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Topic: hercules rmx sound quality issues.

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hello fellow djs. new to the forum, but not to virtual dj. i picked up a hercules rmx with the basic version, but then upgraded to the newest virtual dj pro. i was having some latency issues, but i seem to have cleaned that issue up. however, while mixing i notice a change in sound quality. as long as i play the song in the same pitch, it sounds great with no issues. but once i adjust the pitch, the sound quality deteriorates (highly noticeable). for example, im playing a song at 128 bpm, and i want to mix in a song that is around 130. i adjust the 130 down to the 128, and the sound quality is degraded. is this a common vdj issue? is there any fix to this? i searched the forum for a bit, but did not come across anyone with a similar problem. my computer is not the issue, i ran the latency test with barely any yellow spikes. if anyone could point me in the right direction, id gladly appreciate it. thanks
 
Posted Fri 06 Jan 12 @ 9:26 pm
Are you using keylock/master tempo?

If so, check in CONFIG -> Performances that you have advanced stretching selected.

If you have fast stretching selected, the sound quality will not be as good, although it will use much lower CPU.
 
Posted Sat 07 Jan 12 @ 1:27 pm
thanks for responding. i do have the advanced stretching selected, with no changes. the sound quality is great up until i move the pitch fader. to describe the sound, i would say it sounds like a lot of the treble was cut out, and it has a distinct "phaser" sound where the treble used to be. this sound is not really noticeable on the lows, but once you get hi hats or crashes going, its right there. even when i reset the pitch, the sound quality is still gone. i just made sure to upgrade my hercules driver on my rmx, and i have the latest version of vdj. i also tried using my computer sound card versus the asio sound card that is built in with the rmx, and i still get the same effect. am i just doomed to poor sound quality when i move the pitch fader?
 
Posted Sat 07 Jan 12 @ 2:18 pm
think i might have figured out the problem. when i use the pitch fader on my rmx, i get bad sound qaulity. but the second i use the mouse to change the pitch, the sound quality stays the same. i wonder what thats all about? even if i do use the pitch control on my rmx, i can actually still save the sound quality by adjusting the pitch with the mouse....and it sounds fine. all of the other faders and nobs work great and dont mess with sound quality.
 
Posted Sat 07 Jan 12 @ 2:33 pm
The RMX pitch slider just moves the on-screen pitch slider, so it shouldn't make any difference whether you use the RMX or the mouse.

Do you only have this issue when actually moving it via the slider on the RMX? I.e: It's OK again as soon as you stop moving it.

What pitch range do you have selected? If you have a wide range (E.g: 33%, 50%, etc.) then the adjustments will be very coarse because the RMX only has 128 unique steps to its slider. Choose a smaller range such as 8%.
 
Posted Sat 07 Jan 12 @ 3:10 pm
the only time the sound quality is affected is when i use the pitch control on the rmx. i initially had it set to 33%, but i set it down to 8%. that seems to have fixed the issue. thanks a lot, you have been a great help!
 
Posted Sat 07 Jan 12 @ 4:09 pm
I just have something to add if I understand the issue correctly. Or maybe I'm wrong and will learn from this.

The problem described is confusing me.

He says he moves the "pitch" to go from 130 to 128 bpms. As far as I'm concerned this is not pitch, this is Tempo. Pitch is when you change the key to make the song sound higher or lower in terms of actual pitch.

That being said, I also have the RMX Hercules and VDJ Pro, both in Mac and Vista. Neither of which create the problem you describe unless I go from let's say 130 bpms to 100 (big difference) then the audio is not as good.

If you have keylock on, the voice of the song should stay the same, however the treble part will stutter a little bit, not too much, but you'll hear it. If keylock is off, then the voice changes like chipmunks but the beat doesn't suffer.

Anyways. I'd like to know if your problem persists.
 
Posted Sat 07 Jan 12 @ 7:46 pm
thanks for your interest in the topic. i do understand that bpms are referring to tempo, but it is labeled on my rmx as pitch. also, when i roll my mouse over the slider on the screen, it is labeled as pitch. that is why i referred to it as pitch. i am pretty sure most turntables and cdjs also call this the "pitch" slider. i do understand your point though, because when you slide it up and down it adjusts the bpm. i had my pitch settings +33% to -33%, and whenever i adjusted the pitch on the rmx itself, i would get terrible sound quality. even if i reset the pitch, the bad sound quality was still present. i adjusted it so it is now -8% to +8%, and this has helped out a lot. there seems to be no difference in sound quality with this new setting.
 
Posted Sun 08 Jan 12 @ 1:31 am
The problem is most likely caused by the low resolution RMX pitch slider (128 steps, 7-bit MIDI) used at a wide pitch range.

Most newer controllers have 14-bit pitch sliders for far greater precision (Except for cheap/basic controllers that are still usually 7-bit.)

At 33%, it will increase or decrease by 0.52% for each step. At 8%, it's 0.13%, which is more reasonable. With such big 'jumps', it may create audio artefacts when moving the slider, although these should stop as soon as you stop moving it.

For a more detailed explanation, please see: http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/MIDI%20controller%20pitch%20precision.html
 
Posted Sun 08 Jan 12 @ 5:11 pm
i was getting a very interesting sound when i slid the pitch on the rmx; it was like it added a "filter" effect or "phaser" if that makes any sense. rest assured the issue has been resolved though. i rocked a nice little set a few days ago with no hiccups! having an 8% pitch difference isnt that big of a deal anyways, because i like to keep the songs as close to their native bpm as possible for optimal sound quality. might need to upgrade however in the near future.
 
Posted Tue 24 Jan 12 @ 2:17 am
try this, reduce the monitors dpi and then go into virtual dj and reapply your sound set up .. it works same issue with me.. its a clitch..
 
Posted Tue 24 Jan 12 @ 10:23 pm
changing the pitch to a lower percentage actually solved my issue. thanks for the input though.
 
Posted Thu 26 Jan 12 @ 2:23 am
Can someone help me out please? My ipod sounds alot better and has more bass than when I use my hercules rmx with virtual dj pro? I hooked both up to my sound system and i must say there is a huge difference in sound quality. Is it my rmx that has poor quality or can I tweek out the sound in my virtual dj? any suggestions or tips would help thank you!
 
Posted Fri 23 Mar 12 @ 11:50 am
 
Posted Sun 25 Mar 12 @ 3:21 pm
Hello there Virtualdj and Hercules community. I need help with an issue I am recently having with my gear. I have been using the pro version of virtual dj and the Hercules rmx for five years now and never had a problem. I use a Hp laptop and four Mackie thump powered speakers. Last week I connected my equipment for a wedding reception and I noticed that there's a loud static coming from all the speakers without any songs being played. The sound won't go away and I don't know what to do or how to fix it. I need some serious help. The only thing I noticed is that if I turn the 1/4" male plugs with them still in the mixer, the noise gets affected. Could my rmx be broken or could it be the wires? I don't know.
 
Posted Tue 07 Jul 15 @ 1:32 pm
djdadPRO InfinityDevelopment ManagerMember since 2005
 
Posted Tue 07 Jul 15 @ 5:23 pm
My diagnosis would be that he's got dirty/worn jack plugs/sockets.
 
Posted Wed 08 Jul 15 @ 1:54 pm
You've checked the levels and EQ to make sure you're not pushing it too much ( the VU meter is always a good indication) ?
 
Posted Thu 09 Jul 15 @ 12:57 am


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