Serato DJ Pro General Discussion

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 Serato DJ Pro General Discussion
Beware of 2017 Macbook Pro / DJM900 / SDJ incompatibility issues.
Talk about Serato DJ Pro, expansion packs and supported hardware

Beware of 2017 Macbook Pro / DJM900 / SDJ incompatibility issues.

DJ EarlWIll 5:24 PM - 20 September, 2017
So I'm having some pretty serious connectivity issues with my 2017 MBP and the DJM 900 Nexus and it has now been confirmed on 2 brand new laptops (ver 14,3 with touchbar on macOs 10.12.6).

A couple weeks ago I bought a brand new 15" MacBook Pro after my old system died on me after 7 loyal years only to find out that there are some serious incompatibility issues pertaining to being able to establish a connection to the mixer in any capacity. Upon plugging up the mixer (Pioneer DJM900 via ClubKit) all of the calibration decks would begin to go haywire and the tracking bar would be full red even if my turntable RCA's were not plugged into the back of the mixer and but when they are the turntables still dont track. The calibration decks inside setup jump from being random straight lines to dots to the whole box being covered in green static and they switch sporadically. It is important to note that on occasion the mixer DOES appear to work and pick up signal from the turntables for a short period while Serato is loading but once it is fully loaded everything goes down the toilet.

I have been working with support for over about 10 days and have tried everything in the world to try to get my system to successfully connect to the mixer. I have tried a few other computers (older mbp and a macbook air) and the mixer connects and works 100% fine with those. These issues do not happen when connecting to Serato via an SL3 or controller so that makes me think it exclusively has something to do with the clubkit implementation.

So I returned my Macbook Pro and got a new one and did a barebones setup to remove as many external factors as possible, only to find that the issues are STILL happening on this BRAND NEW machine. So that confirms to me that the issue is on Serato's end and I have entries from SDJ logs that pinpoint exactly what error messages are being thrown when the mixer gets plugged up (I will post these below). I am STILL lost and dont have a working setup, I am still waiting for someone to truly help me to resolve this and I am 10 days in and growing a little impatient because I need to know what I need to do for upcoming gigs.



Here are things that I have tried during this multi-week troubleshooting process:

1) Make sure the DJM-900 Driver is upto date for my laptop (ver 1.4.1)
2) Tried a variety of connection methods
2a) USB-B to USB-A cables into an official Apple USB-C Multiport Adapter - a.co
2b) USB-B to USB-A cables into a HyperDrive Adapter - a.co
2c) USB-B to USB-C cable straight into the computer
3) Connect other computers to the mixer to see if it works - they do
4) Check the Audio Midi Setup and verify that the DJM900 is setup correctly per the Serato guide
5) Factory Reset the DJM-900
6) Reset PR Ram on macbook pro
7) Make sure I am not Hotplugging since there is a known issue with touchbar MBP's and hotplugging.


Here some error entries taken from the Serato DJ log files:

I0919 08:12:23 CNativeMixer.cpp:3788] CNativeMixer : StartAudioConnection : Audio Connection to Device: DJM-900nexus failed
I0919 08:12:23 CNativeMixer.cpp:3478] CNativeMixer : TryStartAudioConnection : reattempting connection to device: DJM-900nexus
I0919 08:12:24 CNativeMixer.cpp:2404] CNativeMixer : kConnectedMode : retf
I0919 08:12:24 CNativeMixer.cpp:3465] CNativeMixer : TryStartAudioConnection : try to start audio for: DJM-900nexus
I0919 08:12:24 CNativeMixer.cpp:3542] CNativeMixer : StartAudioConnection : starting audio connection to device: DJM-900nexus
I0919 08:12:24 CNativeMixer.cpp:3555] CNativeMixer : StartAudioConnection : device=DJM-900nexus
I0919 08:12:24 CNativeMixer.cpp:2738] CNativeMixer : stopping current connection
I0919 08:12:24 CNativeMixer.cpp:2744] CNativeMixer : disable audio thread timer
I0919 08:12:24 CNativeMixer.cpp:3597] CNativeMixer : StartAudioConnection : attempting to get connection by vid=2276 pid=344
W0919 08:12:24 CNativeMixer.cpp:3602] CNativeMixer : StartAudioConnection : getting connection by vid=2276 pid=344 failed
I0919 08:12:24 CNativeMixer.cpp:3788] CNativeMixer : StartAudioConnection : Audio Connection to Device: DJM-900nexus failed
I0919 08:12:24 CNativeMixer.cpp:3533] CNativeMixer : TryStartAudioConnection : failed to connect (DJM-900nexus), disconnecting
popnwave 6:13 PM - 20 September, 2017
I think people NOT having issues with TouchBar mac's are the minority. OS X has really changed since Mavericks/Yosemite with the audio interfaces and as of right now it hasn't been for the BEST. Hope you're able to get it sorted, I know I'm grabbing a 2015 if my 2012 bites the dust any time soon.
DJ EarlWIll 8:16 PM - 20 September, 2017
But i think the people who are atleast half successfully using Serato with Touchbar MacBook Pro's are the people who purchased the 2016 model aka the 13,1, 13,2 or 13,3.

Thanks, I am hoping that someone from serato can give me some clarity, other wise I just feel like I have wasted $3000
Wavespeech 8:39 PM - 20 September, 2017
You've changed the computer and now it doesn't work you think it's a Serato issue? Clearly it's Apple that have changed something.

In the meantime buy a cheap £150 pc and stick Windows 10 on it and hope Serato work on patching whatever Apple have changed.
popnwave 8:43 PM - 20 September, 2017
Quote:
You've changed the computer and now it doesn't work you think it's a Serato issue? Clearly it's Apple that have changed something.

In the meantime buy a cheap £150 pc and stick Windows 10 on it and hope Serato work on patching whatever Apple have changed.


Serato is def playing catch up, so a little responsibility lands on them. It does suck that you can't buy something from the last 2 years off the shelf from Apple and not worry about quirks.
DJ EarlWIll 8:45 PM - 20 September, 2017
Well, sure some of the blame can be put on Apple but it is equally the responsibility of a software manufacturer to either acknowledge the problem or actively work to make their software compatible with the changes in a timely fashion.
Wavespeech 8:50 PM - 20 September, 2017
I guess they've got to play catch up unless Apple gave them a pre-release Macbook to test upon.

SDJ v1.9 - support added for new Macbooks.

Damn, I was hoping for v1.9 adding temporal displacement supporting flux capacitor.
DJ Tecniq 6:29 AM - 21 September, 2017
Quote:
Well, sure some of the blame can be put on Apple but it is equally the responsibility of a software manufacturer to either acknowledge the problem or actively work to make their software compatible with the changes in a timely fashion.
We said the same thing about Scratchlive then they discontinued it. There's a big thread on the forum of issues with the Touchbar Macs and Serato. I don't see them fixing it as it's a USB Apple issue and Sierra sucks anyways. You did waste money I would sue Serato. Na hope they'll fix it. Considering the last 2 updates didn't mention any bug fixes is highly unlikely.
DJ EarlWIll 6:39 AM - 21 September, 2017
That is a little ridiculous, you saying they wont fix it is basically saying serato is dead for all future macbook pro's.
DJ Tecniq 1:08 PM - 21 September, 2017
Quote:
That is a little ridiculous, you saying they wont fix it is basically saying serato is dead for all future macbook pro's.
They haven't been quick to fix it have they? The new MacBook pro's have been out for some time now. So no I don't see them fixing it.
DJ EarlWIll 4:22 PM - 22 September, 2017
Quote:
They haven't been quick to fix it have they? The new MacBook pro's have been out for some time now. So no I don't see them fixing it.


That doesn't mean that there are no plans to fix it or that they are not currently fixing it. My problem is a little bit more severe than the other issues that have been logged with the touch bar MacBook pro's so far. this is complete lack of connectivity and I have not seen anything like that posted in the forums here. That is a SEVERE and troubling issue. They have no choice but to fix it however they can, its just how high they prioritize it against implementing support for new hardware that gets rolled out by Pioneer, Numark, and etc (as they are probably contractually obligated to do those things before new models get released).

But you know what? If they know Serato DJ does not work with the new MacBook pros and that they don't truly plan on fixing it in a timely fashion then they have an obligation make it known to all and to list the MacBook as being incompatible with certain clubkit hardware.

at any rate, I am still waiting for Serato to contact me back about this issue. After pouring in hundreds of dollars into their software and expansions I'd just like to receive some support and guidance.
Joe Fresh 8:17 PM - 22 September, 2017
Known issue with hotplugging on Macbook Pro models with Touch Bar -
support.serato.com

"This issue has also been reproduced with other audio software (eg. iTunes) so we have reason to believe the issue is specific to these laptops and not Serato DJ."

I use a 2016 Macbook Pro w/ Touch Bar, and aside from the hotplugging issue mentioned above, I've had no problems with it.

EarlWIll - is the DJM-900 you're using running the latest firmware from Pioneer?
DJ EarlWIll 9:21 PM - 22 September, 2017
Quote:
Known issue with hotplugging on Macbook Pro models with Touch Bar -
support.serato.com

"This issue has also been reproduced with other audio software (eg. iTunes) so we have reason to believe the issue is specific to these laptops and not Serato DJ."

I use a 2016 Macbook Pro w/ Touch Bar, and aside from the hotplugging issue mentioned above, I've had no problems with it.

EarlWIll - is the DJM-900 you're using running the latest firmware from Pioneer?


Yes my Firmware is up to date. but my issue is not related to the hotplugging issue. what mixer are you using? and maybe its possible that the issue is solely with 2017 models.
DJ-XL 9:08 AM - 27 September, 2017
Quote:
Quote:
Known issue with hotplugging on Macbook Pro models with Touch Bar -
support.serato.com

"This issue has also been reproduced with other audio software (eg. iTunes) so we have reason to believe the issue is specific to these laptops and not Serato DJ."

I use a 2016 Macbook Pro w/ Touch Bar, and aside from the hotplugging issue mentioned above, I've had no problems with it.

EarlWIll - is the DJM-900 you're using running the latest firmware from Pioneer?


Yes my Firmware is up to date. but my issue is not related to the hotplugging issue. what mixer are you using? and maybe its possible that the issue is solely with 2017 models.


Hey EarlWill. I was having the same issues as you with a Rane Sixty-Two and a Pioneer 900NXS. I have a 2017 13" Touch Bar MacBook Pro, i5, 8GB RAM, MacOSX 10.12.6. I'm using the Apple USB-C to USB-A adapter. When I used either of the mixers (Pioneer 900NXS with Club Kit or the Rane Sixty-Two) the tracking bar would go grey to red without the needles touching the control vinyl playing on INT and the sound would degrade dramatically. This would happen periodically (maybe once every 2-5 minutes).

I have fixed this issue by disabling Pitch N Time, WiFi and Bluetooth. I have my USB buffer set at 2 now and I played six (3 hour gigs) without any issues.

When the problem used to occur the USB buffer warning light would never light up. But the tracking lines would go grey to red mirroring each other on both the left and right decks. When PnT was enabled I would try with the USB buffer set at 10 and it would still do that grey to red tracking issue with the audio degrading.

Hope this helps you.
DJ Tecniq 2:22 PM - 27 September, 2017
Pitch n' time is known to have signal issues no idea why but it uses an incredibly high amount of CPU. They need to tweak it or something.
popnwave 3:02 PM - 27 September, 2017
Holy crap, you should not have to disable anything on a new model MBP. I have everything on using a 5 year old 2012 and don't have these issues.