Native Instruments not only released serveral new instruments and updates today but they have also released new effects to be used in your DAW. Firstly they released Traktor’s 12, a collection of Traktor effects that now can be used outside of Traktor. And then there are Reflektor and Rammfire, two effects based on the Guitar Rig 4 Pro engine.
In this brief chat he lets rip about all things 2000, including the brand new DJM-2000 and the CDJ-2000s. Hear how he now organises his music and utilises the incredible functionality and connectivity of the DJM-2000. He explains how he can connect up to four CDJs into the DJM-2000 so that no additional hub is needed and also plug his laptop straight in via USB to use Ableton, not forgetting the touch screen to control midi functions. How the DJ landscape is changing as he explains how his whole DJ set just fits on his key chain. He only carries two 2GB SD cards! James was originally involved this time last year with the seminal Dawn of a New Species campaign that launched the CDJ-2000s, which you can watch here on DJsounds.
Jointly designed by Ableton and Novation, Launchpad places Ableton Live at your fingertips. Whether you’re a DJ, performing musician or studio producer, Launchpad gives you all you need to truly ‘play’ Live. Launchpad is ultra-portable. It is USB bus powered (no need for power sockets), and weights in at just 717gms (one third the weight of a macbook!). With a multi-colour 64-button grid and dedicated scene launch buttons, Launchpad is purpose built for triggering and manipulating clips in Live, it also offers a totally new way of controlling Ableton Live’s mixer.
The microKEY features 37 velocity-sensing mini keys, using the same Natural Touch keybed found on the Korg microKORG XL Analog Modeling Synthesizer/Vocoder and microSTATION Music Workstation. This keybed has been designed with careful attention to the touch and feel. The proportions of the black keys and white “waterfall” keys have been adjusted for optimal playability, and the key touch makes it easy to play chords, glissandos, and rapid-fire phrases. The microKEY accurately conveys the dynamics of your performance to any software package.
Today is the day that Roland released the details of many new products for this year through the Roland Connect website. Amongst others Roland announced a Black AX-Synth, the mobile Juno-Gi synth, a new Octa-Capture audio interface and a software editor for the GAIA synthesizer.
Already present in our Gearjunkies lab in beta edition but now widely available through the iTunes App store is touchAble. A controller app for Ableton Live. touchAble will be discussed more in one of the coming parts of our iPad and music app series.
In support of the Ministry of Sound’s latest release Drum & Bass Arena Anthology they are giving away the parts to DJ Fresh’s recent crossover hit Gold Dust for all budding producers and DJs to remix. The winner will be rewarded with a set of Pioneer HDJ-2000 headphones, a SoundCloud Pro account and an hour live DJ set on D&B TV. The three runners up will receive a SoundCloud Lite account.
Producer Sessions Live is only four weeks away! And our friends at FutureMusicMagazine are gearing up for one of the biggest music-making shows of the year. Ever wanted to ask Dave Spoon which EQ he used on the lead line in At Night? Or pondered the Freemason’s compression settings on Kelly Rowland’s vocal? This is the ultimate opportunity as, over two days, ten famous producers will be presenting live tutorials, taking apart their tracks and giving you the juicy details on how they were made.
Wacom today announces the launch of the second generation of nextbeat – an interface device aimed at professional DJs, that provides a new way of creating and performing music. nextbeat MK2 will be available in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Finland, Romania, UAE and Lebanon from September,10.
The Dutch company Bax-shop.nl has been appointed by Behringer as premium sales partner for the distribution of Behringer products in the BeNeLux.
Together with bands like New Order, Depeche Mode and OMD, YAZOO embraces my love for the Eighties and its music. Twenty plus years on I still think that was the era where music really changed. In this decade music got influenced by the upcoming availability of electronic instruments like the synthesizer and drummachines. To be honest, my love for electronic music started back then and it was one of the reasons I joined Marc and Mark when we started Gearjunkies many years ago. We all love electronic music and the gear you produce it with.
Denon DJ has announced a major performance enhancement to its market leading DN-S3700 direct drive digital media turntable. The firmware upgrade, to both new and existing units, implements MIDI Hybrid mode, enabling the DN-S3700 to also fully control DJ computer software, like Serato(TM) Scratch Live, from its control surface, including its unique 9″ direct drive vinyl control platter.
Does it ever get easier than dragging and dropping a few files and have a full, pro-played drum track to an entire song laid down in virtually a minute? For any songwriter or musician, be it the professional or the enthusiast, the answer is of course no!
Muse Research has announced a major overhaul of their Plugorama website, which supports their RECEPTOR 2 line of dedicated hardware plug-in players. Plugorama.com is a resource for both pre- and post-sales assistance with RECEPTOR 2, providing registration, upgrades, software package options, and technical support all in one convenient location. The company has spent several months redesigning the site to provide a much-improved customer experience, regardless of your purpose for visiting the site. The company also announcing new software bundles at low prices, new premium support packages for customers, and lower prices across-the-board for people looking to purchase a RECEPTOR 2.
VJ Fader is a visual designer who expresses music through interactive video performance art. As a leading force in the advancing VJ movement, he continues to design original content, develop custom software using Processing and Max/Msp/Jitter, and build touch screen interface (faderTouch) to sculpt immersive audio visual environments.In this video VJ Fader demonstrates a dynamic DJ setup using Traktor Pro, faderTouch (portable touchscreen) and TriggerFinger (MIDI Controller). In the mix, John Tejada, Deadmau5 and Plastikman.