The New Pioneer DDJ-S1 (Step Aside Numark)

Merry Christmas readers,followers and fans! It's been a while once again since you've heard from me and I apologize for the long absence. The holidays are upon us and like most, I've been busy with a lot of things.

I hope this season is bringing you lots of joy and prosperity and that you are using that good fortune to bring joy to others. I love DJaying this time of year cause it's such a festive time and people can be so giving! Bless their souls!!!

Well here it is, another new product for you to check out,The brand new "Pioneer DDJ-S1", A strong competitor for the "Numark NS7". However, Numark has released a new NS6 which I intend to speak more on in a future blog. But as you may already know pioneer has an outstanding track record with their other CDJ products (i.e. the CDJ 400s, 800s, and 1000s) this new controller looks like it incorporates their famous CDJ Player but it's not using a CD! Instead they have added "Serato Itch" software to the controller.

Serato (the #1 name in DJ software) is built in and just like the "Numark NS7" all you need is the controller and your laptop. For the price that this is going for (under $1,000) I definitely want to try this out and maybe make it my next purchase. The new NS6 is going for the same price so of course I will need to compare them to one another.

As I mentioned in one of my earlier post, CDs are slowly becoming obsolete and these new controllers are a prime example. For now I'm still using the "B-52 prodigy FX" which allows me to also use my CD's but I keep adding the CDs to my library so I don't have to take as many when I gig, but if you know anything about the prodigy then you know that the effects don't work unless you're playing a CD.

From what I have learned about using "Serato Itch" it will let you scratch right from the software and I'm guessing that this new controller will accommodate that feature. As you see in the video, there are no slots for you to insert a CD so I'm pretty sure they must have taken this into consideration.

So, what am I going to do with all those CDs after they become totally obsolete? Well, I Didn't worry about that with my records and I didn't worry about that when I stopped using cassettes, so I guess it won't be no big deal when all my CDs end up in storage too! Besides, I can always go back to the ones that don't get added to the computer and use them when they become moldy oldies!

So be on the look out for my post on the "NuMark NS6" it will give you my take on the comparison between the two. So until then............ "Stay In The Mix"

DJ Revolution - King of the Bridge

So here's another DMC Champion doing his thing and showing his skills using Serato and Ableton software. It's a bit hard to keep up with (but watching most DMC Champions is) when it comes to what instrument is creating what sound. I couldn't help but notice that the sequencer he's using is by Akai and it looks like the long awaited APC-40. I intend to study this unit a little closer but from what I here him doing on it, I've seen smaller units give you the same effect!(ie, the Traktor X1)

I'm not trying to critique any of the equipment shown here and I certainly don't have anything critical to say about my mans skills. I just want to point out that there are many ways for a DJ to enhance his performance using add-on units. This to me is by far one of the most outstanding performances I've seen in a while! I salute you DJ Rev!

In the mean time I'm gonna keep surfing around the web to see what else I can find on this Akai APC-40(it may be capable of more than I realize from just watching this video)and if so I'll be sure to tell you more about it in another post. So that's going to do it for now but as always........"Stay In The Mix"

The Yahmaha RM1X Sequencer (Still Ranked with the Best)

I know it's been a while since you heard from me and I apologize for the such a long wait to see a new post on this blog. The good news is I've been gigging lately which is why I haven't had time to write any new post. One of the things I love to do is spend time with family and get together to share new ideas!

I have a nephew that I've worked with on a few projects and he and I were together recently for his wedding(Congratulations!)by the way, but we were talking about the Yamaha RM1X which was one of the first sequencers that he purchased and made his first beats on. Since then, he has acquired other beat making machines and studio equippment that were more advanced than the RM1X but he stil talks about the versatility that this machine had in comparison to what he's using now.

I still remember those days in the studio with him laying some guitar riffs over some of the tracks he had made and I was always amazed at the sounds he would find on the RM1X to go along with the story of his song! It was awesome! Maybe I'll download one of his beats to this blog one day. But in the meantime, here's a video of the RM1X in action! I didn't choose this particular video so much for the song as much as I did for the clarity of the video and sound.

I think the person in this video may have been using some of the pre-set sounds found in the RM1X as opposed to creating them himself (it's hard to tell) but anywho, you get to see a nice demonstration of what the machine can do. My nephew traded off his old one but now he's talking about getting another one. And I really can't blame him! We both love what this machine can do....heck, I may even get one myself!

This was just another installment of the many post I'll be running on "Beat Making Equippment" and "Starting your own Studio" Now that my busy season as a DJ is winding down, you'll probably be seeing me post more often again. But for now that's about it. So as always......"Stay In The Mix"

The DJM-T1 (Pioneer teams up with Traktor Scratch)

Just as the Rane mixer incorporates the Serato Scratch Live software, now Pioneer has joined with Traktor Scratch to bring you the new DJM-T1. This mixer has some pretty impressive capabilities that I haven't found on the Rane mixers yet and I think the price may be less. (I'm not sure though) because I haven't found it online yet for a price comparison.

I had a discussion with another DJ at a club not too long ago about which was the better software between Serato and Traktor. Of cource he was using Traktor at the time and he was all for the way it performed plus he told me that it was cheaper than Serato! which is why I believe this mixer may be priced less than the Rane mixer. I still use Serato, but now I'm taking a closer look at Traktor scratch.

The DJ in the video is giving this new product a pretty decent workout and I really like what I see it can do. I just wish I could have seen more of a demonstration using CDJs which is what I usually work with. But all-in-all I'm very impressed with what Pioneer has done. This is a really nice piece of equippment!

That's about it for now and I'll be looking around for the price that this is going for and I'll ad to this post when I find it. So stay cool for the summer and as always "Stay In The Mix!

The Focusrite Saffire 6 USB (Vocal Interface)

Well folks as promised, here she is! Ms Andreya Triana in an ad for the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB Interface. This interface device seems to be getting a lot of attention lately as I found out while surfing around the internet for new and improved studio equippment to write about.

Ms. Triana is not a DJ (that I know of) but she is a new artist that is making her way into the spotlight with her own style of vocals. She is likely to be compared to other artist such as Corrine Bailey Rae and Alicia Keys but I have no doubt that this young lady will end up being recognized as a different kind of artist in her own right.

Now, getting back to the product being featured here. The Saffire 6 vocal interface came to my attention not only because a lovely young lady was featured in the ad, but I wanted to find something that would bring studio quality sound to a live performance. This product claims to be able to do that.

Along with DJaying, I sometime work as a sound engineer for bands and singers. The last band that I worked the sound board for seemed to have a real problem with clarity from their microphones while perfoming live. They had good equippment and good speakers, but the audio was really muddy sounding! This raised a question in my mind, what can be done to correct this? And so began my search for an interface device that would solve the problem. Now, I haven't had the chance yet to try this unit on this particular band yet, but when I go to purchase it I will also be looking for some advice on wether or not this is the right thing to use.

The price seems pretty reasonable (about $250 retail) so even if it doesn't work for them, I may still want to use this in my own home studio. Which by the way, there are some more videos after the main video on building your own home studio (if you're interested)As I said before, while I was sufing I ran into a lot of videos that talked about the Saffire 6 and the comments that went along with them were mostly good reviews.

So when I go shopping again, if another interface device turns out to be a better bargain than this one seems to be you'll probably hear about it in one of my upcoming post. So for now that's about all I have, but remember to "Stay In The Mix"

The Rane TTM57 DJ Mixer (The Search Is Over)

After careful review of several mixers, this is the one that had been most recommended for use with Serato Video SL.


It was a close call between the Rane 68 and the Rane TTM57 as far as which mixer goes best with Scratch Live Video software. Both Rane mixers are designed to run Serato SL1 and SL2 and the new SL Video program. And I must admit that the Rane 68 seems like the easier of the two to use. But the rane 68 is running about $2,600.00 and like I said before that's a bit pricey for your average mobile DJ. You'll save about $1,200.00 by going with the TTM57 but you're still looking at about $1,450.00 even for this model.

Either way you go, you're still going to have to load up your own videos to your iTunes library for it play video and Serato software will do the rest. I like the short video above because it shows the mixer being used with the pioneer CDJ 1000s and like I said before, this will probably be the route I'll take with video mixing.

In one of the videos I watched where the Rane 68 was being used the DJ was loading the video from Serato to his turntable decks and using Scratch Live vinyl to mix and scratch the video. I had to watch it a couple of times to see how he was playing the videos without a CD deck or video mixer. But apparently, once the videos are loaded to your SL Video library they will simply play through your Rane mixer!

Now of course you know hooking up your video monitors and recorders and what-have-you will require an interface device of some kind. Which brings to mind a very interesting interface that's out now and being introduced by a new artist that I found to be very sexy and talented. I'll give you more on the interface device and this new artist in my next blog post!

As with other videos I've posted there are more videos you can watch after the main video ends... and they all offer a little more insight to the TTM57 mixer and Serato Video Scratch Live! If you want to see the Rane 68 mixer in action with Serato Video SL just go to "Youtube" and type in Video Mixing with the Rane 68 DJ Mixer.

So keep on following this blog and I'll be coming back with lots more info on the subject of Video Mixing! And there's plenty more to come!....So until next time..."Stay In The Mix"

The Pioneer SVM 1000 Video Club Mixer

Well I'm back readers with a new post to follow up my stories on video mixing. I've been away on vacation for awhile and couldn't find the time to write any new blogs while I was getting ready for my trip. The Bahama's was beautiful (I hated to leave). But, as promised here's a look at a video mixer made mostly for using in clubs. The Pioneer SVM 1000 which can be used with (of cource) the Serato SL video software.

I don't usually show items this expensive on my blog because I try to stick to the needs of the mobile DJ and the products that will serve their business the best. This unit is going for what I would consider the price of a good used car! About $8,000.00 retail or about $7,000.00 if purchased online. As I mentioned, this is for the most part a club mixer. But as you can see in the video, it's capable of doing some pretty impressive task. I will try to find a more reasonalbly priced video mixer to write about later.

I ran across this product while surfing around looking for more info on the Serato SLVideo software and the type of mixers being used with it. I did see where the Pioneer CDL-2000s were being incorperatated with Scratch Live Video, but the mixers varied from small regular DJ mixers to the more expensive Rane 68 DJ mixers. I chose this video on the Pioneer SVM 1000 only as a means of showing the popularity with Video and Music being used together. And this goes way beyond just Karaoke!

A lot of the effects you see being done in this video, I've discovered can also be done just using the Serato SL video software and your CDJs. Which is probably the road I'll take in order to save money. The point is, getting the most "Bang for your buck" when you're a mobile DJ.  I mean this thing looks like it could weigh about 40 or 50 pounds! And I try to travel as light as possible when I go out to do a gig!

Well, that's about all I have for now but as I said, I'll be back to show some equippment  that's more affordable on some of my future blogs. So as always people..........remember to.........."Stay In The Mix"

DJ Roonie G w/Serato Video SL (Footage from NAMM 2011)

As a follow-up to the last post on Karaoke, here's some video footage from the NAMM 2011 show of a VJ doing some nice mixes with videos!


DJ/VJ Roonie G is doing some pretty impressive stuff here using the the "Serato Video Scratch Live" which I wasn't even aware of until now. I especially like the way he has the teletubbies doing the "Stanky Leg" and the pinguins and Charlie Brown's crew dancing to "Walk It Out" As you can see from this demostration, some innovative stuff can derive from using video with your mix! So even if I'm not hosting karaoke, this type of mix can become a real crowd pleaser!

I'm going to have to dig a little bit deeper to find out what type of mixer or controller is needed for this but as you probably all ready guessed, that'll be another post. In the meantime, I think I'm going to research the "Serato Video SL" software first since I didn't know about it I feel a bit left out. I hope it doesn't run as much as the Serato I already have! That took a nice chunk out of the ole budget. (Ouch!)

So that's it for now but as soon as I find the SeratoVideo SL I'll post it along with the price it's running. Take care of your homework people and as always!..... "Stay In The Mix!"

PCDJ Karaoki Software (More Control,Less Work)

Something that I haven't done a blog on yet, and I should have by now is Karaoke. Seeing as how this is one of the services I provide I suppose a post about it would be in order. As you can probably tell I mostly prefer playing music mixes as a DJ, but as I said Karaoke is a part of the services I do and I must say that I haven't been really keeping up with the changes that this medium has undergone over the past few years. Here we have a new software for your computer called "PCDJ Karaoki" and it's got a lot of functions that my old CDJ Karaoke machine doesn't, plus it's a lot simpler to use.

To be honest, I really thought that Karaoke was something that wouldn't last for very long and I didn't invest a whole lot into it because there wasn't much of a demand for it from the clientele I've been working with (Still isn't when it comes right down to it) but for the cost of just $90.00 for software that can do all this, I think the upgrade is well worth the investment. Of course, I know I would also have to invest in some newer TV monitors and perhaps some projection equipment to go along with this enhancement but hey, I'll worry about that when some request start coming in again for this type of service.

I'm already using my laptop along with Serato Scratch Live software for my music so why not just add another software program for the Karaoke........Brilliant!! I just need to load up my Karaoke library to it ( I hope I can do it from my old machine) and I'll be ready to go when someone wants this service. After all, Karaoke is a lot of fun, it's just not as much fun for me as DJaying and making people dance. In my experience with Karaoke, people usually don't get up enough nerve to try it until after they've had a few drinks! Sometimes....quite a few! and then it just turns out to be a joke (smh) but oh well, my job is to just provide a professional service to my customers.

I know there are a lot of separate controllers used just for running software like this, and after I add the software to my computer, the controller will be the next thing I buy so be looking for some future post on video controllers coming real soon. I watched a couple videos on them already, but it's too early for me to decide on one yet, When you watch the video above, you'll probably want to switch to a full screen view of it to see what he's doing.

Well that's it for this post, but as always............Stay In The Mix!

The Art of Making Beats (Using the Akai Pro MPK 49)

For those of you who follow my blogs, you may remember a post I did on the Akai XR20 where I mentioned that my newest endeavor was to begin making beats. I also mentioned in that post that Akai also makes a keyboard called the MPK49 and that I intended to add it to my studio of beat making devices. Well I've been doing a little research on the MPK49 before I buy it and I ran across this video on youtube of a producer using this very product for one of his projects.

I've also seen several other videos of the MPK49 in action including one that gave the complete overview of the products features. Now I'm totally convinced that I will be adding this to my studio. From watching all the videos though I'm still not sure how well this will work with the XR20 but I chose this particular video from the rest because I like what the end result was better than some of the other videos. I saw a few videos with the XR20 being used also, but I think I'll wait and make my own video of myself using that!

The producer in the video above is a guy that goes by the name "Timepiece" and he has a website where he lets other producers showcase their talent. I don't think you'll be finding me on there anytime soon but I just wanted to give my man his props by saying his video was really inspirational for me! I like what he did in a short period of time on the MPK49! Watch it all the way to the end and you will hear the completely finished product! and it's like Wow!!!
             
So that's it for now and As Always......"Stay In The Mix"

The iDJ Live by Numark (Follow-up to the DJ Mixer for iPad)

This is of cource the follow-up to my previous post on the DJ Mixer for iPad by Algoriddim. Now Numark has come up with a controller to run the Algoriddim software directly while using your iPad. This gives you all the control built into the software without using the touch screen of your iPad! So what's the advantage to having this? Well 1. you don't have to work with the smaller surface space of the iPad and 2. you get actual knobs and jog wheels to move with your hands for a more realistic feel of DJing and of cource, your not touching your screen.

This small and extremely portable unit checks in at a remarkably low price of  $99.00 US and as mentioned earlier, the Algoriddim software is only about $49.00 US. The most expensive part of this set up is the iPad itself and if you already  have one you're more than halfway there. I mentioned in the previous post that a time would come when a DJ could show up at a gig with just an iPad and it looks like Numark is trying to draw us closer to that time. I can't wait to see what else is coming out that's gonna piggy back off this idea.

After you watch the video, you'll see that there are several other video demonstrations for this product and you can best believe that if they're show casing this at Winter Namm 2011 it's about to take off big time! So that's all I have for you so far, but I know this will be followed up by some more stories on products that are expanding on this concept!

So as always............"Stay In The Mix"

DJ mixing for the iPad (Now this is a Sophistocated app)

A while back I did a post on iPad DJing where a guy was using two iPads like two turntables, well this is not the same thing. This app takes that concept to a whole nother level and it only requires one iPad! I've mentioned before how technology has moved beyond the CD to the MP3 and now it appears that it may just take over and eliminate the use of controllers too! I think this concept is going to open the door to fewer and fewer hardware components for DJs in the years to come. Introducing a new way for anyone to DJ ( if they have a mind to do so)  the Algoriddim DJ Mixer for iPad!

It's a new day and a new beginning! This is my first post for the New Year and I wanted it to be my last for the prior year. But as fate would have it, I couldn't get my images and links to come out the way I had intended so I scratched this for being my final post and decided to try again later.

This is a new app for the iPad called DJ Mixer by Algoriddim as you will see in the video link it can do some pretty amazing things. Many of the bells and whistles found on your digital controllers can be found in this app, and even a few tricks that I haven't even seen in "Serato" are on here for your edification. This may seem like a toy to the untrained eye and as much fun as there is built into playing with it it could easily be mistaken for one. But I see this as an opportunity for DJs to create and record their sets in a way that was never made possible before. This is the dawning of a new day! and it won't be long before DJs will be able to arrive at a gig carrying just an iPad (provided the rest of the sound equippment is already there.)

Be sure to check out all the videos attached with this link and you'll see different facets of what this thing can do. Personally, I'm impressed with it and Algoriddim didn't pull any punches when it came to competing with the higher priced controllers on the market today! So here's the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KARq9YU1_B8&feature=player_detailpage  I know you'll be amazed as I was with this! Stay tuned as we're sure to get further developements on this.  That's it for now, but as always......."Stay In The Mix!"