S4MK3 "phantom" controller input

Spazoo · 2023-03-05T23:19:08+00:00

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Playing a set this afternoon I experienced a condition that left me unable to keep songs in sync. Initially I thought there was a problem with the beat grid, so I deleted and recreated the grid. That didn't solve the problem.

Then I noticed the Traktor MIDI indicator at the top of the screen was flashing, almost constantly. So I loaded a MIDI monitor application to try and determine where the MIDI traffic was coming from, but there was no traffic to be found.

So I slid the platform that holds my computer towards me (I'm using an NI flight case) so I could check the cables and see if anything had come loose. And then the MIDI indicator stopped flashing. Apparently I jostled the mixer just right while I was sliding the platform. That solved the problem.

I continued investigating, and within a few minutes I found the root cause. Maybe this is a known issue, but it is new to me. It turns out that if I nudge a jog wheel in a particular way, I can cause the MIDI indicator to flash non-stop. And it seems this also impacts playback of the track.

I was able to reproduce this with both jog wheels.

FWIW, I tried to reproduce the problem with my S2MK3, and I was unable. Perhaps the problem only exists on S4MK3.

Anyways... I just wanted to share this experience in case someone else has a similar experience. Hopefully I can spare someone some frustration.

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Spazoo

Another issue. Similar problem. Loaded deck, not playing. Every now and then I hear the cue point being played, due to the phantom input from the jog wheel.

Personally I wish NI would put new features on hold and fix the bugs. That's not going to happen. I'm sure of that.

This is frustrating, to say the least.

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lord-carlos

S4MK3 does not do midi, that's why you could not see anything with the midi monitor.

Yes, the jogs wheel sometimes getting "stuck" is a known issue. Though I only noticed it at the end of a song.

Can you reliable reproduce it?

S2 and S4mk3 jogs are completely different. The s4 are motorized and I bet it rotation detections works in a different way.

Stevan

I think this could be a motor/encoder sending the "ghost message". Should be a known issue.

Spazoo

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/56793#Comment_56793

I can reproduce the problem by barely moving the jog wheel in either direction as the track is playing. Sometimes it takes 10 to 20 attempts, but it's not difficult to do. And now that I am aware of the problem, it's easy to fix when it happens.

lord-carlos

Coolio, I will try it out on my controller.

Spazoo

Another issue. Similar problem. Loaded deck, not playing. Every now and then I hear the cue point being played, due to the phantom input from the jog wheel.

Personally I wish NI would put new features on hold and fix the bugs. That's not going to happen. I'm sure of that.

This is frustrating, to say the least.

Stevan

I could not duplicate it by slowly moving the jog wheel. What jog tension value etc do you have in S4 settings?

Spazoo

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/59186#Comment_59186

I have "Ticks" set to "None" and "Tension" set to 50.

Yesterday, without any decks playing, I noticed the deck A meter spike every 5 seconds or so. Since no music was playing, I was surprised to see any channel activity. Then I noticed the controller input (that is the MIDI indicator in the UI) also flashed every time the meter spiked. That made it obvious to me, where the problem was coming from.

I hate to complain but the entire implementation of the jog wheel and also the cue points seems buggy.

For example, why is it that when I repeatedly press a cue button there is so much variation as to where playback begins? Sometimes the transient of the attack on the cue point is not played. It's as if the beginning of that beat has been chopped off. I expect that each press of the cue button would restart playback from the same location of the track. Unfortunately that isn't always the case. I've tried experimenting with different quantize/snap settings. That didn't seem to make a difference. Thanks for your help.

Sûlherokhh

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/59229#Comment_59229

Quantize + (Beat)Sync have to be disabled so you can accurately finger drum from a cue point.

Spazoo

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/59231#Comment_59231

I'll give it another try. Thanks much.

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