1XWAX(1) General Commands Manual XWAX(1)
2
6 xwax - Digital vinyl on Linux
7
9 xwax [options]
10
12 xwax is vinyl emulation software for Linux. It allows DJs and turntab‐
13 lists to playback digital audio files (MP3, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, AAC and
14 more), controlled using a normal pair of turntables via timecoded
15 vinyls.
16
18 The ordering of options is important. Most options apply to subsequent
19 music libraries or decks, which can be given multiple times. See the
20 EXAMPLES below.
21 -l path
23 Scan the music library or playlist at the given path.
24 -t name
26 Use the named timecode for subsequent decks. See -h for a list
27 of valid timecodes. You will need the corresponding timecode
28 signal on vinyl to control playback.
29 -33 Set the reference playback speed for subsequent decks to 33 and
31 one third revolutions per minute. This is the default.
32 -45 Set the reference playback speed for subsequent decks to 45 rev‐
34 olutions per minute.
35 -c Protect subsequent decks against certain operations during play‐
37 back.
38 -u Allow all operations on a deck during playback. This is the in‐
40 verse of the -c option, and is the default.
41 --phono
43 Adjust the noise thresholds of subsequent decks to tolerate a
44 cartridge-level signal connected to a line-level audio inter‐
45 face. This is a 'software pre-amp'. Unless your audio path has
46 low noise, this will give worse results or may not work at all;
47 a true phono pre-amplifier is always preferred.
48 --line Set noise thresholds of subsequent decks to standard audio lev‐
50 els. This reverses the effect of the --phono option, and is the
51 default.
52 -i path
54 Use the given importer executable for subsequent decks.
55 -s path
57 Use the given scanner executable to scan subsequent music li‐
58 braries.
59 --dummy
61 Create a deck which is not connected to any audio device, used
62 for testing.
63 -k Lock into RAM any memory required for real-time use. This in‐
65 cludes audio tracks held in memory which can be large. Use
66 ulimit -l to raise the kernel's memory limit to allow this.
67 -q n Change the real-time priority of the process. A priority of 0
69 gives the process no priority, and is used for testing only.
70 -g [nxn][+n+n][/f]
72 Change the geometry of the display in size, position and scale
73 (zoom) respectively. The size and position is passed to SDL,
74 which may use it to set the display mode, or size of an X win‐
75 dow. See the EXAMPLES.
76 --no-decor
78 Request to the window manager to create a 'frameless' window
79 which does not have the regular controls such as title bars and
80 buttons. This can be useful in conjunction with the -g flag for
81 dedicated xwax installations.
82 -h Display the help message and default values.
84
86 The following options are available only when xwax is compiled with
87 ALSA support.
88 -a device
90 Create a deck which uses the given ALSA device (eg. plughw:0).
91 --rate hz
93 Set the sample rate for subsequent decks. The default is to
94 prefer 48000Hz, but use 44100Hz if that is not available. To
95 maintain best performance, only sample rates implemented by the
96 hardware are available.
97 --buffer samples
99 Set the ALSA buffer size for subsequent decks. Smaller is bet‐
100 ter for lower latencies and greater responsiveness. Set too low
101 and audible glitches will occur, with reports of underruns to
102 the console.
103
105 The following options are available only when xwax is compiled with
106 JACK support.
107 -j name
109 Create a deck which connects to JACK and registers under the
110 given name.
111 xwax does not set the sample rate for JACK devices; it uses the sample
113 rate given in the global JACK configuration.
114
116 The following options are available only when xwax is compiled with OSS
117 support.
118 -d pathname
120 Create a deck which uses the given OSS device (eg. /dev/dsp).
121 --rate hz
123 Set the sample rate for subsequent decks. The default for OSS
124 devices is 48000Hz.
125 -b n Set the number of OSS buffers for subsequent decks.
127 -f n Set the OSS buffer size (2^n bytes).
129
131 The following options are available only when xwax is compiled with
132 ALSA support.
133 --dicer device
135 Use one or two Dicer controllers connected as the given ALSA de‐
136 vice (eg. hw:Dicer). See the section NOVATION DICER CONTROLS for
137 more information.
138 Adding a hardware controller results in control over subsequent decks,
140 up to the limit of the hardware.
141
143 The playback of each deck (direction, speed and position) is controlled
144 via the incoming timecode signal from the turntables. The keyboard
145 provides additional controls.
146 "C-" and "S-" means a keypress is combined with the 'Control' or
148 'Shift' key, respectively.
149 Record selection controls:
151 cursor up, cursor down
153 Move highlighted record up/down by one.
154 page up, page down
156 Scroll the record listing up/down by one page.
157 left cursor, right cursor
159 Switch to the previous/next crate of records.
160 tab Toggle between the current crate and the 'All records' crate.
162 C-tab Toggle sort mode between: artist/track name, BPM and 'playlist'
164 order. Playlist order is the order in which records were re‐
165 turned from the scanner.
166 C-S-tab
168 Re-scan the currently selected crate.
169 To filter the current list of records type a portion of a record name.
171 Separate multiple searches with a space, and use backspace to delete.
172 Deck-specific controls:
174 Deck 0 Deck 1 Deck 2
176 F1 F5 F9 Load currently selected track to this deck
177 F2 F6 F10 Reset start of track to the current position
178 F3 F7 F11 Toggle timecode control on/off
179 C-F3 C-F7 C-F11 Cycle between available timecodes
180 The "available timecodes" are those which have been the subject of any
182 -t flag on the command line.
183 Audio display controls:
185 +, - Zoom in/out the close-up audio meters for all decks.
187
189 The Novation Dicer provides hardware control of cue points. The con‐
190 trols are:
191 cue mode: dice button (1-5)
193 Jump to the specified cue point, or set it if unset.
194 loop-roll mode: dicer button (1-5)
196 "Punch" to the specified cue point, or set it if unset. Returns
197 playback to normal when the button is released.
198 mode button + dice button (1-5)
200 Clear the specified cue point.
201 The dice buttons are lit to show that the corresponding cue point is
203 set.
204
206 2-deck setup using one directory of music and OSS devices:
207 xwax -l ~/music -d /dev/dsp -d /dev/dsp1
209 As above, but using ALSA devices:
211 xwax -l ~/music -a hw:0 -a hw:1
213 2-deck setup using a different timecode on each deck:
215 xwax -l ~/music -t serato_2a -a hw:0 -t mixvibes_v2 -a hw:1
217 As above, but with the second deck at 45 RPM:
219 xwax -l ~/music -t serato_2a -a hw:0 -t mixvibes_v2 -45 -a hw:1
221 Default to the same timecode, but allow switching at runtime:
223 xwax -l ~/music -t serato_2a -t mixvibes_v2 -a hw:0 -a hw:1
225 3-deck setup with the third deck at a higher sample rate:
227 xwax -l ~/music --rate 48000 -a hw:0 -a hw:1 --rate 96000 -a
229 hw:2
230 Using all three device types simultaneously, one deck on each:
232 xwax -l ~/music -a hw:0 -d /dev/dsp1 -j jack0
234 Scan multiple music libraries:
236 xwax -l ~/music -l ~/sounds -l ~/mixes -a hw:0
238 Scan a second music library using a custom script:
240 xwax -l ~/music -i ./custom-scan -l ~/sounds -a hw:0
242 Control two decks with Dicer hardware:
244 xwax --dicer hw:Dicer -a hw:0 -a hw:1
246 Use a high resolution and enlarge the user interface:
248 xwax -g 1920x1200/1.8 -a hw:0
250
252 http://xwax.org/
253
255 Mark Hills <mark@xwax.org>
256 XWAX(1)