midi for the masses
Well I just got home from the CDM 5-year Birthday Party/Dubspot Ableton Live Conference at King King and was planning to hit the sack but on a whim I checked out DJTechtools and learned that Vestax and Apple have changed the game, starting now. I think they will sell a lot of these. $250 is dirt cheap for a solid MIDI controller + sound card + DJ software; you can easily spend twice that much on software alone. Plus I have used the djay software before and it is idiot proof — simple, clean interface, near-perfect integration with iTunes, and every basic feature you want in DJ software. The hitch is, it requires a Mac; I’m sure Apple is happy about that. Anyone on the fence about what computer to buy their kid could easily be pushed in Apple’s direction with a toy like this. Some people are complaining that a lot more crappy DJs and “mashup artists” will come out of this, but that is indeed the price of progress. More simple DJ tools in more people’s hands is a good thing no matter how you look at it. This won’t replace Serato or Traktor or even good old vinyl for the purists; it’s just another tool, and it lowers the barrier for the beginner.
Kudos to the folks from algoriddim who thought this software up, and please try not to hurt yourselves getting on and off of the giant pile of money you’ll probably be sleeping on from now on….
- Here’s a promo video
- Here it is in action at the Tokyo Music Fair