8 ms·

Mixxx: GPL DJ Software

639 points by brudgers 2y ago

sneak 2y ago
c++, GPL2
- jcelerier 2y ago
  and Qt :D
drdirk 2y ago
What does GPL stand for?
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- frob 2y ago
  GNU General Public License: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License It's one of several options for software licenses a developer or team can use when distributing a piece of software to help ensure that it and its derivates stay free and open-source.
  - TeeMassive 2y ago
    I like your "no bad questions" attitude and your straightforward answer!
- asimovfan 2y ago
  Its like when Morpheus goes into the Matrix to free more people.
  - BlueTemplar 2y ago
    Matrixxx (and Trinity, of course, wears a GIMP suit)
- jrm4 2y ago
  Not sure whether to be dismayed or excited at the fact that this is a question on Hacker News, but those who are new to it; definitely worth doing your homework. It's the legal jiu-jitsu that has enabled Linux and countless other "Open Source" projects to remain free by preventing people from taking the code for free but then locking it back down.
apt-get 2y ago
Been using it for the past few years, nothing bad to say about it, lovely piece of software. Vendor lock-in is very present in this field, with different brands of controllers supported by a myriad of proprietary DJ applications all more interested in onboarding you to their music subscription services rather than implement useful features or support open protocols. Meanwhile, Mixxx allows you to write your own adapter scripts for any controller you have (as long as it outputs MIDI), and there's a built-in library featuring scripts for the most common commercial controllers and MIDI devices out there.
- noman-land 2y ago
  I tried it many years ago and this didn't work. Can Mixxx be used with the Rane mixers used with Serato back in the day?
  - Mashimo 2y ago
    Does the mixer speak midi? In that case probably. Is there already a mapping for you device? Check the manual https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/ https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/
    - crtasm 2y ago
      specifically: https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/hardware/manuals#hardware-manuals https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/hardware/manuals#hardware-ma... and if not there, the forum might have one: https://mixxx.discourse.group/c/controller-mappings/10 https://mixxx.discourse.group/c/controller-mappings/10 I notice that HID is also supported: https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/chapters/controlling_mixxx#control-midi https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/chapters/controlling_mixxx#c...
    - SamWhited 2y ago
      Even if there's not a mapping Mixxx has a "MIDI Learning Wizard" (I forget what they call it) where, assuming it speaks MIDI, you can plug it up, choose an action, and then move the control for that action and it will figure out how to wire it up. For simple configurations that don't require scripting (ie. no setting LEDs on the controller or what not) you can get a fully functional setup for a controller Mixxx has no knowledge of without writing any JavaScript or XML at all!
cies 2y ago
I've been using this for the few DJ sets I do per year. Very complete software, very stable also. Sadly I have to use RekordBox now that I want to not bring the laptop + DJ controller, but just a USB stick. And RekordBox does not run well on Linux (tried VirtualBox and Wine, both failed attempts). Sadly there's no RecordBox clone, or "export to RekordBox USB" feature on Mixxx.
- diggan 2y ago
  > And RekordBox does not run well on Linux RekordBox doesn't even run well on Windows, so hard to imagine what worse looks like. But yeah, if Mixxx (or other FOSS software) could offer writing playlists into USB sticks, I'd get rid of RekordBox yesterday because few software out there works as bad as RekordBox.
  - quesomaster9000 2y ago
    I considered renting out some Pioneer equipment to add RekordBox playlist writing support, mainly because I'm in a similar situation. Mixxx does have support for reading USBs & SD cards, but not writing ;_; Unfortunately it's far down my priority list given the cost, my unfamiliarity with Mixxx development and that I rarely do anything without Mixx. But this is absolutely what ecosystem grants/bounties should be for.
    - phntxx 2y ago
      Could not agree more. I recently made the switch to exclusively using Linux on Desktop machines, yet I now have to have a Windows PC laying around for the sole purpose of updating my USB using Rekordbox.
    - diggan 2y ago
      > But this is absolutely what ecosystem grants/bounties should be for. I'd be down to fund a bounty/grant for this (and I'm clearly not alone), if anyone is looking for booty :)
      - 2y ago
helpfulContrib 2y ago
>GPL DJ Software Its kind of a nuisance that, as a requirement to build Mixxx on MacOS, ones has to use foreign binaries, disable Gatekeeper, run a 'first build', and from that point on .. can treat the project as a regular CMake project. Re-enable Gatekeeper after the 'first build'. Hmm. What are the custom binaries for? Surely not cmake. Not having - yet - done this myself (until I can put it in a VM), I'm nevertheless kind of curious about this necessity. Any Mixxx/MacOs devs care to describe the contents?
- bri3d 2y ago
  You can just read the source? mixxx-deps come from a build process sourced from: https://github.com/mixxxdj/vcpkg https://github.com/mixxxdj/vcpkg The same binary-backed build process is present on Windows, too, presumably to keep people from needing to go through dependency hell to contribute to the project.
  - helpfulContrib 2y ago
    [dead]
  - hlzhs 2y ago
    That is exactly the reason. Also, some libraries we are using are not on homebrew (and we cannot easily pin a specific version). Another reason that we'd like to reduce the maintenance burden by using a similar setup for windows and macOS deps. Our dev team is small, and almost all of us use Linux. For macOS in particular we don't have anyone on the core team that uses it as their daily driver, which may also play a role when talking about the DX in macOS.
- brudgers 2y ago
  Can you recompile Gatekeeper to allow compatibility with Mixxx?
djaychela 2y ago
Used mixxx to do the djing for my wedding last year. Created a collaborative music voting site for the guests, then got all the music and made a mix which worked really well, even going between genres. Had a lot of fun playing with it getting everything ready and it worked with a couple of DJ controllers bought cheaply without any issue. I even made a little program to read the now playing track from the sqlite database which then allowed the lights to follow the music (for complex reasons I don't have time to explain). Most importantly it worked on the night without missing a beat.
- jesprenj 2y ago
  Can you share the program that reads the now playing track? We use Mixxx at a student radio station and we could maybe try using something like this to show the now-playing track on the website.
  - djaychela 2y ago
    I will see... Not being evasive but I'm experiencing terminal illness at the moment so I'm all over the place. It wasn't a complex bit of code though, but I'll see what I can find.
    - corint 2y ago
      Wishing you well - sorry to hear that you're in ill health.
      - djaychela 2y ago
        Thank you. Sorry, I had a look but I didn't find the code (it's not in the github repo for the rest of the system I made, and I no longer own the laptop I wrote it on so it's my bad). Someone has posted something similar, but it was literally just about 10 lines of python that read the right key in the dictionary and then posted that to a flask web page that another part of the system read to know what track was being played. I'm not a great programmer and it took me maybe 15 minutes to do, so it should be easy enough!
quesomaster9000 2y ago
I'm really happy that 2.5 added 'beats until next marker', which together with a USB controller from Numark I have pretty much feature complete DJ setup for under $500 (including cost of laptop & controller) without having to rely on Windows, Mac, subscription licenses or feature-crippled 'lite' versions. And it's surprising how quickly people adapt to it when they're used to other setups, within an hour a few people have gone from 'oooh, can I have a go' to showing me their own tips, tricks and different styles. Especially combined with a youtube & soundcloud downloader running on a different workspace, I can get pretty much any track into the library within a minute or two.
- perfmode 2y ago
  Which controller do you have?
treve 2y ago
Also works great with my Traktor mixer. Traktor doesn't have linux support for their software, so I was glad my mixer didn't brick after the switch
- sim7c00 2y ago
  thanks for commenting this. all i needed to know :D
starkparker 2y ago
Mixx is sneaky good as a TTRPG soundscape mixer. You can queue layer multiple ambiance tracks over tempo-matched music, build soundboards, and hook it all to hardware controls. It's overkill, but a lot of similar tools either lock you into a media ecosystem, lack some power-user functionality, have a subscription, or don't work at all on Linux or macOS.
- VagabundoP 2y ago
  I've been looking for something like this. Is it possible to stream it for an online game? I do both and need something for my creepy Call of Cthulhu game. Music and sound effects work really well with 1920s Call of Cthulhu. E: I did look at it before but got intimidated by the screenshots.
  - apt-get 2y ago
    Mixxx can stream to an icecast output or similar, you'll need to setup the stream server separately though.
iammrpayments 2y ago
I thought this was Donald’s Knuth Mix computer at first
- brudgers 2y ago
  If only he had wanted to DJ organ music.
tmountain 2y ago
I've been using this to make mix tapes at home (bought a vintage tape player). It has awesome cross fading capabilities, and it does volume normalization out of the box, so it's a very nice piece of software for those features alone. Playlist and library management is also solid. My only complaint is that the UI isn't very intuitive for a non-DJ, and it took me some time to figure out how to do basic stuff, but it's all there in the docs, so you can certainly figure it out.
- ThatMedicIsASpy 2y ago
  I've been setting up a few radio stations with playlists for azuracast for home use. The auto DJ with auto cue is amazing. Next stop is create a radio with a raspberry pi maybe with an amp hat as well.
  - radley 2y ago
    How does the auto DJ compare to something like Pacemaker?
    - diggan 2y ago
      Are you referring to this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pacemaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pacemaker I haven't tried that myself, but used the AutoDJ feature of Mixxx a couple of times. It's fairly basic, you have a playlist, setup how you want it to fade, and how fast, hit Play and off it goes matching the beatgrids and whatnot.
      - radley 2y ago
        Yes, but they pivoted to a music app about 10 years ago. It worked great 99% of the time and had decent transitions. But they received bad advice from a music startup incubator and ended up getting acquihired about two years ago.
joeofbook 2y ago
[dead]
bramgn 2y ago
What does GPL actually do?
- sho_hn 2y ago
  In this space, probably the biggest effect might be that HW vendors of DJ kit cannot fork this software to bundle with their HW and avoid sharing their improvements back, so people using other HW can still benefit.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
sirlone 2y ago
It's interesting to me that there's no screenshot on the front page (they're buried on other pages). Not only is there no screenshot, the main image on the front page is an image of code. Not a complaint, just an observation. I'd expect a DJ software site to show DJs the interface as the very first thing. As examples, all of these have an image of their UI as centerpiece https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/traktor/dj-software/traktor-pro-4/ https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/traktor/dj-so... https://rekordbox.com/en/ https://rekordbox.com/en/ https://www.ableton.com/en/live/ https://www.ableton.com/en/live/
weinzierl 2y ago
I use it simply as an audio player. I like the way I can queue up songs and then let the Auto DJ play. I know other audio players can in principle do that but in Mixx it is very explicit. I also like to see key and BPM just to satisfy my curiosity.
- wayvey 2y ago
  Never thought of this, I use it mostly for live mixing but I probably never tried the Auto DJ feature. I need to give it a try, it would probably be a lot more inspiring to play my collection that way instead of in a traditional music player. Great tip!
profsummergig 2y ago
I want to do scratching by pushing a button on my laptop keyboard (instead of dragging the spinning record with my mouse-cursor). Can Mixxx do this?
- wayvey 2y ago
  Not sure if that's mappable, but I don't think that would provide enough control to get satisfying results.
  - profsummergig 2y ago
    The ideal interface of course would be to use an external turntable and use one's hand to rotate a physical plate or record. I find the mouse-cursor drag very clunky.
    - rounce 2y ago
      You can do that with a set of timecode vinyl, Mixxx fully supports that.
  - chromatin 2y ago
    How about a USB knob? https://binepad.com/products/bnr1-v2 https://binepad.com/products/bnr1-v2
    - profsummergig 2y ago
      Looks interesting, thanks for sharing.
ericzawo 2y ago
RekordBox is a well known piece of s** and it's great to see someone try to enter the arena. Now we need a legit competitor to the DJM / CDJ's which cost, all told, >$10k for a standard, club-ready setup.
- wayvey 2y ago
  I didn't know it was well known but that's exactly how I felt when I recently tried to use it. My local bar bought an integrated 2 deck Pioneer DJ player, but turns out it doesn't store analyzed BPMs or waveforms and to get that you need to use RekordBox to analyze your tracks and export that to your USBs. When I tried to install the software it requires signing up for an account and a subscription and what not. I still couldn't get it to work and abandoned it. I won't be going back to it the experience isnt worth it. I'm instead having more fun just beatmatching by ear with the pitch fader :)
  - Mashimo 2y ago
    > When I tried to install the software it requires signing up for an account and a subscription and what not No it does not. It will try to push it on you, but you can export to USB without account or subscription. Create a playlist with your tracks, insert USB, right click on the playlist and export to USB.
    - wayvey 2y ago
      Must have gone under my radar, there probably was some license included with the device my local bar bought too but I didn't have it on hand at the time.
  - helboi4 2y ago
    Beatmatching by ear is great fun but you get rekorbox for free with any pioneer controller, which you should want for practicing anyway?
    - wayvey 2y ago
HelloUsername 2y ago
I very much like the website itself, built to work without Javascript, and doesn't make any external calls as far as I can tell
- hlzhs 2y ago
  Thanks, we wanted to honor our user's privacy when we redesigned the website.
officeplant 2y ago
Been using Mixxx since 2015, I haven't liked every update they put out, but its always been solid software.
- wayvey 2y ago
  I have also probably used it on and off for 10+ years, but don't recall any bad updates. What did you encounter that you didn't like if I may ask?
  - officeplant 2y ago
    I forget when exactly but somewhere in the 2.x updates they seemingly changed how the default interface's looping settings worked. I mostly use mixxx to make screwed & chopped cuts, vaporwave material, etc. It used to be easier to juggle my loop length live while also jumping between set loop points. Just with a mouse and keyboard. I wanna say I used to install 1.6 or 1.8 to get the defaults I wanted back, but later releases ran better after a while.
msephton 2y ago
I currently use DJ.Studio so I'm interested how Mixxx compares.
- hlzhs 2y ago
  Just try it, it's completely free: https://mixxx.org/download/#stable https://mixxx.org/download/#stable Mixxx is entirely community driven: There is no company behind it, everything is done by unpaid volunteers.
- Mashimo 2y ago
  Two different applications. Like most DJ software this is for .. well for DJIng live. While DJ.Studio is more of creating an "offline" mixxx.
  - msephton 2y ago
    Thanks, that's all I need to know.
mjsir911 2y ago
I've had a lot of fun setting mixxx up for DJing on my steam deck, with fully scriptable (in javascript) USB hid bindings, I've been able to reverse engineer the steam deck's control schemes to be able to mix quite portably.
kristopolous 2y ago
Been using it since ~2006 ... it's pretty great software. Hooking it up to a cheap sub-$100 MIDI controller is amazing. Just looked it up - I had no idea it's from 2001 - this puts it in a small group of long-active FLOSS
cpach 2y ago
What are good controllers for using together with Mixxx?
- suranyami 2y ago
  I dunno whether "good" really applies to this, but I've gotta say I've been loving the cost, portability and reliability of the Numark DJ2Go Touch ($AU120): https://www.numark.com/product/dj2go2-touch https://www.numark.com/product/dj2go2-touch I've got a cute little portable setup using it, a Raspberry Pi 5 with a 1TB m.2 SSD, 15" portable USB-C monitor and a Keychron low-profile keyboard and bluetooth mouse. Works amazingly well. I'm betting that just about any controller would be worth a shot.
- hlzhs 2y ago
  Check the https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/de/hardware/manuals https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/de/hardware/manuals for a list of built-in mappings shipped with Mixxx. There are also additional user mappings on the discourse forum: https://mixxx.discourse.group/c/controller-mappings/10 https://mixxx.discourse.group/c/controller-mappings/10 Personally, I use the Roland DJ-505: https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/de/hardware/controllers/roland_dj_505 https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/de/hardware/controllers/roland_...
- quesomaster9000 2y ago
  Depending on how much space you have, I'm using a Numark MixTrack Platinum FX, with the mapping from the forum. Everything works! Even the display in the middle of the jogwheels, that comes with the '4 deck' version, which shows BPM, time left, rotation indicator, shift amount/mode. At this point almost all buttons & knobs on it are in regular use, although some of the deeper menu combos accessible via buttons aren't fully intuitive but don't seem to matter.
poopsmithe 2y ago
I used mixxx to DJ my brother's wedding. I think it was 2013 or 2014. The moment I got the signal to switch to a specific track for the bride's first dance with her Father, mixxx locked up my laptop. Guests were staring at me, one offered a hushed, "they're waiting!" Completely unresponsive, I had to hard reboot my locked up computer and boot back into Ubuntu. Then I opened VLC where I played the tracks for the rest of the evening. Probably not mixxx's fault, but I will never forget that moment.
- mixmastamyk 2y ago
  Yep, that can happen when computers are involved, and why one needs to practice with a new setup beforehand. Goes for performances or rocket launches. During my DJ sessions (and while dabbling in digital audio files from a computer), I usually brought an old Sony Discman loaded with my best tracks on a burnt CD. Kept ready at moments notice in case disaster struck. Sadly crashes weren't uncommon at all in the bad old late 90s when consumer OSs were unstable crap. I guess a smart phone could do that duty today, but you'll still need to have an adapter plugged into the mixer beforehand/ready to go to minimize disruption.
  - encom 2y ago
    >I guess a smart phone could do that duty today Not since they bravely killed off the headphone plug.
    - glenneroo 2y ago
      Thankfully USB-C to headphone adapters exist :)
- hlzhs 2y ago
  Mixxx dev here. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. We are spending a lot of effort on making Mixxx rock stable. Considering that this was more than a decade ago, I'm pretty sure that this bug has been fixed by now.
  - 2y ago
ghomem 2y ago
Mix is absolutely awesome. One of the most carefully organized open source projects that I've seen. Some years ago I made a Mixxx demo video with a DYI "integrated controller". It demos Linux boot to Mixxx, touch screen, beatmatching and some modest effects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjHvW4OsQ2Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjHvW4OsQ2Y Mixxx devs: if you are reading this... cheers :-)
joemi 2y ago
I used to use Mixxx a lot about a decade ago when I was DJing weekly in some bars and also had a weekly radio show. It was great. I'm glad to see it's still around and going strong.
igor47 2y ago
Love mixxx! I use it regular for DJing with an ancient ddj sb2 controller
alabhyajindal 2y ago
I used Mixxx as a teenager to feel like a DJ. Great to see it here!
Hypnosis6173 2y ago
I use it as my main software for my Traktor Kontrol S2. Some Lights are buggy and the fix is not yet out. Also Highlighting Tracks based on a fitting Key is only availible in the Alpha Branch of the software, which obivously has lots of other issues. Besides that its an easy software which can handle all of my other feature requirements and it runs really nice. So i would really recommend it ;)
marssaxman 2y ago
I was a DJ for a good few years, and once I discovered Mixxx I used it exclusively. High quality software, compatible with basically every controller, Linux support, and an open-source license - what more could you ask for? Music has fallen out of my life since then, but I am glad Mixxx is going strong.
brcmthrowaway 2y ago
How does mixx compare to rekordbox?
scyllax 2y ago
Mixxx is great! I used it with a Nano Korg Kontrol 2 when I just started learning DJing a few years ago.
kuringganteng 2y ago
[flagged]
- heinrich5991 2y ago
  Seems to be posted to the wrong article. Which article did you mean to post to?
rhizome31 2y ago
Rock solid DJ software. I've used it for IRL events, streaming, radio shows. Higly recommended.
Octo-Shark 2y ago
I heard about mixxx back in 2013 from someone who managed to make his Linux lighter ( replacing the kernel or something? ). Then he compiled mixxx without all the unnecessary functions he didn't want. He managed to lower down latency response to 4ms or maybe below I remember. His DJ sets where amazing!
ctm92 2y ago
I stumbled across Mixxx many years ago when I wanted to get started with digital vinyl systems (timecode vinyl records). It was the really hot shit back then and Serato and Traktor were the market leaders. Back then Mixxx didn't feel like a finished product, everything was not ready to actually use it in a "production" setting. Then I found xwax [1], which uses the same timecode library as mixxx iirc. Very unspectacular UI, no mouse support, but super stable and easily as good as the commercial Serato Scratch Live. Just needed a 4i4o audio interface for around $100 and it was good to go, awesome software! [1] https://xwax.org/ https://xwax.org/
- Mashimo 2y ago
  Impresive that xwax still gets updated.
noisy_boy 2y ago
Hijacking this thread on a tangential - can folks share some guides on the basics of getting started mixing music? For a total noob who would like to explore this field. Obviously those using open source software (or atleast software that works on Linux) would be the most useful to me.
- qwertygnu 2y ago
  You're looking for a DAW (digital audio workstation). Ardour is open source and works on Linux. It's not one of the "main" players but I'm sure it has all the important features. You can google "how to mix music" and apply pretty much any tutorial to any DAW.
j12a 2y ago
Eagerly waiting for the Ableton Link support.. seems to be just around corner (or a couple).
LWIRVoltage 2y ago
I DJ for partner dances and have used Mixxx after i discovered DJ software It was cool getting to explore features like the ability to stream to radio websites that others would follow a link to, to hear the music( something done in the first few years of COVID to facilitate DJ'ed music for 'online ' dances, which were a thing for a while. I tout it heavily and enjoy it, and it is pretty incredible that it provides all that it does for free and in a open source manner . I hope it continues to grow. I run into a few others who use Virtual DJ and hope that Mixxx eventually picks up the few things they do it does not yet do
paulcapewell 2y ago
Genuinely curious: when people submit URLs like this to HN - rather than say a specific link to an article or blog post - without comment or actually submitting responses to the conversation, are they just posting it to say 'hey, take a look at this if you haven't heard of it'? Or am I missing something? (Possibly their descriptive text to go with the URL isn't obvious/visible to me somehow?)

639 points by brudgers 2y ago

sneak 2y ago

c++, GPL2

jcelerier 2y ago
and Qt :D

drdirk 2y ago

What does GPL stand for?

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
frob 2y ago
GNU General Public License: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License It's one of several options for software licenses a developer or team can use when distributing a piece of software to help ensure that it and its derivates stay free and open-source.
- TeeMassive 2y ago
  I like your "no bad questions" attitude and your straightforward answer!
asimovfan 2y ago
Its like when Morpheus goes into the Matrix to free more people.
- BlueTemplar 2y ago
  Matrixxx (and Trinity, of course, wears a GIMP suit)
jrm4 2y ago
Not sure whether to be dismayed or excited at the fact that this is a question on Hacker News, but those who are new to it; definitely worth doing your homework. It's the legal jiu-jitsu that has enabled Linux and countless other "Open Source" projects to remain free by preventing people from taking the code for free but then locking it back down.

apt-get 2y ago

Been using it for the past few years, nothing bad to say about it, lovely piece of software. Vendor lock-in is very present in this field, with different brands of controllers supported by a myriad of proprietary DJ applications all more interested in onboarding you to their music subscription services rather than implement useful features or support open protocols. Meanwhile, Mixxx allows you to write your own adapter scripts for any controller you have (as long as it outputs MIDI), and there's a built-in library featuring scripts for the most common commercial controllers and MIDI devices out there.

noman-land 2y ago
I tried it many years ago and this didn't work. Can Mixxx be used with the Rane mixers used with Serato back in the day?
- Mashimo 2y ago
  Does the mixer speak midi? In that case probably. Is there already a mapping for you device? Check the manual https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/ https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/
  - crtasm 2y ago
    specifically: https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/hardware/manuals#hardware-manuals https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/hardware/manuals#hardware-ma... and if not there, the forum might have one: https://mixxx.discourse.group/c/controller-mappings/10 https://mixxx.discourse.group/c/controller-mappings/10 I notice that HID is also supported: https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/chapters/controlling_mixxx#control-midi https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/en/chapters/controlling_mixxx#c...
  - SamWhited 2y ago
    Even if there's not a mapping Mixxx has a "MIDI Learning Wizard" (I forget what they call it) where, assuming it speaks MIDI, you can plug it up, choose an action, and then move the control for that action and it will figure out how to wire it up. For simple configurations that don't require scripting (ie. no setting LEDs on the controller or what not) you can get a fully functional setup for a controller Mixxx has no knowledge of without writing any JavaScript or XML at all!

cies 2y ago

I've been using this for the few DJ sets I do per year. Very complete software, very stable also. Sadly I have to use RekordBox now that I want to not bring the laptop + DJ controller, but just a USB stick. And RekordBox does not run well on Linux (tried VirtualBox and Wine, both failed attempts). Sadly there's no RecordBox clone, or "export to RekordBox USB" feature on Mixxx.

diggan 2y ago
> And RekordBox does not run well on Linux RekordBox doesn't even run well on Windows, so hard to imagine what worse looks like. But yeah, if Mixxx (or other FOSS software) could offer writing playlists into USB sticks, I'd get rid of RekordBox yesterday because few software out there works as bad as RekordBox.
- quesomaster9000 2y ago
  I considered renting out some Pioneer equipment to add RekordBox playlist writing support, mainly because I'm in a similar situation. Mixxx does have support for reading USBs & SD cards, but not writing ;_; Unfortunately it's far down my priority list given the cost, my unfamiliarity with Mixxx development and that I rarely do anything without Mixx. But this is absolutely what ecosystem grants/bounties should be for.
  - phntxx 2y ago
    Could not agree more. I recently made the switch to exclusively using Linux on Desktop machines, yet I now have to have a Windows PC laying around for the sole purpose of updating my USB using Rekordbox.
  - diggan 2y ago
    > But this is absolutely what ecosystem grants/bounties should be for. I'd be down to fund a bounty/grant for this (and I'm clearly not alone), if anyone is looking for booty :)
    - 2y ago

helpfulContrib 2y ago

>GPL DJ Software Its kind of a nuisance that, as a requirement to build Mixxx on MacOS, ones has to use foreign binaries, disable Gatekeeper, run a 'first build', and from that point on .. can treat the project as a regular CMake project. Re-enable Gatekeeper after the 'first build'. Hmm. What are the custom binaries for? Surely not cmake. Not having - yet - done this myself (until I can put it in a VM), I'm nevertheless kind of curious about this necessity. Any Mixxx/MacOs devs care to describe the contents?

bri3d 2y ago
You can just read the source? mixxx-deps come from a build process sourced from: https://github.com/mixxxdj/vcpkg https://github.com/mixxxdj/vcpkg The same binary-backed build process is present on Windows, too, presumably to keep people from needing to go through dependency hell to contribute to the project.
- helpfulContrib 2y ago
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- hlzhs 2y ago
  That is exactly the reason. Also, some libraries we are using are not on homebrew (and we cannot easily pin a specific version). Another reason that we'd like to reduce the maintenance burden by using a similar setup for windows and macOS deps. Our dev team is small, and almost all of us use Linux. For macOS in particular we don't have anyone on the core team that uses it as their daily driver, which may also play a role when talking about the DX in macOS.
brudgers 2y ago
Can you recompile Gatekeeper to allow compatibility with Mixxx?

djaychela 2y ago

Used mixxx to do the djing for my wedding last year. Created a collaborative music voting site for the guests, then got all the music and made a mix which worked really well, even going between genres. Had a lot of fun playing with it getting everything ready and it worked with a couple of DJ controllers bought cheaply without any issue. I even made a little program to read the now playing track from the sqlite database which then allowed the lights to follow the music (for complex reasons I don't have time to explain). Most importantly it worked on the night without missing a beat.

jesprenj 2y ago
Can you share the program that reads the now playing track? We use Mixxx at a student radio station and we could maybe try using something like this to show the now-playing track on the website.
- djaychela 2y ago
  I will see... Not being evasive but I'm experiencing terminal illness at the moment so I'm all over the place. It wasn't a complex bit of code though, but I'll see what I can find.
  - corint 2y ago
    Wishing you well - sorry to hear that you're in ill health.
    - djaychela 2y ago
      Thank you. Sorry, I had a look but I didn't find the code (it's not in the github repo for the rest of the system I made, and I no longer own the laptop I wrote it on so it's my bad). Someone has posted something similar, but it was literally just about 10 lines of python that read the right key in the dictionary and then posted that to a flask web page that another part of the system read to know what track was being played. I'm not a great programmer and it took me maybe 15 minutes to do, so it should be easy enough!

quesomaster9000 2y ago

I'm really happy that 2.5 added 'beats until next marker', which together with a USB controller from Numark I have pretty much feature complete DJ setup for under $500 (including cost of laptop & controller) without having to rely on Windows, Mac, subscription licenses or feature-crippled 'lite' versions. And it's surprising how quickly people adapt to it when they're used to other setups, within an hour a few people have gone from 'oooh, can I have a go' to showing me their own tips, tricks and different styles. Especially combined with a youtube & soundcloud downloader running on a different workspace, I can get pretty much any track into the library within a minute or two.

perfmode 2y ago
Which controller do you have?

treve 2y ago

Also works great with my Traktor mixer. Traktor doesn't have linux support for their software, so I was glad my mixer didn't brick after the switch

sim7c00 2y ago
thanks for commenting this. all i needed to know :D

starkparker 2y ago

Mixx is sneaky good as a TTRPG soundscape mixer. You can queue layer multiple ambiance tracks over tempo-matched music, build soundboards, and hook it all to hardware controls. It's overkill, but a lot of similar tools either lock you into a media ecosystem, lack some power-user functionality, have a subscription, or don't work at all on Linux or macOS.

VagabundoP 2y ago
I've been looking for something like this. Is it possible to stream it for an online game? I do both and need something for my creepy Call of Cthulhu game. Music and sound effects work really well with 1920s Call of Cthulhu. E: I did look at it before but got intimidated by the screenshots.
- apt-get 2y ago
  Mixxx can stream to an icecast output or similar, you'll need to setup the stream server separately though.

iammrpayments 2y ago

I thought this was Donald’s Knuth Mix computer at first

brudgers 2y ago
If only he had wanted to DJ organ music.

tmountain 2y ago

I've been using this to make mix tapes at home (bought a vintage tape player). It has awesome cross fading capabilities, and it does volume normalization out of the box, so it's a very nice piece of software for those features alone. Playlist and library management is also solid. My only complaint is that the UI isn't very intuitive for a non-DJ, and it took me some time to figure out how to do basic stuff, but it's all there in the docs, so you can certainly figure it out.

ThatMedicIsASpy 2y ago
I've been setting up a few radio stations with playlists for azuracast for home use. The auto DJ with auto cue is amazing. Next stop is create a radio with a raspberry pi maybe with an amp hat as well.
- radley 2y ago
  How does the auto DJ compare to something like Pacemaker?
  - diggan 2y ago
    Are you referring to this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pacemaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pacemaker I haven't tried that myself, but used the AutoDJ feature of Mixxx a couple of times. It's fairly basic, you have a playlist, setup how you want it to fade, and how fast, hit Play and off it goes matching the beatgrids and whatnot.
    - radley 2y ago
      Yes, but they pivoted to a music app about 10 years ago. It worked great 99% of the time and had decent transitions. But they received bad advice from a music startup incubator and ended up getting acquihired about two years ago.

joeofbook 2y ago

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bramgn 2y ago

What does GPL actually do?

sho_hn 2y ago
In this space, probably the biggest effect might be that HW vendors of DJ kit cannot fork this software to bundle with their HW and avoid sharing their improvements back, so people using other HW can still benefit.

deleted 2y ago

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sirlone 2y ago

It's interesting to me that there's no screenshot on the front page (they're buried on other pages). Not only is there no screenshot, the main image on the front page is an image of code. Not a complaint, just an observation. I'd expect a DJ software site to show DJs the interface as the very first thing. As examples, all of these have an image of their UI as centerpiece https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/traktor/dj-software/traktor-pro-4/ https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/traktor/dj-so... https://rekordbox.com/en/ https://rekordbox.com/en/ https://www.ableton.com/en/live/ https://www.ableton.com/en/live/

weinzierl 2y ago

I use it simply as an audio player. I like the way I can queue up songs and then let the Auto DJ play. I know other audio players can in principle do that but in Mixx it is very explicit. I also like to see key and BPM just to satisfy my curiosity.

wayvey 2y ago
Never thought of this, I use it mostly for live mixing but I probably never tried the Auto DJ feature. I need to give it a try, it would probably be a lot more inspiring to play my collection that way instead of in a traditional music player. Great tip!

profsummergig 2y ago

I want to do scratching by pushing a button on my laptop keyboard (instead of dragging the spinning record with my mouse-cursor). Can Mixxx do this?

wayvey 2y ago
Not sure if that's mappable, but I don't think that would provide enough control to get satisfying results.
- profsummergig 2y ago
  The ideal interface of course would be to use an external turntable and use one's hand to rotate a physical plate or record. I find the mouse-cursor drag very clunky.
  - rounce 2y ago
    You can do that with a set of timecode vinyl, Mixxx fully supports that.
- chromatin 2y ago
  How about a USB knob? https://binepad.com/products/bnr1-v2 https://binepad.com/products/bnr1-v2
  - profsummergig 2y ago
    Looks interesting, thanks for sharing.

ericzawo 2y ago

RekordBox is a well known piece of s** and it's great to see someone try to enter the arena. Now we need a legit competitor to the DJM / CDJ's which cost, all told, >$10k for a standard, club-ready setup.

wayvey 2y ago
I didn't know it was well known but that's exactly how I felt when I recently tried to use it. My local bar bought an integrated 2 deck Pioneer DJ player, but turns out it doesn't store analyzed BPMs or waveforms and to get that you need to use RekordBox to analyze your tracks and export that to your USBs. When I tried to install the software it requires signing up for an account and a subscription and what not. I still couldn't get it to work and abandoned it. I won't be going back to it the experience isnt worth it. I'm instead having more fun just beatmatching by ear with the pitch fader :)
- Mashimo 2y ago
  > When I tried to install the software it requires signing up for an account and a subscription and what not No it does not. It will try to push it on you, but you can export to USB without account or subscription. Create a playlist with your tracks, insert USB, right click on the playlist and export to USB.
  - wayvey 2y ago
    Must have gone under my radar, there probably was some license included with the device my local bar bought too but I didn't have it on hand at the time.
- helboi4 2y ago
  Beatmatching by ear is great fun but you get rekorbox for free with any pioneer controller, which you should want for practicing anyway?
  - wayvey 2y ago

HelloUsername 2y ago

I very much like the website itself, built to work without Javascript, and doesn't make any external calls as far as I can tell

hlzhs 2y ago
Thanks, we wanted to honor our user's privacy when we redesigned the website.

officeplant 2y ago

Been using Mixxx since 2015, I haven't liked every update they put out, but its always been solid software.

wayvey 2y ago
I have also probably used it on and off for 10+ years, but don't recall any bad updates. What did you encounter that you didn't like if I may ask?
- officeplant 2y ago
  I forget when exactly but somewhere in the 2.x updates they seemingly changed how the default interface's looping settings worked. I mostly use mixxx to make screwed & chopped cuts, vaporwave material, etc. It used to be easier to juggle my loop length live while also jumping between set loop points. Just with a mouse and keyboard. I wanna say I used to install 1.6 or 1.8 to get the defaults I wanted back, but later releases ran better after a while.

msephton 2y ago

I currently use DJ.Studio so I'm interested how Mixxx compares.

hlzhs 2y ago
Just try it, it's completely free: https://mixxx.org/download/#stable https://mixxx.org/download/#stable Mixxx is entirely community driven: There is no company behind it, everything is done by unpaid volunteers.
Mashimo 2y ago
Two different applications. Like most DJ software this is for .. well for DJIng live. While DJ.Studio is more of creating an "offline" mixxx.
- msephton 2y ago
  Thanks, that's all I need to know.

mjsir911 2y ago

I've had a lot of fun setting mixxx up for DJing on my steam deck, with fully scriptable (in javascript) USB hid bindings, I've been able to reverse engineer the steam deck's control schemes to be able to mix quite portably.

kristopolous 2y ago

Been using it since ~2006 ... it's pretty great software. Hooking it up to a cheap sub-$100 MIDI controller is amazing. Just looked it up - I had no idea it's from 2001 - this puts it in a small group of long-active FLOSS

cpach 2y ago

What are good controllers for using together with Mixxx?

suranyami 2y ago
I dunno whether "good" really applies to this, but I've gotta say I've been loving the cost, portability and reliability of the Numark DJ2Go Touch ($AU120): https://www.numark.com/product/dj2go2-touch https://www.numark.com/product/dj2go2-touch I've got a cute little portable setup using it, a Raspberry Pi 5 with a 1TB m.2 SSD, 15" portable USB-C monitor and a Keychron low-profile keyboard and bluetooth mouse. Works amazingly well. I'm betting that just about any controller would be worth a shot.
hlzhs 2y ago
Check the https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/de/hardware/manuals https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/de/hardware/manuals for a list of built-in mappings shipped with Mixxx. There are also additional user mappings on the discourse forum: https://mixxx.discourse.group/c/controller-mappings/10 https://mixxx.discourse.group/c/controller-mappings/10 Personally, I use the Roland DJ-505: https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/de/hardware/controllers/roland_dj_505 https://manual.mixxx.org/2.5/de/hardware/controllers/roland_...
quesomaster9000 2y ago
Depending on how much space you have, I'm using a Numark MixTrack Platinum FX, with the mapping from the forum. Everything works! Even the display in the middle of the jogwheels, that comes with the '4 deck' version, which shows BPM, time left, rotation indicator, shift amount/mode. At this point almost all buttons & knobs on it are in regular use, although some of the deeper menu combos accessible via buttons aren't fully intuitive but don't seem to matter.

poopsmithe 2y ago

I used mixxx to DJ my brother's wedding. I think it was 2013 or 2014. The moment I got the signal to switch to a specific track for the bride's first dance with her Father, mixxx locked up my laptop. Guests were staring at me, one offered a hushed, "they're waiting!" Completely unresponsive, I had to hard reboot my locked up computer and boot back into Ubuntu. Then I opened VLC where I played the tracks for the rest of the evening. Probably not mixxx's fault, but I will never forget that moment.

mixmastamyk 2y ago
Yep, that can happen when computers are involved, and why one needs to practice with a new setup beforehand. Goes for performances or rocket launches. During my DJ sessions (and while dabbling in digital audio files from a computer), I usually brought an old Sony Discman loaded with my best tracks on a burnt CD. Kept ready at moments notice in case disaster struck. Sadly crashes weren't uncommon at all in the bad old late 90s when consumer OSs were unstable crap. I guess a smart phone could do that duty today, but you'll still need to have an adapter plugged into the mixer beforehand/ready to go to minimize disruption.
- encom 2y ago
  >I guess a smart phone could do that duty today Not since they bravely killed off the headphone plug.
  - glenneroo 2y ago
    Thankfully USB-C to headphone adapters exist :)
hlzhs 2y ago
Mixxx dev here. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. We are spending a lot of effort on making Mixxx rock stable. Considering that this was more than a decade ago, I'm pretty sure that this bug has been fixed by now.
- 2y ago

ghomem 2y ago

Mix is absolutely awesome. One of the most carefully organized open source projects that I've seen. Some years ago I made a Mixxx demo video with a DYI "integrated controller". It demos Linux boot to Mixxx, touch screen, beatmatching and some modest effects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjHvW4OsQ2Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjHvW4OsQ2Y Mixxx devs: if you are reading this... cheers :-)

joemi 2y ago

I used to use Mixxx a lot about a decade ago when I was DJing weekly in some bars and also had a weekly radio show. It was great. I'm glad to see it's still around and going strong.

igor47 2y ago

Love mixxx! I use it regular for DJing with an ancient ddj sb2 controller

alabhyajindal 2y ago

I used Mixxx as a teenager to feel like a DJ. Great to see it here!

Hypnosis6173 2y ago

I use it as my main software for my Traktor Kontrol S2. Some Lights are buggy and the fix is not yet out. Also Highlighting Tracks based on a fitting Key is only availible in the Alpha Branch of the software, which obivously has lots of other issues. Besides that its an easy software which can handle all of my other feature requirements and it runs really nice. So i would really recommend it ;)

marssaxman 2y ago

I was a DJ for a good few years, and once I discovered Mixxx I used it exclusively. High quality software, compatible with basically every controller, Linux support, and an open-source license - what more could you ask for? Music has fallen out of my life since then, but I am glad Mixxx is going strong.

brcmthrowaway 2y ago

How does mixx compare to rekordbox?

scyllax 2y ago

Mixxx is great! I used it with a Nano Korg Kontrol 2 when I just started learning DJing a few years ago.

kuringganteng 2y ago

[flagged]

heinrich5991 2y ago
Seems to be posted to the wrong article. Which article did you mean to post to?

rhizome31 2y ago

Rock solid DJ software. I've used it for IRL events, streaming, radio shows. Higly recommended.

Octo-Shark 2y ago

I heard about mixxx back in 2013 from someone who managed to make his Linux lighter ( replacing the kernel or something? ). Then he compiled mixxx without all the unnecessary functions he didn't want. He managed to lower down latency response to 4ms or maybe below I remember. His DJ sets where amazing!

ctm92 2y ago

I stumbled across Mixxx many years ago when I wanted to get started with digital vinyl systems (timecode vinyl records). It was the really hot shit back then and Serato and Traktor were the market leaders. Back then Mixxx didn't feel like a finished product, everything was not ready to actually use it in a "production" setting. Then I found xwax [1], which uses the same timecode library as mixxx iirc. Very unspectacular UI, no mouse support, but super stable and easily as good as the commercial Serato Scratch Live. Just needed a 4i4o audio interface for around $100 and it was good to go, awesome software! [1] https://xwax.org/ https://xwax.org/

Mashimo 2y ago
Impresive that xwax still gets updated.

noisy_boy 2y ago

Hijacking this thread on a tangential - can folks share some guides on the basics of getting started mixing music? For a total noob who would like to explore this field. Obviously those using open source software (or atleast software that works on Linux) would be the most useful to me.

qwertygnu 2y ago
You're looking for a DAW (digital audio workstation). Ardour is open source and works on Linux. It's not one of the "main" players but I'm sure it has all the important features. You can google "how to mix music" and apply pretty much any tutorial to any DAW.

j12a 2y ago

Eagerly waiting for the Ableton Link support.. seems to be just around corner (or a couple).

LWIRVoltage 2y ago

I DJ for partner dances and have used Mixxx after i discovered DJ software It was cool getting to explore features like the ability to stream to radio websites that others would follow a link to, to hear the music( something done in the first few years of COVID to facilitate DJ'ed music for 'online ' dances, which were a thing for a while. I tout it heavily and enjoy it, and it is pretty incredible that it provides all that it does for free and in a open source manner . I hope it continues to grow. I run into a few others who use Virtual DJ and hope that Mixxx eventually picks up the few things they do it does not yet do

paulcapewell 2y ago

Genuinely curious: when people submit URLs like this to HN - rather than say a specific link to an article or blog post - without comment or actually submitting responses to the conversation, are they just posting it to say 'hey, take a look at this if you haven't heard of it'? Or am I missing something? (Possibly their descriptive text to go with the URL isn't obvious/visible to me somehow?)