Glossary
79
Appendix
“communicate” with each other. At the most basic level,
MIDI allows you to play one instrument’s sounds from the
controls or keyboard of another instrument. More sophisti-
cated uses included synchronizing two or more instruments
together, exchanging data between compatible devices, or
having a whole studio’s worth of keyboards, synthesizers,
samplers, and rhythm machines controlled from a single
computer.
Naturally, the DJX-II is MIDI compatible, and can be used
effectively in any of the above scenarios. You can sync two
DJX-IIs together (or the DJX-IIB), and have the bpm’s of
both machines lock for synchronized playback. With the
special Pattern Launcher software and a computer, you can
even load new and original Patterns to the DJX-II!
One Shot ....................................................Tips 8, 74
One Shots are audio samples that are meant to be played
back once and then stopped. On the DJX-II, the
Activator
and
Sampler
both have special One Shot keys and pads that
play short chunks of audio — such as sound effects, hits
(like cymbal crashes, orchestra hits, etc.), and voice sound
bites. In sampling, One Shot is the opposite of
Loop
.
Part .......................... Tips 27 - 38, 63 - 71, 86, 88, 89
The DJX-II Patterns contain up to eight separate instru-
ment Parts — each of which has its own special function
and sound within the rhythm. Specifically the Parts are:
Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Percussion, Bass, and Phrases 1 -3.
Depending on the Pattern, each Part may have a completely
different sound. For example, the Bass Part on one Pattern
might be an soft acoustic upright bass, while on another
Pattern it may be a buzzy synthesizer bass.
The DJX-II gives you enormous flexibility in using, control-
ling, and tweaking the sound of the Parts. Each Part can be
played alone or in virtually any combination with the others
(using the
Part Mixer
). You can single out a Part (with the
Part Selector
), and change the sound of that Part as it plays
by turning the
Part Controller
knobs.
Pattern ........................................... Tips 1 - 6, 45 - 50
Patterns are the basic building blocks of the DJX-II sound.
Each Pattern is a discrete musical/rhythmic passage, that
loops (or repeats) continuously. The Patterns contain dif-
ferent instrumental
Parts
— such as bass, kick drum, snare
drum, hi-hat, percussion, and (depending on the Pattern)
other pitched instruments such as guitar, organ, strings, etc.
Each main Pattern has ten
Variations
, which can be used
together for greater variety in performance.
Different Patterns have different lengths, but all are based
on four-beat lengths called “measures.” In other words, a
Pattern may be eight beats long (two measures) or sixteen
beats long ( four measures), but all Patterns cycle around a
basic count of “1-2-3-4.” The key to developing good
rhythm and using the Patterns musically involves knowing
this four-beat count and feeling it in your body!
Sampler .................................................. Tips 72 - 75
Sampling is an important music-making technique in
which short recorded audio passages are played back, usu-
ally from a keyboard or from pads. The Sampler on the
DJX-II lets you record any audio source — such as from a
CD, or with a microphone — and play it back as a
Loop
or
as a
One Shot
.
scratch, scratching......................................... Tip 41
This comes from turntable playing, in which the DJ rocks
the record back and forth with the needle down, creating a
scratching-like noise. On the DJX-II, scratching is done
with the
Ribbon Controller
.
Tap ............................................... Tips 78, 79, 81, 93
The DJX-II has a convenient Tap function that allows you to
change or set the bpm of the instrument simply by tapping
out a steady rhythm on the BPM/TAP button. This can be
used to automatically start a Pattern at the tapped speed, or
it can be used to instantly change the bpm of a currently
playing Pattern.
Variation .................................. Tips 2, 45, 46, 50, 89
Each of the 70
Patterns
of the DJX-II actually contains ten
separate Patterns, called “Variations.” Each Variation, as its
name implies, is a different version of the basic Pattern
rhythm. There are two types of Variations, main and fill-in.
Main Variations are used for the constant rhythm of the
music, while fill-in Variations are usually used as dynamic
breaks and transitions. In general, the higher the Variation
number, the busier or more complex the rhythm becomes.
Voice ........................................................ Tips 25, 26
When the DJX-II is set to the Keyboard mode, the keys can
be used in the conventional way — to play a single instru-
ment sound across the entire keyboard. These instrument
sounds are called “voices.” Although only one voice can be
played at one time, the DJX-II is packed with many differ-
ent voices — such as piano, organ, guitar, strings, synthe-
sizer, and many others.
O
P
S
T
V
