jdunham
Trim functions just fine with mine. Maybe it's your music. When it comes to performance I only play songs that have been transferred from cd or lossless iTunes songs . I have a Mac :) this is a pointless question , but you do have it switched to pc mode right? The other day I thought I had a glitch with the fader on one channel but turned out that I moved the switch to phono by accident when I put the ddj in a case for transport... Which is why we have sound checks :)
Posted Mon 23 Sep 13 @ 7:51 pm
SBDJ
burnyabad;
Read my post in the other topic you posted in, and please, reign in the caps.
We did absolutely nothing special with our SX at the show - some users used our PC with v8, some their own PC or Mac with v7.4 on. I am aware of only one user who had any issue and that was v8 related.
There is no 'trim issue'. This is a function called soft takeover. When you load a track and auto gain is applied, the software gain knob is moved to the correct position. VDJ cannot move the hardware knob, so the hardware knob is disabled until you move the knob to match the software position.
If you do not want this then try mapping the gain controls to gain_relative. You can also just map them to gain (not recommended however) but be prepared for huge volume jumps if you do that.
Read my post in the other topic you posted in, and please, reign in the caps.
We did absolutely nothing special with our SX at the show - some users used our PC with v8, some their own PC or Mac with v7.4 on. I am aware of only one user who had any issue and that was v8 related.
There is no 'trim issue'. This is a function called soft takeover. When you load a track and auto gain is applied, the software gain knob is moved to the correct position. VDJ cannot move the hardware knob, so the hardware knob is disabled until you move the knob to match the software position.
If you do not want this then try mapping the gain controls to gain_relative. You can also just map them to gain (not recommended however) but be prepared for huge volume jumps if you do that.
Posted Mon 23 Sep 13 @ 9:51 pm
burnyabad
thanks. So, why would 4 other different mixers, all 4 deck systems, not have a problem with gain control, yet the DDJ-SX does. NO matter what hoop i jump through, I do not have control of my gain control like i would with EVERY other mixer.
Posted Sat 28 Sep 13 @ 4:34 pm
burnyabad
I changed my settings to from gain_nothing to gain_relative... didnt work. So, I took your advice and changed it from gain_nothing to gain and as we speak my unit is responding exactly the way I need it too. I hope this works after a reboot.
Posted Sat 28 Sep 13 @ 4:50 pm
Support staff
There's no such action as gain_nothing
The choices are gain_slider (Soft-takeover), gain_relative (Relative adjustment) or gain (Instantly jumps to hardware knob position (Not recommended.))
Which other mixers did you try? Soft-takeover on gain is standard mapping for most controllers that have software MIDI mixers that control VirtualDJ's internal mixer. If the mixer/controller that you tried has a real hardware mixer (E.g: Numark MixDeck), then the gain, EQ, volume, etc. is being carried out by the mixer hardware itself rather than the software, so there will not be any soft-takeover on the mixer section.
I have a DDJ-SX here and gain_relative works correctly every time. Moving the knob on DDJ-SX causes the knob on-screen to move in the same direction by the same amount. This continues to be the case when loading other songs with different gain (Software gain knob in a different position from the previous song) and when restarting VirtualDJ.
The mapping for GAIN used is:
If you find that the mapping change works until you restart VirtualDJ, then your change is not being saved, possibly due to permission issues (Please see http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/VirtualDJ%20Folder%20Permissions.html )
You could also try editing the mapping file directly. Close VirtualDJ first then browse to My Documents\VirtualDJ\Mappers. Make sure that there isn't more than one DDJ-SX mapping file present. Then use Notepad to edit the file Pioneer DDJ-SX mapping. Change the GAIN mapping line to the following:
As already explained, soft-takeover is standard and expected behaviour in most DJ software for software based controllers to avoid sudden changes in volume, gain, pitch, etc. that could occur as a result of mismatch between the software and hardware positions. It helps avoid embarrassing sudden changes in pitch and/or volume (Which could also cause damage to speakers.) Please see http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/Soft%20Take-over%20or%20Non-MIDI%20Mixer.html
A better option for you might be a controller with a real hardware mixer such as the Numark MixDeck or Denon DN-MC6000 (In 2 deck INT MIX mode.) Or alternatively, purchase an external multi-channel DJ sound card such as Numark DJIO, plug its outputs into the line inputs on the back of the DDJ-SX and then use the DDJ-SX's mixer section as an analogue mixer instead of software MIDI mixer. Then there will be no soft-takeover on the mixer section. Unfortunately due to its design, the sound card in the DDJ-SX is hard-wired for master/headphone configuration only and can't be used in 2 deck external mixer mode like you can optionally on the Denon DN-MC6000 and some other controllers with hardware mixers with similar functionality.
The choices are gain_slider (Soft-takeover), gain_relative (Relative adjustment) or gain (Instantly jumps to hardware knob position (Not recommended.))
Which other mixers did you try? Soft-takeover on gain is standard mapping for most controllers that have software MIDI mixers that control VirtualDJ's internal mixer. If the mixer/controller that you tried has a real hardware mixer (E.g: Numark MixDeck), then the gain, EQ, volume, etc. is being carried out by the mixer hardware itself rather than the software, so there will not be any soft-takeover on the mixer section.
I have a DDJ-SX here and gain_relative works correctly every time. Moving the knob on DDJ-SX causes the knob on-screen to move in the same direction by the same amount. This continues to be the case when loading other songs with different gain (Software gain knob in a different position from the previous song) and when restarting VirtualDJ.
The mapping for GAIN used is:
get decks 2 ? action_deck 1 ? var 'hwmixer' ? nothing : gain_relative : action_deck 2 ? var 'hwmixer' ? nothing : gain_relative : nothing : var 'hwmixer' ? nothing : gain_relative
If you find that the mapping change works until you restart VirtualDJ, then your change is not being saved, possibly due to permission issues (Please see http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/VirtualDJ%20Folder%20Permissions.html )
You could also try editing the mapping file directly. Close VirtualDJ first then browse to My Documents\VirtualDJ\Mappers. Make sure that there isn't more than one DDJ-SX mapping file present. Then use Notepad to edit the file Pioneer DDJ-SX mapping. Change the GAIN mapping line to the following:
<map value="GAIN" action="get decks 2 ? action_deck 1 ? var 'hwmixer' ? nothing : gain_relative : action_deck 2 ? var 'hwmixer' ? nothing : gain_relative : nothing : var 'hwmixer' ? nothing : gain_relative" />
As already explained, soft-takeover is standard and expected behaviour in most DJ software for software based controllers to avoid sudden changes in volume, gain, pitch, etc. that could occur as a result of mismatch between the software and hardware positions. It helps avoid embarrassing sudden changes in pitch and/or volume (Which could also cause damage to speakers.) Please see http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/Soft%20Take-over%20or%20Non-MIDI%20Mixer.html
A better option for you might be a controller with a real hardware mixer such as the Numark MixDeck or Denon DN-MC6000 (In 2 deck INT MIX mode.) Or alternatively, purchase an external multi-channel DJ sound card such as Numark DJIO, plug its outputs into the line inputs on the back of the DDJ-SX and then use the DDJ-SX's mixer section as an analogue mixer instead of software MIDI mixer. Then there will be no soft-takeover on the mixer section. Unfortunately due to its design, the sound card in the DDJ-SX is hard-wired for master/headphone configuration only and can't be used in 2 deck external mixer mode like you can optionally on the Denon DN-MC6000 and some other controllers with hardware mixers with similar functionality.
Posted Sun 29 Sep 13 @ 11:41 am
burnyabad
thank you for trying as hard as you have with my issues. Yes, I have a mixdeck pro and a mix deck quad, an american audio VMS4.1 and a denon. None of these controllers have the slightest issues with vdj. Last night I went ahead and played a club with my ddj-sx, and let me tell you, it was HORRID. NIghtmare. Volumes never close, gain adjustments were mandatory on every single song i loaded into the decks. I have decided to normalize all 987 gig of music, and turn off auto gain in an attempt to remedy this. IF this does not work I will go back to my vms 4.1 and seriously, DESTROY the ddj-sx with a hammer.
Posted Sun 29 Sep 13 @ 10:34 pm
Support staff
Assuming you mean Denon DN-MC6000 and MixDeck rather than MixDeck Pro (Doesn't exist), then these all have real hardware mixers, so when you turn the gain knob, you are applying the gain in hardware (Soft-takeover isn't necessary for a real mixer hardware gain.) While the DDJ-SX also has hardware mixer capabilities, when used with DJ software it can operate in master/headphones software internal mixer mode only (The Denon DN-MC6000 and VMS4.1 both allow you to choose between either real hardware mixer or software mixer modes.)
Under normal circumstances, the auto gain should do a good job of normalising your music to a similar volume, but because it uses the average throughout the entire song, it may not do so well on songs with extreme quiet and loud parts, or start quiet and then go loud (Or vice-versa.) External normalising might help in your case (Try a tool such as MP3Gain.) However, for songs you have already played and/or analysed in VirtualDJ, the value will now be stored and remembered in the database (NOTE: Gain adjustments are stored with the song, so even if it's not right the first time you load a song, once you have adjusted it correctly, it will be remembered the next time you load the song and shouldn't need any further adjustment.)
To remove this stored gain information, you would either need to delete the database and start again (Which would loose cue points, comments, etc.) or use a text editor such as Notepad++ that supports regular expressions to remove the Gain and Volume fields from each song entry in the database.
To remove the gain information from the database, make sure that all files have been externally analysed and normalised first using a tool such as MP3Gain and VirtualDJ is closed. Take a backup of your VirtualDJ database file in My Documents\VirtualDJ\VirtualDJ Database v6.xml and then edit it using Notepad++.
Open the Find/Replace dialogue and click on the Replace tab. Choose Regular Expression in the Search Mode section. Type Gain="[0-9]+" in the Find what: box. Leave the Replace with: box empty (Erase any text in it.) Click Replace All. Check through the database and you should now find all the Gain fields from the song entries have been removed. Next, do the same for Volume="[0-9]+" in the Find what: box. Do the same again for IsScanned="[0-9]+"
Now the files should all be considered unscanned by VirtualDJ, but retain their information such as cue points, comments, etc. Start VirtualDJ and click on your top-level music folder and choose Add to Search DB. Then follow the instructions on the following page to analyse them: http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/Pre-Analysing%20Your%20Music%20Collection.html
Under normal circumstances, the auto gain should do a good job of normalising your music to a similar volume, but because it uses the average throughout the entire song, it may not do so well on songs with extreme quiet and loud parts, or start quiet and then go loud (Or vice-versa.) External normalising might help in your case (Try a tool such as MP3Gain.) However, for songs you have already played and/or analysed in VirtualDJ, the value will now be stored and remembered in the database (NOTE: Gain adjustments are stored with the song, so even if it's not right the first time you load a song, once you have adjusted it correctly, it will be remembered the next time you load the song and shouldn't need any further adjustment.)
To remove this stored gain information, you would either need to delete the database and start again (Which would loose cue points, comments, etc.) or use a text editor such as Notepad++ that supports regular expressions to remove the Gain and Volume fields from each song entry in the database.
To remove the gain information from the database, make sure that all files have been externally analysed and normalised first using a tool such as MP3Gain and VirtualDJ is closed. Take a backup of your VirtualDJ database file in My Documents\VirtualDJ\VirtualDJ Database v6.xml and then edit it using Notepad++.
Open the Find/Replace dialogue and click on the Replace tab. Choose Regular Expression in the Search Mode section. Type Gain="[0-9]+" in the Find what: box. Leave the Replace with: box empty (Erase any text in it.) Click Replace All. Check through the database and you should now find all the Gain fields from the song entries have been removed. Next, do the same for Volume="[0-9]+" in the Find what: box. Do the same again for IsScanned="[0-9]+"
Now the files should all be considered unscanned by VirtualDJ, but retain their information such as cue points, comments, etc. Start VirtualDJ and click on your top-level music folder and choose Add to Search DB. Then follow the instructions on the following page to analyse them: http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/Pre-Analysing%20Your%20Music%20Collection.html
Posted Mon 30 Sep 13 @ 5:37 am
burnyabad
thank you. yes MIX deck, Mix deck quad, MIX deck xpress, Denon mc 600, VMS 4.1 and vms 4. we have several others because we mobile dj often. I'll let you know how this works. BTW: why did all this happen?
Posted Mon 30 Sep 13 @ 10:38 am
Support staff
Those controllers all have real hardware mixers with separate deck outputs for each channel, so don't need soft-takeover for the mixer (It's all hardware based and applied externally by the mixer to the final audio signals for each deck output separately by VDJ.)
The DDJ-SX acts as a software mixer (master+headphones) and its mixing is performed internally within VirtualDJ using it's built-in software mixer before being output to the master output and headphones of the DDJ-SX. Why Pioneer didn't allow the DDJ-SX to be configured and used as a hardware mixer is down to their own internal decisions when designing and manufacturing the product, which was mainly intended for use with Serato.
As already explained, soft-takeover is a standard feature common to all controllers with a software-based MIDI mixer to avoid issue when the software and hardware knobs don't match each other to avoid potentially embarrassing pitch jumps, speaker damaging and audience frightening volume/gain jumps, etc. Most users don't have a problem with this and prefer this as the default safe behaviour (And it's easy enough to change the mappings to suit your own preference.)
Gain can mismatch from one song to another due to the fact that they have been automatically analysed and the optimal gain for that particular song has been set, which will be different from the previous song.
Pitch mismatch can occur if the auto-pitch matching and/or pitch reset features are enabled (These are useful for keyboard/mouse and beginner DJ's and can be turned off in CONFIG -> Options) or if you press the SYNC button.
Mismatches can also occur on 2+2 controllers like the DDJ-SX where two decks out of 4 share the same side of the controller and you switch layers between them on the fly. Particularly where the controller has a 2 channel instead of 4 channel mixer section. Sometimes controllers like this will implement soft-takeover in the hardware when changing layers.
NOTE: In an ideal world, controllers that use a software mixer would have motorised controls that can move to the correct software position, but this is more costly to implement and is a very rare feature on DJ controllers (Stanton SCS.1D has a motorised pitch slider.)
The DDJ-SX acts as a software mixer (master+headphones) and its mixing is performed internally within VirtualDJ using it's built-in software mixer before being output to the master output and headphones of the DDJ-SX. Why Pioneer didn't allow the DDJ-SX to be configured and used as a hardware mixer is down to their own internal decisions when designing and manufacturing the product, which was mainly intended for use with Serato.
As already explained, soft-takeover is a standard feature common to all controllers with a software-based MIDI mixer to avoid issue when the software and hardware knobs don't match each other to avoid potentially embarrassing pitch jumps, speaker damaging and audience frightening volume/gain jumps, etc. Most users don't have a problem with this and prefer this as the default safe behaviour (And it's easy enough to change the mappings to suit your own preference.)
Gain can mismatch from one song to another due to the fact that they have been automatically analysed and the optimal gain for that particular song has been set, which will be different from the previous song.
Pitch mismatch can occur if the auto-pitch matching and/or pitch reset features are enabled (These are useful for keyboard/mouse and beginner DJ's and can be turned off in CONFIG -> Options) or if you press the SYNC button.
Mismatches can also occur on 2+2 controllers like the DDJ-SX where two decks out of 4 share the same side of the controller and you switch layers between them on the fly. Particularly where the controller has a 2 channel instead of 4 channel mixer section. Sometimes controllers like this will implement soft-takeover in the hardware when changing layers.
NOTE: In an ideal world, controllers that use a software mixer would have motorised controls that can move to the correct software position, but this is more costly to implement and is a very rare feature on DJ controllers (Stanton SCS.1D has a motorised pitch slider.)
Posted Mon 30 Sep 13 @ 11:06 am
burnyabad
Very good explanation! OK, so if I normalize all of my music, will it then react properly to gain adjustments from song to song, like say, my other controllers, or will I still be fighitng every single song's volume level. I mean, wow,,, the ddj-sx is a great controller, but DAMN a vms4.1 at 1/3rd the cost can do a better job with virtual dj just straight out of the box.
Posted Mon 30 Sep 13 @ 1:09 pm
Support staff
Providing that you set Auto Gain to Disabled in CONFIG -> Options then VirtualDJ won't change the gain at all. It will stay where you set it, so there shouldn't be any need for soft-takeover. If you have normalised the songs using external software such as MP3Gain and also removed any previous analysis information from the database (So it re-analyses the songs again with their new externally adjusted gain) then most songs should play at the same/similar level and little (If any) adjustment should be needed anyway (Obviously this won't always be the case because some songs are intentionally and naturally 'louder' than others, e.g: Heavy metal or rave vs soft pop song or background music.)
The reason the VMS4.1 appears to do a 'better job' for you is because the gain adjustment is being applied in hardware itself. VirtualDJ is still normalising the tracks to what should in most cases be the optimal volume. If you then need to adjust it via the VMS4.1, then the increase or decrease that you make is made to the sound after it has left VirtualDJ. The software has no way of knowing that you made this adjustment and it will also be applied to the next song you load, which may be too much or too little, meaning that you have to adjust it again as appropriate each time you load another song.
The difference with a software MIDI mixer is the internal software mixer of VirtualDJ is being used to apply the gain before the sound leaves VirtualDJ. Part of the idea and benefit of using DJ software is to avoid having to perform mundane tasks such as adjusting gain, setting cue points, etc. every time you load a track as you would do when using traditional hardware such as CD's. This leaves you more time to concentrate on your music selection (The most important aspect of DJ'ing in public), interacting with the crowd, applying special effects, live remixing with loops/hotcues, etc.
To be able to do this, it must store the gain, cue points and other settings for next use in the database. So, when loading each song, the software gain will move to the remembered (Optimal) position and you should never have to adjust it again for that particular song. This means that it also won't match the hardware position any more, so soft-takeover is used by default to avoid the sudden jump that would occur when you move the gain knob (Either by accident or on purpose.) Once you get used to the concept of soft-takeover, it should be just a simple matter of looking at the on-screen knob to move the hardware one to right position first before making any adjustment.
The reason the VMS4.1 appears to do a 'better job' for you is because the gain adjustment is being applied in hardware itself. VirtualDJ is still normalising the tracks to what should in most cases be the optimal volume. If you then need to adjust it via the VMS4.1, then the increase or decrease that you make is made to the sound after it has left VirtualDJ. The software has no way of knowing that you made this adjustment and it will also be applied to the next song you load, which may be too much or too little, meaning that you have to adjust it again as appropriate each time you load another song.
The difference with a software MIDI mixer is the internal software mixer of VirtualDJ is being used to apply the gain before the sound leaves VirtualDJ. Part of the idea and benefit of using DJ software is to avoid having to perform mundane tasks such as adjusting gain, setting cue points, etc. every time you load a track as you would do when using traditional hardware such as CD's. This leaves you more time to concentrate on your music selection (The most important aspect of DJ'ing in public), interacting with the crowd, applying special effects, live remixing with loops/hotcues, etc.
To be able to do this, it must store the gain, cue points and other settings for next use in the database. So, when loading each song, the software gain will move to the remembered (Optimal) position and you should never have to adjust it again for that particular song. This means that it also won't match the hardware position any more, so soft-takeover is used by default to avoid the sudden jump that would occur when you move the gain knob (Either by accident or on purpose.) Once you get used to the concept of soft-takeover, it should be just a simple matter of looking at the on-screen knob to move the hardware one to right position first before making any adjustment.
Posted Mon 30 Sep 13 @ 6:26 pm
burnyabad
Once you get used to the concept of soft-takeover, it should be just a simple matter of looking at the on-screen knob to move the hardware one to right position first before making any adjustment.
THERE is the EXACT problem I have, and HAVE HAD. the hardware knob will not adjust to the right position. The hardware knob REQUIRES me to turn it 180 degrees left, and then 180 degrees right, or until it passes the setting clockwise before the the setting changes. SO, you can see my dilemma, right?
IM at the club, song is playing, new song loads, it's to loud, so what happens? I have to turn mixer control knob GAIN, down to ZERO, then ALL the way too 100% before the GAIN changes. now, what happens... BOOOOOOOOOOOOM my song is at 100% volume for a split second before it goes to where I need it. OR vice versa, it has to drop to ZERO and then back before its where I want this.. THATS what software takeover has done to me with the ddj-sx, and no other mixer.
THERE is the EXACT problem I have, and HAVE HAD. the hardware knob will not adjust to the right position. The hardware knob REQUIRES me to turn it 180 degrees left, and then 180 degrees right, or until it passes the setting clockwise before the the setting changes. SO, you can see my dilemma, right?
IM at the club, song is playing, new song loads, it's to loud, so what happens? I have to turn mixer control knob GAIN, down to ZERO, then ALL the way too 100% before the GAIN changes. now, what happens... BOOOOOOOOOOOOM my song is at 100% volume for a split second before it goes to where I need it. OR vice versa, it has to drop to ZERO and then back before its where I want this.. THATS what software takeover has done to me with the ddj-sx, and no other mixer.
Posted Tue 01 Oct 13 @ 1:01 am
Support staff
Soft-takeover should always 'pick up' the slider as you pass over it's software position, so for example, if the GAIN knob as shown on VirtualDJ's screen is currently at 3 o'clock, but your hardware GAIN knob is as 12 o'clock, then to pick it up, you simply turn your hardware knob to 3 o'clock. Once the knob reaches 3 o'clock, it should 'pick up' the software slider as it passes over it and start adjusting the gain (Both software and hardware knobs will move in sync with each other.) If it doesn't pick up, then it may be that you moved the knob far too quickly, so that it skipped over the software position (Some MIDI controllers will not send every value in between when moving a knob very fast to avoid overloading the computer with too much data.)
However, with auto gain enabled, a song should never be initially playing out too loud. If this is occurring, then either you have not set your gain structure correctly (So the normalised level within VirtualDJ is far too loud) or you are loading new songs on a deck that you have never played before and playing them out loud before VirtualDJ has completed its analysis/normalisation and set the gain level correctly.
First of all, when loading a song that you have never played before, make sure that you allow it to load in full (Small waveform in the song overview bar is fully displayed) before playing it out loud. Otherwise, it may initially play out much louder or quieter than normal, and once analysis is complete, it will suddenly change in volume to the determined normalised level. Pre-analysing your music collection and/or externally normalising your music in advance helps avoid this issue: http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/Pre-Analysing%20Your%20Music%20Collection.html (If you externally normalise your music, do this first prior to loading and analysing it in VirtualDJ.)
Once the song has fully loaded on the deck, before playing and/or mixing it in, check its level using the VU meters. Make sure that the channel fader is down and/or crossfader is across to the other deck currently playing out loud. Press PLAY and look at the VU meter on your mixer (Like most mixers, the DDJ-SX has VU meters for each channel.) Make sure that red LED is not illuminating. If it is, then turn down the gain for the track slightly (On the DDJ-SX, you may of course need to move the knob to the correct position first to pick it up from soft-takeover. Because the song is not playing out live yet, you should have plenty of time to do this.) Preferably, you should adjust the song so that the VU meter is lighting to a similar level to the other deck that's currently playing out live. Then when you mix in the song, it should play out at a similar level to the previous one.
If you are at a gig before the public have arrived, then playing a pink noise signal to set the optimal level may also be a good idea. Download a pink noise test signal file (Search Google to find one.) Load it on a deck and allow it to load in full. Pre-listen to it in your headphones and adjust the gain if necessary so the red LED on the mixer's VU meter is not illuminating. Turn down the master volume to 25%, press PLAY and then gradually bring the volume of the channel up to full. Now gradually bring the master volume up to the level that you intend to play out (This will make a loud hiss sound, so warn any staff, etc. in the building first.) If it's too loud, bring your master volume down a bit until it's at an acceptable level. A decibel meter can help you set it to a given acceptable level.
NOTE: For best results and sound quality, you should ideally keep VU meters in the green. This also includes VU meters on your amps, if they have them.
NOTE: If you find some songs don't load in full (Show the full overview waveform), then either this is because they are long songs that are over the Max Load setting or you are loading a variable rate (VBR) file, which may initially appear to VirtualDJ to be over this length (For VBR files, this can be avoided by pre-analysing them.)
However, with auto gain enabled, a song should never be initially playing out too loud. If this is occurring, then either you have not set your gain structure correctly (So the normalised level within VirtualDJ is far too loud) or you are loading new songs on a deck that you have never played before and playing them out loud before VirtualDJ has completed its analysis/normalisation and set the gain level correctly.
First of all, when loading a song that you have never played before, make sure that you allow it to load in full (Small waveform in the song overview bar is fully displayed) before playing it out loud. Otherwise, it may initially play out much louder or quieter than normal, and once analysis is complete, it will suddenly change in volume to the determined normalised level. Pre-analysing your music collection and/or externally normalising your music in advance helps avoid this issue: http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/Pre-Analysing%20Your%20Music%20Collection.html (If you externally normalise your music, do this first prior to loading and analysing it in VirtualDJ.)
Once the song has fully loaded on the deck, before playing and/or mixing it in, check its level using the VU meters. Make sure that the channel fader is down and/or crossfader is across to the other deck currently playing out loud. Press PLAY and look at the VU meter on your mixer (Like most mixers, the DDJ-SX has VU meters for each channel.) Make sure that red LED is not illuminating. If it is, then turn down the gain for the track slightly (On the DDJ-SX, you may of course need to move the knob to the correct position first to pick it up from soft-takeover. Because the song is not playing out live yet, you should have plenty of time to do this.) Preferably, you should adjust the song so that the VU meter is lighting to a similar level to the other deck that's currently playing out live. Then when you mix in the song, it should play out at a similar level to the previous one.
If you are at a gig before the public have arrived, then playing a pink noise signal to set the optimal level may also be a good idea. Download a pink noise test signal file (Search Google to find one.) Load it on a deck and allow it to load in full. Pre-listen to it in your headphones and adjust the gain if necessary so the red LED on the mixer's VU meter is not illuminating. Turn down the master volume to 25%, press PLAY and then gradually bring the volume of the channel up to full. Now gradually bring the master volume up to the level that you intend to play out (This will make a loud hiss sound, so warn any staff, etc. in the building first.) If it's too loud, bring your master volume down a bit until it's at an acceptable level. A decibel meter can help you set it to a given acceptable level.
NOTE: For best results and sound quality, you should ideally keep VU meters in the green. This also includes VU meters on your amps, if they have them.
NOTE: If you find some songs don't load in full (Show the full overview waveform), then either this is because they are long songs that are over the Max Load setting or you are loading a variable rate (VBR) file, which may initially appear to VirtualDJ to be over this length (For VBR files, this can be avoided by pre-analysing them.)
Posted Tue 01 Oct 13 @ 5:24 am
burnyabad
This is why I recomment virtual dj over all other software. I could just as easily switched back to serato dj and been done with it, but instead, trying to get vdj to work with this pioneer, I've been helped constantly by VDJ staff. I will always recommend this software, ALWAYS.
Posted Tue 01 Oct 13 @ 9:49 am
homeworld
Alright, not to seem to be a noob and not that I haven't tried to to this on my own for days now, BUT...
I have my new DDJ-SX and I need a little instruction. I have used time code cd's and vinyl now for a while and completely know how to set it up. That being said, I can't seem to get this mixer to do audio IN to use time code. Is it even possible with this unit? Every time I try to set the inputs to "2 time codes" when I hit apply it gives me "not enough ASIO channels" message.
I was reading a previous post and you guys were discussing "4 in - 6 out" and and other terms but I can't relate this positively to the settings page. I know what the terms mean in the studio world but see no such settings in the config. I know it probably has to do with the choices in the audio menus. AND if I use the advanced mode it won't let me choose the input channels that are logical.
Otherwise I am getting things to function normally without time code. All 4 decks work as expected, buttons on the unit do what the mappers have told them to do, etc.
Please walk me through this OR give me the bad news that is unit won't do it on it's own. Then, at least I WILL know what to do next...
Thanks in advance.
Posted Mon 07 Oct 13 @ 1:11 pm
burnyabad
this has been discussed in multiple threads on the serato forums as well. I do not think it is possible to run time coded cd's with this unit.
Posted Tue 08 Oct 13 @ 12:54 pm
homeworld
OK then, I know what to do. All you need is a usb sound card (old SL-1 laying around?) to give you 2X2 inputs and viola!
Posted Tue 08 Oct 13 @ 4:58 pm
NrgPlyr
hey guess I'm having a audio problem with my DDJ SX.I'm using Virtual DJ 8 and sometimes when I load a track on the opposite side, it seems like either the software or device has a hard time loading it and i get freezing and audio stuttering. Anybody have any ideas how to remedy this?? I increased the midi clock of the device up to like 8ms but still am having the issue. Any help?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Posted Sat 06 Sep 14 @ 9:54 am
groovindj
What's the spec of your computer?
Posted Sat 06 Sep 14 @ 10:21 am
NrgPlyr
Quad core I7
8gb Ram
Win 7
Always have a clean boot and I havent had any audio loading issues with Virtual 7. It just seems like the tracks take awhile to load and can stutter the already playing audio. Not all the time. Very strange. Is it the midi clock nonsense or something else??
8gb Ram
Win 7
Always have a clean boot and I havent had any audio loading issues with Virtual 7. It just seems like the tracks take awhile to load and can stutter the already playing audio. Not all the time. Very strange. Is it the midi clock nonsense or something else??
Posted Mon 08 Sep 14 @ 9:52 pm