Digital DJ Tips1>

Learn How To DJ With Digital DJ Gear

Confessions Of A First-Time Traktor User

Traktor

The tantalising possibility of preparing my music on my iOS device ready to DJ with on my laptop was one of the reasons I decided to switch to Traktor for a while in my professional DJ gigs.

OK, the title’s just a bit misleading. I’ve been using Traktor in my job as a DJ tech writer and editor for nearly ten years, ever since a UK magazine I worked for (IDJ) asked me to review some early controllers that used it.

But back then the software I finally personally settled on for my first forays into digital DJing wasn’t Traktor, but Virtual DJ (parallel waveforms, y’see). Later, I used Serato ITCH for all my personal DJing gigs. But a couple of things have recently persuaded me to switch to Traktor for a while in my own DJing – for the first time.

Read more

Review & Video: V-Moda Crossfade M-100 Headphones

V-Moda Crossfade M-100

The V-Moda Crossfade M-100s build on the success of the LPs and LP2s, with some notable improvements, not least the ability to fold.

We like “lifestyle” headphones here – when they’re done right, that is. Digital DJing is a lifestyle in itself (you know, roll up, play anywhere using smart, compact gear, no need to use all that immovable, ancient old kit that everyone else still relies on if you don’t want to) – and we think everything, from your DJ bag to the music apps on your smartphone, can and should reinforce this ethos.

So V-Moda’s new Crossfade M-100 headphones on paper are ticking a lot of boxes for us. They’re extremely high quality. They look great. They fold into a tiny case small enough to clip on your belt. And they have a few digital-friendly features that mark them out from other headphones too. Definitely worth a closer look, then…

Read more

Review & Video: Traktor DJ For iPhone

Traktor DJ

Is it really possible to have any fun DJing on a device as small as an iPhone? We actually think it is, and Traktor DJ for iPhone is another big step towards the doubters realising this…

Just like when Pioneer put a big red sync button on a CDJ, I have to say I loved it when Native Instruments, as one of the “big three” DJ software companies, put a version of its software on the iOS platform. While those of us who “get it” can argue with detractors till we’re blue in the face that it’s actually great fun to DJ on an iPad or iPhone, now we simply have to say: “Well, Native’s designers obviously think iOS is a good platform for DJing, to have come out with Traktor DJ!”

Traktor DJ for iPad rethought the way people might like to DJ on a touchscreen device. Only the rather esoteric DJ Player has had the balls to do this before. This redefining of the workflow put clear blue sky between Traktor DJ and its only volume competitor (also excellent, but in a different way) – djay from Algoriddim. And now with Traktor DJ for iPhone (US$4.99, available from the iTunes store now), Native Instruments has brought this thinking to a device you can hold in two hands as if it were a games controller.

Read more

Review: Ninja Jamm App For iPhone

Ninja Jamm for iOS

Coldcut’s iPhone remix app has finally arrived and offers the chance to remix your Ninja Tune favourites wherever you like…

Ninja Tune, the legendary label formed in London 1990 by sampler pioneers Coldcut and home to The Cinematic Orchestra, Bonobo, Roots Manuva, The Heavy, Wiley, Coldcut, Amon Tobin, Toddla T, Fink and many more, has released Ninja Jamm – an iOS remix, re-arrange, and re-mangle app.

How the app came to market is a story in itself (indeed, Matt Earp who was heavily involved in the development process, has written about it on CreateDigitalMusic) – but now it’s finally here, how does Ninja Jamm compare to other artist-based remix apps? Let’s find out…

Read more

Review & Video: Reloop Jockey 3 Remix Traktor Controller

The Reloop Jockey 3 Remix is a new Traktor controller with its own take on effects mapping, standalone mixer, and comprehensive control across two track decks and two sample decks.

The Reloop Jockey 3 Remix is a new Traktor controller with its own take on effects mapping, standalone mixer, and comprehensive control across two track decks and two sample decks.

The Reloop Jockey 3 Remix is that rarest of things nowadays: A new DJ controller for Traktor made by someone other than Native Instruments itself.

In today’s review, we’ll look at the journey from Jockey 3 to Jockey 3 Remix, what this particular controller sets out to do differently to Native’s own controllers like the Kontrol S2 and Kontrol S4, and how well the Jockey 3 Remix ultimately succeeds as a Traktor controller.

Read more

Review & Video: DJ Player v6 for iPad & iPhone

DJ Player on iDJ Pro

DJPlayer happily working in a Numark iDJ Pro, portrait mode being a new feature of v6.

In our last article about DJ Player (v5.8) I jokingly said that keeping up to date with versions of the app was becoming a full-time job – little did I know that only a week after that article I’d receive a beta version of the app, something which goes some way to proving this!

In case you didn’t know already, DJ Player is a universal DJ app for iOS and has been around for over four years, gradually building an established mass of DJs who use the app on a regular basis. It eschews the regular “DJ app” convention by moving far away from physical world replication (it doesn’t show spinning vinyl or jogwheels on screen). In fact, only as recent as update 5.8 did a small scrolling waveform window appear. iMect definitely does things its own way.

Read more

MixVibes Says CrossDJ for iPad Has Best iOS Keylock: We Find Out

MixVibes Cross DJ for iPad

CrossDJ for iPad now has keylock, and the makers are claiming it’s the best in the business. We decided to find out…

When we first reviewed CrossDJ for iPad by MixVibes in May last year, one of the biggest criticisms from your comments was the lack of keylock functionality. Maybe not surprising, as a few other DJ apps already had keylock on iOS in one guise or another, so expectations had been set high.

Well, the good news is that version 1.1.0 of CrossDJ for iPad now has the all-important keylock feature. Now, we could have just reported that and moved on. But the official wording from MixVibes makes a grand claim, that we thought we couldn’t just leave it at that…

Read more

Gemini FirstMix Pro With CrossDJ LE 2 – Review & Video

Gemini FirstMix Pro

At only US$149 for a controller, with audio interface and software, is the Gemini FirstMix Pro about to become our lowest-priced recommended unit for beginners?

The Gemini FirstMix Pro has been around for a little while, but it’s just come of age. Because for the new lower price of just US$149, you get a DJ controller with all the essentials on it, plus decent DJ software – on paper, amazing value.

That’s a “proper” DJ controller (ie with decent-sized jogwheels, a sound card for your headphones and master output), and software that has everything you need to get going on it, including the ability to record your sets.

Read more

Terminal Mix 4 With Serato DJ Talkthrough & Video

Terminal Mix 4

Now you can upgrade Terminal Mix 4 (and Terminal Mix 2) to use Serato DJ software and thus utilise all four of those channels, we thought it was time to give it another look.

When Reloop released the Terminal Mix 2 and the Terminal Mix 4, it was yet another sign that Serato was planning what turned out to be Serato DJ software. After all, the Terminal Mix 4, especially, made little sense otherwise, as the supplied Serato software could only use two of its channels! Further to that, there were buttons that didn’t do stuff, and labels for non-functioning items. All of this gave the secret away somewhat.

Now that Serato DJ is with us, and the Terminal Mix 2 and Terminal Mix 4 are enabled to take the upgrade (plus, there’s a bundle on sale that actually includes Serato DJ in the box for the Terminal Mix 4, to save you upgrading the usually supplied Serato DJ Intro software), I thought I’d take a quick look at how the integration has worked, and what’s changed.

Read more

Review & Video: PDJ Handheld DJ Controller

PDJ

The PDJ sports real hardware mixer controls and two touchscreens for ‘decks’. But can it challenge iOS in the handheld DJ controller domain?

PDJ Review: Not so long ago, the idea of DJing away from a power supply with a hand-held device would have seemed crazy. The Tonium Pacemaker made a brave attempt in 2008 to bring the concept of fun and portable DJing to the masses, but was discontinued after two years due to poor sales. At around the same time, DJ apps started to gain popularity on iOS devices and it’s been that way ever since: While iOS devices have their limitations (such as storage, limited connections and strict Apple guidelines), they’re nonetheless gradually gaining acceptance from the DJ community.

But a Korean company called JD Sound Inc believes it has a product to revive the concept of handheld DJing. Portable DJ (PDJ), the company believes, provides a compelling alternative to restrictive iOS hardware. Will this dedicated piece of hardware be capable enough to stand out against Apple devices and their relatively cheap (but increasingly complex and professional) apps? In this PDJ review, we find out…

Read more

Reloop RHP-10 Flash Black DJ Headphones Review & Video

Reloop RHP-10

The Reloop RHP-10 Flash Black are a capable midrange DJ headphone that come in a number of fashion colours and do all the basics pretty well.

Reloop RHP-10 Review: Somewhere between the entry level and the “pro” grade lie mid-range DJ headphones. Offering isolation, volume and clarity that comes close to the best headphones, but normally lacking some of the more luxury features of such models, headphones at this level should be up to the job in the DJ booth, while not costing the same as true “pro” models.

The Reloop RHP-10s are a great example of this type of headphone. They’re funky looking yet clearly following the classic DJ headphone design. But do they make up for anything they may lack in design finesse with their design and performance? Our Reloop RHP-10 DJ headphones review reveals all…

Read more

DJ Player 5.8 For iPad Brings Streaming Music

Deezer

With 20 million tunes available, adding Deezer to DJ Player gives the iOS DJ a world of music for instant access… as long as they’re online.

With streaming music services revolutionising the way people access music, it was only a matter of time before someone got a streaming music service right there inside an iOS DJ app.

This is exactly what iMect, the maker of DJ Player for iPad, has done in the imminent new 5.8 version of that app. By plugging music streaming service Deezer in to DJ Player, the company has neatly offered iPad DJs immediate access to many millions of tunes.

Read more

Traktor DJ For iPad Review & Video Talkthrough

Traktor DJ app from Native Instruments

With Traktor DJ, Native Instruments has finally brought to market its vision of how DJing should be done on tablets.

Traktor has long been a firm favourite with digital DJs, including with about three-quarters of Digital DJ Tips readers. The desktop software offers a wealth of functionality and pushes the boundaries with things like its extensive effects and Remix Decks. Now, Traktor DJ has joined its bigger brother, bringing the world of Traktor to the iPad.

So what does the newest DJ app for the iPad (iPad 2 and upwards with iOS6, to be precise) look like, and what does it do differently from other iPad DJ apps in order to stand out from the crowd? Let’s find out in our full Traktor DJ For iPad review and video talkthrough…

Read more

American Audio 14 MXR Mixer Review & Video

American Audio 14 MXR

Pictured on the right alongside its younger brother the two-channel 10 MXR, the American Audio 14 MXR is an analogue mixer, audio interface and Midi controller rolled into one.

Looking like any old standard analogue four-channel club mixer, but actually being anything but that when you get under the skin, the American Audio 14 MXR is a well-priced and capable DJ mixer that’s got software DJs and mobile DJs equally in its sights, as we find out in today’s American Audio 14 MXR review and video.

One of three models in the range (there’s the two-channel 10 MXR and the rack-mountable 19 MXR too), it differentiates itself from most other mixers by having a four-in, four-out sound card built in for computer use via USB, but also, by being fully (as in, every single control) Midi mappable. Oh, and it comes with Virtual DJ LE in the box to get you going.

Read more

Review: Mixed In Key iMashup v2.0 for iOS

Copy Loop Delete options

Making great mashups on your iOS device with iMashup is now even easier with the ability to copy segments – a new feature in v2.0.

In November last year, Mixed in Key launched iMashup for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, which we instantly loved. The app has actually been updated a couple of times since our first review, providing not only a series of bug fixes but new features including colour-coded envelope types, a filter on the library screen and an in-depth tutorial.

These were all nice additions (in particular the library filter) but didn’t address the most requested features of looping and copy/paste. That’s all changed in v2.0. Read on for more on these, and another killer new addition to the software’s spec…

Read more

Review: RekordKrate for iPad

RekordKrate for iPad

RekordKrate a new iOS app to assist with choosing that next track in the mix.

It’s a long time since DJs moved away from well-thumbed records boxes as their music library system. Nowadays, laptop and iOS DJs, of course, tend to select their tunes through lists, virtual crates, smart crates and so on. But for pro and semi-pro DJs playing from USBs plugged in to CDJs in dark clubs, all they had to replace their lovingly packed record boxes were small LCD displays on CDJ players.

The new RekordKrate app aims to put some of the big-screen library navigating power enjoyed by laptop DJs into the hands of USB (and CD) DJs, by allowing them to use their iPads (and soon iPhones and Android devices) to browse their music libraries easily. Crucially, it also allows them to quickly choose a next song based on harmonic key and BPM.

Read more

MixVibes CrossDJ for iPhone Review

CrossDJ for iPhone

Mixvibes CrossDJ arrives for smaller iOS devices such as the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Can it replicate the success of the iPad version?

MixVibes has recently released an iPhone version of its excellent Cross DJ software.

DJing on smaller iOS devices has its challenges, mainly that the smaller screen means apps can tend to feel cramped and busy. However, we loved the sleek interface and functionality of the iPad version, so were interested to see how the experience translated to the iPhone version.

Read more

Review & Video: Vestax Spin2 Controller For djay

Vestax Spin 2

The Vestax Spin2 promises to build on the original Spin, by offering better compatibility with all versions of the djay software that it’s built to control.

The original Vestax Spin, which we reviewed back in 2010, was developed specifically for Algoriddim’s djay for Mac. Later, it was one of the first controllers to offer support for djay for iPad – albeit via the camera connection kit (CCK), which meant your iPad couldn’t charge at the same time as using the controller. (Of course, as the camera connection kit doesn’t work with iPhone, that meant it couldn’t control the iPhone version of djay at all.)

Now the Spin2 has arrived, with the promise to fix these limitations, among other things. So how exactly has the Vestax Spin controller evolved, and how does the Spin2 shape up with other controllers at a similar price point? That’s what our Vestax Spin2 review will reveal…

Read more

New to Digital DJ Tips? | What DJ controller? | Learn to DJ | Testimonials and Feedback | Privacy Policy