So Ive had the Novation Remote Zero SL for a while now and Ive used it a few times (been kind of busy, havent really had the oppertunity to dedicate the kind of time it really needs to it) and I think its pretty alright. There are a few things that I dont like, but Im not sure if they are issues with Traktor or issues with the Zero SL.

My major complaint is that it doesnt read the settings from Traktor to the nobs. For example, if the volume of Deck A is all the way up on the screen in Traktor but the fader or nob is all the way down on the Zero SL, it will take the position of the Zero SL when you touch that nob/slider. So it will instantly reset from full to zero as soon as you touch the nob or fader on the Zero SL. I think it would be better if it knew the position of the slider on the screen and didnt effect its position until after the hardware was moved past that position on the screen.

My only other issue is that the pressure sensitive settings for the trigger pads on the bottom left side is difficult to get to the right settings. Its either always too high or too low, its hard to get it just right. You either have to slam it hard or barely tap it, its hard to get it to respond like a regular button.

Other than those two things, all and all its a pretty good product. Im still kind of pissed about being decieved about the “Automap” feature. They want you to believe it will work with anything, but thats just not true, its only designed to “Automap” with 4 or 5 software packages, for everything else you have to DIY the old fashioned way. Maybe someday they will fix that, but dont hold your breath.

Since Im a lot cooler than about 99% of the assholes online, Im going to hook you up with something thats just about impossible to find online: a working, well defined, easy to use Traktor .tks and Novation .syx files so you can truely plug and play with your Novation Remote Zero SL and Native Instruments Traktor DJ Studio 3.3.

The deal is this, I have defined this file to use the most common features. This is by no means complete nor will it work for everybody. This simply lays out the most commonly used features in what I feel is an easy to use and instictive layout. There are 12 empty buttons for you to customize with functions that you use. Below is a picture and description of what each nob, slider and button has been programmed to do.

CC Numbers:

0 – FOCUS DECK A
1 – FOCUS DECK B
2 – LOOP SET IN
3 – LOOP ACTIVE
4 – LOOP TYPE 1
5 – LOOP TYPE 2
6 – LOOP TYPE 3
7 – RELOOP

20 – A-FX 1 NOB
21 – A-FX 2 NOB
22 – A-FX 3 NOB
23 – A-FX 4 NOB
24 – B-FX 1 NOB
25 – B-FX 2 NOB
26 – B-FX 3 NOB
27 – B-FX 4 NOB

30 – A-FX 1 BUTTON
31 – A-FX 2 BUTTON
32 – A-FX 3 BUTTON
33 – A-FX 4 BUTTON
34 – B-FX 1 BUTTON
35 – B-FX 2 BUTTON
36 – B-FX 3 BUTTON
37 – B-FX 4 BUTTON

40 – A – EQ LOW
41 – A – EQ MED
42 – A – EQ HIGH
43 – A – EQ BALANCE
44 – B – EQ BALANCE
45 – B – EQ HIGH
46 – B – EQ MED
47 – B – EQ LOW

50 – A – LOW KILL
51 – A – CUE
52 – PAGE 1
53 – PAGE 2
54 – PAGE 3
55 – PAGE 4
56 – B – CUE
57 – B – LOW KILL

60 – DECK A – GAIN
61 – DECK A – VOLUME
62 – CROSS FADER
63 – DECK B – VOLUME
64 – DECK B – GAIN
65 – CUE MIX
66 – CUE VOLUME
67 – MASTER VOLUME

70 – LOOP MOVE BACKWARDS
71 – LOOP MOVE FORWARDS
72 – LOOP SIZE DECREASE
73 – LOOP SIZE INCREASE

80 – A – SYNC
81 – B – SYNC
86 – MASTER FX SELECT
87 – MASTER FX ON

90 – UNLOAD TRACK
91 – LOAD TRACK
92 – STOP/PLAY
93 – CUE PLAY
95 – AUDIO RECORD

How to use:

Download TKS (Save Link As)

Download SYX (Save Link As)

Download Zero SL Template Editor (Mac Version | Windows Version)

1) On your Novation, under the ‘N’ logo your going to select “Play” mode.

2) Press the Data/Select jog-dial until “Template” is selected. Scroll the jog-dial until you hit whatever template number you want to use for your custom template.

3) Open “TRAK-ZERO.syx” in the Template Editor. Press the “Upload” button located beside the Novation logo in the template editor program. Quickly look at your Novation display to check that the template is being received. You should see the custom names for the buttons in the LED spaces if it worked.

4) The template is now temporarily loaded into the Novation’s RAM. If you scroll away from this template, the upload will not be saved. To save it to memory press the “Write” button from the center column of buttons. Press the “Write” button once again to save the template. The template is now saved in the device in the location that you chose.

5) Now we have to load the controls into Traktor. Open Traktor and select the MIDI setup from the preferences page. Click on the “LOAD” button and then select “TRAK-ZERO.tks” and load it into Traktor. Now you will see that the MIDI buttons in the window now reflect the settings that you see in the Novation template editor.

Thats it, your done. Now if you did everything right, you should be able to twist and slide all the major features in Traktor DJ Studio 3.3. If you have any questions or it didnt work for you, leave a comment and Ill do my best to help.

UPDATE #1 (1/28/09):

Ive made a few adjustments to the files to add a few features I forgot and to make the layout easier to use. The picture of the CC buttons has also been updated to reflect the changes.

UPDATE #2 (2/12/09):

Ive made this picture to help make it easier to understand what does what. I found after using this layout for awhile now that at first I was a bit confused about which deck I was controlling. I the image below, the RED is Deck A and the BLUE is Deck B. So as you can see, if you visualize it like that, it makes it much easier to understand which nobs need to be twisted.

UPDATE #3 (3/27/12):

I have upgraded Traktor to Traktor 2 and no longer use the Zero SL as my controller for Traktor. Because of this I can no longer support this post with answers in the comments. Sorry.

The ReMOTE ZeRO-SL from Novation to controll Traktor 3 with. Its got 50-something MIDI assignable buttons so there is a nob or button for just about every Traktor feature. Im excited, I cant wait to try it out. Stay tuned for full review in a few weeks..

Alrighty, I sent the Xone:42 back to where it came from. After my ordeal with being basicly duped by Allen & Heaths false description of the mixers capibilities, I decided to just suck it up and get the Xone:92 which does indeed have MIDI capibilities. Why the Xone:42 doesnt is beyond stupid, especially for a mixer that cost $1300 to not support even at least the cross fader as MIDI controable input is just plain stupid if you ask me. What good is a USB mixer if it doesnt support MIDI? But I digress… Anyway, I talked to the people that I got the bunk-42 from and they hooked me up with the Xone:92 insted. You know whats funny, Allen & Heath had the audactiy to suggest that I buy a Xone:1D in addition to the 42 if I wanted MIDI. But you know what, its actuallyu cheaper to straight up buy the Xone:92 than it is to buy the 42 and the 1D individually. Stupid Allen & Heath dont even know the price of their own products. Let me just add that this will be the first and only Allen & Heath product that I ever buy, and if its not the fucking best thing since sliced bread, its going straigh back to the store it came from.

This is some bullshit. So I spent all the money I had to get a Xone:42 so I could control Traktor from a handware surface. Well aparently the Xone:42 doesnt do MIDI. Then why the FUCK DOES IT HAVE A USB AUDIO INTERFACE FOR IF ITS NOT GOING TO DO MIDI? Seriously? Thats so bullshit, Allen and Heath are liars and this mixer is having its capabilities falsely advertised.

DO NOT BUY THIS MIXER IF YOUR LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO CONTROL YOUR MIDI DEVICES WITH OR YOUR EFFECTS ON YOUR COMPUTER, IT WILL NOT WORK.