I have a very simple home DJ setup consisting of a Numark Mix Track Pro 3 and my MacBook.

Numark Mixtrack Pro 3

I really dig this simple DJ controller because it occupies very little space (much less space than turntables), is very portable and offers most of the bells-and-whistles an amateur like me needs for booping around in my bedroom for a few hours.

The one thing that this controller doesn’t have on-board is gain control. This is a big problem since managing levels is one key aspect to mixing tracks together so they blend well together﹘few things sound and feel worse than cutting in a drop at 50% the volume of the previous track. It just falls flat, sounds empty, and feels embarrassing. To get hardware gain control, I could remap existing knobs on the MTP3, but there aren’t any extra controls–everything already has a job! And using the mouse in Traktor while DJing is less than ideal.

So, to solve my problems, I built this mini controller parts I had lying around.. mostly from from other incomplete projects.

Component list:

1 x TeensyUSB LC device

2 x 10K potentiometers

2 x momentary push buttons

1 x Yellow LED

An enclosure – I used an old plastic business card box.

Code:

The code could be written better, but I will post the first version here. Please forgive the mess!

View the code on Gist.

Unfortunately I don’t have any assembly photos, but I am trying to find my schematics to share with others. :)