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Traktor Pro Setup

This guide covers connecting Fusor Studio to Native Instruments Traktor Pro via MIDI.

Prerequisites

Step 1: configure Traktor's MIDI ports

  1. Open Traktor Pro and go to Preferences.
  2. Navigate to Controller Manager.
  3. Click Add... > Generic MIDI.
  4. Set In-Port to the Fusor bus (e.g. FusorBus). This is where Traktor receives MIDI from Fusor Studio.
  5. Set Out-Port to the same bus. Fusor sends on channels 1–8 and receives Traktor's telemetry on channels 9–16 over the same port, so In-Port and Out-Port both point at the one bus.

Do not select "All Ports". Traktor must bind to the specific Fusor Studio endpoint.

The "In" and "Out" wording is from Traktor's perspective: Traktor's In-Port is where Traktor receives MIDI from Fusor Studio, and Traktor's Out-Port is where Traktor sends MIDI to Fusor Studio.

Import the Fusor mapping file for Traktor (Fusor.tsi) as covered in Installation → Import the mapping file for your DJ app if you haven't already.

Step 2: enable soft takeover on your controller

During a transition, Fusor Studio moves Traktor controls via MIDI. Your hardware faders and knobs will no longer match the software positions. Enable soft takeover in your controller mapping so moving a physical knob does not cause an abrupt jump.

Skip this step if you don't mix on a hardware controller. Fusor Studio's Guided Setup (Settings → Guided Setup) also walks you through it, under the Controller group.

Soft takeover here is a Traktor setting, applied to your own controller's mapping. It is not the same as Fusor Studio's ERA Soft Takeover guard in Settings → Guards, which governs how Fusor Studio picks up from Traktor's control values rather than how your hardware does.

For every control that Fusor Studio automates (crossfader, EQ knobs, volume faders, tempo fader):

  1. Open Traktor's Preferences > Controller Manager. The Device Setup pane appears at the top of the dialog.
  2. In the Device dropdown, pick the controller device whose mapping you want to edit.
  3. The Assignment Table below lists every mapping on that device. Click the row for the control you want to touch up (for example, Filter Adjust on Deck A, or Volume Adjust on Deck B).
  4. The per-assignment fields appear below the table. Check the Soft Takeover checkbox.

The Soft Takeover checkbox only appears on assignments that receive incoming MIDI (a mapping that lets your controller drive a Traktor parameter). Outgoing-MIDI assignments don't show it — there's nothing to take over from a hardware-out perspective.

Step 3: configure Fusor Studio

  1. Open Fusor Studio.
  2. Open the App menu in the top-left of the player and choose Settings... (or press Ctrl+,).
  3. On the Connection tab:
    • Confirm Fusor MIDI Bus is set to the same bus Traktor is bound to.
    • Set DJ Application to Traktor. Changing it starts a control-state capture.
    • Set the Deck Pair to the two decks you want Fusor Studio to automate.
    • With Traktor open, click Capture Control State. Fusor Studio will not arm until a capture has succeeded.
  4. On the General tab, set Fusor Files Folder if you haven't already.
  5. Close Settings.

Step 4: verify the connection

  1. Load a fusor in Fusor Studio.
  2. Set up two tracks in Traktor (one on each deck, outgoing deck playing).
  3. Arm and start a transition.
  4. Watch the Traktor crossfader and EQ knobs. They should move as the transition progresses.

If controls don't move, see Troubleshooting.

Traktor-specific notes

Tempo fader output range

If you are creating or editing Traktor MIDI mappings manually rather than importing the Fusor TSI, the tempo fader output mapping must use controller range -1.0 to 1.0 (not the default 0 to 1.0).

  • Default (0 to 1.0). Only captures half the fader range: center to bottom.
  • Correct (-1.0 to 1.0). Full sweep. Top = CC 0, center = CC 64, bottom = CC 127.

Stepped controls

For controls with discrete steps (for example, a tempo range selector with 14 positions), map the output range as 0 to N-1. So 14 positions = range 0 to 13.

Telemetry output mappings

Traktor must send feedback to Fusor Studio for these controls to enable takeover detection:

  • Crossfader position. Required for manual takeover.
  • Deck play state. Required for transition completion detection.
  • Tempo fader position. Required for tempo ramp.

These are configured as Output mappings in Controller Manager. The Fusor TSI sets them up for you.

Tempo ramp

When you arm a transition with Tempo Ramp on, Fusor Studio runs a setup sequence in Traktor before the transition starts:

  1. Turn off Traktor's automatic master and switch sync off on both decks.
  2. Set the outgoing deck as tempo master.
  3. Read the tempo range of both decks and the outgoing deck's fader position.
  4. Switch sync on for the incoming deck and record where Traktor snaps its tempo fader.

The outgoing deck stays tempo master for the whole transition. During the run, Fusor Studio drives the outgoing tempo fader toward a target that lands both decks on the incoming track's natural tempo; the incoming deck follows via sync and returns to roughly neutral by the end. There is no master handoff.

Traktor cannot sync or set tempo master on a stopped deck, so the setup sequence waits for the incoming deck to start playing. If you arm before starting it, the Tempo Ramp button blinks yellow until it runs.

Two things can stop the ramp before it starts, both reported on the status line: a tempo range Fusor Studio has never observed (touch the range selector, or enable Send Monitor State, so Traktor reports it), and an incoming tempo fader that snaps to the very end of its travel, which means the two tracks were never close enough in tempo to match. In either case the transition still runs — just without the ramp.

No manual Traktor configuration is needed beyond the standard mapping.

Crossfader Assign bindings

The eight Crossfader Assign entries each need their own binding in Traktor's Controller Manager. See Teach Mode for the per-deck recipe.