Reblogs for 20110115

You’ve just created the design that, more than any other, was the signature of electronic music making in the first decade of the 21st Century. What’s your second act?

Having made the monome grid controllers the biggest design hit in music creation in the last few years, then moved to a farm in upstate New York to do some … farming (really), monome’s Brian Crabtree now and Kelli Cain have made public what’s next. Think really big knobs.

The design makes some sense to me, intuitively, already. Livid tried the obvious solution of combining encoders with arrays in its Code, but having a big cluster of encoders, while interesting, seems that it’d have limited applications. It works for Livid, but given the widespread impact of the monome, you’d expect something more generalized, more universal.

Arc could be that. They’re large, “ultra-high resolution” encoders. The monome sacrificed sensitivity for quantity with an array of on/off toggles; Arc does the reverse. The idea is presumably that you’ll really care about these big knobs. Two- and four-knob versions are promised; the four-knob variant seems like it might have the greatest appeal, depending on the price difference. The visual feedback on the side are “high-density LED rings,” but they also have “variable brightness,” meaning that they could be more visually compelling than is apparent in still photos.

In addition to being knobs, each knob is a push-button. Unlike the monome, it’s hard to see this being the only controller you’d use. It is easy to imagine it used in conjunction with another controller, though, monome or otherwise. I’m imagine that as on the monome, you’ll be able to modify the design to add tilt sensors and the like.

Like the monome before it, the arc makes no sound. It requires computer software and the OSC (OpenSoundControl) protocol in order to control software, connected through a USB port. And so like the monome, you can expect that a lot of its value will be software inspired by the quality of the design and even the high-value construction of the item. If it’s like its predecessor, the arc will be an attractive window through which clever software designers imagine new musical contraptions.

The obvious comparison here is to the humble, US$45 Griffin PowerMate, a single metal control knob that used USB. This promises to have more precise visual feedback and be a whole lot better made and open; on the other hand, anyone who was fond of the PowerMate in theory may be quicker to buy into the notion here. (flight404 aka visual legend Robert Hodgin once did a whole live visual set with an array of PowerMates; he may prove ahead of his time if this catches on.)

Pricing, details, media due later, with “orders and shipping in February.” I can say it’s real; I saw some version on Brian’s workbench.

arc [monome]

I think, having passed on a trip to Anaheim, that readers might like to get hands-on coverage of the Arc, and a serious look at whether the monome’s sequel will live up to the original. Do you agree?

Side note: People I’m talking to are already wondering what you would do with, you know, two big wheels. I refer you to Etch-a-Sketch (two wheels), your car (one big, necessarily high-resolution wheel)… I was initially skeptical of how the monome would work as an instrument with no velocity sensitivity, and was eventually won over by a combination of ingenious software and musicianship by its fanbase. I wouldn’t write off the minimalism of this just yet.

Update: stretta already has an app in the works for the arc. He mentions that in a blog post with an adorable illustration that, aside from being clever, suggests how many people will use this app. See the video after the jump – notice the PowerMate controller in the corner of the video? It’s apparently standing in for an arc. Getting the picture?

Since January is upon us, that can only mean one thing: Winter NAMM and a fresh batch of DJ technology guaranteed to produce buyer’s remorse and gear envy. We’ve got a crack team of writers and photographers embedded deep in the belly of NAMM working hard to bring you details on all the gear, including what’s good, and what’s not.

In this first post, we’ve compiled a master list of new DJ products at NAMM that might pique your interest. Then, in our follow up on Monday, we’ll compile a shorter “Best of NAMM” list, with in-depth videos and details on our favorites.

HEAVY DUTY PAD CONTROL

Manufacturer: Vestax

• 2 color backlit pads
• Nice feel and bounce to the triggers
• Poor detection of low velocity hits
• Shows each pad’s MIDI value on the LED readout

VMS FOR TRAKTOR

Manufacturer: American Audio

Product Name : VMS-4 (Traktor Edition)

Price: $599
Release Date: Late March

Key Feature: Ships with a 4-deck version of Traktor LE
Downside: Ships with a 4-deck version of Traktor LE

• Same hardware  as the original VMS-4
• New black skin looks nicer
• Modified controller labels that match Traktor

TORQ 2 LATE

Manufacturer: M-Audio

Product Name : Torq 2.0
Price: $49 (Existing 1.0 and 1.5 owners) $249 (everyone else)
Release Date: February

Key Feature: Track Morph creates very unique crossfades that do complicated blends for you.
Downside: The UI appears to have been designed as a visual maze intended to confuse the user or possibly as a educational example of  how not to layout a DJ interface.

• No controller dongle required
• Will work with all controllers
• Track Morph effect is very creative and innovative
• 4 decks with independent levels, EQs, headphone cues
• Multi-Effect stacking features
• More info on the Torq 2 product page, and a demo is also available
• 2.0 is now finally out after a long delay- is it too late?

ANOTHER HERCULES

Manufacturer: Hercules
Product Name: DJ4Set
Price: $249.99
Release Date: April 2011

Key Feature: Touch-sensitive jogwheels (a first for Hercules)
Downside: Wobbly and poor platter action

• 2 stereo ins and 2 stereo outs over built in USB audio interface
• Ships with Virtual DJ LE
• Green or red backlit jogwheels
• Switchable into 4 decks (2 deck mixer)

MEGA MIXER

Manufacturer: Rane

Product Name: MP25
Price: $1449
Release Date: March 2011
Key Feature: 12 stereo ins and 10 stereo outputs via USB
Downside: Not Serato Scratch certified mixer

• ASIO/Core Audio drivers
• Multi-client drivers mean that you can stream audio from multiple applications on one computer simultaneously
• USB loop to VST on a host and back
• 1 USB port
• 5 stereo multi-channel tracking to DAW

THE SL BOX YOU ALWAYS WANTED

Manufacturer: Rane

Product Name: SL4
Price: $899
Release Date: April 2011

Key Feature: 2 USB ports supports a dual laptop setup
Downside: ASIO/Core Audio drivers but no Traktor Scratch support

• Switchable channels from phono to line
• 5 stereo in and out via USB
• 96khz or 48khz
• Aux input and output
• Through indicators per channel

BT IN YOUR DAW

Manufacturer: Izotope

Key Feature: Instant beat mayhem available across a MIDI keyboard.
Downside: Requires a VST host like Ableton

• Endless presets and one press stutters that sound great right out of the box, including patches created by BT and Richard Devine
• Very playable combos and effects
• More awesome information and a trial can be found on iZotope’s site
• We’ll be posting an awesome video of Stutter Edit in action soon!

*ENTRY LEVEL USB MIXER

Manufacturer: DJ Tech

• Ships with Image Line Deckadance
• Booth output and master output
• Curve adjustement for cross-fader and input fader
• Reversible faders
• Mix input

A GREAT ITCH CONTROLLER?

Manufacturer: Numark

Product Name: NS6
Price: $999
Release Date: June 2011

Key Feature: 4 channel analogue mixer + software control
Downside: Only 1 stereo output via USB; lighter than the NS7  – but still very heavy (approx 15 pounds)

• Strip search with LED location indicator
• Large 6″ jog wheels are substantial, but not heavy
• Good looking and well spaced layout
• Too large for any standard bag, this controller is more portable but far larger than the S4
• Check out the complete stats at the Numark product page

NEW CANS IN TOWN

Manufacturer: Numark

• Special “breathable protein-leather” (anti-sweat) leather keeps your head dry and cool
• Detatchable cord
• Closed-cup, noise isolating design

IPAD DJING GOES HARDWARE

Manufacturer: iDJ Live