Simple to use playback device

[John M]

I have been using a laptop running Mixmeister with USB DI box for playback of backing tracks. I have had some bad experiences where tracks don't play or the wrong track is selected. So I am looking for a standalone device that faces upwards with nice clear indication of the song to be played and  large start, stop, next buttons. The DJ controllers that I have seen are overly complex and rack mounts generally have small screens and are not ideal for working in the dark. Any suggestions? Ideally less than £400. Or is there better software than Mixmeister that is worth a try

[sclg]

If you want to stick with the laptop, look at SCS - https://www.showcuesystems.com

The lowest version would probably do what you want and it is easy to use and foolproof.

Stand alone players aren't something I know about but I'm sure others will be along with suggestions.

 

[John M]

Thanks for the tip. I have downloaded the demo. My first thought is that it looks ideal but the setting up for playlists looks a bit complex... But I have only spent about 5 minutes with it so far.

[Robin D]

Yes. It takes a little learning. The help function is great, as is the forum... And if all that fails, as it did for me on one occasion. A support request was responded too overnight. 

Ps: The issue was me being in a hurry and not reading the manual properly else I would have noted that what I was trying to do wasn't available in the base version so I needed to pay for an upgrade.

 

[Gerry]

There is also MultiPlay, written and very well supported by one of our Blue- Room members, David Duffy.

It's free and available from https://www.da-share.com/software/multiplay/

Cheers

Gerry

[sandall]

I though it would be useful to have a copy on my office PC, but (maybe I'm just being thick) I can't find any way of downloading even v.2.5.5, never mind v.3.

[David Duffy]

V3 can be downloaded from the last post of the beta release thread in the forum:

https://da-share.com/forum/

[sandall]

Ok, got it thanks David

[John M]

I can see the advantage of laptop or tablet based systems but they still need a decent audio interface, can be subject to software glitches and I just don't trust myself with a mouse or finger tap for selecting and playing tracks- although the space bar is a good option .  My son is a DJ and he uses a very nice Dennon prime go player that is stand alone, can run off batteries or mains, nice large screen, plays FLAC as well as MP3 etc  and can also control a laptop but I just don't want or need the level of complexity of that model and Dennon do not seem to have a stripped down version that I can find.

On 10/16/2022 at 4:11 PM, Robin D said:

Yes. It takes a little learning. The help function is great, as is the forum... And if all that fails, as it did for me on one occasion. A support request was responded too overnight. 

Ps: The issue was me being in a hurry and not reading the manual properly else I would have noted that what I was trying to do wasn't available in the base version so I needed to pay for an upgrade.

 

Hi Robin. I now have the pro version but I cant see anywhere that lists the cue operations eg how would I do the following -  play track 1 using the space bar then auto stop at the end, Play track 2 play and continue to track 3  without a break, Auto stop at the end of track 3. I  cant see a drop down list of functions/cues so I assume they have to be typed in. If thats the case what order are the commands and what format are they. I have looked at the help menu but I am obviously missing something.

[Malcolm Gordon]

11 hours ago, John M said:

Hi Robin. I now have the pro version but I cant see anywhere that lists the cue operations eg how would I do the following -  play track 1 using the space bar then auto stop at the end, Play track 2 play and continue to track 3  without a break, Auto stop at the end of track 3. I  cant see a drop down list of functions/cues so I assume they have to be typed in. If that's the case what order are the commands and what format are they. I have looked at the help menu but I am obviously missing something.

No specific command format. In SCS Editor select 'Add Audio File Cue'. In the blue Sub-Cue area second line browse for the required audio file (...), trim the Start and End points as required, enter Fade In and Fade Out times (my default is 0.200 secs in, 0.500 secs out), to avoid possible clicks at the beginning of the track and an abrupt ending. Leave 'Activation' in the green area as 'Manual' (with space bar).  Repeat for tracks 2 and 3, but for track 3 set 'Activation' as 'Auto Start' (from dropdown) '0.0 seconds' 'after end of cue' 'Previous Cue'. For the latter you can also enter a specific cue if required. When SCS gets to the end of track 2, track 3 will auto start. Depending on the tracks, if you want achieve a seamless transition you could change it to '0.5 seconds' 'before end of cue', for example, or longer, and adjust the Fade Out of track 2 and Fade In of track 3 to suit.

The resultant cue list is usually worked through in a linear fashion using the space bar. To take tracks out of order you can navigate the cue list with up/down arrows or the mouse. Alternatively, to play tracks completely randomly you could set the Activation for each cue as 'Hotkey (Trigger)' and allocate a specific key to each track. A single keypress will then play that track.

HTH

 

[Robin D]

You got there before I did @Malcolm Gordon. Thanks.  

The only things that have tripped me up are: 

1. It's easy when picking out tracks to have two or more at the same time as it does not automatically stop the playing track if you launch another unless I am not using SFR cues correctly. 

2. I normally set the project up with default audio outputs when creating the show (Usually at home because I need to test before getting to a venue), but then when connecting via USB to a mixer or the like, you get no sound output. Caused me to panic 15 mins before a show went up. I ensure the USB driver was loaded into Windows, and even made it default to no avail. To fix, go into the Editor with the show file open, then click on the the very top line in the left column (The project file name). All the project settings will appear on the right as tabs. Just pick out the correct output devices, save, and away you go.

[Robin D]

11 hours ago, John M said:

I can see the advantage of laptop or tablet based systems but they still need a decent audio interface, can be subject to software glitches and I just don't trust myself with a mouse or finger tap for selecting and playing tracks

Any player device is using general software, generally a locked flavour of Linux. Therefore just as likely to get software glitches and generally more difficult to update. SCS also support MIDI so you could use a key pad instead of the spacebar or even multiple keys to launch each track. 

[Malcolm Gordon]

2 hours ago, Robin D said:

1. It's easy when picking out tracks to have two or more at the same time as it does not automatically stop the playing track if you launch another unless I am not using SFR cues correctly. 

2. I normally set the project up with default audio outputs when creating the show (Usually at home because I need to test before getting to a venue), but then when connecting via USB to a mixer or the like, you get no sound output. Caused me to panic 15 mins before a show went up. I ensure the USB driver was loaded into Windows, and even made it default to no avail. To fix, go into the Editor with the show file open, then click on the the very top line in the left column (The project file name). All the project settings will appear on the right as tabs. Just pick out the correct output devices, save, and away you go.

1. In general use SCS is designed to be able to have multiple tracks playing at the same time, potentially to different devices, for sound effects etc. Playing backing tracks is a bit more specialised. SFR cues will do just what is asked of them, e.g. act on a particular cue or all playing cues. In linear mode if you want a running track (1) to stop when the next track (2) is played, you add an SFR cue as a sub-cue to cue (2), fading out cue (1), actioned at the same time or with a relative time difference if required. If you don't know which cue will be playing then you can select 'all playing cues'. However if you are going to play cues randomly you would need to add that sub-cue to each cue.

2. I have been using SCS since 2005, so much of what I do is automatic, but I still get caught out sometimes. The program has become a bit more forgiving over the years but, in general you need devices connected and the drivers loaded in Windows before starting SCS if the program is to find them. I use a laptop with an optical as well as normal audio output, and set the project up with alternative device maps so I can swap between the two if necessary.

[The Boogie Man]

It maybe of no use to you whatsoever, but when I went through this scenario of adding backing tracks to an acoustic show a few years ago, I couldn't find anything that played reliably or in good enough quality. I tried boss loopers and stand alone players, but in the end I used one of my old comps running cubase 5 into a fireface800. I use midi instrument tracks for backing so I have individual tracks at 24/96 for mixing at foh and I control it by using the commands in cubase. I set markers and have the space bar as a command to 'play to next marker.' 
To get round the foot control issue, I opened up a keyboard and added a foot switch to issue the command.
It works well, I have it going to an old allen and heath mixer, but the outputs from the ff800 could just as easily go straight to amps on stage.