Configuration - Inputs & Outputs

To use DEX vinyl control, it is very important that the inputs and outputs you want to use are configured properly. DEX Vinyl Control requires an ASIO-compatible soundcard to obtain the lowest latency from input to output.
Output Driver - First select the ASIO audio interface in the ‘Output Driver’ drop down box. If you only have DirectSound and waveOut as choices, your soundcard probably doesn’t support ASIO. A solution for this is to first install the ASIO4All driver, which adds ASIO support to almost any sound card.
Output Mode - Next, you have to select the output mode. Either use output mode 5 if you want to use DEX’s internal mixer or use an external MIDI controller, or use output mode 4 if you want to connect your external analog mixer to DEX.
ASIO Outputs - Select the ASIO channels to be used in DEX here. Usually this will be 0/1 for the first output and 2/3 for the second, but if your sound card has more outputs, you may need to check your sound card’s manual to select the correct outputs.
If you only have one output, it is important to leave output 2 and 3 blank, and not select the same channels for these outputs again.
ASIO Control Panel - This will open your sound card’s ASIO configuration panel. It usually allows you to select the sample rate and latency or buffer size to be used. A smaller buffer size will result in a lower latency, and thus a faster response. Setting the buffer size too small may cause distortion in the audio, so you may have to try how low you can go with your computer and audio interface.
Most people find 5 ms latency (about 256 samples) low enough for scratching, and 10 ms (about 512 samples) low enough for regular mixing. Some audio interfaces allow you to go down to 1.5 ms latency.
With some audio interfaces, this button may not work correctly. In this case, exit DEX and use the control panel installed with the audio interface to setup the interface, then start DEX again.
ASIO Inputs - It is recommended that you select the same ASIO device here as you selected for the output driver, and choose the input channels you want to use. If you only want to use one input, it is recommended to select the same input channels for both ASIO inputs.
If your sound card does not have enough inputs available, it is possible to select a second sound card for one of the inputs. There are some limitations to this though. You will not be able to play regular vinyl through DEX from this input, and for ASIO devices, the input channel’s used will be 0/1. Response speed may also be slightly lower, and if you use a DirectSound device the latency will be much higher.
Apply RIAA correction - If your turntables do not have line outputs (only phono outputs) and your soundcard does not have phono inputs (only line or mic inputs) and you are not using phono pre-amps in-between, you can enable this option to do the RIAA correction in software, which will allow you to play regular vinyls through DEX. Note that this usually does not sound as good as having phono pre-amps in hardware.

Configuration - Hardware

Connecting turntables to computers can usually not be done straight away. Turntables usually have a phono output, which is a weak and equalized signal. Computer audio interfaces usually only have line inputs, which expect a stronger signal. There are four possible solutions for this problem:
-Some modern turntables have an output that can be switched between phono and line output. When set to line output, it can be connected to an audio interface’s line input immediately.
-Some audio interfaces are designed for DJ’s, and have phono inputs, or inputs that can be switched between phono and line inputs (Sometimes this is a software configuration, sometimes there is a hardware switch for this). A phono output from the turntable can then be connected to the phono input of the audio interface.
-Connect a phono pre-amp between the turntable and the audio interface. This device amplifies and equalizes the phono input and outputs a line-level signal. In this case, you have to connect the turntable to the pre-amps input, and the pre-amps output to the audio interface’s input.
-Directly connect the phono output of the turntable to the line input of the audio interface. In this case the signal strength is very low, and chances are that DEX will not be able to properly decode the signal, resulting in slower response and more pitch fluctuations. If you already have an audio interface and turntables, you can try this solution before deciding to buy phono pre-amps.
If you want to use cd-players, this is not a problem, since cd-players already have a line output.

The next step is to connect the audio interface’s outputs. If you want to use an external analog mixer, you have to connect the audio interface’s outputs to the inputs of the mixer. Make sure to use aux or line inputs on the mixer, and not the phono inputs, since the audio interface’s output will be line level.
If you want to use DEX’s internal mixer (optionally with a midi controller or another supported controller), the first output will be the master output, which you can connect to your amplifier or speakers. You can use the second output to connect your headphones.

Configuration - Software

Once everything is set up, it is time to test DEX.
First make sure the outputs are set up correctly. To do this, load a song in each deck, play it, and see if you can hear it on the correct channel of your mixer.
Next, it is time to check the inputs as well. On the first deck, select Start Line Input #1, and on the second, select Start Line Input #2 from the player’s menu. Some skins also have a LINE button on each deck which will do the same. Now play a record, and see if you can hear it correctly and on the correct channel. If this is the case, then everything is probably set up correctly.

To test and calibrate vinyl control, load a song in each deck, put the timecoded record or cd up and start it, and use the player’s menu to select ‘Start FinalScratch #1′ on deck 1 and ‘Start FinalScratch #2′ on deck 2. (Or SSL, MsPinky, VirtualDJ if you have any of these)
To download plug-ins for different plug-ins for Non PCDJ time code (ie Serato, etc) click here
Next, open up the Vinyl Control tab on the options window. You should see the signal strength and number of codes detected. Try to use your sound card’s configuration to adjust the signal strength of the inputs until it is perfect. The exact value of the signal strength is not that important, as long as it is high enough (at least around 10000) and not too high (no more than about 30000). If you don’t use pre-amps, and have connected a phono output to a line input, this value will always be too low, but it’s still possible that it will work if the signal is clean enough.
Next, use the Auto Calibration button to calibrate DEX. It will detect the signal’s average strength and how clean the signal is, and use this to optimize DEX’s performance. If your signal strength was perfect, the gain will be around 1. If the signal is clean without distortion or noise, the pitch variance will be around 0.003 . If it is very high (>0.01) this indicates that there may be a problem with the signal and the pitch will not be very stable.
Possible reasons for this are dirty needles, dirty records, broken/bad cables, or some audio interface problem (maybe the latency/buffer size you selected was too low for your system)
The Nr. Of Codes detected should be around 100%. If no codes are detected, there may be another problem with the signal. Check if the cables are good, and that you haven’t swapped left and right around.

Vinyl Control - Configuration

-Lead in time: This is the time at the beginning of the timecode that will not be used. Since the beginning of the vinyl will wear out the fastest, you can increase this value to set the start a bit later. Some versions of the final scratch vinyls did not have a lead in timecode. If this is the case you may to set this value negative to -25000 in order to have the song start at the start of the vinyl.
-Vinyl Speed Multiplier: With this value, you can use the 33rpm sides of the timecode vinyl at 45rpm or vice versa. Because the timecode can usually be read more clearly at 45 rpm, it can be useful to use the 33rpm side at 45rpm if you are having some unstable pitch problems.
You can also use this multiplier if you want to move your turntable’s pitch range higher or lower.
-Default vinyls: Select the vinyl that will be used by default for this deck.
-Pitch Smoothing: To get a stable pitch readout, DEX intelligently smooths the incoming pitch signal. Usually the newest algorithm will give the best results, but in some situations a different algorithm may give better results. Make sure to re-calibrate after setting this option, since it also affects the way the pitch variance is calculated. Disabling pitch smoothing may give you better response, at the cost of more pitch fluctuations.
-Relative Mode: There are 2 different vinyl control modes, absolute or relative. Absolute mode is most like real vinyl, which means that both speed and position of the record are read and used to control the song. In relative mode, only pitch changes and direction are used, thus setting the needle to a new position has no effect. The advantages of relative mode are that a skipping needle will not result in a skipping in the song while scratching, and that you can use cue points within DEX to go to a specific position.
-Super Relative Mode: With this mode, you will get the benefits of pc mixing and of mixing with turntables, but it might be a bit complicated to understand how it works exactly at first. What it will do is whenever you turn on vinyl control, it will detect the pitch on the turntables, and adjust the vinyl speed multiplier so that it matches the pitch of the song in DEX. So suppose you are already playing a song in deck A at 8%, and your turntable is spinning at -3%, and you enable vinyl control, then the song will continue to play at 8%. When you then increase the turntable’s speed to 0%, the actual song’s speed will be about 11%.
The advantages of this mode are:

* You can use the ‘auto’ button in DEX to match the bpm’s of the song, even while using vinyl control mode.
* You can extend the pitch range of your turntable (If your turntable is set at 8%, switch off vinyl control, move the turntable back to 0%, and re-enable vinyl control. You can then again speed up the record from 8% to 16%)
* It makes mixing with only one turntable easier (you can swap vinyl control from one deck to the other, make adjustments, and swap back without pitch jumps, even if both tracks are playing at different speeds)

-Correct pitch when disabling vinyl control: When you disable vinyl control, and the bpm of that song is close to the bpm of the other deck, DEX will automatically adjust the pitch to exactly match the other deck’s tempo.
-Latency: This is not the same as your audio interface’s latency or buffer size. The vinyl control latency adjusts the time djDecks uses to get a good pitch reading. If you mainly use DEX for scratching, then setting this value lower will result in a faster pitch response. If you mainly use DEX for mixing, a higher value will result in a more stable pitch. Usually the default 7 ms is a good value both for scratching and mixing.
-Minimum Sensitivity: If there are a lot of scratches or dust on your record, DEX may mistake them for timecode signal. This value determines the threshold above which the signal should be before DEX recognizes it as a timecode signal. Setting this higher will result in a more stable signal that is less affected by scratches. Setting this lower may be necessary to correctly detect very slow scratches however, Again the default value is usually good for both.
Frequently Asked Questions

-Can I start up DEX with vinyl control already enabled, rather than manually enabling it each time?
Yes you can. To do this, you have to edit the DEX shortcut, and add vinylcontrol to it.

-Which audio interface is best, what sound card should I get?
There are a lot of audio interfaces available. The most important things to look at are if they are ASIO compatible, and if they have enough in- and outputs for your needs. Note that in (semi-)professional audio equipment, the number of in- and outputs is usually indicated as number of mono channels. This means that if you need 2 stereo inputs, you are looking for a 4 channel audio interface.