jusko <justin.kourie@gmail.com>
The Pioneer DDJ-400 is a 2 deck USB controller with an integrated audio interface designed for rekordbox.
2.3.0
Note
The release version of the firmware contains a bug which causes signals from the tempo sliders to be sent without the sliders being touched.
It is therefore highly recommended that you update your controller's firmware.
You can download the latest firmware from the manufacturer's website.
Unfortunately Pioneer only offers a Windows and Mac firmware installer, so to update your controller you will need access to such a machine. Simply download the appropriate file for that OS, attach your device and run the installer.
The Pioneer DDJ-400 is USB audio and MIDI class compliant and works with Linux, Windows, and macOS without needing to install any drivers. However, updating the firmware is recommended as described above.
Configure Mixxx's sound hardware settings <preferences-sound-hardware> as follows:
| Output | Channel |
|---|---|
| Main | 1-2 |
| Headphones | 3-4 |
Note
It is not possible to record or broadcast input sent from the 1/4" unbalanced TS microphone jack on the controller, as it is not routed back to the computer and cannot be configured as an input device.
The schematic drawings used here can be referenced in the manufacturer's manual on the given page number.
| No. | Control | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOAD buttons |
Load track selected in library into deck. |
| 2 | Rotary Selector | Press to toggle focus between the library sidebar and associated panels. Turn to move focus up or down. |
Pioneer DDJ-400 (deck section)
| No. | Control | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BEAT SYNC |
Press to sync tempo to the other playing track. Hold to enable sync lock. |
| 1 | SHIFT + BEAT SYNC |
Cycles through tempo ranges: +/-6%, +/-10%, +/-16%, +/-25% |
| 2 | CUE/LOOP CALL> |
Doubles the current loop size. |
| 2 | SHIFT + CUE/LOOP CALL> |
Jumps 32 beats forwards. |
| 3 | CUE/LOOP CALL< |
Halves the current loop size. |
| 3 | SHIFT + CUE/LOOP CALL< |
Jumps 32 beats backwards. |
| 4 | RELOOP/EXIT |
Enables/disables currently set loop. |
| 4 | shift + RELOOP/EXIT |
Jump to loop start, enable loop, and stop playback. |
5 |
|
Sets end of loop to the current playback position. If quantize is enabled, it is set to the closest beat. If held during an active loop, sets the new end point when released. |
| 5 | shift + OUT |
When a loop is enabled, press to adjust the loop's end position with the jog wheel. |
6 |
|
Sets start of loop to the current playback position. If quantize is enabled, it is set to the closest beat. If held during an active loop, sets the new start point when released. |
| 6 | shift + IN/-4BEAT |
When a loop is enabled, press to adjust the loop's start position with the jog wheel. |
| 7 | Jog Wheel (top) | Scratch (move play position). |
| 7 | Jog Wheel (outer) | Nudge tempo up or down temporarily. |
| 8 | HOT CUE mode |
Sets pads to hot cue mode <pioneer-ddj-400-hot-cue-mode>. |
| 9 | BEAT LOOP mode |
Sets pads to beat loop mode <pioneer-ddj-400-beat-loop-mode>. |
| 10 | BEAT JUMP mode |
Sets pads to beat jump mode <pioneer-ddj-400-beat-jump-mode>. |
| 11 | SAMPLER mode |
Sets pads to sampler mode <pioneer-ddj-400-sampler-mode>. |
| 12 | TEMPO slider |
Adjust playback speed. |
| 13 | Performance pads | Functionality differs depending on the pad mode selected by 8-11. |
| 14 | PLAY/PAUSE |
Play/pauses a track). |
| 15 | CUE |
Behavior depends on the cue mode <interface-cue-modes>. |
The pad mode buttons change between different modes in which the performance pads operate. The main pad modes described below are similar to those found in rekordbox.
Note
The secondary pad modes described in the manufacturer's manual (KEYBOARD PAD FX1 PAD FX2 and KEYSHIFT) are not currently implemented by this mapping.
Bookmark positions in the track and jump to them.
| No. | Control | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1-8 | Pad (unlit) | Save current position as hot cue. |
1-8 |
Pad (lit) |
Jump to hot cue. If the track is stopped, holding the pad will preview the hot cue until the pad is released. |
| 1-8 | SHIFT + Pad (lit) |
Clear hot cue. |
Press a pad to enable a loop from the current position. Press the pad again to disable the loop. The size of the loop is assigned to the pads as follows:
| 1/4 beat | 1/2 beat | 1 beat | 2 beats |
| 4 beats | 8 beats | 16 beats | 32 beats |
Press a pad to jump forwards or backwards by the number of beats assigned to the pads below.
Press SHIFT + pad 7 to decrease or SHIFT + pad 8 to increase the jump values by a factor of 16.
| 1 beat back | 1 beat forward | 2 beats back | 2 beats forward |
| 4 beats back | 4 beats forward | 8 beats back | 8 beats forward |
Load and play samples from the library. The pads on decks 1 and 2 correspond to the first and second sampler rows in Mixxx respectively.
| No. | Control | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1-8 | Pad (unlit) | Load sample selected in library. |
1-8 |
Pad (lit) |
Play a loaded sample. If the sample is already playing, playback starts from the beginning. |
1-8 |
|
Stop a loaded sample from playing. If the sample is already stopped, unload it. |
| No. | Control | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TRIM |
Adjusts deck prefader gain |
2 |
|
Adjusts main output (this is hardware implemented and is not mapped to the software gain in Mixxx). |
3 |
|
Sends main output to headphones (this is hardware implemented and is not visible in the Mixxx interface). |
| 4 | EQs (LOW MID HIGH) |
Boosts or cuts channel frequencies |
| 5 | Channel level indicators | Displays channel levels (before being sent through channel faders) |
| 6 | HEADPHONES MIXING |
Adjusts between headphone CUE and MASTER levels sent to headphones |
| 7 | FILTER |
QuickEffect superknob (by default controls a Filter, but this can be changed in the preferences <preferences-equalizers>) |
| 8 | HEADPHONES LEVEL |
Adjusts output level from PHONES jack |
| 9 | Headphone CUE (Channel) |
Turn on to output channel to headphones |
| 9 | SHIFT + Headphone CUE |
Toggles quantize for the current channel |
| 10 | Channel fader | Adjusts channel levels output to main |
| 11 | Crossfader | Fade between left and right channels |
The BEAT FX controls above are mapped to Mixxx's first effect unit as follows:
| No. | Control | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BEAT < |
Cycle effect focus leftward |
| 2 | BEAT > |
Cycle effect focus rightward |
| 3 | FX SELECT |
Load next effect |
| 3 | SHIFT + FX SELECT |
Load previous effect |
| 4 | Channel select switch | Route deck 1, deck 2 or main mix to effect unit 1 |
| 5 | LEVEL/DEPTH |
Controls the wet/dry mix knob |
| 5 | SHIFT + LEVEL/DEPTH |
Controls the metaknob of the currently focused effect |
| 6 | ON/OFF |
Enable/disable the currently focused effect |
| 6 | SHIFT + ON/OFF |
Disables all effects in the chain and kills the wet/dry mix |
Note
Soft takeover is enabled on the LEVEL/DEPTH knob to prevent sudden changes to the wet/dry mix or effect metaknob when changing between the two.