where's the support?

well i just love the vms4

if you want a menual for full control in traktor then you have to buy "traktor bible"...

quote:

Originally posted by Patrick_belgium:
Adj has proven that they can’t design a controller for different brands.His VMS4) looks are great but that’s only the outside… if there’s a problem, virtualdj gives no support for VMS4, traktor the same, and adj gives no support for virtualdj or traktor issues.

i cant talk for vdj, but traktor is one of a dozen softwares you can possibly use - but surely, you have to build a mapping or use one of the existing. ADJ already provides some mappings and the users here share theirs, for a beginning.

also, i'm new to the moderator team here and will be especially the one to talk to if it comes down to traktor issues and questions.

quote:

There’s no manual to show us what settings you have to do for full control (in virtualDJ Pro or traktor),

and there needs to be none, since you can assign the vms4 freely to your needs. all you need to know should be in the manuals of the respective software you use.

quote:

I mean, when I push the play button on the VMS4 (in traktor of virtual DJ) I want that the music starts and the playbutton lights up, when I use the jogwheel I want to hear scratchsounds…

really? i could imagine a dozen other scenarios.

quote:

The only thing that’s working with the VMS4 is virtualDJ LE. This VMS4 is going back to the shop…

sorry to hear that - you're unfortunately missing the power of mappings and doing it your own way...

i've tried different mappings, and in the latest ADJ-tsi i saw all the codes when i importes the tsi, but nothings react when i push a button.
In traktor you have to choose input, output,wich asiosettings... so i'll think you have to do some settings. is there a USB-driver needed for VMS4?
In virtualdj also, audio-input, output, asio,...wich? you as moderator, can you give me a screenshot or maybe a youtubemovie with settings? How come vms4 works in Le version and not in pro?

the downside of the vms is that it is not an integrated system that simply works out of the box.

but on the other hand this means a huge flexibility that integrated systems cannot offer at this level!

please contact support regarding questions about virtual dj.

regarding traktor: if you download my mappings, i added a PDF, where i describe what settings have to be made before you can use the mapping. even if you dont want to use my mapping, you can use the pdf as source for the settings made in traktor.

and yes of course, there need to be drivers installed for the vms.

Patrick,

You are talking to the wrong people. Another condesending moderator.

Now before I get deleted again! .. here's what I have observed.

Firstly, the unit does hace problems, but ADJ deny all of them (until you publish a video of them on youtube for all to see).

Secondly, ADJ have issued completely useless .tsi's for the unit, the worst being the one from Freshfluke and the one from ADJ themselves. ...what a pointless effort that was ! As for the VDJ option, you'd have thought as they are working directly with Atomix a decent mapping would have been released for users from day one (i beleive that there's not one that works fully even yet).

To get the unit working here's some basic steps to follow.

(1) check you have the correct connections, power USB etc. Check the the unit has installed correctly, the ASIO driver is also the USB command file for the unit. I have had some problems in the order of this should be done, ther's still an outstanding issue with windows 7x64, Audio8/4 and VMS4 ASIO. As shown on the video i posted a while back.

When you are sure everything is connected correctly, the drivers are installed and running okay, then onto the unit.

In Traktor you have a symbol close to the clock in the center of the screen that shows MIDI activity, each time you push a button, you see the CTRL icon change to blue.

If you don't see this then traktor isn't seeing your VMS4.

You need to check your configuration inside the trakor setup.

goto the configuration section (top right, looks like a wheel)

Scroll down the list to the Controller Manager

open it up and you will see the mapping section

delete all the crap thats in there already, do this by

clicking DEVICE, edit, delete

once you have a clean slate, import your new .tsi (reynaldo's is pretty good, avoid the freshfluke one and the ADJ one, they are missing large sections and will leave you annoyed at ADJ !)

importing the .tsi

do this by clicking

ADD (under the device description area)

select IMPORT

locate your .tsi and import it.

NOW SAVE YOUR CONFIGURATION !

goto the bottom of the same page, you will see EXPORT, check all your boxes expect file locations (this causes major headaches if you moves your .tsi to someone elses PC/MAC !)

you do this because any changes to the config, need to be saved, and sometimes it forgets to update them for you, it's best to keep backing stuff up as you work.

Once the .tsi is loaded, you should see activity when you push the device buttons, if not something is broken

When you have this working, make sure you have the routing for audio and decks configured to the setup the writer of the .tsi states will give the best operation.


AND MODERATORS/ ADJ EMPLOYEES.

You should issue a manual on how to set-up, use and configure this unit. The target audience is not the ProDJ market where many of us already know the software better than the support teams. It's for new/wanabee DJ's or those new into digital DJ'ing. These people need a lot of help, don't just ignore them, speak down to them or brush them off as "not important".

Support is exactly that SUPPORT, it means help !

Freshfluke, hopefully your first postings are not an indication of your time on this forum. Patrick made a simple statement that i think everyone expects to happen.

You push play and the music starts !
You scratch on the jogs and it "scratches" the soundfile.

Every advanced Traktor user knows this can be remapped, but when you take something out of the box for the first time, you expect the basic functions to work!

PLAY = PLAY, CUE = CUE etc.

Why not show us how much of a Traktor expert you are and help him rather than send him away to another controller vendor.

Finally! Thanks Mark! Someone that listen to me (and many others)
What do you mean with: unit has installed correctly? all i can do is install virtualdj LE & asioADJ driver with the CD-Rom.
in traktor, i'll have MIDI activity, that's ok. So i'll think problem are the mappings, when you're importing a tsi you can sometimes choose audio and(or) midi settings, controllermappings,... Should i select them all?
gonna try it new tsi tonight.
thanks for you SUPPORT.

you are so right about the ADJ support, they make a controller, sold them and then you can start searching how to make it work.

Same with virtualdj pro...

my previous controller was a M-audio Xponent, sold them (regret it) but you have to chech their support page, with a lot of video support on how everything works.

I have every chance of being deleted from here once again, so i will speak quickly !

It sounds like you have your drivers installed correctly, and it's probably a mapping issue

Just check that you can see the audio channels in VMS4 ASIO settings, the program has a black VMS4 jogwheel icon.

In there you should see either 4x4 or 8x2 config (selectable from the switch at the front of the unit)


.tsi mappings come with many options, the main being the mapping side for the controller.

Also in there are the configurations for the
Keyboard mappings - this is the controller mappings on your computer keyboard (HID control)

GUI - the interface, deck configuration, what you can see in the listing windows etc.
Audio - (inputs and outputs)

data location - where to find the music so it can be seen by the traktor collection section (traktor needs this if you intend to use the cruise feature)

---------------------------------------------

When i import someone esle's .tsi file, all i check is the

CONTROLLER
GUI
EFFECTS

then i make sure that in the traktor config my audio card is correctly configured.

If you are using the VMS4 as the soundcard and the mixer you have these options.

2 deck, internal mixing
2 deck external mixing
4 deck internal mixing
4 deck external mixing

4 deck internal mixing is problematic, so stay with external mixer on that.

To configure the sound routing and mixer, you ned to be back in the configuration section under

AUDIO SETUP

VMS4 - 44.1 and about 10ms latency

OUTPUT ROUTING

this is where you can select internal or external mixer and how the channels are routed.

(THIS IS IMPORTANT, check with the author of the .tsi for their config, so your's works as they programmed it)

INPUT ROUTING
Ignore this, it's not capable of NI timecode, and it's just extra resourses that you tie up. However if you do want to play your vinyl through Traktor using it's effects, this is where you add inputs.

There are some great mappings out there, Reynaldo's is a very good start, i am working on my own at the moment, but i'm only2/3rds through it (many many modifier states and LED feedbacks to finish). It doesn't help that they use some odd pot's in the effects unit's, and I still can't get the touchstrips to do anything useful ... but if i'm ever happy enough with it, i'll send it over to you .. the chances i'll change it as soon as it's finished.

As for scratching, it's not that great, in fact it's pretty poor, but so are all controllers compared to TCV or the real thing. It does give you a "passable" cue sound and when you load up scratch sounds (as most DJ's do) you can cheat quite well!

Hope you get something running tonight, if you don't you can email me directly at

northern_mod@yahoo.co.uk

just in case i'm deleted again for speaking my mind ...

apologies for any typos, i'm typing really quickly so you can get the response ...

Hi Patrick,

there is a video on the support page of correctly installing your VMS4. Which did work for me. Try that.

Unfortunetly the support email for ADJ is not very good. I still have 2 emails not answered or acknowledged over 2 weeks old

The forum is a great way to get your answers, because of people like Mark.

I thought myself to be traktor savy, well enough to get by anyway. I still had a headache for 3 weeks trying to get setup traktor to VMS4. Be Prepared

As for mapping, my suggestion to you Patrick is to learn how to map yourself. Start from scratch. It is easy to do. In the perference/control manager section, once you have your command loaded hit the learn button, then hit/move a button/encoder of the VMS4. It will save the data. After each time you are finished a session of mapping export as Mark suggested.

Start small like play/pause and EQ's, then move onto filters, FX's or Looping. In the manaul of traktor is starts off basic and goes more in depth. Start with the midi section though. I also suggest the traktor bible which was is awesome too. Well worth the money.

This may take some time, but then the VMS4 is set up to the way you want it. As you get more comfortable, midi commands can be changed very easily.

I find it so Shocking the lack of Professionalism in so many of the responses from SOME AA Mods....
for me this is a big purchase and up until this purchase and this forum I had a great respect for AA products. Amazing!

I still have three weeks to return this unfortunate thing. And the responses are leaning me toward return and never considering AA again.

quote:

Originally posted by Mark Stewart (JSM):
Now before I get deleted again! .. here's what I have observed.

nobody's posting will be deleted or edited, unless it's violating the forum rules.

quote:

Secondly, ADJ have issued completely useless .tsi's for the unit,

ask 10 traktor users how they use traktor and you will come up with 10 different ways of using it. so, a mapping that fits your needs does not necessarily help me going anywhere.

quote:

the worst being the one from Freshfluke

thx for all the honor

quote:

You should issue a manual on how to set-up, use and configure this unit.

this is a very good idea and now that i joined the moderator team, this is one of the next things i want to do for traktor.

quote:

These people need a lot of help, don't just ignore them, speak down to them or brush them off as "not important".

i would never do that. but i also wont invent the wheel every week again. if there is already some written documentation etc. i will point to that.

quote:

Support is exactly that SUPPORT, it means help !

exactly. but also, this is the user forum, not the official support. so in cases, where you cant get enough help here from the board, you should contact the official ADJ support. in case, you're not happy with them for some reason, that's exactly where i jump in trying to help further.

quote:

Every advanced Traktor user knows this can be remapped, but when you take something out of the box for the first time, you expect the basic functions to work!

you're missing the point - you HAVE to adjust some settings etc. to make the vms work with traktor. patricks posting made obvious that the absolute basic - an installed driver - was missing.

i expect indeed a simple RTFM first.

quote:

Originally posted by digital_junkie:
Unfortunetly the support email for ADJ is not very good. I still have 2 emails not answered or acknowledged over 2 weeks old

can you provide me with more details (is there such thing as a ticket number or other confirmation that ADJ got your support inquiry?) so i can escalate this for you?

Before I blow my cool, (I am in the process of writing to the directors of ADJ to have them reveiw their support structure and forums).

When you buy ANY controller, you unpack it and you connect it to the software. You expect to do something withing the first 30mins.

BASIC functionality with the ADJ .tsi should make for BASIC functionality with the VMS4.

Whats so difficult about that for you to understand ?

Patrick and many many moreusers have problems setting this unit up. Even i had problems and I am a traktor "expert" (but i guess the way this forum is going, it will soon be less and less, as they will have moved to a company that actually cares about their customers)


Think about it in a different way, you don't buy a car only to find you have to assemble the engine yourself with no instructions and a support team saying you are wrong, the engine is already there.

You may as well say, don't buy our car, buy someone elses 'cos we don't give a sh**.

Now I know you from the NI forums, and frankly looks, blonde hair etc. don't impress me for one min. Technical skill and expert knowledge do impress me. If you looked like a Yak in Siberia but could talk for hours about how a modifier could be used to get the extra mile from a particular encoder, i'd be impressed.

So, impress me ... do something to help the community ! You could start by apologising to Patrick, you could enquire if he managed to get his system working, and guide him through using the unit inside Traktor.

quote:

Originally posted by Mark Stewart (JSM):
When you buy ANY controller, you unpack it and you connect it to the software. You expect to do something withing the first 30mins.

this should exactly happen with the version of VDJ that comes with the vms, but on that i cannot comment. if there are issues with that, i'm happy to pass them over to ADJ and work on a solution for the forums user.

to make it work with traktor, you have to do some settings, which i explained in the pdf that is available here on the website. if i wasnt exhaustive enough at one point i'm happy to jump in.

quote:

Patrick and many many moreusers have problems setting this unit up.

i repeat that i agree that it would be nice to have a complete how-to-setup-with-traktor guide and i'm already working on it as i already told you.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Freshfluke:
can you provide me with more details (is there such thing as a ticket number or other confirmation that ADJ got your support inquiry?) so i can escalate this for you?

I appreciate you trying to look at this but,

It is taken care of, I believe Mark, Kali2000 and GroovinDJ helped me out with issues.

But saying that I was told one thing by support , something totally different from a Mod (Leo has been a help too). So I end up spending more money on something that was needed which didn't work either. Thankfully Moog Audio was able to take care of me.

After all of this I was given the correct methods from forum users which the unit is now working great.

The problem really is the ambiguity of support and there answers or lack there of. My opinion if they don't know the answer they seem to ignore you or they brush it off as a traktor issue and not the VMS4. Which in my case it was a Trakotr AND VMS4 issue.

And also there is no ticket numbers when you email support.

Hey Mark,
Send me an email at steve(at)stevierayentertainment[d o t]com I don't know what happened to you account (JSM) and would like to be filled in. I know we had agreed to disagree when you were first posting here, but I did not know that you were banned. You are welcome here, as long as you stay within the guidlines of the rules.

Hi there, been a while hasn't it.

Sometime ago I had a "falling out" as did many with your man Harmut in Germany. I went to reply to his post and my account was deleted.

His posting was very insulting and has been forwarded to your head office for their inspection (it's still on here somewhere i think).

Anyway the result was having to re-apply with a different email account.

I will try to find the email creating my new account to give you an idea of the date.

It was shortly after I sent my first unit back (the one with the channel bleed on 3/4 and the very noisy channel 2).

You will be releived that this one doesn't exhibit these "features", however I have an intermitant reset problem (The techs think its something to do with the MIDI mapping and the NI4/8 drivers .. and they are working on a fix).

However in the meantime i've been given the option of RMA'ing this one.

I am still waiting for a definite answer on whether i should return his one now, or should I wait until they fixed the microphone and levels issue.

No-one seems to know when they will have a fix, and if they do, what exactly will happen to the user base that has them now.

Do we face a mass recall ?

Could you enquire for me? support lines can't give me an answer yet, as it is it's sat in a box in the vinyl room looking very lonely and I am back to using TCV's and hoping the venue have enough space to put all my boxes ...

regards.
Mark

Mark,
Well as Leo said I am not an employee of American Audio, I have just been on the forums here since about '99, and was a big supporter of American DJ/Audio for years, so many years ago I was asked to help out on the forums (at the time I was the only active moderator). A few years ago they asked me if I was interested in product testing. I get to play with products and give my feedback. I honestly didn't encounter most of the problems that users had, but I demo'ed it with the enclosed VDJ lite. Well anyway short story of my background with ADJ.

So to my point, I know you are not happy with the mods around here, well most are just users like you, with a pasion for DJing and for ADJ (at least I know it's that way for me) for Jingles (its a pasion for lighting and ADJ). So I will try to help as much as I can, but I do not have special powers, except to smack around people who are offensive, or try to do illegal activity on these forums.

quote:

Now to your questions...
Do we face a mass recall ?

I honestly do not know

quote:

Could you enquire for me? support lines can't give me an answer yet, as it is it's sat in a box in the vinyl room looking very lonely and I am back to using TCV's and hoping the venue have enough space to put all my boxes ...

All I can do is ask Leo here in support in the US, but I honestly think that you should give him a call yourself 800-322-6337. He is good people. You may not get through on your first try, but leave a message, just ask specifically for Leo to contact you. I do believe he is aware of your situation.

i think they do need to do a mass recall on these. mine is just barely over a month old and my mic inputs dont even work. it will come on when they want to but thats it. i can hook the mic to my computer speakers and it works fine but if plugged into the unit...nothing. i just hooked up the mic for the first time today because im getting ready for a party and now i have to figure out how to be able to use the mic


DJAAron thanks 4 your profesional opinion but before you call a mass recall try calling customer service, or searching for an answer on the forum. what type of MIC are you using? if try using a Hi to low Z this will help out with some mics that had issues any thing lower than 300 Ohms. NSP

[QUOTE]Originally posted by djaaron:
i think they do need to do a mass recall on these. mine is just barely over a month old and my mic inputs dont even work. it will come on when they want to but thats it. i can hook the mic to my computer speakers and it works fine but if plugged into the unit...nothing. i just hooked up the mic for the first time today because im getting ready for a party and now i have to figure out how to be able to use the mic


DJAAron thanks 4 your profesional opinion but before you call a mass recall try calling customer service, or searching for an answer on the forum. what type of MIC are you using? if try using a Hi to low Z this will help out with some mics that had issues any thing lower than 300 Ohms. NSP

quote:

Originally posted by Ihearyou(American Audio):
[QUOTE]Originally posted by djaaron:
i think they do need to do a mass recall on these. mine is just barely over a month old and my mic inputs dont even work. it will come on when they want to but thats it. i can hook the mic to my computer speakers and it works fine but if plugged into the unit...nothing. i just hooked up the mic for the first time today because im getting ready for a party and now i have to figure out how to be able to use the mic


DJAAron thanks 4 your profesional opinion but before you call a mass recall try calling customer service, or searching for an answer on the forum. what type of MIC are you using? if try using a Hi to low Z this will help out with some mics that had issues any thing lower than 300 Ohms. NSP

Leo,

As spokesman (self elected and unofficial of course - also I don't ask for next year kit! ) for the masses of users who have problems with the microphone input.
I urge ADJ to give us a firm and positive answer regarding the "fix" they propose. If as it's been suggested that there's motherboard repair to do, we need to know how this will happen.

My only question is when this will happen. The problem has been identified, it has a suggested fix, yet we hear nothing more.

I know you have a workaround, but the users should not have to keep buying extra products to make this work, the design should have taken into consideration of the average users requirements. For example it doesn't work well with the ADJ branded headphones !!! They should have been the first device to be tested with the VMS4 .. for fecks sake, it's your own companies product ... LOL

quote:

Originally posted by digital_junkie:
It is taken care of, I believe Mark, Kali2000 and GroovinDJ helped me out with issues.

ok, good to know.

quote:

The problem really is the ambiguity of support and there answers or lack there of. My opinion if they don't know the answer they seem to ignore you or they brush it off as a traktor issue and not the VMS4. Which in my case it was a Trakotr AND VMS4 issue.

this is unsatisfying and i understand your frustration. i guess at the end of the day, everybody, be it a user or an employee, we have a learning curve, especially when it comes to new gear - this is an experience i made also with other manufactors and their products, be it hardware or software.

all i can say at the moment is that i'm here trying to get all strings together, one day setting up a good trouble shooting document etc.

but time is limited on my end, so dont expect everything happen within a super short timeframe!

my mic is a sony f-v620 dynamic microphone.

i did email customer service so im waiting to a response back from them. if i dont get a response i will just call it in when i get a chance

ok, keep us updated!