Yamaha Djx 2 Manual

							Chapter 19 The Outside World
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83Mute the speakers
If you’re routing the DJX-II’s sound to a DJ mixer or external amplifier/speaker system, you may 
want to cut off the sound of the DJX-II’s built-in speakers.  Easy!  Simply insert a phone plug into 
the PHONES jack — or hook up a set of stereo headphones for monitoring the DJX-II sound.
Naturally, even when the built-in speakers are muted in this way, audio is still output through the 
LINE OUT jacks. 
						

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Chapter 20
DJ Performance 
Master Class
Take it up to the next level!  Use these advanced tips as a springboard to explore all the 
amazing DJ possibilities — and become a true mixing virtuoso!
84Creative fill-in 3
Here’s a cool technique for stopping the Pattern and coming back in with the rhythm.  Select P14 
and start with V1.  Then, hit PATTERN STOP and the same Variation as shown.  You may want to 
slow down the bpm — to better help you hear where to play the changes! 
85Break to a new beat
Here’s a trick that lets you switch between two different rhythms.  Select P16 and A02, then start 
V1.  Let the Pattern loop a while, then just before the “one” downbeat (of the bar you want to 
change at), press PATTERN STOP to stop the Pattern.  Then, right on the “one,” press Loop1.  If 
you do it just right, there will be a short break in the rhythm, just before the Loop kicks in — right 
on the beat!  It’s just like switching between two turntables! 
To go back from the Loop to the Pattern, press V2 and Loop1 at the same time — right on the 
“one”!
One - andOne - and Two - and Three - and Four - and
V1V1 Start! Break here... ...and come back in here!
One Two Three FourOne Two Three FourOne Two Three Four
This timing! This timing!
Start the new Variation. Stop Loop 1. 
						

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86Switch the drums!
Try this slick trick!  Here, you’ll keep the Phrase Parts of a Pattern going, but slip in a different 
rhythm to back it up.  This is a technique the pros use to switch the beat around, yet still maintain 
the flow!
Select P17 and A02, then start V8.  Then, on the “one,” press PHRASE1+2+3 of the Part Mixer and 
Activator Loop1 simultaneously.  The Pattern drums drop out and the Activator Loop kicks in — all 
on the same beat!  To go back, press ALL of the Part Mixer just before the “one,” and press Activa-
tor Loop1 right on the “one.” 
The trick is to switch the drums smoothly.  Change the groove, but stay with the flow!
87Outro -tro -tro -tro
Here’s another popular technique from the producer’s bag of tricks — ending with an echo!
Select the Delay or Echo effect.  Then, on the very last beat (or last two beats) of the last bar of the 
Pattern, switch and hold the effect on.  Then press PATTERN STOP just before the “one” of the next 
bar to stop the Pattern.  Don’t forget to keep holding the effect on!  The Delay or Echo hits just the 
last notes of the rhythm and fades them out in a delayed repeat.  Awesome!
Pattern  Phrase parts + Activator Drum
Pattern all parts The Activator stops.  
						

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88Upside down, inside out!
Sometimes when you play certain Parts in a Pattern by themselves, it’s difficult to hear where the 
downbeat is.  Especially in an intro.  Your ears may fool you into hearing and expecting a com-
pletely different downbeat!  Then, when the rest of the rhythm kicks in, it turns your feet (and whole 
body!) around.  Like with this tricky intro!
Select P18 and set only the Bass Part to play (with the Part Mixer).  Then start V1.  Let the Bass play by 
itself for a few bars, and try to feel the downbeat.  Don’t worry if you can’t — the other Parts will cue you 
into it!  Now, turn on the Hi-hat, and let that play a while.  Then, bring in the Kick.  As soon as the Kick 
plays, the beat turns around, and you finally “hear” the rhythm!
89Buildup to a Variation
Remember Tip 64, where you built up an intro, Part-by-Part, until the whole rhythm kicked in?  
Here’s a slightly more advanced version of that technique — in this case, the buildup leads into a 
different Variation!
Select P20 and set only the BASS+KICK to play (with the Part Mixer).  Then start V1.  Let the Bass play 
by itself for four bars, then bring in the Snare, Hi-hat and Percussion at the same time.  Let all of that 
heat up for another four bars.  Then — on the “one” of the next measure — turn on all of the Parts and 
press V3 at the same time.  This is a really slick way to get the textures happening and build up your 
sound — and then explode  into a new rhythm! 
						

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90Sync up your samples to the Pat-
tern!
By now, you’ve probably got a few really hot samples recorded to the DJX-II.  And maybe you’re 
itching to use them with the Patterns.  Well, here’s how you can do just that — and keep everything 
in sync!
While playing one of your Sample Loops, listen carefully for the beat and tap it out on the BPM/TAP 
button.
The Pattern starts automatically at the same bpm as the Sample Loop.  If the Loop and Pattern drift 
out of sync, adjust the bpm accordingly and re-start the Pattern at the “one” downbeat of the Loop.  
Alternately, you may want to re-start the Loop every four bars (or whatever is necessary) by dou-
ble-clicking the Loop Pad.  Make sure to do it on the “one”!
120.
0
BPM 
						

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91Play a Pattern, trigger a Performance
Work on using the Pattern Player and Performance Player in tandem for your onstage mixes — 
both give you so much more than you get with either one alone!
When youre playing a Pattern, press one of the Performance Player Pads — to instantly switch 
over to a recorded performance.  Then, instantly switch back to the Patterns again, simply by 
pressing one of the Pattern Player keys.
Its a good idea have a bank of your specially recorded performances loaded and ready to trigger — 
bringing them into your live performance when needed and using the Pattern Player and/or Activa-
tor to augment them.
92Recall your settings with a single shot
The Performance Recorder does double duty as a panel control “reset” function — letting you store 
your favorite settings for instant recall!
Start recording to one of the Player Pads and make all your desired settings — for example, setting the 
Part Controller and Isolator knobs to specific positions, turning on the desired Part in the Part Selector 
section, and selecting Parts in the Part Mixer.  Then, when you want to use those settings in perfor-
mance, just press the appropriate pad, and hit one of the Pattern Player keys — and you’re happening!
Record your favorite settings, 
like shown here...
...then, press the Pad 
to recall the settings, 
and hit the Pattern! 
						

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93Taking the pulse
The DJX-II has a variety of bpm-related tools that help you get the proper bpm — such as tapping 
it out (Tip 78) or capturing the bpm from an external source (Tip 94 below).  Sometimes you may 
find it difficult or impossible to get an accurate reading, however.  In the end, the best tools are your 
ears!
Use the AUDIO BPM COUNTER or Tap function to zero in (as close as possible) on the bpm of an 
external source.  Then, to fine tune the bpm reading, start the Pattern Player on the “one” downbeat 
of the source music.  If the beats stay in sync for several bars, you’ve got the right bpm!  If the 
beats drift apart, try adjusting the bpm manually, re-starting the Pattern on the “one” each time.  
Eventually, you’ll hone in on the proper bpm!
94Auto-adjusting the bpm
Got a favorite beat on CD or vinyl that you want to sync to the DJX-II?  This powerful function lets 
you do just that!
The DJX-II “hears” the beat (from a connected external sound source) and automatically locks into 
the rhythm by auto-adjusting the bpm of the currently playing Pattern.
To use this, connect a CD player or turntable and mixer (as shown), and play the source music.  
Then, press and hold the AUDIO BPM COUNTER button and adjust the INPUT LEVEL dial until the 
lamp flashes.  The optimum setting is when the lamp flashes only at each downbeat in the source 
music.  For best results, try narrowing in on the bpm roughly at first by tapping it out (Tip 78), then 
using the auto-adjust function.
Most dance music (such as techno or house) that have a prominent kick and bass sound only on 
the downbeat are ideal for this function.  Keep in mind, however, that some kinds of source music 
may not work with this.  If that’s the case, again use the Tap function (Tip 78) to lock into the bpm.
CD MD 
						

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95Toggling on beat, muting in rhy thm
Now that you’ve got your rhythm skills down, try out some of these more compli-
cated maneuvers!
Try using the TOGGLE key (in the Part Mixer) rhythmically.  Set the Part Mixer up so 
that only Phrase 1, 2, and 3 are playing — then play the TOGGLE key on every beat 
of the Pattern, so that the Parts alternate in rhythm.  Try other playing Patterns as 
well — such as hitting TOGGLE twice every beat (in 1/8 notes), or playing even 
more complicated, syncopated rhythms.
To get a simple dropout at the end of a bar, whip the Master Volume down on the 
4th beat, and bring it back up instantly on (or just slightly before) the “one.”
96Sync applications — using the 
DJX-II as the master
The advanced sync features of the DJX-II let you lock it together with the rhythm and bpm of 
another device, such as a DJX-IIB, another DJX-II, or an external sequencer.  No drift, no slipping 
out of sync — the two devices stay perfectly in the same groove!  This is just one of the enormous 
advantages of digital-based music.  Try syncing two turntables together, and you’ll see what we 
mean!
Although this is really just one feature, we’ve divided it into two separate tips: using the DJX-II as 
the master device, and using it as the slave (in Tip 97 below).  If you’ve got a second device, try it 
both ways!
When the DJX-II is used as the master, you can play the Patterns of the DJX-II and have sequenced 
Patterns and music on an external sequencer lock into the bpm of the DJX-II.  
1 Set up the DJX-II and the external device.
Use a standard MIDI cable to connect the two devices as shown.
2 Set the external device to “external sync.”
For specific instructions on changing the sync setting, refer to the owner’s manual of the exter-
nal device.
3 Play the DJX-II.
When you start and stop the Patterns of the DJX-II, the songs or Patterns on the external device 
start and stop at the same time.  Likewise, changing the bpm on the DJX-II automatically 
changes the bpm of the external device.  All playback operations function in perfect sync 
between the two machines, with the DJX-II as the master.
MIDI IN MIDI OUT
MIDI clock
External sequencer 
(RM1x, etc.) 
						

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97Sync applications — using the 
DJX-II as the slave
Here we’ll do the opposite of Tip 96 above.  This sophisticated application lets you play sequenced 
Patterns and song data on an external sequencer and have the Patterns of the DJX-II lock into the 
bpm of that device.  
1 Set up the DJX-II and the external device.
Use a standard MIDI cable to connect the two devices as shown.
2 Set the DJX-II to “external sync.”
Simultaneously hold down BPM/TAP and turn the data dial clockwise, a couple of turns past the 
maximum of 280.0, until “Sync” appears in the display.
3 Play the DJX-II.
When you start and stop the song or Pattern on the external device, the Patterns of the DJX-II 
start and stop at the same time.  Likewise, changing the bpm on the external device automati-
cally changes the bpm of the DJX-II.  All playback operations function in perfect sync between 
the two machines, with the external device as the master and the DJX-II as the slave.
MIDI OUT MIDI IN
MIDI clock
External sequencer 
(RM1x, etc.)
SYnc
Indicates “external 
sync.” 
						

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98Get more Patterns!
One of the great things about the DJX-II is how open-ended the system is!  You can get additional 
Patterns from the DJX Internet Site (
www.yamahadjx.com), and — with the downloadable 
Pattern Launcher software — load that Pattern data right into your DJX-II!
Once new Pattern data is loaded, select one of the Patterns U1 - U5 to play the desired Pattern.  (U1 
- U5 appear only when User Pattern data has been loaded to the DJX-II.)  Up to five Patterns can be 
loaded at one time.
 Connecting to a Personal Computer • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 When the computer has a MIDI interface installed, connect the MIDI OUT terminal of the 
personal computer to the MIDI IN terminal of the DJX-II.
 When using a MIDI interface with a Macintosh series computer, connect the RS-422 termi-
nal of the computer (modem or printer terminal) to the appropriate MIDI interface, then 
connect the MIDI OUT terminal on the MIDI interface to the MIDI IN terminal of the DJX-II, 
as shown in the diagram below. 
 When the computer has a USB interface, use the Yamaha UX256. 
For details on using the Pattern Launcher software, refer to the online Help file in the software.
MIDI OUT MIDI IN
Pattern data
(Bulk data)
MIDI OUT MIDI IN
MIDI IN MIDI OUT
MIDI IN
RS-422
MIDI OUT
Computer
(sequencer software)
MIDI 
interface
MIDI OUT MIDI IN
MIDI IN MIDI OUT
USB cableUX256