A few months ago I took a stab at Mixxx, the open source dj mixing software, and was pleasantly surprised to find that my review had drawn some interest.  The page views soared and the comment section actually showed some activity.  "Nice", I thought.  Until small details on my part began to show some neglect.  Neglect is fine when it's just you and your friends sharing some space.  But when outsiders start to see neglect, it's a much different story.  If you know me at all, then you know I am sort' of...   well....  hard on myself.  If you don't know me, then read on.  You'll soon understand what I mean.

So what went wrong?  Comments.  Criticism.  Humility.

After the review was written and a cross post was published to CDMusic, the site starting getting comments and unfortunately I had no idea that my comments section was broken.  I wasn't getting my moderator emails. I wasn't getting new user requests and most unfortunately my commenters weren't getting any feedback from each other.

The review itself hit pretty close to home on the mixxx-devel list.  And the above mentioned commenting problem didn't help the situation.   An archive site holds the conversation for reference.  The impression from the Mixxx developer community is that "I am doing it wrong".  And I'll state "officially" that I was doing it wrong.

Mixxx is designed for use with fully integrated hardware controllers.  In other words, it's not just a vinyl control system. It uses xwax as its vinyl control component, but the overall software package aims to provide all the necessary components required for mixing tracks.  It happens that the vinyl control feature will give you the analog feel for pitch control and cueing that you can't get from midi sliders and dummy hardware knobs.

With xwax added to my list of tools, I attempted to download, build, install and run.  And run well it did.  I was able to compile very easily.  Installation was a breeze.  And with that obscure ALSA knowledge bouncing around in the back of my brain, setup was fairly quick too.  Xwax is the answer to my Mixxx Review.  It's a total vinyl control substitute, complete with <10ms delay and zero skipping.  I could pull-back, spin-back, scratch-cue, drop-cue without losing my place or experiencing those nasty digital skips.  All the while getting my digital tracks piped through my already connected analog mixer and turntables.  Downside = Expensive Phono Pre Amps.

Today, with my gullet full of my own 'humble pie' recipe, I rescind on a somwhat funky review of Mixxx:  The Open Source DJ Software.  To the offended, accept my pardon.  Comments are fixed on the website, so if you need to send some explitives my way...  Shoot.