Don't Fret, Just Fade. . . Again

I'm often amazed at the left field thinking that comes out of the addled minds of DJs. And while manufacturers often cater to the lowest common denominator in a bid to make money, the cleverest ideas often remain in the realm of ultra niche. Here's the latest video for JohnBeez's fretless fader - the device that lets you play notes via MIDI with your fader - and cut at the same time.

Taken from the Youtube page:

What up... I'm working on the actual design of the Fretless Fader that will be for sale later on. I don't have a specific timeline for when that will happen, but I'll let y'all know when I know. This will not be a modified mixer, but a standalone product that you can use with or without your regular DJ mixer. I'm trying to include as many features that have been suggested as possible.

As I said before, this is ultra niche. I don't see mix DJs flocking towards it in a bid to enhance their sets, but for more creative scratchers, this is a viable and in many ways better alternative to the Vestax Controller One shown in the clip. While it is harder to perfect the technique, at least vinyl movement, fader movement and note change can be achieved with 2 hands. And you'll only need a PDX-3000 to achieve the same thing as well. Perhaps if any manufacturer decides to give a deck a revamp, they might consider adding MIDI as well - God knows it's trendy enough these days.

Obviously, this isn't for everyone, but you have to admire the tenacity of a guy who will firstly come up with such an idea, but also have the skills to take it to such a finished level. Double thumbs up from me, and I hope this homebrew does make it to a finished commercial product.

Once again thanks Scratchworx for the post and video. And as always,"Stay In The Mix"