Not that long ago, it was somewhat far-fetched to expect a DJ to understand custom midi-mapping, let alone do any. These days, with the controller market expanding rapidly, most DJs are aware of the concept and have dabbled with a custom mapping here or there. You probably have discovered that although it is easy to map a button to anything in Traktor, it is a bit more challenging to make the button light up in a meaningful way. This involves understanding the second, lesser-known side of midi-mapping – sending midi OUT messages from the computer to your controller. In this article, Brad Cousins will show you how to control the LEDs on your controller using Traktor Pro, and will provide several excellent examples of how to use this technique, including how to show cue point states with multicolored buttons.
After years of rumors, NI finally entered the fray and released their own dj controller to match the popular Traktor software. While many had hoped for a all-in one dj controller like the NS7, NI disappointed some and pleased others by instead addressing a clear need in the compact controller range. Is the Kontrol X1 a smashing success? Lets dive in and take a closer look.
Connecting dj gear, setting up speakers and re-wireing a booth under pressure can be a harrowing experience. When people are paying you good money to play great music, they also expect the sound to be up to snuff- so understanding connections really well is just as important to DJs as pulling off the latest mixing tricks. In this article we will cover a few connection essentials and expand deeper into the balanced and un-balanced concept.
Last month we started a contest that challenged all of our readers to use the samples from the video above and re-arrange them in their own unique way with any controller. It was my hope that people would be inspired and take the clips to an entirely new level. I am very happy to share the winning entries with you. Several people came up with arrangements and performances that might have even smoked mine!
This year’s NAMM show saw no shortage of big stories from New Zealand-based Serato, who teamed up with Ortofon to announce a “cartridge of unprecedented specification,” the S-120. The news quickly made its way to the Serato forums, and some users were intrigued by a needle that tracked “to levels never before accomplished” yet promoted minimal record wear, while others pledged steadfast allegiance to their trusty M44-7s and Q.Berts. DJ Tech Tools had the pleasure of testing the S-120 Concorde against Ortofon’s DJ Q.Bert and Digitrack, Shure’s M44-7 and Whitelabel, and Stanton’s Trackmaster V.3 to see which produced the strongest, cleanest control signal in Scratch Live 2.0. Can you guess which cartridges produced which scopes above? Check out the results after the jump.
Last month we wrote a DJ Essentials on etiquette explaining some of the core principles to keep in mind when dealing with club owners, DJs and bouncers. Along with a stellar response to the article, we got one email from a sound technician protesting: “Hey, you left us out! Why cant DJs keep levels out of the red!?” Ironically, our article reflects the common feeling about techs and sound levels: we usually forget about them in the face of the clubs more distracting clientele. But wait a sec, we are playing music in a heavily amplified environment – sound quality is important and distortion sounds bad, so why don’t DJs keep levels out of the red? The problem may be more complicated than you suspect.
Hot on the tails of the much talked about Rafik performances comes another NI sponsored Controllerist/Turntablism video. This time its with DJ Craze sporting 2 turntables and an X1 controller. While we are all wary of marketing videos, both of these are excellent routines that should inspire all the young digital djs out there to buckle down and practice like mad. Check out the video and some one on one time with Craze after the break.
With the rise in availability of musical technology (DAWs specifically), more and more producers are surfacing, and more DJs are incorporating production techniques into their workflow. Compression is by far the most used (and therefore, abused) of these techniques, simply due to lack of knowledge of what a compressor does, and how to work one properly. These processors can truly make or break a track or live recording by either giving the music the extra thump it needs, or making it painful to listen to — it all depends on the knowledge the user has. Let’s go through and break down different aspects of compressors, how they interact with each other, and how to integrate them correctly into a production or DJ workflow.
ThudRumble posted a video this weekend of Qbert comparing the scratch response of Serato Scratch to Traktor Scratch. Predictably, there was little real difference between the two systems as both performed really well compared to traditional vinyl. With only a few minor performance differences between the 2 DVS leaders, most viewers were probably still left wondering which system is better for them. Dj TechTools will attempt to tackle that question in this article.
There is a lot of creative ways to use Ableton Live but we have never seen it used as a painting tool! Santiago Luini (aka Zantho) is a TechTools reader and recently started creating pixel art by using Ableton clip colors to paint. You cant help but love their low bit quality and the pain-staking manner in which Ableton is being repurposed in a fun way. Check out a video of him in action and more of his great “clip-work” after the break Continue reading Ableton Art
An iPad pretending to be a full on hardware synth? Has the time come when our beloved hardware is replaced by software? Anybody who has used a software synth is rolling on the ground laughing now but Korg may get the last laugh. They have released a digital version of their much-loved electribe for only 10 bucks, making us wonder how serious is this thing?
So I noticed that there really isn't any type of fancy beer thread(unless I fail at searching) here so I figured I'd ask, whatca drinkin? Winter... […]
Trent Reznor has made stems of songs from the film score available for your personal use. I am a bit fuzzy on what exactly you are allowed to do... […]
