setting up the cmd studio 4a with deckadance

Setting up the cmd studio 4a with deckadance how to#
Setting up the cmd studio 4a with deckadance drivers#
Setting up the cmd studio 4a with deckadance software#
Setting up the cmd studio 4a with deckadance plus#

It’s well built, it’s cheap, and it’ll fulfil a niche need. Nevertheless, this is what the batteries are for (to stop it drawing power from such units) weirdly, the LED indicated the batteries were powering it even when I had it connected by USB to my MacBook Air. We certainly didn’t have the time it would take to DIY this for use with a tablet, and if you want a DJ controller to work with a tablet (let’s face it, with iOS), there are better choices out there. A quick email to iMect, makers of DJ Player (the most “universal” iOS DJ App I know of) confirms that it “should” work fine with that company’s app, but you’ll probably be mapping it yourself.

Setting up the cmd studio 4a with deckadance software#

Then you need to find software for it to work with again, no mention anywhere in the box how you’re meant to go about that.

What isn’t mentioned anywhere in the instructions is that it isn’t “Apple compliant”: That means you need to use the Camera Connection Kit “hack” to get it connected, and it won’t charge the iDevice once it is. Good luck if you want to use it with Android.)

Setting up the cmd studio 4a with deckadance drivers#

The unit is “class compliant”, which basically means you don’t need drivers for the thing I’m about to talk about: using it with “tablets”. It’s not hard to image a redesign with the decks moved a bit futher left/right and room for missing EQs on the mixer, even if only two-band per channel. Obviously EQs are a huge thing to forfeit, and for me, the pitch bend controls are utterly unnecessary. Don’t get delusions of scratching grandeur though – they ain’t up to that. The dual-use jogs are a novelty at this size/price point, and work well enough. My expectations from such a small unit were modest, and it actually exceeded them.

If you want to use this “properly” (ie with headphones cueing as well as master out), you’ll need either a DJ/mono splitter cable or a separate DJ audio interface. To set Deckadance up so it works with this unit involves setting up the hardware itself in the Deckadance preferences, then setting the audio so you can actually hear something.

The controller is of course mappable to other devices, and indeed there’s a Traktor mapping on Behringer’s website. Once you’re up and running though, it’s an OK piece of DJ software to get acquainted with the art on. The Deckadance LE software has a rather laborious registration/download process which is described in detail in our CMD Studio 4A review. Well built, heavy and with decent controls, this is a pro-feeling controller, but it does lack what many would feel were some absolute basics. The controls are completed with a nice stepped infinity knob for track selection and left/right load buttons. Meanwhile, the mixer section is simply two line faders, a nice (but cramped) crossfader, and levels for cue and main.

Setting up the cmd studio 4a with deckadance plus#

Yup, it’s strictly a Midi controller – no audio interface here.Įach deck has a small dual-use jogwheel (edge to nudge, top to scratch/scrub), pitch fader, two cue buttons, (rather unnecessary) pitch bend controls, plus play/pause and cue buttons – and the obligatory “sync”. The left-hand end of the unit has a USB socket (and an LED to tell you if the batteries are in use – there is room for two AA batteries for using it with tablet devices)… and that’s it for inputs and outputs. It’s the same design school as the Behringer CMD Studio 4A – but whereas that controller is let down by cheap-feeling jogs, this one is as pro-feeling as any. The bottom has six rubber feet, the casing is plastic, and the top plate is thick brushed metal. Think the “control” half of those dual-box CD players from a few years back. The CMD Micro is a pro-feeling unit: Quite deep, and definitely heavy for its size.

Setting up the cmd studio 4a with deckadance how to#

The box contains (in addition to the unit itself) a USB cable, some instruction/quickstart/warranty leaflets, and a slip of paper with details of how to get your free Deckadance LE software.

Having been out of the DJ controller game for many years, Behringer has certainly decided to barge its way back in with a controller to cover every base. From the full-sized CMD Studio 4A to five modular controller (yes, five – we’ve got reviews of ’em all scheduled), there’s something for everyone – including the micro DJ controller enthusiasts, which is whom the Behringer CMD Micro Midi Controller, reviewed here today, is aimed at.