Gizmodo: djs

Wacom Dips Toe In Club Scene With Nextbeat Wireless DJ Controller

Jack Loftus — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:59:00 EDT

Wacom, the tablet and touchscreen company that's made a name for itself in graphic design circles, is about to enter the discotheque.

The entry is called Nextbeat, a music controller that lets prosumer DJs mix and manipulate their beats with a variety of touchscreen controls and a portable "pod" that docks with the main unit. In theory, it could allow DJs to leave the booth and enter the dance floor maelstrom, if they so choose.

The Nextbeat is slated for release in Europe (surprise) and Japan this summer. No pricing info was available, nor was there any mention of this portable beat box making an appearance Stateside. It will be on display, however, from March 24-28 in Miami Beach at the Winter Music Conference. Pacifier and glow sticks are not included [technabob]

I've Got Two Kuka Robot Arms and a Microphone

John Mahoney — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:30:00 EST

I learn something new about robots every day. These Kuka industrial robot arms have been used to power amusement park rides, and apparently, make fine German avant-garde electronic DJs.

Kuka robot arms are nearly ubiquitous in heavy automated manufacturing plants for cars, airplanes, IKEA—everything. These two particular Kuka DJs are from an installation called juke_bots from a few years back. They can select any number of records from their nearby crates, and play selected parts of them by lifting them up to waiting styli. Grandmasters they are not, but they're also, er, machines. [robotlab via Bot Junkie]

iBuddy Portable DJ Mixer Makes a Fatboy Slim Out of Your Lack of DJ Talent, Flab

Haroon Malik — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:25:00 EST

The Gizmo: The iBuddy is a portable iPod DJ mixing station, with inputs for two iPods, two MP3 players or a combination of the two. The three knobs control things that are strictly to do with DJ talk, like "reverb," "flange" and "autophase." As crap as we are with DJ lingo, we know it sounded damn good. It was also quite small, making your nomadic DJ dreams a true possibility.

The Catch: If you are having dreams of becoming a nomadic DJ; get off the smack. Shipping / pricing details not available at present.

Vestax VCI-100 Mixer Modded with Arcade Game Buttons

AddyDugdale — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 04:34:44 EDT

Here's what you do if you think your Vestax mixer looks dull as day-old dog doo: mod it. One of the guys from DJ Tech Tools swapped his boring old black knobs for arcade game buttons. How-to video is after the jump.

[YouTube and djtechtools.com via Create Digital Music]

Numark's iDJ2 Lets You Mix Tracks from the Same iPod

AddyDugdale — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:00:49 EDT

Numark's iDJ2, a mixing table that allows you to mix up tracks from the same iPod is to be launched next month. We touched on the prototype earlier this year, which got a thumbs-up-with-reservations from DJ Scott Paradis, but this is the final version. Key features, and price, below.

Large backlit, display with revolutionary user interface
Key lock support for maintaining key while tempo shifting
Integrated iPod slot with adjustable mount
Seamless looping, pitch control, scratching capability via jog wheels
Visual Track Profiles to skip through phrases
Facilitates mixing with three or more USB Hard Drives or Apple iPods with USB hub
USB ports to plug in iPods, thumb drives and hard drives
Play music off two iPods simultaneously, including two songs off same iPod
Formats supported: MP3, WAV and AAC (unprotected)
Pitch control with range up to +25% and down to 100%
Beatkeeper technology with TAP override function
Search ability via two large jog wheels
USB Keyboard support
3-band EQ with gain control on both channels
Dedicated microphone input with tone and level control
Phono/line inputs on both channels for adding additional devices

Expect to pay around $600 for this when it's out next month. It remains for Scott (he posts comments here under the name Diggabyte) to tell us whether Numark's tweaks make it worth forking out for. [Numark via iLounge]

Rega P3 Turntable Improved, Prettier, Still Plays Vinyl

Charlie White — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 13:41:53 EDT

Those old-tech turntables keep hanging on, and the Rega P3 and its kick-ass RB300 tonearm have established quite a name for themselves in this esoteric category. Now the product has been further improved, with a higher quality synchronous motor, a floated plateglass platter and a range of lovely colors. And if you don't care for vinyl, it's pretty enough to hang on your wall. Yours for somewhere "under 500" (about $942). – Charlie White

Product Page [Rega, via BornRich]