Hercules VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition User Manual
VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition
CONTENTS
1) INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 3
2) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS .................................................................... 3
a) PC ...................................................................................................... 3
b) Mac .................................................................................................... 3
3) VIRTUALDJ 5 DJC EDITION OVERVIEW .............................................. 4
a) Browser area ..................................................................................... 5
b) Deck A ............................................................................................... 5
c) Mixer .................................................................................................. 6
d) Deck B ............................................................................................... 7
e) Waveform area .................................................................................. 8
4) THE FIRST TIME YOU USE VIRTUALDJ 5 DJC .................................... 9
a) Serial number .................................................................................... 9
b) Browser area ..................................................................................... 9
i) Folder browser ......................................................................... 9
ii) File browser .............................................................................. 9
c) BPM (Beats Per Minute) rate of your music files ............................. 10
i) Analyze the BPM rate of your music files ............................... 10
ii) Run the BPM analysis in advance, not during a party ............ 10
iii) BPM rate display .................................................................... 11
d) Information on music tracks ............................................................. 11
i) Customizing the tag display ................................................... 12
ii) Ordering ................................................................................. 12
iii) Searching ............................................................................... 12
e) Playlist = Virtual folder ..................................................................... 13
5) PLAYING AUDIO FILES ....................................................................... 14
a) Loading and playing an audio file .................................................... 14
b) Supported audio formats ................................................................. 14
i) File extensions ....................................................................... 14
ii) DRM-protected files ............................................................... 15
iii) If you encounter an issue with an audio format ...................... 15
iv) Video files............................................................................... 15
c) Previewing music files ..................................................................... 15
i) Target ..................................................................................... 15
ii) Steps ...................................................................................... 16
d) Moving within a music track ............................................................. 17
e) Setting a Cue point .......................................................................... 18
i) Placing a Cue point ................................................................ 18
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ii) Changing a Cue point position ............................................... 18
iii) Going to a Cue point .............................................................. 18
iv) Deleting a Cue point ............................................................... 18
6) BEAT MATCHING MUSIC FILES ......................................................... 19
a) Sync button ...................................................................................... 20
b) Pitch fader (and Master Tempo) ...................................................... 20
i) Master Tempo ........................................................................ 20
ii) Pitch scale .............................................................................. 21
iii) Centre detent ......................................................................... 21
iv) Action of the pitch fader in VirtualDJ ...................................... 21
c) Pitch Bend buttons (Pitch Bend - and Pitch Bend +) ........................ 22
i) Using the Pitch Bend function ................................................ 22
ii) Mapping the Pitch Bend function ............................................ 22
iii) Viewing the action of Pitch Bend in VirtualDJ ......................... 23
d) Jog wheels ....................................................................................... 24
7) LOOPS, EFFECTS AND SAMPLES ..................................................... 25
a) Loops ............................................................................................... 25
i) Definition ................................................................................ 25
ii) Mapping the Loop function ..................................................... 26
iii) Procedure ............................................................................... 27
iv) Tips ........................................................................................ 27
b) Sampler ........................................................................................... 28
i) Function ................................................................................. 28
ii) Procedure ............................................................................... 28
iii) Key mapping .......................................................................... 28
iv) Tips ........................................................................................ 29
c) Backspin .......................................................................................... 30
d) Overloop .......................................................................................... 30
e) Beatgrid ........................................................................................... 30
f) Brake ............................................................................................... 31
g) Flanger ............................................................................................. 32
h) Flipping double ................................................................................ 32
i) Mic Flanger ...................................................................................... 32
j) Mic Chorus ....................................................................................... 33
k) Mic Reverb ....................................................................................... 33
l) Mic Voice Pitch ................................................................................ 33
m) Scratching ........................................................................................ 34
i) Scratch mode ......................................................................... 34
ii) Action ..................................................................................... 34
iii) Tips ........................................................................................ 34
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VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition
1) Introduction
VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition is a dedicated version of VirtualDJ, developed by
Atomix Production, tailored for the Hercules DJ controllers series. Atomix
Productions and its suppliers retain all intellectual property rights with respect to
the software.
Welcome to VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition
This powerful DJ mixing software has been specifically adapted to function with
your Hercules DJ controller, offering instant access to key DJing functions and
deep integration of the software with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OS
environments.
This dedicated version of VirtualDJ 5 requires your Hercules DJ controller to be
installed and connected to your computer's USB port (or to a hub connected to
the computer's USB port); therefore, before running the VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition
software, your Hercules DJ controller must be installed and connected to your
computer's USB port.
In Windows XP or Vista: if you see the Hercules DJ Console Series icon in the
taskbar with no red cross, your DJ controller is connected and detected,
If the DJ Console Rmx icon is in your taskbar with a red cross, your DJ
controller is not detected on any of your PC's USB ports, and you will not be
able to run VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition until the red cross has disappeared.
2) System requirements
a) PC
Desktop/laptop PC with Intel Pentium III/Athlon 1GHz or higher
512MB RAM
Operating system: Microsoft Windows® XP or Windows® Vista® 32-bit
USB powered port (or USB hub): USB 1.1 or USB 2.0
Hercules DJ controller
Headphones or amplified stereo speakers
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
16-bit, 1024x768 video resolution
Microphone, Internet connection + 100MB free hard disk space
b) Mac
Desktop/laptop Mac with G4/G5 1.5GHz or Intel® Core™ Duo 1.66GHz or
higher
512MB RAM
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VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition
Operating system: Mac OS® 10.4 (Tiger) or Mac OS® 10.5 (Leopard)
USB bus powered port (or USB hub) (the USB port on Mac keyboards is
not powered)
Hercules DJ controller
Headphones or amplified stereo speakers
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
16-bit, 1280x800 video resolution
Microphone, Internet connection + 100MB free hard disk space
3) VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition overview
The VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition software interface can be split into 5 areas:
z Browser area
z Deck A
z Mixer
z Deck B
z Waveform
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a) Browser area
In this area, you can browse through your computer or network drives to select
the audio files you will load and mix on both decks. The browser area consists
of two sub-sections:
z the folder browser on the left, where you can select a folder, disk or
playlist,
z the file browser on the right, where you can select the music track you
want to load.
b) Deck A
Deck A is the virtual deck on the left: you can load music files on this deck,
move within tracks, play music files, add a bookmark to a song position (called a
Cue point), change the pitch (the playback speed), or apply effects to the track
loaded on Deck A.
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c) Mixer
The virtual mixer area, in the center, lets you set the volumes, the cross fader,
add gain and change the equalization for Deck A and Deck B. It also includes a
view meter in the center where you can see the volume on each deck and the
CPU usage. It also includes BPM counters on top of each gain button, as well
as a timer for each deck.
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d) Deck B
Deck B is the virtual deck on the right: you can load music files on this deck,
move within tracks, play music files, add a bookmark to a song position (called a
Cue point), change the pitch (the playback speed), or apply effects to the track
loaded on Deck B.
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e) Waveform area
This area displays 2 waveforms (1 in red and 1 in blue) for the 2 audio tracks
loaded on Decks A and B: the Deck A music track is in blue, while the Deck B
track is in red.
You can choose the resolution of the waveform area by selecting preset display
modes 1, 2 or 3 to the right of the waveform.
Preset 1 = Zoom In
Preset 2 = Standard display
Preset 3 = Zoom Out
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4) The first time you use VirtualDJ 5 DJC
a) Serial number
The first time you run VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition, you are asked to enter a serial
number.
This serial number is found on the paper envelope of your installation CD-ROM:
this serial number belongs to you, you cannot change it, and you must not share
it with any other user of VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition, otherwise you won't be able to
register on the VirtualDJ website which will prevent you from accessing
VirtualDJ service updates, plug-ins, or upgrades. Keep the CD envelope and
installation CD-ROM in a safe place, since both the installation CD and the
serial number are required if you re-install the software on your system, or
change your computer.
b) Browser area
When you run VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition for the first time, the browser area
displays no music files.
i) Folder browser
On the left of the browser area, you can see the list of folders: the active folder
has a blue background. You can move within the folder area to access the
directories where you store your music files by:
- pushing the buttons labeled Up or Down to change the active folder,
- expanding the active level by pushing the Load Deck A button.
ii) File browser
Once you have found the directory where you store your music files, you can
move from the folder browser to the music file browser by pushing the Right
button. You can then move within the file browser:
- by pushing the Up or Down buttons (to move line by line),
- by keeping one of the Up or Down buttons pressed down while turning the
jog wheel.
Once you reach the file you want to load on one of your virtual decks, press the
Hercules DJ controller Load Deck A button to load the file on the left deck, or
press the Load Deck B button to load the file on the right deck.
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c) BPM (Beats Per Minute) rate of your music files
The BPM rate is the number of beats per minute in the music, which indicates
how fast the music is:
- a BPM rate below 85 is slow,
- a BPM rate over 130 is fast.
i) Analyze the BPM rate of your music files
The first time you display your list of music files in the software, the Beats Per
Minute rate is not calculated: we recommend that you analyze all of the music
files you intend to mix in advance, so that you can then view the BPM (Beats
Per Minute) rate in the browsing area, allowing you to load only music tracks
matching the BPM rate you need.
To analyze music files in a directory, select the music file(s) in the music list and
right-click them with your mouse (or, on Mac with no right-click button, using Ctrl
+ click): the analysis menu lets you select the BPM analysis mode, either for
Techno/House or for other music files, and run the BPM analysis.
ii) Run the BPM analysis in advance, not during a party
BPM analysis takes time (1 hour for 120 music files), so starting the BPM
analysis of your complete library just before a party is a very bad idea. You
should do it beforehand: it's easy, since you can analyze your entire hard drive
and you don't need to remain in front of your computer while VirtualDJ 5 DJC is
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analyzing the music files. Since BPM analysis takes a lot of processing time,
mixing while VirtualDJ 5 DJC is analyzing your full library is not recommend as
your computer will not respond as fast as it should.
The analysis is generally perfect but sometimes the BPM rate calculated is not
accurate: sometimes the BPM calculated is double or half of the actual BPM
rate (the BPM analyzer can count only 1 beat out of 2 in a track, or identifies an
intermediary sound inside a beat as the start of another beat). If your file is not
properly analyzed, you can correct it by manually entering the BPM rate.
If a music file is not analyzed, loading the file on a deck analyzes it, and you can
then read its BPM rate on the VirtualDJ skin, above the volume slider.
iii) BPM rate display
The BPM rate is displayed in 2 areas:
- in the file browser, if you have analyzed the files,
- in the mixer area, over the Gain button.
d) Information on music tracks
The text information inserted into each music file is called a "tag": your audio
files are generally tagged automatically when you import an audio CD via
iTunes or Windows Media Player, or when you buy MP3 files. The tag includes
(but is not limited to) the song name, artist name, composer name, album name,
music genre, the date on which the music was recorded, and the BPM.
Once you analyze a music file in VirtualDJ, its BPM rate is added inside the tag.
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