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Leslie Krause Instructions for Numark NDX500 Custom Mapper

Created by Leslie Krause last modified

Numark NDX500 Custom Mapper (v1.1)

by Intraversal Digital MediaWorks

Requirements:

  • VirtualDJ 8.2 or higher
  • Numark NDX500 controller

This custom mapper for the Numark NDX500 is designed from the ground up for DJs familiar with professional dual-deck CD players from Stanton, Numark, Denon, etc. and who wish to mimic that functionality within VirtualDJ, while still retaining basic turntable emulation (scratching, braking, holding, etc). The following document covers only those features that differ from the predefined mapper for the Numark NDX500.

In this document the term 'frame' refers to a 50ms section of audio, allowing for exactly 20 frames per second. This will likely change in a future version of the mapper.

1. Play Button

Pressing the Play button resumes or pauses playback.

2. Cue Button

Pressing the Cue button immediately returns to the default cuepoint and pauses playback. By holding the button, you can quickly preview the track from the default cuepoint. Releasing the button will again return to the default cuepoint and pause playback.

The only buttons that reset the default cuepoint are Tap, Loop In and the three hotcues. All other functions such as scratching, braking, reversing, scanning, pausing, etc. preserve the default cuepoint.

3. Track Seeking

Seeking refers to advancing or reversing a track frame-by-frame, similar in functionality to the inner ring of the jogwheel on dual-deck CD players. Seeking is accomplished in one of three ways:

  • By holding the Tap button while turning the track selection knob, you can move to the next frame or the previous frame. You will hear a quick stuttering effect to audibly confirm the correct position. Once the Tap button is released, then the track selection knob will return to its normal function.

  • By pressing or holding the + or - pitch-bend buttons while the deck is paused, you can move silently between frames. This can be combined with the Tap button at any point to audibly confirm the correct position.

  • By holding the Tap button while rotating the jogwheel, you can similarly move to the next frame or the previous frame. When the Tap button is released, the jogwheel will return to its normal function. Given the sensitivity of the jogwheel, however, this is perhaps the least accurate method of frame-cueing.

You can also press the Tap button during playback to reset the default cuepoint and pause the deck simultaneously.

Note: Using the pitch-bend buttons for seeking is only possible while in Program Mode (see below).

4. Track Scanning

Scanning refers to fast-forwarding or rewinding a track, similar in functionality of the outer ring of the jogwheel on dual-deck CD players. Scanning is accomplished in one of two ways:

  • By holding the Search button while rotating the jogwheel to move quickly backward or forward through the track.

  • By holding the + or - pitch-bend buttons during playback to move quickly backward or forward through the track.

Note: Using the pitch-bend buttons for scanning is only possible while in Program Mode (see below).

5. Turntable-Braking

To simulate the slowdown or speedup of a turntable, hold the Brake button during playback, then press the Play button for a platter brake effect. Alternately, when the deck is paused, hold the Brake button, then press the Play button for a platter start effect.

You can temporarily adjust the braking speed by turning the track selection knob while holding the Brake button. The current braking speed will be indicated in the LCD panel (lower values are faster).

6. Reverse Playback

To reverse the direction of playback, while retaining the same pitch, press the Reverse button. Press the Reverse button again to restore the forward direction of playback.

7. Pitch-Bending

There are two methods to temporarily increase or decrease the playback speed:

  • By rotating the jogwheel backward or forward, playback will slow down or speed up. The faster the rotation, the more the playback speed will change.

  • By holding the - or + pitch-bend buttons, playback will slow down or speed up. The longer the button is held, the more the playback speed will change.

Note: Be sure to exit Program Mode (see below) in order to operate the pitch-bend buttons as normal.

8. Program Mode

The pitch-bend buttons can serve as a secondary means of scanning and seeking within a track. To do so, you must enter Program Mode by pressing the Prog button. To restore the normal function of the pitch-bend buttons, press the Prog button again.

9. Setting Hot Cues

You can set up to three hot-cues on-the-fly for quickly jumping to different parts of a track or for bopping back to a single point in the track. To set a hot-cue, press one of the unused hot-cue buttons, either 1, 2, or 3. If the deck is paused, playback will begin instantly from the new hot-cue. Otherwise, playback will continue uninterrupted.

10. Deleting Hot-Cues

To delete an existing hot-cue, hold the Rec button, then press the corresponding hot-cue button.

11. Vinyl-Style Cueing

To simulate the holding and releasing of a record (for vinyl-style cueing), press the Scratch button to enter Scratch Mode. Now, press and hold the jog wheel and playback will quickly slow-down to a halt. When ready, release the jog wheel and playback will quickly speed-up to normal.

Note: If the deck is initially paused, then you will have to press and hold the jogwheel before initiating playback to accomplish the same speed-up effect.

12. Vinyl-Style Scratching

With the deck in Scratch Mode (see above), you can manipulate the jog sheel forward and backward to simulate the scratching of a vinyl record. Keep in mind, scratching is always possible when the deck is paused, whether in Scratch Mode or not.

13. Setting Action-Cues

A secondary set of cuepoints is available for scripted control of playback, such as automatically skipping an unwanted portion of a song (a-la creating a 'single' edit) without the need for external DAW programs.

To set an action-cue, press the Single button to enter Single Mode. Then press one of the unused action-cue buttons, either 1, 2, or 3 at the position where the cuepoint is desired. You can confirm the correct position for the new cuepoint by holding the Tap button.

Note: Action cues are internally numbered from 5 to 7 as distinguished from hot-cues which are internally numbered 1 to 3. Keep this in mind when working in the POI Editor.

Once the new action-cue is set, hold the Single button to bring up the POI editor. From here you can change the cuepoint type to 'Action Cue' and edit the corresponding VDJscript. If you want to jump from action-cue 6 to to the next action-cue, for example, then the script would be

var 'single' ? goto_cue 7 : nothing

The conditional is important, as it permits effortlessly disabling all action cues simply by leaving Single Mode. In this way, you can opt to play one or more tracks in their original form, with no further editing required.

14. Deleting Action-Cues

To delete an existing action-cue, hold the Rec button, then press the corresponding action-cue button. (Remember that action-cues are numbered from 5 to 7, even though the buttons are labelled 1, 2, and 3).

15. Effects Selectors

Three banks of effects can be controlled using the Loop In, Loop Out, and Reloop buttons in combination with the jogwheel. For this functionality to be available, however, you must exit Program Mode (see above). You will also need to select and configure the effects in Virtual DJ beforehand.

The effects that I have configured in VirtualDJ are as follows:

'Loop In'  => Filter  { Resonance = 0.66 }
'Loop Out' => Echo    { Length = 1/2 bt, Lowpass = 240 Hz, Highpass = 20000 Hz, TrailingStop = on }
'Reloop'   => Noise   { WetDry = 40.5% }

These effects can now be engaged or disengaged on-the-fly by pressing the corresponding buttons. The primary effects parameter can also be adjusted by rotating the jog wheel, either forward to increase the value or backward to decrease the value. The LCD display will indicate the current parameter value.

For convenience, whenever an effect is engaged the primary effects parameter will be reset to the default, which is usually either 0% or 50%. You can change this starting value by going into Settings, selecting Controllers, and then selecting either LOOPIN, LOOPOUT, or RELOOP respectively. The value to change will be the last number in the script.

By holding down the 'Rec' button when re-engaging an effect, the primary effect parameter will be preserved.

Note: While working with effects, you must use the pitch-bend buttons rather than the jog wheel to fine-tune the playback speed for beatmatching. Don't forget to exit Program Mode beforehand.

16. Looping & Bopping

In Program Mode, the loop buttons allow for seamless looping as well as seamless bopping.

To enter a loop, press the Loop In button where the loop is to begin. Then press the Loop Out button where the loop is to end. The loop will engage automatically without interrupting playback.

To leave the current loop, press the Loop Out button again. The loop will disengage and playback will continue.

The Reloop button can be used not only to restart an active loop, but also to bop back to the default cuepoint in a similar fashion as the hot-cue buttons.

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