Technabob » dj

Numark Electrowave Headphones for DJs or You and Me

Range — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:31 +0000

DJs need sturdy and comfortable headphones, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t have them too. Numark has just released information about their latest pro DJ headphones, the Electrowave, and they look pretty good.

These substantial headphones look like they’ll be comfortable for extended mixing sessions. Each cup features a 50mm driver, soft, isolating ear cups, and a collapsible design for easy stowing. Frequency response is rated at 10Hz – 22KHz, with a sensitivity of 100dB +/- 3dB. The included 3-meter cable is detachable and has a 1/8″ right-angle connector – though they come with a 1/4″ adapter so that it fits into all your gadgets and gear.

They’ll be available soon with an MSRP of $149 (USD).

[via GeekAlerts]

Panzer Soundtank Declares War on Ears Everywhere

Conner Flynn — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:35:18 +0000

There are sound systems, and then there are monstrous sound systems. This one definitely falls into the latter category. In the words of immortal loud band AC/DC: If you see the SoundTank rolling into your neighborhood, “lock up your daughter, lock up your wife, lock up your back door and run for your life”. And for the love of God, cover your ears.

Nik Nowak’s concept sound vehicle, dubbed the Panzer Soundtank combines an army tank-looking machine, some speakers and drum machines for a vehicle that will rock you like a hurricane. Inside of this beast you’ll find a seat and all the DJ equipment necessary to rock a party.

So apparently we will soon be seeing DJ wars fought in our streets as other DJs build their own tanks and unleash them. We can expect a lot of collateral ear damage, but what the hell.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

And in case you were wondering, yes it really can drive:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Thinng]

LEGO Pioneer DJ Music Player: Block Blockin’ Beats

Shane McGlaun — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:58:11 +0000

Pioneer Electronics has been in the business of making audio gear for decades now. When I was a kid my dad had a Pioneer stereo in the house. These days Pioneer makes all sorts of car audio gear like the cool AppRadio we saw a while back, and also makes all sort of DJ gear for the pro and amateur DJ. Pioneer has teamed up with some urban artists for the Pioneer DJ Art Mix Tour.

The tour has urban artists using the Pioneer CDJ-2000 Digital Music Player as their personal canvases. Most of the art is nothing to write home about, even though it is cool. However, one particular work really got me excited. It’s a LEGO clad CDJ-2000 digital music player and it is awesome. The LEGO version was made by Jesse Dean Designs.

Here’s some video of the finished product (looking a little pinker than in the photos above), and yes, it’s still fully functional:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

There are a lot more works from the DJ Art Mix exhibit too that you can check out at the source. Which one of the music players is your favorite?

Gemini FirstMix USB DJ Controller: Mix Tracks on the Cheap

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:33:16 +0000

I have seen a lot of DJ gear over the years, most of the stuff can run $1000 or more and it is aimed at the serious amateur or the pro DJ looking to get more action in the club. Reasonably priced DJ gear for the beginner isn’t something you see commonly. Gemini DJ has changed that with a new controller aimed at the first-time DJ.

The controller is called the FirstMix and the thing is USB connected to your Mac or PC and allows you to DJ any tracks you can put on your computer. It comes with MixVibes’ Cross LE DJ Software for making music, and has dual decks like a pro DJ uses.

The controller supports digital music files including M4A, AIFF, WAV, MP3, FLAC and OGG. It has a traditional mixer, CD player, and cross fader. The large jog wheels are touch sensitive and have a natural vinyl feel for scratching and cuing. Perhaps the best feature for the beginner DJ is that the controller is just $79.95 (USD) and it will ship this May.

Kid Chameleon’s Mac Plus DJ Helmet

Range — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:45:57 +0000

DJs are always looking for ways to make their sets unique. I know. I was a techno DJ a few years ago, and you’re always looking for something new. How about making your own DJ helmet, just like those Daft Punk boys? If you don’t have $65,000 and 17 months to make one, using an old Macintosh Plus is a cool idea, for a lot less money.

LA-based Kid Chameleon created this visualizer helmet with his friend Terrence Scoville using an old Apple Macintosh Plus, a bicycle helmet, and an iPad. This was combined with an electroluminescent display, to get all those cool flashy lights.

The helmet is controlled by an iMac running Resolume Avenue, a MIDI Keyboard, and a Wiimote! It looks cool for sure, but it must get hot and uncomfortable in there.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via DVice]

Hercules DJ 4Set is Perfect for Beginner DJs

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:11:06 +0000

There is a bunch of gear on the market for DJs and folks that want to be a DJ. The catch is that a lot of that stuff is expensive and very hard to learn to use. Hercules sells some of that really expensive and hard to learn gear and it has some gear that falls on the other end of the spectrum too.

At this week’s CES, Hercules announced a new DJ console that is aimed at the beginner looking to DJ in their own home with a cheap and easier to use system. The console is called the DJ 4Set and it will ship in April for $249.99 (USD). For that much money you get a console with a pair of large jog dials for scratching and mixing tracks. The dials and buttons have red or green backlight colors.

The device has 4-channels, with two for mixing and one for headphones output for monitoring tracks. It can be arranged into four virtual decks and in two deck mode it has 60 controls and in four-deck mode you get 112 controls. The controls are MIDI based and the console comes with the all the software needed to make your own music, but will also work with all 2 or 4 deck MIDI-based mixing software.

Deadmau5 Halloween Mask Powered by a Netduino: Rocking to the Beats

Range — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:14:58 +0000

Who is Deadmau5? He’s a DJ based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and he’s mostly known for wearing these crazy masks during his live sets, that kind of look like a dead mouse.

He was recently featured in an episode of CSI called Pool Shark and let me tell you that I must have watched the opening scene about 10 times because the music was so good (if you’re wondering, it was the track Some Chords that was playing).

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Anyway, if you want to create an awesome Deadmau5 mask, then check this Netduino-powered one that lights up like a Christmas tree thanks to LED power. It actually ‘listens’ to the music that’s playing and displays colors on the beat. It was built by Wabash9000 for this year’s Halloween festivities.

[via Make:]

Uo Dj Mixer Won’T Scratch Your iPod

Lambert Varias — Sun, 02 May 2010 11:49:18 +0000

The UO DJ Mixer is a nice gift for newbie DJs. It lets you combine music from a pair of iPods or iPhones – and add effects like reverb, filter and flange. You can connect it to a sound system and share your mix with everyone, or use the bundled headphones if you’re not that confident with your skills yet.

The mixer also charges docked iPods, so you can party or practice as long as you want. You can order the UO DJ Mixer at Urban Outfitters for $120 (USD).

Ion Audio’S Discover Dj: be a Real Dj Hero

Technabob — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:27:59 +0000

If you want to pretend to be a DJ, you could always go out and buy DJ Hero, but if you really want to scratch your own tunes, check out ION Audio’s Discover DJ – a real turntable controller for your digital music applications that costs about the same amount as the game.

The Discover DJ controller (also known as the iCUE3) is a complete turntable simulator that plugs into your computer’s USB port. The controller features a pair of touch sensitive turntable-like scratch wheels as its primary control mechanism. In addition, there’s an array of controls including bass and treble knobs, cue/sync buttons, pitch adjustments and a crossfader for mixing between sources.

ION also includes a limited edition of MixVibes Cross DJ, an application for mixing your tracks, and it can even automatically match BPMs from one song to the next to ensure a smooth mix. You can also DJ using music from your iTunes library with the Discover DJ. Plus, it’ll work as a MIDI controller of other music apps.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The Discover DJ works with Windows or Mac OS X computers, and includes everything you need to DJ with your computer. You can get one over at Amazon for about $92 (USD). About the only thing DJ Hero has over this thing is Daft Punk.

Dj Mouse: Click, Scratch, Mix

Lambert Varias — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:50:08 +0000

The DJ Mouse is a nice gadget for budding DJs to mess with. The left- and right-click buttons double as loop play/hold controls, while the scroll wheel fast forwards or rewinds. The built-in jog dial takes care of the wiki-wiki. Can your fancy schmancy Magic Mouse do that? Plus, it’s made of “serious materials such as aluminum and soft rubber”, not the jokesters plastic and the other metals.

The DJ Mouse works with the bundled Deckadance music software (compatible with both Mac & PC). Here’s the mouse in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Okay so the mixing wasn’t topnotch, but at least it gave us an idea of what the little fella can do. You can get the DJ Mouse at 100milligrams for $60 (USD).

[via Chip Chick]

Touch Dj Puts a Complete Dj Mixer in Your iPhone or iPod Touch

Technabob — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:32:56 +0000

Touch DJ is a soon-to-be-released iPhone app that lets you mix music in real time, just like you would with professional DJ equipment.

Created by Amidio – the same folks who brought us the amazing noise.io iphone synth. According to the Amidio guys, Touch DJ is a serious live performance tool, and not just an audio toy like many other iPhone apps.

The app not only can mix two MP3 tracks, it lets you apply audio effects, pitch-bending, equalization and looping without ever leaving the intuitive visual interface. Each track is automatically color coded to correspond to its frequencies to make it even easier to match beats. Check out the video clips below to see (and hear) a sneak preview of Touch DJ in action.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Once released, Touch DJ will ship with 25 dance tracks from DanceMusicHub that you can immediately create music with, and I assume that additional tracks will be available for download in the future. Amidio also plans on releasing a Touch DJ sync application that lets you send your own MP3s to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Keep in mind that the audio processing is very processor intensive so Amidio recommends using Touch DJ only on the iPhone 3GS or newer iPod Touch models with faster CPUs. There’s no word yet on when Touch DJ will hit the app store. All Amidio says on their site is “ESTIMATED AVAILABILITY DATE: ??? (ASK APPLE!)”. Hopefully, that means soon. For now, follow them over on Twitter to be notified when Touch DJ is released.

Bughouse Scratch Dj Coffee Table Won’T Play Your Records

Technabob — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:18:13 +0000

Fancy yourself a DJ Hero? Looking for a new coffee table? I may have found the perfect thing for your living room.

The Scratch DJ coffee table from Bughouse features a distressed image of a pair of turntables and a mixer under its glass top. As an added bonus, you can customize it by placing your favorite records on top of each platter. Too bad it won’t actually play your music. It’s available from Bughouse Art + Design for $850 (USD).

[via A criação via NOTCOT]

Make People Sweat I Will: Yoda Dj Shirt

Lambert Varias — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:43:41 +0000

Chunk’s yoda DJ shirt combines one of the most ancient geek icons with one of the geekiest forms of music. Lightsaber rave parties anyone?

Wonder which artists the Jedi Master prefers. I think he’ll have a bit of M83 because he traverses galaxies, a bit of Justice because he’s on the light side, and some RATM for his rebel homies.

If you’re an aspiring musician you’d better find Yoda and beg him to drop your song on one of his sets, because out of this world, his tour simply is.

You can order a Yoda DJ shirt at MoreTvicar for £25 ($36.60 USD).

[via Fashionably Geek]

Wacom Nextbeat Wireless Controller for Djs: From Tablets to Turntables to the Dance Floor

Technabob — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:15:04 +0000

Wacom, known almost solely for their pen-based graphic tablets and touchscreens has made the jump into an entirely new market – DJs. Maybe dance clubs are more recession-proof than graphic designers? Who knows?

The new Wacom nextbeat is a music controller which lets both professional and casual digital dee-jays finesse their tunes in about any way imaginable – even from the middle of the dance floor. That’s because the nextbeat features a unique docking wireless control pod which lets you roam and control sounds loaded onto the nextbeat base station.

The nextbeat contains everything you need to rock the party now. Packed inside the box is a pair of digital audio players, a mixer, sampler and effect units. Just plug it into your sound system, and you’re ready to go.

In keeping with Wacom tradition, the nextbeat incorporates a variety of touch-based sensors on its control pod, but they were smart enough to also include a number of knobs and buttons for places where tactile feedback is a must.

Wacom plans on releasing the nextbeat DJ system in Europe and Japan in Summer 2009. No word on price or a North American release date, but you can check back for more information over at the nextbeat preview site. It’ll also be on display at the Winter Music Conference from 24-28 March 2009 in Miami Beach, Florida, USA, and Musikmesse from 1-4 April 2009 in Frankfurt, Germany – if you happen to be there.

[via MacWorld UK via flyflyf]

Mix Tape is Really a Portable Dj Mixer

Technabob — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:45:36 +0000

On the surface, this shiny box looks like an old school cassette tape that’s been 24-karat gold plated. But take another look, and you’ll see that it’s actually a pocket-sized audio mixer for combining sounds from a pair of audio devices.

The Mix Tape Portable DJ Mixer lets you mash up tracks from any two iPods or other portable music devices. A pair of 3.5mm stereo inputs and a single stereo output let you gently fade between two sources just like a full-size DJ mixer.

There’s also a monitor jack that lets you cue up your tracks in the privacy of your own headphones. Just connect your media players, pop in a couple of AAA batteries, and you’ll be cranking out your own party mix in seconds.

The Mix Tape Portable DJ Mixer is available exclusively from Urban Outfitters website for $30 bucks.

[via The Design Town]

Zumreed Turntable Speaker for Pocket Sized Djs

Technabob — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:30:33 +0000

Here’s a fun little sound system you can connect to your portable media player. ZumReed’s Pocket DJ Speaker looks like a tiny little turntable.

The mini speaker is small enough to carry on your keychain, hang from a briefcase, bookbag or purse strap. In keeping with the turntable theme, volume is controlled by spinning the mini platter (which also happens to be the speaker grill) clockwise or counterclockwise.

They’re available in three colors: black, white and orange, and aren’t much bigger than your average media player. Each speaker has a built-in rechargeable battery which gives about 3 hours of sound for a 1 hour charge in you computer’s USB port.

I haven’t had any luck finding these outside of Japan so far, but if you happen to speak the language, you might be able to grab one over on Dreams6 for ¥2980 (about $32 USD).

Djs Can Scratch on the Go With This Record Player Mashup

Karen M. — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:35:09 +0000

This is what appears to be a vinyl record player in an unholy marriage with a handbag, rendering it ready and available to meet all your portable scratching needs. What’s interesting to me is that based on the photo I think there’s a good chance this thing actually works.

I spotted this on Dark Roasted Blend as part of a photo series of odd and funny mods. Sadly I don’t know anything more about it, but I can only assume the bottom part holds either a) the guts of the player, b) more records, or c) both. And, I’m sure if we’re patient, someone will eventually do an Instructables post about how to make your very own.

Scratch Style: Tokidoki Turntable Watch

Karen M. — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:25:44 +0000

Tokidoki has recently come out with a watch that looks like a turntable, and I’ll be the first to go on record as saying it looks fantastic.

The Tokidoki watch is presented in a much more tongue-in-cheek rendering than this other turntable-lookin’ watch. It features a black and orange display and is stainless steel with a leather strap. The record face rotates as the second hand, and the time is displayed on a faux radio dial. It comes in an attractive black box.

You can buy one of these beauties for $175 at fredflare.com. The only downside: no actual scratching can be accomplished with this watch. For pocket-sized scratching you’ll still probably have to go the iPhone route.

DJ bonus: if you prefer your turntable references a little sweeter and more delicious, check out this turntable cake by Ashley Holt.

[via GeekAlerts]

Mixmeister Scratch: Dj Interface for iPhone / iPod Touch

Technabob — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 01:52:31 +0000

Here’s a fun way to get satisfy your inner DJ. This little application for the iPhone and iPod Touch uses the multi-touch screen to let you “scratch” audio tracks just like a real turntable.

MixMeister Scratch lets you choose from a bunch of digitized scratch sound effects, then lets you perform some turntable wizardry on any tune you’ve got loaded into your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Just pick your track, load MixMeister Scratch, and you can start scratching ’til the cows come home. The touch interface also lets you adjust the volume of your tunes as you use your fingertip to “spin” the virtual turntable. I’d love to see this running on a pair of iPhones side by side.

The application isn’t quite ready for download yet (I’m assuming it’ll run on the Apple iPhone SDK, but I’m not certain). But you can sign up to be notified of its availability here.

Jazzmutant Lemur Multi-Touch Control for Musicians

Technabob — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:22:56 +0000

The other day, I told you about a tabletop multi-touch interface for creating music sequences. While I was researching that story, I came across an interesting touchscreen interactive music controller device that you can actually get your hands on for yourself.

The Jazzmutant Lemur is a fully-programmable multi-touch input device for controlling music sequencing, mixing, or anything else you’d like to apply a finger-controlled interface to.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The $3000 Lemur provides a modular interface editor (for MacOSX or Windows) which lets you build your own custom graphical control panels, including sliders, faders, dials, buttons, keyboards and more.

Out of the box, it can control any MIDI recording software (such as Logic, ProTools, Ableton, Cubase, etc.), but is also compatible with the emerging OpenSoundControl standard. Plus, it uses Ethernet to connect with your network, meaning it can handle much more data throughput than traditional MIDI devices.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The device ships with numerous templates to help you get started, but there’s also an active user community that’s cranking out cool new interfaces all the time. If you’re into electronic music or recording, the Lemur is definitely worth a look.

[additional video footage]