Archive for the 'Equipment' Category
The Great Debate: Sync
You knew I was going to dive into this topic.
I started with the discussion over media, but now I want to stop beating around the bush and go right into the bigger point of debate that has been endless for a few years now - the sync button. A mainstay of most DJ software titles, with improvements being pushed on every update, it's a function that's become the black sheep child of DJ midi controls, and yet while many admonish its existence, many more are using it, even if they won't admit to it.
Is it cheating as some DJs insist? Or progress? Down the rabbit's hole we go...
The Great Debate: Media
With the 2012 National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show this weekend, I'm reminded many times of the endless debate that the technological progress in DJ equipment has brought. If any of you have been following the advancements over the years, you'll of course notice how much the laptop has become a mandatory part of most DJ setups, and even analog media (vinyl records and CDs) being pushed out for digital media (MP3, Flac, WAV, etc.). On top of that, midi controls have now become even more widespread and it's pretty clear they will push CD players and vinyl turntables out.
Probably from the birth of the CDJ, I've been hearing this debate to death. Even more now with the advent of digital technology and software-based DJing. I can't go one week without seeing a Facebook posting, YouTube video, or blog entry from someone lamenting on how DJing has taken a nosedive because of the decay of analog vinyl or the onslaught of software and midi.
Review: Torq 2.0
Avid's redesign and release of Torq 2.0 at the recent Winter NAMM became a breath of fresh air and hope for many a beleaguered user of the DVS title. The recent year without updates or even good communication nearly brought an end to the small, but loyal fan base of devoted users. Now with Torq 2.0, Avid continues work on the process of rebuilding the brand and placing a good contender to battle it out with leaders like Serato and Traktor.
Review: Midi Fighter
Midi controls are becoming more and more popular in the DJ spectrum with their compact size and creative dimensions, and San Francisco-based company DJTechTools is taking it one step further with the Midi-Fighter.
The Midi-Fighter is a very simple midi control consisting of sixteen arcade-style buttons on it. Yes, the very same kind of buttons you might have used to blast aliens in Space Invaders or hurl fireballs at M. Bison in Street Fighter. One might wonder why they would obtain such a control for DJ functions, but I say "why not?"
Review: Platinum Notes
Any DJ who has dealt with MP3s has seen this happen. You get some new promo, a freebie from someone, or even purchase a track off a web site, and you find out it sounds terrible. No, not the idea that the track itself is bad, but more the sound quality. Too low, too high (with distortion), badly EQed, flat sound, bad mastering basically.
We are in the age of the bedroom producer. Millions of kids out there are cranking out electronic music at a record pace in their bedrooms, and we as DJs have to sift through the loads of great ideas that come out, but were badly executed.
Thankfully, the gang at Mixed In Key came up with a solution - Platinum Notes.
Review: Mixed In Key
Every year, technology makes the world of the DJ far more outgrow the simpler days of two turntables and a mixer. The quest for perfect sound in a mix has lead to what is seen as a new trend in Harmonic Mixing. The idea of not just matching beats or even phrases of music, but now making your mixes harmonically sound.
This idea is not new though. Back in the day many DJs would mark on their records or put labels on the sleeves telling of what key their tracks were in. I still see some do it even today. Some remix services even provided this information for club DJs in order to maintain a good sound.
