Hercules GPL Linux MIDI Drivers

[garth]

EDIT Aug 12 @ 00:00 EST

Mixxx 1.7.0 is out... has everything you need out of the box. Go get it -> http://mixxx.org/download/

EDIT Feb 18 @ 11PM EST final is out, which should work with Debian as well as Ubuntu
EDIT Feb 18 @ 1PM EST RC2 is out, which should work with Debian as well as Ubuntu

Hi all,

Yesterday Hercules released a GPL Linux MIDI driver for their DJ Console/Control MIDI input controllers.

The driver is bundled as a dkms kernel module (source auto recompiled with each kernel update) and it is available here.

To be compatible with the new driver, Mixxx must be recompiled without the libdjconsole library that had provided us with limited raw access to the USB device to use as a control (libdjconsole conflicts with the MIDI driver's access inside Mixxx).

I've built a new set of packages (i386 deb/rpm) from a tag called "1.6.1+Herc", which contains our last stable release without libdjconsole and featuring updated MIDI configuration mappings for Hercules Mk2, RMX, MP3 Control, DJ Control Steel*. * - mapping untested

The final 1.6.1+Herc packages have been released at: http://mixxx.org/download/

Please refer to http://mixxx.org/hercules for documentation.

I would like to encourage those of you with Hercules devices on Linux to test out these packages with the new drivers and advise of any bugs. Baring any issues, I plan to update documentation and release these packages on Feb 18, 2009.

The Mixxx Dev team would like to thank Hercules for taking the lead in their support of free software!

Cheers,
-G

[gimmeapill]

Overall it looks pretty good.

The driver works: I tested on Debian Lenny with a djconsole RMX.
Installation of the packages from Hercules is ok, as well as the dkms package from Dell (Debian is on its way to include it, see: http://pkg-dkms.alioth.debian.org/ ).
After installation, the midi functionality is definitely there: the djconsole controller part is now recognized by other applications,and there's a nice brushed aluminium control panel. I didn't experience any instability so far.

Now regarding Mixxx:
After compiling the Mixxx 1.6.1+Herc RC1 build (the Ubuntu packages doesn't work on Debian testing/unstable which has an older version of libasound2: 1.0.16-2), the herc is correctly detected, controls work smoothly, actually smoother than they ever did with libdjconsole. The play buttons even blink nicely near the end of a song - sweet! The only problem: the default mapping for the RMX is not ok regarding the play/stopbuttons, and the scratch button doesn't work - not a big deal.
However, the behavior of the application itself feels kind of strange: After using 1.6.1+libdjconsole for a few months, the touch of the controls feels a bit different (ok this is normal, just a matter of getting used to it), but I can now hear some audio glitches at a latency setting which was usually fine. I also have the impression that the waveform display is not moving smoothly but in a somehow saccaded manner, and the CPU usage peaks for a longer time when loading a song, in short: i suspect some performance issue, but I cannot really tell if it comes from the driver - need more testing.

Anyway...Thanks guys!

[thread]

I was able to get this build (from the provided ubuntu debs) to work just in the nick of time for my weekly show. I was hugely relieved to see the jog wheels functioning to temporarily nudge the pitch as they do. I'm very happy with the new driver + this build.

Thank you, Garth!

[thread]

What happened between RC1 and RC2 ?

[gimmeapill]

I found a small problem with the Ubuntu package: it has apparently been compiled with debug and fills up silently my .xsession-errors...

[garth]

I found a small problem with the Ubuntu package: it has apparently been compiled with debug and fills up silently my .xsession-errors...

Mixxx isn't built with any more or less debugging then it usually is... if it's flooding your .xsessions-errors with messages, you should open a bug on launchpad and upload your .xsessions-errors file so we can see what message is the source.

[gimmeapill]

OK, here it is: https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/334524

[gimmeapill]

I just found another minor issue with the Hercules Dj Series Control Panel (not Mixxx related):
The Sensitivity setting of the Jog wheels is not saved upon reboot on my system (Debian Lenny)
The Jog Wheels are by default way too sensitive to my taste, and the setup has to be entered each time.

I tried to launch the control panel in debug mode (hdjcpl -debug) but it doesn't give any particular info. I couldn't locate any configuration file either.
So I'll try to submit it to the Hercules technical support.
It is by the way rather confusing that the README from the Control Panel source folder states the opposite of the website:

"Feedback:

Comments, questions, ports and other patches, and bug reports (please
be detailed), are welcome. Messages which need to be private may be sent
to the maintainer, but please use the Hercules technical support
whenever possible. <URL:http://ts.hercules.com/eng/index.php?pg=email>"

[Vitoriung]

Hi,
I was having issues to compile MIDI drivers in Gentoo Linux,
but finally made it working thanks to user gimmeapill on IRC.
In the case someone is struggling as I was here is HOW TO do it:

1. get the package with the driver and unpack:

Code: Select all

# wget ftp://ftp.hercules.com/pub/webupdate/DJCSeries/Hercules_DJSeries_Linux.tgz
# tar xvf Hercules_DJSeries_Linux.tgz


2. Convert the RPM file to tar with rpm2tar

Code: Select all

# cd kernel\ module/
# rpm2tar -v hdjmod-dkms-1.28-1.noarch.rpm


3. Unpack the tar file and copy it into the root directory

Code: Select all

# tar xvf hdjmod-dkms-1.28-1.noarch.tar
# cp -R usr/ /


4. Build and install the module:

Code: Select all

# cd /usr/src/hdjmod-1.28/
# dkms add -m hdjmod -v 1.28
# dkms build -m hdjmod -v 1.28
# dkms install -m hdjmod -v 1.28


5. Once you installed successfully you can check and load the module

Code: Select all

# modprobe -l | grep hdj
/lib/modules/2.6.29-rc7/kernel/sound/usb/hdj_mod.ko
# modprobe hdj_mod


You can compile a Control panel as well, but there I was less than successful and would appreciate if someone else could help with this.
However Control panel is not necessary to get Mixxx working once you have MIDI driver properly installed.

Regards

Vito

[groovyboy]

Hi there!

First off, a toast for these good news and congratulations to all MIXXX developers for this release .

I have tested the new version. The new MK2 mappings are really great! However, I found the following problem:
If I set the Headphones output to my MK2 playback starts to glitch and bump.

I rolled back to the previous version (1.6.1 without Herc support) and it works fine. Even, I didn't remove the new drivers to give them a try. It seems it has to do with USB audio and how the new 1.6.1 is handling it.

Any ideas? Any more tests I could do? Did anybody else find this problem?