Device using analog controls to mix compressed digital audio data

A device for mixing audio tracks of sound recordings that are in compressed digital audio data format and which eliminates the need for a disc jockey mixing console, a plurality of turntables or a plurality of vinyl LP records, said device comprising:

• a disc jockey mixing console with three or more audio tracks and having analog controls including, for each audio track, a slider for adjusting speed, a main output volume knob for adjusting volume heard on a main speaker output, equalizing knobs, and including a crossfader for single-handed fading from one audio track to another on the main speaker output and a scratchpad for special effects, and including for each audio track a preview button,
• two audio outputs including a headphone output and the main speaker output, said two audio outputs each including a digital to analog convertor, the headphone output also including analog controls for adjusting a volume of a final mix analog audio heard on the headphone, said headphone output activated by the preview button,
• a touch screen LCD panel having buttons for selecting and queuing sound recordings in each audio track, said touch screen LCD panel including a graphical display of a wave form of an audio sound track in a play mode, and said touch screen LCD panel including a button in each audio track for opening a menu of special effects and selecting one or more special effect to be applied to that audio track in digital format,
• a computer, including a processor, ROM storage means, RAM storage means, a hard disc to store audio sound track files, and software for decoding each audio track from compressed digital audio data format to digital format, applying special effects to each audio track based on speed parameters supplied by the sliders and based on special effects parameters supplied the touch screen LCD panel and based on tone parameters supplied by the equalizing knobs, mixing the audio tracks heard on the main speaker output that are in digital format using volume parameters provided by the analog controls to generate a final mix digital output and sending the final mix digital output to the digital to analog convertor of the main speaker output to be converted to final mix analog audio, and mixing the audio tracks heard on the headphone output that are in digital format using preview buttons to generate a headphone mix digital output and sending the headphone mix digital output to the digital to analog convertor of the headphone output to be converted to headphone mix analog audio,
• each equalizing knob, each main output volume knob, each slider and the crossfader slider being connected to an analog to digital convertor to translate the analog position into a numerical value for the computer,
• said single device allowing a disc jockey to manually mix and manually adust the speed of compressed digital audio data sound recordings with a level of manual dexterity typically used in the mixing of vinyl LP records, said level of manual dexterity far exceeding the level of manual dexterity provided by a computer pointing device.