With a rapidly expanding market for MIDI controllers, the options DJs now have before them can seem overwhelming at times. Even though some popular controllers on the market can run you up to $2,000, fortunately, you don’t have to plunk down a huge amount of cash to experiment with digital DJing, as there are plenty of controllers for under $200. Unfortunately, its tough to tell which of these entry-level controllers offer the best value, so we did the leg work for you and compiled a comprehensive list of all the popular options and their features. Whether you’re an established controllerist looking to add new components to your setup or a beginner mulling over that first purchase, our side-by-side comparison is guaranteed to save you countless hours of browsing time and a possible trip to the optometrist.
Continue reading Round-Up: Controllers Under $250
Archive for January, 2010
Round-Up: Controllers Under $250
Djing with the Ipad?
The internet is heating up with news about the Ipad, Apple’s new touch screen interface. Between rave reviews from some and boo’s from others that are calling it a giant iphone- you are probably wondering, but can I dj with it? Lets take a look at what might actually be possible with the new ipad, and if it cant replace your dj laptop- perhaps it might be the low cost touch controller you have been waiting for?
Digital Record Pool Round-up
Whether you’re looking for the latest tracks and acapellas or searching for new avenues to expose your own productions, digital record pools are a great dj tool. Record pools, now more commonly known as music or dj pools, are symbiotic arrangements between professional djs and record companies. Djs get access to a large pool of new music for minimum or no cost and the record companies get feedback and exposure. This concept has been in effect since the mid 70’s and, more specifically, since disco club pioneer David Mancuso and others created The New York Record Pool. Over the past 5 years, digital music pools have become more popular and with all the new options it can be a bit confusing which ones are worth your time or money. Read on for our thoughts and breakdowns of some the top options available today.
USB Hubs De-Mystified
Chances are you have more digital dj gear than you have available USB ports. Between controllers, sound cards, USB lights and ipods- every controllerist needs a lot more usb power than the typical laptop can offer. The logical solution to this common problem is to add a USB hub to your setup but this seemingly straightforward device can introduce a lot of variables and problems. Should the port be powered? Will it cause latency? Which hubs are good for djing? Will it cause audio drop outs? In this article we will attempt to clear up some of these questions and help you pick the right USB hub for djing.
Stuff we like: Controllerism and Guitars
In the “amazingly rad videos that will inspire you” department comes todays post, in which controllerism and guitars come together in the perfect way. Ironically, we are currently experimenting with adding a similar screen to the left side of the midi-fighter, (prototype and how-to video coming soon). Speaking of the midi-fighter- have you seen the amazing color combos people have been creating? They are sick!
NAMM 2010- Wrap Up Videos
There was a decent amount of new dj gear on display at NAMM so at first it was hard to choose which ones to cover. However, after the tremendous feedback from our first round up post- it was clear what gear you wanted to see. It took longer than expected but our dedicated team dove headlong into the front lines of trade show madness to get an inside look at controllers from American dj, Allen and heath, Serato and others. Read on for all the films and release details for each product.
DJ Z-Trip – What’s In Your DJ Bag?
NAMM is great place to see the latest gear but its also the only spot where you can rub shoulders with a lot of world class artists. This year we caught up with the respected turntablist rocker, Z-trip, to see what he had in his dj bag. Although mr. trip was slightly reluctant to spill all his goods out on the table, he was more than happy to share some sage advice for younger djs around the globe.
check out our first “whats in your bag” with MSTRKRFT
New DJ Products at NAMM 2010
Here is a list of all new products that were released or announced at Namm 2010. There were a lot of interesting developments in the controller world including a 4 channel Serato mixer, the compact APC 20, and a first look at the Xone 2D. Read on for the full list and give us your feedback on which products look the most interesting. Based on buzz, we will create in depth videos and reviews of your favorites and post them tommorow.
NAMM 2010
Well folks, its that time of year again. This weekend is NAMM, the North American Music Manufacturers conference, one of the worlds biggest conventions for music makers and a serious show for the dj business. Every January, almost all of the dj companies from around the globe converge on Anaheim, California to show off their new ideas and share what is in store for the coming year. This year we expect to see a lot of new gear and finally take a peek at some of the big announcements from last year including the mysterious Ableton/Serato joint venture.
Dj TechTools will be your NAMM headquarters for the next 4 days with a solid team of reporters in LA to cover every aspect of the event. On Thursday (the shows opening) we will publish a list of all the new gear and announcements this year around 3pm. Then on Friday we will upload a more in-depth look at our favorite gear with video interviews of the top contenders. On Saturday, I will be showing off our new VCI-100 3.0 mapping at the Vestax booth and we will be shooting videos of other controllerists that are performing this year. Finally on Monday, we plan on putting up a brand new “Whats in your bag” with our favorite artists from NAMM. This looks to be a crazy weekend so if your in LA, come down to check out the show, and for the rest of our readers around the world- stay tuned for the next 3 days!
Remixing Without Stems
Swimming to the top of today’s hyper-crowded pool of talented Djs can be a menacing task. Everyone’s grandma is now djing with auto beat matching software and music blogs are serving up endless supplies of hot tracks that everyone has within a few weeks. In this increasingly level playing field, one of the best ways to set yourself apart from the crowd is to produce custom edits and remixes of popular tracks. You are probably wondering how that might be possible without acapellas or stems (parts of a song). In this article we are going to look at one way to extract stems from a finished song you already have and use those stems to create a custom remix. Continue reading Remixing Without Stems
Convert Serato collections to Traktor
The Traktor team at NI has released a handy software tool that allows Serato users to convert their dj collections, including cue points and loops, into the Traktor format. For many djs, switching or even trying out other software has been impossible with so much time invested into cues and loops that would not transfer. I have previously written that the industry should adopt a universal system of storage so that tracks and collections can be freely transfered between users and systems. This type of a standard would stimulate competition between companies and encourage music creators to distribute feature rich tracks. While a universal standard is a long shot- this new program from NI at least solves a very common problem: Serato users that want to try out the Traktor scratch system.
Reading Wave Forms
Digital djing provides a wide set of tools that make your job better but one of the clearest benefits is the ability to see each songs waveform. A waveform is the play by play visual representation of the sonic action in a track. By watching wave forms you get an effective idea of what is currently happening and what is coming up so smart mix decisions can easily be made on the fly. In this article we will demonstrate the basics of the waveforms and show how 2 of the top dj systems Traktor and Serato enhance that information to make your job even easier.
