With controllers getting larger these days it can be a challenge to find a quality bag that protects and transports your precious dj gear. The VCi-300 in particular is very popular, but fits very few bags due to its large size. Fortunately several manufactures have been coming out with bags targeted at the midi-controller crowd so there are now several good options on the market. Lets take a look at the field and see which ones hold more promise for the young controllerists out there.
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Archive for April, 2010
VCI-300 Bags Compared
Dj Soundcards for Less Than $200
You may have to decide whether to fill up your gas tank or fill up your belly far too often these days, but luckily, one area where you still get more for your money than you did 2 years ago is technology. Since the last DJ Tech Tools budget soundcard romp in Feb. 2008, 2 Benjamins now gets you a considerably more impressive array of audio interfaces with which to weave your magical musical tapestry. Whether you spin DVS control discs or rock controllers, you have to get your tunes from the computer to the soundsystem somehow. So because those gallons of milk and 87-octane aren’t getting any cheaper, we went shopping for the best DJ soundcard values, and passed the time savings on to you.
iPad Djing- Ready for Prime Time?
Chances are you have heard of Rana Sobhany, the self-proclaimed “first iPad DJ” who is officially “blowing up” after this video started going viral. She has landed a high-end agent, several interviews, and pending gigs after only DJing for three weeks even though it may just be a publicity push for the iPad. We first caught wind of this before Gizmodo picked it up but I declined to publish based on the simple fact that she was not actually doing any DJing and quite frankly, the whole situation was kind of irritating (generally decent grounds for dismissal). The tech press, on the other hand, ran with the story and the resulting discussion has brought up some interesting questions about DJing with the iPad.
Review: Namba Gear Lil Namba Remix Backpack
All traveling DJs need something to carry their gear around in, even if they’re just hoofing it down to the local dive bar for a tune-up set. After hunting for a suitably rugged, comfortable and well-priced bag for my digital DJ endeavors, I finally struck gold with the Lil Namba Remix Backpack. The smaller brother of the Big Namba Studio Backpack, this medium sized, nice-looking gear bag really does the job, and is integral to my setup. If you’re interested in a single gig bag for a laptop/controller/soundcard rig, check out the full review.
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4 Song Cue Point Juggle
On friday we published a reader submitted video, which demonstrated video clip juggling in Ableton Live using a 4×4 grids of buttons. His unique layout inspired me to try a new way of working in Traktor Pro, with 4 deck of cue points triggered on a single controller. The results speak for themselves, this concept is a lot of fun, easy to understand and very expressive. I spent just a few hours working out a basic proof of concept (above), in the hopes of inspiring you to take it further. Read on for the MP3′s and the mapping file from thr video plus information on how you can use them both to win your own Midi-Fighter.
Visual Controllerism
Every once in a while some one sends me a video that is super inspiring and a lot of fun to watch. Today’s video is one of those pieces in which Malaventura takes cue point juggling arrangement to the next level with 2 important evolutions: Multi-track juggles and perfectly synced video content. Read on for more videos and a mapping file for traktor pro.
Tiefschwarz Interview: The Death of Vinyl and Big Labels
The brothers that make up the electro-house duo, Tiefschwarz (“deep black” in German), Ali and Basti Schwarz, started DJing in Stuttgart, Germany in the early ’90s. Since then they have risen from local club promoters to worldwide club culture celebrities. Through it all they witnessed several sea changes in the way that dance music is produced, distributed and DJ’d, yet continue to thrive. On a recent solo stop to San Francisco, Ali Schwarz sat down with Ean Golden to discuss the acceptance of digital DJing, the merits of Internet distribution, the importance of personal style, the questionable necessity of big music labels and the one single constant in the world of DJing: that no matter what happens, it’s always about the music.
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The Power of a Name
Original Illustration by: Frank Sassone
Picking a dj name is probably not high on the list of priorities when your starting out, but its something that could have a big impact on how well your career goes. A big part of djing successfully (in the monetary sense) is developing a brand for yourself. Like it or not, the name you choose will be the first impression people have of your brand- so choose carefully! In today’s article we are going to dive deep into what makes certain brand names work and and what factors you should consider when picking a name for yourself.
Dj Intervention
Its a sunny friday and a short hop to spring so in lieu of anything that requires too much brain power, here is a classic dj video we recently discovered. Watch Part 2 after the break.
New to Serato?…
Being a Dj, event producer and, most recently, a contributing writer to this fine blog, I run into djs on all different levels of experience and expertise. Believe me when I say, when it comes to technology, the two are not directly related. Understanding just a few essential functions in every software will make your sets better. Here are a few things, which if you do not already, you must know in Serato. Trakor and Ableton Essentials are coming soon.
Cable Pizza
My imaginary friend once told me: “setting up DJ gear is like making a pizza; you have the base and the topping.” I thought he was crazy, but he did bring up an interesting point about the headaches of the cables filling the booth like mozzarella cheese. Let’s face it, cabling can be daunting, but it’s something that all professional djs need to know. With a solid understanding of cables, levels and common problems- you can trouble shoot almost any audio issue easily and look like a pro every time. In this article we will cover the essentials you absolutely must know by heart.
