample Grid.

2. Hit pads A1 to D1 to start the Remix Deck and the corresponding Sample Slots.

3. To focus on pad A1, mute the three other Sample Slots by hitting the corresponding Mute

(STOP) buttons. Only the first Mute (STOP) button should be lit now.

4. Notice that on the TRAKTOR software, you can also see that the playback is reversed be-

cause the playhead of the respective Slot Player is moving backwards.

5. Push and hold the REVERSE (COLOR) button.

6. While continuing to hold the REVERSE (COLOR) button, hit and release pad A1.

→ The Sample is now playing forwards.

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Fixing the Second Page of the Sample Grid

► You can now release the REVERSE (COLOR) button and the Sample continues to play

forwards.

Changing Back to Reversed Sample Playback

If you actually preferred reverse playback for this Sample, it is just as easy to change it back:

1. Push and hold the REVERSE (COLOR) button.

2. Push and hold the target pad.

3. Release the REVERSE (COLOR) button.

4. Release the target pad.

→ Now the Sample is playing in reverse again!

Temporarily Reversing Sample Playback

The two methods above "pin" the Sample playback direction "permanently." But in many cases,

you'll just want to reverse Sample playback direction temporarily:

1. With the Sample (pad A1) playing forwards, press and hold the REVERSE (COLOR) but-

ton.

2. While still holding the REVERSE (COLOR) button, press and hold the target pad for as

long as you want it to play in reverse.

3. As you continue to hold REVERSE (COLOR), release the pad. Normal playback direction

resumes.

4. You may now release the REVERSE (COLOR) button.

Practice changing the playback directions of various Samples using the F1. You'll soon no-

tice that there is a logic in the "finger dancing" that you perform while doing this. Normal

playback always results when you release the pad first, before releasing the REVERSE

(COLOR) button. Reverse playback is locked on when the pad is released last. Try it out!

► Press and hold the SHIFT button, and then press the four Mute (STOP) buttons below the

Pad Matrix one by one to stop all Sample Slots and reset all playheads to the Sample

start positions.

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Fixing the Second Page of the Sample Grid

3.5.4

Fixing Pitch

Now that we have repaired the color inconsistency of pad D4 and the reverse playback of pad

A1 on page two of the Sample Grid, things are starting to look (and sound) better. But there

are still some things that need to be changed. Let's start with pitch. First, make sure that Key-

lock is on for all four Sample Slots of your Remix Set:

1. Make sure you are on page two (P2) of the Sample Grid.

2. Hit all four pads in the first row to get them playing (pads A1-D1).

3. Press and hold SHIFT.

4. On the TRAKTOR user interface, you'll see the Sample Grid showing the Sample Slot pa-

rameters when pressing SHIFT.

All pads A1-D1 in the controller's top row should be lit up, indicating that Keylock is on for

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Tutorials and Workflows

Fixing the Second Page of the Sample Grid

all of them; but this is not the case, so just hit the pads (while still holding SHIFT) to tog-

gle them on (bright orange).

You'll propably notice that the third pad in the top row (C1), containing the "Bubble Gate"

riff, is not in the same key as the rest of our Remix Set.

Press SHIFT + TYPE (PITCH) to enter Pitch mode — both SHIFT and TYPE (PITCH) start

blinking.

Now push and hold the third pad (C1) and look at the display. It says "03" with a little dot

in the upper left corner. The "03" means that the Sample is three half steps "off," and the

dot in the display means that it is three half steps down. If there were no dot, it would

indicate that the Sample is transposed three half steps up. Naturally "on" and "off" are rel-

ative terms here, since our Samples from the tutorial Set were built to match in key with-

out transposing.

While still holding the pad, slowly turn the encoder knob clockwise. Each increment trans-

poses the Sample up one half-step, and you can hear the pitch changing. Stop at "00."

→

Now our Sample matches the key of the rest of the set!

►

Press the TYPE (PITCH) button to exit Pitch mode.

►

Press and hold the SHIFT button, and then press the four Mute (STOP) buttons below the

Pad Matrix one by one to stop all Sample Slots and reset all playheads to the Sample

start positions.

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Tutorials and Workflows

Fixing the Second Page of the Sample Grid

3.5.5

Getting Size Right

Another problem can be seen and heard, if you hit the second pad in the second row (B2).

You'll notice that there is a lot of "empty space" (silence) where the Sample just doesn't play,

before looping back to the beginning. You can also see in the Remix Deck waveform display on

the TRAKTOR software that the actual audio material takes up half the length of the display

area.

Only half of the display area is filled by the Sample. The Sample is too short…

Let's tighten this up:

1. Make sure that pad B2 is playing.

2. Push the SIZE (SPEED) button, which will immediately begin to flash.

3. Now press and hold the pad B2. Notice the display now shows "2." This means that the

playback "length" is twice as long as the original Sample length.

4. While holding the pad, rotate the encoder knob counter-clockwise one notch.

→ Now the display shows "1," which means that the Sample is now playing its normal

length. We can continue turning if we want to just play (and loop in this case) half the

Sample length or a quarter of the length, and so on. You can then simply push on the

encoder to return the sample to its normal length.

► Press the SIZE (SPEED) button to exit Size mode.

► Press and hold the SHIFT button, and then press the second Mute (STOP) button from

the left to stop the Sample Slot and to reset the playhead to the Sample's start position.

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Fixing the Second Page of the Sample Grid

3.5.6

Setting the Right Playback Type

Things are slowly beginning to take shape. But we're not finished yet. There are still some pads

that aren't playing right, or don't seem to be triggering like they should. This is where we will

turn to Type mode, where we can determine whether or not a Sample is set to One-shot or

Loop mode, gated or latched, and synced (with the rest of the Remix Deck) or not. With the

Type mode, you can determine how your Samples play back and behave when triggered. One of

the sub-modes in Type mode is Sync Type. Let's see how to check that:

Checking for Sync

1. Press the TYPE (PITCH) button.

2. Turn the encoder knob until the display reads "SY."

The button begins to blink and the pads all turn orange, except for one (pad A3). Here

you can see that pad A3 does not have sync engaged because it is white and not orange

like the other pads.

3. Now press the pad to toggle Sync on, so that the pad is synced with the Deck's tempo and

internal timeline.

4. Press the TYPE (PITCH) button again to exit Type mode.

The effect of having a pad's sync on or off depends on both the nature of the Sample and

the Deck's tempo. In general, you'll probably want to have this on, although in some cases

— maybe with Samples in One-shot mode without rhythmic content — you might want to

toggle it off.

Playback Trigger Type

Now let's see how the third row is sounding:

1. Make sure you are on page two (P2) of the Sample Grid.

2. Press all four pads in the third row of the second page. Notice that the Sample on pad C3

doesn't continue to play after releasing the pad.

3. Press and release the TYPE (PITCH) button, which starts flashing.

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Tutorials and Workflows

Fixing the Second Page of the Sample Grid

4. Turn the encoder knob until the display shows "tr" for Sample Trigger Type.

5. The pads are now all purple except for one, which is yellow. All of the purple pads are

latched, meaning that once they are pressed, they will "latch" on and stay on until another

pad is pressed in the same Sample Slot. The single yellow pad — our trouble-maker here

— is yellow and is "gated," meaning that it will only play for as long as that pad is being

held.

6. Hit the yellow pad so it toggles to purple (latched).

7. Press the TYPE (PITCH) button again to exit Type mode.

8. Hit pad D3 again and it will continue to play even after you've taken your finger off.

For Trigger Type, the pads are purple when latched and yellow when gated.

Setting the Playback Trigger Type of specific pads to gated (yellow) is very useful for just

throwing in short, one-shot type effects, shouts, or hits. In gated mode, you can actually

"play" the pads as you would with a hardware groovebox.

Setting the Playback Trigger Type of specific pads to gated (yellow) is very useful for just

throwing in short, one-shot type effects, shouts, or hits. In gated mode, you can actually

"play" the pads as you would with a hardware groovebox.

► Press and hold the SHIFT button, and then press the four Mute (STOP) buttons below the

Pad Matrix one by one to stop all Sample Slots and reset all Samples to their initial posi-

tions.

Sample Play Type

There's one more playback problem in our page. In the last row, the second pad (B4) will only

play once when pressed, it won't loop! In the context of this Remix Set, that doesn't really fit;

we want this sound to keep looping once the pad is pressed.

1. Make sure you are on page two (P2) of the Sample Grid.

2. Hit pads A4 to D4 to start the Remix Deck and the corresponding Sample Slots.

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Tutorials and Workflows

Fixing the Second Page of the Sample Grid

3. To focus your ear on this Sample, mute all the other slots by pushing the Mute (STOP)

buttons in the first, third, and fourth Sample Slot so that we just hear the playback in the

second Sample Slot.

4. Press the second pad in the last row (pad B4). It plays through the Sample and then

stops. The pad turns dim white, indicating that the Sample is still armed to play, but it

has stopped playing after having been triggered.

5. Enter Type mode by pressing TYPE (PITCH). The button blinks.

6. Turn the encoder knob until the display shows "PL" (Sample Play Type).

All of the pads on the Pad Matrix except one turn green. The green pads are all looped,

whereas the blue pad indicates that the Sample will just play once (One-shot mode).

7. Press the lonely pad to toggle it to green (looped).

→ You have now switched the Sample Play Type from One-shot mode to Loop mode.

► Bring back the other Sample Slots by pressing the Mute (STOP) buttons 1, 3, and 4 to

hear the effect.

When you are ready for the next step:

► Press and hold the SHIFT button, and then press the four Mute (STOP) buttons below the

Pad Matrix one by one to stop all Sample Slots and reset all Samples to their initial posi-

tions.

3.5.7

Bad Speed

We're almost done fixing our tutorial Remix Set. There's one blatant problem with the second

pad in the last column (pad D2), sounds like popcorn — it's playing the Sample way too fast.

1. Make sure you are on page two (P2) of the Sample Grid.

2. Hit pads A2 to D2 to start the Remix Deck and the corresponding Sample Slots.

3. Press SHIFT + SIZE (SPEED). Both buttons start blinking.

4. Press and hold the speedy pad; the display shows "4" which means that the Sample is

playing back at four times the normal speed.

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Tutorials and Workflows

Making Your Own Remix Set

5. While continuing to press the pad, rotate the encoder knob two notches counterclockwise

so that the display shows "1." This means that the play back speed is 1x (normal playback

speed).

→ Congratulations! You have just repaired a number of wrongly set parameters in the tutori-

al Remix Set. You might want to take some time and practice making other changes to

the set before coming back to these tutorials.

3.6

Making Your Own Remix Set

Loading and tweaking Remix Sets is obviously very useful, but the idea is also to build your

own Remix Sets. In this tutorial, we are going to get you started on creating your own simple

Remix Set.

3.6.1

Preparations

Make sure that at least one of your Decks is set to Remix Deck. In this tutorial, we are going to

use Deck B, but you can use any of the four Decks you like. Also, if you own an S2 or X1 con-

troller, you might prefer to use one of the two upper Decks (A or B) because you have direct

control of the transport, and effects of these Decks with these two controllers.

► Set the focus of the F1 on Deck B (see ↑3.3.2, Setting the Current Remix Deck Focus on

the F1), which should be an empty Remix Deck.

Emptying the Remix Deck

If you have a Remix Set already loaded, delete the Set the following way:

1. Push and hold SHIFT + CAPTURE (DELETE).

2. While continuing to hold the two buttons, rotate the encoder knob until you see "UL" (for

"UnLoad") on the display.

3. Push the encoder knob to delete the contents of the Remix Deck.

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Tutorials and Workflows

Making Your Own Remix Set

→ We now have a fresh Remix Deck. On the TRAKTOR software, you'll notice that the name

is "New Remix Set."

3.6.2

Loading Some Samples

For the purposes of this tutorial, we will limit our choice of Samples to the ones that are al-

ready in your Collection as a result of loading, playing, and repairing the "Remix Deck Tutorial"

as described in the previous section.

It is important to remember that all the manipulation you do to the Samples in a Remix

Deck (reverse, looping/one-shot, pitch and speed change, size change, and so on) are only

saved to the Remix Set. The Samples themselves are unaffected. This means that you can

have many different Remix Sets using the same Samples, but playing them back at differ-

ent speeds or pitches, and so on. The Remix Set itself takes up very little space on your

hard drive. It essentially recalls the states of each Sample loaded into it.

Automatic Loading

You have two ways of loading Samples with the F1. Let's try the automatic method first:

1. Push the encoder knob and the Sample will automatically load into the top left cell; the

pad on the F1 will be dimly lit to show you that the cell is loaded. If this cell is already

loaded, the next available cell will be loaded with the Sample.

2. Exit Browse mode by pushing the BROWSE (MIDI) button again.

3. Hit the pad that you just loaded and you should hear the Kick playing.

► Press and hold the SHIFT button, and then press the first Mute (STOP) button from the

left to stop the Sample Slot and to reset the Sample start to its initial position.

Manual Loading

Many times you will want to load a Sample into a specific Cell:

1. Go back into Browse mode by pushing the BROWSE (MIDI) button.

2. Using the encoder knob, find and select the Sample "D1 Deep Verb Splash" in "All Sam-

ples."

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Tutorials and Workflows

Making Your Own Remix Set

3. Instead of pushing the encoder knob, we'll hit the pad where we want the Sample to go.

Let's take the last pad in the first row (pad D1), on the far right. After a quick Pad Matrix

animation, you'll see the chosen pad lit up dimly now, indicating that it contains a Sam-

ple, but is not yet playing.

4. Quickly escape Browse mode by pushing the BROWSE (MIDI) button, then hit the pad

you just loaded and then go back into Browse mode by pushing the BROWSE (MIDI) but-

ton again.

5. Let's fill in the drums a bit by adding some toms to our set.

6. While still in Browse mode, scroll to "B1 HiHat and Clap."

7. Hit the second pad in the top row (pad B1).

8. Leave Browse mode, hit the pad B1.

9. Hit pad A1 to add the "Intro Beat" Sample to the mix.

Switching Out Samples

You might not like the sound of the Verb sound on D1. Let's try out some other Samples, this

time on-the-fly so we can hear how things sound in context.

1. Enter Browse mode, the BROWSE (MIDI) button should then be blinking.

2. Move the encoder knob up or down the list and select another Sample. Let's say it's "C1

Bubble Gate."

3. Hit the pad currently playing the Verb Sample, D1, and it will be replaced.

4. You can continue to go through different Samples while still in Browse mode, testing to

see how they fit with the other Samples in your newborn Remix Set.

Add a few more Samples to your Remix Set. You don't have to fill up all sixty four Sample

Cells! You don't even have to fill in a whole page. But to get a feel for things, you should have

at least some of the Sample Slots with two or more Samples in them so that you can change

out different elements as you are playing your set.

In this example, we've loaded the kick on the left and moved to less rhythmic elements to

the right. A good rule of thumb is to group sounds that have similar functions (all the kicks

or all the stabs, for example) into the same Sample Slot (column). But you can obviously

organize your Remix Sets however you want.

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Traktor kontrol F1. Manual in english (2015) - page 1