25 years of spinning discs should be enough for most people but many still think all aspects of djing should be done from a turntable. While we respectfully disagree, these smart folks from the university of Ulm have created a software program that allows you to search through your songs visually using time coded vinyl and projections on the turntable.
Nathan Ramella, who is known for his work on the unofficial Ableton live Python API, has come up with something that is sure to shake the very fabric scratching as we know it today. Ammobox promises to finish the transformation of the turntable from a utility device to musical instrument by converting control vinyl signal into midi like values. Using his software in conjunction with Reaktor 5 allows you to take those values and scratch multiple samples at once or scratch a stream of pre-sequenced samples layered on each top of each other. You can even quantize and record the results to quickly “scratch” in notes of a song on the fly. Imagine a scenario where you have pre sequenced a set of well known drum samples and you build a beat from scratch by layering in each sound at a time.
Native Instruments has a impressive record in the software department but their hardware products have less of a history. So when the audio 8 was released many months ago, I was speculative, and held off giving it a try due to the fact that I had already identified several good sound card options. One thing that remains elusive though, is a reasonably priced, high quality sound card that supports direct phonograph inputs. With more and more people using Ms. Pinky, Deck a Dance and tools for Ableton Live time code control, Phono inputs are a good thing to have around.
All those beautiful adverts you see for controllers and music gear always show the shiny devices floating freely in a wonderland of white space and light. Once you actually get the thing home you’re faced with using it in on a real-life table filled with cables, cups of tea and other pieces of electronic junk. I like to keep my laptop front and center instead of to the side, so mixing involved a lot of leaning over a table for extended amounts of time. There had to be a better way, so I started looking around for the ultimate laptop stand.
Even after our popular dj bag discussion, I was still searching for the perfect bag for my VCI-100 because after a few international trips I had ruined the pitch faders by not storing the VCI in a good enough bag. The guys at AMS suggested the UDG producer bag and were kind enough to send us one to check out. It looks like the perfect Dj bag for taking a VCI-100 or other small controller on planes but lets see if I ruin another set of pitch faders this summer in europe…..
The pitter-patter of excited chatter has been bouncing across cyber space about a new Dj device called the “pacemaker”. This hand-held player is essentially what everyone wished the I-Pod could do but with more realistic dj controls. Unfortunately it will set you back more than $700 and to be honest, I wonder if anyone will even enjoy using it. Most djs like twisting knobs because it taps into our male psyche in such a powerful way. I just cant see anyone really replacing knobs unless they do so with the one shape we enjoy playing with even more- the phallus. Need proof? Go to your local guitar shop.
Although the non-dj press is raving about how much they love the concept, ”An amazing gadget, this could be one of the biggest hits- Simon Perry, Digital Lifestyles” , it remains to be seen if djs will embrace it. Lately the target market of most digital dj devices seems to be squarely aimed at the bedroom consumer and weekend warriors as they correctly assume that market has the most buying power. While the economics of these designs is intelligent they fail to take into account that this group tends to look to the professional users for purchase guidance. Make a product that is good enough for the pros but cool enough that everyone wants to buy it and then you will have a truly successful offering. To their credit the creators of pacemaker have obviously put a lot of thought and intelligent design into a small package but we are curious to see who will end up using it.
This thing is so cool. There, I did it; I gushed at a pro-sumer iPod DJ gadget. Having been deeply involved in digital DJ technology for the past five years, sometimes things get so techy that we forget in the end it’s all about music. The iDJ2 seems to step aside, give you just what you need to mix and let you enjoy playing music. Several times I completely forgot that I was writing a review and just really enjoyed mixing two tracks together. For a DJ that learned the ropes on vinyl more than a decade ago, that was very refreshing. If you want to cut, scratch, beat juggle and drop insane loops and effects, then the iDJ2 is not for you. However, if you just want to seamlessly blend together your digital music collection without needing a laptop, your search may be over.
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