With the emergence of Sync, the DJs workload dropped by at least 50% – freeing up a lot of time to do other things. “Great!” everyone exclaims, “That means DJs can do other more valuable things!” Well what are those things? At times, digital DJs seem to feel the need to do a lot of things when sometimes less is more. Here are 5 examples of ways DJs can add value, and 5 ways they could end up taking it away.
Continue reading Value-Added Mixing: When To DJ More and When To Do Less
Have you ever wanted to mix in a greater variety of tempos into a set but were to afraid to screw up the mix? That is the case for many DJs, new and experienced alike. Dropping songs of different styles and tempos can be scary territory but potentially rich with reward. Now with digital technology we have a wide variety of tools. many of which can help bridge the gap between songs of various tempos while keeping the blend smooth and natural. In today’s article I will cover 5 mix techniques that will help you do just that!
Continue reading Mixing Techniques for DJs: 5 Creative Tempo Changes
Have you ever heard ringing in your ears after a gig? If the answer is yes, then you suffered from temporary hearing loss. Chances are that your ears will recover, but over time this abuse adds up and eventually leads to serious problems – the worst of which could include severe hearing loss and the end of a career. Fortunately there are three simple things you can do to save your ears without changing the way you DJ at all!
Continue reading Save Your Hearing While DJing in 3 Easy Steps
A casual glance up on stage at a major festival or reviewing photos from last night’s DJ gigs will reveal a much reviled trend in DJing: the “Jesus Pose”. Often mocked and debated, the Jesus Pose is frequently seen by other DJs as stupid and predictable, yet they continue to exist. Is it possible that the practice might actually provide some benefit and help make superstars’ sets better? As it turns out, there’s solid science to suggest exactly that.
Continue reading The DJ Jesus Pose: A Joke, Or A Secret Weapon?
Have you recently lost work in Traktor due to program crashes or unkind acts of computer gods? Have you become depressed, despondent or bummed out from forgetting to save your work? Well, you are not alone! Many other DJs suffer from the same clinical problem known as “Traktor Is Missing Autosave”. But wait! Don’t hurl your computer against the wall – we have a solution!
Ableton’s just announced a dedicated control surface for Live called “Push”. After engineering trusted software for years, they now aim to solve an old problem with a new hardware solution: how to make a song from scratch. DJ TechTools attended a private preview of the new offerings last week in Berlin, where Push was described as “a hardware instrument for playing and composing with Live”. Keep reading for a full look at the hardware, including the full video walkthrough from Ableton.
Continue reading Ableton Push: New Hardware Controller for Live
Today we’ve got the full details on the Kontrol Z2 mixer teased a few weeks ago by Native Instruments. As many of you know, I’m a big believer in standalone mixers for serious DJing, so it was a pleasant surprise to find out NI was making a dedicated Traktor mixer. In today’s exclusive video, I walk you through the Z2 and show you some of my favorite features of the mixer and of the new Traktor 2.6 that I used in NI’s launch video that was just released.
Continue reading Traktor Kontrol Z2: World Exclusive Walkthrough Video
It’s DJ Techtools’ birthday this week (Thursday!), and I’m excited to give you all a preview of a new look and feel for the site, including a new personalized section, My DJTechTools. Instead of just a preview, think of this as your chance to get involved and provide us with valuable feedback on what you want from your DJ web community.
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