Showing posts with label music gadgets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music gadgets. Show all posts

6/05/2012

M-Audio Torq Xponent Advanced DJ Performance/Production System Review

M-Audio Torq Xponent Advanced DJ Performance/Production System
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
So after scouring the internet for reviews of the xponent, and having used its cousin the Torq Mixlab and getting down the basics of CPU based DJing, I am proud to say that I couldn't be happier with the Xponent. I got it a few weeks ago, have a Macbook that runs great with it, and have so far had no problems whatsoever. The software is fast and loads my itunes library (over 16k songs) in about 30 seconds. One of the best features of the Torq software is how it figures out (or you can override) the beat of each song and SAVES it. This means that when you're spinning, you can sort by BPM and see the 20 songs that are close in BPM that you have used before. This makes song selection a pleasure!
All the switches and knobs are very responsive, and as a person who basically started DJing (beatmatching, mixing, cueing) a month ago, I feel right at home here. The loop features are easy to use and drop in, and the sampler is very powerful and easy to use. I just spun a big house party with this thing a week ago and it went great! The effects are fun, and using the mouse pad like a Chaos Pad allows for some cool remixing on the fly. I find that scratching is easy to do and there are various settings to determine how sensitive the wheels are.
All in all, this is a great product for a novice or someone who likes to pick music and wants to get into real mixing. If you're the person always holding the iPod at the party but want more control, this is definitely a great place to start (and as far as I'm concerned, finish). As for all the haters of digital DJing, I don't really care, its much easier than bringing vinyl and remembering BPMs and you can plug in someone at the party's ipod and use their music in real time. I find that the Xponent is extremely versatile, perfect for a beginner or seasoned DJ alike, and it and its grandchildren will be leading us into the future of DJing. Hope this helps, there is a lack of people talking about the Xponent and its a truly great device that has allowed me to finally do something I've wanted to do for years, but I've never had the resources to get set up with vinyl and dj lessons.
Cheers!
-DP


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The professional-grade Torq Xponent system seamlessly integrates high-performance DJ software with a fully functional hands-on controller, representing a new era in digital DJ performance and production. The Xponent hardware combines the features of a two-channel DJ mixer with CDJ-style tactile controls, letting you cue, mix and manipulate digital files without touching the host computer. In addition to the essentials, M-Audio Torq 1.5 software delivers a variety of real-time creative tools to take your sets beyond the ordinary--and the Xponent hardware control surface puts all that power right at your fingertips. This integrated solution opens the door to new techniques that are simply impossible with traditional DJ setups.

Rock-Solid Professional DJ Hardware The Torq Xponent hardware/software system delivers everything a professional DJ needs to perform with a computer. Xponent is both an advanced MIDI control surface for Torq software and a four-output USB audio interface that includes two stereo RCA outputs and a standard 1/4-inch headphone output for cueing. Every control on Xponent boasts the same rock-solid construction and rugged feel as traditional DJ hardware. So if you're ready to make the leap to the world of software-based DJing, you'll feel right at home with Xponent.
Get Inside the Mix Torq 1.5 DJ software makes it easy to go beyond basic beat matching and crossfading between tracks. With a 16-cell, tempo-synced sampler, easy looping capabilities and multiple cue points, you can chop up a song--on the fly--and reorder, remix and extend any section you want, all while staying perfectly in time. The QuickScratch feature lets you instantly scratch with any two loaded samples. Tempo Anchors remove tempo variations from your tracks--or cause other songs to adopt the tempo changes--making mash-ups and live remixes a breeze. Tempo Master synchronizes all tracks, samples and effects within Torq, while MIDI clock transmits tempo information to outboard hardware and other computers so you can collaborate with friends. And if you also want to produce, Torq is ReWire-compatible with Pro Tools M-Powered software and other popular applications.
Advanced Effects Processing Torq 1.5 gives you 10 essential effects right out of the box for dynamic manipulation of your tracks. Imagine the possibilities of stacking multiple distortion, filter, repeat, chorus or bit-reduction effects while mixing between songs. You can turn any track into your own original creation--and even record it on the spot with the integrated performance recorder. Torq also allows you to create recallable snapshots of your favorite EQ, effect and mixer settings, and even supports the vast world of third-party VST effects plug-ins.
Dynamic Control Over Torq 1.5 Software The best DJ tools allow you to get your hands on your music--from cueing to beat matching to scratching. M-Audio designed the Xponent control surface with full-size, DJ CD-player-style controls so you can get into the music and engage the crowd during each moment of your set. Xponent features 64 assignable backlit buttons (including Play, Cue, Seek, Loop, Key and Sync controls), two volume sliders, eight assignable knobs for effect control and two 100mm pitch sliders. The built-in touchpad/assignable X/Y controller allows you to control your mouse or the effects in Torq, so you never have to take your hands off the unit in the middle of a performance.
Made to Work Together Torq 1.5 DJ software for Mac and PC automatically configures itself to work with Xponent--every hardware control is pre-mapped to its corresponding function in Torq. It's easy to get up and running with Xponent because all of the hardware controls are located exactly where you'd expect them to be. The transition into digital DJing couldn't be simpler.
Plays Well with Others In addition to VST compatibility, Torq 1.5 software can interface with any ReWire-compatible host application. You can easily route the output of Torq to a program like Pro Tools M-Powered and explore even more performance, production and sound design possibilities. When ReWired to a host application, the tempo of Torq automatically locks to the current session tempo, so you never have to worry about syncing playback between Torq and your preferred DAW. In addition, the Xponent control surface can be MIDI-mapped to other digital audio workstation software including Ableton Live.
What's in the Box Xponent USB DJ Controller and Audio Interface, Torq CD-ROM (Torq Software, Xponent Drivers, and Documentation), USB Cable, 12VDC 1000mA Power Supply, Quick Start Guide

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5/12/2012

Numark Cue Professional Dj Software Review

Numark Cue Professional Dj Software
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
The last guy was obviously not a pro, because I have this set up in my club and it is amazing! Probably the bext VJ software on the market, VirtualDJ/Numark CUE blows the socks off of the competition for performance, quality and customizability of the application. Highly recommended to any professional; but not for the novice user.

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CUE is the most reliable, intuitive DJ software. It empowers DJs to mix, scratch, juggle, and sample audio and video on its dual virtual decks. You can use CUE just like you use vinyl, CDs, or most other DJ formats. Just load tracks from your virtual crates to the virtual decks and mix it up. Working with digital tracks is just like it's always been since the days of vinyl, and you can control with your mouse or select from a wide range of Numark controllers, decks, and mixers for the feel you prefer.

Your Mix, Your Software While many other programs require you to adapt your style to their layout, CUE has a series of software skins that tailor the actual look and layout of the program to your mixing needs. You can select Basic, Power Audio, Internal Mixer, and Full Audio and Video for the setup that's right for you.
Complete Compatibility CUE enables you to play directly from a CD or from a variety of digital audio files including MP3, MP3Pro, MP4, M4A, WAV, AIFF, DVD, WMV, CDA, WMA, ASF, OGG, and iTunes ACC (non-DRM).
On the video side of things, CUE handles DVD, VOB, DIVX, MPG (1, 2, 4), AVI, WMV, and Karaoke (CD+G) files with ease.
CUE also supports VST plug-ins and is compatible with virtually any MIDI controller including NS7, TOTAL CONTROL, STEALTH CONTROL, OMNI CONTROL, iCDX, M1USB, C3USB, X1USB, DJ|iO, VIRTUAL VINYL, and more. CUE also supports DirectX and multi-channel ASIO.
Hence the Name CUE has advanced, extensive cueing capabilities that enable you to expand your performance beyond the standard. CUE has video on-screen cueing, audio cueing in headphones, outputs to a club's video screens and audio system(s), and even the ability to broadcast video and audio on the web!
Masterful Mixing CUE empowers you to mix, scratch, and interchange audio and video for traditional or multimedia performances. See the visual waveform of the track in CUE's Rhythm Window for flawless mix accuracy. CUE can automatically sync tracks together for effortless song transitions. CUE automatically detects BPM on virtually any track to help you make your own transitions.
CUE's video and audio mixers contain multiple video transitions and effects. You can also choose from a variety of built–in effects, add VST plug-ins, and create beat–matched loops and samples for on the fly remixes.
If you're playing a karaoke gig, you'll appreciate CUE's automatic CD+G file detection allows that shows all of your karaoke files with a single click.
Search Without Seizure CUE is designed around the basic rule that you can't mix what you can't find. So we made search powerful, fast, and flexible. You can easily search and locate audio and video on your system by searchable by Title, Artist, BPM, Track Length, and even by Comments--nine different tag categories in all! Files are automatically added to CUE's global search database when you add them to your system by downloading, importing, inserting, or connecting them. CUE's smart database management automatically checks your library when you launch the program and fixes any problems it finds.
Vibrant Video CUE has extensive video performance capabilities and works with virtually all formats. You can add powerful effects and text titles. Its video clip player gives you sampler-style playback. There's also a slide show plug-in.
Pro Playback CUE has a series of tools for managing playlists and history. Play History Management automatically records what you played and when. CUE stores playlists in your documents directory for easy management and portability. Plus, it's compatible with crates and iTunes playlists.

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4/07/2012

Hercules DJ Console RMX Review

Hercules DJ Console RMX
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Wonderful item, it does what it says it does. Out of the box, installation was less than 10 mins with installation of the software and drivers. I was up and running and after figuring out some of the functions that weren't that well described in the manual, pretty soon it took me back to the old days when I used to mix vinyl records. The problem is that the jog dials, though very responsive, aren't accurate enough for the scratching motions needed for turntablist hip hop scratching. You can scratch and do pullbacks and do some scratch tricks, just don't expect to be mixmaster mike with this fader. There is a little latency from the movements of your wrist and the actual sound coming out of the speakers. For fading in between songs it is fine, and for minimal scratching it is ok at best. Otherwise, for everything else, it is a wonderful toy for the hobbyist dj, you can loop, sample and add effects with ease. But smoke and mirrors aside, professionals should definitely look elsewhere, and they wouldn't be reading up on something like this anyway with their purist attitude.

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The Hercules DJ Console Rmx is a digital audio console designed for advanced and professional DJs. Stellar features include a solid metal casing, broad surface, well-designed, accessible buttons and knobs, precise and comprehensive controls, a built-in audio interface with 4 inputs and 4 outputs and an aggressive price. Get ready to see how the DJ Console Rmx is one of the most comprehensive digital dual mixing deck in its category.

Mobility and Stability for Production and Live PerformancesThe Hercules DJ Console Rmx has been designed to enable mobile DJs as well as club and studio DJs to mix digital music. This "nomadic" device simply connects to the USB port of a PC or Mac laptop. Broad enough in size to allow DJs to mix with unrivalled ease and precision, it is also compact enough to follow users to any event--its measurements (35 x 25 cm) are equivalent to those of a laptop computer.
For live mixing and seamless integration with the DJ's professional environment, the DJ Console Rmx features a solid metal casing and non-slip pads guaranteeing perfect stability.Adding to its stability, the device boasts flawless drivers thanks to the competence of the company's Canadian R&D division and to the expertise acquired by the team over 20 years of experience in computer-assisted audio processing.
Designed for Precise, Swift MixingThe Hercules DJ Console RMX offers DJs precision and speed in all their moves, thanks to 2 ultra-precise jog wheels for moving within tracks and for scratching, 12 rotary switches, 46 push-buttons, 6 faders--including pitch faders with a center detent--plus an innovative and convenient general volume fader. The roomy layout of the controls allows DJs to perfect fumble-free mixes. Indeed, the controls are designed for quick and intuitive use; DJs will find their marks quickly, allowing them to focus their full attention and ability to the music and the dance floor.
Built-in Audio Interface With Specialized DJing Audio FeaturesAs an expert in the design of audio interfaces, Hercules determined that the integration of an audio interface featuring 4 inputs and 4 outputs on the Hercules DJ Console Rmx was both obvious and essential. The interface grants access to unique features such as:
4 audio outputs offering:
Maximum sound over 4 mono 1/4-inch jack outputs, outputting +4dBu for PA equipment,
Audio output levels at -10dBv over 4 RCA outputs, for connecting consumer devices (hi-fi systems, recording devices etc.)

Simple integration to the DJ's equipment by means of 2 stereo analog inputs enabling users to mix, via the DJ software, external sources with digital music; the console also features a phono/line-level selector on each input, ideal for connecting turntables, CD or MP3 players and rhythm boxes.
Microphone (with talk-over feature) and headset (for preview feature) connectors are accessible on the console's upper face and front face, enabling DJs to use the console with unrivalled ease, whether in a flight case, on a DJ stand or on a tabletop!

Dedicated Software for Optimum Digital DJing ControlThe Hercules DJ Console Rmx comes with VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition, the reference in the DJing world for PC, now also available for Mac. VirtualDJ 5 DJC Edition instantly connects to the console. The software includes features and settings specific to the Hercules DJ Console Rmx, and combines the power of the VirtualDJ mixing engine with the ergonomics of the Hercules DJ Console Rmx.
The Hercules DJ Console Rmx is a MIDI controller and therefore compatible with other MIDI-controlled software applications.
Compatible With Standard DJing Digital Music LibrariesThe Hercules DJ Console Rmx enables DJs to mix the music files stored on their PC or Mac in the following formats: MP3, AIFF, WAV, WMA, OGG & CD Audio, as well as the iTunes library.
Hercules DJ Console Rmx Features at a Glance


What's in the BoxDJ Control RMX USB-Powered Control Surface, Software CD, Carrying Bag, User's Manual

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