DDJ-SB and MIDI-OUT issues

[biohzrdmx]

Hi guys!

I'm having a weird issue with my controller, a DDJ-SB and Cross DJ (I've tried the latest two versions). Simply put on, the controller feels laggy unless you turn off the MIDI-OUT option from the settings dialog; for example, as you press the CUE button repeatedly when beatmatching, sometimes there is a noticeable lag between the button press and the actual action on the software, the same applies for the Hot-CUEs and Auto-loop buttons but is specially noticeable on the SHIFT button as sometimes you want to set a Hot-CUE, trigger it a couple times and then delete it (by pressing SHIFT+CUE-1 for example): the SHIFT is not recognized and you have to wait a few seconds to try again so the press is recognized.

At first I thought it was a controller problem, so I made a few tests with the Serato DJ Intro that comes bundled with the controller and found out that it was working without any issues.

So I tried with a clean Windows 10 install and an updated Cross (3.3.11) in both 32 and 64-bit versions. But nope. Drivers are OK, Firmware is OK, latency settings are OK. "So it must be a Cross issue" I thought...

Then I tried messing with the controller settings inside Cross. After unchecking the MIDI-OUT box... voilà! zero lag! ...but then all the LEDs are off and one must be constantly looking at the computer screen to know what's going on, partially defeating the purpose of using a controller :/

This is not something new, I've had the same problem since I bougth the license. But now I want to use my copy of Cross DJ and it's frustrating that it won't work properly with even an entry-level controller. I'm starting to regret my purchase, and I've been a huge MixVibes fan since the 4.x version came around.

So what I wanted to ask is, have some of you had this kind of issues? Can it be solved without making the MIDI interface a one-way lane? Is there a previous version that got it right?

It's been almost a year since the last update so I don't know if these kind of issues are still being worked on, but if you need testing and/or additional info I'll be glad to help.

Regards.

Tech specs FYI: Windows 10 64-bit, Intel Core i5 (quad), 16GB RAM, CrossDJ 3.3.11, DDJ-SB via bundled ASIO driver.

[RoJeC]

Try disabling the quantize and snap feature. If this is it, you can enable and set lower values.

Please also confirm you have a low latency value set for your asio soundcard.

[biohzrdmx]

Hi RoJeC, thanks for the reply; I've already tried with the quantize/snap options (disabling them and lowering the values). Also fiddling with the ASIO utility settings (lowering and raising the buffer size) to no avail.

sshot-1.png

But anyway, thanks for the tips!

[RoJeC]

For sure no one is working on this issue as you're the only one reporting this. Pretty great work you found a workaround... though not the way to use it as you state....

I would suggest you use the 32bit version while working on this. This will avoid any potential problems related to 64bit drivers at your system. Once it works in 32 bit you can try the 64bit.

Have you verified that there's no update for DDJ-SB drivers or firmware is available?
Have you tried connecting to a different USB port.
Are you using an USB 2 port (or via USB 2 hub).

Are you using the default MIDI-map of Cross for the DDJ-SB or do you use a modified one...

The ASIO driver can have low latency. MIDI and audio are non related processes at your PC. Different protocols are used (technically at different ISO-OSI level). The lower the asio value the more responsive your system feels (normally...). When you get audio dropouts you have to increase the value somewhat.
Also here for testing, if your system works fine at 1.4ms, than just (for test purpose) increase to e.g. 5ms and you exclude this as a cause. 5ms is still a value that feels instant responsive.

Further things to check:
- disable anti virus (/malware/etc)
- disable energy saving settings

are you running audio tracks from internal hdd?
are the tracks you use 'normal' > common type and length till like 10min?

Hope you notice that's not really clear what the problem is, but at least we can narrow down with little effort.