Funky House DJ | Paul Velocity

Mar032010

Fedde le Grand Launches iTunes App

Dec192009

Limited Edition Piano Black CDJ-400 and DJM-400 Released

Introducing the new-look CDJ-400-K and DJM-400-K: flexible, affordable, performance-packed tools that will soon be available in a limited edition format.

These feature a sleek piano-black finish, and are complemented by a cool blue illuminated LED design for both models.

This presents a striking variation on the now well-established 400 series, and enables DJs to tailor their colour design to their individual style.

The new 400-K set-up will only be available as a special package (that’s dual CDJ-400-Ks and a DJM-400-K) from late November 2009 at the special suggested package price of £1700 (inc. VAT) and includes a limited edition PRO-440FLT-B blue and black flight case.

CDJ-400-K Main Features

• Versatile USB-friendly digital media playback
• Full MIDI control via USB – without a control disc
• Innovative Scratch Jog Effects

DJM-400-K Main Features

• Dynamic digital system sports 96kHz/24-bit sampling
• Wide range of high-quality Beat Effects
• Three-band isolator, separately equipped for each channel

Article source

Jul142009

DJ Hero PS3 XBOX360 Wii

Following on from the phenominal success of Guitar Hero, Activision and FreeStyleGames are soon to be releasing DJ Hero across all the major platforms later on this year.

The gameplay is said to be very simmilar to that of the current ‘Hero games, but this time you get to utilise the custom made DJ turntable controller.

Instead of “Star Power” there is “Euphoria Button” which I think is far too close to the virtual equivelant of munching a disco biscuit.

I really hope that the gameplay will not suck donkey dick as there could possibly be a lot of potential for this game. I think its a bit balanced on a knife edge and depending on how good the game is, I reckon it will fall to one of the extremities of either love it or hate it.

Collaborations with DJ Shadow and Daft Punk have helped to shape the audio of this game so I would hope that a bit of thought has gone into it.

But judging by its looks, the fact that the manufacturers have used a vinyl representation instead of a CD turntable just rings one too many alarm bells.

Here’s a video of the DJ Hero game in action. Please let me know your thoughts. And if you want to you can pre-order DJ Hero on Amazon.

Jun152009

Live Video Remix Demo

Hat tip to @deplorableword via @si

Apr252009

Getting Started with DJ equipment

It’s all too easy to forget where you first started out as a DJ. That transition from just having a dream of being a DJ to the realisation is quite a step and there are still people out there that want to make their mark on this world as a top DJ.

There are even people out there that used to DJ vinyl, then gave it up for a while perhaps sold their decks and are now looking to get back into DJing using CDs but don’t know where to start.

Someone got in touch with me asking what DJ equipment they should buy and it got me thinking that perhaps I should compile a quick rundown of some of the essential bits of kit for any DJ looking to make a career out of what the love to do.

First up - CD turntables. It all really depends on your budget. If you can, grab yourself a pair of these:
Pioneer CDJ-400. All the technical info is on the web page, but the thing I like most about this turntable is you can plug a USB flash drive in the top of it and play straight from that!! No more lugging vinyl boxes around and detatching your arm socket, you can just carry your set around on a flash drive. Awesome! Plus you get loads of cool effects built in to it too. Great for the price.

Or for CD turntables, there is always the the industry standard: Pioneer CDJ1000 MK3. Check out the videos on this site too. Brilliant stuff.

So now you have your CD players, you want to look at getting yourself a decent mixer. My favourite of all time by far has to be the Pioneer DJM600. I find it in all the clubs I play at so if you want to get back into the swing of things, working on one of these will make you fammilliar with 90% of club set ups.

Keep yourself comfortable at all times and get yourself a decent table to work on too. Practicing your DJing skills at home when in cramped conditions is a nightmare and it really does affect you psycologically. With a Sefour X30 DJ Table you will find a space for all your crap and you will find mixing a lot more easier and enjoyable.

As for headphones, there simply is no contentest. A pair of Sennheiser HD25 mk II’s will see you right. They are phenominal! I have had mine for about 4 years and they have never broken or let me down at all. Great sound and bass reproduction plus they cancel out all other background sound and are extremely comfy even after long DJ sets. Plus, even if they do break, each and every single part is replaceable.

Not the most comprehensive list of DJ mixing equipment that is available out there, but these are some DJing essentials that I would highly reccomend.

Apr022009

Pioneer HDJ-2000 Competition

To celebrate the launch of the first release in the brand new Hed Kandi series “Nu Disco”, Hed Kandi are teaming up with Pioneer Pro DJ to offer a treat to all of their fans.

Their web site says “Up for grabs are FIVE pairs of fantastic HDJ-2000 headphones for you to win along with a copy of the Nu Disco album”… but what you would want with five pairs of headphones I don’t quite know

To be fair, the Pioneer HDJ-2000 headphones are a great piece of kit. They look good, are comfortable and produce a great sound which are three of the main things that I look for in a pair of cans.

The HDJ-2000 have a flexible lightweight swivel/fold design which means you can stuff them in your bag a bit easier without them snapping. They’ve even got some of that memory foam stuff for the ear cup padding! Quality!

Anyway, if you want to get your filthy mitts on a pair, why not enter their competition here: http://beta.hedkandi.com/Competitions/Pages/PioneerHDJ2000_competition.aspx

Mar152009

DJ On Your iPhone

No, this is not a joke or a toy, this is the real deal. Now all you Apple iPhone lovers out there can throw your set together in the mix using this funky little app from iTM DJ.

The app is a digital DJ controller and will run with programmes such as Traktor, Serato or indeed and midi enabled application.

You get a 2 track mixer with faders, gain knob, headphone level, 4 eqs, 4 fx, loop and sync buttons, track control buttons plus a load panel for track selection.

Simply run the software (Mac and PC versions available) on your laptop, turn on Wifi in the app and also on the iPhone, create a wireless network between the two… and that’s it. The iTouchMIDI app will now appear as a MIDI interface in your DJ programme where it will receive MIDI messages wirelessly from the iPhone.

Technology. It’s mad isn’t it?

More info: http://www.djtechtools.com/2009/02/18/itm-djiphone-midi-for-djs/

Jan052009

Hobnox | Become a Producer Online

I’ve stumbled across this funky little tool for online music production. Its made by the people at Hobnox and is a completely free online music production experience.

You can find this tool at http://www.hobnox.com/index.1056.de.html and its essentially an online sequencer rack allowing you to experiment with different sounds.

There are hundreds of buttons and knobs to twiddle with and if you create anything half decent, you can record it and save it to listen to again. Detailed information can be found here http://www.hobnox.com/index.1021.de.html?blg[project_handle]=Reef2&blg[id]=2349&blg[proc]=show.

There are Electro and Drum ‘n’ Bass presets available or you can start with a blank canvass. I can see myself spending a good few hours with this…

Dec152008

Steinway & Sons Model C Music System

For when your music has to sound so precise that nothing else will do, you won’t go wrong picking up this serious piece of kit.

Its made by Steinway & Sons and is called the Model C. Instead of housing the speakers inside of a box, they are left exposed so as to recreate the authentic sound of live instruments. The sound is produced direct from the digital source to the driver without the need to convert from digital to analog in the amp, which also adds to the purity of the sound. It is said that the sound is so pure, experts can specify a violin’s make and country of origin just from the audio that is played.

However, costing a whopping $148,000, its unlikely you will find this system poking out the top of your stocking this Christmas.

www.steinway.com

Apr232008

Pioneer CDJ400 USB CD/MP3 Player

The latest gizmo to hit the DJ world is out now. It’s the Pioneer CDJ400 USB CD/MP3 player and it is one awesome piece of kit.

Designed for DJs by DJs and drawing inspiration from the industry standard CDJ-1000 series, the CDJ-400 is a flexible, affordable performance player for the aspiring club DJ to use at home.

The CDJ-400 allows you to play your MP3 collection off CD-R/RW discs as well as music from mass storage USB devices, such as USB keys, external hard drives and portable media devices.

The deck also features the world’s first Scratch Jog Effects, with three creative scratch effects and an amazing new Loop Divide function.

Virtually all of the button and slider functions can send MIDI data via USB output, making it possible for the decks to control external DJ software such as the DJS, an MP3 mixing software that emulates a full Pioneer DJ setup on your PC. It includes 8 innovative effects, a waveform display with cue / looping ability and can convert CD / line input signals to MP3 within an easy to manage music library.

Other third party applications will also be supported such as Serato Scratch LIVE on a PC or MAC.

Tasty!