Pioneer DDJ-400

Pioneer DDJ-400 (schematic view)

Pioneer DDJ-400 (schematic view)

The Pioneer DDJ-400 is a 2 deck USB controller with an integrated audio interface designed for rekordbox.

Neu in Version 2.3.0.

Firmware

Bemerkung

The release version of the firmware contains a bug which causes signals from the tempo sliders to be sent without the sliders being touched.

It is therefore highly recommended that you update your controller’s firmware.

You can download the latest firmware from the manufacturer’s website.

Unfortunately Pioneer only offers a Windows and Mac firmware installer, so to update your controller you will need access to such a machine. Simply download the appropriate file for that OS, attach your device and run the installer.

Compatibility

The Pioneer DDJ-400 is USB audio and MIDI class compliant and works with Linux, Windows, and macOS without needing to install any drivers. However, updating the firmware is recommended as described above.

Audio Setup

Configure Mixxx’s sound hardware settings as follows:

Output

Channel

Master

1-2

Headphones

3-4

Bemerkung

It is not possible to record or broadcast input sent from the 1/4“ unbalanced TS microphone jack on the controller, as it is not routed back to the computer and cannot be configured as an input device.

Controller Mapping

The schematic drawings used here can be referenced in the manufacturer’s manual on the given page number.

Browser section (p. 6)

Pioneer DDJ-400 (browser section)

Pioneer DDJ-400 (browser section)

No.

Control

Function

1

LOAD buttons

Load track selected in library into deck.

2

Rotary Selector

Press to toggle focus between the library sidebar and associated panels. Turn to move focus up or down.

Deck sections (p. 6)

Pioneer DDJ-400 (deck section)

Pioneer DDJ-400 (deck section)

No.

Control

Function

1

BEAT SYNC

Press to sync tempo to the other playing track. Hold to enable sync lock.

1

SHIFT + BEAT SYNC

Cycles through tempo ranges: +/-6%, +/-10%, +/-16%, +/-25%

2

CUE/LOOP CALL>

Doubles the current loop size.

2

SHIFT + CUE/LOOP CALL>

Jumps 32 beats forwards.

3

CUE/LOOP CALL<

Halves the current loop size.

3

SHIFT + CUE/LOOP CALL<

Jumps 32 beats backwards.

4

RELOOP/EXIT

Enables/disables currently set loop.

4

shift + RELOOP/EXIT

Jump to loop start, enable loop, and stop playback.

5

OUT

Sets end of loop to the current playback position. If quantize is enabled, it is set to the closest beat. If held during an active loop, sets the new end point when released.

5

shift + OUT

When a loop is enabled, press to adjust the loop’s end position with the jog wheel.

6

IN/-4BEAT

Sets start of loop to the current playback position. If quantize is enabled, it is set to the closest beat. If held during an active loop, sets the new start point when released.

6

shift + IN/-4BEAT

When a loop is enabled, press to adjust the loop’s start position with the jog wheel.

7

Jog Wheel (top)

Scratch (move play position).

7

Jog Wheel (outer)

Nudge tempo up or down temporarily.

8

HOT CUE mode

Sets pads to hot cue mode.

9

BEAT LOOP mode

Sets pads to beat loop mode.

10

BEAT JUMP mode

Sets pads to beat jump mode.

11

SAMPLER mode

Sets pads to sampler mode.

12

TEMPO slider

Adjust playback speed.

13

Performance pads

Functionality differs depending on the pad mode selected by 8-11.

14

PLAY/PAUSE

Play/pauses a track).

15

CUE

Behavior depends on the cue mode.

Pad Modes

The pad mode buttons change between different modes in which the performance pads operate. The main pad modes described below are similar to those found in rekordbox.

Bemerkung

The secondary pad modes described in the manufacturer’s manual (KEYBOARD PAD FX1 PAD FX2 and KEYSHIFT) are not currently implemented by this mapping.

Hot Cue Mode

Bookmark positions in the track and jump to them.

Pioneer DDJ-400 (hot cue pads)

Pioneer DDJ-400 (hot cue pads)

No.

Control

Function

1-8

Pad (unlit)

Save current position as hot cue.

1-8

Pad (lit)

Jump to hot cue. If the track is stopped, holding the pad will preview the hot cue until the pad is released.

1-8

SHIFT + Pad (lit)

Clear hot cue.

Beat Loop Mode

Press a pad to enable a loop from the current position. Press the pad again to disable the loop. The size of the loop is assigned to the pads as follows:

Pioneer DDJ-400 (beat loop pads)
Pioneer DDJ-400 (beat loop sizes)

1/4 beat

1/2 beat

1 beat

2 beats

4 beats

8 beats

16 beats

32 beats

Beat Jump Mode

Press a pad to jump forwards or backwards by the number of beats assigned to the pads below.

Press SHIFT + pad 7 to decrease or SHIFT + pad 8 to increase the jump values by a factor of 16.

Pioneer DDJ-400 (beat jump pads)
Pioneer DDJ-400 (beat jump defaults)

1 beat back

1 beat forward

2 beats back

2 beats forward

4 beats back

4 beats forward

8 beats back

8 beats forward

Sampler Mode

Load and play samples from the library. The pads on decks 1 and 2 correspond to the first and second sampler rows in Mixxx respectively.

Pioneer DDJ-400 (sampler pad)

Pioneer DDJ-400 (sampler pads)

No.

Control

Function

1-8

Pad (unlit)

Load sample selected in library.

1-8

Pad (lit)

Play a loaded sample. If the sample is already playing, playback starts from the beginning.

1-8

SHIFT + Pad (lit)

Stop a loaded sample from playing. If the sample is already stopped, unload it.

Mixer section (p. 8)

Pioneer DDJ-400 (mixer section)

Pioneer DDJ-400 (mixer section)

No.

Control

Function

1

TRIM

Adjusts deck prefader gain

2

MASTER

Adjusts master output (this is hardware implemented and is not mapped to the software gain in Mixxx).

3

MASTER CUE

Sends master output to headphones (this is hardware implemented and is not visible in the Mixxx interface).

4

EQs (LOW MID HIGH)

Boosts or cuts channel frequencies

5

Channel level indicators

Displays channel levels (before being sent through channel faders)

6

HEADPHONES MIXING

Adjusts between headphone CUE and MASTER levels sent to headphones

7

FILTER

QuickEffect superknob (by default controls a Filter, but this can be changed in the preferences)

8

HEADPHONES LEVEL

Adjusts output level from PHONES jack

9

Headphone CUE (Channel)

Turn on to output channel to headphones

9

SHIFT + Headphone CUE

Toggles quantize for the current channel

10

Channel fader

Adjusts channel levels output to master

11

Crossfader

Fade between left and right channels

Effect section (p. 9)

Pioneer DDJ-400 (effect section)

Pioneer DDJ-400 (effect section)

The BEAT FX controls above are mapped to Mixxx’s first effect unit as follows:

No.

Control

Function

1

BEAT <

Cycle effect focus leftward

2

BEAT >

Cycle effect focus rightward

3

FX SELECT

Load next effect

3

SHIFT + FX SELECT

Load previous effect

4

Channel select switch

Route deck 1, deck 2 or master mix to effect unit 1

5

LEVEL/DEPTH

Controls the wet/dry mix knob

5

SHIFT + LEVEL/DEPTH

Controls the metaknob of the currently focused effect

6

ON/OFF

Enable/disable the currently focused effect

6

SHIFT + ON/OFF

Disables all effects in the chain and kills the wet/dry mix

Bemerkung

Soft takeover is enabled on the LEVEL/DEPTH knob to prevent sudden changes to the wet/dry mix or effect metaknob when changing between the two.