RANE PERFORMER

for VirtualDJ 8.5 Last Update : July 2024

SETUP

Firmware & Drivers

Firmware: Please update the firmware of the device to the latest available version at Rane DJ Downloads

Drivers: For both Windows and MacOS X computers Install the latest drivers (Control Panel) from Rane DJ Downloads

VirtualDJ Setup

Download and install VirtualDJ from our Downloads Page (in case you have not done already)

Once VirtualDJ is launched, a Connect Window will appear. Please login with your preferred method from the ones provided.

A Pro Infinity or a Pro Subscription License is required to fully use the Rane Performer.
Without any of the above Licenses, the controller will operate for 10 minutes each time you restart VirtualDJ.
Buy a license

A detection window will appear next verifying proper connection with Rane Perfromer.

Click on the "Performer" button in order VirtualDJ to apply the pre-defined audio configuration for your device.

Make sure you have the top-panel Source selectors to USB-A or USB-B depending on the USB port you connected at the rear panel.

Click to OK.

The device is now ready to operate.

MAPPING

The device should be visible in the CONTROLLERS tab of Config and the “factory default” available/selected from the Mappings drop-down list. The factory default Mapping offers the functions described in this Manual, however those can be adjusted to your needs via VDJ Script actions.
Find more details at VDJ Pedia

AUDIO Setup

The device has a pre-defined Audio setup and a special button in the AUDIO tab of Config to provide that.

For further software settings please refer to the Manuals of VirtualDJ

LAYOUT

The functionality of each button, knob and slider per section (as shown in the image above) will be explained in detail in the next chapters

S SHIFT Hold this button down to access secondary functions of Rane Performer as described in this manual

A MIXER & EFFECTS
B DECKS
C PADS
D FRONT & REAR

MIXER & EFFECTS

MIXER

Rane Performer features a fully featured hardware mixer. All mixer operations described in this chapter are performed via the device hardware. However, the movement of all basic mixer elements is still visible in the VirtualDJ GUI.

KEY

ACTION

1CROSSFADER

Blends audio between left and right mixer channels

2VOLUME

Adjust the Volume of each mixer channel.

3CUE (PFL)

Select which Chanel/Deck will be sent to Headphones output for pre-listening.
Press multiple buttons simultaneously to send multiple Decks to Headphones at once.

Hold down SHIFT button and press these buttons to toggle the operation of the three EQ knobs of each channel between "Frequency" control (hardware operation) and "STEMS" control (software operation). When a deck is in "STEMS" control mode, the LED of the button will blink (while SHIFT button is held down).

4EQ LOW

Adjust the low (bass) frequencies, or the corresponding stems according to the selected EQ Mode.

5EQ MID

Adjust the middle (mid) frequencies, or the corresponding stems according to the selected EQ Mode.

6EQ HI

Adjust the high (tremble) frequencies, or the corresponding stems according to the selected EQ Mode.

7LEVEL

Adjusts the audio level (gain).

8CH VUMETER

Shows the strength of each channel’s pre fader signal.

9SOURCE

Define the digital source of each side of the controller.
Put the switchers to USB A or USB B position depending on which port you have connected your computer.

10LINE/USB

Use this switcher to toggle deck 3 and deck 4 input source between the analog inputs on the back of the device (LINE) and the digital audio bus (USB).

11MIC 1 ON

Toggles the 1st microphone input on/off.

12MIC 1 LEVEL

Adjust the volume of the 1st microphone input.

13MIC 1 HI

Adjust the high (tremble) frequencies of the 1st microphone input.

14MIC 1 LOW

Adjust the low (bass) frequencies of the 1st microphone input.

15MIC 1 ECHO

Adjust the strength of "Echo" effect for the 1st microphone input.
To adjust the parameters of the Echo effect please refer to Rane Performer operation manual.

16MIC 1 ECHO SWITCH

Toggle the "Echo" effect for the 1st microphone input on/off.

17SAMPLER TO DECK 4

Press this button to route the audio of the sampler to deck 4 mixer channel.

18SAMPLER LEVEL

Adjust the Volume of the sampler.
This knob will have no effect if the "SAMPLER TO DECK 4" function is active.

19BOOTH LEVEL

Adjusts the volume of the Booth output.

20MASTER VUMETER

Shows the strength of the Master output's pre fader signal.

21MAIN LEVEL

Adjusts the volume of the Master output.

22QUANTIZE

Toggle Quantized operations for all decks on/off.
When Quantize is enabled, hotcues, loops and beatjumps will snap to the CBG of the track.

EFFECTS

Rane Performer features it's own hardware effects, but it also offers the ability to control software effects. This chapter focuses on how to use Rane Performer to control VirtualDJ effects.
See further details in Advanced Setup-Effects

Quick EFFECTS operation guide:

Press the HW/SW FW button to toggle between using hardware or software effects.
When the button is blue, hardware effects are operated. When the button is amber/orange software effects are operated.
Press one of the six MAIN FX buttons to arm an effect for execution. Pressing one button will disable the previously armed (Single/toggle arming mode). Pressing more than 1 at the same time, allows multiple arming.
When an effect slot is armed it's led will lit brightly.
Move the JOYSTICK up or down to select the desired beats parameter and will affect the Effects selected in all 6 FX slots, not just the armed ones. The beats parameter will be visible on main effects screen.
Press one of the FX ASSIGN buttons to determine on which deck you're going to apply the armed effect(s).
You cannot apply an effect at both decks of the same controller side at the same time.
Adjust the DEPTH knob to adjust the strength of the armed effect(s).
Use the FX ON paddles to activate the armed effect(s.)
Move the paddles away from you to activate the effect(s) permanently. The paddles will latch to that position.
Pull the paddles towards you to activate the armed effect(s) momentarily.
In order to select a different effect for a slot, turn the PARAMETER knob until you reach the desired effect for the slot. The FX List on the skin will automatically go off after 1 second of no movement, or if you push the PARAMETER encoder. The selection will be copied across all Decks.
Avoid selecting Effects from the skin.

Notes:

When in Software FX mode, VirtualDJ Effects need to be triggered from the device's FX unit. VirtualDJ effects triggered from the skin or other device, will have no effect to the Deck because they need to pass through the USB FX Send/Return channels (opened with the Fx Paddles).
When in Hardware FX mode, VirtualDJ Effects can be triggered from the skin or other hardware device, and will affect the sound of the Deck properly, however those will not have the Post-fader effect.
VirtualDJ Stem FX (if you select a Stem for an Effect to apply to and not the full audio) are not Post-fader.

KEY

ACTION

23COLOR EFFECTS SEL

Select one of the four available Color Effects to apply on the Performer audio channels.
The Color Effects of Rane Performer are software effects.

24COLOR EFFECTS

Apply a Color Effect on the four audio channels.
When the knobs are placed in the middle position, no effect is applied.

25MAIN FX SCREEN

Provides various information about the selected effect(s) and it's parameters.

26MAIN FX BUTTONS

Press one of those buttons to select (arm) an effect to be executed when you operate the paddles.
When using hardware effects only one effect can be selected (armed) at each time.
When using software effects it is possible to arm multiple effects if you press more than 1 button at the same time.
Rotate the PARAMETER knob in order to select a new effect for the armed effect slot.

27PARAMETER

In software effects turn this knob to select a new effect for the armed FX slot.
In hardware effects mode use this knob to adjust various parameters of the selected effect.

28FX ASSIGN

Use these buttons to determine on which deck the selected effect(s) will apply to.
Effects can be applied only on one deck per each controller side at the same time.

29FX PADDLES

Use these paddles to activate the selected effect(s).
Move the paddles away from you to activate the selected effect(s) permanently. The paddles will latch to that position.
Pull the paddles towards you to activate the selected effect(s) momentarily.

30HW/SW FX

Press this button to toggle between using hardware and software effects.
When hardware effects are selected the button will turn blue.
When software effects are selected the button will turn amber/orange.

31TAP

Tap this button a few times to set a new BPM for the selected deck.
The selected deck is shown on MAIN FX SCREEN by underlying the BPM of the left or right side.
To switch between the left and right side use the JOYSTICK.

32DEPTH

Adjust the strength of the armed effect(s).

33JOYSTICK

Move the joystick up or down to select the beats value that's going to be used on beat-aware effects. The value is shown on MAIN FX SCREEN.
Move the joystick right or left to select which side is used for taping.

In order to adjust the parameters of the hardware effects please refer to Rane Performer operation manual.

DECK CONTROLS

KEY

ACTION

SHIFT (SECONDARY) ACTION

34PLAY PAUSE

Press this button to start or stop the playback of the track.

Play-stutter the track.

35 CUE

Set a temporary Cue point when track is paused. Stop track at temporary position when playing and preview from Cue position while pressed

Return to the beginning of the track.

36 SYNC

Match the BPM and smoothly catch up the Phase, in order to synchronize this Deck to the opposite Deck.

Smoothly reset Track's tempo (BPM) to its original value.

SSHIFT

Hold this button down to access secondary functions of Rane Four as described in this manual.

37BEATJUMP

Press these buttons to jump back and forth within the track by a given amount of beats.

Cycle through the 3 available Jog display views

38BEATJUMP BEATS

Turn this knob to select the amount of beats that the track will jump when using the BEATJUMP buttons.
Press the knob down to select 8 beats as the beatjump length.

39SLIP

Toggle Slip mode. When enabled, operations like scratching, loop, hotcues etc will act temporarily and track will resume playback from the position it would have been if never triggered.

Toggle Vinyl mode. When turned off, motorized jogwheel will not spin.

40CENSOR

Play track in reverse while pressed. When released, track will resume playback from the position it would have been if never triggered.
It is possible to replace the behavior of this button to "Silent Cue" mode instead, from the Rane Performer setup menu.
When in "Silent Cue" mode, press this button to mute the sound of the deck. Press it once again or use any of the hotcue pads to restore the sound.

Play Track in reverse. Press again to return to normal playback.

41STEM SPLIT

Press this button to enable Stems Split and can be enabled from the top Decks 1 or 2. When enabled, top Deck will get cloned to low (Deck 3 or 4) with the top Deck playing the vocal parts of the track and the low Deck playing the instrumental.
When Stems Split is enabled, the led of this button will blink. If Decks are unlinked, the led will be solid on. Press again to link Decks again. If Decks are linked, press to disable Stems Split (led off).
When Decks are in Split mode and Linked, the Deck will control both the top and low Decks

42DECK SELECT

Press this button to select Deck 1 as the left or Deck 2 as the right deck.
When Stem Split is enabled, press once on the active deck to unlink it from the other deck. The led of the STEM SPLIT button will be solid lit. While the decks are unlinked you can manipulate each deck separately from the other.

43DECK SELECT

Press this button to select Deck 3 as the left or Deck 4 as the right deck.
When Stem Split is enabled, press once on the active deck to unlink it from the other deck. The led of the STEM SPLIT button will be solid lit. While the decks are unlinked you can manipulate each deck separately from the other

44RANGE

Cycle through the available range % for Pitch/Tempo fader. A bigger pitch range will give you a bigger range of possible BPM matches, but the pitch slider movement will be less accurate.

Toggle Keylock on/off. When enabled, the Key of the track will retain its value when Tempo is changed.

45JOG

Motorized platter for scratching (Vinyl Mode) or bending (CD Mode).

46TEMPO

Adjust the Tempo (BPM) of the Track. In middle position, the Track will have the original Tempo.

47PITCH BEND

Temporary (while pressed) slow-down/speedup the track. When released, track's tempo will resume to the value designated by the Tempo fader.

48KEY ADJUST

Press these buttons to increase/decrease the track's key by one semitone each time.

Press the KEY- button to match the key of the track with that of the other deck if the key is within one semitone range. Press the KEY+ button to reset the track's key to it's original value.

49ACAPELLA

Press this button once to isolate the Vocal part of a track. Press a second time to restore the full sound.

Isolate Vocals but at the same time apply an Echo Out Effect on the Instrumental.

50INSTRUMENTAL

Press this button once to isolate the instrumental part of a track. Press a second time to restore the full sound.

Isolate Instrumental but at the same time apply an Echo Out Effect on the Vocals.

51LOOP SIZE

Halve/Double the size of the active loop (if a loop is active) or the default auto loop (when no loop is active).

Press the LOOP HALF key to set the Entry (In) point of a manual loop. Press the LOOP DOUBLE key to set the Exit (Out) point of a manual loop.

52LOOP

Enable/disable a Loop of the selected beats size.

Enables the last triggered loop (reloop).

53BACK

Set focus to the Songs List if focus is on the Sideview.
Sets focus to Folders list if focus is on the Songs List
If focus is in Folders list, open/close sub-folders.

Ads the selected Track of Browser to the Automix List.

54SCROLL/LOAD

Turn to scroll through files/folders.
Push once to load the selected track on a deck.
Double-fast-press to load and clone the track from the other deck.

Press to set focus to Sideview. If Sideview is focused, press to cycle through the available Sideview Lists (Automix, Sidelist, Karaoke, etc).
Turn to scroll fast through file/folders (+/-10 entries per click).

PERFORMANCE PADS

The device offers 8 RGB Pads per Deck and can be assigned to 12 different modes.
The pre-defined modes/pages can be changed to your needs. Please see How to assign Pad modes

KEY

ACTION

SHIFT (SECONDARY) ACTION

55PAD MODES

Press to select one of the 4 primary modes for Pads (led will light up bright). Press the same button twice (double-press) to get one of the 4 available secondary modes (led will blink)

The pre-defined primary modes are..
Hotcues, Loop Roll, Sampler and Stems

Hold a Primary mode button down and then press another one to split the Pads into 2 modes. The leds of both mode buttons will be list. The top 4 Pads will function according to the Page assigned to the first pressed mode button, and the bottom pads will function as the 4 first Pads of the mode pressed last.

The pre-defined secondary modes are..
Keycue, Saved Loop, ScratchBank and Slicer

Press to select one of the 4 tertiary modes for Pads (led will blink fast).

The pre-defined tertiary modes are..
Custom, Loop, Beatjump and Stems

56PADS SCREEN

Display that shows the label of each pad button. When a button is active, the text is shown in negative color (black text on white background).

57PADS

Performance RGB Pads. Operation depends on the selected Pads mode (Pads page)

Operation depends on the selected Pads mode (Pads page)

58PARAMETER

Adjust the 1st Parameter of the selected Pads mode. Operation depends on the selected Pads mode (Pads page).

Adjust the 2nd Parameter (if available) of the selected Pads mode. Operation depends on the selected Pads mode (Pads page).

FRONT & REAR PANELS

Front side panel

CONTROL

OPERATION

59MIC 2 ON/OFF

Toggles the 2nd microphone input on/off.

60MIC 2 LEVEL

Adjust the volume of the 2nd microphone input.

61MIC 2 HI

Adjust the high (tremble) frequencies of the 2nd microphone input.

62MIC 2 LOW

Adjust the low (bass) frequencies of the 1st microphone input.

63CROSS ASSIGN

Define if a mixer channel will be output regardless of the position of the crossfader (THRU position) or Left/Right.

64CROSSFADER CONTOUR

Adjusts the contour of the crossfader.

65TENSION ADJUST

Adjusts the tension of the crossfader.

66CUE MIX

Blends audio signal from the channels with PFL enabled and the Master Output in Headphones. When set to minimum position, only the Decks that have PFL enabled will be heard in Headphones. When set to maximum position, only the Master Output will be heard in headphones.

67CUE LEVEL

Adjust the level of the Headphones Output.

68SPLIT CUE

When enabled, the signal of the PFL-enabled Decks will be routed to one side of Headphones and the signal from Master Output will be routed to the other side of Headphones.

69HEADPHONES

Connect your headphones using 1/4" or 1/8" adaptor.

Rear side panel

70POWER SWITCH

Turns ON/OFF the power of the device.
Please make sure that you have made all the necessary connections on the back of the unit before turning it's power ON.

71POWER CONNECTOR

Connect a standard IEC power cable.

72USB PORTS (TYPE B)

Use a standard USB cable to connect Rane Four with your computer.
You can connect up to two computers by using the two ports of the device (labeled USB A and USB B).
Make sure that you turn the SOURCE switches at the top panel to the correct USB port for software mixing.

73MAIN OUT 1

Master signal output connectors (XLR – Balanced). Use this to connect on your pro grade amplifier or self-powered speakers.

74MAIN OUT 2

Master signal output connectors (RCA – Unbalanced). Use this to connect with another mixer, or consumer grade amplifier.

75BOOTH/ZONE

Booth signal output (TRS – Balanced). Use this to connect your booth speakers, or an amp that needs different sound output level than master output.

76CH 3/4 INPUTS

Connect analog sources that can be used on channels 3 & 4 of Rane Four mixer. You can connect a turntable or a CD-Player, Use the LINE/PHONO switches to select whether the devices connected on the analog inputs provide a line or phono level signal.

77MIC 2 INPUT

Connect a microphone using XLR or 1/4" jack connectors. The controls of this Mic input are at the front panel.

78MIC 1 INPUT

Connect a microphone using XLR or 1/4" jack connectors. The controls of this Mic input are at the top panel.

ADVANCED SETUP

CONTROLLER SETTINGS

A few useful settings are available when the Rane Performer is connected.
Go to VirtualDJ Settings -> OPTIONS tab -> CONTROLLER sub-category and find the following settings..

Rane Performer - Controller specific Settings

RNPERF-browserTitleColumn : Select what will be shown on Title Column of Rane Performer Browser, Title (default), or Title & Remix
RNPERF-browserKeyColumn : Select what will be shown on the 3rd Column of Rane Performer Browser view, Tracks' Key (default), Key Difference or Length
RNPERF-browserColor Select whether the color of a line on Rane Performer browser view will display the color of the track, or red for the played Tracks
RNPERF-waveformZoom Select one of the 4 available Zoom levels for the Waveforms displayed on the Rane Performer screens

VIRTUALDJ EFFECTS

the Rane Performer has 2 dedicated USB FX Send/Return channels and those are included in the default Audio Setup (when you click on the RANE PERFORMER) button at the top.

Rane Performer Audio Configuration & FX Send/Return channels

These channels allow Post-fader software Effects, but those are available only when the FX unit of the Rane Performer is at the Software mode and the FX Paddles are used to trigger the Effects, therefore the Effects triggered from the skin of VirtualDJ or other devices will not act as Post-fader Effects or may not affect the sound at all.
- When the FX unit is set to Hardware mode, VirtualDJ Effects applied from the skin or other device will affect the sound of the Deck, but will not act as Post-fader.
- When the FX unit is set to Software mode, VirtualDJ Effects applied from the skin or other device will not affect the sound of the Deck
- Stem FXs will always act as Pre-fader, no matter which mode the FX unit is set to.

Important Note :
On Mac OS all the Inputs of the USB Audio Interface may be blocked and you may need to allow access to VirtualDJ. Open Mac System Settings, then click Privacy & Security in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.) Click Microphone on the right. Turn access On to the microphone for VirtualDJ

MICROPHONES

The Rane Performer offers 2 Microphone inputs (connections at the rear panel) and various controls at the front panel and top for both of them. Both Microphone inputs are part of the same USB Audio Interface channels, and this dedicated Input is included in VirtualDJ default Audio Setup.

Rane Performer Audio Configuration & Microphone Input

However, the signal of both Microphone Inputs will be directly routed to the Master Output of the Rane Performer, even if this mic Input is not included in Audio Setup.

Why do i need to have this input in Audio Setup ?
There are 2 cases this can be useful :

1. To Record the input of the Microphones without recording the entire mix. In this case, open the MASTER Mixer Panel of VirtualDJ GUI and :

Enable MIC (ON button)
Use the REC button below the MIC ON button to record the Microphone signal (without the Main mix)

Rane Performer - Record Mic Input

2. To route the Mic Input to a VirtualDJ Deck and apply software Effects. In this case:

Assign a keyboard or Skin Custom button to the action linein 'mic'
Press this button to route the Microphone input signal to a VirtualDJ Deck.
apply any software Effect to the (Mic) Deck.

Rane Performer - Deck Mic Input

Note : None of the Mic controls of the device will control mic-related VDJ actions or GUI buttons and vice-versa. Even though all Mic controls of Rane Performer send Midi messages and could be assigned to any VDJ script action, it is strongly advised not to do so, as the hardware operation will still apply.

Timecode (DVS)

VirtualDJ is offering DVS (Digital Vinyl System) support for the Rane Performer. 2 Timecode Inputs are available to control any software decks via Timecode CDs or Vinyls.

The device offers Mixer Channels can accept LINE (Timecode CDs) or PHONO Sources (Timecode Vinyls) depending on the CD/PH switchers at the rear panel of the unit.

Connect your Timecode devices at the Inputs at rear panel of the Rane Performer
Open VirtualDJ configuration window and select the AUDIO tab on the left
Click on the "TIMECODE SIGNAL" button to enable the timecode inputs.
Click on the "LINE INPUTS" button to disable the Line inputs.
Your sound setup should be like the one shown on the following image:

Rane Performer Audio Configuration with Timecode Inputs Configured
Click on "Apply" button
Click on the TIMECODE icon on the left side of configuration window.
Press PLAY on your timecode CD or Vinyl device and VirtualDJ will automatically detect your Timecode type and make the appropriate adjustments for best performance.
Click on the ON buttons from the TIMECODE panels of the Default Skin to enable the Timecode control to any Deck.
Press PLAY on your timecode CD or Vinyl device and VirtualDJ will automatically detect your Timecode type and make the appropriate adjustments for best performance.
Press the CALIBRATE button if for any reason the signal is not detected (possibly due to reversed phase connections).

Note : When Timecode is enabled and assigned to a VirtualDJ Deck, the motor of this Deck will be disabled and will not affect the Track position or Speed.

Live Inputs

The same Inputs as the one used for Timecodes, can be used as Live Inputs and route their audio signal to a VirtualDJ Deck (to apply Effects etc).

Connect your Media devices at the rear panel of the Rane Performer to the INPUTS sockets
Open VirtualDJ configuration window and select the AUDIO tab on the left
Click on the "LIVE INPUT" button to enable the Live inputs
Your sound setup should be like the one shown on the following image:

Rane Performer Audio Configuration with Live Inputs
Click on "Apply" button
Use the top-panel USB/LINE switches to assign these Inputs to Decks 3 or 4.

Notes :
- This is actually the default Audio Setup of the Rane Performer.
- If Timecode inputs were added in audio Setup from previous sessions, make sure you remove those lines from the Audio Setup.
- While Line Inputs are enabled on Decks 3 or 4, the motors will be turned off and will have no affect on these Decks.

Back to back

The Rane Performer has two USB ports, allowing simultaneous connection of two computers. Each port is completely independent. It is possible to run VirtualDJ on one computer and any other DJ-software on the other, Mac or PC.

How to:

Connect the 2nd computer to the unused USB port on the device.
Set the Source switcher of the non-playing mixer side to the USB source of the 2nd computer.
Play a track on this deck and mix it when ready – you ll' now have audio from both computers during the mix.
Fade out the audio playing from the 1st computer to the audio playing from the 2nd one.
When only audio from the 2nd computer is left in the mix, remove the first computer.
Assign the Input Source for the remaining free mixer channel to the 2nd computer and keep mixing.

Recording

The Rane Performer has a dedicated Input to record your Main Mix along with audio signal from any Microphone and/or Auxiliary input. VirtualDJ has pre-configured this input for recording, thus no special setting is required in order to record your mix (including analogue sources and Microphone).
Use the REC or BCAST buttons from the MASTER center panel of the VirtualDJ GUI to Record or Broadcast your mix.

Rane Performer Audio Configuration - Record Loopback

For further Technical features and specifications, visit
Rane Performer
Product's Page

Hardware Integration Department 2024- ATOMIX PRODUCTIONS

Reproduction of this manual in full or in part without written permission from Atomix Productions is prohibited.