For Serato users, the AMX is your nearest Z1 equivalent, in that it includes an audio interface and controller in one slim-line box (and it is obviously a none-to-subtle Z1 homage from Akai and InMusic). Everything feels perfectly solid for a piece of gear that costs nearly nothing.Īlso worth considering is the Akai AMX. If you need a two-channel audio interface headphone cueing or a controller with a slim two-channel DJ controller layout, the Z1 is for you, in other words – on any application, on any operating system, anywhere.Īnd if you’re using Traktor, it’s all an easy affair right out of the box. Get in touch, we should form some sort of secret society.) (There are, I imagine, not many people on Earth swapping between Pd and Traktor Scratch Pro, but – yes, I’m sure all of you are reading this now. My Z1 has actually become my go-to controller for a lot of my Pure Data patches. It works with the iPad – including cueing in Traktor for the iPad. And that audio interface, by the way, works for everything (it’s class-compliant). Phono out, separate headphone out for cueing. It’s also a controller for Traktor on the iPad, with the addition of a handy effects control (which I really wish also worked in the desktop version). With Traktor, you even get cute level meter indicators. It covers just the basics, but all the basics are covered: EQ, filter, cueing, 2-channel mixing controls (internal to the computer), and crossfader. It’s a controller for Traktor, as the name implies. This is, as far as I’m concerned, the single best hardware creation for mobile DJs ever. There’s a case for the touch strips, but we have to make some choices here. We can come up with various explanations: space is at a premium and you have to make sacrifices, you’d really rather beatmatch with actual turntables anyway, the sync button works pretty well for a lot of music, you’ve done some prep with cue points in advance… and so on. I am largely ignoring the question of cueing. ![]() So I’d better get these opinions themselves right. That said, if you are using one of the other DJ tools that isn’t Serato, most can be easily mapped to these controllers.Īnd if you think I’m an armchair DJ calling this without, say, racking up massive bookings at Ibiza alongside Richie Hawtin you are … absolutely right. (Serato may rival Traktor for users, especially in the USA and Asia, but its inflexibility with controller mappings means you’re more likely to see Traktor in tight quarters.) I’ll focus here on Native Instruments’ Traktor, because it’s the software I see most in these situations. One of these looks … sort of … more viable outside the home. So, I’ve selected a handful of DJ controllers I think stand out for these cases, partly because I’m surprised how often they’re eclipsed by the army of Plastic Coffins.Īnd I’m curious if Winter Music Conference shakes up this list. It’s nice to do this with proper controls, too. There’s also the use case of being at home or on the road and needing to finish a mix or podcast. But if you want a self-contained setup, you’ll definitely need some controls. Now, if you’re using CDJs or digital vinyl for control, you’ll presumably be okay you mainly need only an audio interface. ![]() ![]() Or until you show up at a club and there’s barely enough room for your 13″ MacBook Pro. That’s all fine and well – until you try to fit your controller into your backpack on easyJet. Let’s call such things the Plastic Coffins. It’d be the size of a coffee table (Lack!) and have a couple of giant wheels. Imagine if you were making a generic DJ controller prop for a bedroom display at IKEA. With so many of us called upon to DJ in a pinch – even as producers or live acts, onstage or in mixes – it’s relevant to almost anyone making electronic music.Īnd finding a way to stay mobile a worthy question – but one you might miss if following DJ blogs and music store displays. How can you get the most hands-on control of a laptop DJ set when you don’t have a lot of room?
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