Key Of Grey

February 24th, 2010 - A couple months ago, I reviewed the Vestax Spin which is paired with Algoriddim's djay softare. As I got used to using the Spin and djay, I got a little more bold and started diving into the more advanced techniques I could get out of both. Because the Spin has a limited amount of buttons, I mapped an additional Korg NanoPad. This allows me to use all of the common features of djay that previously needed to be ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Ultimate Ears January 18th, 2009 - Ultimate Ears, semi-recently bought out by Logitech and maker of high end IEMs (in-ear monitors), has just released their new flagship model the UE 18 Pro. It features six speakers per ear. Let that sink in for a bit. Typical consumer headphones only have one speaker, high end models in the hundreds of dollars have two, or at max, three. The UE 18 Pro has 6. There are two for highs, two for mids, and ... Read More

January 16th, 2009 - A topic I keep getting asked, whether it's through Youtube, email, or comments to this site, is about using the Vestax Spin/djay combo for making beats. Specifically, people want to know how to use the Spin in conjunction with a MPC or MPC-style controller. These questions stem from a misunderstanding of the Spin itself, that I thought I'd address. First off, it is technically possible to make beats with the Spin. Because the Spin has a built-in soundcard, you ... Read More

Photo courtesy of cinocino January 3rd, 2009 - DJ Techtools has a great article about etiquette at gigs. While it's of course DJ-centric, there is a lot of good advice in there that applies to any gigging musician. While having respect for anyone who's paying you (the promoter) and your colleagues (they're not competition) is pretty much a given for anyone with a lick of sense, one thing many musicians fail to understand is that they are in an equal partnership with the ... Read More

December 30th, 2009 - A couple weeks ago, I posted about the Let's Mix NGDJ competition, which is searching for new DJ talent. The competition consists of two stages, the first of which requires you to get 200 votes by the end of January. Last night I posted my entry into the competition (including an original mashup that I created specifically for the mix) only to have someone vote me down within half an hour. The internet is a scary and unfriendly place...hold ... Read More

December 21st, 2009 - If you're a fan of indie or dance music, then you must visit Hype Machine. If you aren't, why not? Hype Machine has introduced me to more new music than anywhere else. As a dance music fan, it's a great place to find unofficial remixes, and mashups. One of the best groups actively targeting Hype Machine are The White Panda. Consisting of Americans Tom Evans (aka Procrast) and Dan Griffith (aka DJ Griffi), The White Panda has been releasing ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Algoriddim December 18th, 2009 - A few weeks ago, I reviewed the Vestax Spin and the bundled software from Algoriddim, djay. I contacted the folks at Algoriddim and asked if they would be able to answer a few questions. Frederik from Algoriddim kindly agreed to answer some questions. The questions I asked were a compilation of those that I had, as well as some that were asked of me through Youtube, and by email. > What is your role with Algoriddim? ... Read More

December 15th, 2009 - For the last couple years, Tonium has been pushing its Pacemaker portable DJ system. The Pacemaker is essentially a beefed up MP3 player that allows you to cue up a song and mix it into the currently playing song. It's a very good looking device, and reviews for it have been good. One of the strategies that Tonium has used to build the Pacemaker community is allowing users to upload mixes, as well as comment and listen to the ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Native Instruments December 13th, 2009 - This week, Native Instruments will release their X1 MIDI controller. While they have created fantastic sound cards for their flagship DJ application, Traktor, and have supported controllers from many varied manufacturers, they have yet to release their own. The X1 is actually a supplementary controller, meant to compliment your control record or MIDI controller setup. Out of the box, it controls the various effects and cool parameters that have made Traktor stand out from ... Read More

December 11th, 2009 - I've been using the Vestax Spin and djay with my normal iTunes library, but I have a lot of DJ remixes that I'd like to incorporate into the sets. I haven't added them because I like everything neat and tidy, and the library is set up to be album biased. Since DJ remixes are all singles, I wondered if it was possible to have multiple iTunes libraries. As it turns out, it is. There are two reasons you'd want ... Read More