DJ mixer for the iPod!

[Lisarocket]

Well i managed to get one off Numark for review...has to go back soon though

I like it. I agreed with a lot of what you lot on the thread were saying about it not having pitch control and all that, (Pete Tong is talking to Apple at the moment about making a DJ ipod with pitch control though)
so i didn't really think it would be that good....

However i don't want to send it back now i've had a play with it.
I've been DJing with two ipod for a few years now. The main problem using pods to DJ with (apart from the obvious beatmatching, or lack of it) is smooth transitions between songs and mixing tracks into one another as you have to unpause the pod as your crossfading and if you've got a pod you know that the pause button doesn't always work straight away.... Most of the tunes i play are started a bit into the song (doctored in itunes) so that the transitions are better. The mixer solves this with a handy little button that automatically pauses/unpauses the pods when you crossfade. You can plug a computer into it to add tunes as your playing or to record mixes and it's got a tv output too. Numark must have known about the new video pods coming out well in advance....
After only a few hours i was doing some good mixing of tunes into one another like a "proper" DJ would, and had recorded a mix. I spent hours playing with it yesterday....

I'm going to do a field test with it on Friday night...

Loads of blue lights on it too

I know that some people still won't see the point of it and i'm probably in a minority, but i think it's a great little mixer. I think i 'get it' because i do already DJ with pods and can see the benefits of it to someone like me.

If i was a normal punter though i wouldn't have two pods, so i can see people's points about that.

Now, when's the pro model coming out.....

Actually, i may buy this one as they've offered quite a nice discount

 

[rocketman]

If I may simply say, the conceit that DJing is all about beat matching and scratching is only one element of the story. At the end of the day, a good DJ is the one who can "select" the best tunes that please diverse audiences, and help them have another drink, dance and have some fun.
Sure, scratching and beatmatching can help create such an atmosphere, but at the end of the day, DJing IS about the music, so if someone can create such an atmosphere with a Fisher Price kids record player, somehow, then that's just as good.
Reggae/Dub fans here may recall Jah Shaka, who manages to create a fantastic atmosphere simply by using one deck, his music collection and some very large speakers. He doesn't mix in any conventional sense, but does accomplish the aim - helping people have fun, dance and party.
And lisarocket is very good at that 'selection' bit, and has been making some well-nice mixes.

 

[rocketman]

Oh yeah, the gadget costs £229.

 

[hiccup]

....
After only a few hours i was doing some good mixing of tunes into one another like a "proper" DJ would, and had recorded a mix. I spent hours playing with it yesterday....

Go on, post up the mix

 

[Dubversion]

Reggae/Dub fans here may recall Jah Shaka, who manages to create a fantastic atmosphere simply by using one deck, his music collection and some very large speakers. He doesn't mix in any conventional sense, but does accomplish the aim - helping people have fun, dance and party.

but what Shaka has is the absolute pinnacle of sound at his disposal. which you are categorically NOT going to get with a pair of fucking i-pods.

 

[Lisarocket]

but what Shaka has is the absolute pinnacle of sound at his disposal. which you are categorically NOT going to get with a pair of fucking i-pods.

I don't think he meant it like that...

He was on about him using one deck really well...without doing any mixing at all.

I used to work for Shaka doing the door for his dances and i know his kit. It's a load of cobbled together old bits, one very old record deck, and the 'pinnacle of sound' your on about is a fucking huge valve amp (lovely sound, but always breaking) and loads of bass bins...Shaka is about trouser shaking volume.

 

[Dubversion]

I don't think he meant it like that...

He was on about him using one deck really well...without doing any mixing at all.

I used to work for Shaka doing the door for his dances and i know his kit. It's a load of cobbled together old bits, one very old record deck, and the 'pinnacle of sound' your on about is a fucking huge valve amp (lovely sound, but always breaking) and loads of bass bins...Shaka is about trouser shaking volume.

it's not just loud though, it has body, it has substance. i know his gear is old, but it's warm and deep and involved. which an ipod isn't.. wasn't debating the mixing aspect at all - i don't mix either - just weird to use Shaka as an example in a debate about mp3s, if you see what i mean

 

[Lisarocket]

it's not just loud though, it has body, it has substance. i know his gear is old, but it's warm and deep and involved. which an ipod isn't.. wasn't debating the mixing aspect at all - i don't mix either - just weird to use Shaka as an example in a debate about mp3s, if you see what i mean

The warmth in the sound comes from a valve amp that's the size of a cupbopard....

Rocketman was using Shaka as an example because he doesn't mix at all and it doesn't matter to the audience. Whenever there's a debate about Djing on these here boards it seems to be that the most important thing about being a DJ is that you can mix, and not the tune selection.

I know you don't mix, you just play good tunes, but you don't seem to get a slagging for not being a 'proper' DJ. I however have been told on many occasions that i'm not a proper DJ (to the point that i hardly ever mention it on here) just because i use ipods...

 

[Lisarocket]

it's not just loud though, it has body, it has substance. i know his gear is old, but it's warm and deep and involved. which an ipod isn't..

So tonight i've just done the field test linking the Numark mixer into one channel of the crap (slightly knackered Numark mixer) mixer that i've been using for the last year in the regular venue that i play at 'oop west' and i was so surprised at the quality of sound that i got.

Using Pods into a normal mixer doesn't allow for the low sound output they have, but the Numark iDJ gave me great bass, mid and high. A fully rounded sound that i've never had there. This is down to the fact that the mixer pulls the sound from the firewire dock instead of the way i've had to link the pods to the mixer by minijack to stereo from the headphone socket using digital leads.

Numark have really thought about how to get the best sound out of the ipod and have really proved this mixers worth to me now. I know what sound quality i got before and i know what i can expect now. I'm definitely getting one....

So here's the actual review i did...the live test bit will be added sometime tomorrow when i get it together Review

So how can i get one for nowt now