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
40 inverse 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
58 libraries.
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
65 includes 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 -r hz Set the sample rate for subsequent decks.
93 -m milliseconds
95 Set the ALSA buffer time for subsequent decks.
96
98 The following options are available only when xwax is compiled with
99 JACK support.
100 -j name
102 Create a deck which connects to JACK and registers under the
103 given name.
104 xwax does not set the sample rate for JACK devices; it uses the sample
106 rate given in the global JACK configuration.
107
109 The following options are available only when xwax is compiled with OSS
110 support.
111 -d pathname
113 Create a deck which uses the given OSS device (eg. /dev/dsp).
114 -r hz Set the sample rate for subsequent decks.
116 -b n Set the number of OSS buffers for subsequent decks.
118 -f n Set the OSS buffer size (2^n bytes).
120
122 The following options are available only when xwax is compiled with
123 ALSA support.
124 --dicer device
126 Use one or two Dicer controllers connected as the given ALSA
127 device (eg. hw:Dicer). See the section NOVATION DICER CONTROLS
128 for more information.
129 Adding a hardware controller results in control over subsequent decks,
131 up to the limit of the hardware.
132
134 The playback of each deck (direction, speed and position) is controlled
135 via the incoming timecode signal from the turntables. The keyboard
136 provides additional controls.
137 "C-" and "S-" means a keypress is combined with the 'Control' or
139 'Shift' key, respectively.
140 Record selection controls:
142 cursor up, cursor down
144 Move highlighted record up/down by one.
145 page up, page down
147 Scroll the record listing up/down by one page.
148 left cursor, right cursor
150 Switch to the previous/next crate of records.
151 tab Toggle between the current crate and the 'All records' crate.
153 C-tab Toggle sort mode between: artist/track name, BPM and 'playlist'
155 order. Playlist order is the order in which records were
156 returned from the scanner.
157 C-S-tab
159 Re-scan the currently selected crate.
160 To filter the current list of records type a portion of a record name.
162 Separate multiple searches with a space, and use backspace to delete.
163 Deck-specific controls:
165 Deck 0 Deck 1 Deck 2
167 F1 F5 F9 Load currently selected track to this deck
168 F2 F6 F10 Reset start of track to the current position
169 F3 F7 F11 Toggle timecode control on/off
170 C-F3 C-F7 C-F11 Cycle between available timecodes
171 The "available timecodes" are those which have been the subject of any
173 -t flag on the command line. Audio display controls:
174 +, - Zoom in/out the close-up audio meters for all decks.
176
178 The Novation Dicer provides hardware control of cue points. The con‐
179 trols are:
180 cue mode: dice button (1-5)
182 Jump to the specified cue point, or set it if unset.
183 loop-roll mode: dicer button (1-5)
185 "Punch" to the specified cue point, or set it if unset. Returns
186 playback to normal when the button is released.
187 mode button + dice button (1-5)
189 Clear the specified cue point.
190 The dice buttons are lit to show that the corresponding cue point is
192 set.
193
195 2-deck setup using one directory of music and OSS devices:
196 xwax -l ~/music -d /dev/dsp -d /dev/dsp1
198 As above, but using ALSA devices:
200 xwax -l ~/music -d hw:0 -d hw:1
202 2-deck setup using a different timecode on each deck:
204 xwax -l ~/music -t serato_2a -d hw:0 -t mixvibes_v2 -d hw:1
206 As above, but with the second deck at 45 RPM:
208 xwax -l ~/music -t serato_2a -d hw:0 -t mixvibes_v2 -45 -d hw:1
210 Default to the same timecode, but allow switching at runtime:
212 xwax -l ~/music -t serato_2a -t mixvibes_v2 -d hw:0 -d hw:1
214 3-deck setup with the third deck at a higher sample rate:
216 xwax -l ~/music -r 48000 -a hw:0 -a hw:1 -r 96000 -a hw:2
218 Using all three device types simultaneously, one deck on each:
220 xwax -l ~/music -a hw:0 -d /dev/dsp1 -j jack0
222 Scan multiple music libraries:
224 xwax -l ~/music -l ~/sounds -l ~/mixes -a hw:0
226 Scan a second music library using a custom script:
228 xwax -l ~/music -i ./custom-scan -l ~/sounds -a hw:0
230 Control two decks with Dicer hardware:
232 xwax --dicer hw:Dicer -a hw:0 -a hw:1
234 Use a high resolution and enlarge the user interface:
236 xwax -g 1920x1200/1.8 -a hw:0
238
240 http://xwax.org/
241
243 Mark Hills <mark@xwax.org>
244 XWAX(1)