New Years Eve, in American at least, is a cash grab for djs. The chance to try and make up for all the money spent on gear and actually make a few dollars. Its not un-usual to ask for at least double your usual rate when playing for a club but there are some expectations that go with that kind of money so you should be prepared for your set. Here are a set of tips to make your NYE set an epic one for everyone and a few bonus mp3s that will make the 12 o’clock hour easier to manage. Continue reading ‘New Years Tips and Tools’
We are on the verge of a very big year. Although it may seem trivial to discuss djing when there are so many important things happening in the world sometimes its nice to have a fun place to escape. So what should you expect in 2009 for the world of djing- will it survive the economic meltdown? Here are my guesses at what might come down the pipeline for the coming year:
Continue reading ‘Predictions and Projections’
Since we are met by holiday greetings from every corner of our lives, does our dj blog really need to be one of them? Normally I would say no, but I just cant help myself. This has been such a good year for us that I want to say thank you and give everyone a present; 15% off anything in the store*. This is not a sale meant to get you to buy things, as we sell out too quickly to have sales. Instead its just my way of saying thank you for all that you have done for the site. It also might make it easier for those that have come up on hard times to get something they wanted. Have you been thinking about grabbing a firmware upgrade kit? You might want to head over there quickly because they are almost sold out! Dont forget there is always free shipping worldwide for orders over $60.
Merry Christmas everyone!
*To use the discount enter the code “DjTTYO398QOJ1″ at checkout. This code is good until December 31rst and does not apply to arcade button mods. We will be closed for the holidays on Friday so there will be no articles and orders will ship the following Monday.
p.s. Thanks a lot for the forum thank you thread- it was very kind.
Every knob, button and fader on your controller has a function assigned but there are still more things you need control over! What to lose? How do you cram in more functions? Then it hits you- wait a minute, some of these buttons I only use a few times during a set, what if they could serve 2 purposes? Fortunately, Traktor pro introduced a powerful feature that makes it easier to do that. Lets take a basic look at modifiers and show you how to make a jog wheel work for both scratching and track browsing.
Continue reading ‘Get more Controlls- Modifier basics’
Here is a continuation of tips from last weeks popular post:
Continue reading ‘Itunes Power Tips’
Ok, I must be honest- that title is a little misleading. It is the title I wish we could write if all the major dj software companies joined together to create a common standard for storing track information. Once you have been using one program for a while, a large amount of time and effort gets invested into adding loops, cue points and stripes to those songs. The thought of doing it all over again is enough to keep most djs firmly rooted in place, never venturing out to try new things. This might be good for a market leader but its terrible for the collective market place. If we create an atmosphere where djs can freely bounce back and forth to try out the merits of each system then competition and creative ideas will flourish. Both customers and the companies will win.
Continue reading ‘Top Dj Companies Create Universal Standard’
Djing is a visceral activity much like painting. You want to reach out, grab a tool and shape the music into your own without thinking but sometimes technology can get in the way of that process. The VCI-100SE was originally designed to provide that kind of intuitive performance in Traktor 3. Fortunately for all of us Traktor Pro adopted many of those ideas into the software directly allowing us to take the concept much farther. I have have been working very hard to take fader fx and controllerism to the next level by solidifying those ideas into the “fader fx theory” which everyone can use in their own unique way with any controller or controls.
Continue reading ‘Fader FX Theory’
The quest to find a good sound card that is portable, dependable and easy on the wallet seems to never end. There are several decent options out there, many of which we already covered in our under $200 round up, but nothing really stands out as a must buy. Some of the more expensive cards try to be the all in one home studio solution offering a variety features but not really excelling at any of them.
A basic dj sound card should have:
- reliable, rock solid drivers
- loud, clear outputs
- good A to D converters
- headphone jack on the front (with volume control)
- a pair of master outputs
That’s it! Make it portable, rugged, easy on the wallet and bingo you have a easy sell. Well my friends I am happy to report that the audio fire2 just about fits the bill. Lets look at its many strengths and a few of the drawbacks in closer detail.
Continue reading ‘Small, Loud and Stable- AudioFire Review’
I hope everyone saved a few bucks after Black Friday because we are now fully loaded with excellent dj goodies. Not only do we have black SE overlays back in stock but brand new silver overlays that you can label yourself. There are 10 black European VCI-100’s for sale and to top it all off we are now taking special orders for VCI-100’s modified with arcade buttons. Read on for more details.
Continue reading ‘Fully Stocked for Christmas’
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