Trim knob (DDJ-400) suddenly drops volume

Questions
1
  • Device model (e.g. 2020 iPad Air 4th Gen): iPad Air 3rd gen
  • Version of operating system (e.g. macOS 14.4.1): iPad OS 18.5
  • Version of djay (e.g. 5.1.2): 5.6.1
  • Hardware/controllers used (e.g. Reloop Mixon 8 Pro): Pioneer DJ DDJ-400
  • Hardware firmware version (e.g. 1.0.1): not sure

I continuously monitor the trim. As recommended whenever I see the red LED light up I adjust the trim accordingly. Whenever I touch trim knob, the volume suddenly drops as opposed to dropping gradually. During a set yesterday I noticed the same with the filter knob; i.e. no bass and when I touch the filter for the active track the bass comes back. This happens after a track change. I had Crossfader FX activated.

What makes it particularly annoying is you can clearly hear the sudden drop in volume so I quickly have to readjust.

I had the same behavior on my previous DDJ-SB3 so I would assume this is not controller related.

2

I think this has to do with auto gain. Let me try to explain: suppose that you gain knob on your controller is on level 3. Then when you load a new song and auto gain boost the gain to level 8, you gain knob on your controller is still level 3. So when you touch it, the controller send immediately a signal that the knob/gain is level 3, so you volume drops suddenly.

To disable this, turn off auto gain in the settings or unlink the gain know from the controller and software.

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1 Like
4

Thanks for the assist @LJsquare82. That is exactly right. @tfmeier please confirm if that solves your issue or not. Thanks!

1 Like
5

Thanks. I’ll to disable auto gain later but to make sure I understand. I’m talking about the 2 trim knobs - one for each deck.

I play on deck 1 and have trim at the optimal level. Then I transition to deck 2 and may notice the trim level too high so I go and adjust and that’s when the sudden drops happen.

Also on your screenshot you have ‘Save and Restore Manually Set Gain Levels’ active. Is that related to this at all?

6

Hi @tfmeier, we are talking about Trim/Gain. These are typically the knobs above the EQs on most DJ hardware. These are the Volume settings that I personally find optimal.

  1. Auto Gain → On: in most cases this will automatically set the Trim/Gain for both decks so they are close to equal.
  2. Save and Restore Manually Set Gain Values → Off: this means djay will not remember any manual changes you make to gain values. I prefer to keep this off in case I make a gain adjustment in a situation where I’m playing a very quiet track against a very loud one. I prefer that djay does not remember these and always defaults to its Auto Gain analysis.
  3. Unlink Controller Gain From on-Screen Gain → On: I like to keep this on for those situations where the Auto Gain value isn’t quite perfect. Then I can make a small manual gain adjustment on my controller without the big jump in volume you are describing.

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Give these settings a try and let me know.