After years on the software side of DJing, it appears that Native Instruments is finally producing its own DJ controller. Read on for a video of Ritchie Hawtin using two of these DJ controllers in Berlin and more info on the release.
Archive for September, 2009
iTunes Power Tips, Part 4: New Smart Playlists
By Mike Charles
Apple recently rolled out iTunes 9, which included a slew of new features–none of which seemed to be of particular interest to DJ Tech Tools. However, Apple quietly updated my all-time favorite feature, the Smart Playlist, to include a powerful new option: nested conditions. This really excited the nerd in me, and I’d like to show you how this new option will help Smart Playlist-using DJs.
Continue reading iTunes Power Tips, Part 4: New Smart Playlists
Top American DJs on our Controllers
Its Friday! That means another classic DJ video, and this week we bring you one straight from our own cameras. I went down to LA last week to show a group of well-known DJs the ropes on Traktor and their new VCI-100 Arcade controllers. We sat down to talk about the world of controllers and how it’s changed the game for them. My Favorite line is when Donald Glaude says “This is stuff you imagined!”
How to Be a Successful DJ Pt. 2 (The First Gigs)
Here is the next step in our on-going series on building your DJ career. In the first installment we looked at setting goals and deciding in what direction you want to take your DJing career. Now we will assume that you have been practicing like mad and are ready to take that big first step: to start playing out. Getting these first gigs is going to be the hardest part, so we asked several club owners and promoters the best way to approach them and get your first gigs.
Continue reading How to Be a Successful DJ Pt. 2 (The First Gigs)
Musical DJ Concept
I sat down with a number of well-known DJs last week and talked to them about controllers, DJing and creativity (video to come on Friday). One of those in attendance was DJ Dan, a well-respected house DJ who has been spinning around the world for more than 20 years. While talking about how the VCI-100 Arcade edition has unlocked creative potential for him, Dan said something in particular that stuck with me. “Everyone knows that I can mix; I want to get to the shit that’s fun again.” While I agree–those controllers opened up an exciting new page in DJing–it barely scratches the surface of our collective creative potential. In order to take things to the next level, we need to develop interfaces that truly unlock a DJ’s musical potential. In that direction, we found the “DJ Machine” by Christian Peetz, a conceptual prototype that proposes a number of interesting ideas.
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Echo AudioFire4 Reviewed
Finding the perfect soundcard is a never-ending battle for most digital DJs, especially for the DJ on a budget. Echo has been putting together rock-solid devices for years and is definitely not a newcomer to the scene. Echo is well-known for its very reliable drivers that will seldom let you down no matter what system you are running. We previously reviewed the Echo AudioFire2, so now it’s time to take a look at how its bigger brother, the Echo AudioFire4, stacks up.
Read on, and we’ll answer all the questions you should be asking yourself when you’re searching for a soundcard for DJing.
Introducing the CDJ-2000
As predicted, Pioneer has released its answer to the emerging controller market, the CDJ-2000–an impressive and ambitious piece of kit with a comprehensive list of features the company hopes will address most modern DJ’s needs. Is the 2000 just what the market needs or a little too late? You will be the judge of that…
The Dawn of a New Pioneer?
Pioneer innovated and struck gold with its CDJ line of CD players more than 10 years ago. Since that time they have dominated the CD DJ industry and achieved the elusive goal of becoming an “industry standard.” Today, CDJ sales are declining, laptops are in every club and controllers are blowing up. Pioneer needs to put out something big soon, or they may miss this boat entirely. Taking a step in the big direction, their press team has been building up the hype about a “new species” of CDJs that will be released on wed of this week that they hope will be their ace up the sleeve. What can you expect? Lets look at what we know so far.
Get Your Tracks Online
There’s been some discussion on DJ TechTools lately about whether or not a DJ needs to make original music to become successful. We’ll get into that more later, but in my opinion, unless you put out terrible stuff, making your own music can only help your DJ career, and it’s a lot of fun.
Besides that, today you don’t need label support or a lot of your own money to make your music available for worldwide digital sale. Some labels may be a big help with marketing, booking and physical media distribution, but a few online services now enable you to easily upload your digital music to the major download stores and keep most of the money earned in sales. Read on to learn more about 3 excellent options including; TuneCore, WaTunes and Rebeat Digital.
Traktor 1.2 Public Release
The NI team has been hunkered down in Berlin working intensely on the Traktor 1.2 beta for months, but they have finally let this exciting free update out to play. We have already covered many of the key features in our initial beta report, but there is a video after the jump that will walk you through them and demonstrate how to use the new controller manager, which can be appear a bit daunting at first.
Continue reading Traktor 1.2 Public Release
Effects Tricks in M-Audio Torq 1.5
Today we’re giving M-Audio Torq a little love. Torq users, holler back if you’re out there and let us know what you’d like to see in future Torq articles.
One of the many features that M-Audio snuck into its Torq 1.5 update was the Chain Effects Mode, which gives you an additional routing option for effects and greater creative possibilities. Every effect in Torq can work as either a send effect, which is designed to blend the original audio with the effect’s output, or as an insert effect, which is “inserted” between the deck and the mixer so as to replace the the original audio with the effect’s output.
