On The Decks 23
Take Control of Your Lighting With SoundSwitch
SoundSwitch is a powerful tool that can be used to send DMX lighting signals from software on your PC or Mac. Way more than just a digital lightboard, SoundSwitch gives you the ability to create a custom light show to your music library, or it can automatically apply auto light show analysis. There are two […]
Traktor Kontrol S2 Mk3: Video Demo
Native Instruments’ Traktor Kontrol S2 gives you the best of both worlds and makes DJing easier than ever. This compact controller is packed full of features, all arranged in a club-style setup. The Kontrol S2 is plug-and-play-ready with either PC, Mac, or IOS. Remix songs on fly with stems and samples right from the controller. […]
DJ Controllers vs. Standalone DJ Systems
We are going to tackle, in my opinion, one of DJing’s toughest questions: When I upgrade, should I use a standalone unit or a DJ controller? I’m writing this particularly for DJs that are new to the craft or are a couple of years in, and before we start, I’d like to address one thing. […]
Creating DJ Edits With Serato Studio
Good news for DJs: Serato Studio has been released and it is an awesome production tool! For this post, rather than go deep into the production side, we will take a closer look at some functional advantages Serato Studio provides. Recently, I’ve been using Serato Studio to make DJ edits/rework, intro edits, and a capella […]
DJing With MIDI Controllers
I have always been curious about the software-only side of DJjing: no turntables, CDJs, DVS interfaces, or physical music. I personally have always used either a controller, a CDJ setup, or a combination of both. These are the basic setups that everyone uses, but others are pushing the envelope and have been for years. Artists […]
Making Sonic Room in DJ Transitions
In a previous tutorial post, I spoke about three transitions for mixing songs. We are going to take a more in-depth look at making room for tunes in your DJ mix. When I say “making room in your mix,” I mean from a sonic frequency aspect. Imagine you have a container filled with sheets and […]
Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX2: Hands-on Review
I’ve spent the past three months with the Pioneer XDJ-RX2 and I’ve really grown a liking to the unit. So far, I have performed with it on five Twitch streams, recorded multiple sets, and practiced with it for hours. I have come to understand its strengths, its features that I love, and its quirks. The […]
Stream Your DJ Sets to the World
Like everyone else, I have been going a bit stir crazy at home, and I always enjoy a fun project. I wanted to find the best way to stream my DJ sets using various setups, and needed a solution to use outside my home studio space. So I improvised and I found a setup that […]
Using Pitch Riding to Improve Your Mixing
In our era of master tempo and the “sync” button, mixing can become very stagnant and boring. These features easily become crutches and they aren’t always correct. You may find yourself in a situation where you need to know how to manually beat-match and, most importantly, mix songs unassisted. So while computers and CDJs/media players […]
