HERCULES STARLIGHT





for VirtualDJ 2018
Last Update : October 2018

 

SETUP


Drivers & Firmware


Windows No driver is necessary to install for Windows computers. However an ASIO driver is available at
https://support.hercules.com/product/djcontrolstarlight . If the ASIO driver is not installed, VirtualDJ will use the WASAPI driver in Audio setup.

Mac OSX: No driver is available or necessary to install for Mac OSX computers.The OS will install the necessary drivers first time the unit is connected to the computer.

Firmware: (for both Windows & Mac) No firmware update is available at the time this manual was written, but it is advised to check for any updates at Hercules Support Center https://support.hercules.com/product/djcontrolstarlight

VirtualDJ 8 Setup


Download and install VirtualDJ 8 from http://www.virtualdj.com/download/index.html (in case you have not done already)

Once VirtualDJ 8 is launched, a Connect Window will appear to choose one of the available ways to login.

A Pro Infinity, a Pro Subscription or a PLUS License is required to use the Hercules DJControl Starlight. Without any of the above Licenses, the controller will operate for 10 minutes each time you restart VirtualDJ.
http://www.virtualdj.com/buy/index.html



A detection window will appear next verifying the proper connection.
Click on the Hercules DJCONTROL StarLight button to allow VirtualDJ to auto-create the pre-defined audio configuration.

Click to OK



The unit is now ready to operate.


MIDI Operation.


The unit should be visible in the CONTROLLERS tab of Config and the “factory default” available/selected from the Mappings drop-down list. The factory default Mapping offers the functions described in this Manual, however those can be adjusted to your needs via VDJ Script actions.

Find more details at http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/VDJ8script.html




AUDIO Setup


The unit has a pre-defined Audio configuration and a special button in the AUDIO tab of Config to provide that. The default audio configuration requires speakers to be connected at the left-side Master 1/8" socket and headphones at the right-side 1/8" socket.



Refer to VirtualDJ 8 Manual for alternative audio configurations http://www.virtualdj.com/manuals/virtualdj8/settings/audiosetup.html


For further software settings please refer to the User Guide of VirtualDJ 8.
http://www.virtualdj.com/manuals/virtualdj8/index.html
 

CONTROLS





M MASTER OUTPUT
Connect a pair of amplified speakers using a 1/8" cable or adapter
H HEADPHONES SOCKET
Connect your Headphones using a 1/8" cable or adapter
S SHIFT
Press this button down to access secondary actions as described in the SHIFT ACTION column


KEY

ACTION

SHIFT (SECONDARY) ACTION

1 PLAY
Play/Pause the track loaded to left/right deck
Play-stutter track. When pressed, track will resume playing from the previously stopped position
2 CUE
Sets current position as Temporary Cue point.
Preview track when paused while button is pressed
Jumps and stops to the Cue point when playing[
Returns to the beginning of the track
3 SYNC
Match BPM and Beat Phase with the opposite deck
Smooth pitch reset. When pressed track will gradually get its original tempo
4 TEMPO
Adjust the tempo of the loaded track When in middle position , the track plays at its original speed..
5 JOGWHEEL
Touch-sensitive jogwheel for scratching or bending (temporary speed up/down tempo) the track, depending on the Vinyl mode.
Fast seek (search) track forward/backwards
6 PFL
Use these buttons to send the pre-fader audio signal of the Left/Right deck to the Headphones channel for pre-listening (connection at the right side).
Control Headphones Mix. Use the left-side PFL button to toggle Headphones Mix between 100% and 0%. Use the right-side PFL button to toggle Headphones Mix between 50% and 0%.
When at 100% (left PFL led is turned on) only the Master Output signal will be heard in Headphones.
When at 0% (both PFL leds are turned off), only the Decks that have their PFL buttons will be heard in Headphones Channel
When at 50% (right PFL led is turned on) both signals from Master Output and monitored Decks will be blend in Headphones
7 PAD MODES
Set the 4 Pads to Hotcue or Loop mode. See Pads page for further details.
Set the 4 Pads to FX or Sampler mode. See Pads page for further details
8 PADS
These buttons offer different functionality depending on the selected Pads mode See Pads page for further details.
These buttons offer different functionality depending on the selected Pads mode See Pads page for further details
9 CROSSFADER
When on far left position, only sound from the left deck will be heard from the Master Output. When at far right position, only the sound of the right deck will be heard from the Master Output. In all other positions, the audio signals from left/right decks will be blend.
10 BASS/FILTER
Use these knobs to cut/boost the frequencies of the Low/Bass Equalizer Band No adjustment is made when the knob is at the middle/center position

When in Filter mode, use these knobs to apply a High/Low Pass Filter to the Left/Right deck. No Filter is applied (off) when the knob is at the center/middle position
11 VOLUME
Adjust the Volume of the Left/Right deck
12 MASTER VOL *
Use this knob to adjust the level of the Master Output (connection at the left-side panel).
13 HEADPHONES VOL *
Use this knob to adjust the level of the Headphones Output (connection at the right-side panel).
14 BASS/FILTER MODE
Enable/disable Filter mode on both Left/Right Decks. When enabled, use the Bass/Filter knobs to apply Filter and when disabled to control Equalizer Low Band
15 VINYL
Enable/disable Vinyl mode on both Left/Right Decks. When enabled, use the upper/top surface of the jogwheel to scratch and the outer to bend. When disabled, the entire surface (upper and outer) of the jogwheel will be used for bending.


* Note : Both Headphones Volume and Master Volume knobs are hardware, meaning that they will adjust the Headphones and Master Volumes even if not mapped with the relative VDJ actions. If assigned to a different action, then the hardware operation will still be performed.



 

PADS




KEY

ACTION

SHIFT (SECONDARY) ACTION

M1 HOTCUE
Set the 4 Pads to Hotcues mode (led will be turned on solid)
Set the 4 Pads to FX mode (led will be flashing)
M2 LOOP
Set the 4 Pads to Loop mode (led will be turned on solid)
Set the 4 Pads to Sampler mode (led will be flashing)




HOTCUE MODE


Press the HOTCUE mode button [M1] to set the Pads to Hotcue mode. The Hotcue Pads page will be also displayed on the GUI of VirtualDJ, reflecting the operation of the 4 top Pads.

Hotcues Pads Page


KEY

ACTION

SHIFT (SECONDARY) ACTION

PADS P1-P4
Assigns current track's position to Hotcue 1 to 4 or jumps to its position if already set
Delete the assigned Hotcue 1 to 4




LOOP MODE


Press the LOOP mode button [M2] to set the Pads to Loop mode. The Loop Pads page will be also displayed on the GUI of VirtualDJ, reflecting the operation of the 4 top Pads.

Loop Pads Page


KEY

ACTION

SHIFT (SECONDARY) ACTION

PADS P1-P4
Press a Pad to trigger a Loop of a size in beats, depending on the selected Loop Bank (Page 1 to 6 - from 1/32 up to 128 beats). The Bank can be selected (and memorized) from the GUI with the Param 1 arrow buttons

Click on the Pads Menu radio-button to select a mode for the Loop.
When On/Off is selected (default), the Pads will toggle loops (1st press enable, 2nd press disable).
When the Hold mode is selected, the Pads will momentary trigger loops (enabled while Pad is pressed).
When Roll mode is selected, the Pads will momentary trigger a Loop Roll of the same size in beats When released, the track will resume playing from the position it would have been if the Loop Roll was never triggered.
Same action





FX MODE


Hold SHIFT down and then press the HOTCUE mode button [M1] to set the Pads to FX mode (led will be flashing). The Star FX* Pads page will be also displayed on the GUI of VirtualDJ, reflecting the operation of the 4 top Pads.


*Note: This special Pads Page will be available to select, only if the Starlight is connected.

Starlight FX Pads Page


KEY

ACTION

SHIFT (SECONDARY) ACTION

PAD P1
Press Pad 1 to trigger the Beat Grid Effect. The Effect is turned off when the pad is pressed a 2nd time (toggle behavior)
Same action
PAD P2
Press Pad 2 to trigger the Echo Effect at a pre-defined size of 1 beat. The Effect is turned off when the pad is pressed a 2nd time (toggle behavior)
Same action
PAD P3
Press Pad 3 to trigger the Flanger Effect at a pre-defined size of 8 beats. The Effect is turned off when the pad is pressed a 2nd time (toggle behavior)
Same action
PAD P4
Press and hold Pad 4 to perform a "Baby" Scratch effect at the current position. The Scratch is turned off when the pad is released (momentary) or automatically when the routine of 2 beats is completed
Same action





SAMPLER MODE


Hold SHIFT down and then press the LOOP mode button [M2] to set the Pads to Sampler mode. The Sampler Pads page will be also displayed on the GUI of VirtualDJ, reflecting the operation of the 4 top Pads.

Sampler Pads Page


KEY

ACTION

SHIFT (SECONDARY) ACTION

PADS P1-P4
Press Pad 1 to 4 to trigger a Sample (1 to 4) of the selected Sampler Bank (1st Parameter of Sampler Pads page) The sample will be triggered depending on the selected Trigger Sampler mode (2nd Parameter of the Sampler Pads page)
Stop the playing sample. Useful when the Stutter or Un-mute trigger mode is selected


*Note: If the selected Sampler Bank has less than 5 samples, both sides of the Pads will trigger the same samples. If the selected Sampler Bank has more than 4 samples, the left side Pads will trigger Samples 1 to 4 and the right side Pads will trigger Samples 5 to 8.

 

LIGHTS


The Hercules DJControl Starlight offers RGB back-lighting with 4 leds mounted at the bottom of the unit. These leds can be assigned to any RGB color and have been pre-defined in the default mapping to offer 6 different lights modes

Open VirtualDJ Settings ->OPTIONS tab ->CONTROLLER sub-category and select one of the available values for the setting Lightsmode. The selection is memorized across sessions.


VirtualDJ Options - Hercules Starlight Lights mode


OFF
The backlight leds are turned off
ON (AUTO)
The backlight leds are turned on and automatically fade in/out in various colors without any beat-aware pattern (factory/hardware mode - not controlled by VirtualDJ)
FLASH BEAT
The left/right backlight leds flash in blue when left/right deck is at Beat 1 and flash red when in Beats 2,3 or 4 (of a 4-beat-grid pattern) as a mixing aid
FADE BEAT
The left/right backlight leds will fade-in/fade-out in blue when left/right deck is at Beat 1 and fade-in/fade-out red when in Beats 2,3 or 4 (of a 4-beat-grid pattern) as a mixing aid
MASTER VOL
Both sides backlight leds will be lit white with intensity based on the Master Output level
MASTER DECK
Both sides backlight leds will be lit blue if Left Deck is the Master Deck and red if the Right Deck is the Master Deck. (in most of the cases, the Master Deck will be the Deck that is audible on Master Output






For further Technical features and specifications, visit

Hercules DJ CONTROL STARLIGHT
Product's Page







Hardware Integration Department
2018 - ATOMIX PRODUCTIONS



Reproduction of this manual in full or in part without written permission from Atomix Productions is prohibited.