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Send decks to a DAW

Each deck, and the sampler, can play on its own outputs as well as in the mix. A DAW such as Ableton Live, Bitwig or Logic can then record every deck on its own track, or put its own effects on each one.

Set it up

  1. Open Settings › Audio.
  2. Under the outputs, press + and pick Deck 1 (then Deck 2, and so on) in the first column.
  3. Give each deck its own channels on the device, after the master's: for example master on 1 & 2, Deck 1 on 3 & 4, Deck 2 on 5 & 6.
  4. Pick what the deck outputs carry under Deck outputs:
    • Clean: the deck after tempo, key lock, stems and gain, before EQ, filter and deck FX. For adding your own effects in the DAW.
    • Pre-fader (the default): after EQ, filter and deck FX, before the channel fader and crossfader.
    • Post-fader: what each deck adds to the master mix. Together the deck and sampler outputs add up to the master mix before the master effects, so the DAW can rebuild the mix and run its own master chain.

openDJ still mixes as usual: master, headphones, recording, Automix and Link all keep working.

Keep the deck outputs on the same device as the master. Outputs on the same device stay sample-aligned; on two devices each runs on its own clock and they drift apart a little, which Settings warns about.

On the same computer

To reach a DAW on the same computer, use a virtual device with enough channels as the master's device, and pick it as the DAW's input.

  • macOS: BlackHole 16ch or Loopback. To hear the master too, make an aggregate device in Audio MIDI Setup with BlackHole and your speakers or interface, and pick that.
  • Windows: VB-Cable or VoiceMeeter, or the loopback channels of an ASIO interface's own mixer.
  • Linux: PipeWire (or JACK) shows openDJ's channels as ports to connect to the DAW's inputs.

Ableton Live

  1. In Live's Settings › Audio, pick the same device as the input device and turn on its input channels (3/4, 5/6 and so on) under Input Config.
  2. On an audio track per deck, set Audio From to Ext. In and the deck's channels, and arm it, or set Monitor to In to play it through Live's effects.