Seasonal Discounts over at Smithson Martin

As mentioned earlier, Smithson Martin have some hefty product discounts until the end of December 2011.

• 50% discount on Emulator software
• $1000 discount on the 46" Touch DVS system
• 32" touch system for $2000
• 50% off lifetime software licence

In order to get a discount, you need to email sales@smithsonmartin.com with the promo code CHRISTMAS ROCKS in the subject line.

This will apply to all emails received and orders paid by 31st December 2011.

Worth a look if you were considering any of these.

Kontrol Surface 1974 - New multi-touch DJ controller

OK, not entirely new...more a re-imagining of their current Emulator touchscreen DJ product.  Smithson Martin Inc have pared down the hardware to a more slimline 22" surface and retro looking version with wooden side panels;

The price is an eye-watering $2499, available for pre-order via DJDeals.com.  Full spec can be found on the official website.  The unit comes bundled with Emulator for Traktor and Emulator Modular, allowing you to design your own interface using generic object types like sliders, buttons, circular knobs, jog wheels and even your own custom graphics.  The Modular version of the software should mean you can connect to any MIDI based software such as Ableton, Resolume, Mixvibes, Torq and so on.

It's a bold move by the company especially considering the recent release of Lemur on iOS (in addition to the already well established Touch OSC app).

Interestingly, if you have a large pot of cash behind the sofa, the SmithsonMartin twitter feed mentioned; 'A very special offer is coming for Christmas' - curious, but almost definitely out my budget!

Mixmo DJ Pro - full review

I've mentioned this app a while back prior to its launch at the beginning of December.  The full review is now up at DigitalDJTips.  I felt a little sorry for the app developers, as their launch date coincided with the official release of the Red Bull BPM DJ app.  The latter has learnt from over a year in the app store with the original product line and has streamlined the app range into one Universal app with in-app-purchases to unlock key features as required.  Unfortunately, this means the Mixmo development team are playing catch-up.

Mixmo DJ Pro is currently priced at $18.99;

Mixmo DJ is currently priced at $10.99

Ham Hocks & Beats food mix

After a few days paternity leave I've been able to finally upload a mix I've done for the Food Chopmix throwdown challenge.

The mix was done mostly using DJ Player with the Net Out app to give a stereo output from the iPad.  I was only using my home broadband as a WiFi network so I had a few audio dropouts through the headphones which were a little disconcerting during a mix...however, with the latency setting adjusted to +30ms the audio lined up perfectly.  I really had to restrict myself on how much I used the effects, as it was really good fun - especially the echo with its multiple choice of timings.  The multiple cues & loops were great, especially when trying to stretch out a drumbreak or mix between 2 tricky tracks with live drums.  On a couple of occasions I even used the cues like MPC pads to quickly chop the break up a bit.

I did throw in some vinyl too, which was a breeze with the iPad connected to my mixer.  The audio sources on the iPad came from ripped CDs, DVD rips, downloaded digital content, vinyl and even a cassette rip!

The mix itself clocks in around 1hr 50m - about the perfect time to prepare your Sunday dinner!  It covers a mix of genres, bpms and spoken word samples so be warned!

Ham Hocks and Beats by Dj Hombre on Mixcloud

Feel free to join in the fun by uploading your food-based mix into Mixcloud (with the tag 'FoodChopmix') or tweeting a link to your mix (again using the tag #FoodChopmix).

No prizes, just a useful exercise in re-discovering your music collection!

Lemur comes to iOS

Maybe not of interest to everyone, but it has been sort of expected since the demise of Lemur and the rise of the iPad.  Liine have released Lemur for iOS;






Given that this can pretty much control anything (music, video, lighting) in any way you like (OSC, MIDI via WiFI or CCK) then we could see some interesting applications of this in the clubs as well as studios.  The neat thing is that you can access shared Lemur templates online via the Liine forum or User Library and now use them on iOS.

I'm guessing this could impact sales of Emulator too.

The app is pricey at $49.99, but more than worth it for those who couldn't afford the hardware years ago - plus it can run on iPhone/iPod Touch as well as iPads.

Red Bull BPM DJ in app store now

We're now in December, which means the lovely free trial version of the app we've all been playing with over the past few months has now expired.

However, you can now grab the app in the app store for free...to unlock the apps full potential you need to go through the in-app purchases which are as follows (I've only got the prices in UK Pounds);

• Use your music (Music Library access, iTunes filesharing) = £2.99
• Performance Pack (Advanced Looping & FX screens) = £6.99
• Pro Output Pack (unlock all output modes, inc WiFi, split output etc) = £6.99
• Premium Pack (ALL features at one price) = £15.49

If you're serious on using the app (which of course you will be!), then the Premium Pack is the option to go for.

The use of in-app purchases here is a wise one I think, it will certainly mean that casual users will only pay for those few features they want whereas the more Pro-level users will be going for the full package.  Also it's a good step to addressing app piracy - which is a considerable problem.  I'm surprised that more apps don't unlock features in this way, but perhaps as official vs pirate statistics become better collated and represented to the development teams this could be the shape of things to come in the future.

The only choice here is whether to go for DJ Player or Red Bull BPM DJ.  A small point to note is that with DJ Player on an iPhone / iPod Touch you get 6 cue/loops on the deck screen compared with 4 on the Red Bull BPM DJ - the extra space here is taken with the Red Bull logo.

Don't forget that the Master Out app that accompanies Red Bull BPM DJ is also now free.

Red Bull BPM DJ:

Master Out:

The iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch DJ’s Christmas List

Another article by me (I promise, it really was me that wrote this one!) on DigitalDJTips...possibly a little late to order these before Christmas, but those Arktis stands are gorgeous!

I'd originally written the piece as an accessories guide for more mobile DJing with the iDevice, but since Christmas is around the corner that seems to make sense too!