Pioneer have this morning announced the new DJM2000 mixer with 5.8 inch multi-touch screen, MIDI control and advanced effects. Pioneer mixers have always been the best DJs can get their hands on with the DJM800 being an industry standard for years. Taking full advantage of all the technical advances we have had since the DJM800 was fist released, it looks like Pioneer have raised the bar with the DJM2000.

The feature list reads like a digital DJ’s dream. A full set of effects which can be applied only to specific aspects of your music, for example the vocals or drums. A 5.8 inch, multi-touch, LCD panel can be used to enhance your mixing making live performance even more dynamic than ever. A live sampler allows you to drop sounds straight into your mix there and then. The new Pro DJ Link allows the CDJ2000 and CDJ900 to be connected straight into the DJM2000 with an ethernet cable. This allows all the CDJs connected to share one SD card or USB mass storage device.

Read the rest of this entry »

A lot of people have been enquiring about the CDJ900 while some of you have already went ahead and bought some of the most sought after CD players for years. For those of you wondering what the CDJ900 has to offer or you guys wondering how to get the most from your shiny new equipment, Pioneer have announced a series of training videos on their site at www.djsounds.com.

So whether you have them yet or are just interested, these new videos created by Kutski are well worth your time. Enjoy…

Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve had the Spin in for a few days now so I have taken the opportunity to have a play with the unit and report my thoughts. The first thing to take into account before you even take the Spin out of the box is it’s a £229 product pitching itself against the likes of the RMX and the Omni. £229 isn’t cheap but the Spin doesn’t compare to the Vestax VCI300 or TR1.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today Pioneer have announced that the legendary CDJ1000 has come to an end. This remarkable CD player has spanned almost a decade as the market leader, evolved through 3 models and is the best selling unit of all time at DJ Store.

Pioneer’s Martin Dockree said:

“It is with mixed feelings that today we announce to the channel the discontinuation of the CDJ 1000MK3…….thanks to the hard work of our then newly appointed direct retailers, installers and established distribution, aswell as the DJ’s who instantly recognised it as the first real practical DJ CD player, it very quickly became an industry standard fixture in the DJ booth.”

The CDJ1000mk3 has now been superseded by Pioneer CDJ900. It has extra features over the CDJ1000mk3 such as auto beat loop and slip mode. DJs can play music files back from USB keys and portable hardrives and use it as a MIDI controller that will plug and play with Serato and Traktor without the need for time encoded discs. It’s equipped with a far superior sound card than any other controller on the market save the CDJ2000. The CDJ900 also ships with Pioneer’s music management software for DJs, rekordbox, which makes navigation of music on mass storage devices quick and easy.

We’ve got a handful left in stock, so now is your last chance to get your hands on a CDJ1000mk3, whilst stocks last.

Now that you have everything setup and ready to go, it is all too easy to crank the volume all the way up. This has the potential to damage your mixer, amplifier, speakers and even your hearing! To avoid damaging your equipment while getting the best possible volume, you need to set your gains properly.

The best way to do this when you are using your equipment for the first time, is to set your gains and the volume controls to 12 o’ clock and play some music. Turn your volume briefly all the way up. If your gains are set correctly, the music should be nice and loud and the LED meters for your gain should remain in the green – it is important that they never touch the red.

This is a fluid process which can change from track to track so you will find yourself tweaking your gains now and again but generally, when they are set properly, you should have a full range of control just using your volume fader or knob. As well as the red LEDs, listen out for any unusual distortion in your music, even when it doesn’t sound all that loud. That’s normally an indicator that you need to turn your gains down and volume up to compensate. It’s important to remember that the gains aren’t used to turn the volume up and down – they are there to smooth out track volume from different sources.

Scratch Live 2 adds more decks, DJ FX and two way interaction with Ableton Live with new protocol called “The Bridge”. Inside Serato Scratch Live 2, we now bring four new Display Modes that allow you to choose a range of new screen layouts with 2, 3 or 4 deck control. Each Display Mode features with a clean design and your choice of ways to play with expanded Library Views that allow you to easily spot your favorite track to bring to the mix.

Serato Scratch Live 2.0

Additional tools can be activated in Scratch Live that give you an expanded view and instant control of a range of free plug-ins including the SP-6 Sample Player, brand new Serato DJ FX and direct access to Ableton Live via “The Bridge”.

You can also add the optional Serato Video-SL plug-in to bring exciting visuals into your performance.

New in Serato Scratch Live 2

Serato Scratch Live 2.0 will be available as a free of charge upgrade to existing users.

As NAMM rolls around once more, information starts cascading to us here at DJ Store on the new products we can expect to see in 2010. The first manufacturer out of the blocks is Numark (including Akai and Ion). We don’t have pricing for any of the following products and only have dates for some of them (which could change) but all the details we have are included below.

Numark V7 Motorized Turntable Software Controller

Borrowing some of the technology that has made the NS7 such a huge success, the Numark V7 is a direct drive, motorised turntable software controller with adjustable torque. Numark worked with Serato to design the included Serato Itch software which works seamlessly with the V7. Designed to work with any DJ mixer, the V7 features 24-bit audio, mouse free library navigation and complete, onboard FX controls.

Numark V7 Motorized Turntable Software Controller

The V7 is the first Numark unit to feature a dual deck USB function for seamless handoffs between two DJs. Using this feature, you can link V7s for up to four virtual decks between two DJs with laptops. The V7 is the future of software turntablism and should be in stock from March.
Read the rest of this entry »

Rumours of a new Traktor controller made by Native Instruments themselves have been circulating for some time. Yesterday Native Instruments confirmed those rumours with the announcement of the Traktor Kontrol X1.

The Kontrol X1 has been designed from the ground up to work with Traktor Pro. With the ability to control two decks at once, the interface fully mirrors what you see on your screen, completely removing the need to use a mouse or keyboard. All the functions are right there at your fingertips including loops, hotcues and sync.

Utilising a new high resolution protocol Native Instruments have created, the Kontrol X1 feels incredibly accurate and precise. It will also integrate perfectly with a Traktor Scratch setup as well as any other DJ software. The unit is built with quality in mind with robust knobs and firm buttons which are backlit to provide visual and tactile feedback.

Everything is laid out in an intuitive way so that any DJ familiar with Traktor should feel at home straight away. On top of this, the Kontrol X1 ships with Traktor LE, Kore Player and Kore Instrument software so everything is in the box to get you started. We are expecting the Kontrol X1 to be a massive hit when it arrives on the 1st February.

As a new DJ, one of the least obvious things you are just expected to know and understand is the difference between Line and Phono connections.

Read the rest of this entry »

The third BPM promised to be bigger and better this year with a move from Donnigton Park to the NEC in Birmingham, and they certainly delivered an impressive event. Sound and light shows tend to have a real atmosphere created by the noise, lights and smoke, add to it several thousand DJ’s having their chance to get their hands on the latest equipment makes for a great day; here are some of the highlights.
Read the rest of this entry »