Free Music Software: Mixxx 1.8.0, the latest version of the free, open source software for performing live DJ mixes, is now available. Developed by a diverse community of DJs, Mixxx is a complete replacement for a conventional “turntables and mixer” DJ setup, and is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

The new release includes a year’s worth of contributions from over 30 developers and artists. Mixxx 1.8.0 includes looping, hot cues, support for multiple MIDI devices, and a new database-powered library.

Details on the update below. Download here.

If you’ve used Mixxx, leave a comment with your thoughts on it!

Since Mixxx 1.7.2 was released, the following changes have been made:

• Looping
  • Loop-in, Loop-out, and Reloop/Exit buttons added to the main skins.
  • Loop point indicators on main waveforms and waveform summary displays.
• Hot cues
  • Most of the skins gained 4 hot cue buttons, and Mixxx now internally supports up to 32 hot cues per deck.
• A brand new database-powered library, with:
  • iTunes library and playlists access (Windows and Mac OS X)
  • Rhythmbox library and playlists access (Linux)
  • A brand new, faster library scanner
  • Crates!
  • A simple Auto DJ mode, which crossfades to the next track in the Auto DJ queue.
  • Analyze view, which allows you to run bulk BPM detection on your songs
  • Featured Artists bundle (Windows and Mac OS X)
  • Revamped Song Properties dialog
  • Re-arrangeable, hide-able columns
• Tons of new artwork:
  • New Deere, Shade, Phoney, and LateNight skins
  • Better descriptions in tooltips and snazzy new look
• MIDI
  • New PortMidi-based MIDI device backend, supports using multiple devices at once
  • Timers in the MIDI scripting engine
  • New MIDI mappings:
    • Hercules DJ Control e2
    • DJ TechTools MIDI Fighter
    • Reloop Digital Jockey2
  • Updated MIDI mappings:
    • Hercules DJ Control MP3, RMX, MK2
    • Stanton SCS.3d, SCS.3m
    • M-Audio Xponent
    • Behringer BCD3000
    • Vestax VCI-100
    • MixMan DM2
• Other stuff:
  • A massive rewrite of the internal mixing engine
  • More intelligent disk access to help optimize audio latency
  • Optimized waveform rendering at 30 fps
  • Ramping pitch-bend option, smoothly applies temporary pitch adjustment for nudging
  • Import comment tags from MP3, Ogg Vorbis, and FLAC/WAV metadata.
  • New library and preferences icons
  • Improvements to UTF-8 handling
  • Over 50 bug fixes and more!