As a result of our videos a ton of people seem to be very interested in the VCI-100 but remain confused about how it works. Every day I get more emails asking “Do I need a sound card, if so how does that work?” Dont fret, here at Dj Tech Tools we have the answers for you. Just check out this Sound Cards 101 video courtesy of Ean Golden.
This course does not exactly look like it will be taking the dj world by storm but a few months back, I interviewed DJ Kentaro for the digital dj column, and he thought the future of turntablism lies in video. While that remains to be seen, significant headway has been made in the world of DVJ-ing, DVDJ-ing or VDJ-ing, whichever hard-to-pronounce acronym floats your boat. Just as the name is unclear, so is the direction this technology is headed. Will video be a hardware or software revolution? Will Pioneer DVJ’s dominate the scene as they go down in price, or will heavyweight Serato win another title in a different weight class?
If you’re a digital DJ, chances are you’re probably spending less time tending to tedious tasks like beatmatching. While some will argue that this destroys the “art” of DJing, I believe that the opposite is true. Less time spent on mechanical functions means more time to be creative with your mix. But, assuming that you’re looking to improve your mix instead of your myspace page, you may want to consider going beyond the traditional two deck setup. Many digital DJ programs support more than two decks. And, there’s no shortage of hardware that supports four or more channels. Beware, if you’re used to playing with only two decks, you’ll quickly discover that it takes some practice to master your newly doubled DJ rig. While four decks gives you twice as many options, a mix gone wrong can sound twice as bad. So, if you’re looking for a way to enhance your set, grab a few extra decks and have yourself a four-way.
When M-audio first introduced the Oxygen 8 25-key MIDI controller, few could have predicted how widespread and popular it would become. By all accounts, that early model looked like a toy keyboard aimed squarely at bedroom producers. The strange thing was, it worked well, lasted forever and seemed to creep into just about everyone’s collection. So when I heard that M-Audio would be releasing a full-size MIDI DJ controller, it did not surprise me that it also looked a tad bit toyish. The only question was if it would be as handy and reliable as my Oxygen 8, which ironically was recently retired to keyboard heaven after nearly three years of destructive use as a dedicated DJ controller. Although it will take a few years and a lot of gigs to really put an Xponent to the test of time, first impressions are good, and it appears that it is just the tool to have in your arsenal of DJ weaponry.
For the past year I have been harping on the team at Ableton to include dj style song nudging in their software. Finally, when Live 7 hits selfs at the end of 2007, you will be able to do just that. This means that you can gently massage tracks together with a midi controller instead of using the mouse to manually adjust warp markers in the middle of a gig.
Another common dj complaint about Live has been the quality of its sound especially when several tracks are pushed to the max. To adress this and other requests they have wisely included a new series of vintage style studio compressors. If these new compressors live up to the hype you should be able to get the loud warm sound out of Live that people expect in the club.
If these new tools are implemented effectively, don’t be surprised to see a large group of djs that are currently straddling the fence jump over to using Ableton Live full time.
Ean Golden
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Has anyone noticed the remarkable performances over the past year by Dj Numark? The controllerism-esq routines are really impressive considering that his turntables are pair of learning toys meant for teething toddlers. I cant seem to find a single interview or explanation on just what the hell he is doing. Does anyone know? Do I need to interview this guy to find out?
Want to see it live? check out this You Tube Video
Yes, the much anticipated Numark IDJ2 is here. This radical jump in technology officially bridges the gap, allowing just about everyone to dive into the dj pool and test the waters. Look for a full review in Remix magazine soon but for now check out this short video that explains some of the basic features.
If you want to be taken seriously as a dj. Don’t make your marketing platform the fact that you play digitally. Digital, analogue, hi 8 tape – Its all just music. The question is; what are you doing to contribute to the quality of the game and the quality of other peoples musical experience. Thats what sets apart the ground breaking cats.
Rewind 4 years. Cue up the grey album. People are over the stale music industry and a bunch of crazy kids like CRFTP and BOOTIE and GO-Home Productions start to make some strange blends of classic songs. Its cool, fresh and different, people dig it. Fast forward to the end of the tape. Endless supply of genre band wagon jumping new comers marketing themselves as “mash up” djs. They give the whole concept a well deserved bad name and mash-ups become a dirty word.
Do you want that to happen to digital djs? Careful folks, its already happening as some big name djs are lining up to bash digital djs (dont worry- its just a big publicity stunt without any credibility) but even if its all smoke and mirrors public opinion can be a fickle girl friend. So go out and represent our craft well, advertise your art- not the medium.
DJ TechTools Traktor Kontrol S4 Mapping
The long awaited Traktor S4 Mapping is here and totally FREE. Continue reading for a full video and the download link.
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