Getting NI KORE 1 up and running - incl. mixxx and Vestax VCI-100 - Linux DJ box

[khz]

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From @audiot. from https://www.sequencer.de/synthesizer/th ... st-2668117. THX
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Hello all,

here is a small tinkering instruction for people who own old, but still perfectly working and formerly expensive (music-) hardware - but don't want to dispose of it just like that into the orcus of history (keyword sustainability) - away from the Apples & Windowses of this world (keyword freedom).

I still own an old NI Kore 1 controller, which I want to use as an audio output device for the DJ software mixxx - conveniently, the device has a master output and an adjustable headphone output.

In addition, in my case, there is a Vestax VCI-100 DJ controller - but I will write something about it in a future post.

That the NI Kore 1 the existing master / headphone outputs can be addressed separately I know because it had worked with Traktor DJ (under macOS) once (as of 2010).

NI KORE 1 is long history - but cool enough Linux kernel drivers exist for the controller, which otherwise would have ended up as an expensive paperweight or doorstop.

(following information of course only refers to my old laptop that would be too bad to throw away - still has enough power to serve as a transportable DJ station - it's an Intel Core i7-4700MQ CPU @ 2.40GHz with 16 GB RAM)

lsmod | grep snd_usb_caiaq shows:

Code: Select all

[...]
snd_usb_caiaq          65536  0
snd_rawmidi            53248  2 snd_seq_midi,snd_usb_caiaq
snd_pcm               163840  5 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_core,snd_usb_caiaq
snd                   126976  20 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_seq,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_seq_device,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hwdep,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_timer,snd_pcm,snd_usb_caiaq,snd_rawmidi

=> the part can be used for audio as well as for MIDI.
=> you could even control a video synthesizer via MIDI - would be the Non Plus Ultra for a DJ box IMHO - Jugend forscht

To find out how to address the device for the ALSA sound configuration, I did the following:

aplay -l shows:

Code: Select all

[...]
Karte 2: Korecontroller [Kore controller], Gerät 0: Kore controller [Kore controller]
  Sub-Geräte: 2/2
  Sub-Gerät #0: subdevice #0
  Sub-Gerät #1: subdevice #1

aplay -L shows:

Code: Select all

[...]
sysdefault:CARD=Korecontroller
    Kore controller, Kore controller
    Default Audio Device
usbstream:CARD=Korecontroller
    Kore controller
    USB Stream Output

=> subdevice #0 is the regular analog output (incl. S/PDIF duplication).
=> subdevice #1 is the headphone output

This results in the following .asoundrc:

Code: Select all

pcm.kore_master_out {
  type plug
  slave {
    pcm "hw:2,0"
  }
}

ctl.kore_master_out {
    type hw
    card 1
    device 0
}

pcm.kore_phones_out {
  type plug
  slave {
    pcm "hw:2,0"
  }
}

ctl.kore_phones_out {
    type hw
    card 1
    device 1
}

In mixxx this can be integrated as follows:

NI KORE 1.png (225.82 KiB) Viewed 5158 times

Works - I am happy - and thanks to the developers who made this possible!

P.S.: The hardware listed here should be available for nuts to buy used by now.

@khz
Feel free to spread the information via LinuxMusicians - I'm too lazy to write it in English.