The thing certainly looks impressive, if not a little N6-ish, but that’s not exactly unlikely considering. The platters in particular look quite luxurious being described as ‘ultra-flat’, and packing an impressive 15.5cm, there’s also a non-slip vinyl-grip coating for those butter fingers.

Reloop hasn’t given us release dates of dollars yet, but we’re going to make a guess at about $/£/€ 499 coming out soon after NAMM, and you’ll get Serato DJ Intro and Virtual DJ 4-Deck (Reloop edition) bundled in. All the rest of the tech spec can be found below.

Features
4-Deck SERATO DJ Performance controller
Integrated 4 channel USB audio interface
Plug and play: Connect your computer and mix your MP3s
Designed for world’s leading mixing software developer SERATO
Large Transport section with all-new smooth touch rubber buttons
Newly developed ultra-flat XXL Jog Platters with Vinyl-grip surface
Ergonomically arranged mixer/CD player design for quick and easy access
4-Channel Club Mixer design with dedicated Filter knobs and Fader start
Cross fader curve & assign switches on the front
Large 14-bit 100mm Pitch fader with Range and Keylock functions
Mouse-less Playlist Management Control
Versatile controls for Effects, Smart Looping, Hot Cues and Sampler
Performance Section prepared for individual live remixing updates (Cut & Slice)
Stereo RCA input (with phono pre-amp) for hooking up a CD player or turntable with flexible
routing control (into the Software or to the Master)
6.3 mm microphone input jack with volume and equalizer control
Power House Interface: Boost your PA with balanced 6,3mm jack outputs or unbalanced Stereo
RCA outputs
Stereo RCA Booth outputs for extra DJ monitors
2 headphone connections: 3.5 mm & 6.3 mm stereo for which ever plug is convenient including
equalizer control
Shift buttons for second layer controls including Shift lock feature
All controls in club size and quality
Altogether 111 MIDI controllers (60 buttons, 7 faders, 7 push encoders, 31 turning knobs, 4
switches, 2 touch-sensitive jog wheels)
Controller is compatible with every MIDI-Learn capable software
USB bus powered: Terminal Mix 4 can be powered via USB only (power supply optional)
Anti-theft device: Kensington safety slot
CORE / ASIO drivers with minimum latency and high quality audio characteristics (Mac / PC)
Mac OSX and Windows XP/Vista compatible
4-Deck Mapping available for Traktor PRO 2
Comes ‘plug and play’ ready with Serato DJ Intro & 4-Deck Virtual DJ 7 LE (Reloop Edition)
technical datas
Mixer section:
- Classic 4 channel design- 1 x PRO Longlife crossfader with adjustable crossfader curve
- 4 x volume controllers with PRO Longlife line faders
- 4 x 3 band equalizer knobs
- 4 x gain turning knob
- 4x Filter knob
Player section:
- 2 x 15,5cm touch-sensitive, two-part jog wheels for scratching, cueing, etc.
- different jog modes (Scratch & Pitch Bend, Quick Search)
- 2 x high resolution 100mm 14-bit pitch faders without locking position
- 1 assignable encoder, 3 assignable knobs, 4 buttons for effect control
- Unicoloured, glistening red illumination
Master section:
- Cue mix, headphones volume, sampler volume and master controllers
- Extra large Trax Encoder for quick and easy music library browsing (with 4 load buttons)
- 2x 8bar LED chain (master L+R)
- Dimensions: 515 x 44 x 320 mm
- Weight: 4.65 kg (netto)
Incl. Serato DJ Intro & Virtual DJ LE 4-Deck Reloop Edition and USB cord

…it’s almost too much to handle. And, this is exactly what happened today. Is this a surprise? Kinda… sure, this is a new product, but also we’re a week or so out from NAMM, the biggest Music equipment trade show of the year, so prime-time for new gear announcements.

Anyway, back to the goodies we have on display here. On first look, we think it’s safe to suggest that this is likely a controller of some variety. It also looks like it might be similar in width to the Kontrol X1, with similar buttons pots and faders. The rainbow coloured buttons appear to be in a 4 x 4 grid, which would make it ideal for MPC or Launchpad style tomfoolery. The rainbow colouring seems a little unusual however. Most grid controllers have off, play, paused and maybe pending/cued which is four states, here are at least five, and that doesn’t include off. This might lead us to think that Ableton control is on the cards… but then the device was teased explicitly under the Traktor branding, which then kinda rules that out.

The 4 x 4 grid also alludes to four strips of faders, which would fit nicely with Traktor’s four  deck configuration, so our best guess at this time is that it is a controller similar to the X1, but with more focus on hot-cues and sample playback. Of course, this is all based on that tasty slice you see up there. Perhaps the crafty shooting angle hides a whole control panel of joy. Perhaps not. Either way we want it, regardless of what it is.

More as we get it.

…with new sites and new companies popping up every other week. Obviously all of themwill claim to give you the answers that no-one else does and although many do give you relatively good information, many fail to deliver. That’s because holding back what seems like the essentials and promising more in the next tutorial is just enough to keep you coming back and paying for the next DVD or Online pass and monthly subscriptions.

On the other hand, the huge changes in internet speed in the past few years means that some of these guys who have been around for a while teaching in schools and universities, writing books and generally teaching people the methods involved in recording and producing dance music can now teach more people at much lower prices.

The super fast broadband speeds mean that you’re now able to download complete DVDs with out taking days opening the doors to huge amounts of information that you can learn at your own speed without ever once having to hand in homework or sit in on a lecture.

Dance Music Production  are one of those companies that have been around for a little while, In fact the tutorials available are written by Rick Snoman, Rick has over 20 years experience and is already an accomplished producer, remixer and author of best selling Dance Music Manual. Hopefully this already gives you an insight into the level of information you will gage from these tutorials.

Now that Dance Music Production have made their Fundamental range available online we take a look over one of the very essentials of dance production ‘DRUMS’

DMP Fundamental Drums 1 is almost 4 hours of tutorial, aimed almost entirely at building great drum sounds and loops. This should be something we all want to better ourselves in, after all whats the point in writing a killer riff or breakdown for people to hold their hands in the air too if you don’t have the drums to keep them there when the track drops back in.

In the first two videos DMP show you how to program most of the basic timbres including kicks, claps, snares and hats really drilling home the importance of a great kick to the bottom end of your track. These videos do cover all of the essentials that every producer should know and will easily get you started programming your own sounds.

Following on from the first two tutorials, things start to become very interesting as Rick steps into the world of ‘Subliminal Modulation’: subtlety using modulated filters and effects to breath life into the programmed loop, trust us it works!

Now if Ambiguous Displacement sounds to you like something painful or something that should only be displayed on the top shelf then you’re obviously not into minimal house or techno, if you are and you don’t know what this is then you’ll want to head to this very interesting section of the DVD as there is much to learn.

After Ambiguous Displacement Rick moves onto Metrical Dissonance, no really! we’re not just making these words up, These are very real and trust us after watching the tutorials everything will become much clearer; some of this you may already know in practice but not actually know you were doing it and clarification that you’re using legitimate techniques is always good for the confidence.

The final three videos cover examples of loops and further processing with the last video being a few words letting you know you now have the tools to get to work.

In short we found the tutorials to be really friendly, with plenty of great information. Rick really manages to deliver the goods at levels well above the cost of this download, which at £24.95 is not gonna break the bank. Don’t let the low price sway you into thinking you’re not gonna get much.

The over all delivery of the information was well paced and easy enough to take onboard, their was the occasional points in the videos were concentration drifted but with video tutorials its easy enough to hit rewind on those bits you missed and it won’t be too long before you find yourself producing much better loops and pushing the techniques you learn in to the other areas of your music.

We recommend you get in a copy because at that price you really can’t go wrong.

Loopmasters and Producertech LTD have joined forces to launch Reasoncourses.com: a new website which features two online Reason video courses for users of all abilities (covering beginners, intermediate and advanced level students) and locations. All together there are 27 modules which last around 30 minutes each, which include a huge collection of Reason-optimised samples and instrument present from Loopmasters (worth over £50).

We here at Bang the DJ loved their previous courses, so we expect more of the same good stuff with their Reason offering. If the promo video above doesn’t get your juices flowing, check the two sample modules below for a look at the goods directly.

http://www.reasoncourses.com/

Its Duet range of built-for-Apple devices have been a popular choice for some time, especially since the release of the vastly improved, and all together sexier Duet 2. So it is with this in mind that we got a little bit pumped at the idea of some Apogee magic coming to the iPad.

The Jam is designed specifically to make your guitar play nice with the famous tablet. In terms of hardware, there’s not a lot to cover really, a cable out to your iPad on one side, and a jack for a quarter inch guitar cable on the other. Typically it feels solid and well built, but also compact and light. Arguably it could have been designed to plug straight into the iPad, but we think a little bit of flex is never a bad thing, especially when vigorous axe-wielding is on the cards. A single LED lets you know when you are connected, ready to rock, and rocking too loud. A lone gain control completes the physical features of the unit.

In use, it’s pretty straight forward. Fire up a suitable app such as Garageband (although it also works with many others, such as Amplitube and AmpKit) plug in, and rock out. There are other devices on the market, some which simply plug into the 1/4 inch input, which might look simpler, or be cheaper, but the main difference here is the audio conversion.

The Apogee takes care of this using the iPad dock, which makes the process cleaner, rather than using the analogue only jack option. This also means that you can monitor through a pair of headphones without having to fiddle with splitters and through-jacks.

While the device is built specifically for the guitar, clearly it’s also going to be ripe for use/abusing with other audio signals. If you don’t look at an in/out device wondering what else you can run through it, then you’re in the wrong game, and the same applies here. In the future we’ll run some videos of it in use with a variety of sources, but for now just know that with guitars – it works a charm.

Price-wise, the Jam retails for around $99/£75, but you may find a better deal on-line, and this does make it slightly more expensive than, say Griffin’s forthcoming GuitarConnect pro, but not much so, and after all, who would you rather buy audio gear from?

Conclusion:

Apogee know their audio onions, and if you are in the market for some 1/4 inch A2D goodness then this is a great solution. Don’t let the price put you off as, like all good bits of kit, you are getting what you pay for. Bundle in the fact that you can also use this with your Mac, and not just your iDevice, then the deal suddenly seems markedly better.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Each week their resident tune-smith Danny J Lewis takes to the helm and creates music on the fly using just Ableton, a Novation Launchpad and some clips. Each week the genre he makes is different, and best of all, YOU dear reader get to determine what style.

If you want to have your say about what style he makes, get your social media on over at the links below, and take a look at the video to get an idea of what goes down. Enjoy!

Youtube  Facebook  Twitter    

Point Blank Online – Music Production School

We couldn’t help getting flashbacks of using an old Roland TB303 after watching the video below, and that’s pretty much all we need to get behind something like this. Sure that price tag might not slip down as smoothly as some cheaper units, but in this VST-sound-alike world, sometimes you need to pay a little to stand out. Watch this space for a review forthcoming. Full press release below.

Leipzig-S

Analogue Solutions announces analogue monosynth/step sequencer

KINGSWINFORD, UK: Analogue Solutions is proud to announce availability of Leipzig-S, the latest addition to its lengthening line of critically-acclaimed, quality-crafted ‘boutique’ designs from founder Tom Carpenter in the true spirit of vintage analogue synthesisers befitting the true analogue synth enthusiast…

Evolving from its namesake Leipzig (rack-mounting) and Leipzig-k (keyboard-endowed) analogue monosynthpredecessors, the rack-mountable/tabletop Leipzig-S literally goes several steps further by incorporating an in-built eight-step analogue sequencer that can be used to produce simple melodic lines as well as acting as a modulation source to affect the filter cutoff (or to create additional effects, depending on other control settings). VCO1, VCO2, and the VCF are all available as sequencer destinations; seemingly simple, yet favourably flexible, the step sequencer can be creatively controlled (clocked) by multiple sources — at audio frequencies (using VCO2 as a clock source), or using the output of the sequencer itself as an audio source to be ‘played’ via MIDI while the eight step controls then alter the ‘waveform’/tonal content, for example, such are the adventurous advantages of packaging an analogue step sequencer with a true analogue monosynth!

The entire design is traditional early-Eighties analogue (voice and modulation) circuitry, comprised entirely of discrete components and op-amps (bar, of course, the digital sequencer controller and MIDI-CV interfacing); since the Leipzig-S is a strictly no-memory affair, all controls are not quantised, resulting in an authentically vintage sound, replete with musically desirable quirks and subtle artifacts (much in the same way that, say, a valve amp or vinyl record adds sonic character) — unlike some other modern ‘analogue’ synths that arguably sound almost as perfect as DSP analogue modelling.

With electronic percussion having influenced the choice of routings, the Leipzig-S boasts a huge range of modulation possibilities to facilitate creating the widest possible range of sounds, including deep basses, sound effects, analogue loops, and (obviously) electronic drum sounds.

With this — his latest — design, true analogue synth enthusiast Tom Carpenter is confident that he has achieved a modern analogue synth that truly does sound vintage!

LEIPZIG-S KEY FEATURES:

• Pure analogue voice and modulation circuitry

• Fat Moog-style filter

• 2 VCOs (each with Glide and Sub-VCOs)

• Osc Sync and Cross-Mod

• Flexible modulation routing

• Analogue step sequencer (with ‘creative’ clocking options)

• Audio input (synth can be used as a sound processor)

• MIDI In (for software sequencer control)

• Rugged steel/aluminium construction

Leipzig-S is available to order directly from Analogue Solutions (http:// analoguesolutions.org.uk/v2/leipzig-s/) for £649 GBP (excluding tax and delivery) — delivery is approximately four weeks from receipt of payment — or through one of their dealers.

Follow the links for the good, and the full press release below:

Download here

Fancy corporate video:

Novation are excited to announce that Twitch – the touchstrip DJ controller – now has a free application that allows Twitch to control parameters and build custom mappings in Ableton Live, and any other MIDI-compatible software.

A video explaining the application can be seen here: http://youtu.be/eLbibADLa80

The application can be downloaded from here: http://www.novationmusic.com/products/digital_dj/twitch/Other_DJ_Software/

The Twitch Live Translator software receives ‘raw’ MIDI messages generated by Twitch, and translates them into MIDI messages that can be ‘learned’ to parameters in Ableton Live. Every Live user will want to use Twitch in a slightly different way, so this allows a blank starting point to map hardware controls to parameters in Live in any way you want. The application has been created using Cycling 74 Max/MSP. This means that anyone can run this application — regardless of whether they own Max/MSP — but users of Max/MSP will be able to open the source code to edit and tweak to their own preference. What’s more, Novation are encouraging users to share and redistribute their versions to the wider community on the Novation forum: forum.novationmusic.com

Twitch was designed in partnership with Serato for their ITCH software (which comes with Twitch), and a Traktor mapping and overlay have been available for Twitch since the controller was unveiled. Now, with full control through the Twitch Live Translator, the world of Twitch has been opened up to Ableton Live DJs and performers. Twitch has a built in two-in four-out audio interface and 16 backlit trigger pads, as well as conventional DJ mixer controls and plenty of rotary encoders, making it an attractive option for Live control.

The same company that ushered CD DJing into the mainstream, has already made its debut into the controller market, with the high end DDJ-S1 and DDJ-T1 models, but the Ergo V appears to be aimed squarely at a more mainstream audience.

On offer we have: Two platters, a two channel mixer with control for up to four decks, filters, FX and hot cues, which to be honest gives everyone but the most demanding users everything they need to perform a comprehensive DJ set. The inclusion of balanced TRS outputs along with the included Virtual DJ software hints at another intended market – the mobile DJ. A move that makes sense, as this is a big market in itself, and one that generally gets overlooked by the bigger names in the controller market (though plenty of offerings elsewhere).

Pioneer has a habit of blessing each new product with its own unique or trademark feature, and the DDJ-ERGO-V is no exception. This time up we see the debut of something called ‘Mix Pulse’ which is visual feedback about your mix via the numerous LEDs. Visual feedback is nothing new in itself, but Pioneer is taking it to the next level by introducing four different modes:

Mix Pulse: A blue LED on the jog wheel shows how close the phase of the mix is during a mix. The bigger the difference in pitch, the weaker the light. The closer the match, the more intense the light shines.
Beat Pulse: LEDs in the channel faders match the beat of the track in play. Plus the strength of the light reflects output levels, so you always know if a track is still in the mix.
Launch Pulse: A red light travels from the Load button towards the Jog Wheel to indicate when a track has been loaded.
FX Pulse: Various light patterns on the Jog Wheel clearly show which FX DJs have applied.

The rest of the spec is as below:

Bundled software: Virtual DJ Limited Edition
Input terminals: MIC x1 (1/4 inch Jack) / AUX x1 (RCA)
Output terminals: MASTER OUT x2 (1/4 inch Jack x１, RCA x1)
HEADPHONE MONITOR OUT x2 (front 1/4 inch Jack, MiniPin)
Other terminals: USB B terminal x1
Frequency range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Total harmonic distortion: 0.006％ or less
S/N ratio: 101 dB
External dimensions: 555 mm (W) x 280 mm (D) x 103 mm (H) (when removing the leg : 555mm(W) x 280mm(D) x 62mm(H) )
Weight: 2.9 kg
Power: USB bus powered

The product launches in November, with an RRP of £449, which may come as a surprise to many, who will have expected a Pioneer product, with built in interface and decent connectivity to be priced at more of a premium.

The design looks sharp, innovative, and appealing, with the tilted interface no doubt making it comfortable to use, and the signature laptop docking space allowing you to tuck your computer underneath, claiming back vital surface space.

We’ll be going hands-on at BPM this weekend, and will update the post accordingly, but for now, if you were looking for a tidy bedroom DJ solution, or permanent set-up that doesn’t require lots of real estate, with a professional build, then this looks like a great contender in this market, with Pioneer seeming to pitch the features/price just right.

Its diminutive form and neat lines might lure you into thinking it is just another nano controller. It isn’t just another nano controller. Its small display and neat colour coded iconography might make you think it’s just another play-by-numbers synth toy. It isn’t just another play-by-numbers synth toy. So what is the OP-1? Let’s start at the beginning:

OP-1 – Build

Surprisingly, and reassuringly heavy for its tiny size, the OP-1 feels rock solid, and not at all as cheap or plastiky as it might first look. The device comes in a neat and boastfully recycled box, which when opened reveals the synth snuggly inside covered in a ‘quickstart’ transparent overlay. On the left hand side are many of the main controls and utility buttons, above this is a small speaker, which also sits next to the main colour vector display. Continuing towards the right are four colour coded knobs that sit above some numbered function keys, below which is the main keyboard section.

OP-1 – Synth

First and foremost, the OP-1 is a bonafide Synthesiser, a somewhat deceptively powerful one at that. Choose from one of seven different synthesis engines:

FM – Frequency Modulation synthesis made easy.

Cluster – Up to six oscillators chained in a cluster.

Dr Wave – Raw 8-bit style engine.

Digital – Pure digital raw engine.

String – Physical modeling of a string instrument.

Pulse – Square wave engine.

Phase – Phase distortion type engine

Each of these engines is complimented with an envelope, and effects section and an LFO, easily accessible via the keys numbered 1 – 4 below the display. The four colour coded knobs to the right each control predetermined parameters in real time, providing quick sound control possibilities. There are a small collection of preset sounds available for each synthesis engine, all of which can of course be used as starting points for your own sounds.

The synthesis engines can feel a little limited or complicated upon first investigation, but with a little persistence you soon gain an understanding of how the OP-1 likes to work, and as such, the possibilites become more apparent. After a few minutes you definitely get the sense that the OP-1 can spill out sounds much larger and robust than its small footprint might suggest.

OP-1 – Drum Machine

As well as the fully stocked Synth engines, the Scandinavian manufacturers have also included a Drum Machine. Choose from one of the eight ‘kits’ and fully edit each individual drum hit/sample within an inch of it’s life with a sampler like interface (edit sample length etc). Once you have tweaked all your sounds to your liking, you can play (and record) them right from the keyboard, there is however a handy, if not a little fiddly, drum/grid sequencer also. Get the hang of this, and you can record your drums off without having to worry about playing them in. Record you say?

OP-1 – Tape Record

Yup that’s right. Pretty much one of the key features of the OP-1 – after the sound making engines – is the built in tape recorder. This is what separates the device from most of the other hardware in either its size or price (more on this later) range. Rather than work like a groove box (although it can to some degree), or have some complex built in arrangement options, the OP-1 sports an old-but-new-school style tape recorder, complete with reel to reel style graphic.

Once you’ve created your drums, record them in to track one. When you’ve got your melody sorted, play that in and record it into track two… and so on. This may seem a little unwieldly at first, but after a while you get used to it, and it adds to the devices ‘musical’ appeal, also making it feel a lot more Analog than it would do with a step sequencer alone.

The ‘recordings’ are then stored on an internal drive and can be accessed and backed up once the device is connected to a computer via USB.

 OP-1 Additional features

Truly a standalone device, Teenage Engineering have crammed in not only its own audio interface, but also a speaker for you to hear it through. Admittedly it’s not going to fill the average room with sound, but if you want to experiment with some ideas without the shackles of headphones, you can.  There is a mic input which can be used to record in external audio as well as a 3 axis gyroscope for hands on shakey-to-modulate fun. Bizarrely there is also an FM radio which can not only be sampled/mixed in directly to your song, but also used as a modulation source..??!?

All this functionality is powered by an internal battery that boasts an impressive 16 hour lifetime, which should be plenty enough to thrash out a few songs worth of material while away from the power socket.

OP-1 Conclusion

A little bit bonkers, a lot a bit awesome, this defiantly different bit of kit is one of those rarities in the modern music world. It dares to be different, it also has the audacity to let you decide what to do with it. If you want to use it primarily as a studio based sound source, you can, and it will perform that task very well. Should you want to use it as a stand alone composition tool either out right, or just when on the road, it’s going to eat this task for breakfast.

Maybe you want something that will let you take it to the limits of your imagination, as a live performance device, a sound masher and, well radio… all of these boxes ticked. It’s begging to have its boundaries pushed and it couldn’t have made this task and easier.

The only limitation on the device is its price. At around £799-899 this is a touch above your average controller-that-does-sound price range. In fact, it’s a touch above many price ranges, including some fairly high end bits of kit. But then perhaps it’s tiny footprint is deceiving you into thinking this is an accessory, a stop-gap tool. It isn’t.

Imagine this to be much bigger in your mind and not only might you justify the price, you’ll get a better grip on what it can do. Awesome.

Rating: ★★★★½