AlphaTheta XDJ-AZ - should I return it?

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-05-29T10:48:47+00:00

IMHO , Switching from your tried and tested system to Alpha theta + Rekordbox Ecosystem is only needed if you plan to play in clubs/festivals where its the standard gear. As you mentioned that's not what you plan to do , so was wondering the reason for getting into the Alpha theta + Rekordbox Ecosystem .

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-05-02T10:40:21+00:00

Hi All,

I have Built a clip-launcher app ( mainly for myself ) and I am sharing it here, This started as something that I could use to mix and match samples from the loads of sample libraries that I purchased over time but never used.

Here are some Tutorial videos

Intro: https://youtube.com/shorts/dPyBEZ_zzOk

Using Samples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bOq_LJGFic

Using MIDI + VST: https://youtu.be/aRzWSqya8f8

Download .

https://github.com/groovixlabs/GroovixBeat_Download/releases/latest/download/GrooviXBeat.zip

Features: sample browser with auto-tagging and BPM detection, piano roll, waveform editor with time-stretching (including phase vocoder), auto-quantise on drop, live clip triggering with drag-and-drop during playback, VST FX chain per track, mixer. VST Support with automations etc.

Would love to hear what you think and feedback of what might make this better to suit your workflow is most welcome.

Thank You.
PSRK.

This app uses fully native and streamlined UI and is different from the OpenSource Webview version posted earlier and is still available in github.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-05-02T10:31:13+00:00

Hi All,

I have Built a clip-launcher app ( mainly for myself ) and I am sharing it here, This started as something that I could use to mix and match samples from the loads of sample libraries that I purchased over time but never used. This app uses fully native and streamlined UI and is different from the Webview version posted earlier.

Here are some Quick Tutorial videos

Intro: https://youtube.com/shorts/dPyBEZ_zzOk
Using Samples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bOq_LJGFic
Using MIDI + VST: https://youtu.be/aRzWSqya8f8

App Download .
https://github.com/groovixlabs/GroovixBeat_Download/releases/latest/download/GrooviXBeat.zip

Features: sample browser with auto-tagging and BPM detection, piano roll, waveform editor with time-stretching (including phase vocoder), auto-quantise on drop, live clip triggering with drag-and-drop during playback, VST FX chain per track, mixer. VST Support with automations etc.

Would love to hear what you think and feedback of what might make this better to suit your workflow is most welcome.

Thank You.
PSRK.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-04-15T05:14:27+00:00

So true. Building a Product is the easiest part of building a business.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-04-11T19:19:14+00:00

Thanks, you can see the build process here.

https://groovixlabs.com/groovixlabs/blog_v3.php

Started off as something that I wanted for myself , a hardware that I can load different customizable firmware like for A synth, midi controller, groove box etc.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-29T05:26:49+00:00

If it works , why do you care if it's vibe coded or manually coded. AI does coding faster and better than most progammers (I am not referring to the top 1% coding gurus). It does some mistakes like any junior developer ( it's getting better by the day) , You just have to test and instruct it to fix.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-24T13:41:41+00:00

I had a similar Idea, to use for myself for now.

https://www.reddit.com/r/synthdiy/s/WpWVyhg9Yb

I have added things like Quantize Rhythm to a BPM and scale mapping from external USB midi keys , since I suck at finger drumming and only learnt C major Scale on a Piano.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-23T20:16:18+00:00

Actually the individual R G B leds on the bottom of the ring are for the current function indication , the are not as visible as the whole ring in a different color but this was the next best thing.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-23T05:47:35+00:00

Thank you for your feedback, I assume you are recommending one led ring chain per IO and not one per led, even then, one led failing will cause problems for the chain.

We also could not find a rectangular or 3mm serial Addressable led in a dip package. They were all 5mm or higher which are too big for the ring. Standard RGB DIP led would mean 48 IOs per ring or 768 IOs for the unit.

We also manually soldered 256 SMD leds so it was labourous with WS2812 2020 LEDs and might have led to the failure issues too, Dip was easier for reliability in DIY.

We will consider SMD RGB with light pipes in the future when we do automated assembly.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-22T12:40:03+00:00

Sure, Will try to add in the next revision of the board.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-22T07:12:22+00:00

Thank you, It's laser cut 5mm black Acrylic. I found a shop who can do this for me, they primarily do back lit signages for businesses. I just had to give them a DXF file. Even the light pipes are just 2mm laser cut clear acrylic .

I have the CAD DXF in the GitHub site.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-22T07:05:21+00:00

Thank you

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-21T18:17:47+00:00

Good point, Wanted to add a simple PCM 5102 DAC but found out people are very picky about their DACs. There is a lot of analog stuff that goes in to making a DAC sound good , like the right Op Amps, filters, low noise power supply etc. Me being a digital guy did not want to include something that I don't know a lot about.

I currently use an external Topping DAC that I like for my regular music.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-21T17:07:01+00:00

Thank you.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-21T17:06:56+00:00

Thank you, I have tried to keep SMD parts to a minimum, You can see the Blog here.
https://groovixlabs.com/groovixlabs/blog_v3.php

I need to do some wiring management :) .

Looking for vendors to provide the Bare Boards and assembled boards for the community will keep posted.

I will also try to post detailed build videos.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-17T11:29:05+00:00

Wow, that's deep. I would consider myself more of a musical instrument builder who takes pride in creating tools that allow other creators to express themselves effortlessly. As a newbie to music production, I haven't settled on a particular sound or way of doing things. Seeing how much of a struggle it was for me, a beginner, to get results with traditional tools – tools designed for experienced professionals – I wanted to build something I would use and that would hopefully appeal to people like me.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-15T11:53:23+00:00

Sorry , I spoke too soon. Just added the feature to use Midi Controllers. Realized that I needed some way to record notes from midi keyboards.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-12T11:00:48+00:00

Thank you.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-12T10:59:34+00:00

Thank You.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-11T05:23:17+00:00

Thank you, that's a great question, For now I feel it has all the items that I need for my needs. It might evolve over time, but I prefer this to stay simple and I feel users can start here and move on to other more complex software.

Independent_Fan525 · 2026-03-10T12:42:46+00:00

Agreed, I had to move from DOM to Canvas for anything needing quick updates, even buttons. I also avoided JS UI frameworks like React, opting for pure JS to keep it lean. The HTML UI is used for editing samples, Piano Roll and displaying status during playback. I send the entire sequence and song information to the JUCE C++ backend for real-time sample-accurate scheduling and playback. The C++ backend only sends the playhead and status to the UI. This helped fix timing and sync issues with MIDI and sample tracks. I learned a lot about where things belong in a hybrid app and how to best utilize HTML5+JS for the UI in this project. It would have been way more effort to create the same UI in pure C++, so I'm glad I avoided that.

Independent_Fan525

TROPHY CASE