Numark NS6II

The Numark NS6II is an all-in-one USB MIDI controller with an integrated audio interface. It has controls for 2 decks that can be toggled between decks to play with 4 decks. Its jogwheels feature a built-in screen highlighting basic information on the currently playing track of each deck.

Novo na versão 2.5.1.

Mapping Description

You can download the latest Windows & MacOS drivers and firmware from the manufacturer’s website. Since the NS6II is a USB class compliant MIDI and audio device, the device is plug-and-play on Linux.

Audio Setup

The mapping relies on the following channel assignments (for line/phono input support, applying effects to the TR-S output, etc.):

Output Channels	Assigned to
1-2	Main
3-4	Headphones

Input Channels	Assigned to
1-2 (CH 3 Line/Phono)	Vinyl Control 1/3
3-4 (CH 4 Line/Phono)	Vinyl Control 2/4

Only the Line/Phono inputs are sent back by the controller, no main nor headphone signal.

The knobs for MASTER, BOOTH, CUE GAIN, MIC LEVEL, and CUE MIX are controlling the hardware mixer of the built-in audio interface. Hence, turning the knobs will not change values in the Mixxx GUI and you’ll need to set the Mixxx knobs to their default values when using the controller:

Set the main/booth/headphones/microphone channel levels to 100% (knob center position)
Set cue/main mixing to cue-only (leftmost position)

Controller Layout

The control numbering in the schematic drawings matches the those found on the specified page in the Owner’s Manual.

No.	Control	Function
1	LCD Display (see below)	Show basic Metadata about currently playing deck
2	SHIFT Button	Activates alternative functionality on respective deck and all Mixer channels
3	Touch All (On or Blinking)	Touching an FX Knob enables it while it is touched and deactivated once released
3	Touch All (Blinking)	Touching an EQ Knob enables it while it is touched and deactivated once released
4	Deck 3/Deck 4	Switch between controlling deck 1/3 or 2/4
5	USB	See DJ Changeover
5	SHIFT + USB	Switch deck to be controlled by PC1 (white) or PC2 (red)
6	LINE / PC	Select Audio input Source for Mixer Channel 3/4
15	Crossfader	Fades volume between side A and B
16	Master Gain	Controls output volume of the hardware Master output
17	Booth Gain	Controls output volume of the hardware Booth output
18	Jog Wheel (top surface)	Perform scratch operation (if scratch mode is enabled, otherwise perform as if outer edge was touched)
18	Jog Wheel (outer edge)	Rotate to lower/raise playback speed (and pitch if key lock is off).
19	Play/Pause Button	Starts/Stops/Resumes playback on the current Deck
20	CUE	Specifies, plays or recalls temporary cue point. Depends on Cue mode
20	SHIFT + CUE	Seeks to the Track start, then stops the Deck.
21	SYNC button	Short press to match tempo and phase of other deck once. Long press to enable Sync Lock.
21	SHIFT + SYNC button	Press to toggle quantization.
22	BLEEP Button	Press to play in reverse, return to where the track would be with no button press on button release.
22	SHIFT + BLEEP Button (KEYLOCK)	Toggle Keylock
23	SCRATCH button	Toggle platter scratching. If active, touching the jogwheel results in scratch behavior, if disabled jogwheel behaves as if only outer edge was touched.
23	SHIFT + SCRATCH button	Switch display between showing remaining/elapsed time
24	STRIP SEARCH	Seek to absolute position in stopped track (does nothing for playing tracks to avoid accidents)
24	SHIFT + STRIP SEARCH	Seek to absolute position in playing track
25	SLIP	toggle slip mode
25	SHIFT + SLIP (QUANTIZE)	Toggle Deck track repeat (quantize is mapped to SHIFT + SYNC instead)
33	BROWSE encoder	Navigate vertically in the library a single step at a time
33	SHIFT + BROWSE encoder	Navigate vertically in the library jumping a configurable amount of steps each time
33	BROWSE encoder press	Perform `GoToItem`
34	VIEW button	Toggle maximized library view (useful when searching for tracks on small screens)
34	SHIFT + VIEW button	Sort library by BPM
35	BACK button	Move Focus Back (jump between library sidebar and table)
35	SHIFT + BACK button	Sort library by Song title
36	AREA button	Move Focus Forward (jump between library sidebar and table)
36	SHIFT + AREA button	Sort library by Key
37	L.PREP button	Load track to Preview Deck
37	SHIFT + L.PREP button	Sort library by Artist name
39	+%/-% Fader	Move down to increase track tempo, move up to decrease. Behavior can be configured via Preferences ‣ Decks ‣ Down increases Speed.
40	takeover LEDs	see Takeover LEDs.
41	+ & - buttons	Temporarily speedup / slowdown the track (used for beatmatching). The exact behavior can be configured via Preferences ‣ Decks ‣ Pitch bend behavior.
48	TOUCH FX	Tristate (off/on/blinking). When on or blinking, merely touching an FX knob activate the FX while its touched and deactivated once released. If its blinking the same also applies to the EqKnobs.

Takeover LEDs

These indicate the physical position of the tempo fader relative to the software one. The Tempo Fader uses soft-takeover, meaning if the physical location does not match the software one, you will need to synchronize it manually again (this avoids sudden jumps). The closer the slider is to its neutral position, the brighter the middle LED is. The closer the physical slider position is to the software position, the dimmer they get. This allows you to judge how far you have to move the slider until you have synchronized the fader and how far you have to move it until it is at neutral speed. These leds (with the exceptions of the middle LED are also repeated on the Jogwheel LCD Display).

Mixer Section

The NS6II features 4 identical (with respect to symmetry) Mixer Channels. See Equalizadores e Botões de Ganho for a complete explanation of the individual concepts

No.	Control	Function
38	LOAD	Load the currently selected track from the library into the deck corresponding to the channel
46	A / B	Route Channel to left/right Effect Unit.
7	GAIN	Channel Gain (see Equalizadores e Botões de Ganho)
9	HIGH	Channel High/Treble EQ
8	Channel VuMeter	loudness of signal of that specific channel (after EQ, before Filter and Faders). A white LED indicates a clipping signal (see level meter).
10	MID	Channel Mid EQ
11	LOW	Channel Low/Bass EQ
47	FILTER	This knob lets you control the Meta knob of the deck’s Quick Effect.
14	A OFF B switch	The crossfader orientation switches determine to which side of the crossfader the deck is assigned. It can be set to the left or right side, or to the center where it is unaffected by the crossfader knob.
13	🎧 (pfl/cue) button	Toggle PFL. Notice: due to hardware constraints, this always works in numark mode: clicking a single button solos the corresponding channel, to listen to multiple channels, press and then release multiple buttons at once.
12	Channel Fader	Decrease the volume of the channel

Front Panel

No.	Control	Function
1	🎧 3.5mm (1/8”) and 6.35mm (1/4”) TRS Jacks/Sockets	Sole audio output of the Headphone signal
2	GAIN Knob	Headphone signal gain (hardware)
3	SPLIT Switch	Switch between Stereo and SplitCue signal (see Headphone and Main Mix Controls) (note: the v1.0.4 firmware contains a bug)
4	MIX Knob	Fade between Main and PFL signal
5	CF CONTOUR Knob	Change between a Crossfader curve suitable for scratching (hard cut) and smooth fading (constant power).
6	LEVEL Knob	Output Level of the microphone signal. Note that the microphone signal goes directly to the main output and is not sent to mixxx.
7	HIGH Knob	High EQ of the microphone signal
8	LOW Knob	Low EQ of the microphone signal

Effects Section

Left Section controls Effect Unit 1, right controls Effect Unit 2. For more details on Effect Units, see Efeitos. The mapping follows the standards Controller Effects Mapping.

Jogwheel Display

No.	Function
1	Shows the deck currently being controlled by that side of the controller
2	The current position of the “virtual” vinyl sticker
3	Shows how far we are through the track (percentage)
4	Time Elapsed of / Remaining in the track. Elapsed/Remaining can be toggled with SHIFT + SCRATCH button
5	current BPM of the deck (with tempofader adjustments)
6	copy of the Takeover LEDs
7	current Tempo Adjustment in percent
8	current Tempo Adjustment range in percent
9	Shows whether key lock is enabled.

Performance Pads

Each controller Deck has a performance pad section controlling aspects of the deck or the currently playing track.

The mode currently active mode can be selected by pressing the corresponding buttons. Each button cycles through a selection of modes which can be seen in the table below. Pressing a mode button once results in a fully lit button, pressing it twice will blink on and off and pressing it three times results in a repeating pattern consisting of three short blinks and a pause. The pattern indicates which mode is active.

The functionality of the PARAMETER ADJUST buttons (labelled 27) is specific to each mode.

No.	Label	1x Press	2x Press	3x Press
28	CUES	Hotcues 1-8	Hotcues 1-9
29	AUTO	AutoLoop	LoopRoll
30	LOOP	Loop Control	KeyControl
31	SAMPLER	Samplers 1-8 Normal	Samplers 1-8 Velocity-sensitive
32	SLICER	beat jumping	intro/outro markers	beatgridsettings

Hotcues

No.	Control	Function
1-8	Pad (unlit)	Save current position as hot cue (hotcue index as labelled).
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.
27	PARAMETER ADJUST	no functionality
27	SHIFT + PARAMETER ADJUST	Change the color of the currently focused (last pressed) hotcue. Cycles forwards/backwards through the colors of the currently selected palette (see Editing Palettes)

Pressing the hotcue selector a second time, the second hotcue mode will get selected, making it possible to access hotcues 9-16.

Auto Loop Mode

No.	Control	Function
1-8	Pad (unlit) + loop disabled	activate loop at current position for the specified length
1-8	Pad (unlit) + loop enabled	change currently active loop length
1-8	Pad (lit)	deactivate loop
27	PARAMETER ADJUST	double/half the size of each loop activated by a specific pad.

Loop Roll Mode

Works exactly like Auto Loop Mode, but the loop will get deactivated after letting go of the pad and the track resumes at the position where it would have been if it had not looped.

Loop Control Mode

No.	Control	Function
1	Loop in	`loop_in`
2	Loop Out	`loop_out`
3	Loop Activate	`beatloop_activate`
4	Loop Toggle	`reloop_exit`. Lit if loop is active.
5	Jump loop back	`beatjump_backward`.
6	Jump forward	`beatjump_forward`.
7	Loop /2	`loop_halve`.
8	Loop x2	`loop_double`.
27	PARAMETER ADJUST	No function

Key Control

No.	Control	Function
1	Sync Key	`sync_key`
2	Pitch Down	`pitch_down`
3	Pitch Up	`pitch_up`
4	Reset Key	`reset_key`
5 - 8	Pad	Unused
27	PARAMETER ADJUST	No function

Sampler Pads

The sampler modes allow you to load, play and stop samples in the first 8 sample slots.

No.	Control	Function
1-8	Pad (unlit)	Load currently selected track into the sample slot associated with the pad.
1-8	SHIFT + Pad (lit)	If the sample is playing, stop the playback. If the sample is not playing, eject the sample from the sample slot.
1-8	Pad (lit)	Play the sample in the sample slot associated with the pad. Velocity Sampler Mode: The playback volume of the sample depends on the pressure (velocity).
27	PARAMETER ADJUST	No function

Beat Jump

The beat jump mode allows you to jump to specific beat positions in your loop.

No.	Control	Function
1-4	Pad	Jump forward to the beat position indicated by the pad.
5-8	Pad	Jump backward to the beat position indicated by the pad.
27	PARAMETER ADJUST	Adjusts the loop size (halve/double each pad).

Intro/Outro Markers

This mode allow you to prepare tracks by setting intro/outro cues.

No.	Control	Function
1	Pad (unlit)	Set current position as intro start.
1	Pad (lit)	Jump to intro start position.
2	Pad (unlit)	Set current position as intro end.
2	Pad (lit)	Jump to intro end position.
3	Pad (unlit)	Set current position as outro start.
3	Pad (lit)	Jump to outro start position.
4	Pad (unlit)	Set current position as outro end.
4	Pad (lit)	Jump to outro end position.
5-8	Pad	No function
27	PARAMETER ADJUST	No function

Beatgrid Adjustments

This mode allow you to adjust the beatgrid of a track. The layout mimics the Beatgrid controls of the Latenight skin.

No.	Control	Function
1	Set Beatgrid at current position	`beats_translate_curpos`
2	Shift beatgrid earlier	`beats_translate_earlier`
3	Shift beatgrid later	`beats_translate_later`
4	Shift cues later	`shift_cues_later`.
5	BPM tap	`bpm_tap`. This button does not exist in latenight.
6	beats adjust faster	`beats_adjust_faster`.
7	beats adjust slower	`beats_adjust_slower`.
8	shift cues earlier	`shift_cues_earlier`.
27	PARAMETER ADJUST	No function

DJ Changeover

The NS6II allows two computers running Mixxx (likely also Serato DJ, but this is untested) to connect to the unit simultaneously. This allows two DJs to play at the same time for easy DJ set changeovers. With a computer already connected to the NS6II and playing (PC1), do the following:

Connect a second computer (PC2) to the unused USB port on the NS6II’s rear panel. Once the computer has connected, the software will show all decks offline. The first computer will still control both sides of the controller.
Before giving PC2 control of one side of the NS6II, make sure no audio is playing from PC2 on that deck. Then, press and hold the SHIFT key and press the PC1/PC2 button on the non-playing deck.

PC2 will now control the two channels on that side of the controller, and will automatically have focus of the browse controls. Use the browse knob to scroll through the library, then add the desired track to the deck by pressing the Load button.
Play a track on PC2’s deck and mix it in when ready. For example, while PC1 is using Deck A (and the mixer controls for Channels 1 & 3) to control their computer, PC2 can also use Deck B (and the mixer controls for Channels 2 & 4) to control their computer.

With one computer controlling each deck, press the Browse Focus / PC1/PC2 button on the non-playing deck to switch control of the browse knob.
Fade out the audio playing from PC1’s computer to the audio playing from PC2’s computer. When only the audio from PC2’s computer is left in the mix, press and hold the Shift key and press the Browse Focus / PC1/PC2 button on the non-playing deck. Now, PC2 is using both Deck A and Deck B.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other side of the NS6II.

Please note that you should always test the changeover process with a small amount of music before performing it during a live set.

Nota

There is a bug in Firmware v1.0.4 (and possibly earlier) of the Numark NS6II which causes the headsplit control to be sent inverted when the controller status is sent. This happens on startup and when switching decks between PC1/PC2. Numark is aware of the issue but they don’t seem to be interested in fixing it. Unfortunately it also doesn’t happen 100% of the time, so if you experience mono-sounding headphones you may need to explicitly sync mixxx and the built-in mixer by toggling the split cue switch once.

Settings

Label	Description
Use Button Backlight	Checked: deactivated button has a slight (usually red) backlight, Unchecked: LED of deactivated button is completely off.
Move this many tracks at once with :hwlabel:SHIFT	Amount of tracks moved in a single step when turning the BROWSE encoder while pressing SHIFT.
Loop size of the smallest Pad	the size of the first pad on Auto Loop Mode, Loop Roll Mode and Beat Jump.
In controller script: `NS6II.RATE_RANGES`	List of available `rate ranges` to cycle through using the Pitch Bend +/- Buttons.