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October 20, 2012 at 6:58 pm in reply to: Getting better sound in your dj sets (Tony Andrews interview) #1014093
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Memberscientifically conducted double-blind testing has shown time and time again that even self-proclaimed “audiophiles” can NOT consistently pick the higher quality file out of the two files played to them. A lot of that actually has to do with bias and the Placebo effect.
I’m not saying we should play 128 mp3s, but there’s definitely some diminishing marginal utility going on, especially when talking about file formats and lossy vs lossless.
But it’s not just in the world of DJing that some “experts” (no disrespect to Mr Andrews) need to make up a problem first to justify their own existence.
MemberWell, here we go again lol
After some time (and a couple of extended sessions) I came to some conclusions.
1. I didn’t buy into other people whining about a more complicated setup, because frankly it’s just some cables and not rocket sciene, BUT more devices and connections indeed means more potential sources for errors. Setting up the different controllers with their respective mappings within Traktor went fine after some short trial and error. But then the Audio 2 started bitching, fucking up my sound output, really weird. Sorted it out, but not sure why it happened.
2. The midifighter is cool, but not for me. I didn’t care to try and use it for deck controls, because I think the arcade buttons are more suited to actually trigger stuff. So I mainly used it with the DJTT Instant Gratification mapping. And while it’s fun to play around with it, I didn’t feel like it would really add something to my sets that I would actually want to throw at a crowd. It’s fun, but by no means do I need it. The 3D might be a different story, because it packs so much more functionality.
3. Having no jog wheels or touchstrips, I couldn’t really get used to. Using encoders felt like a pain in some situations, so I’d find myself using my MBP’s touchpad often. But I like to touch my computer as little as possible.
So soon enough I started to check out different all-in-one controllers again. And I actually gave the Twitch another try, never used it with Traktor before. I’ve only had it for a couple of days now, but I LOVE it! Even with just the standard mapping, haven’t tried out any other ones yet. But DAMN, haven’t had so much fun mixing in a while. The Twitch probably isn’t for everyone and not perfect either, but at this price point it’s unbeatable for me. I’ma stick with the Twitch for a while now I think 🙂
MemberHey Rob, yeah the K2 is a good choice either way, and with the color feedback for the layers you definitely have more “obvious” feedback than with the tiny LEDs on the Faderfox. That’s why I got the X1 too, because for transport and looping the Faderfox is not “accessible” enough for me. As you said, maybe too easy to make mistakes in the heat of the moment.
I hope the K2 works out nicely for you, maybe let us know after a couple of sessions? 🙂
MemberI think your buddy is right 😉
I’ve been hating on Macs and Apple products in general for a very long time. Sure, I liked my iPod, but I still thought it was all overhyped and overpriced and that Windows was just fine. I was more of a power user and thought everybody complaining about Win vs OS X just too dumb to use it correctly.
It all changed when I got my first Mac. Never before has a notebook lasted me 4 years and still been functioning perfectly – I abused the thing a LOT! Sure, if you wanna get your hands dirty and ur nerdy and techy, a Linux system might be for you. Other than that, I think that OS X is hands down the best OS if you just wanna get stuff done and need a computer that works hassle-free all the time. And since it comes in a high-quality hardware package, I think that the computers are totally worth their money. Only thing overpriced in my opinion are most of the hardware upgrades if you buy them from Apple directly. I love the iOS devices too, but the computers just blow me away. I’ll never buy another computer.MemberI looked into all those small modular controllers recently. Tried the K2 yesterday. Right now on my desk: DJ3 and X1.
It might be tempting to wanna switch to the K2 because it’d only be 50 bucks for you when swapping for your current equip, and it’s a nice controller for sure. But I think the DJ3 and K2 are slightly different pieces of gear. The DJ3 is really geared towards using Traktor’s internal mixer, and IMO (same applies to FT3) it’s much better at it than any mapping I can imagine for the K2. Which also has to to with hardware, the pots on the K2 not having any indents, no CF (that’s personal preference I guess).
If you sell your DJ3 and interface and you end up not digging your K2 that much and want another modular controller instead, then you’ll have to buy an interface again…What I’m trying to say is: a second modular controller in addition to the DJ3 might be an alternative? Reloop Contour is nicely built and comes for a ridiculously small price as Controller Version and offers plenty of controls to mess with, for example.
It’d be a different thing if you had been using your DJ3 with external mixer, that wouldn’t make much sense IMO, but from your choice of audio interface that’s probably not what you’ve been doing…
Memberor you could use shift + hc buttons for 1-4 (5-8 with shift) and set the deleting action on the hc button + one of the push encoders.
But if you don’t use the sample decks anyways, Phil’s solution is more elegant, because you don’t have to use shift to fire those additional hc’s
MemberOwned a MBP 15″ for 4 years (and it was still going strong after being used all day EVERY day), then went to 27″ iMac (nice apart from the wifi issues), but because of getting into DJing then wanted a Macbook again. Was torn between Macbook Air and Macbook Pro. The Air is indeed really (!) nice, and with the overhaul this year they finally got decent CPU, more RAM and higher resolution screens (same resolution on 13″ as the standard MBP 15″). Made my best friend get one as a new computer, and he absolutely loves it, like you Phil! But for me it was too expensive to get one specced to my needs (500gb of storage, can’t go with less, I hate external drives), because you can not upgrade the Air yourself (without voiding your warranty at least…).
So in the end I went back to what I’m used to: 15″ MBP. Really good deal on a new model, put in 500GB SSD and 8GB Ram and it’s the best computer I’ve ever owned. This thing is fucking fast ^^
But (this time around I got the glossy standard screen because of the amazing deal I got on a brand new computer, 500,-€ off) I would always go for the matte screen with the Macbook Pros. As a plus you get higher resolution ever since they offer that option on the unibodies. If I had a matte screen as with my old one, this would be the perfect computer for me, but… meh 🙂
MemberKind of a hybrid, because the S2 won’t be here much longer. But since I need an adaptor before I can plug my hifi into the Audio 2 … -.-
Setup as it says in my signature. Should keep me happy for a while! But when it comes to gear lust, I’d like to swap the MF classic for a MF3D, get an A&H 4D instead of the Faderfox and a Maschine Mk2 in 2013.
And maybe some multi color LED strips, I really liked that in one of you guys’ setup. Mood lighting ftw ^^
MemberWent to a cool store in my city today, and they must’ve had every controller you could think of available right now. Spent a shitload of time there 😀
So I decided on a setup finally today. It should definitely keep me more than happy (and very busy) for quite a while. But then again the cool thing about modular is, that you can just ditch a specific component if the needs change.
I was reaffirmed though that the VCI 400 EGE would be the controller of my dreams. Packs everything I need in one (not TOO big) unit, feels awesome… (they had the regular VCI 400). But even with the sale at DJTT atm for the difference in money I can get an Ableton Live license, so I’m happy with saving a few bucks 🙂
(Rly impressed with the Denon stuff too, felt awesome in use!)
Oh lol, forgot: So the new setup is the Faderfox DJ3 + NI X1 + Midifighter Classic
September 8, 2012 at 2:44 pm in reply to: Name one good thing and one bad thing about your DJ headphones #1011837MemberAiAiAi TMA-1
Good: Sound, rugged built quality, subtle style, cable with iPhone controls available
Bad: Faux leather padding can get quite hot, foldability would come in handy sometimes, but hinges can break so I’d rather go without 🙂MemberI too would’ve said either the Reloop or the Denon MC3000. I used the Kontrol S2 for a few months now, and it’s a very good controller in its functionality, but the build quality (and I don’t care what all the NI nuthuggers say, I still use NI gear, but come on, be real folks…) is sub par, period. The Denon feels amazing, actually I maybe would’ve bought one today, for me the only dealbreaker is that it has no loop encoders, which I love. But other than that it is of amazing quality and packs everything you could ask for in a controller with a footprint considerably smaller than the S2.
Have fun with your new controller! 🙂
September 8, 2012 at 2:20 pm in reply to: Mixing with Traktor 2, X1 controller and a club mixer…? #1011836MemberWhat is really cool is that there is a 4 deck mapping for the X1 over at DJTT that feels EXACTLY like the stock mapping, only difference is, you use the FX Assign Buttons to switch between decks A/C on the left and B/D on the right, now if you wanna FX assign you press the same buttons + shift. Otherwise completely identical workflow, so you have all for decks in one X1 and with the LED feedback it works perfectly!
I also played with the Reloop Contour and the A&H K2 today, which are about the same form factor as the X1. The X1 fitted my specific needs more, but if you want a 4 deck, small footprint modular controller and it fits your workflow, the Contour is a really cool small unit with a Jogwheel that has 4 different modes and feels really nice 🙂
Membersynthet1c: While all this might hold true in theory, that sorta implies that “everybody” -as you put it- also uses a Pioneer setup and Rekordbox software at home. And neither do I see me buying those big and pricy CDJs, nor do I wanna use Rekordbox, when it can’t do anything I can’t do better between iTunes and Traktor. So for all of us who prefer a digital setup of whatever kind at home (less expensive, takes up less space, lets you do MORE than a several thousands of dollars full Pioneer setup) when you show up at the venue, neither your hardware workflow nor your prepped tracks (in other software) translate to the CDJs.
MemberI won’t be home anyways sunday 16th, but further down the road I’d be happy to join you guys, sounds like fun to me. Never streamed a set before but that should be no biggie.
I do Tech/Deep House, Minimal Techno, Electro House but need a lot more practice for decent Dubstep mixing…
MemberOnly contender to X1 at this point is K2. The K2 is built to a higher quality standard and has the audio interface built-in, saving me the Traktor Audio 2, and giving me a shitload of mapping possibilities. Would be pricier than X1 setup though, because no TP2.5 included. And a steeper learning curve, whilst the X1 is really straightforward…
Faderfox DS3 looks cool too, having a deck mode, with plenty of deck controls applyable to all 4 decks, loop and FX, 8 nice big buttons for hotcues or you can switch to sample mode, and it definitely allows for more control than the X1.
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