Novation Twitch overview

NovationTV shows us their brand new DJ controller made to use with Serato Itch, Traktor or Ableton. The main thing you will notice is they did away with the control wheel most Laptop DJ controllers have in favor of a touch strip. The nice thing is this does free up more space for loop point controls and other things but it means scratching, at least in the traditional sense, is not possible.

So what do you think? Like it, love it, or hate it?

Touch screen DJ'ing for Traktor and soon for Serato, Ableton and many other software in the works.

This literally just came out in fact as of yet this setup is only working on PC for Traktor as the site tells me. The developers say they are actively working on a Mac version, hoping to have it out by the middle of 2011, as well plans are already in the works to get Serato, Ableton and many other DJ software configured to use this setup. But what you will see in the video is a rather simple setup. Big touch screen either 32" or 42" that is multi-touch sensitive powered by a standard video projector that projects onto the glass screen, a laptop running Traktor with a midi controller type skin called Emulator over it and a soundcard, and thats basically it.

As amazing as this setup looks and sounds, prices I hear for the setup are fairly steep. For the 32" screen dual-touch setup you're looking at $3875 USD and $5975 for the 42" "apparently six-touch" screen setup. But both these setups do include the touch screens, stand for the touch screen, the projector, and Emulator software. Traktor, Laptop/desktop and soundcards you will still need to provide your own.

Also these are just initial prices, they may change overtime, as hardware streamlines or competition ramps up, so who knows. Either way this setup I'm sure will definitely be a must have for many DJ's. So what do you guys think? Leave a comment and let me know.

For more info check out the 2 DJ's who developed this setup's website: www.smithsonmartin.com

A demo showing the Novation Dicer - Serato Scratch Turntable Controller from Novation

The guys over at LoopTV bring you this nifty demo for 'The Novation Dicer'...Developed for Serato, this palm-sized cue point and looping controller.

You can instantly set cue points and use it to trigger 'Hot Cues'. Then flip Dicer into 'Auto-Loop' or 'Loop Roll' modes, to trigger loops, or 'roll' sections of the track to create climaxes, drops and glitchy breaks.

Link to the guys who made the video: http://www.looptv.net

The difference between Serato's different playback modes

Serato Scratch Live has several different playback modes, each with their own purpose. But it seems not many DJ's know the real difference. Whenever I DJ out and work with other DJ's I've noticed many DJ's use Absolute mode, when really they should be using Relative mode. The biggest reason being is if you are in Relative mode and someone bumps your needle the song keeps on playing almost seamlessly. Also you have the ability to setup cue points. These 2 reasons are enough for most to understand why Relative mode trumps Absolute mode, yet I see many DJ's using Absolute mode.... if only they knew..

3 Decks in Serato 2.0!! You've got to love advancements!

This week I want to give some love to SSL. Well, if you're like me and have been using Serato for awhile you know that over the years they have been consistantly improving the software and hardware. Since 2.0 came out not too long ago, we gained the ability to run 3 decks if you have a SL3 box and 4 decks if you have the new amazing looking 4 channel mixer Rane just released, which btw is the first 12" 4 channel mixer Rane has ever made, this thing looks to be a beast so look for a review coming from us soon! But for now check out this sweet 3 deck demo "SeratoSL3" made for us!!