Apple have just recently launched yet another line of iPod Nano’s the smaller version of the iPod that still has a screen, the new iPod Nano comes with a bigger screen and slimmer sides, its a bit longer than the original iPod Nano, but it does have a larger colour screen, in addition it comes in 9 colours, and in two sizes 8 GB and 16 GB, in terms of DJing, the iPod Nano, series is probably the most affordable model with a screen that DJs can use to iPod DJ.
iPod DJing, is great, as it allows you to DJ with out a bulky laptop, this however doesn’t mean that you can do away with a laptop altogether, after all, an iPod needs iTunes and a laptop to organize and load music from interestingly DJ programs can be quite pricy and not all are compatible with iTunes or the iPOd, the DJ1800 however was creative with this in mind, and allows you to work with iTunes and DJ at the same time, making it the perfect DJ software for iPoD DJs, its a strictly Mac affair with makes it all that much more iPod friendly, and has interesting functions lik Pitch lock, which allows you to alter tempo with out affecting pitch. It comes with the flexibilty for two out put mode, 1. via the head phone port and a secondary out put, or via a multi channel external sound card, the DJ1800 is also compatible with various MIDI controllers so you can Dj from your laptop, a fully documented plugin API means that for any tech geeks out there, you can create your own plugins and controllers, making ti possible to convert an iPod or an iPhone into a controller for the DJ1800.
Specifically for the iPod, the iTunes libary is fully integrated into DJ1800, there is also plug and play support of any iPod, like-wise for the iPhone, or iPod Touch, perhaps most significantly the DJ1800 allows you to save mixes, StartPoint, AutoGain and BPM values to iTunes and therefore your iPod, iPhone and iPod Touch. You can find more information on DJ1800 here.
The Numark IDJ2 is one of the most revolutionary iPod DJing mixers out there, and essentially represents the third generation of iPod DJing technology. The Numark IDJ2 is essentially the predecessor of the The Numark IDJ, and as such fulfills most of the sort comings presented by second generation iPod DJing mixers, such as the need for two iPods, the lack of pitch control and so forth. The Numark IDJ2 is also the main competitor to the Cortex Dmix-300, whilst the Cortex Dmix-300 was launched in 2006/7 the The Numark IDJ2 was launched almost a year later, and with some fantastic publicity, heralding a new generation of DJing, where it was not only possible to DJ on an iPod, but it was also possible to DJ with the same amount of easy and flexibility as with normal vinyl and CD setups.
The first thing that hits you about the The Numark IDJ2 is the look, its clean, modern and retains that iPod-esq feel that made the iPod such a cult icon. Next thing to hit you about the The Numark IDJ2 is the colour screen that sites in the center of the unit, its big, easy to read and full colour, showing that the The Numark IDJ2 is capable of handing video as well as music. Whilst the finish of the The Numark IDJ2 is really good, its doesn’t have the sturdyness you get with the Cortex Dmix-300, and it would seem that the Cortex Dmix-300 is more of a club oriented iPod mixer when compared to the Numark IDJ2, the main thing in this regards that the Numark IDJ2 is missing is those sweet Jog wheels you get on the Cortex Dmix-300 with the Numark IDJ2, all you have are grooved rubber job wheels, which whilst sensitive, lack in both looks and feel, they just don’t feel right, in general this seems to be try of the finish on the Numark IDJ2, all the knobs, faders and switches seem to lack the robustness and professional feel you get with the Cortex Dmix-300, which gives the impression Numark still look at iPod DJing as more of a hobby and not something they are taking too seriously.
The layout of controls for the Numark IDJ2 is also a little unconventional, and doesn’t lend itself naturally to DJing, with cue play and stop buttons located where they could be accidentally pressed and with high, mid, low knobs placed horizontally above the jog wheel, meaning you could accidentally brush against the job wheel whilst you alter these controls, not good when you’re mid mix and the entire record goes off kilter. The Numark IDJ2 cross fader also seems a little…how should I put it, under achieved? it simply seems less than impressive and unlike the Cortex Dmix-300 cross fader, it isn’t replaceable.
The whole Numark IDJ2 setup just reeks of amateur finish so, whilst it looks great, it’s never going to be a Farrari, more of a Fiat Punto. This being said, the Numark IDJ2 is a Trojan horse the user interface which allows you to control te music on your iPod is fantastic and a great deal more usable than the Cortex Dmix-300, the best of both world would ideally be the Cortex Dmix-300 physical controls with the Numark IDJ2 digital/virtual controls. Regardless, for any iPod DJ, this is a fantastic product.
You find that the size of the Numark IDJ2 is also comparatively smaller than the Cortex Dmix-300, with its plastic finish its also a lot lighter, but its still not exactly portable, with the Numark IDJ2 needing mains power supply, this being said, if you’re a student or a mobile DJ then the Numark IDJ2 is a good and more pratical ption when compared to the Cortex Dmix-300.
All in all the Numark IDJ2 is a fantastic product, despite its finishing flaws its easy to use, looks reasonable and allows you to pitch control your iPod music all without breaking the bank.
Here’s a video of the Numark IDJ2 as part of a console, which adds more casing for the unit and an additional keyboard.
The Numark TTi iPod Turntable is the first turntable to take advantage of the iPod, as a mass storage device, for most DJs this turntable will serve as a fantastic addition, and for any music collector with tons of vinyl the Numark TTi iPod Turntable with its iPod dock and USB audio interface means you can record your vinyl straight to your iPod, this versatility means that for a home DJing setup, for an iPod DJ this is a fantastic additional piece of kit which will allow an iPod DJ to record vinyl tracks on to their iPod. Included in the package is software that alls the DJ to record tracks and archive them for iTunes, and for those of you who are worried about pops and crackles that come with vinyl records the Numark TTi iPod Turntable software allows you to brush up the quality of the recording.The Numark TTi iPod Turntable also boasts the kind of quality that Numark is renown for, with a metal platter, pitch control, s-shaped tone arm, a built-in phono pre-amp. The one down side is the Numark TTi iPod Turntable is a belt drive turntable, for DJs this means the Numark TTi iPod Turntable is relegated to a studio recording and play back turntable, for transferring music from vinyl to iPod rather than as a mixing turntable. This being said the Numark TTi iPod Turntable is cheap enough and high quality enough that the ability to record to iPod makes it a must have for iPod DJs and vinyl music lovers.
Bird Electron are a Japanese based electronic company that are one of the few producers of iPod accessories, in particular, iPod DJing accessories. The DJ-4S and DJ-4 are effectively variants of the simplest type of iPod DJing mixer. the mixer has two inputs, and one out put with a volume controller for each input channel.
if you’re looking for a highly portable and compact iPod DJing with out too many bells and whistles. Then you’ll want to check out this affordable and portable iPod DJing mixer.
This is the second Bird Electron iPod DJing mixer, specially made to allow iPod DJs with a small and portable DJing mixer that is able to work with an iPod without having too many bells and whistles and without breaking the bank. What you have here is the premium DJ5 from Bird Electron, this mixer is the top of the line iPod DJing mixer it has two volume sliders/faders, and has head phone monitoring, with volume control knobs for each channel for the headphones, this is good for you to listen to you mix before it plays out to the audience. Along with the two input sockets there is an output socket and a headphone socket. In addition to this the whole device acts as a headphone amplifyer as well and is battery operated. For any iPod DJ this is the top line in affordable and simple iPod DJing equipment. Check it out here.
Bird Electron are a fantastic Japanese company that produce some really innovative and minimalistic iPod accessories and electronics, they are also the first retailer to take iPod DJing seriously, and have 4 iPod DJing mixers as well as a collection of special iPod speakers and iPod docks, to add to this they also have iPod accessories such as iPod cases and other useful electronic items.
the simplest iPod DJing Mixer Bird Electron make is the DJ7, the DJ7 essentially allows two iPod outputs to be combined into a single output, giving you two decks and allowing you to mix using the volume control on each iPod. Like most iPod DJing solutions its still lacks that one critical point, it doesn’t allow you to control pitch, so you’ll have to organize your music like this.
This being said the quality of the cables is fantastic, and the idea is superbly simple, and the size and portability make this a fantastic solution for any DJ on the go..with two identical iPods.
DJing has always been seen as a bit edgy and ’street’ and has always been perceived as a way to engage a hip and cool crowd, hence why DJing has gained popularity with a mainstream audience, including that dodgy balding bloke who leers at girls in clubs.
The Sims DJ seems to be the EA games Sims franchis’s growth into capturing this new edgy DJing, iPod loving crowd, its developed as a sims game for the iPod allowing you to effectively become a DJ and begin DJing on your iPod in order to complete various goals. You essentially pick tracks and ‘mix’ them to keep the dance floor full of Sims, by doing various things, including pouring drinks, you get ‘DJ creds’ which act as points. In addition you get several mini games, to take your mind of the DJing side of the game.
As it only costs around a fiver, its not really iPod DJing as such but for those of you just the slighted bit curious about iPod DJing or for those of you who have a spare moment on the commuter trains The Sims Dj might just avert your attention for long enough to miss a stop.
iPods are unique both in relation to other mp3s and in terms of their looks and software, the iPod was developed by Apple, and is essentially a hard drive with a linux based software, in an effort to support the likes of Belkin and other iPod accessory producers the Apple iPod team have allowed certain information on the iPod to be made available about the iPod for iPod accessory makers, the aim of the Apple Developer connection (specifically for the iPod) is to provide iPod accessory makers with information and an accredited seal to ensure quality and a degree of partnership, effectively a seal of approval and standard that consumers can rely on.
So next time you go shopping for an iPod or an iPod related DJing tool, make sure you keep an eye out for these logos.
The iScratch is a homegrown software that takes advantage of the the job wheel present on most iPods, the iPod by Apple runs on its own software made specifically for the iPod, however, both Apple and iPod software is Linux based so with a little computer wizardry, you can put linux on your iPod and that when the iScratch application becomes possible. It’s possible to install linux on an iPod because the iPod is essentially a hard drive, and this is even more possible with larger iPods where the storage campacity of the iPod is comparable with your average desktop.
So what does the iScratch iPod Djing program do? and how does a DJ take advantage of the iScratch?
Essentially the iScratch iPod DJing program is a native linux program designed to work on the iPod, and use the job wheel of the iPod to scratch music playing out, this gives iPod DJs the chance to perform turntablism on the iPod directly. You can check out the iScratch iPod Djing program here.
