djmoonie
Hi there,
I'm a professional DJ currently using CDJ's to do live mixing in my sets. I have 1 denon DNS5000, and another DNS3500. I'm currently looking at various bits of DJ software, and virtualDJ so far, seems to have alot of what I need. Using the demo version, I've found that it doesn't do a bad job in beatmatching alot of my tunes, although some need a helping hand ;)
After some scrabbling around, I managed to hook up with another DJ who has the pro version and some time coded cd's. So, I decided to bring my denon decks down and see how good it would be, by controlling it via my CDJs. And this is where the problems started. The software would recognise when I started and stopped songs via the timecoded input, but it ignored any pitch changes or scratching. It pretty much could only cope with start and stop, and even then, after some scratching, it seemed to get hopelessly out of sync (stopping seconds after the CD had stopped).
Sound card used was a sound blaster 24 bit live (external USB), into a laptop, with only 1 time coded input active.
Help!
I'm a professional DJ currently using CDJ's to do live mixing in my sets. I have 1 denon DNS5000, and another DNS3500. I'm currently looking at various bits of DJ software, and virtualDJ so far, seems to have alot of what I need. Using the demo version, I've found that it doesn't do a bad job in beatmatching alot of my tunes, although some need a helping hand ;)
After some scrabbling around, I managed to hook up with another DJ who has the pro version and some time coded cd's. So, I decided to bring my denon decks down and see how good it would be, by controlling it via my CDJs. And this is where the problems started. The software would recognise when I started and stopped songs via the timecoded input, but it ignored any pitch changes or scratching. It pretty much could only cope with start and stop, and even then, after some scratching, it seemed to get hopelessly out of sync (stopping seconds after the CD had stopped).
Sound card used was a sound blaster 24 bit live (external USB), into a laptop, with only 1 time coded input active.
Help!
Posté Mon 20 Nov 06 @ 12:39 pm
sbangs
different cd players have different sound levels
if they are not ideal the proformance drops
you need to alter these levels using
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ - tis free
you need to burn one time code cd at
12db
9db
6db
4db
so 4 in total
and use the one which has the best proformance
as you have two different models you will need to repeat this process on both
aslo
lower your proformance tab
if you like the program please buy it :)
if they are not ideal the proformance drops
you need to alter these levels using
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ - tis free
you need to burn one time code cd at
12db
9db
6db
4db
so 4 in total
and use the one which has the best proformance
as you have two different models you will need to repeat this process on both
aslo
lower your proformance tab
if you like the program please buy it :)
Posté Mon 20 Nov 06 @ 2:31 pm
djmoonie
Thats for that, I've now managed to have a play on VDJ with time codes working very well indeed. The only problem I can see is that if I adjust the pitch of the time coded cd by changing the pitch on the CDJ, the mp3 track changes pitch as well, even if you have keylock enabled. This only happens when using timecoded cd's and not when you play mp3's directly from the hard drive without timecoded control. Is this a known bug ? I have tried setting the key lock and anything else I can think of.
If I can get this cracked, then VDJ will have another paying customer!
Thankyou.
If I can get this cracked, then VDJ will have another paying customer!
Thankyou.
Posté Tue 21 Nov 06 @ 4:01 pm
Niems
I think you might have your Timecode settings set to absolute.
Absolute means that the song will act as much as the CDJ as possible, uncluding pitch.
Try setting timecode to relative under 'timecode config' in settings.
Absolute means that the song will act as much as the CDJ as possible, uncluding pitch.
Try setting timecode to relative under 'timecode config' in settings.
Posté Tue 21 Nov 06 @ 4:23 pm
sbangs
that should do it ;)
Posté Tue 21 Nov 06 @ 4:35 pm
djmoonie
But thats what I want, absolute mode, because I can then use the CDJ to cue up, set loops etc, right from the deck.
If I set up relative mode and loop something using the loop function on the CDJ, what will happen ?
Interestingly enough, my CDJ's have a 'keylock' function which if I use, almost cures the problem from the CDJ end, but it makes the time coded signal jumpy, even though the pitch remains the same ;)
If I set up relative mode and loop something using the loop function on the CDJ, what will happen ?
Interestingly enough, my CDJ's have a 'keylock' function which if I use, almost cures the problem from the CDJ end, but it makes the time coded signal jumpy, even though the pitch remains the same ;)
Posté Tue 21 Nov 06 @ 8:58 pm
djmoonie
Ok, I've had a play with relative mode as well, and it does do what I want! (hurrah)... that is, adjust the pitch of the timecoded mp3 but keep the key locked. however....
If I change the speed of the time coded CD by adjusting the pitch on the deck, the effect on playout is virtually immediate, which is great, almost NO latency at all. HOWEVER, if I have relative mode set and I alter the pitch, the song speeds up, or slows down instantly, and the key stays constant, but there is a wierd half a second when it seems to lose the key lock and either sounds too high or low pitched, then it settled down again.
At first I thought it was something to do with latency or buffering, but I don't think it can be the case. Say I have a timecoded CD playing and I immediately whack the pitch up to +100%. The mp3 playing IMMEDIATELY follows suit, but for about half a second, it sounds like pinky and perky before the key returns to normal.
CPU lag ?
Thoughts.
If I change the speed of the time coded CD by adjusting the pitch on the deck, the effect on playout is virtually immediate, which is great, almost NO latency at all. HOWEVER, if I have relative mode set and I alter the pitch, the song speeds up, or slows down instantly, and the key stays constant, but there is a wierd half a second when it seems to lose the key lock and either sounds too high or low pitched, then it settled down again.
At first I thought it was something to do with latency or buffering, but I don't think it can be the case. Say I have a timecoded CD playing and I immediately whack the pitch up to +100%. The mp3 playing IMMEDIATELY follows suit, but for about half a second, it sounds like pinky and perky before the key returns to normal.
CPU lag ?
Thoughts.
Posté Wed 22 Nov 06 @ 10:20 am
sbangs
lower your proformance tab if you havent already
this will reduce any cpu strain
Posté Wed 22 Nov 06 @ 11:38 am
sbangs
and try some of the tips in here
http://www.virtualdj.com/blog/skyfxl/blog3706.html
:)
http://www.virtualdj.com/blog/skyfxl/blog3706.html
:)
Posté Wed 22 Nov 06 @ 11:39 am
Niems
Indeed. However, if you are club mixing, you would usually change the pitch before you start playing the deck, so in fact, no one would hear it cause the volume would either be right down or the deck will be stopped. Im not sure why you would want to whack the pitch around while its playing though.
Keep in mind that keylock will only work effectively up to + or - 33%. Otherwise things get a bit to strenous on the CPU. Im sure if you had to buffer more and sacrifice some latency, then the changing timecode signal could work slightly ahead of the sound coming out your master
Keep in mind that keylock will only work effectively up to + or - 33%. Otherwise things get a bit to strenous on the CPU. Im sure if you had to buffer more and sacrifice some latency, then the changing timecode signal could work slightly ahead of the sound coming out your master
Posté Wed 22 Nov 06 @ 11:44 am
mainedj
I have a friend who rides the pitch constantly on his Serato>even though I don', unless I don't have any time left.
Posté Wed 22 Nov 06 @ 12:24 pm
mainedj
Any idea what decibel works best for the Pioneer CDJ1000 mk2?
12db
9db
6db
4db
?
12db
9db
6db
4db
?
Posté Wed 22 Nov 06 @ 12:56 pm
sbangs
only way to be sure is to test them all sorry
Posté Wed 22 Nov 06 @ 1:02 pm
djzare
I have been using "normal" TCCD`s with - Pioneer 1000, 100
- Denon 1000
- Numark CDN36
never any problems, the input on my Maya44 is always set to min. Switching between vinyl / cd option & mode(smart, apsolute,...) can make a difference_ depending what player it is. But I'm usually satisfied with vinyl & smart mode.
Hope that helps.
- Denon 1000
- Numark CDN36
never any problems, the input on my Maya44 is always set to min. Switching between vinyl / cd option & mode(smart, apsolute,...) can make a difference_ depending what player it is. But I'm usually satisfied with vinyl & smart mode.
Hope that helps.
Posté Wed 22 Nov 06 @ 1:46 pm
sbangs
thats good :)
Posté Wed 22 Nov 06 @ 2:59 pm
djmoonie
Well,
after alot of playing around and monitoring the laptop, I can't see any reason for the delay between the pitch increase, and the key lock kicking in. The cpu is lolling around at 8-14% regardless of what I do in VDJ.
If I ride the pitch WITHOUT timecoded inputs, the software holds the key perfectly if keylock is enabled, this slight lag is only caused if I alter the pitch via a CDJ and a timecoded CD. There has to be some latency somewhere that's causing this, which I suspect is in the output side somewhere.
Altering the pitch on a live track can be useful to nudge it back into line, or to bring one deck's track within the magic +/-4% pitch range of the other deck. With key lock, you can do this seamlessly, howewver, not so with VDJ at the moment. This does put a serious spanner in the works... hmmm
after alot of playing around and monitoring the laptop, I can't see any reason for the delay between the pitch increase, and the key lock kicking in. The cpu is lolling around at 8-14% regardless of what I do in VDJ.
If I ride the pitch WITHOUT timecoded inputs, the software holds the key perfectly if keylock is enabled, this slight lag is only caused if I alter the pitch via a CDJ and a timecoded CD. There has to be some latency somewhere that's causing this, which I suspect is in the output side somewhere.
Altering the pitch on a live track can be useful to nudge it back into line, or to bring one deck's track within the magic +/-4% pitch range of the other deck. With key lock, you can do this seamlessly, howewver, not so with VDJ at the moment. This does put a serious spanner in the works... hmmm
Posté Wed 22 Nov 06 @ 9:23 pm
ktilak
for those of you trying, be careful of your "decibel" levels... for instance, the hercules mk2 inputs are rated for -10 dbu while most tabletop pro cd players will output at like 4 or 6 dbV..
not the same unit of decibel measurement... i found a cool chart with good conversions- you can calculate how much to decrease your timecode levels depending on the output of your cd player and the input of your soundcard! Mine work like a charm nowww!!!
http://www.sencore.com/newsletter/Oct06/MeasDigAudLvls.htm
not the same unit of decibel measurement... i found a cool chart with good conversions- you can calculate how much to decrease your timecode levels depending on the output of your cd player and the input of your soundcard! Mine work like a charm nowww!!!
http://www.sencore.com/newsletter/Oct06/MeasDigAudLvls.htm
Posté Fri 24 Nov 06 @ 7:30 am