Question about switching between vinyl and time code
Hi All!
Been a long time reader of the site but have never posted here before.
I follow the site as I’ve been using Ableton and MIDI controllers for a while now.
I am going to be purchasing a set of turntables & mixer very soon and I will be getting a NI Traktor A6 so I can use timecodes with traktor scratch pro.
I really want to be able switch between timecode and real vinyl while I’m mixing without having to re-configure anything or change cables. I would be really grateful if anyone can answer two questions I have below.
The mixer i’m leaning toward is the Xone23.
My question:
Is it possible to easily switch between using timecode and real vinyl with the A6 hooked up to the Xone23 either by mapping to a button on a midi controller or someway on the mixer itself?
If it’s not possible with Xone23 is there a mixer in the same price range that can do this?
From google/youtube all I can find is that it is possible but I can’t find what setting in Traktor does this or is it possible to map the switch to a controller.
All you need to do is switch the deck from "Track Deck to “Live Input” when you use a regular record, then switch it back for timecode. This can be mapped to any controller you hay laying around or even your computer keyboard regardless of whatever mixer you use.
The command to be mapped is “Deck Common>Deck Flavor Selector”
DJ Tech mixers offer unique solution for attaching dvs souncard, having the possibility to switch to regular vinyl ON the mixer, bypassing the soundcard.
You can however set the audio interface inputs to THRU mode and that way it skips Traktor altogether so it would be basically the same as just having the TT connected to the mixer (like the DJ Tech mixers do). Keep in mind that in order to use THRU mode without a computer you’ll need to use the A6’s power supply.
Can switching to THRU mode and back be mapped and used with a flick of a button, or it requires more wiggling in the settings? Hope it’s not necessary to reconnect the A6 from line in to phono in on the mixer?
Been pondering this for awhile. Glad you asked the question and got your answer. I also just got a Xone 23 for my turntables, and coming from a DJM 600 you can definitely here the difference in sound quality. Sounds nice and crispy.
You don’t need to change any cabling but it is indeed changed on the A6 control panel. What you can MIDI map is the “Live Input” mode I mentioned before since that is handled by Traktor.
So it’s not an easy option one can count on. It’s serving more like if you don’t intend to use DVS but don’t want to disconnect the a6, if I understand well.
How’s the “Live input” sound quality compared to direct connection to the mixer?
Yes, that’s pretty much the intended purpose for THRU mode.
No volume or audio quality loss plus you get to apply effects and such which is a really nice bonus.
Alternatively get RCA splitters from the turntable to the mixer and interface so you can switch to regular vinyl just by flipping the source selector to Phono on the mixer. That’s pretty much how the old multicore cables on the Audio 4 and 8 did the trick.
Yeah, that’s an option in case I use a mixer with fx, but my concern is do I really need one having the Traktor fx and the Live input possibility?
Btw, instead of y splitter I’d use a switch. It seems that Y splitting, although frequently used as a dj hack, is not recommended. Multicore cables were probably engineered properly, addressing the issues of y splitting by adding some resistors/capacitors within in the cable. Or not
if you use the supplied cables correctly, you can bypass the sound card all together…on the mixer end of it, there are two pairs of phones, one which feeds the output of the sound card channel, and one which is a paralell of you input device…
plug both to your mixer, then use the phono/line selector switch to go between turntable direct and the traktor output
They don’t supply them with the Audio 6 and 10, but you can still buy them separately for 29 euros a piece. The cheapest option is using Live Input or THRU.
