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I spent this afternoon at an LGMG meetup billed as Sunday Afternoon Chillout, but which was also an opportunity to have a play with a few controllers for Virtual DJ software. For non-DJs out there, these are control panels that replicate the controls of a set of CD players, and connect to a laptop (usually by USB cable) to control the MP3-playing DJ software on the laptop (as an alternative to using a mouse to control the settings on the screen). The closest equivalent is the way that you can connect a "steering wheel" to your PC or games console to better play driving games, rather than using the keyboard and mouse.
This was going to be a little interesting, as I don't actually have much experience at all with laptop DJing - I started on vinyl and CDs, and haven't really progressed much further. However, having had a go with the Virtual DJ software on Kat's laptop, it's given me another motivation to replace the O/S on the Eee with something reasonable and install something equivalent - possibly Mixxx, as that's multi-platform, so that I can get some practice on my PC as well. It's quite handy, despite my previous kvetching on the subject, although the laptop wasn't up to the challenge of integrating CDs - fortunately I'd brought a USB key with a few tracks on it as well.
And so to the matter at hand. All three of the controllers that we were testing had built in audio stages, so were acting as external sound cards as well as controlling the software.
I arrived just too late to have a go with the first bit of kit, the really rather flash Finnish EKS Otus RAW - a multi-configurable piece of hardware designed to straddle existing vinyl decks, with a main jog wheel, an additional jog/selector wheel at each corner, a built-in mousepad and just about every button being configurable. All very nice, and probably unbeatable if you're the only person using your kit - and have the time to configure it to the exact way that you want to use it - and to remember what you set each button and wheel to do (being reconfigurable, they're mostly pretty much unlabelled). Not so out-of-the-box usable, however, although it does look very dramatic. And the turntable-straddling design also helps lift it above spilled drinks ...
Next up was a Hercules DJ Console 4-Mx (I think), which unlike the other two had a business-like metal case (with visible screw-heads - the ultimate sign of sturdy hardware). Unfortunately, it requires a special version of VirtualDJ ... and the previous reviewer had used up the licence. The back-up version we had available was somewhat buggy, so testing the hardware didn't go quite so well, the team had a bit of a challenge dealing with a hum from dirty power, and there were quite a number of controls on the panel, so it was occasionally hard to find the ones that you were looking for when trying to trouble-shoot. That said, the basic controls were pretty obvious, track selection could be carried out easily from the controller through some cursor buttons, the jog wheels worked pretty well, there were a host of programmable buttons, and generally the gear felt pretty sturdy.
And the final sample was the Numark iDJ3, which combines a standard two-deck controller with a built-in iPod dock (which will also, when plugged into the mains, keep it charged, too). It's plasticky, and seems targeted at the bedroom DJ (although the iPod dock could be handy when dealing with those musicians who turn up and ask you to play their latest track - which they only have on their iPod). It doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of the other two, and the iPod dock is almost an add-on - it has a channel to itself, and doesn't seem to be particularly integrated with the rest of the audio gear - it works like secondary inputs on most mixers, and isn't fed through the Virtual DJ software, so you don't get the beat-matching tools, cross-fader or other effects. That said, it does offer the opportunity to record your mixing to the iPod. And, most impressively of all, the thing just worked. When plugged in, it did what it was asked to, and was nice and simple, enabling almost any DJ to get the hang of it instantly.
So, for simple "just get on with it"-ness, the Numark would be the winner, although the iPod dock seemed like a bit of an expensive gimmick. The Hercules was sturdy, and would probably be the one to go for in a club installation (especially as rack-mounting fittings are available), although to get the best out of it you'd probably need some practice. And the EKS Otus looked awesome, and would be the one to go for if you were the only person ever to use it, and had the time to configure it all. Were I someone who regularly DJed from a laptop, and did so professionally, I'd probably go for the Hercules.
This was going to be a little interesting, as I don't actually have much experience at all with laptop DJing - I started on vinyl and CDs, and haven't really progressed much further. However, having had a go with the Virtual DJ software on Kat's laptop, it's given me another motivation to replace the O/S on the Eee with something reasonable and install something equivalent - possibly Mixxx, as that's multi-platform, so that I can get some practice on my PC as well. It's quite handy, despite my previous kvetching on the subject, although the laptop wasn't up to the challenge of integrating CDs - fortunately I'd brought a USB key with a few tracks on it as well.
And so to the matter at hand. All three of the controllers that we were testing had built in audio stages, so were acting as external sound cards as well as controlling the software.
I arrived just too late to have a go with the first bit of kit, the really rather flash Finnish EKS Otus RAW - a multi-configurable piece of hardware designed to straddle existing vinyl decks, with a main jog wheel, an additional jog/selector wheel at each corner, a built-in mousepad and just about every button being configurable. All very nice, and probably unbeatable if you're the only person using your kit - and have the time to configure it to the exact way that you want to use it - and to remember what you set each button and wheel to do (being reconfigurable, they're mostly pretty much unlabelled). Not so out-of-the-box usable, however, although it does look very dramatic. And the turntable-straddling design also helps lift it above spilled drinks ...
Next up was a Hercules DJ Console 4-Mx (I think), which unlike the other two had a business-like metal case (with visible screw-heads - the ultimate sign of sturdy hardware). Unfortunately, it requires a special version of VirtualDJ ... and the previous reviewer had used up the licence. The back-up version we had available was somewhat buggy, so testing the hardware didn't go quite so well, the team had a bit of a challenge dealing with a hum from dirty power, and there were quite a number of controls on the panel, so it was occasionally hard to find the ones that you were looking for when trying to trouble-shoot. That said, the basic controls were pretty obvious, track selection could be carried out easily from the controller through some cursor buttons, the jog wheels worked pretty well, there were a host of programmable buttons, and generally the gear felt pretty sturdy.
And the final sample was the Numark iDJ3, which combines a standard two-deck controller with a built-in iPod dock (which will also, when plugged into the mains, keep it charged, too). It's plasticky, and seems targeted at the bedroom DJ (although the iPod dock could be handy when dealing with those musicians who turn up and ask you to play their latest track - which they only have on their iPod). It doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of the other two, and the iPod dock is almost an add-on - it has a channel to itself, and doesn't seem to be particularly integrated with the rest of the audio gear - it works like secondary inputs on most mixers, and isn't fed through the Virtual DJ software, so you don't get the beat-matching tools, cross-fader or other effects. That said, it does offer the opportunity to record your mixing to the iPod. And, most impressively of all, the thing just worked. When plugged in, it did what it was asked to, and was nice and simple, enabling almost any DJ to get the hang of it instantly.
So, for simple "just get on with it"-ness, the Numark would be the winner, although the iPod dock seemed like a bit of an expensive gimmick. The Hercules was sturdy, and would probably be the one to go for in a club installation (especially as rack-mounting fittings are available), although to get the best out of it you'd probably need some practice. And the EKS Otus looked awesome, and would be the one to go for if you were the only person ever to use it, and had the time to configure it all. Were I someone who regularly DJed from a laptop, and did so professionally, I'd probably go for the Hercules.
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