We’ve already published our first-look videos of the Pioneer DJ DJS-1000 sampler/sequencer and the Reloop Touch controller, and here is our traditional roundup of other items of interest from the BPM | PRO 2017 DJ Show in Birmingham, England. It’s a sad day too as the show is to close – our thoughts on that later in the piece.
Magma Carry Lite Flightcases
These Magma Carry Lite flight cases are a great idea. On the one hand, soft cases are relatively cheap, lightweight and compact but offer limited protection for your gear. On the other, traditional “wood with metal corners” cases weigh many times more than the equipment they contain, are bulky, expensive and thus impractical for most DJs (but undeniably offer the best protection).
Magma’s Carry Lite series are three lightweight but hard-sided (think rigid briefcase styling) cases of varying sizes that will fit most small to medium controllers, due to innovative three-layered foam inserts that can be user-adjusted via pre-cuts “cubes” of foam that you can remove without tools. For instance, if your controller is relatively slim, one case could fit the controller and, on a lower layer, a laptop too. Prices are £65 to £90 in the UK.
LiteConsole Elite mobile DJ stand
This £800-ish stand from LiteConsole is seriously desirable for any mobile DJ who wants something incredibly sturdy and good looking, but that folds up small enough for easy transport (it is 30kg and folds to a size that means you can even pop it in plane hold luggage for those international gigs).
It wisely changes little from its predecessors apart from that portability improvement meaning it has plenty of space behind for all your gear and can be branded in any number of ways to fit in with your overall aesthetic. It’s our current favourite DJ stand, and well-priced for the tech you get.
Portablist Lounge
Not a product more a happening: On the Magma stand were a whole pile of Minirig speakers (including the Minirig bass bins) connected to portable turntables, a nod to the burgeoning portablism scene – and judging by the queue of scratch DJs wanting to have a go, it was a popular addition to the show.
Subsafe Covers
Hey, mobile DJs: ever got thoroughly annoyed at people putting their drinks on your bass bins? Of course you have. Well now there’s a solution, in the shape of these clever “Subsafe” covers, that give your bass bins a decidedly unfriendly-to-drinks apex. They can be customised too, giving you another branding opportunity for your business.
Grumpy Joe’s mobile DJ goodies
In this video are three mobile DJ products: A truly impressive DJ booth with built-in computer controller visuals, a lightweight and durable take on the “LOVE” letters that no self-respecting mobile DJ can be seen without nowadays, and a clever dancefloor table with built-in battery powered lighting and a neat scrim, that as you’ll learn in the video is smartly designed to cope with drink spills better than most.
The end of BPM…
It is particularly sad for us that the organisers have decided to “go out on a high” and end BPM | PRO, replacing it with a number of smaller shows focused at different parts of the BPM audience (although none really focused properly to our mind on the bedroom DJ, DJ/producer and mobile DJ segments which comprise our audience).
BPM | PRO has consistently been our favourite show (and Lord knows we attend ’em all), our seminars here always attract sell-out audiences, and it was the very first show we attended when we launched the site as a complete unknown to the industry back in 2010.
Thanks for the good times and opportunities to Mark and the BPM team… and for whatever it holds, here’s to the future.
Were you at BPM? Did you come and say hello at one of our two Digital DJ Tips talks? What was your favourite part of the show? And what do you think of it closing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments…
Phil Morse
