Mixers with built-in soundcards

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dunlopj

dunlopj

Mac Daddy DJ
Aug 14, 2008
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Belair MD
I was considering buying the American Audio 19MXR, but found that their mapping ways do not play well with RockIt (correct me if I'm wrong on this Rick).

Yes it does come with Virtual DJ LE mapped to that mixer and PCDJ Red Mobile 2 is also mapped to it, but both those programs are too feature-laden for my use and are hard to make the font size larger as I need that.

Are there any other mixers available with built-in sound cards?
 
I just bought a Rane MP-25 (should be here later this week). It has 5 stereo channels of USB audio in and 6 stereo channels out .. yes a bit excessive.

A lot depends on how much you want to spend and what you are looking for. Many of the low end boards have a single stereo channel, which means you would still need to fade on the computer. Ideally you would want as many ins as you have decks you use to properly cue from.

Do you want a simple mixer or are you looking for a mixer/controller? More choices in the Mixer/controller arena with built in soundcards.

One of my best buys was a Rane MP-4S mixer. Simple 1RU mixer with 2 USB audio channels and 2 additional stereo inputs (and 1 mic input). Works like a champ and is in my mini system. Unfortunately they don't make it anymore and there is no equivalent, but you can get one used on eBay (I picked mine up there).
 
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Jim,

If your DJ Software is not keeping up with the new technology you may be stuck. A lot of the New Mixers may come already mapped (Or ability to accept) to the MORE POPULAR DJ Software Programs. If the Mixer you presently own is on the fry then you may have to buy another one like it if you are already familiar with it's workings and mappings.
 
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The Numark C3USB is similarly priced.
 
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Houston, I like RockIt for it's simplicity and the fact that the font sizes are changeable on the fly.

VDJ is too complicated and flashy for my needs and the fonts are hard to change.

I like the 19MXR since it has the sound card and the basic controller functions.

But if it can't be mapped to RockIt, then I may need to go to a controller like the Mixdeck Express or the VMS series.
 
dunlopj said:
Houston, I like RockIt for it's simplicity and the fact that the font sizes are changeable on the fly.

VDJ is too complicated and flashy for my needs and the fonts are hard to change.

I like the 19MXR since it has the sound card and the basic controller functions.

But if it can't be mapped to RockIt, then I may need to go to a controller like the Mixdeck Express or the VMS series.
Click to expand...
I understand. I never suggested you change.
 
dunlopj said:
Houston, I like RockIt for it's simplicity and the fact that the font sizes are changeable on the fly.
Click to expand...


Rockit is actually more complicated than VDJ -- most people don't take the time to learn the functionality (and I think only 3 people have ever read the manuals, tutorials, watched the the videos). Try the Sync Start sometime -- it's fun to play with the beats.

The MIDI Learn function, can map most controllers -- but it is on the users part to do that. The Denon 4500 is hard coded into Rockit, it's meant to work seamlessly with the software.

I have a 4500, and a 2500 -- but I like the keyboard better.
 
The problem with ROCKIT and please take no offense, is its not commercially popular enough for the major manufacturers to bother to take the time to make it work with their products. it just doesn't make business sense
 
tunes4046 said:
The problem with ROCKIT and please take no offense, is its not commercially popular enough for the major manufacturers to bother to take the time to make it work with their products. it just doesn't make business sense
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As time goes by and new Controllers, Mixers hit the market, it may even get worse. There are a few no name DJ Software out there suffering the same fate.
 
tunes4046 said:
The problem with ROCKIT and please take no offense, is its not commercially popular enough for the major manufacturers to bother to take the time to make it work with their products. it just doesn't make business sense
Click to expand...


It's not commercially unpopular -- I just don't readily promote controllers, and I don't give kickbacks for those who would bundle my software. Most companies (hardware wise), want you to pay them to have your software bundled with their hardware. The developer also has to write the mappers, not the hardware manu. It's the opposite of the way you are looking at it.

So, it's sort of a principal decision on my part -- I don't care to pay protection money to them, to sell more software.

Keyboard and mouse work just fine :)
 
SoftJock Rick said:
...and I think only 3 people have ever read the manuals, tutorials, watched the the videos). Try the Sync Start sometime -- it's fun to play with the beats.

The MIDI Learn function, can map most controllers -- but it is on the users part to do that. The Denon 4500 is hard coded into Rockit, it's meant to work seamlessly with the software.

I have a 4500, and a 2500 -- but I like the keyboard better.
Click to expand...

But the American Audio mapper pages in their manual won't work with RockIt.

And yes I have read your well thought-out manuals...the one for Audiograbber is a treasure trove!

Have you given any further thought to selling me any of those Denon units??
 
dunlopj said:
But the American Audio mapper pages in their manual won't work with RockIt.

And yes I have read your well thought-out manuals...the one for Audiograbber is a treasure trove!

Have you given any further thought to selling me any of those Denon units??
Click to expand...



I'm not sure exactly about the AA -- it's possible might work, but you'd have to map it...

I can't really map any of these oddball controllers, unless I have one sitting on my desk. I have a little program I wrote, that can see any values sent or received, the MIDI Learn function on Rockit is based upon that. So, if I don't have the controller in front of me, I can't map it 100%. You don't just make a mapper, without extensive testing

And then it might take me a week or so to do it, and get a reasonable percentage over 50%.


BTW, the Denons are 1500 miles away in storage in FL -- it would cost me like $2k to drive down and back. I offered the entire rack system for sale on CL before I left -- brand new SKB rack, 4500, 2500, 050 mixer, and power module. All prewired, and ready to go for $600 -- no bites, so I stuck the whole rack in storage.
 
I have a Denon HD2500 that I might part with. It's unused from a gigging standpoint .. only played with it a little bit. I was mainly looking for a media player, but you really need to use the Denon software to be efficient and I wasn't too thrilled with that.
 
steve149 said:
I have a Denon HD2500 that I might part with. It's unused from a gigging standpoint .. only played with it a little bit. I was mainly looking for a media player, but you really need to use the Denon software to be efficient and I wasn't too thrilled with that.
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My 2500 works pretty well as a MIDI controller (you need to make sure it is set into MIDI mode, and the firmware is updated). When they first came out, they had no MIDI control -- hence the firmware update.

You can't use it as a media player, when the MIDI mode is on.
 
I would own Rockit if was easy to use with my Denon MC6000 I choose what controller I wanted and picked the best software to use with it, if rockit would have been natively compatible it would have been my choice
 
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SoftJock Rick said:
My 2500 works pretty well as a MIDI controller (you need to make sure it is set into MIDI mode, and the firmware is updated). When they first came out, they had no MIDI control -- hence the firmware update.

You can't use it as a media player, when the MIDI mode is on.
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I tried it as a controller .. some of the other apps have dropped it (they still have the 4500), so I would need to re-map it a few times. Not worth it for my limited needs of Cue/Play/Pause/Stop. I picked up a little DJ2GO from Numark .. it works fine and is mapped to most things .. it's plastic, so I don't expect a real long life.
 
steve149 said:
I tried it as a controller .. some of the other apps have dropped it (they still have the 4500), so I would need to re-map it a few times. Not worth it for my limited needs of Cue/Play/Pause/Stop. I picked up a little DJ2GO from Numark .. it works fine and is mapped to most things .. it's plastic, so I don't expect a real long life.
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The 2500 mapper, I built for JTV -- it's virtually identical to the 4500 mapper. I just had to make a couple minor changes.

But please consider this -- I have an external, backlit keyboard on my lappy (and mouse). So Il double click a song in a list, it loads to the first available deck that is not playing -- then I just press one key, and the song plays, another to stop it, one to fade in, one to fade out. You can change anything you like without writing a mapper, and have as many keyboard shortcut files as you like.

So my backlit external keyboard cost like $40, the external mouse was about $10, So why, in Heaven's name, would I carry a big old external controller?

Here's the basic stuff, but there are over 300 commands that can be executed in Rockit, without ever having to buy a controller:


These are the factory defaults for Rockit's keyboard map. You can modify these if you like in Config->Shortcuts, and add as many as there are commands in Rockit (over 300 currently), or even create multiple keyboard mappers for different occasions. We just provide a simple mapper to get you started, so feel free to build your own personal keyboard shortcut map.

Deck A Commands:

F1 - Play
F2 - Stop
F3 - Load Next Track from Deck Waitlist
F4 - Fadeout
Ctrl+right arrow - Fast Forward
Ctrl+left arrow - Rewind
Ctrl+up arrow - Volume increase
Ctrl+down arrow - Volume decrease
Ctrl+F1 - Pitch increase
Ctrl+F2 - Pitch decrease
Ctrl+1 - Load Preset 1
Ctrl+2 - Load Preset 2
Ctrl+3 - Load Preset 3
Ctrl+4 - Load Preset 4
Ctrl+r - Restart Song
Ctrl+f - Start Song and Fadein
Ctrl+m - Monitor Deck in secondary sound card

Deck B Commands:

F5 - Play
F6 - Stop
F7 - Load Next Track from Deck Waitlist
F8 - Fadeout
Alt+right arrow - Fast Forward
Alt+left arrow - Rewind
Alt+up arrow - Volume increase
Alt+down arrow - Volume decrease
Alt+F1 - Pitch increase
Alt+F2 - Pitch decrease
Alt+1 - Load Preset 1
Alt+2 - Load Preset 2
Alt+3 - Load Preset 3
Alt+4 - Load Preset 4
Alt+r - Restart Song
Alt+f - Start Song and Fadein
Alt+m - Monitor Deck in secondary sound card

Mixer Commands:

Ctrl+a - Mix to Deck A
Ctrl+b - Mix to Deck B
Ctrl+0 (zero) - Center Crossfader

Sound Effect Sampler Commands:

Shift+1 - Play Sample 1
Shift+2 - Play Sample 2
Shift+3 - Play Sample 3
Shift+4 - Play Sample 4
Shift+5 - Play Sample 5
Shift+6 - Play Sample 6

Misc. Commands:

Shift+a - Open About Screen
Shift+x - Close Rockit
Ctrl+Shift+v - Open Video Jukebox
Ctrl+s - Set keyboard focus to Search Edit
Ctrl+x - Open Search Box Screen
 
The Pioneer DJM-5000 mixer has a built in sound card, plus many other features.
A high very quality mixer. I actually chose this over a Rane.
 
My only real need for a controller is to have an easy to use, big, lit button to Start/Stop/Pause a song for 2 decks. It's also nice to have a cue point or loop function. Other than that, I agree the laptop is just as easy for pitch, etc.

Unfortunately, I have not found a simple 1RU heavy duty start/stop button, so I keep looking for a simple controller. The Numark DJ2GO I picked up does exactly what I need, it's just not what I would call rugged. The HD2500 is fine, but as I said, it doesn't work without effort on the other apps I use.

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Bill Kexel said:
The Pioneer DJM-5000 mixer has a built in sound card, plus many other features.
A high very quality mixer. I actually chose this over a Rane.
Click to expand...

The Pioneer was my other choice. I chose the Rane MP25 as I got a great deal on it and I have this hope that I can assemble an as close to 100% US made (or maybe North American if needed) system, and the Rane are made here. Next up are some US made speakers.
 
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