CONTENTS 1. 2. 3. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 2 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS............................................................................................... 2 INSTALLATION ................................................................................................................. 2 3.1. First installation ........................................................................................................... 2 3.2. DJ Control MP3 and your PC's sound card ................................................................ 4 4. OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................ 4 4.1. The shoulder strap ...................................................................................................... 4 4.2. The top face ................................................................................................................ 5 4.3. USB connector............................................................................................................ 6 5. USING THE DJ CONTROL MP3 AT A PARTY ................................................................ 6 5.1. 5.2. 5.3. 5.4. 5.5. 5.6. 5.7. 5.8. 5.9. 6. 7. 8. Overview ..................................................................................................................... 6 Configuring your DJ Control MP3 ............................................................................... 7 Previewing with headphones ...................................................................................... 7 Speeding up or slowing down a piece ........................................................................ 8 Creating cue points ..................................................................................................... 9 Creating loops........................................................................................................... 10 Switching from one piece to another ........................................................................ 10 Adding effects onto a piece....................................................................................... 12 Scratching ................................................................................................................. 12 ENGLISH ESPAÑOL ITALIANO NEDERLANDS DEUTSCH FRANÇAIS MIDI STANDARD SUPPORT .......................................................................................... 14 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ............................................................................. 16 TECHNICAL SUPPORT .................................................................................................. 16 8.1. Warranty information................................................................................................. 17 8.2. Additional warranty provisions .................................................................................. 17 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION RECOMMENDATION....................................................... 18 1. INTRODUCTION DJ Control MP3 is a powerful piece of hardware that opens up the doors to mixing and scratching digital music on your PC. Intuitive and fun to use, DJ Control MP3 lets you put your own mark on your favorite music and share it with your friends to host great parties or make creative mixes. DJ Control MP3 functions with digital audio files, including MP3s. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that musical creations are protected by copyright and that you must comply with all applicable legislations. We strongly encourage you to support artists by acquiring their works legally. 2. MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Desktop/laptop PC with Intel Pentium III/Athlon 800MHz or compatible 256MB RAM Operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4 and XP SP1 Available USB port (USB 1.1 or USB 2.0) Headphones or amplified speakers CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive (CD-DA support recommended) 16-bit, 800x600 video resolution Internet connection + 100MB free hard disk space for some applications 3. INSTALLATION 3.1. First installation You should install your DJ Control MP3's drivers before connecting it to your computer. Note: your installation screens and procedure may vary slightly from those described in this manual. Because drivers and software are constantly being developed, the ones provided on your CD-ROM may not be the most recent versions. You can visit the Hercules website (ts.hercules.com) to verify this and, if necessary, download the very latest versions. 2/18 ­ User Manual 3.1.1. Installing drivers and software - Insert the installation CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. The DJ Control MP3 installation menu automatically appears. - Double-click My Computer. - Double-click the CD-ROM icon. - Double-click Setup.exe if necessary. - Click Install your product. - Follow the on-screen instructions. Note: If you do not have the latest version of DirectX installed on your system, you will be guided through the installation procedure to install it. Once DirectX has been installed, you will be prompted to restart your computer. Once your computer has restarted, restart the installation procedure by re-inserting the installation CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. A dialog box appears, prompting you to connect the DJ Control MP3 to your computer's USB port, or to disconnect and then reconnect it. - Connect the DJ Control MP3 to one of your computer's USB ports using the USB cable provided; or, if it is already connected, disconnect and then reconnect it. Windows automatically detects your DJ Control MP3 and installs the required drivers. A progress bar appears, depicting the progress of the installation. Please note that this may take up to 30 seconds, depending on your computer. - Let the installation procedure run its course and do not do anything until you receive a message indicating that the installation has completed. - Click Finish. You will be prompted to enter your VirtualDJ serial number, found on a piece of paper in your DJ Control MP3 box. - Enter the serial number and click OK. VirtualDJ is launched automatically. The VirtualDJ icon now appears on your desktop. Windows may prompt you to reboot your computer at the end of the driver installation. For information on configuring your DJ Control MP3, please see section 5.2. Configuring your DJ Control MP3. User Manual ­ 3/18 ESPAÑOL ITALIANO NEDERLANDS DEUTSCH FRANÇAIS ENGLISH If the installation menu is not launched automatically: 3.2. DJ Control MP3 and your PC's sound card DJ Control MP3 must be used in conjunction with your PC's sound card, speakers and/or headphones; it is your sound card that will actually play the music on your PC. You will use your DJ Control MP3 to manipulate the music being played on your PC. You can connect and disconnect your DJ Control MP3 at any time, even when the computer is switched on, thanks to its USB connection. 4. OVERVIEW 4.1. The shoulder strap Your DJ Control MP3 also features a shoulder strap for easy transportation. To install the shoulder strap: - Thread the Velcro flaps through the two buckles on the DJ Control MP3. - Attach the flaps to the Velcro band. 4/18 ­ User Manual 4.2. The top face Your DJ Control MP3 has a variety of controls allowing you to interact with DJ software. There are two sets of these controls, as the left and right sections of the DJ Control MP3 each correspond to a separate deck in DJ software applications. Descriptions of the default function of each control are provided below. ENGLISH 1. Cut or boost Bass/Medium/Treble frequencies 2. Change music speed (pitch/master tempo)/tweak volume in real time 3. Add effects, cue points (song positions), loops on the fly 4. Mouse emulation or special DJ FX control 5. LEDs indicating the current mode at a glance 6. Headphone monitoring button 7. Speed up or down for accurate mixing 8. Previous/next track or rewind/fast forward 9. Vinyl-style jog wheel 10. Swift cross fader for seamless mixing between the 2 decks 11. Automix your entire playlist 12. Play/Pause song or mark a song position Note 1: These are descriptions of the DJ Control MP3's default functions, which may vary according to the application you are using. User Manual ­ 5/18 ESPAÑOL ITALIANO NEDERLANDS DEUTSCH FRANÇAIS Note 2: Mouse emulation is enabled via the Device Manager (please see section 5.2. Configuring your DJ Control MP3). 4.3. USB connector DJ Control MP3 has a USB connector on its back face, allowing you to connect it to your PC. As DJ Control MP3 is USB bus-powered, no external power source is required. Back face USB connector for connection to PC 5. USING THE DJ CONTROL MP3 AT A PARTY 5.1. Overview You are now about to learn everything a DJ needs to know to host his or her first parties. Let's start at the beginning, namely setting up the party: no DJ would allow himself to arrive unprepared, which is why he would have organized his material and selected his records beforehand. You should do the same by sorting through your music. Have a good look through your collection of CDs as well as your MP3 and WMA files and select the songs you are going to use. In order to be able to mix tracks effectively, you must know the pieces perfectly. Once this is done, make sure that you have all the hardware you will need. Got your computer, DJ Control MP3, a pair of speakers and some headphones handy? Perfect, then you're ready to go! You're probably asking yourself: and now, how do I get started? By way of introduction, here are the basic principles of DJing: a DJ works with two decks (or turntables). The first deck plays one part of the musical piece, while the DJ uses the second deck to get the next part ready. He can then work on this second part (speed it up so that it is at the same tempo as the rest of the piece, etc.) before playing it out loud. At the end of a part, the DJ plays the part on the other deck by doing a mix, which is to say a blending of the two parts creating a perfect transition. In concrete terms, you will launch the VirtualDJ software and program pieces onto each of the decks. 6/18 ­ User Manual The two decks share a single playlist. You can load your pieces into the playlist from the explorer window. - Move the mouse pointer onto the PLAYLIST icon in the lower right-hand part of the screen. The playlist window opens in the lower right-hand part of the screen. - Navigate within your computer on the left-hand side of the screen and drag and drop files to be played into the playlist. ENGLISH ESPAÑOL ITALIANO NEDERLANDS DEUTSCH FRANÇAIS - Click to lock the window display. Please read through the following sections to learn more about the art of DJing. We also recommend that you consult the help documentation of the software supplied with your DJ Control MP3 for additional information. 5.2. Configuring your DJ Control MP3 To configure your DJ Control MP3, you must use the Windows Device Manager. - Click Start/Control Panel/System (or Start/Settings/Control Panel/System, depending on your operating system and Start menu setup). - Click Hardware, then Device Manager and click the + sign to the left of Human Interface Devices. Select Hercules DJ Control MP3 in the list. - Right-click Properties and then select the Configure tab. - Select or deselect the Enable DJ Mouse option to enable or disable mouse emulation via your DJ Control MP3's ministick and the two buttons underneath it (these act as left and right mouse buttons). Mouse emulation is enabled by default. 5.3. Previewing with headphones To prepare his musical line-up, a DJ does a headphone preview: he listens to a track on his headphones while the other one is being played over the speakers, allowing him to adjust the tempo so that the tracks flow seamlessly together. He can also add audio effects, set cue points (markers) to start up at a specific point in a track, create rhythmic loops, adjust Bass, Medium and Treble frequencies, etc. Your DJ Control MP3 allows you to carry out this kind of headphone preview, depending on the hardware and software you have at your disposal. To configure your sound card setup in VirtualDJ, click the CONFIG icon in the top right-hand corner of the main VirtualDJ window, and select your setup in the Sound Cards tab. If you have a stereo sound card, you cannot carry out headphone previewing. If you have a sound card with an output of 4 or more channels (such as the Hercules Muse Pocket LT sound card), however, you can monitor music on outputs 3 and 4 over your headphones. To use the headphone previewing mode on your multi-channel sound card: User Manual ­ 7/18 a) Check that your sound card's speaker mode is set to 4 channel or 5.1 channel. b) Connect your headphones to the rear speakers plug on your sound card (black plug on Sound Blaster Live!). c) When you run VirtualDJ, activate headphone pr ...