M-Audio Digital DJ System manual Deck Mode, Vinyl Mode, CDJ Mode, Hybrid Mode, Looping

Torq MixLab User Guide » Chapter 3 12

Deck Mode

In order for Torq LE to feel familiar to all types of DJs, the Decks can be operated in one of three different modes.

<Vinyl Mode

Vinyl Mode will make the Deck behave as if it was a turntable. This means:

1.Pressing Play/Pause to pause playback will cause audio to stop, just like pressing stop on a turntable.

2.Clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform will have audible results, like scratching a record.

<CDJ Mode

CDJ mode will make the Deck behave as if it was a CDJ player. In use:

1.Pressing Play/Pause to pause playback will cause the Deck to stop and begin repeating a small section of audio. The repeating section corresponds to the position where playback will resume when you press Play/Pause again.

2.While the audio is repeating, you can click and drag on the Scrolling Waveform to move the start location— you’ll hear the repeating audio slice change as you do this.

3.Clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform while the Deck is playing will not stop audio. Instead, you’ll be able to drag left or right to offset the playback speed of the track. This will allow you to align the track against the other Deck when beat-matching.

<Hybrid Mode

Hybrid mode provides a blend of the CDJ and Vinyl control modes:

1.Pressing Play/Pause to pause playback will cause audio to stop, just like in Vinyl mode.

2.While paused, clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform will have audible results, like scratching in Vinyl mode.

3.When playback is active, clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform will not stop audio. Instead, you’ll be able to drag left or right to offset the playback speed of the track like in CDJ mode. This will allow you to align the track against the other Deck when beat-matching.

Looping

Technology is always evolving, thus DJing is always evolving. With the introduction of DJ CD players, DJs gained many new exciting capabilities that were unavailable to them when working within the confines of vinyl records. One of those features is looping, which is merely the act of repeating a section of a song.

The creative aspect of DJing suggests that a simple trick such as looping can be exploited in a variety of ways. Indeed, you can use looping to “remix” a song by changing the arrangement—extending your favorite parts of the song. You can also use looping as a “safety net” allowing the end of a song to play infinitely, giving you more time to mix into the next song. Looping can also be used to isolate a section of the song, such as the breakbeat, for layering on top of other songs.

Torq LE offers you two different ways to loop audio. You can specify the start and end points of the loop manually, or you can capture loops of a specific length using the QuickLoop buttons. Furthermore, Torq will help you make the perfect loop every time by automatically matching your loop points to the tempo of the song.