American Audio USBSD card PLAYER SDJ1 User Manual

							
14. PITCH PERCENTAgE SELECTOR- This button activates the pitch SliDer (5). Press and hold 
this  button  for  at  least  2  seconds  to  activate  the pitch  SliDer  (5).  When  the pitch  SliDer  (5)  is 
activated use this button to choose a pitch percentages of 4%, 8%, and 16%. See page 24 for more 
details.  
15. PITCH BEND BUTTONS -
(-)  PITCH  BEND BUTTON -  The (-)  pitch  bend  function  creates  a  momentary  “Slow  Down”  in  the 
song's  BPM’s  (Beats  per  minute)  while  it  is  playing.  This  will  allow  you  to  match  the  beats  between 
two  playing  track’s  or  other  playing  music  source.  Remember,  this  is  a  momentary  function.  When 
you remove your finger from the pitch button, the BPM’s will automatically return to normal. Holding 
down this button will decrease the pitch to whatever the pitch percentage Selector (14) is set 
to. Use this function to slow to another playing music source. Be sure to notice that this function is a 
momentary pitch adjustment, for a more precise adjustment use the pitch  SliDer (5) to match the 
BPM’s with another playing music source.   
(+) PITCH BEND BUTTON - The (+) pitch bend function creates a momentary “BUMP” in the song's 
BPM’s (Beats per minute) while it is playing. This will allow you to match the beats between two play-
ing  song's  or  any  other  music  source.  Remember,  this  is  a  momentary  function.  When  you  remove 
your finger from this button, the BPM’s will automatically return to normal. Holding down this button 
will increase the pitch to whatever the pitch  percentage Selector (14) is set to. 
16.  ADV.  TRACK  BUTTON  - While  either  playing  a  track  or  in  pause  mode,  press  this  button  to 
search  for  the  next  track  you  want  to  play.  When  you  press  this  button  you  will  enter  ADV.  TRACK 
mode,  the  TRACK  indicators  will  flash.  You  can  use track/folDer  knoB  (10)  to  search  for  the 
next track you want to play. Press the track/folDer knoB (10) once you found your desired track. 
The LCD will display "Searching..." and then "FOUND" once the track is found. When the track that 
is  playing  comes  to  an  end  press  the track/folDer  knoB  (10)  once  more  to  play  the  track  that 
you searched for. Please see page 19 for complete instructions.
17.  FRAME SEARCH BUTTONS - The search buttons will let you scan through a track, either back-
wards  or  forwards,  frame  by  frame.  If  you  hold  either  of  the  buttons  down  you  will  search    faster 
through the frames.
18.  PLAY/PAUSE BUTTON - Each press of the play/pauSe Button (18) causes the operation to 
change  from  play  to  pause  or  from  pause  to  play.  While  in  play  mode  the  green  LED  will  glow,  and 
while in pause mode the green LED will flash.
19.  CUE  -  Pressing  the CUE  button  during  playback  immediately  pauses  playback  and  returns  the 
track to the last set cue point (see setting a CUE POINT, page 16). The red CUE LED will glow when 
the unit is in cue mode. The LED will also flash every time a new CUE POINT is set. The CUE button 
can be held down to momentarily play the track. When you release the CUE button it instantly returns 
to the CUE POINT. You can also tap the CUE button to create a BOP EFFECT.
20. JOg WHEEL - This wheel has two functions;
A. The wheel works as a pitch bend during Playback. Turning the wheel clockwise can increase the   
 pitch percentage up to 100%, and turning the wheel in the counter-clockwise direction can de-
 crease the pitch percentage down to -100%. The pitch bend will be determined on how long   
   you turn the jog wheel continuously.
B. The jog wheel can also serve as frame search, when the search button is activated. 
Note: the SEARCH BUTTONS will not search frame by frame when the is function is active. If 
you hold either of the buttons down it will search quickly through the track.
 gENErAL FUNCTIONS  AND CONTrOLS (Cont.)
©American Audio®   -   www.americanaudio.us   -   SDJ-1™ Instruction Manual Page 11 
						

							
B. SD PLAYER - REAR  (FIg URE  2)
21.  AUDIO  A  OUT  R  &  L  -  These  jacks  send  a  left  and  right  analog  mono  output  signal.  Use  these 
jacks to send standard audio to a mixer or receiver. The red colored jack represents the right channel 
output and white jack represents the left channels output.
22.  CHANNEL A  CONTROLLER JACK -  Connect the supplied mini-plug from the CUE jack on the 
rear of your unit to the CONTROL out jack of a compatible American Audio® or American DJ® mixer. 
This will enable the "Q-Start" function. This feature is only available on American Audio®  or American 
DJ® “Q” series mixers. 
23.  AUDIO  B  OUT  R  &  L  -  These  jacks  send  a  left  and  right  analog  mono  output  signal.  Use  these 
jacks to send standard audio to a mixer or receiver. The red colored jack represents the right channel 
output and white jack represents the left channels output.
24. CHANNEL B  CONTROLLER JACK - Connect the supplied mini-plug from the CUE jack on the 
rear of your unit to the CONTROL out jack of a compatible American Audio® or American DJ® mixer. 
This will enable the "Q-Start" function. This feature is only available on American Audio®  or American 
DJ® “Q” series mixers. 
25. POWER CONNECTOR - Plug in the provided power adapter here. Only use the provided power 
adapter.
 gENErAL FUNCTIONS  AND CONTrOLS (Cont.)
©American Audio®   -   www.americanaudio.us   -   SDJ-1™ Instruction Manual Page 12 
						

							
©American Audio®   -   www.americanaudio.us   -   SDJ-1™ Instruction Manual Page 13
 gENErAL FUNCTIONS  AND CONTrOLS (Cont.)
D. LCD DISPLAY PANEL (FIgURE 3)
26.  CUE  INDICATOR  - This  indicator  will  glow 
when the unit is in CUE mode and will flash every 
time a new CUE POINT is set.
27. FOLDER INDICATOR - This will indicate which 
folder you are in. 
28.  TIME  DISPLAY  - These  indicators  detail  the 
Minutes,  Seconds,  and  Frames.  The  meter  will  dis-
play either the elapsed or remaining time of a track.
29.  T IME  BAR  INDICATOR  - This bar gives a visual 
approximation  of  a  track's  remaining  time.  This  bar 
will begin to flash when a track is ending. 
30.    AUTO  BPM  INDICATOR  - This  will  indicate 
that the AUTO BPM counter is active. 
31.   BPM  METER  - This  meter  will  display  the 
BPM's of the current track.
32.   PITCH  METER  - This  meter  will  display  the 
pitch  percentage  applied  by  the pitch SliDer 
(5).
33.            TEMPO  LOCK  - This  will  indicate  the 
Tempo Lock function is active.
34.  LOOP  &  RELOOP  INDICATOR  - Appears 
when  a  LOOP  has  been  made  or  a  RELOOP  is 
engaged or ready to be engaged. 
35.  AUTO CUE  INDICATOR  - This  will  indicate  if 
the Auto Cue is on or off. Press and hold the Sgl/
ctn (2) for 2 secs. to toggle the Auto Cue function 
on and off.
36.  PITCH  INDICATOR  -  Indicator  will  light  up 
when the pitch SliDer  (5) is activated.
37.  CHARACTER  DISPLAY  - This  will  display  the 
name  of  the  track  and  album  when  a  SD  Card  is 
loaded.
38.  ELAPSED/REMAIN  INDICATOR  - When 
"REMAIN" is indicated in the lcD DiSplay (3) the 
time DeScriBeD  (28) in  the lcD will  define  the 
current  track's  remaining  time.  When  "ELAPSED" 
is  indicated  in  the lcD  DiSplay  (3)  the time 
DeScriBeD (28) in the lcD will define the current 
track's  elapsed  time.  You  can  toggle  the  indica-
tors by pressing the time Button (8).
39. REPEAT  INDICATOR - This  indicates  that 
the  repeat  function  is  activated.  When  the  re-
peat  function  is  activated,  the  current  track 
playing  will  repeat  itself  until  the  REPEAT  func-
tion  is  deactivated.  To  turn  REPEAT  on  and  off 
you  must  enter  the  PRESET  MENU.  Please  see 
PRESET MENU on page 20.  
40. SINgLE  INDICATOR  - This indicates that the 
player  is  in  single  play  mode,  the  track  will  play 
once  and  return  to  CUE  mode.  If  the  single  indi-
cator  is  not  on  the  unit  is  in  continuous  mode  In 
continuous mode the unit will play all the remaining 
tracks. Once the remaining tracks have ended the 
unit will return to cue mode.
41.  TRACK  INDICATOR - This 4-digit indicator  
visually  details  the  current  track  cued  or  play-
ing.
42. PLAY & PAUSE INDICATORS - The "PLAY" 
indicator will glow when the unit is in play mode, 
and  the  "PAUSE"  indicator  will  flash  when  the 
unit is pause mode.
Figure 3
FOLDER
TRACK
M
TOTALREMAIN
SF
PITCH
AUTOBPM
CDMP3
CUE
RELOOP
SINGLE
AUTOCUE
2627
35
34
33
32
313029
40
41
42
363738
28
39 
						

							
Figure 6: Turning the track/folDer knoB 
clockwise will take you to the to the next track.
 BASIC OPErATIONS
Figure 4: To eject the SD Card press the SD Card "in" until it "pops" out. Remeber: When loading a SD Card always load 
the card with the label facing the up and the contacts are facing down. 
Figure  5: Turning  the track/folDer  knoB 
counterclockwise  will  take  you  to  the  previous 
track.
2. SELECTINg TRACKS
Select a desired track by using the track/folDer knoB (10). Turning the track/folDer knoB (10) once 
will select either the next higher or lower track, depending on which way you turn it. If the folDer Button 
(11) LED is lit, you are in FOLDER search mode.
©American Audio®   -   www.americanaudio.us   -   SDJ-1™ Instruction Manual Page 14
1.  LOADINg/EJECTINg AN SD CArD
When loading an SD Card into the player load with the SD Card label facing you. To remove the card from the 
player gently press the card "in" until it "pops' out. The file format is Mp3 only. Please see page 8 for 
more SD Card information. 
CAUTION:
•   NEvEr attempt to eject the SD Card when in PLAY mode. 
						

							
5. STOPPINg  PLAYBACK - Figures  7  & 
8
Stopping  playback  will  not  stop  the  read-
ing  mechanism,  but  merely  pause  or  cue  the 
track, this function allows the unit to begin play 
instantly.  There  are  two  ways  to  stop  (pause) 
playback:
1) Press the play/pauSe Button (18) dur- 
 ing playback. This will pause playback at 
 the exact same point the play/pauSe 
 But ton (18) was pressed. 
2) Press the cue Button (19) during play- 
    back. This will pause playback and return 
 the track to the last set cue point.  
3. STARTINg PLAYBACK - Figure 7
Insert  an  SD  card  as  described  on  page  14 
(loaDing/ejecting  an  SD carD).  Pressing 
the play/pauSe  Button  (18)  with  an  SD 
Card  loaded  will  immediately  start  playback. 
The play  (42) indicator  will  glow  as  soon  as 
playback  begins.  The  point  at  which  playback 
starts  (cue  point)  will  automatically  be  stored  in 
the memory as the cue point. The unit will return 
to  this  cue  point  (the  point  at  which  playback 
started) when the cue Button (19) is pressed 
and released. 
 BASIC OPErATIONS (CONT .)
Figure 7
Figure 8
©American Audio®   -   www.americanaudio.us   -   SDJ-1™ Instruction Manual Page 15
4.  P AUSINg - Figure 7
This function pauses playback at the exact same point the play/pauSe Button (18) was pressed. Pressing 
the play/pauSe  Button  (18) will  switch  between  play  and  pause  modes.  When  the  unit  is  in  pause  mode 
the pauSe  inDicator (42) in the lcD DiSplay (3) and the green play/pauSe Button (18) L.E.D. will begin 
to flash repeatedly.
6. AUTO CUE
This function will automatically set a cue point to the first audio source when a SD Card is loaded. The first set 
cue point will always be the beginning of track 1. If a new track is selected before the play/pauSe Button 
(18) is pressed, a new CUE  POINT will be set to reflect the new starting point. To toggle AUTO CUE on and off 
hold the Sgl/ctn Button (2) for 2 seconds. 
						

							
 BASIC OPErATIONS (CONT.)
©American Audio®   -   www.americanaudio.us   -   SDJ-1™ Instruction Manual Page 16
7. FRAME SEARCH 
This feature allows you to scroll through a track frame by frame, allowing you to find and set a starting cue or 
loop point. To use the scroll function you must first be in Pause Mode (see section 4) or Cue Mode (see section 
8). Once you are in Pause or Cue mode, press the Search ButtonS (17) to scroll through the track (Figure 
9). When you use the Search ButtonS (17) the monitor (headphone level) function allows you to here what 
you  are  scrolling  through.  Once  you  reach  your  desired  starting  point  you  can  set  a  cue  (starting)  point  by 
pressing the play/pauSe Button (18) as in Figure 7. Pressing the cue Button (19) as in Figure 8 will now 
return you to the point you just set.
Figure 9
8.  SETTINg a CUE POINT:
Setting A Cue Point:
A cue point is the exact point playback will begin when the play/pauSe Button (18) is pressed. You may set 
your  cue  point  anywhere  on  a  track.  There  are  two  ways  to  set  and  create  a  CUE  point  as  detailed  in  figures 
10 and 11.
1)  You may press the in Button (12) on the fly   
   (while the track is playing). This will set a CUE   
   Point without music interruption. Pressing the 
 cue Button (19) will now return you to the 
   same point that you pressed the cue But -
  ton (19). Pressing the cue Button (19) will  
 now return you to this exact point. Figure 10
2) You may also use the jog  Wheel (20) to set 
 a cue point. While a track is in PAUSE or 
 CUE mode, press the Search Button (1)  
  and use the jog  Wheel (20) to scroll 
 through a track to find your desired starting   
 point. Once you have found your desired po-
 sition press the play/pauSe Button (18)   
 to set your cue point. Pressing the cue    
 Button (19) will now return you to this ex-
 act point. 
Figure 11 
						

							
Press the in Button (12). This will set 
the  starting  point  of  the  SEAMLESS 
LOOP.  The in  Button  (12) LED  will 
blink.
Press play/pauSe  Button  (18) to  acti-
vate playback mode.
Figure 13
Figure 12
 BASIC OPErATIONS (CONT.)
©American Audio®   -   www.americanaudio.us   -   SDJ-1™ Instruction Manual Page 17
9. CREATINg  AND PLAYINg  A SEAMLESS LOOP 
A seamless loop is a sound loop that plays continuously without sound interruption. You can use this 
loop to create dramatic effect in your mixing. This loop has no time limit and you could actually loop 
the entire length of a card. You create a seamless loop between two continuous points of a track.
2)
Press  the out  Button  (12) to  set  the 
ending  point  for  your  SEAMLESS  LOOP 
(Figure  14).  The in  Button  (12) and out 
Button  (12) LEDs  will  immediately  begin 
to  flash  rapidly  indicating  the  SEAMLESS 
LOOP mode has been activated.Figure 14
3)
1) 
						

							
 BASIC OPErATIONS (CONT.)
©American Audio®   -   www.americanaudio.us   -   SDJ-1™ Instruction Manual Page 18
10. ExITINg A LOOP - To exit a SEAMLESS 
LOOP, press the out Button (12). The in 
Button and out  Button  (12) LEDs  will 
remain  on,  but  will  stop  flashing.  Music 
playback  will  resume  normal  play.  The  but-
ton LEDs  will  remain  on  to  remind  you  that 
a loop is stored in memory.
Figure 15
11.  R EPLAY   LOOP  -  The reloop   (12)  func-
tion  allows  you  to  return  to  your  stored  loop 
at  any  time.  The in  B utton   (12) and out 
Button  (12) LEDs will indicate a loop is stored 
in  memory,  and  may  be  played  at  any  time.  To 
replay  the  loop,  press  the reloop   Button 
(12).  The in  B utton   (12) and out  Button 
(12) LEDs  will  again  begin  to  flash  indicating 
SEAMLESS  LOOP  mode  has  been  activated 
and  your  stored  loop  will  immediately  begin  to 
play. 
Stutter Effect: You can use your loop to create 
a  stutter  effect.  When  a  loop  is  playing  press 
the in  B utton   (12) repeatedly  to  create  this 
effect.
Figure 16
Figure 17
TIME BAR INDICATOR -  Details  the  time  defined  in  the time  meter  (28) as  a  visual  bar  icon.  As  with  the 
time meter (28) this bar is also dependent on the selected time function elapSeD, or remain. This bar will 
begin to flash when a track is ending regardless  of which time function you are in. Use the flashing bar as a 
visual reminder that a track is ending.
12. CHANgINg  THE TIME  DISPLAY (28)\TIME  BAR (29):
DURING NORMAL  PLAYBACK, pressing the time Button (8), will change the time display information (28 & 
29) in the  lcD (3). The following is a break down of the time settings and their definitions: 
1)      ELAPSED - This describes the time in the LCD as the current TRACKS  Elapsed running time.
2)     REMAIN - This describes the time in the LCD as the current TRACKS remaining running time.   
						

							
4. Pressing the aDv. track Button (16) at 
anytime, will cancel this function.
13. ADVANCE TRACK SEARCH
You can find the desired track you would like to play during the playback/pause. 
1. Press the aDv. track Button (16) 
to enter advance track search mode. The 
track inDicator (41) will flash in the 
LCD. Turn the track knoB (10) to search 
for your desired track within the current 
folder. NOTE: If your desired track is in 
another folder you must first locate/
access that folder before activating the 
adv. track search.
2. Press the track knoB (10) to select your 
desired track, ”SEARCH” will now be dis-
played in the LCD.
3. When ”FOUND” is displayed in LCD, 
press the track knoB (10) again to play 
your selected track.
Figure 18
Figure 19
Figure 20
Figure 21
 BASIC OPErATIONS (CONT .)
©American Audio®   -   www.americanaudio.us   -   SDJ-1™ Instruction Manual Page 19 
						

							
REPEAT: 
Enter  PRESET  MENU,  and  then  turn  the 
track/folDer knoB  (10)  until  REPEAT  is 
displayed.  Press  the track/folDer knoB 
(10)  to  toggle  REPEAT  between  ON  or  OFF. 
Once  you  have  selected  press  the time 
Button (8) to exit the PRESET MENU. 
14. PRESET MENU: 
The  SDJ-1  has  a  PRESET  MENU  that  lets 
you see a  DEMO, or control REPEAT, RELAY 
(FLIP-FLOP), SEARCH LOCK, RESET, or lets 
you  "display"  the FIRMWARE VERISION . 
Press  and  hold  the time  Button  (8)  for  2 
secs. to enter PRESET mode.
Figure 24
Figure 22
RELAY "FLIP-FLOP": 
Enter  PRESET  MENU,  and  then  turn  the 
track/folDer  knoB  (10)  until  RELAY  is 
displayed.  Press  the track/folDer knoB 
(10)  to  toggle  RELAY  between  ON  or  OFF. 
Once  you  have  selected  press  the time 
Button (8) to exit the PRESET MENU. Figure 25
DEMO: 
Enter  PRESET  MENU,  and  then  turn  the 
track/folDer  knoB  (10)  until  DEMO  is 
displayed.  Press  the track/folDer knoB 
(10)  to  toggle  DEMO  ON  or  OFF.  Once  you 
have selected press the time Button (8) to 
exit the PRESET MENU. 
Figure 23
 PrESET mENU
In  DEMO  mode  you  can  record  your  desired  track  into  the  system  memory.  Please 
see page 22. 
©American Audio®   -   www.americanaudio.us   -   SDJ-1™ Instruction Manual Page 20
When in RELAY or "Flip Flop" mode, if the SD player is connected directly to speakers 
the player will only be able to "Flip Flop" in SINGLE mode. It will not be able to "Flip 
Flop" entire SD Cards. To "Flip Flop" entire albums the player must be connected to 
a mixer.