Go beyond the limits of your DJ software with Stompy.
Stompy is a free VST Plugin Effect / Instrument host which allows you to play with the thousands of freely available VST effects and instruments currently available.
With it you can:
Features
Features:
- Apply VST effects to Mic input, Line in or to any software that allows you to choose an audio out device
- Add VST effects to any or all of Traktor’s decks (Soundflower required)
- Syncs to MIDI Clock & Traktor’s BPM for delay / glitch / time-based FX
- Instantly map VST parameters to any MIDI controller
- Store your favourite controllers / VST parameters as presets
- Route VST instruments through Traktor’s live input and sync these to Traktor’s BPM
- TouchOSC and Lemur layouts included so you can control your VST with your iPad
About
About:
Why was it made?
Although there are plenty of free VST hosts around, there don’t appear to be any that will allow you to use multiple audio channels, sync to a MIDI clock AND to map effect parameters to a hardware MIDI device. Although such features exist in DAWs such as Ableton, Logic or Cubase, these are quite expensive. We’ve been looking for months for a free alternative to this and couldn’t find one that offered all of these features in one package.
Stompy was designed specifically for people who want the versatility of using external VST effects / instruments in their DJ performances but don’t want to spend £300 on a fully-fledged sequencer / DAW. There are thousands of free VST effects and instruments around and Traktor users are normally missing out on these. Now you can use them quickly and easily (and for free!)
If you do own Ableton Live and you want to route Traktor through VST effects, we recommend that you watch this excellent tutorial video by armyofme4340.
System Requirements
System Requirements:
- Mac OSX
Optional:
- Traktor Pro 2 – v2.1.1 or above
- Soundflower – Use this if you want to connect Stompy to Traktor
- TouchOSC or Lemur – Required if you want to control Stompy with your iPad / iPhone. Templates are provided in the download.
- A MIDI controller
Instructions
Setup & Usage Instructions:
General Setup:
Download and install the free Soundflower software from Cycling 74.
Open your Mac’s System Preferences > Sound and make sure the Input is set to Soundflower (16ch).
VST Effect Setup:
Traktor:
Open Preferences > Audio Setup and set the Audio Device to Soundflower 16ch.
Open Preferences > Output Routing and select External Mixer. Route as follows (click image to enlarge):
You can opt for Internal Mixer here (by setting the Master Output to Soundflower 16ch Out 0 and Out 1), but you will only be able to apply FX to Traktor’s master output, not each deck individually.
Open Preferences > MIDI Clock. Ensure this is ticked. Leave the Sending Offset as 0.
Open Controller Manager and click Add. Select General Midi. Set the In Port as None and the Out Port as Traktor Virtual Output
Back on the main Traktor screen, click the Metronome and click the Start button to send a MIDI Clock signal (Stompy will sync to this).
At this point you should connect your MIDI controller. If you’re using the TouchOSC or Lemur layout, you need to connect your iPad to your Mac at this stage.
Soundflower:
Make sure that both Soundflower (2ch) and Soundflower (16ch) are set to None (OFF).
Stompy:
Open Stompy and click on Settings. Select ‘Stompy Settings’ from the menu.
In the pop-up window, set as follows:
Audio In – Soundflower 16ch
Audio Out – CoreAudio Built-In Output
CTRL In – The name of your MIDI controller (if you don’t see this, click Refresh)
BPM In – Traktor Virtual Output
Click the On switch and set the volume. You should now hear whatever’s playing in Traktor and see the volume meter moving.
Click the Load button and select your plugin. By default they are stored in Mac HD/Library/Audio/Plugins/VST/
Click the Open button to show the plugin’s GUI
VST Instrument Setup:
Traktor:
Open Preferences > Audio Setup and set the Audio Device to Soundflower 16ch.
Open Preferences > Output Routing and select Internal Mixer. Route as follows (click image to enlarge):
Open Preferences > Input Routing and select Soundflower 0 (16ch) and Soundflower 1 (16ch) for the deck you wish to use.
Open Preferences > MIDI Clock. Ensure this is ticked. Leave the Sending Offset as 0.
If you haven’t already done so, open Controller Manager and click Add. Select General Midi. Set the In Port to None and the Out Port to Traktor Virtual Output
Back on the main Traktor screen, click the Metronome and click the Start button to send a MIDI Clock signal (Stompy will sync to this).
At this point you should connect your MIDI controller. If you’re using the TouchOSC or Lemur layout, you need to connect your iPad to your Mac at this stage.
Soundflower:
Make sure that the Soundflower (16ch) ‘Built-In Output’ is ticked.
In the Soundflower (16ch) Menu, ensure that Channel 1 and 2 are set to None.
Set Channel 3 to Built-In Output [1] and set Channel 4 to Built-In Output [2].
Stompy:
Open Stompy and click on Settings. Select ‘Stompy Settings’ from the menu.
In the pop-up window, set as follows:
Audio In – You can choose anything here as long as it’s not Soundflower
Audio Out – Soundflower (16ch)
CTRL In – The name of your MIDI controller (if you don’t see this, click Refresh)
BPM In – Traktor Virtual Output
Click the On switch and set the volume.
Click the Load button and select your VST Instrument. By default they are stored in Mac HD/Library/Audio/Plugins/VST/
Click the Open button to show the plugin’s GUI
You should now hear whatever’s playing in your VST Instrument and see the volume meter moving.
Usage:
Select which decks you want to apply the effect to by using the A, B, C, D toggle buttons when using Stompy as a VST effect host.
MIDI keyboards will map automatically to your chosen VST Instrument or effect. Dials, sliders and buttons need to be mapped manually. To map a VST parameter to a dial, fader or button on Stompy, first click the parameter you want to assign in the VST’s window, then click the ‘V’ button just above the dial you want to assign in Stompy. Now when you move the dial in Stompy it should also move the assigned parameter in your chosen VST instrument or effect.
To map a MIDI controller to the same dial, just do exactly the same thing, ie., move the dial on your MIDI controller but this time press the appropriate ‘C’ button on Stompy. The dial on your MIDI controller should now be controlling the chosen VST parameter.
Remember that you can apply your chosen VST effect to any audio source, not just Traktor. Try setting the Audio In on Stompy to Mic or Line-In and using VST effects on other live sound sources.
Setup with iPad as a controller:
TouchOSC:
First you will need the latest version of TouchOSC (£2.99 from iTunes). You will also need TouchOSC Editor and TouchOSC Bridge, available for free from the Hexler website.
- If Stompy is already open, shut it down / exit.
- Install TouchOSC on your iPad and run it
- Ensure that your iPad and Mac are connected to the same network, either through a router or an Ad-Hoc network. An Ad-Hoc network is recommended for the best performance.
- Download, install and run TouchOSC Bridge. Open TouchOSC on your iPad and go to Settings > MIDI Bridge. Ensure this is enabled and you should see the name of your computer appear. Press this to connect. If you don’t see your computer name here then there’s a problem somewhere with the network setup. Check that your iPad and computer are both on the same network. There’s more info on connecting through TouchOSC Bridge on the Hexler website’s MIDI Bridge Connection page.
- Download, install and run TouchOSC Editor. Open TouchOSC Editor and open the supplied template then press the ‘Sync’ button. In TouchOSC, go to the Layout menu and press ‘Add’. The name of your computer should appear in the ‘Found Hosts’ section. Press your computer name to upload the template. If you’re having trouble uploading through TouchOSC Editoir, hexler.net recommend that you try uploading the template to your iPad using iTunes instead. Just connect to iTunes, select your iPad, click the ‘Apps’ tab, click on TouchOSC and drag and drop the template in. Once loaded, click the ‘Info’ button in TouchOSC and ensure that coreMIDI is enabled.
- Open Stompy and select ‘TouchOSC Bridge’ from the ‘CTRL’ drop-down menu in the Settings screen. You should now have 2 way communication between your computer and iPad.
Lemur for iPad:
You will need the latest version of Lemur for iPad (£34.99 from iTunes). You will also need Lemur Daemon and Lemur Editor, available for free in the Lemur Installer from the Liine website.
- If Stompy is already open, shut it down / exit.
- Install Lemur on your iPad and run it
- Ensure that your iPad and Mac are connected to the same network, either through a router or an Ad-Hoc network. An Ad-Hoc network is recommended for the best performance.
- Follow the video guides on the Lemur support page for instructions on how to connect Lemur with your Mac.
- IMPORTANT! Make sure you connect through Daemon Input 0 and Daemon Output 0.
- Once connected, load the layout (included in the download) through Lemur Editor and press the small Play button in the top right hand corner. The layout should appear on the iPad.
- Open Scratchy and select ‘Daemon Output 0′ from the ‘CTRL’ drop-down menu in the Settings screen. You should now have 2 way communication between your computer and iPad.
Demo Video:
Download
Download (Mac only):
You must be a registered member of this website to download this software.
Once you have registered and logged in, you’ll automatically be able to see the download link below. Registration is easy and free and gives you access to download all the templates available on this site. It also allows you to post comments in the forum. Your email address will not be passed to third parties.
Download includes the software, setup instructions and the TouchOSC & Lemur templates for iPad.
Known Issues
Known Issues:
Stompy is still in beta, so it’s possible that you may encounter some problems. Please report any bugs / issues in the Forum.
- You may experience crackles, pops or audio dropouts using Stompy as a VST Effect host. If so, increase the latency in Traktor > Preferences > Audio Setup.
Hi, Stompy looks really interesting. How would this work for those of us with an S4 routing wise? I have both, Touch OSC and Lemur. I am actually looking for something that will let me have access to the 8 cue points, will let me manipulate FX like Stompy and will have buttons like a MidiFighter (I have a classic).
I don’t have the time, neither the skills to accomplish that, but it would be really interesting.
It should be fine routing MIDI as long as you set the specific device in Traktor’s In and Out Ports. I had it working alongside a VCI100 and everything was fine.
Regarding audio, I’m not certain as I haven’t tested with an external soundcard. You should still be able to route these using Stompy and Soundflower though.
I have registered and logged in (my name is written), but I’m not able to see the download link ??? It says : You must be a registered member of this website to download this software.
Why ??
Sorry, it’s OK now
No worries. If anyone else has the same trouble, just scroll down a little. The download box is just below the Register | Log In links.
What about windows version, only Mac?
I have been dreaming how would be great if TS has VST support but know although i have really good laptop can’t start to use it because of platform.. 
I’m planning to do a Windows version as the same thing should be possible using ‘Jack’ (http://jackaudio.org/jack_on_windows). It’ll be a few weeks away yet though…
I am very excited about the prospect of a Windows version (and I will donate generously). When do you expect it to be ready?
Thanks,
Guy
Hopefully soon. Working on a Lemur template for Traktor at the moment, but this will be be next.
Great news for windows users…¡¡¡…thks…¡¡¡
how is that windows version comming????????????????
It’s been delayed a little because of other projects which had to take precedence. It’s still in the pipeline though. Sorry about the wait.
If you’d like to beta test, keep an eye on the Facebook page for announcements.
This is an excellent tool working really well apart from the occasional drop outs when playing a VST, thanks for the hard work. Still not sure what the ctrl and vst presets are doing and the a/b/c/d buttons in stompy, did I miss something?
Glad it’s working for you! I have a similar problem with occasional dropouts when using a VST instrument. I’ll be working on a fix for this for the next update though.
You can save any mappings you’ve made yourself (to VSTs and MIDI controllers) to the Preset buttons. Once you’ve mapped your controller and VST, just press the relevant ‘St’ (store) button to save as a preset. You can then recall the preset at any time by pressing the preset number button you’ve saved to. The only preset you can’t save to is Controller 1 as this is reserved for the TouchOSC mapping.
The A/B/C/D buttons are used when a VST effect is loaded to route Traktor’s decks to that effect. So if button A is lit, the effect is applied to Deck A. This allows you to route any or all of Traktor’s decks to your chosen effect.
Thanks for the info, will watch out for the update and let you know how I get on, keep up the good work!
Can anyone recomend a good vst drum machine to use with stompy/traktor?
I’ve found Rob Papen Punch is good for electronic music. BFD2 is good for acoustic. Both have in-built sequencers so you can program your own rhythms.
First of all, this is a PHENOMENAL idea. Congrats, this is fantastic.
I’ve got the S4. Does anyone know if it is possible to use this with the individual deck switches and still be able to control the volume/eq/filter with the S4′s mixer?
The EQ and Filter on the S4 should be fine (as these are controlling the software EQ and Filter, at least I presume so. I don’t have an S4), but volume and crossfade may not work as the deck switches require an external mixer setup in Traktor.
disappointed im afraid. got it all setup and the audiio is full of pops and hisses and such. great idea
Have you tried increasing the latency time a little in Traktor (Preferences > Audio Setup)?
There have been a few other reports of pops and crackles and I’ll be looking at this for the next update. Out of interest, what are your system specs?
great!
Hello dear DJDigitaltools, this is absolutly amazing, however i am having a hard time to understand if i can midi map the knobs/buttons/faders myself? The vst i intend to use seems to have the midi mappings mapped from the stompy ap, i cant change these.
also, how big is the chance to get features embedded in the future if i would take some time of and suggest some really neat features and how to implement them?
Cheers
Yes, you can map the dials, faders and buttons to both the VST and to any MIDI controller. The VST will probably have controls mapped already, but you can change these.
Just move the dial on the VST and press any of the ‘V’ buttons on Stompy. This will map the VST control to the corresponding dial, fader or button on Stompy.
Just do the same to map MIDI controls. Move the dial or fader on your MIDI controller and then press the ‘C’ button on Stompy,
By all means, yes, we’d love to hear your suggestions for other features
OK got ya, it seem’s to be a little buggy though, it locks onto things i clicked in the past instead of what i just clicked.
And some parameters does not seem to work.
However i understand this is beta
Feature suggest.
More knobs/Faders/buttons 32 Units would be more like it, and if possible. The ability to change layouts between let’s say.
16-8knobs-8buttons
16-8faders-4knobs-4-buttons
32-32buttons-16-knobs-16 faders
And so on.
16 controllers is “ok” but for serious synthesis it’s not enough
The save midi mapping’s system does not seem to work very well, or it’s just me who doesn’t know exactly how to do it, more documentation would be cool as well on the more in depth features.
a fx slot would be neat, where i could insert an fx plug like reverb/delay etc to aid my synth!
Au support so we can use our fav au plugs.
It seems like the bpm’s does not follow traktor very well at all, it goes up and down rendering my synth to go out of beat relatively fast.
Coming back with more
Cheers
Thanks drakenberg! Your detailed feedback is greatly appreciated.
It should be easy enough to add more controls and I agree that there are too few as it stands, so I’ll definitely look at that for the next update.
Could you give me some more details please about the problem you have with certain parameters not working and locking onto things you clicked in the past?
Saving your presets should work. You just need to press ‘St’ (Store) above the number you’d like to save to. You need to do this for the VST and the MIDI controller separately though. I’ll look at making the instructions a little clearer though.
I like your idea of adding an FX slot. This should be pretty easy to add to so I should be able to add it to the next update too.
AU support should actually work, Just browse to your AU folder and choose one of your instruments. You should be able to load it just like a VST instrument.
Yeah, the BPM’s a little erratic. The MIDI BPM data transmitted from Traktor is the problem here. I’m quite aware of this though and I’m hoping to add a way of smoothing / averaging out the BPM data on the next update so that it’s more consistent.
Again, thanks very much for your comments and suggestions. I’d love to hear more if you have them too
If you’d prefer to do this by email, please give me a shout at digitaldjtools@gmail.com
This is excellent software, I’m glad to see efforts like these being carried out with such success. I have a question. Would this fit anywhere at all with a Timecode based system? I use a Traktor Audio 6 to control Traktor with timecode CDs and I would love to incorporate Stompy and use different VST effects in my setup. Would definitely be the cherry on top! Thanks!
Thanks lupzdut
Yes, it should work with a Timecode setup, either CDs or vinyl. Just ensure that ‘Auto’ is ticked in the MIDI Clock setup in Traktor (then the Master BPM will sync to whichever deck’s playing, or has been playing the longest).
How well it will work is another matter though!
Traktor’s MIDI clock output isn’t particularly good, so it’s hard to receive and maintain a steady BPM in Stompy.
I’m hoping to incorporate some way of ‘smoothing’ the BPM output on the next update, so that should make things a little more reliable.
So yes, it’s certainly possible but you’ll probably find that it strays a little.
Thank you for your quick response! I will have a go at this as soon as I can and will get back to you with some feedback. If it’s in any way usable with timecode, then it’s worth a try. Cheers!
im really anticipating this,when will the windows version be released?
There’s still going to be a bit of a delay for the Windows version. Juggling a few new projects at once and this has been pushed back I’m afraid. It’ll happen though and there’ll be notifications about early beta testing on the Facebook page when it’s available.
I understand and i will keep a close eye on this.thanks for the reply
Hi Digital DJ Tools,
I am trying to use Jack OSX .90 instead of SoundFlower because for it is more stable. Can you help me with instructions?
I use Traktor 2.5 (2 decks only) with a DNMC6000. I use Ableton 8.3.3 with a Traktor Audio 10 Soundcard. I use 2 channels on DNMC6000 for Ableton (1 for Audio, 1 for Monitoring). I have Ableton Sync to Traktor 2.5 and controlled by APC40. My operating system is OSX 10.7.4.
I will be using Stompy to use Guitar Rig 5 VST for effects with Traktor 2.5.
Thanks in advance for any assistance!
DJ MAYOMBE
I’ve never used Jack, so I can’t be of much help here I’m afraid. There’s no reason it shouldn’t work with your setup though.
Thanks for the quick response
Hi there,
first of all THX heaps for your work. all about stompy is great, BUT….PLEASE TELL ME HOW /sorry for the words
/ THE FUCK I CAN UNMAP THE CONTROL. /if i accidentally use already used control on the controller and map it to the second element in stompy tehres no way how to unmap it, so of course i control by one control two functions/ . im sorry i maybe just didn’t get it ,but i couldn’t find the way how to do it. thx in advance for the answer.
There’s no way currently of being able to remove a mapping (or an undo feature). Although you can still easily overwrite any mappings you’ve made by moving another control and pressing the corresponding C button (for a MIDI controller) or the V button (for a VST button / dial / fader).
This “software” is awesome but is it possible to have a tutorial explaining how to use it with external mixer and Audio 8??
Anybody tried??
Thank you!
Problem solved
How does this work? And can I use my CD signal with CDJs because whenever I select Soundflower as my audio the control buttons grey out!
thank you very much is a good contribution was looking very interesting long something.
I have a problem install but can not find the Soundflower 16ch.
install all DepNet.com for me and only appears to 64ch
and did not appear anything on Channel 3 and Channel 4 output
an apology for the English use a translator.
Problem solved
To sole the problem of the midi sync fluctuating, use your Mac’s virtual midi instead of traktors…. Traktor’s virtual midi is pretty poo.
To solve the problem of the midi sync fluctuating,use your mac’s virtual midi instead of traktors. Haven’t tried it with stompy but I’m sure it’ll work, worked for me when syncing maschine and traktor… Hope this solves your problem
Thanks Chesh
Yes, even with the latest updates, the sync is still sometimes a little off. I’ll give this a try.
I’m having trouble running Stompy on my system. I have a Macbook Pro with OS 10.7 (Lion). Every time I try to run Stompy, it crashes and I get an error message saying “CoreMIDI quit unexpectedly”. The error message keeps coming back until I restart and Stompy never opens. I don’t have Traktor. The Stompy website (this page) says I don’t need Traktor, but the Stompy readme says that I do. At first I had Soundflower v1.6.6b installed, then later I uninstalled it to see if that would solve the problem, but nothing changed. Again, this website says I don’t need Soundflower, but the readme file seems to suggest that I do. Has anyone had any similar problems or know of a solution?
Cheers,
James
Apologies for any confusion about what software is / is not required for Stompy to work. To clear this up, you definitely don’t need Traktor or Soundflower installed for it to work. It’ll still work as a VST host regardless. I’m afraid I have no idea what the crashing problem you’re having may be caused by though…
Can I use this with my Audio 8 and control CD’s running through CDJ’s?
Whenever I select Soundflower the control (deck) buttons grey out.
Just to clarify, what i mean is, is there a way to use this with timecode control?
There isn’t I’m afraid, no. Not sure if it’s really what you’re looking for but have you seen Ms Pinky? http://mspinky.com/