I've noticed the same thing too.
Played mine twice live so far.
The max'ed volume is just right for mobile but definitely not enough in the club (with 2 speakers hanging above the booth and a sub beside).

For really quiet music, my workaround for headphone cue'ing is raised the gain knob momentarily of the incoming deck and bring down to normal before dropping a track.

Hopefully this is something that is correctable with a FIRMWARE update.

But aside from that and the MIRROR Layout, I'm loving mine overall.

It just gave me a nice project to get back to my keyboard-synths which I made the midi-clock working already. I'm currently making sound paches on my Roland GAIA for the show on NYE.

I dont know if they'll fix it and thats what im worried about... to be over my 90 days and be stuck with a unit with this problem. Especially with the SZ2 out. I'd really hate to lose all these features if I dont have to.

Can you share more about how you incorporate playing live into your shows? I produce music but havent taken the step to doing any of it live due to lack of knowledge on how.

I haven't got into making transition tracks yet but that's the plan once I'm done learning to use all the features that I need from the 808.

My residence is Open-Format/Top 40 so it would be minimal (selected tracks only) that I can put a layer of an additional synth sound on my mix.

The concept is:
Play the transition track with bass-line preferably (or a good loop from the incoming track), play my original riff on the intro then release loop/drop the track.

The most common use that I foresee is:
Layer a Piano sound (or a simple arpeggio) if the breakdown is strings and vice-versa.

Everything is easy if the bpm is sync'ed with the midi-clock on the synth's effects and arpeggios.

This is my goal #1 for playing with the 808.

The way to correct this is through a panel setting.

1. If the DJ-808 is turned on, turn it off.

2. Hold the panel button (found on the left deck, top right corner)

3. After getting into the panel settings (you'll confirm this by seeing the firmware version in the BPM LCD screen), press the "2" in the step sequencer

4. The default "output attenuator level" is set at 0dB by default. This is what's causing your output to be too hot. Try setting this to -6dB or -12dB, you'll have to mess with this to get the setting right. But now, you'll be able to raise the trim knobs and get the correct level in your output.

5. after you set your "output attenuator level," press Start/Stop in the sequencer to save the setting. The unit will then reboot, and problem solved.


Check out page 22 of the manual for more hidden features/settings: static.roland.com

Whats up Descry!

Nice info there. Thank you!

I'm getting the same problem here. The volume was loud enough the first couple months until last week when I took it out on a gig. I couldn't hear anything unless a pushed the trim knob to max, and still, it was very quiet. At first I thought it was because I was playing on a louder PA. The day after I plugged it back in the studio on Rokit 8 monitors and the sound definitely got way quieter then it was before, without any noticeable reasons. I tried Descry's tip but it doesn't do the trick, still way too low. Even in the studio I need to crank the volume up to the max on my headphones.

Just find the right settings and you should be okay...
I got used in playing at around 11 o'clock on deck gains among all my mixers and controllers and that's how I tuned my 808 to.

Headphone level will improve and will sound good enough, but the volume knob has to be maxed sometimes depending on what is playing live and incoming.

I still wish that this can be updated on a Firmware though.

Could you add in something like this between the unit and your headphones?

FiiO E11K Portable Headphone Amplifier (Black) www.amazon.com

Thanks, I'll be reporting this to our dev team to see if we can incorporate into the next firmware

I have mine at -3 after a bit of experimenting.

-6 was a bit too quiet

@descry any idea if the pitch slider issue can be resolved via firmware update too.

-3db attenuation here as well, running trims at ~11 o'clock and master at 3 o'clock. (~75%) Plenty of room on the cue volume at those settings. At default with non-distorting trims, the headphone output was waaaaay too low for any room with some decent sound.

I also found -6 to be a bit too weak. Required too much make up trim which caused some sketchy master out.

reverb.com

Get a headphone amp.

I also use Shure 215 iems. They isolate better than most headphones and are low impedance.

While a headphone amp is always nice, totally not necessary in this case. The quirk here is just that the level going into the headphone pre is seemingly tied to the trims and at stock attenuation levels, this forces them super low, (due to a hot master) which in turn forces the cue volume way down. Simply applying some attenuation to the master out (via the controller config menu) gives you plenty of headroom to fill in with gain on the trim knobs which in turn supplies ample level for the cue to bang your cans HARD. At -3db, (and trims at 11 o'clock) pushing anything over ~75% on the cue volume will almost certainly cause some hearing loss. More than enough to cut right through a club system, even with my mediocre HDJ-1500's.

At the end of the day it's a piece of crap controller where I wasted $1500, unit freezes when fx are used, headphone volume is wack, too many glitches.

Every time I post it's problems someone at Roland replies but does nothing!

Sucks and a waste of money!

Should have bought the SX!

Sure it’s not your computer? What are the specs?

I assure you that the only actual issues with the DJ-808 are as follows:

1) Pitch fader resolution
2) MIDI out is fed off the of TR-S, not Serato as far as I can tell. (not a huge deal, but would be nice if it was direct from Serato's clock)

The headphone volume "issue" was discussed above and is a non issue. If it is too low, simply adjust the attenuation value and bring up your trims. This has the knock on effect of giving you much greater control over trim value anyway, so a win/win.

I use the FX extensively each and every week during long session - so much so in fact that I generally leave my autopan and delays switched on but just turned down for ease of access. I've not once heard so much as a peep from Serato, nor has it imposed any kind of excess load on my system. If you are experiencing issues while using FX, I would ask what the specs of your machine are and beyond that, you may actually have a faulty unit or something.

Outside of those 2 things, are there other issues you are experiencing? I spend absurd amounts of time with this controller and know it very well. I'd be happy to assist.

it's possible, but i dont know if there are current limitations with the hardware. it is something we're exploring.

Who have you spoken to over here? If you're US based, we should have resolved any issues for you quickly. MSG me about this to discuss offline.

The freezing with FX is confirmed on computers that are pre-2011 spec'd. Due to the demands of the interface we utilized, in order for things like hi-resolution platters and a 24/96 interface to be married to each other...you'll notice that our unit requires more CPU power than you average controller. So, basically what's happening is your computer is running out of juice.

Headphone volume is something that is accurately discussed above. You can tweak the setting to taste.

Yup sounds like your laptop is not up to specs. Make sure it meets the system requirements of SDJ before buying an expensive controller.

+1

The Cue / Headphone volume on the Roland DJ-505 is really low too.

I didn't see this thread, I created a new thread under the Serato Software Feature Suggestions forum.

Cheers,
Timmy.

got it, we're aware of this and hopefully working towards a solution.

Cheers!
:-)

Hi guys.

Try to see if the USB port you are using for your 808 has enough juice.

These tiny ports need to power up your kit and there might not be left any juice for head phones.

Do keep us posted. Though I use sync mostly when gigging with the controller it will be nice to be able to dial in fine adjustment especially with tracks that are a pain to beat grid e.g. disco and funk

this has been addressed within the new 1.10 firmware.

There is still a dead spot on the pitch where you can get no adjustment.

that's a limitation of the part because of the notch. think 1200 mk2.

Not everyone has used the 1200MK2 . Think newer djs who grew up on controllers or CDJs

Next time make this a utility option settings

Pitch Fader - Classic 1200MKII ⚪ Normal 🔘

And on my 1200 I cut the orange cord and killed the Quartz lock. Can I cut the orange cord on this too? LOL

I'm not saying we've programmed the pitch fader to function like a 1200 mk2, what I'm saying is that it's the same pitch fader part limitation as the 1200 MK2. In other words, the notch creates that small dead space where you get no adjustment. Because of this limitation, when technics made the 1200 mk3, they added the reset button without the notch within the pitch fader.

Unfortunately, it's physically impossible to create your suggested utility setting because it's a limitation of the actual part used for the pitch fader. We opted not to go with the reset button, but if you would like to see this in a future DJ controller...we're all ears.

If you can figure out the schematic, it could be possible?

I don't recommend this though as you'd lose your warranty. =)

I have a couple of suggestion for an DJ-808 MKII...

Please add the TR-8s functionality to the MKII, address the physical limitation of the pitch fader 'dead zone', & add a second mic. Dual USB for DJ hand-offs would also be a welcome feature. This would enable the DJ-808 to be adopted by a whole new customer base- the mobile DJ market!

There is a whole segment of mobile DJs who find that having a drum machine/remix capabilities is fun but they also need more mainstream functionality.

Personally, I would also love for Roland to release a modular midi controller deck. A larger direct drive deck(similar to the Rane 12) but with ULTRA low latency & USB playback functionality.

Maybe Roland can make two versions? A direct drive version & a 9'' or 10'' static midi controller deck with all the same technology that is in the current DJ-808 low latency platters.

One more thing... Please work with Serato to implement a direct record feature to the SDJ sampler. Given Roland's rich groove box history, this should be the next phase...

Maybe take all the best features of Serato/Roland & make a remix/groove box in the near future?

@Descry

📌 they should ditch the mirrored layout. Funny enough I'm used to it now.

📌 Ability to use the USB ports as a hub for external HDs, meaning they should be able to power a 4TB portable external hard drive minimum

📌 No dead space, doesn't bother me much now as I just use sync or do my mixing outside the dead spot.

I love the controller to bits, gigging with it at least once a week.

I still can't get around how hot the output is though via XLR, I played at an event yesterday and had to use -18 attenuation. Sound engineer patched me in to gigantic Allen and Heath mixing board, 0 to - 12 was too hot. My Serato is 92db (recommended) and all VU meter was green on the 808.

you can change the volume attenuation in system settings. hold panel then press sequencer button #2.

use -6 or -12 depending on venue.

-12 was too hot at the venue yesterday.

-18 was what I used.

Can the USB ports on the 808 Be used for anything else besides Roland stuff?

Are you planning any new drivers/firmware to address the hot unplugging/touch Bar crash issue when using a straight USB B to C cable.

cool, good that you're aware.

USB ports on the 808 can only be used for Roland pieces.

Wasn't aware of this USB cable issue, can you PM me video of the issue occurring?

Sure I will do. It's with the newer macs with the touch bar and using a straight USB C cable from the Roland 808. If i pull out the cable before shutting down my Laptop or even power off the controller before shutting down the laptop, the touchbar on the laptop stops working and I can't shut down the computer normally so I have to do forced power down.

This doesn't happen when I plug the controller into a hub though and I've been doing that instead since the last time I had a issue at a gig. One of the bar staff mistakenly switched of the power source to the socket I connected to. He turned it back on immediately when the bar went silent but it took me about 7 mins to power down, boot up, load Serato DJ and start playing again.

So since then I just used either thunderbolt dock or USB 3 hub.

got it. tbh i'm not familiar with how DJ-808's running on a touch bar as we're still running 15"s, but let me know and I'll send to our dev team ASAP.

I will shoot a video of it and send to you.

Will also like to see more tutorials or even rewatch some of the live tutorial sessions?

I'm talking like kindergarten style - noob level on how to make simple beats.

Afrobeats, Tribal, Funk, House.

Have you checked out this page? rolandblog.ca

Should have some simple solutions to what you're asking.

We still do Roland Cloud Academy, which are free lessons for Roland DJ owners. In fact, I'm running an intro 505/808 class tonight at 6p PDT. PM me if you'd like an invite.

This topic changed...I still can't hear from my headphones

What kind of cable do you use with your headphones? Does it have "3-rings" on the end of the cable?

I have tried both 3 and 2

I have the dj808 since 2016 but haven't use at all yesterday decide to check and did the updated to the latest version after that the headphones are not working properly anything that you play goes straight thru the headphones no cue button pushed and music coming in all together all 4 channels before updated was working normal as it should

Your other headphone knob might be maxed to master.

Rotate it to Cue.

thanks haven't notice that never used the unit before thanks

hello guys how to adjust the main volume on TR S (dj808) individually ?Thanks

From the top of my head only... I am on a bus at this time of writing.

Click the button for the instrument i.e. “Snare”
Rotate one of the 4 knobs from upper left corner of the unit.

One is for Gain
Decay
Tone
Etc.

Thank you all for your support and try to help me here I appreciated Cheers

Is it a way to do this with the booth aswell ? As this is to hot also

Lower the master on the Serato Interface... upper right corner.

Lower the master gain on the 808 as well as channel gain on each deck.

I agree the outputs are way too hot. Master and booth. I've attenuated the Roland DJ 808 to -6. I connect the unbalanced RCA output to a mixing board using a dual unbalanced RCA to dual 1/4' jack cable into a stereo input on the mixing board. The unbalanced output +0dbu is always lower than the XLR balanced +6dbu output.

Set your Roland master output level to unity gain, 0 or till it just peaks orange. Now leave it alone. Adjust your output from the board. Youll have plenty of headroom and it should sound a lot better. Depending on the mixing board it might have something labeled monitor which could be used as a booth monitor. I don't go this far, I just attenuate the powered speaker.

You could do the same thing using another DJ mixer coming into the line in input. Want faster results, look up XLR attenuator pad, that will work on both the balanced master and booth outputs.

Different headphones give different results too. My Pioneer headphones are louder than my Audio Technica. Been playing for 40 years, these techniques worked back then and will work for you now.

Forget about effects and all the other toys for awhile. Read up on gain structure, speaker placement, unbalanced and balanced cable, wired and wireless microphones.

I believe the Roland DJ 808 is the best sounding controller out there. Other than these issues I've had no failure in the 2 years that I've own it. Running Serato DJ on a 2015 Macbook Air at times. I like the mirror layout because I use pitch control all the time. On most controllers the pitch control is always too close to the platter or the mixer. Mirror layout my hand is always hanging off the controller comfortably. Hope this helps.

After having the DJ-808 for a few years and taking it to be repaired within the first year, thats definitely not true. Both my play and cue buttons sunk in at one point because its made with cheap flimsy plastic with no support to hold it up. The channel faders also arent screwed into the board so they detach from the board and don't work. There's a video on youtube where someone shows you how to drill it in yourself to give it longevity. Still a great controller, just wish it was made better. It explains why outside of a few cheaper iterations of the DJ-808, Roland hasn't done much in the controller game.

^THIS!!

Been using this controller since 2016. Am still waiting for the MK2. Rane One, Rev 7 and other newer controllers can't compare the sound card on this bad boy.