Hercules DJ Console 4-Mx

The Hercules DJ Console 4-Mx is a USB controller with a built in sound card. It is very similar to the [[Hercules DJ Console RMX]], but with switches for 4 decks.

• Manufacturer’s product page

New in version 1.11.

Audio

The DJ Console 4-Mx is not a USB class compliant MIDI device, although it is a USB Audio device. Drivers for Mac OS X and Windows can be found on the Hercules support page.

Warning

The controller will not work on Linux out of the box. You will need to use the Linux usermode driver. The device will only produce audio if the device hasn’t been configured for ASIO under windows previously. Also, check the volumes in alsamixer.

The sound card has 4 inputs and 4 outputs (2 stereo in/out). The inputs are switchable between line-in and phono, and also is possible to select different line levels (consumer -10dBV, Pro +4dBu and boost +8dBu ), so you can connect both CD players and turntables on the inputs. * Inputs are RCA. * Outputs are RCA or 1/4» TRS balanced. * Microphone input is 1/4» TS * Headphone jack is 1/4» (6.35 mm) TRS stereo

Hercules Tray Icon configuration

The drivers for Windows and OS X install an application that can be used to configure the audio and controller settings. Most of the settings work well on the default setting.

• Volume/Pan/Mute: Sets the volume output for channels 1-2 and channels 3-4. Note that the volume of the channels 3-4 refers to the line output from behind. In other words. It does not affect the volume of the headphones.

• Line in mode: Sets the line level of the inputs. In case of line 1-2, it also allows to redirect the microphone to the line 1-2. Else, it is mixed in hardware to the main out.

• Talkover attenuation: Sets how much to attenuate the main output when activating the hardware mixed microphone.

• Enable/Disable jog wheels: Allows to disable the jog wheels, in case the user desires not to use them.

• Sensitivity: Alters the sensitivity of the jog wheels. If you change this, change also the sensitivity option in the script, as described below.

• Audio Mode: Enables the WDM drivers (non-asio) or the specific ASIO-only driver.

• MIDI pitch resolution: Sets the resolution of the pitch sliders. Mixxx will work with any of the two settings, but it is recommended to set it to 14bit (8bit used) which doubles the precision versus 7bit.

• ASIO: You can configure the samplerate, bit depth and latency for the ASIO driver.

• MIDI channel for controls: Keep these at 1-2 (Default) when you use it with Mixxx.

• Crossfader settings: Allows to configure how does the crossfader react. Mixxx also offers an alternate invert option in the crossfader settings.

• Headphone channels: Allows to setup which input channels are sent to the headphone output.

• Channels 1-2 hardware mix: Allows mixing the line in or the microphone directly in hardware to the speaker output.

• Deck mode: Leave this at 4 Decks (Default) if you want to use four decks with Mixxx. Else, you will only be able to use two decks.

Options

There are several options that can be configured for this mapping. You can edit these by opening the JavaScript file in a text editor like Notepad, TextEdit, or gEdit and editing the values at the top of the file.

• autoHeadMix: Indicates if the headphone/main mix should automatically be set to main when none of the headphone cue buttons are activated.

• autoHeadcueOnLoad: Automatically enable the headphone cue select (PFL) of the deck when a song is loaded. (Like in virtual-dj)

• beatFlashLed: set which LED, if any, blinks with the beat

• useVuMeters: Simulate vuMeters using the kill and source buttons’ LEDs. If enabled, shows main VUs, or deck VU depending if prefader listen button is enabled or not.

• naviScrollSpeed: KeyRepeat speed for navigating up/down, in milliseconds. 100 is a good value. Lower values make it scroll faster.

• crossfaderScratchCurve: The controller has two modes to report the crossfader position. The default/beatmix curve, and the scratch curve. The default curve reports the real position of the control. The scratch curve just crossfades on the edges. Setting this setting to true, the curve will change to scratch curve when the scratch mode is on (scratch button). Setting it to false will not change it, so it will use the setting configured in the DJHercules Tray-icon configuration.

• vinylSpeed: Playback speed of the virtual vinyl that is being scratched. 45.00 and 33.33 are the common speeds. (Lower number equals faster scratch)

• sensitivity: Jog wheel sensitivity. You should configure this setting to the same value than in the DJHercules tray icon configuration. (Normal means 1/1). If crossfaderScratchCurve is true, or the setting is changed while Mixxx is active, this value will be detected automatically.

• alpha: alpha value for the scratch filter (start with 1/8 (0.125) and tune from there)

• beta: beta value for the scratch filter (start with alpha/32 and tune from there)

• FXbuttonsSetup: This indicates which mapping for the FX buttons should Mixxx use. The possible values are: mixxx21, mixxx20, and original (Hercules Manual and the default setup in Virtual DJ 7 LE)

Main / Global controls

Control	Mode	Function
Cross-Fader		Fades between left and right decks
Vol. Main		Controls the main volume knob of Mixxx.
Scratch		Toggles scratch mode. When scratch mode is enabled, pressing a jog wheel controls scratching
Auto		Enable AutoDJ. Stop decks 1 and 2 to disable it using the controller.
Auto	AutoDJ on	Fade to next song.
Folders / Files		Switches between browsing the sidebar in the library, or the list. If Folders is pressed twice, opens/closes the tree branch
Files	AutoDJ on	The next song in the Auto DJ cue is skipped
Up / Down		Moves up and down in the library track list. If held down and any of the jog wheels is moved, then the jog wheel takes over the cursor movement until the up/down button is released
Cue/Mix		Control mix of main and PFL (cue) output in headphones
Mic On/Off		Enables or disables the microphone. The microphone is always mixed in hardware. The trayicon driver configuration allows to choose between direct mixing, or mix it only when enabled with the button. It no longer tries to activate Mixxx microphone talkover.

Note: The Microphone volume and the Headphone volume controls are hardware controls (i.e. they don’t control Mixxx’s interface)

Deck / Channel specific controls

Control	Mode	Function
Shift key		When this button is pressed and released, it toggles between keypad functions 1-6 to keypad functions 7-12. When keypad functions 7-12 are active, the shift button is lit orange.
Shift key		When this button is pressed and released, it toggles between keypad functions 1-6 to k Hold it
P lay/Pause		Play track if it is not playing; pause it if track is playing
P lay/Pause	Shift	Play backwards. If slip mode is enabled (triangle image in Deere skin), it will resume beyond the previous position (i.e. the playback continues muted until the button is released)
Stop		Moves the cursor to the beginning, or to the cue point if it is set, and stops playing it, if it was playing.
Stop	Shift	Brake (Slow it down progressively). Releasing it will continue playing, except if it has slowed a lot, in which case it stops.
Cue		Depends on the cue mode set in Mixxx preferences
Jog wheel		Seeks forwards and backwards in a stopped track Temporarily changes the playback speed for playing tracks
Jog wheel	Scratch on and jog pressed	If Scratch is on and the jog is pressed, moving it will do a scratch effect
Jog wheel	Up/Down presssed	Moves up / down in the tracklist if either Up or Down are held down
Jog wheel	LED	If the beatflash led has been set to jogwheel in the JavaScript file, the light of this button will be flashing following the beats of the song.
Forward / Backward		Seeks at high speed.
Forward / Backward		Seeks forward or backward in the track in steps of 4 beats (when the beatgrid has already been detected).
Forward / Backward	Pressed for 500ms	seeks at high speed.
Forward / Backward	Shift	Seeks forward or backward in the track in steps of 1 beats
Sync		Automatically sets the pitch fader speed to match the BPM of the other deck.
Sync	LED	If the beatflash led has been set to Sync in the JavaScript file, the light of this button will be flashing following the beats of the song.
Sync	Pressed for 500ms	Activates sync lock for this deck.
Sync	Shift	Activates the beatgrid edit mode
Sync	Beatgrid edit mode	When the track is stopped, aligns the beatgrid with the current playback position. If playing, synchronizes the beatgrid to align with that of the other playing track.
Pitch fader		Adjusts playback speed (range and direction can be adjusted in Mixxx preferences)
Pitch bend +/-		Adjusts playback speed temporarily (range can be adjusted in Mixxx preferences)
Pitch bend +/-	Beatgrid edit mode	Increases or decreases the BPM of the track (the detected one).
Pitch bend +/-	Shift	Adjust playback speed permanently (range can be adjusted in Mixxx preferences)
Pitch Scale +/-		These controls have a different meaning in Mixxx: They have been mapped to change the musical key
Pitch Scale +/-	Beatgrid edit mode	Move the beatgrid to the left or to the right
Pitch Scale -	Shift	Activates or deactivates the (musical) keylock mode
Pitch Scale +	Shift	Activates or deactivates the quantize (to beat) mode
Pitch Reset		This is triggered when both pitch scale buttons are pressed at the same time. This control has a different meaning in Mixxx: It resets the musical key to the track’s default.
Pitch Reset	LED	This led has a different meaning in Mixxx: If the beatflash led has been set to pitchreset in the JavaScript file, the light of this button will be flashing following the beats of the song. Else, the led is on if the key lock button is enabled for this deck.
Deck A/C, B/D		Switches the deck to control between Deck A/C or between Deck B/D. Lights are changed accordingly
Vol. Deck		Controls a deck’s output volume
Cue Select Deck		Toggles on and off this deck’s output to the monitor/prefader listen (headphones) By default, it is configured in the JavaScript to activate it automatically when a new track is loaded in the deck.
Cue Select Deck	Shift	Set this deck to control the “Preview Deck”. Press it again to leave this mode What works: Load track, stop, cue, play, forward, rewind, jog wheel, Gain and some Fx buttons, like hotcues. The preview deck is not a fully featured deck, so no pitch, sync, EQ or audio Fx.
Cue Select Deck	LED	The led is active when the monitoring with headphones is active. The button led will flash if the “preview deck” mode is active.
	Load On Left/Right Deck
Bass knob		EQ low frequencies
Medium knob		EQ mid frequencies
Treble knob		EQ high frequencies
Gain		Controls a deck’s gain before the volume fader
Kill (Bass/ Medium/ Treble)		Toggles that frequency band completely off
Kill (Bass/ Medium/ Treble)	LED	If the useVuMeters option is activated in the JavaScript file, these LEDs will simulate a VU meter of the main or the deck (if prefader-listen is on). They will flicker if the sound clips. If EQ kill is enabled, the vumeter is temporarily disabled
Source 1/2		Toggles the deck to use the input channel 1/2 as its audio source instead of Mixxx’s deck. Concretely, it activates vinyl passthrough mode.
Source 1/2	LED	If the vumeter is activated in the JavaScript file, they will show a vumeter of the main or the deck (if prefader-listen is on). If kill is enabled, the vumeter is temporarily disabled
Keypad 1 to 4		Set/Unset a beatloop of 0.5, 1, 2 or 4 beats. They act like the corresponding buttons in Mixxx. When a loop is set that isn’t one of these four main cases, buttons 3 and 4 will light to indicate a loop is present
Keypad 1 to 4	Shift	Set/Unset a beatloop. buttons 1 and 2 use a beatloop size of 0.125 and 0.25, and buttons 3 and 4 act as loop end/reloop button.
Keypad 5 to 6		Reveses playback direction when held down. keypad 6 does it with audio roll (censor-like)
Keypad 7 to 10		Set/Unset the hotcues 1 to 4
Keypad 7 to 10	Shift	The corresponding hotcue is cleared
Keypad 11 to 12		Enables the effect rack 1 and 2 for this specific deck
Keypad 1		Sets the loop begin and Activates the loop edit mode
Keypad 1	Shift	Same as click, but it will be a rolling loop (slip mode)
Keypad 1	Loop edit mode	Exits the loop edit mode
Keypad 1	Loop active	Disable the loop
Keypad 1	LED	The led is on if the loop is active
Keypad 2		Reloop (Enable or disable the previously existing loop)
Keypad 2	Loop edit mode	Sets the loopend and exits the loop edit mode
Keypad 2	LED	The led is on if a loop exists
Keypad 3 to 4		Sets a loop of 4 or 16 beats.
Keypad 3 to 4	Shift	Same as click, but it will be a rolling loop (slip mode)
Keypad 3 to 4	LED	If a beatloop of 1 or 4 beats is enabled.
Keypad 5 to 6		starts or stops a sampler 1 or 2 (buttons on the left deck), or the sampler 3 or 4 (buttons on the right deck)
Keypad 3 to 6	Loop edit mode	Sets a beatloop of 2, 8, 16 or 32 beats
Keypad 7 to 10		Set/Unset the hotcues 1 to 4
Keypad 7 to 10	Shift	The corresponding hotcue is cleared
Keypad 11 to 12		Enables the effect rack 1 or 2 for this specific deck
Fx knob		Filter knob (the Quick Effect set in the equalizer preferences)
Fx knob	Shift	Move the filter knob slowly (the Quick Effect set in the equalizer preferences)
Fx knob	Beatgrid edit mode	Move the beatgrid position
Fx knob	Loop edit mode	Increase or decrease the loop size
Fx knob	audio effect pressed	If a keypad number is mapped to an audio effect, holding such button and moving the knob changes the “super” knob of that effect
Fx knob	pitch Scale +/- pressed	Increases or decreases the musical key (it doesn’t matter which of the pitch scale numbers is pressed)
Fx knob	Loop edit mode	Move the loop forward or backward in steps of one beat
Fx knob	keypad 1 held down	Increase or decrease the loop size

Note: The actions of the Keypad buttons can be changed from the JavaScript. There are three preconfigured presets corresponding to Manual/Virtual DJ LE, Mixxx 2.0 and Mixxx 2.1.