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Professorbx posted:Get Traktor Scratch/Serato, best of both worlds. Also, the TT-1's were a dope turntable for the day, congrats! Oh believe me, I'm planning on it. First I need to get a mixer, though... buying the tts themselves busted me for a little bit 
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Nov 1, 2011 03:31
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phractured posted:Uh? Skratchworx was trying to confirm that the 1200s were dead last year, but no one could find a press release from Panasonic/Technics. It was finally found last month. Hence my, "It only took a year for anyone to actually find the statement by Panasonic saying so."
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Nov 1, 2011 20:51
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I just got live and some controllers and I'm staring at a whole bunch of knobs and a simple macro'd effects rack linked to the controller. Can anyone suggest some resources for the super basics like "how you mix songs so it doesn't sound like you were trying to use a crossfader and then half way through spilled coffee on your controller and had to push a whole bunch of buttons to get it off"?
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Nov 2, 2011 13:38
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http://www.digitaldjtips.com/
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Nov 2, 2011 13:57
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Chitin posted:http://www.digitaldjtips.com/ This seems to be 80% GET A GIG NOW and 20% gear reviews.
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Nov 2, 2011 15:00
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:This seems to be 80% GET A GIG NOW and 20% gear reviews. Yeah but there's are some great articles in there on MIDI mapping and technique if you dig for 'em. Sadly I don't know of many that are better... DJ Techtools suffers from similar "once every two months we'll release a tutorial, in the meantime GEAR" syndrome.
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Nov 2, 2011 15:55
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Ellaskins' YouTube page has got a treasure trove of good tips. You just got to sift through the literally three thousand vids and ignore the sometimes lovely sound quality.
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Nov 3, 2011 02:17
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While we're (somewhat) on the subject of turntables, I'm trying to buy a pair of decks to augment my current equipment (Traktor Pro 2, Kontrol X1), and I'm wondering how much I should spurge on turntables. Currently I'm looking at both the Numark TTX or the Stanton STR8-80s. Anybody either have a pair of these, or have experience with them? I'm only hoping to pay ~$500 for the two, but if the TTX is far superior to the Stantons I can just save up for longer no biggie.
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Nov 3, 2011 06:45
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Styliferous posted:While we're (somewhat) on the subject of turntables, I'm trying to buy a pair of decks to augment my current equipment (Traktor Pro 2, Kontrol X1), and I'm wondering how much I should spurge on turntables. Currently I'm looking at both the Numark TTX or the Stanton STR8-80s. Anybody either have a pair of these, or have experience with them? I'm only hoping to pay ~$500 for the two, but if the TTX is far superior to the Stantons I can just save up for longer no biggie. Before buying new, I'd watch Craigslist for a little while and see what pops up. Lots of people getting rid of their decks in a recession.
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Nov 3, 2011 14:31
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Styliferous posted:While we're (somewhat) on the subject of turntables, I'm trying to buy a pair of decks to augment my current equipment (Traktor Pro 2, Kontrol X1), and I'm wondering how much I should spurge on turntables. Currently I'm looking at both the Numark TTX or the Stanton STR8-80s. Anybody either have a pair of these, or have experience with them? I'm only hoping to pay ~$500 for the two, but if the TTX is far superior to the Stantons I can just save up for longer no biggie. The Str8-80 was our budget turntable, the TTX is Numark's flaghip. Thing to keep in mind though is that the Numark motor tends to burn out. A lot. Even with their new venting. For $500 you can typically get a pair of 1200's, and I've seen the Str8-100 (our old flagship) go for sub-$300 on Craigslist.
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Nov 3, 2011 18:28
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Professorbx posted:For $500 you can typically get a pair of 1200's, and I've seen the Str8-100 (our old flagship) go for sub-$300 on Craigslist. Hmm. Not true in my area, at least. I was able to get a pair of 1200's for $800, but that was an anomalous price, most of them have been starting at $900/pair and upwards.
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Nov 3, 2011 19:28
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Say what? That's more then they where new back in the day. 
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Nov 3, 2011 23:07
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Yeah that's expensive, but if you're in the middle of nowhere you might not have a choice. Generally 300 - 400 each for 1200s in good shape is pretty standard. $900 a pair isn't TERRIBLE if they come with flight cases and needles and other accessories but in general it's a bit high.
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Nov 3, 2011 23:15
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Location is key of coarse, but I've paid 450 for a pair in good nick, with needles and covers. Otherwise you should look out for so called: 'Super OEM' tables, which are sold for half the price but when it comes to specifications are truly twice as 'good'.
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Nov 4, 2011 00:54
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fordan posted:Hmm. Not true in my area, at least. I was able to get a pair of 1200's for $800, but that was an anomalous price, most of them have been starting at $900/pair and upwards. Where are you at? In LA at least they go for about $500 a pair.
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Nov 4, 2011 00:55
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Yeah, the unfortunate problem with searching Craigslist is that my area has nearly nothing going for DJ equipment, the last time someone posted a pair of vinyl turntables was a month and a half ago, and they were asking $900 for a pair of Technics. The closest city to me is an hour and a half away, and the nearest major one is 3+ hours on the highway. Really I was asking about the brands I specified because they're available used on Amazon. If I lived closer to a major urban center I'd undoubtedly use craigslist, but that doesn't really seem like an option unless there was an influx from somewhere else. Styliferous fucked around with this message at 06:50 on Nov 4, 2011 |
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Nov 4, 2011 06:28
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Are there any telltale signs on Pioneer CDJs that they are about to break? I don't want to drop 800 on a pair of 800mkIIs just to have the jogwheel go out or have the CD drive stop reading disks.
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Nov 4, 2011 07:10
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Styliferous posted:Yeah, the unfortunate problem with searching Craigslist is that my area has nearly nothing going for DJ equipment, the last time someone posted a pair of vinyl turntables was a month and a half ago, and they were asking $900 for a pair of Technics. The closest city to me is an hour and a half away, and the nearest major one is 3+ hours on the highway.
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Nov 4, 2011 09:07
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Woo just got a weekend monthly at a cool bar. Guess that means its time to actually learn how to DJ, not just warp poo poo in ableton. I guess the best bet is something called se..ra-to?
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Nov 4, 2011 20:34
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Volvagia posted:Woo just got a weekend monthly at a cool bar. Guess that means its time to actually learn how to DJ, not just warp poo poo in ableton. I guess the best bet is something called se..ra-to? Congrats! Nothing wrong with using ableton, just get a nice controller like a launchpad or an apc40 and youre good to go. If you really want a more hands on approach I would look into Traktor, but you're not going to be able to practice at home unless you buy an entire setup. The reason why I say Traktor is because
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Nov 4, 2011 20:42
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^^^ thanks for the info, I know you're a Tdot dude as well, we should chat. I do it with a nocturn and an lpd8 right now but to be honest I always feel like a huge poser...vinyl (or emulation) is just so much more legit.
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Nov 4, 2011 20:46
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THAT drat DOG posted:Are there any telltale signs on Pioneer CDJs that they are about to break? I don't want to drop 800 on a pair of 800mkIIs just to have the jogwheel go out or have the CD drive stop reading disks. Here are some things I would check: Jog Wheel - resistance should be pretty light and response should be uniform Pitch Slider - same as jog wheel, check the full range of the slider Touch Sensor Under Platter - This pressure sensor is known to wear down. Enable vinyl mode and make sure it stops properly with light pressure and resumes when you lift your hand off. Cue Button - This button takes a beating. Make sure it responds well and doesn't stick
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Nov 4, 2011 20:50
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Volvagia posted:^^^ thanks for the info, I know you're a Tdot dude as well, we should chat. I do it with a nocturn and an lpd8 right now but to be honest I always feel like a huge poser...vinyl (or emulation) is just so much more legit. yeah I'm down! do you have plat? shoot me msg or give me an email or something. I'm in NYC until monday but we'll get in touch next week
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Nov 4, 2011 20:55
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Styliferous posted:While we're (somewhat) on the subject of turntables, I'm trying to buy a pair of decks to augment my current equipment (Traktor Pro 2, Kontrol X1), and I'm wondering how much I should spurge on turntables. Currently I'm looking at both the Numark TTX or the Stanton STR8-80s. Anybody either have a pair of these, or have experience with them? I'm only hoping to pay ~$500 for the two, but if the TTX is far superior to the Stantons I can just save up for longer no biggie. I have str-80's at the house and like them, got both of them and a lovely Vestax scratch mixer for 2 bills off CL. I learned on a friend's pair years ago so I'm almost nostalgic for 80's. I feel that they're 90% of the turntable that 1200's are at like 1/4th the price, and are great if you need beater decks or need to bring decks to shady parties.
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Nov 5, 2011 08:12
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Professorbx posted:I am the product manager for the SCS.4DJ, and I like to think it performs pretty well. Seriously though, if you have any questions ask, I helped make it. Lots of questions incoming. Tell me about its faults. How long does it take to analyze/write each file? (size based of course, WAV files are more than mp3 files) Are the ports hot swappable? Can I have a friend come by and say hey I wanna play some tunes too, lemme plug in? How do you choose between drives/ports? How would you rate its durability/build quality compared to something like the S4? Is it something guitar center has on display that I can go and try out? How long have you continuously used one for a dj set? Ever had any unexplained glitches or freezes? How long does it take to start up after a problem if so? How large are the files it makes for each track compared to the size of the audio file? How does it do with gridding non edm files such as hip hop dnb or dubstep?(Traktor cant even get this right a lot of the time) What would you say are the biggest pros/cons to using this over a full traktor pro setup?(Laptop, sound card, multiple controllers) Any plans for updated firmware to add more efx/midi control/mapping in/other features? Can you cue both decks at once? (I mix entirely in my headphones so this is important) How large of a HD will this accept? (any FAT32 etc requirements?) What are the space dimensions in the underneath storage compartment? (Will I be able to keep a full on portable HD in here with all my music or is it jump/flash drives only?) Why am I already seeing discounted/refurbished versions for sale? I'm sorry for all the questions but I DJ 24ish hours a week (1 8 hour set and 2 7 hour sets)for a living, and NEED something that performs well all the time, every time. An equipment failure would make me look like a loving idiot, and while I know stanton isnt the top tier in the DJ world, would still be willing to give it a chance, to not have to drag 40lbs of gear to/from the club provided it could survive transport 3x a week and hold up in a smoky nightclub environment. I dont intend to abuse or spill stuff on it and the cost honestly isnt the issue, but I need to trust that this thing is solid, the software wont freeze on me and I dont need to bring backup gear or CD's because that basically eliminates the point of me picking this up. Thanks in advance dude! Old Man Pants fucked around with this message at 13:49 on Nov 5, 2011 |
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Nov 5, 2011 12:38
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Professorbx posted:Where are you at? In LA at least they go for about $500 a pair. Philadelphia, so not the middle of nowhere. I checked Craigslist for over a month, including expanding it out to NYC, finally ended up going to eBay to pick up a pair of mk3's with flight cases for $800+shipping. And even eBay it took time to find ones that weren't "as is" or $1k. And now when I look I see individual turntables for $2-300 on eBay, so woo, apparently I picked the wrong month to buy. 
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Nov 6, 2011 03:06
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OK, so since I'm starting to collect vinyl I've decided to take that collection in a different direction - I've been pretty much 100% a house head so far, but on vinyl I'd rather spin more trip hop/glitch hop/downtempo style stuff. Sound Tribe Sector 9, RJD2, UNKLE, etc. Thing is, I'm very used to house where all the BPMs are in a very narrow range and there are long intros and outros. Does anyone have any good resources for DJing this sort of thing? What's the technique to this?
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Nov 7, 2011 16:10
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Chitin posted:OK, so since I'm starting to collect vinyl I've decided to take that collection in a different direction - I've been pretty much 100% a house head so far, but on vinyl I'd rather spin more trip hop/glitch hop/downtempo style stuff. Sound Tribe Sector 9, RJD2, UNKLE, etc. I've been playing out downtempo/triphop/etc out for a long time now and I can tell you it's tricky. It's even moreso when you're doing it from wax. The issues you run into: - The wide BPM range, as you've pointed out. House and techno tend to be between 120-130 BPM which is manageable. Downtempo can be anywhere from 60 to 110+. - Most tracks are not very "DJ-friendly" in that they don't have long intros and outros for beatmatching over - Tracks tend to be a lot more "busy" and thus more susceptible to keyclashing and overlapping melodies/vocals/etc Here are the tricks I use to manage this. I do it within a DVS (Traktor Scratch), but these generally would apply to a vinyl collection as well 1) Organize your collection by BPM first. I sort my playlists within Traktor this way. I tend to play my sets slower->faster, which usually means I'm playing most tracks pitched down as I climb up the BPMs 2) Use a tool for harmonic mixing (such as Mixed In Key) to help guide more compatible mixes between tracks where melody overlaps are inevitable 3) Use loops to your advantage for making your intros/outros longer so you can blend more effectively. Again, this is really easy in Traktor but pretty much impossible with vinyl
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Nov 7, 2011 18:57
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Old Man Pants posted:Lots of questions incoming. Well.... -Tell me about its faults/How long does it take to analyze/write each file? (size based of course, WAV files are more than mp3 files) *It takes 17% of a song's length to analyze a song if you are not touching the unit, and it can slow down the system if you are playing and analyzing (screen switching slows down, etc). You also don't get looping off tracks that have not been analyzed yet. We do have an offline PC analyzer tool QuickGrid (windows beta now, full roll out and OSX version soon) that can analyze a song every few seconds, and is multi-threaded for extra speed. That said, if you want to analyze on the unit, that is the big fault. -Are the ports hot swappable? Can I have a friend come by and say hey I wanna play some tunes too, lemme plug in? How do you choose between drives/ports? *Yes, you can hot-swap. If you plug in a drive you do get an aggregated song list, so if your friend has a drive you would need to search for his songs or use playlists on the drive. We are working on something cool though which will offer more drill down. -How would you rate its durability/build quality compared to something like the S4? *Honestly, about comparable. The pitch faders on the S4 are a little bit more rugged, but they use a push-button pressure sensitivity control on their jog wheels which is a failure point (so it is a wash). They have some more polish to their package, but materials are about the same. We use many of the same pots/faders/etc. Plus, we have all of our pots nutted to the chassis. -Is it something guitar center has on display that I can go and try out? *Some have them, otherwise Best Buy has rigs set up in their music stores as well. -How long have you continuously used one for a dj set? *Live or in office? I've done a few 4 hour sets live with it, but during beta cycles I've done in the upwards of 12 hours (with bathroom breaks where I left the unit looping for stress testing). -Ever had any unexplained glitches or freezes? *None that we didn't solve in beta, or in our latest software update. There was one quirk where we found a glitch with auto-dj and pitch takeover. That was solved in the latest software update (1.41, out for a few months now). -How long does it take to start up after a problem if so? *About a minute. Expect it to drop though. -How large are the files it makes for each track compared to the size of the audio file? *Depends on a number of factors. Couldn't tell you, save for that the files range from a few KB to 500k. -How does it do with gridding non edm files such as hip hop dnb or dubstep?(Traktor cant even get this right a lot of the time) *We typically get the BPM right (save for half/double time), but can see the grid be off. We added a grid shift though to the last version of the software so that can be corrected. Typically it can fall off more toward the end of a track that is DNB/Hip Hop (long breakdowns that don't fall on a grid), but not that bad. Oddly enough it actually does pretty well with Dub Step. -What would you say are the biggest pros/cons to using this over a full traktor pro setup?(Laptop, sound card, multiple controllers) *Pros: No laptop. I can set up and start DJing in a minute, VS rather painful setup time with my other rig (Traktor Pro/Turntables/SCS3/Maschine), or even faster than my S4 rig. I find myself vibing with the crowd more because I don't spend my time looking at my laptop. It isn't modal, everything is quick and one to one. I can set up in the most stupid tiny spaces. Cons:Can't customize your layout. You have to switch between screens VS having something on one screen, which can make things seem a little slow at times because you aren't having to switch on a Traktor rig. Can't add external control. Can't have a monster screen. -Any plans for updated firmware to add more efx/midi control/mapping in/other features? *We have had one update which added a manual mode to the filter and the ability to add on-screen mapping text for the MIDI mode that it already has. We are working on some really cool updates right now. Can't speak on them yet, but yea, they are really cool. -Can you cue both decks at once? (I mix entirely in my headphones so this is important) *Yup, you can cue both decks and fade between them and the master signal. -How large of a HD will this accept? (any FAT32 etc requirements?) *No size limit, though we have a cap of 20,000 songs for your collection. This is global, not per drive. We do Fat32/NTFS/HFS+ (Non-Journaled only). NTFS is the best we have found, if only because it is less susceptible to database corruption if you are the kind of guy who never safely does a proper shut down or ejects your drive properly. -What are the space dimensions in the underneath storage compartment? (Will I be able to keep a full on portable HD in here with all my music or is it jump/flash drives only?) *Don't remember the dims off the top of my head, but I have my Toshiba 500gb drive and a thumb drive in the bottom bay currently.... -Why am I already seeing discounted/refurbished versions for sale? *Don't know, though I have not seen any issues that would be flagged. I'm in development/engineering, not sales. That said, I would have my head handed to me if there were some big issues popping up.... I'm hoping that helps. There is this perception about Stanton that we are a budget company or whatever, and yes, we do mid-range products. That said, we do them at a much higher quality than what a lot of other companies do their mid-range at, and we actually care about what we do. Hopefully that comes off in my answers. And yes, I do gig with it-it has become my live rig for places where I am expected to bring my own gear, or clubs where I don't like the gear they have. Any other questions, just ask. Professorbx fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Nov 7, 2011 |
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Nov 7, 2011 22:06
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Holy poo poo, that was an excellent post. You're really dedicated to your work, and might have convinced me to pick one up!
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Nov 7, 2011 22:48
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Yeah I'm considering one of these little babies, the Ergo looks nice but then it requires a laptop which I don't have so assuming I wanted an Ergo I'm looking at a fair whack of cash just to use it. The SCS having the software built in is crazy good and means the poo poo I have already on memory sticks to use with my CDJ 350s is pretty much usable straight out of the box.
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Nov 7, 2011 22:54
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Mister Speaker posted:Is anyone familiar with TouchOSC? I finally made the move to a smartphone and it was my first app purchase. Unfortunately I can't seem to get my MBP to 'see' the phone in MIDI Network Setup, and Google searching has been vague. Any ideas? I just picked this up today, try it out on the iPad with Logic. I actually got the OSC communication working between the two, and could control volume faders and whatnot. However, I'm not sure how it will work with Serato. Will have to see if any interfaces were already made, or try to make one myself. For Logic, I had to create a network in OS X, and then TouchOSC saw it when I went in to the set-up screen. Logic then saw the device.
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Nov 7, 2011 23:28
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SUBFRIES posted:I just picked this up today, try it out on the iPad with Logic. I actually got the OSC communication working between the two, and could control volume faders and whatnot. However, I'm not sure how it will work with Serato. Will have to see if any interfaces were already made, or try to make one myself. The Serato forums have plenty of users doing the iPad/SSL thing and should have a couple templates floating around. The downside is that you have to go to the Serato forums.
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Nov 8, 2011 05:50
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mstrkrft posted:Holy poo poo, that was an excellent post. You're really dedicated to your work, and might have convinced me to pick one up! No poo poo. That was an awesome post and all the info I needed to push me onto one of these. I'll be picking one up come end of year, if not sooner.
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Nov 8, 2011 11:17
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keevo posted:The Serato forums have plenty of users doing the iPad/SSL thing and should have a couple templates floating around. The downside is that you have to go to the Serato forums. Will have to trudge through there later this week. I got the iPad and Serato communicating last night, but there were a couple problems and I can see a need for a custom template.
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Nov 8, 2011 14:44
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Old Man Pants posted:No poo poo. That was an awesome post and all the info I needed to push me onto one of these. I'll be picking one up come end of year, if not sooner. Thank you for all the kind words!! Like I said, SCS.4DJ represents a lot of things for us, and we worked our butts off to make it a good product, and I personally get a kick out of being able to talk to people about it. So, like I said, any time anyone has any questions, just ask.
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Nov 10, 2011 01:12
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What's a cool thing to buy for a DJ for his birthday in the $25-50 range? He uses CDJs. If I can't think of anything I'm just going to buy a bunch of camo gear at the ranger surplus.
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Nov 15, 2011 19:34
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Nevergirls posted:What's a cool thing to buy for a DJ for his birthday in the $25-50 range? He uses CDJs. If I can't think of anything I'm just going to buy a bunch of camo gear at the ranger surplus. Some blank CDs and a gift card to an online music retailer would be good.
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Nov 15, 2011 20:10
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Nevergirls posted:What's a cool thing to buy for a DJ for his birthday in the $25-50 range? He uses CDJs. If I can't think of anything I'm just going to buy a bunch of camo gear at the ranger surplus. If he's anything like me, he could always use extra SPARE equipment. Spare cables, an extra pair of cheap DJ-quality headphones to keep around, spare 45 adapters(not applicable for CDJs but still). poo poo that breaks often. You might want to drop a few hints and see what parts of his setup might need replacing.
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Nov 15, 2011 20:16
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Those are good ideas, thank you! I think I should get him a blank CD spindle, a sharpie, and giftwrap it together.
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Nov 15, 2011 20:42
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