The birth of great things often go unnoticed until many years later when those great things are held responsible for changing history. March 31st, 2008 was the birth of one such great thing that has, from the start, changed the digital DJ community forever. That great thing is the DJ TechTools forum, which celebrated it’s third birthday on Thursday. Today the forum hosts over 35,000 members that are constantly breaking important DJ news and helping other members get more out of their journey through DJing. To commemorate this special day, we are looking back at the past and the people that helped make the forum what it is today.
Archive for March, 2011
Brand New Dj TechTool’s Traktor Kontrol S4 Bag
Today we are proud to announce the release of a brand new product in our exclusive online DJ store. Even though the Traktor Kontrol S4 was released 6 months ago, the market still has not produced a bag designed for the s4 at a reasonable price. Tired of waiting, we decided to produce one ourselves with the help of DJs around the world. After 3 months of extensive testing, the resulting product is a bag we are extremely proud to sell. It’s light, strong, easy to carry and looks like a million bucks. Continue reading for a full video intro and more photos of this amazing looking product!
Continue reading Brand New Dj TechTool’s Traktor Kontrol S4 Bag
Super Power Your Laptop with a SSD Double Swap!
My Dual Core, Dual 2.4 GHZ Macbook is a pretty powerful DJ laptop, but even that powerhouse has started taking a dump over the past 6 months. The problem is caused by 2 main culprits. First, more tracks every week means the 250 gig hard drive is always maxed out. Last, the system drive (that same drive) is dragging its sorry butt and taking forever to process data.
The good news is that a close friend offered a clever way to solve both of those problems with one simple upgrade that costs anywhere from $250-$600. We would replace my CD drive with a 250 Gig SSD hard drive (this would become my super fast system drive) and then swap out the old drive for a 750 gig standard drive (3 X the music space!) which would house all data. In today’s article, Dj TT called up a professional IT specialist to show everyone how to perform the same mod yourself and super power any laptop into the ultimate DJ data machine.
Continue reading Super Power Your Laptop with a SSD Double Swap!
Novation Slicer
Our forum is ablaze with information about a new controller they are guessing might be called the “Novation Slicer” for Serato Itch. As you probably suspect, I know a bit more than the general public, but we want to stay in the good graces of Novation’s lawyers. Many months ago, Dj TechTools worked with Novation when I designed the now ubiquitous dicer that is very popular in Serato Scratch circles. So, without giving away too many of the kings secrets, here are the facts that are public and a few that are not.
DIY Gridbox: Acrylic Cases for the Monome-inclined
In a world teeming with knobs, buttons and faders, the possibilities of customized musical interfaces seem endless. Many a feverish inventor has spent sleepless nights doodling, dreaming and drawing out their dream device. And yet at the end of that night, your custom controller is just a heap of wires and plugs without an enclosure. And while there are many internet merchants who are keen to sell you all the electronics you want, you may find yourself left to your own devices when it comes to boxing it all up. Well, never fear. Creating your custom enclosure can be done, and we’re here to tell you how to do it using acrylic and a simple CNC. Come with us, as we step through each aspect of the fabrication of an acrylic case for one of the most straightforward monome-clones, the arduinome.
Continue reading DIY Gridbox: Acrylic Cases for the Monome-inclined
USB3 and Thunderbolt: What do they mean for DJing?
When it comes to connections, USB 2.0 has ruled the roost for years. Firewire, despite its superior specs when it comes to audio, has failed to gain a real foothold in the world of DJ audio interfaces; the ubiquitous nature of the USB port has dictated the decisions of the market. USB 3.0 was quietly released to little aplomb more than a year ago, and Apple recently showed off the inclusion of an entirely new technology inside their latest MacBook Pros: Thunderbolt. Is your audio interface still safe, and for how long? Are there any more opportunities provided by these new technologies?
Continue reading USB3 and Thunderbolt: What do they mean for DJing?
Create Amazing Build Ups (Part One: Beat Roll)
Today we kick off a two part series on creating amazing build ups with effects. In the video above I cover four different ways to use the beat roll function – a common effect in most DJ software, for various creative results. Next week we’ll move over to the common echo and explore several ways to introduce it for big build-ups and drama. As with all effects, this one can be seriously overused, but when tastefully applied, well timed beat rolls can add a lot of spice to your live sets. Continue reading Create Amazing Build Ups (Part One: Beat Roll)
Porter Robinson – What’s In Your DJ Bag?
Porter Robinson is an 18 year old from North Carolina who is concurrently finishing his senior year of high school, and touring the world with famous DJs like Skrillex and Tommy Lee. Very few people in the electronic music scene had heard of him until just a few months ago when Porter’s first single “Say My Name” dropped, and almost overnight DJs like Paul Van Dyk and David Guetta were playing his songs before he ever stepped foot in a night club. Continue reading for more info on Porter and a free download of his hit song: “Say My Name”
Mix Techniques: Blending Swings
Today we follow up last month’s successful article on dancing with a more in-depth look at mixing various types of rhythmic styles together. In the video above, I go into detail on recognizing swing differences and then five techniques to smoothly and effectively switch between different rhythmic styles in both house and hip-hop. The mapping used in the video is our Midi-Fighter deckalized layout for Traktor Pro and is available as a free download here.
Behind the Scenes With Joachim Garraud
Today we introduce a new series called “Behind the Scenes”, which takes a inside look at the technology top DJs rely on during their sold out shows around the world. In this episode, we have a nexclusive video from Joachim Garraud, the French producer and DJ who works with top names like David Guetta, David Bowie and many more. Joachim has been embarking on a killer “Invasion” tour and really pumping up audiences with a totally unique Serato video set that includes custom animation sequences timed to his live keytar performance. Continue reading for a full video on the technology behind his sets and a look at the tour itself.
Continue reading Behind the Scenes With Joachim Garraud
S4 Flight Case Review
With so many S4′s flying off the shelves and traveling around the world, many people have been looking for a solid way to protect their investment. Fortunately, Native Instruments produced a flight case to fit the S4 perfectly but you are probably wondering if it’s any good. Well, to save you a trip to GC or an expensive online purchase, our very own DJ PC3 has put together a nice little video review about the NI Traktor S4 flight case. If you’re interested, check out all the stats after the break or pick up your own case right in our store while they are still in stock!
Ableton/Serato Bridge: The Verdict
The Bridge is the result of a partnership between Ableton and Serato to create a way of interfacing their Live and Scratch Live products. The concept has been out for around six months, but it’s fair to say the concept has not yet really set the world on fire. A lot of resistance is based around the notion that maybe you CAN connect Ableton Live and Serato Scratch Live, but why should you? Well, as much as fervent defenders of their favourite software will assert that what they use is the perfect solution, some software is just more suited to certain tasks than others. Scratch Live is one of the best Digital Vinyl Systems on the market, whilst Live is ideally suited to live production and on the fly remixing. Is pairing the two a marriage made in heaven?
