12 ms·

Deej: An open-source hardware volume mixer for Windows and Linux

176 points by EclipseMantis 3y ago

hlfshell 3y ago
I absolutely adore thess kind of DIY projects, where it becomes easily expandable and gets a good community empowering a feedback loop of better and better features. LTT recently did a video about deej in their recent cheap gadgets video. https://youtu.be/8BxVi6YiicQ https://youtu.be/8BxVi6YiicQ
valty 3y ago
What I really need is a software bass/treble control that can be mapped to keyboard shortcut.
- juitpykyk 3y ago
  VoiceMeeter and it's macro buttons can do that.
- emmanueloga_ 3y ago
  https://duckduckgo.com/?q=system+wide+mixer https://duckduckgo.com/?q=system+wide+mixer
  - valty 3y ago
    And which one has a keyboard shortcut for bass/treble smarty pants?
    - emmanueloga_ 3y ago
      Depends, which OS are you on? The first search result (eqMac [1]) says it supports Hotkeys. Hopefully you can find one that meets your reqs! -- 1: https://github.com/bitgapp/eqMac https://github.com/bitgapp/eqMac
      - valty 3y ago
        > "says" I had of course already checked and it does not. https://github.com/bitgapp/eqMac/issues/380 https://github.com/bitgapp/eqMac/issues/380 So please remind me of why your condescending comment was necessary?
- hagbard_c 3y ago
  While this is certainly possible to hack together using LADSPA [1] plugins it may be easiest to use something like e.g. Easy Effects [2], configure some sound profiles - 'music', 'voice', 'video', '...' - and configure some key combinations to load these on demand using easyeffects -l <preset>. As to how to bind these keys depends on your operating environment, this is how it could look in e.g. Xmonad (which is what I use): newKeys conf@(XConfig {XMonad.modMask = modm}) = [ ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_m), spawn "easyeffects -l music"), ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_v), spawn "easyeffects -l video") ] In this (contrived) example you'd press SHIFT-L_ALT-m to enable the 'music' profile, SHIFT-L_ALT-v for the 'video' profile. You can also make a script which cycles through available plugins and bind that to a key, showing which plugin is activated when the key is pressed. There are many ways which lead to this version of Rome, choose the one you like best. If you're using Gnome there is an extension which does most of the work: https://github.com/wwmm/easyeffects/wiki/Preset-Selector-GNOME-Extension https://github.com/wwmm/easyeffects/wiki/Preset-Selector-GNO... (quote) It basicly adds a button to your top panel. Then you can click on it to see your available presets and click one to activate it without opening EasyEffects window. It also adds keyboard shortcuts to cycle through available input and output presets. Those can be set from extensions preferences window. Default keybindings are Ctrl + Super + o for output and Ctrl + Super + i for input presets. [1] http://www.ladspa.org/ http://www.ladspa.org/ [2] https://github.com/wwmm/easyeffects https://github.com/wwmm/easyeffects
dan_can_code 3y ago
Another HN project to add onto the neverending list! I am always having to tab out of Apex to adjust the mix with discord, every time I play. This is a really fun solution. Thank you for sharing.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
corn-cheese 3y ago
I’ve thought about building something similar, but for an arbitrary number of sound sources, with a single flying fader, a small mono display for icons, and some buttons. …hang on a minute, it already (kind of) exists: https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/stream-deck-plus-black https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/stream-deck-plus-black
- nkko 3y ago
  Everything already exists, which is no excuse for doing it again.
- NoxiousPluK 3y ago
  Also check some of the forks of Deej; some already implement this in a DIY form
- diggan 3y ago
  Maybe I'm blind, but what you linked doesn't seem to have any faders, and instead have four knobs?
joelhaasnoot 3y ago
I need this for Mac!
- Mashimo 3y ago
  Maybe an Elgato StreamDeck +?
- spicykraken 3y ago
  <insert meme here where it's just one fader like their older mice with one button>
prmoustache 3y ago
Unless the faders are motorized, which I believe are expensive, I don't see how you can make that thing work reliably without some nasty surprises. What happens if you change the levels through software and your faders do not move? I would just have used rotary encoders.
- RUnconcerned 3y ago
  Audio software will typically allow you to configure a soft takeover, where you must move the fader or knob until it matches the software value, and only then does it take over, to eliminate these surprises. Rotary encoders are just not as good for controlling volume as faders.
  - 3D30497420 3y ago
    Curious why rotary encoders aren't as good. I'm guessing because you cannot visually see the volume or the potential range based on the state of the interface? (E.g., How much is 1 tick of the rotary encoder? Who knows?) I've been thinking about using a rotary encoder for lights to deal with this problem specifically (light state being out of sync with a fader/pot). I figure I'll just have software figure out the new state based on the user interaction.
    - usrusr 3y ago
      Either not enough resolution to tweak some nuance or too many rotations needed for a wide swing. Perhaps rotaries with 256+ increments per rotation exist, but I think most are much lower. A sample I just checked seems to have 64 per turn, pleasantly surprised but still not really there yet. The 128 values of a legacy MIDI CC are typically over 270 degrees I think.
- Nexxxeh 3y ago
  >What happens if you change the levels through software and your faders do not move? Wouldn't your software changes are overwritten by the absolute values from the Deej? That wouldn't be a surprise. I haven't dug through the code for the app, so I don't know if it monitors the levels in software and immediately corrects them with the hardware values, if it loops at a specific interval, or only triggers on significant hardware value change. But if not monitored, I can't imagine it would be an insurmountable task to add.
NikkiA 3y ago
You can buy premade MIDI faders for about $25 [0], there's no way that the hardware aspect of this project is worth making over that. The software is the only real issue, at a quick glance, [1] appears to be relatively equivalent for generic MIDI fader support, perhaps with a few more bells and whistles available. [0] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005589381790.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005589381790.html (a chinese clone of the korg nanoControl 2, the original korg aren't that great quality, but they work, the clones are 'just as good', or you can pay more for korg or another brand) [1] https://www.midi-mixer.com/ https://www.midi-mixer.com/
- logro 3y ago
  There's no way this project is for you. But let us enjoy it at least.
- Mashimo 3y ago
  > there's no way that the hardware aspect of this project is worth making over that. Well making it yourself would allow it to customize it to your needs. I though about creating something to hang below my monitor. That way it will not take any desk real-estate. If you buy a chip with pins you don't even need to solder, just use female to female dupont. Of course buying a midi controller is a valid option. I would just not say there is "no way" creating it yourself is not worth it.
- crote 3y ago
  That MIDI controller is absolutely massive, you're not going to casually put that next to or above your keyboard like you can with the Deej. It's a neat product, but a completely different market.
  - jauntywundrkind 3y ago
    It probably looks bigger in photo than it really is. The nanokontrol2 is a bit over a foot long. It feels pretty small in practice. Worth mentioning about the NanoKontrol2, it is quite a beast to use well. To get control over the LEDs you need to send a variety of sysex midi messages. In general I found the midi control to be pretty daunting when trying to talk to mine. There was a lot more going on than I expected: https://cdn.korg.com/us/support/download/files/aeb2862daf0cb7db826d8c62f51ec28d.txt https://cdn.korg.com/us/support/download/files/aeb2862daf0cb...
bramhaag 3y ago
This is neat! Is there a list of simple DIY hardware projects somewhere? I have a 3D printer and a bunch of microcontrollers laying around that don't get much use.
- Mashimo 3y ago
  Can't help you with a list. But https://hackaday.com/ https://hackaday.com/ features sometimes nice DIY project, I often also see them popping up on youtube. But you might be able to find some if you search on 3D printing websites such as https://www.printables.com/ https://www.printables.com/
  - zokier 3y ago
    Hackaday also has their .io community site which has tons of (uncurated) projects: https://hackaday.io/discover https://hackaday.io/discover
zelphirkalt 3y ago
Would be funny, if this is as useless as the Windows volume mixer itself, because as a person with OK hearing, you need to regulate volume between 0 and 5 out of 100, while on GNU/Linux distros you could use it just fine. Imagine that in a scene: A: Hey, somehow it is super loud when I use this to regulate volume. How come yours is set so high? B: Ha, that's because you are regulating volume on Windows, where it maps 1 to 1 to the software volume mixer! A: frustrated stare at their screen showing a Windows desktop B: Having fun with volume regulation going wuuuuiii
- Mashimo 3y ago
  Can not confirm. On my windows I often regulate the volume between ~20 - ~80%
- lukevp 3y ago
  Sounds like your hardware isn’t set right. The volume of your hardware device should be set so that it’s barely above comfortable listening volume when your device is at 100%, and then the device attenuation works from there. You probably have the hardware volume maxed out, which is also bad because it tends to run the amplifier all-out which will use much more power and generate more heat, as well as having lower dynamic range because you’re only using a subset of the amp’s range if you’re keeping it at a comfortable listening volume.
  - zelphirkalt 3y ago
    I never have my hardware "maxed out". Usually barely 50%. But anyway, all of my Windows using friends have the same problem and find it equally ridiculous. Seems like whatever Windows does by default on our machines is just a not working so well default.
    - bongodongobob 3y ago
      I've worked with hundreds and hundreds of users over a decade and this is not a thing, no idea what you're talking abut. Learn to set your gain properly on your external amplifier, it's a you problem, not Windows.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

176 points by EclipseMantis 3y ago

I absolutely adore thess kind of DIY projects, where it becomes easily expandable and gets a good community empowering a feedback loop of better and better features. LTT recently did a video about deej in their recent cheap gadgets video. https://youtu.be/8BxVi6YiicQ https://youtu.be/8BxVi6YiicQ

valty 3y ago

What I really need is a software bass/treble control that can be mapped to keyboard shortcut.

juitpykyk 3y ago
VoiceMeeter and it's macro buttons can do that.
emmanueloga_ 3y ago
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=system+wide+mixer https://duckduckgo.com/?q=system+wide+mixer
- valty 3y ago
  And which one has a keyboard shortcut for bass/treble smarty pants?
  - emmanueloga_ 3y ago
    Depends, which OS are you on? The first search result (eqMac [1]) says it supports Hotkeys. Hopefully you can find one that meets your reqs! -- 1: https://github.com/bitgapp/eqMac https://github.com/bitgapp/eqMac
    - valty 3y ago
      > "says" I had of course already checked and it does not. https://github.com/bitgapp/eqMac/issues/380 https://github.com/bitgapp/eqMac/issues/380 So please remind me of why your condescending comment was necessary?
hagbard_c 3y ago
While this is certainly possible to hack together using LADSPA [1] plugins it may be easiest to use something like e.g. Easy Effects [2], configure some sound profiles - 'music', 'voice', 'video', '...' - and configure some key combinations to load these on demand using easyeffects -l <preset>. As to how to bind these keys depends on your operating environment, this is how it could look in e.g. Xmonad (which is what I use): newKeys conf@(XConfig {XMonad.modMask = modm}) = [ ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_m), spawn "easyeffects -l music"), ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_v), spawn "easyeffects -l video") ] In this (contrived) example you'd press SHIFT-L_ALT-m to enable the 'music' profile, SHIFT-L_ALT-v for the 'video' profile. You can also make a script which cycles through available plugins and bind that to a key, showing which plugin is activated when the key is pressed. There are many ways which lead to this version of Rome, choose the one you like best. If you're using Gnome there is an extension which does most of the work: https://github.com/wwmm/easyeffects/wiki/Preset-Selector-GNOME-Extension https://github.com/wwmm/easyeffects/wiki/Preset-Selector-GNO... (quote) It basicly adds a button to your top panel. Then you can click on it to see your available presets and click one to activate it without opening EasyEffects window. It also adds keyboard shortcuts to cycle through available input and output presets. Those can be set from extensions preferences window. Default keybindings are Ctrl + Super + o for output and Ctrl + Super + i for input presets. [1] http://www.ladspa.org/ http://www.ladspa.org/ [2] https://github.com/wwmm/easyeffects https://github.com/wwmm/easyeffects

dan_can_code 3y ago

Another HN project to add onto the neverending list! I am always having to tab out of Apex to adjust the mix with discord, every time I play. This is a really fun solution. Thank you for sharing.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

corn-cheese 3y ago

I’ve thought about building something similar, but for an arbitrary number of sound sources, with a single flying fader, a small mono display for icons, and some buttons. …hang on a minute, it already (kind of) exists: https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/stream-deck-plus-black https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/stream-deck-plus-black

nkko 3y ago
Everything already exists, which is no excuse for doing it again.
NoxiousPluK 3y ago
Also check some of the forks of Deej; some already implement this in a DIY form
diggan 3y ago
Maybe I'm blind, but what you linked doesn't seem to have any faders, and instead have four knobs?

joelhaasnoot 3y ago

I need this for Mac!

Mashimo 3y ago
Maybe an Elgato StreamDeck +?
spicykraken 3y ago
<insert meme here where it's just one fader like their older mice with one button>

prmoustache 3y ago

Unless the faders are motorized, which I believe are expensive, I don't see how you can make that thing work reliably without some nasty surprises. What happens if you change the levels through software and your faders do not move? I would just have used rotary encoders.

RUnconcerned 3y ago
Audio software will typically allow you to configure a soft takeover, where you must move the fader or knob until it matches the software value, and only then does it take over, to eliminate these surprises. Rotary encoders are just not as good for controlling volume as faders.
- 3D30497420 3y ago
  Curious why rotary encoders aren't as good. I'm guessing because you cannot visually see the volume or the potential range based on the state of the interface? (E.g., How much is 1 tick of the rotary encoder? Who knows?) I've been thinking about using a rotary encoder for lights to deal with this problem specifically (light state being out of sync with a fader/pot). I figure I'll just have software figure out the new state based on the user interaction.
  - usrusr 3y ago
    Either not enough resolution to tweak some nuance or too many rotations needed for a wide swing. Perhaps rotaries with 256+ increments per rotation exist, but I think most are much lower. A sample I just checked seems to have 64 per turn, pleasantly surprised but still not really there yet. The 128 values of a legacy MIDI CC are typically over 270 degrees I think.
Nexxxeh 3y ago
>What happens if you change the levels through software and your faders do not move? Wouldn't your software changes are overwritten by the absolute values from the Deej? That wouldn't be a surprise. I haven't dug through the code for the app, so I don't know if it monitors the levels in software and immediately corrects them with the hardware values, if it loops at a specific interval, or only triggers on significant hardware value change. But if not monitored, I can't imagine it would be an insurmountable task to add.

NikkiA 3y ago

You can buy premade MIDI faders for about $25 [0], there's no way that the hardware aspect of this project is worth making over that. The software is the only real issue, at a quick glance, [1] appears to be relatively equivalent for generic MIDI fader support, perhaps with a few more bells and whistles available. [0] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005589381790.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005589381790.html (a chinese clone of the korg nanoControl 2, the original korg aren't that great quality, but they work, the clones are 'just as good', or you can pay more for korg or another brand) [1] https://www.midi-mixer.com/ https://www.midi-mixer.com/

logro 3y ago
There's no way this project is for you. But let us enjoy it at least.
Mashimo 3y ago
> there's no way that the hardware aspect of this project is worth making over that. Well making it yourself would allow it to customize it to your needs. I though about creating something to hang below my monitor. That way it will not take any desk real-estate. If you buy a chip with pins you don't even need to solder, just use female to female dupont. Of course buying a midi controller is a valid option. I would just not say there is "no way" creating it yourself is not worth it.
crote 3y ago
That MIDI controller is absolutely massive, you're not going to casually put that next to or above your keyboard like you can with the Deej. It's a neat product, but a completely different market.
- jauntywundrkind 3y ago
  It probably looks bigger in photo than it really is. The nanokontrol2 is a bit over a foot long. It feels pretty small in practice. Worth mentioning about the NanoKontrol2, it is quite a beast to use well. To get control over the LEDs you need to send a variety of sysex midi messages. In general I found the midi control to be pretty daunting when trying to talk to mine. There was a lot more going on than I expected: https://cdn.korg.com/us/support/download/files/aeb2862daf0cb7db826d8c62f51ec28d.txt https://cdn.korg.com/us/support/download/files/aeb2862daf0cb...

bramhaag 3y ago

This is neat! Is there a list of simple DIY hardware projects somewhere? I have a 3D printer and a bunch of microcontrollers laying around that don't get much use.

Mashimo 3y ago
Can't help you with a list. But https://hackaday.com/ https://hackaday.com/ features sometimes nice DIY project, I often also see them popping up on youtube. But you might be able to find some if you search on 3D printing websites such as https://www.printables.com/ https://www.printables.com/
- zokier 3y ago
  Hackaday also has their .io community site which has tons of (uncurated) projects: https://hackaday.io/discover https://hackaday.io/discover

zelphirkalt 3y ago

Would be funny, if this is as useless as the Windows volume mixer itself, because as a person with OK hearing, you need to regulate volume between 0 and 5 out of 100, while on GNU/Linux distros you could use it just fine. Imagine that in a scene: A: Hey, somehow it is super loud when I use this to regulate volume. How come yours is set so high? B: Ha, that's because you are regulating volume on Windows, where it maps 1 to 1 to the software volume mixer! A: frustrated stare at their screen showing a Windows desktop B: Having fun with volume regulation going wuuuuiii

Mashimo 3y ago
Can not confirm. On my windows I often regulate the volume between ~20 - ~80%
lukevp 3y ago
Sounds like your hardware isn’t set right. The volume of your hardware device should be set so that it’s barely above comfortable listening volume when your device is at 100%, and then the device attenuation works from there. You probably have the hardware volume maxed out, which is also bad because it tends to run the amplifier all-out which will use much more power and generate more heat, as well as having lower dynamic range because you’re only using a subset of the amp’s range if you’re keeping it at a comfortable listening volume.
- zelphirkalt 3y ago
  I never have my hardware "maxed out". Usually barely 50%. But anyway, all of my Windows using friends have the same problem and find it equally ridiculous. Seems like whatever Windows does by default on our machines is just a not working so well default.
  - bongodongobob 3y ago
    I've worked with hundreds and hundreds of users over a decade and this is not a thing, no idea what you're talking abut. Learn to set your gain properly on your external amplifier, it's a you problem, not Windows.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]