Hercules VirtualDJ DJC Mk4 User Manual

VirtualDJ DJC Mk4

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3

1) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS................................................................................................3

a) PC................................................................................................................................3

b) Mac ..............................................................................................................................3

2) VIRTUALDJ DJC MK4 OVERVIEW...................................................................................4

a) Browser area: folders area + files area........................................................................4

b) Deck A .........................................................................................................................5

c) Mixer ............................................................................................................................6

d) Deck B .........................................................................................................................8

e) Waveform area ............................................................................................................8

3) FIRST USE OF VIRTUALDJ DJC MK4..............................................................................9

a) Serial number ..............................................................................................................9

b) Browser area................................................................................................................9

i) Folders area...................................................................................................10

ii) File browser ...................................................................................................11

c) BPM (Beats Per Minute) rate of your music files .......................................................11

i) Analyze your music files’ BPM rates..............................................................12

ii) Run the BPM analysis in advance, not during a party! ..................................12

iii) BPM rate display............................................................................................13

d) Information about the music tracks............................................................................13

i) Customizing the tag display ...........................................................................13

ii) Sorting the music files....................................................................................14

iii) Searching.......................................................................................................14

4) PLAYING AN AUDIO FILE...............................................................................................15

a) Loading and playing an audio file ..............................................................................15

b) Supported audio formats ...........................................................................................17

i) File extensions ...............................................................................................17

ii) DRM protected files .......................................................................................17

iii) Video files ......................................................................................................17

c) Previewing a track .....................................................................................................17

i) Target.............................................................................................................17

ii) Equipment......................................................................................................18

iii) Steps..............................................................................................................18

d) Moving within a music track.......................................................................................18

e) Setting a Cue point ....................................................................................................19

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i) Placing a Cue point .......................................................................................19

ii) Changing the position of the Cue point .........................................................20

iii) Going to the Cue point .................................................................................. 20

iv) Deleting a Cue point...................................................................................... 20

5) BEAT MATCHING MUSIC FILES....................................................................................20

a) Sync button on DJ Console Mk4 (= Beatmatch) ....................................................... 22

b) Pitch fader .................................................................................................................23

i) Pitch fader .....................................................................................................23

ii) Master Tempo = Keylock .............................................................................. 25

iii) Pitch scale ..................................................................................................... 25

iv) Action of the pitch fader in VirtualDJ ............................................................. 26

c) Pitch Bend buttons (“Pitch Bend –” and “Pitch Bend +”)........................................... 28

i) Using Pitch Bend...........................................................................................28

ii) See the action of Pitch Bend in VirtualDJ ..................................................... 28

d) Jog Wheels................................................................................................................ 29

6) LOOPS AND EFFECTS................................................................................................... 30

a) Loops......................................................................................................................... 30

i) Definition........................................................................................................ 30

ii) Loop sizes .....................................................................................................30

iii) Procedure...................................................................................................... 31

iv) In VirtualDJ DJC Mk4....................................................................................31

b) Effects .......................................................................................................................32

i) Flanger ..........................................................................................................33

ii) Beatgrid .........................................................................................................34

iii) Flippin Double ............................................................................................... 34

iv) Overloop........................................................................................................ 35

7) SCRATCH, SAMPLER..................................................................................................... 35

a) Scratch ...................................................................................................................... 35

i) Scratch mode ................................................................................................35

ii) Action............................................................................................................. 36

iii) Jog wheel accuracy.......................................................................................36

b) Sampler..................................................................................................................... 36

i) Function......................................................................................................... 36

ii) Procedure...................................................................................................... 36

iii) Commands on each sample.......................................................................... 37

VirtualDJ DJC Mk4

INTRODUCTION

VirtualDJ DJC Mk4 is a dedicated version of VirtualDJ, developed by
Atomix Productions, tailored for Hercules DJ Console Mk4. Atomix
Productions and its suppliers retain all intellectual property rights to the
software.

Welcome to VirtualDJ DJC Mk4

This powerful DJ mixing software is adapted to your Hercules DJ Console
Mk4, offering instant access to key DJing functions and deep integration of
the software with the hardware in the Windows XP®, Windows Vista®,
Windows 7™ and Mac OS® environments.

This dedicated version of VirtualDJ requires Hercules DJ Console Mk4 to
be installed and connected to the computer’s USB port (or to a hub
connected to the computer’s USB port); so, before running VirtualDJ DJC
Mk4, Hercules DJ Console Mk4 must be installed and connected to your
computer’s USB port (or connected to the computer via a USB hub).
In Windows XP, Vista and 7: if you see the Hercules DJ Console Series
icon in your taskbar with no red cross, then DJ Console Mk4 is connected
and detected.
If you see the DJ Console Mk4 icon in your taskbar with a red cross, your
DJ Console Mk4 is not properly detected on any of your PC’s USB ports,
so running VirtualDJ DJC Mk4 Edition is not possible as long as the red
cross has not disappeared.

1) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

a) PC

 Desktop/laptop PC with 1.5GHz processor or higher
 1GB RAM
 Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP®, Vista® or 7™
 USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 powered USB port (or USB hub)
 Hercules DJ Console Mk4
 Headphones or amplified stereo speakers
 CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
 1024x600 video resolution or higher, 16-bit
 Microphone, Internet connection + 100MB free hard disk space

b) Mac

 Desktop/laptop Mac with Intel 1.5GHz processor or higher
 1GB RAM
 Operating system: Mac OS® 10.5 (Leopard) and 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
 USB bus-powered port (or USB hub) (NB: the USB port on Mac

keyboards is not powered)

 Hercules DJ Console Mk4
 Headphones or amplified stereo speakers

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 CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
 16-bit, 1024x768 video resolution
 Microphone, Internet connection + 100MB free hard disk space

2) VIRTUALDJ DJC MK4 OVERVIEW

The VirtualDJ DJC Mk4 interface can be split into 5 areas:

 Waveform
 Deck A
 Mixer
 Deck B
 Browser area: folders + files areas

a) Browser area: folders area + files area

In this area, you can browse through your computer or network drive to
select the audio files you will load onto a deck and mix with. The browser
area consists of 2 subsections:
 the folders browser on the left: use this area to select a folder, a disk
or remote access location,
 the files browser on the right: use this area to select the music track
you want to load on each deck of the player.

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b) Deck A

This is the virtual deck on the left. You can:

 load music files on this deck,
 move within the track,
 play the music file loaded on this deck,
 add a bookmark to a position (called a Cue point),
 change the pitch (the playback speed),
 view the BPM, pitch variation, elapsed and remaining time.

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01 Music tag: Artist name on top – Song name on second line
02 Pitch slider: down = speed up / up = slow down
03 Virtual vinyl record: scratch on the virtual record with your mouse /

drag and drop music onto the virtual record with your mouse

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04 Pitch bend adjustment buttons: Pitch bend left = slower, and

Pitch bend right
05 Time counter: elapsed time / remaining time
06 Wave form overview (vertical bar = cue point)
07 BPM counter (129.21 = 129.21 Beats Per Minute)
08 Pitch scale (click on it to change pitch scale)
09 Cue button = lets you set the cue point position 1, or return to the last

selected cue point
10 Effects: click on the name to enable the function, and click on the

arrow pointing downwards to select different effects
11 Pause and Play
12 Sync = synchronize the deck with the other deck
13 Loop In / Loop Out = enter loop mode
14 Smart Loop mode: when this mode is enabled (orange lock icon),

clicking the Loop Out button creates a continuous loop based on the

selected loop size (above the Loop Out button)
15 Sampler: control for audio samples
16 Hot Cue: set additional Cue Points
17 Smart Play mode: synchronize playback with the music on the other

deck

= faster

c) Mixer

The virtual mixer area, in the centre, lets you set:

 the volumes of both decks,
 the equalization (EQ) of both decks,
 the cross fader,
 the gain on each deck,
 which deck you are previewing.

It also includes 3 buttons: Mixer, Video and Scratch, to bring up 3
dedicated menus.

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01 PFL = Preview Deck A. Click the PFL button: it turns blue, so you

preview deck A, and in the waveform display, the deck A wave (in
blue) comes to the foreground, while the deck B wave (in red) goes

to the background
02 Gain for deck A: rotary knob setting the gain on deck A
03 Volume fader for deck A: up = louder / down = lower
04 Level VU-meter for deck A
05 EQ on deck A: 3 rotary knobs to independently set the level of bass,

medium and treble on deck A
06 Key: sets the tone on deck A
07 Level VU-meter for deck B
08 PFL = Preview Deck B. Click the PFL button: it turns red, so you

preview deck B, and in the waveform display, the deck B wave (in

red) comes to the foreground, while the deck A wave (in blue) goes

to the background
09 Gain for deck B: rotary knob setting the gain on deck B
10 Volume fader for deck B: up = louder / down = lower
11 Mixer: displays the mixer menu (default)
12 EQ on deck B: 3 rotary knobs to independently set the level of bass,

medium and treble on deck B
13 Key: sets the tone on deck B
14 Cross fader
15 Video: displays the video mixer (mix video in a small window)
16 Scratch: displays a scratch mixer, with vertical waveforms.

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d) Deck B

This is the virtual deck on the right. You can:

 load music files on this deck,
 move within the track,
 play the music file loaded on this deck,
 add a bookmark to a position (called a Cue point),
 change the pitch (the playback speed),
 view the BPM, pitch variation, elapsed and remaining time.

e) Waveform area

This area shows 2 waveforms:

- the waveform for deck A (left deck) in blue,

- the waveform for deck B (right deck) in red.
The music track you hear on your headphones has its waveform in the
foreground, while the music track on the other deck is in the background.

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01 Waveforms of 2 audio tracks

- blue waveform = track on deck A

- red waveform = track on deck B

- blue is in the foreground = you are previewing deck A
02 Beat marks: the blue rectangle shows the beat of deck A, and the

red rectangle shows the beat of deck B

03 Red Cue 1: bookmark on the track played on deck B

3) FIRST USE OF VIRTUALDJ DJC MK4

a) Serial number

The first time you run VirtualDJ DJC Mk4, you are asked to enter a serial
number.
This serial number is found on the paper envelope of your installation CD.
This serial number belongs to you: you cannot change it, and you must
not share it with any other user of VirtualDJ DJC Mk4; otherwise, you
won't be able to register on the VirtualDJ website, which will not let you
access VirtualDJ service updates, plug-ins, or upgrades. Keep both the
CD envelope and the installation CD in a safe place, since both the serial
number and the installation CD are required if you re-install your system,
or change your computer. The serial number format is xxxx-xxxx-xxxxx/.

b) Browser area

When you run VirtualDJ DJC Mk4 for the first time, the browser area
displays no music files.

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i) Folders area

On the left of the browser area, you can see the list of the folders and disk
units on your computer: the active folder is highlighted.
You know you are in the folders area because the folder button in the
centre of the DJ Console Mk4 is backlit.

Go to the folders area by pushing the button with a folder symbol .
Move within the folders area to reach the folders you want by:

- pushing the DJ Console Mk4’s buttons with Up and Down arrows to
change the active folder,

- expanding the active level by pushing the Folder button.

01 Active folder (virtual or real), highlighted
02 Other folders, not highlighted
03 Graphic slider to move through the list
04 Lock/unlock, to lock the Files area (if the lock is open, the folder

area can expand and hide the files area).
05 Add Virtual Folder button:
You can create a Virtual Folder (which is a playlist) by clicking the

button with a + and a red folder symbol

the folders area.

, on the top right of

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ii) File browser

Once you have reached the directory where your music files are stored:

- you can leave the folders area to reach the files area by pushing the
DJ Console Mk4’s button labeled Files,

- you can move through the file browser by pushing the buttons with up
or down arrows (to move to the previous or next line),

- to move faster through the music list, keep the Up or Down button
pressed and turn the DJ Console Mk4’s jog wheel for the deck you want to
preview: this lets you move through the list more quickly.
Once you reach the file you want to load on your virtual deck, press the
Hercules DJ Console Mk4’s button labeled Load A to load the file on the
left deck, or press the Hercules DJ Console Mk4’s button labeled Load B
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
reflects how fast the music is:

- a BPM rate below 85 is slow,

- a BPM rate over 130 is fast.

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i) Analyze your music files’ BPM rates

The first time you display your list of music files in a DJ software
application, the Beats Per Minute rate is not calculated: we strongly
recommend that you analyze all of the music files you intend to mix with in
advance, so that you can then read the BPM (Beats Per Minute) rate in
the browsing area, to load only music tracks matching the BPM rate you
need.

To analyze the music files in a directory:

- select the music file(s) in the music list and right-click with your mouse
(or on Mac with no right-click on the mouse, use Ctrl + mouse click): a
pop-up menu lets you select the action Scan for BPMs to analyze the
music files.

ii) Run the BPM analysis in advance, not during a party!

he BPM analysis takes time (1 hour for 120 music files), so starting the

T
BPM analysis of your complete library just before a party is a very bad
idea. You should therefore carry out the analysis in advance: it’s easy, as
you can analyze your complete hard drive and you don't need to remain in
front of your computer while VirtualDJ DJC Mk4 is analyzing the music
files. Please note that the BPM analysis requires a lot of processing
power, so mixing while VirtualDJ DJC Mk4 is analyzing your full library is
not recommended, since your computer will not respond as fast as it
should.

The analysis is generally accurate, but occasionally the BPM rate
calculated is not correct: sometimes the BPM calculated is double or half
of the actual BPM rate (the BPM analyzer may count only 1 beat out of 2
in a track, or identify an intermediary sound within a beat as the start of

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