Reviewer
What is the difference between Native Instruments Traktor Scratch Pro 2 and MixVibes Cross DJ? Find out which is better and their overall performance in the DJ software ranking.
: Rasteri • Date: July 2009 • Price: $279/£238/€249 • Link:MixvibesTest System
Model : Dell Inspiron 6400
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo @ 1.83GHz
RAM : 1GB
Operating System : Windows XP SP2
Turntables : Numark TTX
Carts : Shure M447
Introduction
The Digital Vinyl market has become so crowded lately, it's even a cliché to say so. The big players are of course Serato and Traktor, and Torq has been winning a lot of users largely due to its very low price. However, one solution that is often overlooked by DJs is one that has been around longer than any of them, and whose creators claim to have coined the term 'DVS'.
There are now two distinct product lines in the Mixvibes range. There's the 'original' Mixvibes, now at version 7, which has many features for producers and advanced DJs but has an older code base and is Windows-only - and there's Mixvibes CROSS, which has been written from scratch to be cross-platform (hence the name) and more stable. CROSS is missing some of the features from the regular version, but is your only choice if you're a Mac user. I am reviewing the DVS pack MK2, which comes with Mixvibes DVS 7 and the U46MK2 DJ interface.
What's included
Here's what you get in the DVS MK2 box:
The U46MK2 sound interface
USB cable
2 Pieces of timecoded vinyl
2 timecode CDs
2 stereo RCA leads
Driver/software CD
Sample CD compiled by DJ Troubl
The Soundcard
The included soundcard is a re-badged ESI affair called the U46MK2 and it's a hardy-looking piece of kit. The case is made out of what looks like aluminium, and gives the impression it could withstand small accidental drops. The knobs and buttons feel reassuringly solid, and the RCA and USB connectors don't seem like they'll come loose after a few gigs. It comes with a nice long USB cable and even has the ability to use an external power supply should that be required.
With 2 stereo ins and 3 stereo outs, the soundcard has enough for two decks plus an extra output - which is great for Mixvibes' built-in sampler. A third stereo input would have been handy for recording mixes, but since Mixvibes offers no option for this anyway it's a moot point. There is also a microphone input with optional +48v phantom power, and even a Hi-Impedance input for recording guitars - both of which turn the U46MK2 into quite a capable little mobile recording interface.
Unfortunately, the third stereo output only functions if the soundcard is running in 44.1kHz mode, so achieving full 48kHz audio fidelity is not possible with all outputs running. This is due to the U46MK2 being a USB1.1 device, which simply doesn't have the bandwidth to support five stereo channels at 48kHz. How much of a problem this is entirely depends on how you intend to use it - since all CDs and most mp3s are encoded at 44.1kHz, this won't be an issue for most people.
Getting it to work in Windows is a doddle - the Mixvibes installation even prompts you to install U46MK2 drivers at the end. For some reason this didn't work the first time I tried (it kept complaining about a driver installation already in progress) but a quick reboot straightened it out. Once installed, it automatically sticks an icon in the system tray on startup. This program allows configuration of essential parameters such as buffer size, sample rate and channel volume levels. It also has a rather nifty routing screen (based on ESI's DirectWIRE technology), which can be used to 'wire up' the various inputs and outputs to each other - this flexibility is likely to be a godsend to producers and DJs alike.
The soundcard is (of course) ASIO compatible, and worked with every program I tried it in (Ableton Live, Cubase, Mixvibes itself). The buffer size can apparently be set as low as 48 samples, but none of the systems I tested could work with less than 64 samples. Note that this is samples PER MONO CHANNEL, rather than per stereo channel as some other manufacturers soundcards use, so 64 samples on a U46MK2 is equivalent to 128 samples on (say) an M-audio Conectiv.
The main interface
Installing Mixvibes is very straight forward, much the same as every other windows application. Version 7.1.0 was supplied on the CD, so I updated it to the latest 7.2.1 which brings a number of new features and skins (see http://www.skratchworx.com/news3/comments.php?id=1205 for more details). When first run, Mixvibes runs a wizard to help you set up your audio hardware. This guides you through the process of selecting inputs and outputs, calibrating the timecode levels, and selecting a skin. This last step is more important than you might think - certain features don't appear in some of the skins, and it affects other things like the number of pads in the sampler. It is definitely worth experimenting with the different skins, as there are different versions for different screen resolutions, and even some rather nifty minimalist ones intended for netbooks and other small-screened PCs.
New users and people who don't need the more advanced features would benefit from the 'CARBON Simple' skin - which has transport controls, the waveform display, and not a whole lot else. The next most featureful skin is 'CARBON Normal' which adds looping and cue memory. 'Mv7SkinDvs' is based on this but with an effects section, EQ and monitoring (for users without an external mixer). Finally, 'CARBON Advanced' is nearly identical to the latter but has an additional key lock knob for changing the pitch without affecting the tempo. Most skins come in both 1024 and 1280 pixel wide versions, and many more skins can be downloaded from the Mixvibes website.
Like many DJ apps, Mixvibes is by default visually split into two sections. The top section is for the two audio players, and the bottom houses the song library. More features can be added from the 'view' menu - these include a third player, crossfader, channel fader and EQ, auto gain/compressor/limiter, effects section and sampler. Having these hidden by default is probably a good idea, since many of the functions are not relevant when using an external mixer, and this keeps the interface uncluttered and simple. The various features can be moved around so you can decide which layout works best for you.
Players
Let's start off with the basic features - the players include the usual transport functions like play/pause, cue, pitch fader and so on. These will be of limited use to DJs using Mixvibes as a DVS, but can be used to operate the third player or to play a set without external control if desired. There is a large zoomable waveform display that scrolls as the track plays, and a smaller display below that shows an overview of the track - features that users of any DJ app will be familiar with. The waveforms show a sum of the left and right channels, but can be switched into a stereo mode should that be required.
Looping works much the same as other programs - you use the 'in' and 'out' buttons to define the start and end of the loop, and hit 'out' again to stop it looping. Loops can be stored in any of the eight 'loop memory' buttons and will be saved along with the track to the mediabase, so perfectly timed loops can be set up ahead of time. I found this extremely handy for storing the best loopable sections from tracks or collections of beats. There is also an 'auto-loop' feature, which loops a user-defined number of bars, and relies on the BPM detection. Cue points are similarly familiar - assign them by clicking on one of the eight 'location' buttons, and any further clicks will jump to that cue point. Right clicking resets the selected cue point.
A new feature with this version is the 'Key Lock' knob - this changes the pitch of the track without affecting the tempo. This was previously quite fiddly to do within Mixvibes Handily, the pitch change is displayed in semitones to aid in harmonic mixing - if you know what key the currently playing track was written in, you can transpose the next track to match so there are no horrible clashes. This could potentially be used in conjunction with external key analysis software such as Mixed In Key. With Master Tempo mode the reverse is possible - i.e. altering the speed without changing the speed - but this means changes cannot be made with your turntable's pitch slider and must be made in Mixvibes The time-stretching algorithm isn't bad, but it starts to break up if you push it much beyond +/-10%.
Effects may be overused by DJs these days, but they can add spice to almost any set if used sparingly. Mixvibes' effect selection used to be rather laughable - but it now comes with a full compliment of effects, including several types of highpass and lowpass filters, phasers, chorus, reverb, and a waveshaping distortion. The effects can be used direct from the player in the more advanced skins, or from a separate effects window which can be added from the 'view' menu. Up to three parameters can be controlled from the player, and more tweaks can be performed by clicking the 'EDIT' button.
Another feature which wasn't in the last reviewed version is the Sampler - this is added to the main screen using the 'view' menu. The sampler works rather like an MPC - you get sixteen 'pads' onto which audio files and loops can be loaded onto. This can either be done by dragging them in from the mediabase, or clicking the 'SEND' button on one of the players. Loops can be set up in the players and then sent to the sampler (handy for layering loops) and it comes with its own EQ and effects section, along with tempo control and several triggering modes for playing multiple samples at once. The pads can of course be assigned to MIDI controllers, so if you have an M-Audio Trigger Finger or similar, you can use that to lay down live drum beats or play one-shot samples with ease.
Vinyl Control and Latency
Vinyl control is engaged by clicking the large 'VINYL' button. This causes the pitch fader and transport buttons to be disabled, and starts displaying the timecode detection quality in a little box so you know when to clean your needles. There is also a 'bypass' button, which disables the player and allows regular vinyl to be played through Mixvibes without the use of splitter cables. Three tracking modes are offered : Absolute mode which tracks speed and position just like real vinyl, Relative mode which only tracks speed, and Relative Time which is like a hybrid of the two - when the needle is dropped on a new location, the track jumps to that position, but otherwise it behaves exactly like relative mode. Looping and cue points are only available in the relative modes, but accurate tracking with no cue slip is guaranteed in absolute mode - so this is the mode beat jugglers will want. Scratch and mix DJs should be happy with one of the relative modes.
Latency is a key word with DVSs, and what is considered an acceptable amount rather depends on the kind of DJ you are. The scratch crowd will want as low latency as possible, whereas mix-only DJs will be able to put up with a few extra milliseconds. Latency on a particular system is affected by many things - the type of USB controller on the motherboard, how the drivers are set up, and even how many devices are plugged into the other USB ports at the time. By using another PC and soundcard plugged into the inputs and outputs, I was able to record the total system latency of the U46MK2 and Mixvibes combo. At a buffer size of 64 samples at 44.1khz, the lowest latency I could achieve was 12milliseconds, and a more typical value was 16ms. I didn't have a copy handy to compare, but I'm told Serato can achieve 7ms. Regardless, 16ms is certainly low enough to mix perfectly. It should be noted that most of the latency is caused by the soundcard and USB controller rather than the software, and Mixvibes itself has almost no inherent latency.
Scratch performance is good, perhaps a touch laggy on intricate scratches, but certainly acceptable for general purpose cutting. There is very little cue drift in the relative modes (generally only drifting when the needle skipped) and none at all in absolute mode. Users with computers that can handle a buffer size of 48 samples will no doubt benefit from even better performance. Unlike Torq and MsPinky, the timecode is monodirectional, meaning that the tracking is less accurate in reverse motions than forward ones - but this didn't cause any juggling problems for me except when the needles were dirty.
The Media library
Media management is arguably the most important feature of any DJ application, and a poor implementation can easily ruin an otherwise perfect DJ program. Mixvibes' track library (or 'MediaBase' as it calls it) is thankfully very easy to navigate. Tracks are added to the library using the 'explorer' pane on the right - either by dragging them into the MediaBase, or by scanning entire directories of files at once. Scanning even huge music libraries takes almost no time at all (less than 20 seconds for 20Gb of mp3s on my system). Mixvibes will automatically read the id3 tags from the tracks and populate the database with them - but this information can be edited directly from the mediabase in the event of mistagged files.
Once added into the mediabase, finding the track you want can be done in several ways. Firstly, typing into the 'search filter' box will display tracks containing that text - and this can be set to filter by title, artist, filename or any other field. Secondly, tracks can be sorted by any of the fields by clicking on the column headers in the mediabase - handy for getting a BPM-sorted list so you can find tracks with a similar tempo easily. Thirdly, the 'Selection' pane provides a list of groups that the track list can be narrowed by, such as artist and genre. New groups can be easily added from the selection pane, so making up virtual record boxes is a doddle. Finally, a 'playlist' pane can be added from the 'view' menu, and tracks can be dragged from the mediabase into it. I can see this being useful for performing routines, or any set that requires a fixed song list.
Mixvibes supports all the usual audio formats - mp3, wma, wav and aiff - as well as some slightly more niche ones such as ogg and FLAC. The decision to add the latter is a fantastic idea - many DJs still claim they can hear the difference between even a 320k mp3 and a CD, but since FLAC uses lossless compression, it may persuade a few technological holdouts to switch to the digital world. Support for DRM-mangled media such as iTunes downloads is not present, but no self-respecting DJ keeps their music in that sort of format anyway.
Controllers
Mixvibes wouldn't be much of a DJ app if it didn't have the ability to be operated by external controllers and interfaces. The controller support in version 6 was at best rather sparse - it had no built-in MIDI mapping editor, and the default mapping configurations were only usable with a limited range controllers. Users could edit the mappings, but this had to be done from a separate program, and this is far from an acceptable solution. Thankfully, with this version Mixvibes have seen fit to include a comprehensive MIDI map editor as well as automatic learning capabilities. The latter works reasonably well for most controllers, but to make the most of some features the MIDI editor will be required.
Operating the auto learn function couldn't be more easy - just click the 'learn' button, hover the mouse pointer over the function you want to assign, and touch the control on the midi device you want to assign it to. From that point on, that control - be it a button, fader or knob - will be assigned to the function you selected. This can be done for pretty much every function in Mixvibes, with the exception of mediabase controls. One slightly annoying problem I had was when assigning functions to devices with buttons that send MIDI notes rather than Control Changes. Mixvibes would assign the function to both the 'Note on' and 'note off' messages, causing (for example) cue points to trigger when the key was pressed AND when it was released. This was easily mitigated by disabling learning before releasing the button, or using the editor to delete the erroneous mapping, but it's something that new users might need to watch out for.
The MIDI editor (found in 'options') looks rather unintuitive at first glance - more like a spreadsheet than a DJ tool. Some knowledge of how MIDI works will be extremely useful here, and even a seasoned geek may have trouble with it initially. It does however offer complete configuration over all parameters and commands, and some fairly advanced stuff can be done here. For example, I was able to set up my MIDI keyboard to operate the Key Lock knob - this changed the pitch of the track when I hit keys on the keyboard, just like a Vestax Controller One. There are lots of other ways the MIDI mapper can be used, and learning this screen is essential to getting the most out of your MIDI controller. Unfortunately, using more than one MIDI device at once is completely out of the question - this was very irritating to me, as I wanted to be able to assign my nanoKONTROL to the effects and loops and my keyboard to the key lock as above.
Also included are some pre-set mappings for some of the most popular controllers, including the Pioneer CDJ-400, the Vestax VCI-100, and many more. The default setup for my Korg NanoKONTROL was of little use to me, since it was clearly intended to be used without vinyl control, but it was a good starting point for creating my own profile. New map files are regularly posted to the Mixvibes website, so even if you can't find a suitable map file for your controller chances are someone will have made one.
Keyboard shortcuts work exactly the same as MIDI mappings - using the 'learn' button as before, but instead of touching a control you hit a key on the keyboard. There is also a separate mapping editor for keyboard shortcuts which looks identical to the MIDI editor. Presets are included for various types of users and keyboard localizations, and these include a handy diagram showing which key does what.
Final thoughts
Mixvibes has certainly come a long way since version 6, which was the last version reviewed on Skratchworx. Many new features have been added, and the entire program feels much more professional and easy to use thanks to the new skins. MIDI support especially has been improved immensely (to the point where it's actually usable now) and the sampler is a very nice touch. Some have criticised past versions of Mixvibes for being unstable, and thankfully this was no issue - the program only crashed on me once, and that was because I tripped over the USB cable. I also tried it on three different computers (two running XP, one running vista) and had no problems with compatibility or drivers.
There are some problems, however. Documentation is sparse at best - the box included no manual, just a quick start guide for the U46MK2. I was able to find a manual on the Mixvibes website (http://www.mixvibes.com/site/pageeng/page.php?x=manual) but it was slightly out of date and simply didn't cover all the features. Another major issue is the MIDI functionality - it doesn't support multiple MIDI devices at once, and the MIDI editor will be totally incomprehensible to new users.
The low-end DVS market has gotten a bit more complicated recently with the release of Traktor Scratch Duo - which at around £299/$399 is more expensive than Mixvibes and doesn't have a sampler, but carries all Native Instruments' marketing clout and is a much more polished piece of software. The other competitor in this price range is M-audio's Torq pack (around £180/$299) which has a less capable audio interface but is also slightly cheaper and easier to use. Despite being very different-looking pieces of software, there really isn't much to choose between these three in terms of features - so which you decide to buy rather depends on your personal preference. There is a demo version of Mixvibes available from the website, so be sure to give that a whirl before making up your mind.
What Mapping Files Types Can Be Used In Mixvibes Free
Torq - £180 / $299
Traktor Scratch Duo - £299 / $399
Mixvibes - £230 / $350
Ratings
Build Quality
The U46MK2 is solid, and the control vinyl is thin and well-pressed.
Sound Quality
Faultless audio quality, even when executing slow scratches. Effects sound great, but time stretching could be improved.
Features & Implementation
All features are present and correct, but the user interface can get in the way sometimes.
Value For Money
Considering the high quality of the soundcard and the completeness of the software, the DVS pack MK2 is a bargain.
Pros:
+ Soundcard is great
+ Lots of advanced/unique features
+ Reasonably Priced
Cons:
- User interface has some rough edges
- MIDI implementation still needs some work
- Poor documentation
MixVibes is a Soundmixer with built-in Software to Create playlists. You can use this Software up to four different sound cards and speak in a variety of media such as MP, WMA, ASF, MIDI, AU, or AIF together.
Didn't you always want your favorite songs a very personal Touch and give this to your liking change? With MixVibes be the DJ. The program offers you the opportunity to a variety of music and individually adapt it to your needs.
Here are no limits to what the media type or the length of the music. You can be both so-called real-time effects, like Echo, Reverb, Chorus, Flanging, Phasing, Modulation, Filter, and Voice Removal apply, as well as in the individual channels in the volume, the Equalizer and the BPM adjust values.
The Software with its basic functions as a Freeware available, but you can purchase the Pro Version, still to be expanded and then more precisely to the personal needs of professionals to be adjusted.With MixVibes include breaks between the songs on your next private party a thing of the past.
This means the netzwelt-Redaktion to MixVibes
Total met MixVibes its purpose in a high degree, and is also very clear and easy to use built. Anyone with Windows can work, even with this Software will have no problems. Not only for beginners here is a large spectrum of possibilities offered, and satisfactory results can be with just a few clicks and be saved. One must, however, have a certain penchant for Mixing music and editing of this, so that you gradually deeper into the Software and arrive to their full potential.
MixVibes screenshots
You can free download MixVibes and safe install the latest trial or new full version for Windows 10 (x32, 64 bit, 86) from the official site.
What Mapping Files Types Can Be Used In Mixvibes 5
Devices: Desktop PC, Laptop (ASUS, HP, DELL, Acer, Lenovo, MSI), Ultrabook
What Mapping Files Types Can Be Used In Mixvibes 1
OS: Professional, Enterprise, Education, Home Edition, versions: 1507, 1511, 1607, 1703, 1709, 1803, 1809