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In a DJ set, having predictable control over your mixer or controller’s effects unit is critical. So when an effect like Spiral shows up on a mixer, it’s often avoided because it’s initially confusing and unpredictable. In today’s tutorial, learn how to make the most of Spiral’s pitch delay effect found on Pioneer mixers and the XDJ-RX.

Tips for using Spiral successfully:

This effect is a total pain if you’re not careful with it. In order to make sure you succeed, remember these key points:

The beat marker (on the LCD below # of milliseconds) shows you if you’re pitching up / spiraling up (to the left) or pitching down (to the right).
If you change the direction you’re going, it might take a bit for the effect to catch up if it’s all the way spiraled down
If the level/depth knob is all the way to the right, the effect won’t ever naturally decay, even if you disable the effect. It will quickly become a sample wash, which can sound awesome, and you can continue to adjust the spiral up or down until you turn the level down slightly.
The effect on/off button is your release button – use it when you want to release the effect and let the spiral fade out. This sounds way better than just turning down the dry/wet knob.
When you want it to act as a resonator, use the X-Pad to quickly change the effect time to 10ms. Then adjust from there with the time knob.