Documentation

Hercules DJ Console

djDecks supports the Hercules DJ Console 1, the Hercules DJ Console Mk2, and the Hercules DJ Control MP3.

Contents

Configuration - Sound Device
Configuration - Controller
General Use
Effects
Inputs

Configuration - Sound Device

You can choose to use another sound card that you may already have, or you can use the Hercules DJ Console 1 or DJ Console Mk2 as a sound device.
To do this, you need to configure the audio device in djDecks. You can find this configuration in Options->In/Out
Here's a picture of how the configuration should look like:

Check the 'Streaming ASIO' option if you have 512 MB RAM or less. See the djDecks documentation for more information about this mode.

Select 24-bit if you want to use at most one input, or select 16-bit if you want to use 2 inputs.

Configuration - Controller

To use the DJ console's controls, you have to activate it in the djDecks configuration as well. To do this, open the options window, and select the General tab.
There you can check the Hercules DJ Console option. On the DJ Console config panel, you can then connect/disconnect the hercules dj console.
You can also choose if you want to use the dj console to control the decks, or to use it as a complete effect panel.

General Use

The play/pause buttons and the cue button work in the same way as on screen or using the keyboard shortcuts.
Use the Track FWD/BCK buttons to scroll through the loaded track.
By default the crossfader will fade from one deck to the other, and the two vertical faders will control the volume of each deck. You can also configure them to control the pitch.
The Pitch endless rotary knob can be used to increase/decrease the pitch in small steps to make small adjustments to correct the pitch. If you have selected to use the faders to control the pitch, then these knobs will control the channel's volume gain.
The Bass, Medium and Treble knobs control the equalizer to cut or boost low, mid or high frequencies.
The Auto Beat button will synchronize the tempo of the deck to match the other deck. At this point the beats are not aligned automatically yet, this is something you have to do yourself using the jog wheel or pitch bend buttons.
The pitch bend buttons can be used to temporarily speed up or slow down the speed of the deck, so that the two songs can be aligned.
The Jog Wheel can be used for the same function. As long as you spin it, the song will slow up or down depending on the direction you turn it in.
When the song is not playing, the jog wheel will move the current cue point.
Use the Master Tempo button to select what the jog wheel will do. If the led is off, the jog wheel can be used for pitch bending. If the led is on the jog wheel can be used for scratching. When the led is flashing, you can use the jog wheel to scroll through the playlist.
The joystick in the center can be used to send the sound of a deck to the headphones for pre-listening. If you push it to the left-top, the left deck will be heard through the headphones. If you push it to the left-bottom the left deck will not be heard through the headphones. The right side does the same for the right deck.
Holding the button under the joystick for a second and releasing it will load the selected song from playlist or browser to the selected deck.

Effects

The DJ Console also has three effect buttons. The first effect button will activate/deactivate a 4-beat loop. The second effect buttons will activate/deactivate the flanger effect. The third effect button will activate the gapper effect for as long as the button is pressed.
By pressing the triangular button you can also select some other effect modes.
-When the Cue led is flashing, pressing one of the three buttons will select cue point 1, 2 or 3.
-When the Loop led is flashing, the buttons will start a loop of a different length

Inputs

To use one of the inputs, simply hold the Cue Button pressed for at least one second, then release it.
The sound from the input channel is than played on that channel through djDecks, and you can use all controls, effects and loops on the sound in real time. If you want to use the DJ Console in combination with Vinyl Control, you can hold the Tempo Control button pressed for at least one second to enable vinyl control on that deck.