Implement option for sampler output to a certain deck

[Jan-Philip Gehrcke]

I have an American Audio VMS2 controller.

In the hardware config, I have set Deck A output to VMS2, channels 1+2, and Deck B output to VMS2, channels 3+4. I do not have master and headphone set. This is I think the most straight-forward and correct hardware config for this kind of controller (2 output devices, one for each deck). Using headphone/master for such a controller would require misusing the crossfader, as far as I have understood.

The question is how to output samplers using this configuration. From what I have seen samplers always "send" to master. Is that right? I do not have a master set, and can not set master to a device that is already in use (for deck A or b). The easiest solution, from my naive point of view, would be to add an option for mixing the samplers into one of the decks.

What do you think, did I oversee something?

[Lee Matos (lbot)]

I'm not familiar with your controller personally but I think it's expected that all output is going to end up going through master. (As is the case in Traktor and I assume Serato.) How are you listening to both decks if they aren't outputting to master? (I'm not a core dev, just curious and trying to better understand.) I might be misunderstanding you.

[Jan-Philip Gehrcke (jgehrcke)]

On 02.06.2014 19:32, Lee Matos wrote:
> I'm not familiar with your controller personally but I think it's
> expected that all output is going to end up going through master. (As is
> the case in Traktor and I assume Serato.)

I could use Mixxx' master, but I'd have to use a *third* sound device,
because the two that the VMS2 provides are already used for decks A and B.

> How are you listening to both
> decks if they aren't outputting to master? (I'm not a core dev, just
> curious and trying to better understand.) I might be misunderstanding
> you.

I am using the "hardware" master and headphone output right on the
controller for getting the audio signal to amplifier and headphone,
respectively.

Aren't there many controllers like this on the market?

I have just seen
http://mixxx.org/wiki/doku.php/aa_vms4_mixxx_user_guide, which says

- Set the Master output to None
- Set the Headphone output to None
- Set the Deck 1 output to the VMS4 device and Channel 1-2 (may show as
“USB Audio Device” on Windows)
- Set the Deck 2 output to the VMS4 device and Channel 3-4

So Master set to None seems to be the common setting for such kinds of
controllers. That wiki page says how to control samplers using the VMS4,
but it does not tell how to "hear" them.

[Daniel Schürmann (daschuer)]

The VMS2 is an external Mixer, right.
So it looks like we have already solved this issue in 1.12 alpha
See Bug #970965
Now you may configure "Left Bus" and "Right Bus" to your VMS2 device.

Is this bug a duplicate of Bug #970965 now?

[Jan-Philip Gehrcke (jgehrcke)]

Reading the discussion in the issue you referred to I think this is the
exact same issue. However I am using 1.12 and did not find the
corresponding options. Is this something to be set in the preferences or in
the GUI? Does it depend on the skin? I will try again later.

[Daniel Schürmann (daschuer)]

it is in the preferences "Sound-Hardware" on the Output Tab.

[Jan-Philip Gehrcke (jgehrcke)]

Oh sure, I wonder why I did not try that out. Now I have "left" set to channels 1+2, "right" set to channels 3+4, and no master, no headphone, no "center". The samplers play when set to left or right, but not when set to center. I can deal with that.

We can mark this as duplicate of #970965 and close it.

An "off topic" question: what does Mixxx record when I do not have a master set? When I use the hardware master output of my mixer/controller as output to the amplifier and record the set directly via Mixxx -- then the signal recorded is not equal to the one on the speakers, right (differences in high/mid/low filter characteristics for instance would come into play )? For both to be equivalent I would have to set master to another sound device, and output *that* to the amp, is it like that?

[Jan-Philip Gehrcke (jgehrcke)]

Actually I am not quite satisfied with the current behavior, discussion proceeds here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/970965/comments/14

[Swiftb0y (swiftb0y)]

Mixxx now uses GitHub for bug tracking. This bug has been migrated to:
https://github.com/mixxxdj/mixxx/issues/7489