The best of the internet, engineering and humanity... all in one video.
Readit Newszbuf commented on What Happened to the Largest Tube TV? [video] youtube.com/watch?v=JfZxO... · Posted by u/zdw
zbuf commented on Xwax Is an Open-Source Digital Vinyl System (DVS) for Linux xwax.org/... · Posted by u/gjvc
I owe you a huge thanks! As a music + open source nerd, XWax was magic for my teenage turntablist brain. That era with Ms. Pinkys (https://mspinky.com/vinyl/) was just such a special time. <3
It was magical and very exciting seeing these things emerge!
zbuf commented on Xwax Is an Open-Source Digital Vinyl System (DVS) for Linux xwax.org/... · Posted by u/gjvc
Xwax is amazing. But what was more amazing to me was that the magic external box with Final Scratch was actually just a sound card and the rest was all software. Dunno if I am over simplifying but it was amazing to see that the time coded record and the software like xwax was all that was actually needed.
Acquiring one of these "ScratchAmp" boxes that was missing its software is what started the whole project. These earlier systems deserve a lot of credit. If I'd had access to the software I don't imagine I would have dug so deeply into the concept.
zbuf commented on Xwax Is an Open-Source Digital Vinyl System (DVS) for Linux xwax.org/... · Posted by u/gjvc
Amazing work. Thanks for sharing xwax with the world!
Are you aware of Rasteri’s SC1000? It uses a magnetic rotary sensor with a modified version of xwax instead of time-coded vinyl. I wonder if xwax has support for other DIY jog wheel controllers? I didn’t see anything in the docs.
GitHub - rasteri/SC1000: An open-source digital portable turntablist instrument https://github.com/rasteri/SC1000/ « the scratch wheel is handled by an Austria Microsystems AS5601 magnetic rotary sensor »
It's something I have seen before! Seeing xwax reduced to very small hardware is interesting. Thanks for sharing here.
zbuf commented on Xwax Is an Open-Source Digital Vinyl System (DVS) for Linux xwax.org/... · Posted by u/gjvc
I'm just curious are any (Name) DJ's using this / Linux in Live settings? Could it be piped thru a Reaper setup?
I don't know of any these days, though in the past I received some great photos of packed large venues with xwax laptops on display.
Check the xwax built-in Jack module, likely to be the easiest way to bridge with other applications.
zbuf commented on Xwax Is an Open-Source Digital Vinyl System (DVS) for Linux xwax.org/... · Posted by u/gjvc
I'm probably not the only person that hoped this was a digital archiving tool.
Apparently, a one-off record costs about $99:
https://vinylify.com/how-to-make-vinyl-online/
Using modern LDPC (or whatever error correction is most appropriate), and assuming a midrange stylus (budget ~ $99), and 100 year retention, I wonder how much data can you jam onto a 10", 2-sided record.
The records used by xwax have about 100 kilobytes of data on each side of a 12" record. However, the goals are very different here; it's designed to decode the position under specific conditions such as being moved very fast, in reverse and changing direction rapidly. There would be a more efficient encoding if your goal was to fit as much data as possible and relax the other requirements.
zbuf commented on Xwax Is an Open-Source Digital Vinyl System (DVS) for Linux xwax.org/... · Posted by u/gjvc
I was a little confused when reading "Getting Started" page as it is not immediately obvious that you need a vynil player and a timecoded disc to use it.
And I am surprised that there was an open-source software for this.
I wonder if there is software to do scratches using a mouse or a MIDI slider? It looks like Mixxx might allow that using scripting.
Pre-dating xwax and Mixxx there was "TerminatorX", sounds like it might be what you're interested in.
zbuf commented on Xwax Is an Open-Source Digital Vinyl System (DVS) for Linux xwax.org/... · Posted by u/gjvc
Leaving this here in hopes someone has an idea or wants to initiate a project.
I would love to be able to do DVS without a computer. I basically just want some piece of hardware with buttons (something like a groove box or https://1010music.com/product/blackbox) and I want to connect it it with usb-c to a one of those DVS mixers or a Reloop Flux.
I don't need anything fancy really. I basically just want to use my technics and this as a replacement / alternative for CDJs.
Been looking for something like this for years. The closest I know of is an iOS app that does DVS named djaypro
How do you propose that you'd select and load tracks? Or view time remaining. Even if you don't care about a waveform display, some sort of computer (ie. display) seems to become necessary at some point. Perhaps you could check the PiDeck project, which puts xwax into smaller hardware.
zbuf commented on Xwax Is an Open-Source Digital Vinyl System (DVS) for Linux xwax.org/... · Posted by u/gjvc
In terms of beat mixing/matching, how does xwax compare to mixxx? They seem to be about the same age, but xwax seems a lot more lightweight/barebones compared to mixxx, is xwax perhaps not meant for end-users?
xwax /is/ meant for end-users, but right at the beginning it only had actual live professional use in mind. I was literally DJ'ing in clubs at the time and I wanted the digital equivalent of playing vinyl records.
I was collaborating with a friend on the early versions, to see if it could be commercialised to provide a "house" system for radio studios and clubs (much like the house provides CDJs or turntables). Today that's superseded by DJs bringing their own laptops, of course.
I don't know much about Mixxx these days; that project was always much better set up to grow through a range of contributors (eg. with its scripting engine). But I think it's technical architecture is probably quite different.
Whereas, xwax was designed from day 1 with the idea it was a realtime system with very tight latencies, taking input from one audio interface and responding to it on another. That was fun on Linux (and FreeBSD!) systems of the early 2000s.
Young people with talent and ingenuity, using modern skills and tools to acquire and maintain something with a history behind it.
I've bookmarked it for next time some old guy complains that young people aren't smart or motivated etc. etc.!