D.J.? Who says so?

I just had to run this post that I found on scratchworx posted by Gizmo back in May. This topic drew all sorts of comments from D.J's all over the country and I thought some of them made a lot of sense. This is a hot topic and I'm sure you have probably heard this before if you DJ or you know someone in the business.
Since the dawn of the day the first popular digital DJ product hit the scene, a unified cry of "Fake DJs" has reverberated from the generation being replaced by said shiny new technology. Vinyl DJs dissed CDJs and DVSs, who in turn heaped hate upon controllerist, who are all ganging up on anyone who dare to use an iPad to play a tune to a crowd. But dispite the basic principle of a DJ being the same - playing tracks one after another to keep the crowd on the dancefloor - subsequent generations are looked down upon from an ivory tower for daring to use anything new.

Let me pose some examples:

• A truly gifted turntablist can be pulling amazing tricks but be clearing the dancefloor with each flarey click they perform. Are they a DJ?

• A coked up Jesus posing VIP can be miming knob twiddles to a premade mixtape yet filling a stadium. Are they a DJ?

• DJ Dave Doubledecks can be spinning Cher and Bruce Springstein on their iPod mixer to a floor full of wedding revellers. Are they a DJ?

• A bedroom DJ who only mixes and scratches for their own enjoyment without ever playing to more than a few mates in their room. Are they a DJ?

There seems to be a feeling that technology defines the DJ. But the irony of skratchworx is that despite pushing nextlevelness under your nose, it's all rather useless in the wrong hands. For me, a DJ is defined by their music choices, knowing what to mix and when and their technical skills in doing so, and most definitely not the gear they use or the format they spin. There are notable cultural exceptions of course, but generally speaking technology doesn't make you a DJ. Knowing your music and your crowd however does.

So the fact remains that there are all kinds of DJs playing with all kinds of technology and music old and new, and yet floors are still filled and all these different styles of DJs keep getting gigs. So all of them are "real DJs" right?

You can read some of the replys to this topic on the skratchworx post dated May 30,2010 by Gizmo.(there were way too many) for me to include in this post and I had a little trouble trying to decide which one's were the best. But as I said this is a hot topic. So that's it for now, but as always "Stay In The Mix."

A New Toy That Slices and Dices (I'm Not Talking Veggies)

As ever, closely guarded technology secrets are leakier than BP's oil pipes. Such is the case with Novation's new MIDI controller. Rather than being a controller that DJs seem to adopt, Dicer is aimed directly at DJs, and quite specifically Scratch Live DJs using Technics turntables.

So what is Dicer? Well it's a 2 part high quality plastic and rubber buttoned MIDI controller - one for each deck - that are daisy chained via a minijack cable. There's even provision for a Kensington lock, because if it ain't nailed down someone will attempt to relieve them from you for sure.

Out of the box they have 3 mapped functions: hot cues, auto loops and loop rolls, each of which is accessible via the 3 preset buttons. When each is selected, the buttons change colour to match so you know which mode you're in.

They sit very happily in the 45 adaptor slot on your Technics, but the peg unscrews from the Dicer leaving you to sit it in whatever space you choose. This could be in the corner of a deck, or on the faceplate of a mixer for example. And while the units do have rubber feet, they also supply some really aggressive black putty to keep the controllers in place. My Numark TTXs for example have curved surfaces, but with the putty they stay in place.

Price wise, Dicer is priced at about $99.99. Granted it's a little more than the Korg and Akai controllers, but it's designed to integrate better with turntables. You'll just have to decide if it's for you or not.
And just so you know, Dicer used to have 6 buttons which explains the name.

Until next time, "Stay In The Mix"
(Taken from Scratchworx)Posted by Gizmo June 3, 2010)

It Doesn't Take Rocket Science.....Or Does It?

This post won't be about any particular piece of equippment that I'm showcaseing, Instead, I'd like to introduce another outstanding DJ who's doing more than just making a name for himself in the DJ business. He's making world news because of the fact that he is also an engineer for N.A.S.A.

I learned about D.J. Scientific while surfing through blogs one day on Google. As soon as I read his blog page and story I sent him a friend invite on Facebook which he accepted. When you go to his link at http://scientificbeats.com you will learn all there is to know about the man "D.J. Scientific" here is a short excerpt from his profile.

THE DJ
DJ Scientific is a truly unique individual. He is a powerful young man in that he has craftily combined street knowledge and book smarts in order to achieve the success that he envisions for himself and in order to give back to his community. He has sharpened his DJ skills for the past 20+ years (since Jr. High school) and is arguably one of the best DJs in the game. He is also one of the smartest players in the business.

Not only has Scientific flexed on the 1-and-2 at places like the NFL Super Bowl for the past five years, as a guest DJ in the “Bassment” with Big Tigger on BET’s “Rap City” on four separate occasions, and weekly at the #1 nightclub in the nation (Dream nightclub in DC); he continues to hold down his career as an Aerospace Engineer (aka “Rocket Scientist”) at the world’s premiere space agency, NASA!!


So that's it for now! and as Always, "Stay In The Mix"

Dance or Watch? What Do You Do At The Party ?

When It comes to DeeJaying a party, some DeeJays seem to want to see you dance and some seem to make you want to watch what they are doing. I prefer to make my audience want to dance. But, as I mentioned in my blog on "Love It Or Leave It Alone" any properly recorded mix can make a crowd want to dance, but what does that say for the raw talent of the DeeJay?

Here I have given you a brief glimps of five time world champion D.J.Craze using the Traktor Kontrol X1 with his mixer and turntables. A very impressive demonstration (if I have to say so myself) but as you listen, you have to ask yourself will this kind of performance rock a party? or will it just make people look on in awesome wonder? Can anyone dance to this? I don't think so.
Don't get me wrong, I think talent like this is essential to keeping the art of DeeJaying alive and worth paying for, but we also need to remain focused on what the people want which is a rhythm that will make you move. I love the talent that both D.J. Craze and D.J. Rafik display on the turntables and it's this kind of talent that made them both world champion DeeJays I just love it more when this kind of talent is also used to make a crowd wanna dance!

With all that being said, I'd like to point out the controller being used which is by Native Instruments. It's the Traktor Kontrol X1 which is a very verstile piece of equipment for DeeJays It has all the control capabilities found in the Stanton SCS.3 "DaScratch" and then some. Both will require some dedicated hours of practice before you can produce anything even close to what these guys are doing with it.

The price for this unit is also comparable to the Stanton controller so it becomes just a matter of preference between the touch pad or actual nobs and buttons. They both make an excellent addition to any DeeJay set up.

So that's about it for now, but as always, "Stay In The Mix"

The Turntable...Reborn

The Turntable, Evolved

V7 is the turntable for today’s DJ. V7 delivers outstanding feel and unprecedented power in a single-platter digital DJ controller. V7 is based around the acclaimed adjustable torque, motorized-platter design from Numark's NS7 and delivers a host of professional features including real vinyl and a slipmat that analog turntablists will love, plus turntable control at ten times the resolution of standard MIDI, mouse-less library navigation, and Strip Search virtual-needle drop. V7’s link function enables you to combine two V7s with your choice of any mixer and your Mac or PC for a completely customizable, totally seamless performance environment.

V7 includes a professional 24-bit audio interface and contains premium faders, knobs, and buttons including controls for selecting tracks and blending audio effects in the included Serato ITCH software.

SERATO ITCH SOFTWARE
V7 comes with Serato ITCH. For one-to-one communication, each knob, button, and control on V7 corresponds exactly to that function in the software. Serato ITCH is already familiar if you use Scratch LIVE. ITCH builds on Scratch LIVE and adds some key, new features. ITCH makes timecode a thing of the past, so you won’t need to worry about needles skipping or vinyl wearing out. You can load your Scratch LIVE crates, loops, presets, and cue points seamlessly in ITCH. V7 also works with most other compatible MIDI DJ software and supports your iTunes library.

With natural vinyl feel, precise control, pristine sound, custom flexibility, advanced performance, and rock solid design, the turntable has evolved. Meet V7.

For those of you that may have been thinking the Numark NS7 was a bit too pricey, this is the answer. Just one of these digital turntables works like two and you can use your own mixer! You save hundreds of dollars by going this route and you can achieve the same result you get with the NS7.

You gotta love Numark for doing this one. Write to me and let me know what you think.
And that's it for now so as always "Stay In The Mix"

Love it or Leave it Alone...Is this the end of DJaying as we know it?

Philips Executive 30-Watt Micro Speaker System with iPod Dock (Black/Silver)
I never would have thought that I would be saying this, especially since my newsletter is centered around introducing the latest audio equipment being used today by D-Jays and anyone who's into music. But I can't help but wonder is technology moving so fast that it's wiping out the need for our profession as D.Js? I have to admit that I'm impressed with some of the things they're doing with MP3s and the new docking stations that are being made for them, but I'm not sure if this is helping my profession or hurting it!

Case in point, you have the new Phillips Stereo System (shown above) for iPods and the iPhone. This unit combines a docking station for your MP3 player, has a built-in CD player and has a sound that can easily fill a small room (and the room doesn't have to be that small). Now you might ask, why would a D.J.show up at a party with something that looks like this? Well the answer is, with something that sounds like this... Who needs a D.J? and yes, I have seen systems like this, (some even smaller)sitting on a table over in a corner somewhere at parties I've been to. And believe me, when I first walked in, I thought they had a D.J.

Over the years I've seen the transition from 8-tracks, to cassettes, to CDs and now to MP3s and I already know it's not gonna stop there! Bringing music to a venue has now become as easy as plugging in a simple hand held device into a broadcasting system that your 3 year old son can fetch for you! I'm just totally outdone! So I guess I could climb on board with everyone else and start using this sort of thing myself, but if everyone has some form of this technology, why would they want to pay me for using it?

I suppose the talent and showmanship that some D.Js put into their performance is still something that can't be replaced with an iPod (so far) and people still want more than just the music for certain types of affairs. So I guess we'll be hanging around for a little bit longer (whew!! I hope!) But I'll continue to look into the products being made just for D.Js and I will continue to share with you how that's working for us.

So until next time, As Always - Stay-In-The-Mix!

DJ Fly DMC World Champion Turntabalist

When ever I run across a video of what I think is an outstanding performance by a DJ, I try to share it with my readers. This is one that I found to be very interesting not only because of the skillful use of the turntables, but the fact that this guy is not using any headphones or software and he still seems to know where every beat is on the two records he's mixing. This looks like it took some long hours of practice but the result was well worth it. So sit back and enjoy the awesome skill of World Champion D.J. Fly!



The gold set up he's using made it all the more fascinating! I hope you enjoyed watching. So until next time, Stay In The Mix!