Hercules has announced a new entry-level controller for PC and Mac, the DJ Control AIR, which has a built-in infra-red control surface allowing the DJ to manipulate his performance with his hands hovering over the unit.
It also boasts eight big progressive performance touch pads, visual beat counter, built-in audio interface, and large jogwheels which appear similar to those the company uses in its higher-end controllers.
The unit is squarely aimed at amateurs, coming in at €149 (around US$200) and only having an 1/8″ headphones jack as its main output, but it packs an awful lot in for such a low price. It also seems to be running DJ software that we can’t recognise from the photo runs DJ software we’ve never herd of before, called DJUCED.
Video
Here’s a video posted by Hercules:
So do you know any more about this? We cobbled this together from a short Spanish press release we received five minutes ago, but we’re out of here for the evening! Any more details gratefully received…
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Tags: hercules dj control AIR
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That looks really neat! At first I thought it was a wireless controller.
[ link ]Might be a decent back up for that low price. Cant wait for a review.
heres a couple more websites with mor details…
http://www.djdeals.com/blog/hercules-dj-control-air-dj-controller-djdeals-com/
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid=%7Bcca5dca2-0e36-4e5d-a2db-16a0ecbbc590%7D
[ link ]For the price this definately seems cool. I think it may be a bit gimmicky now, but I’m excited at the innovation that this provides, considering that as of late all manufactures are just pushing out similar 4 deck controllers (s4, dn-mc6000, m6, m4, that dj tech one… etc). Not that there is anything wrong with the quality and stability of the current state of digital djing, but it’s nice to see some risks taken like that touch control stanton! Just my thoughts.
[ link ]I’d guess by the looks of the library section that the software is going to be a skinned version of Virtual DJ. Numark did it with CUE and American Audio with the VMS4. Especially by the amateur price bracket and features visible on the unit, I’d guess that Virtual DJ will be the manufacturer’s bundle-software of choice.
[ link ]There cud be some weird tricks out of this like cue point gestures n midi mapping. Better have a kill switch or a hard sneeze cud make things go haywire
[ link ]This is an innovative controller. The only issue is that it’s a bit short on knobs, but a supplemental controller would fix that. And at around $200, this may be the one to beat.
Using this with any number of other controllers (x1, k2, zomo) would provide a solid DJ solution with lots of potential.
Looking forward to a full review.
[ link ]It comes with the less-than-world-famous DJUCED software.
[ link ]Interesting controller! “The link above says,
[ link ]The controller is bundled with the DJUCED DJing software: a powerful application that lets you mix, sync and manipulate tracks, and add your own personal touch to the music with the sampler and the arranger, while providing an intuitive graphical interface, for use with Mac(R) and PC.”
Seems like companies are releasing their own software!
I expect Pioneer to release their own too soon.
The “air control” in relation with effects is nothing new, long time ago things like Alesis airFX and Roland D-Beam showed this “magic”.
IMO this type of feature is perfect for “Guetta’s style” DJing, I think clearly more focused on the show and the visual interaction with the crowd than in the quality of the mixing/music… but in terms of effectiveness I think this could be easily beaten by a simple notebook pad controller (think in the Korg Kaoss Pad) where you easily can see where you put your fingers on, or just a standard knob. It’s unquestionable it can look cool and funny for the first or for a couple of times, but definitively not in a long term. Aside of this major (but kinda useless to me) feature I think this controller is showing the way of the future in DJ controllers.
The overall look of the unit is more attractive than previous Hercules units. The beat counter is a nice inclusion and it looks extremely familiar with the one present in VirtualDJ software. That reinforce in me the suspect of that mysterious new software as a revamped version of VDJ too.
The pressure detection jog wheels and their professional approach to the ones present in more expensive controllers reveals the need to achieve better use for them than nowadays they have the most: just pitch bending/file-track browsing. IMO I think that the jogs technology is by far the part of every controller that needs more progress and I have no doubt that in a near future we’ll have access to better jog wheels, until some day battleDJs/turntablists will have to surrender too. Don’t know how they’ll feel or the quality in this unit, but they look far better from the previous entry level controller versions.
The velocity/pressure pads have to be an standard in the future, but in this unit I think they could be more interesting with a shift function. Easily and cheap to achieve with one more button per deck and another color underneath leds for visual aid (think here in the Novation Launchpad) wich would offer more convenient control than those panels. The location maybe better too, behind the jogs or even at the external sides of the unit.
A built-in audio interface is good for the price, but only if it has a minimum of quality (think here in the Numark Mixtrack Pro) but… I can’t deal with the decision of a mini-jack as output… What in the hell were they thinkin about? This is not serious at all, even for an entry level DJ. What’s the problem with a simple and standard RCA output? They are convenient for a professional use and for a novice because an RCA-to-minijack cable/adapter is cheap and easy to find everywhere, even you can include one in the package to offer minijack connectivity! And for sure RCA fits more tight than a minijack, a minimum accidental push in the cable and… Ooops!… It could be more convenient too to have two versions of the unit, with soundcard and without it. This way the one without it will have a reduction in price for those who just want a pure MIDI controller and rely on their own soundcard, whithout paying for something they’ll wouldn’t use or take advantage of. Achieving this at the design phase could be ease, and probably cheap at the production and packaging phases. Probably, the same engineer of this unit is the one that designs the layout of the other entry level Hercules controllers. For sure he/she is not a DJ or lacks the advice of one. The majority of buttons are too near to each other! Same for EQ knobs! This leads easily to mistakes. Maybe people (or gnomes) with small hands feel confortable with them but I think they are not reliable for regular people, something that had to be in consideration and noticed long time ago.
So this seems to be another nice strike to the entry level market from Hercules. For sure many people new to bedroom/amateur digital DJing may see this unit interesting and affordable, but it can’t be taken in more serious business or consideration… But too, we have to keep in mind that it’s obvious the fact that if an entry level user has access to pressure pads, integrated soundcard (this maybe allways be designed as an option) and “pro” jog wheels… for sure they have to be present in every DJ Station MIDI controller in the future.
[ link ]Can I use this controller as a jog wheel inside of a DAW such as protools or Logic Pro… I am trying to kill two birds with one stone here, instead of buying a jog wheel specifically for editing the time line in projects
[ link ]I’d hold fire on that right now as we’ve not even seen one yet. We’re hoping to get one soon for review.
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