I know, I know- there have been a lot of posts on the vci-300 lately. Some of you are probably wondering if you should be thinking about selling the vci-100. Don’t worry, there is a video on the way that will break down the real differences between the 2 in a clear manner. Here is a new video that demonstrates a cool tempo trick that anyone can use but is easy to perform out of the box with a vci-300.
Continue reading VCI-300 in Action- Tempo Trick
Archive for June, 2008
VCI-300 in Action- Tempo Trick
DIY TouchScreens
There are a lot of very pricey touch screens on the market that are out of reach of most musicians, the Lemur for example will set you back around $3000- enough cash to buy several of the best dj controllers on the market. Fortunately, it is very possible to turn your existing screen into a multi touch monitor for under $50. In this article we will be looking at the different DIY methods that turn common, in-expensive equipment into touch screen interfaces.
VCI-300 Fix
Last week we reported in this article that the VCI-300 would not be working with programs other than Itch. Good news, it didn’t take long to figure out a work around and we now have a solution that allows you to use the high resolution midi with any program.
Point of no return
We have jumped far into the deep end of the digital pool. There is no lifeguard, no floaties on your arms and no grab holds in site. Time to figure out how to swim. Developing cool technology is the easy part, thats well under way. Figuring out how to use it in an artistic and emotionally compelling manner is another thing all together. Once that is complete then boom, all those nay-sayers will line up in droves. Until its complete digital djing or “controllerism” is just a term that loosely describes our direction not a cohesive creative movement.
Re-Use Your Jog Wheel- 4 Fx.
A jog wheel may be good for cuing up a song but the top does not serve much of a purpose after that. So why not double assign it to another function that works when you hold down a shift key? Its a logical conclusion but finding something that actually works well with the jog wheel’s pitch bend type message is another story. Last week I may have found something that fits perfectly.
Itching for a VCi-300?
Perhaps you decided to hold off buying a new controller in hopes of waiting for the Vestax VCI-300? While not exactly a “better” controller than the VCI-100 it did have a few specific upgrades that could mean big performance gains. Namely, high resolution faders and jog wheels. Well, sorry to be the first bearer of bad news but you should not wait around any longer.
Little controllers
If your the guy who needs to get a little more midi control without sacrificing precious booth space or beer money you may have reason to rejoice. Korg has announced a clever line of midi controllers that will fit right in front of your laptop and theoretically perhaps sit on the same laptop stand
Phasing – Old school beatmatching for all
There is currently a heated debate about the use of the Sync button. Some say it’s cheating, some say: as long as it sounds good for the audience, it’s ok… I think that everyone is missing the point. Learning to beatmatch by hand is a skill that any DJ should learn. The only reason he should learn it is to have at his disposal a broader way to express himself artistically.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with using the sync button. It saves time and allows you to do something else, it can also be a lifesaver when you have lost it while in a mix. I’m really glad to have that function at hand, and I use it often, even if I’m able to beatmatch two records by ear in a short amount of time. So, what’s the big deal with learning to do it by hand? Well, I think that the perfect mix in term of phase and speed doesn’t really exist. It is all a matter of what you want to express artistically. Hand beatmatching techniques can be used to breath life and spontaneity into your mixes, and have been used this way by all the best DJs since the beginning. And it sounds really different from automated matching. No judgment of value, there, both can be useful.
I now need to show you a trick to prove my point. It’s a very old and cool trick, which has a lot of practical applications, among them being able to teach you how to beatmatch by hand, or get better if you already know how.
TechTools goes Global
If you spend any time in the forums, it becomes quickly apparent that we have a very international group of djs hanging around these parts. A glance at the Google analytics global imaging (above) reveals that we are all over the place! The top countries are US, Uk, Germany, Canada and Australia but we have visitors from just about every single country in the world including Kenya, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, and even Iceland!
So this brings me to my point. Obviously my writing skills are limited to the English language but many of you are in non-english countries. Would you like to share your knowledge and experience of digital djing with others in your native language? Dj TT is working on a system that will help you do just that. It will allow you to start your own site but benefit from the tools, experience and reputation we have already built. While we cant provide much more info than that at this time- If your interested, shoot us a line and we will add you to the beta list when the system is ready to go.
service at djtechtools.com
VCI-100 Special Edition Videos
I am proud to walk you through the brand new VCI-100SE. Click bellow to watch 2 videos that take you though the basic controls to the more advanced performance oriented features. For questions about purchasing, shipping or upgrading to this controller please visit this post in the forum.
Bomes Midi Pro for Mac Beta
Bomes Midi Pro is an excellent piece of Midi translation software originally designed for the PC and now a beta has been made available for Mac users. DjTechTools has been working with Florian, the lead developer of Bomes midi pro, to help bring some exciting new functionality that will no doubt make Bomes Midi Pro an even better piece of software than it already.
We will be posting tutorials to help everyone to get to know this wonderful piece of midi translation software as time goes on so this is certainly one piece of software to keep a close eye on.
There are many things you can do with Bomes Midi Pro including creating smart-knobs to control your VST’s and change between midi presets thats are similar to, but more powerful than Traktors page functions.
If you were subscribed to the Bomes Midi email list you would have recently received this in your mail box:
Some freewares I can’t live without (Mac)
You need a lot of little tools to setup, play, organize your various musical activities. Here are some of my favorites, they are all great pieces of software that do the job well, and in an elegant way. Best of all, they are free!
