Video: Xone DB4 send return hack with RMX-1000
Cleans up desk, starts video tutorials… Good stuff FEP!
Hehe pretty much! First time I’ve ever done anything like that, but if there’s anything else people want me to demo just ask.
Good video, but surely losing the rec out isn’t too appealing?
Depends if you use it or not, my amp has a separate record output as well. You can also use the booth out.
Yeah true. I still think it’s a major slip of A&H to not have send/returns, even if the on board effects are very good. Good on you for finding a way around it too.
Oh yeah, forgot to say… Do you lose cuing abilities too? As you’re using them to assign the send/return channel, right?
Agreed, but I still wouldn’t trade this mixer for anything.
Actually it was kevz718 who gave me the idea. I’m doing it a slightly different way round from him, but he deserves the credit for the workaround!
Yes and no. It just means you can’t cue whilst using send return, you can cue up the next track then use the SR.
Nice man! I really like the idea of using the crossfader. Now just to save up some scrilla for a DB4…
are you still using the RMX with the Db4 , I have Db4 as well and have been seriously looking at the RMX 1000 on youtube . I don’t use a lot of the effects on the Db4 only delays and the reverbs so this looks very interesting.
Necrobumping this thread because I’m seriously considering adding a RMX-1000 to my setup. Do you also lose the crossfader with this workaround as it seems?
More importantly, is there a way to use the RMX-1000 through USB to modify the sound digitally before it gets to the DB4 (assuming you’re running Traktor or Ableton) so that you can avoid this entirely? I’m imagining using soundflower or whatever with Traktor’s 4 decks, being able to modify the sound of individual decks via the RMX-1000 and still sending 4 separate channels to the DB4. But a quick scan of the manual doesn’t seem to suggest any way of doing this (it seems USB is only for setup).
Alternatively, could the sound card of a K2 attached to the DB4 be aggregated with the DB4 so that the K2 could be used to connect to the RMX-1000 without losing your crossfader or REC out?
You could use TraktorPro as a FX unit by setting traktor decks to live input instead of internal playback and setting DB4’s channels to USB. But that puts RMX out of the equation.
Maybe it’s possible to route traktor decks (even if they are live input?) into Ableton and then apply RMX as a VST plugin, is that what you mean?
Kind of; I hadn’t thought about routing Traktor through Ableton. The problem is the RMX only seems to actually apply effects in hardware, so I’m still stuck with finding a way to get the 4 channels of Ableton to get through the RMX hardware before the DB4. I don’t have a RMX and don’t want to buy one unless I know I can get it to play nice with the mixer. Actually I’m kind of leaning toward not buying one anyway lol… But if someone figures out how to do this using the K2 (even if it’s just to get my crossfader back using the above solution from FEP) let me know!
As far as I know, RMX also functions as a controller for RMX VST plugin in Ableton. So, route Traktor to Ableton, apply RMX as VST FX, output to DB4.
That is of course, just theory.
Well, I could do that now with whatever VSTs I might have and use another midi controller… the RMX is pretty awesome hardware but if I have to map the controls all myself it’s probably not worth my time. The thing I like most about it is the ergonomic integration of effects to the buttons for performance - not sure I could emulate that easily mapping random VSTs. But this would work if there is already a preset of VSTs and mappings that already emulates what the RMX hardware does? Not really looking for just another midi controller per se…
Yes, a official VST.
Using the RMX-1000 in Ableton for DJ’ing is a PITA because you have to manually refocus with your mouse/cursor the VST per channel. The only really good way to use the 1000 is with a real send/return route. I’ve tried it all and have a nice rmx1000 collecting dust because of the design decision at both Pioneer and A&H. Pioneer could make their VST more DJ friendly but after a few conversations with their team realize that is not going to happen any time soon. Their VST is designed for production use and the hardware for Pioneer DJ mixers and that is that. Though Denon DNS series has a send/return scheme that works well but I don’t want to go that route–I love my DB4.
Yeah, all of this is a poor workaround to something that should be a simple hardware connection of a effects unit. Personally, with the FX section of DB mixers, I don’t think you’ll get your bang for buck with adding a RMX unit. Denon mixers really do get a good boost with it though 
Of course, you could always buy another RMX and put them between mixer and CDJ’s/interface…but that is only possible if you’re not using a mixer with internal interface (when using DJ software)…
Thanks – this is exactly what I feared. RMXs are getting cheap now so I was thinking about adding one to the setup but it sounds like there’s no point unless I’m willing to sacrifice a channel of the mixer. Definitely poor design choices by both A+H and Pioneer. I used to have a DNS-1700 before I traded up to the DB4… perhaps I should never have sold it. I just love the filter mixing option on the DB4 though. But given the glacial movement on DB4 firmware updates as well as the near-abandonment of the K2, I’m not nearly as ga-ga over this mixer as I was when I bought it… :-/
Any news on if AH is ever gonna update the firmware to fix this here?