Scratching For Controller DJs Part 2 PDF

2: Can I Scratch On My DJ Controller?
In the first of these three special reports, we looked at whether it's actually possible to "scratch" on DJ controllers, and we answered that question by defining what scratching actually is, looking a bit at its history, and concluding that actually, there are many advantages to using DJ controllers rather than record decks! If we reached a conclusion, the feeling was that times change, things move on, and there's nothing any of us can do to stop that (nor should we) - but for so many reasons, scratching is still an utterly relevant skill for the DJ. Indeed, maybe more than ever nowadays, it is something that can really stand you apart from the crowd. Here we're going to look at a more practical question: Can you scratch on your particular DJ controller? Because it's all well and good working out that yes, this stuff is possible, but of course not everyone has the high-end DJ gear that you might think would be necessary to scratch. Hopefully in the last piece we showed you that the actual physical idea of using jogwheels rather than vinyl record decks isn't in itself a hindrance to scratching, so now we need to look at what affects how well you can scratch on DJ controllers. We'll cover that question in the first half of this chapter, then we'll move on to looking at some
Part two of a three-part report from Scratching For Controller DJs and Digital DJ Tips. Visit the websites: http://scratchsuccess.com & http://www.digitaldjtips.com. 9
major manufacturers in the second half.
i. What affects your ability to scratch on a DJ controller?

The three elements are: The controller itself (and especially the quality of the jogwheels / crossfader); your laptop; and your software. Let's look at them one by one:
Your DJ controller
Early DJ controllers were difficult - no, impossible - to scratch on. While it's easy enough to map on/off buttons and simple faders to software so they control what you want them to do pretty well, jogwheels are a different beast. There is an almost infinite number of subtleties and nuances to what you can do manipulating a jogwheel - it is, after all, what makes scratching such an organic and fun thing to do in the first place. So it took the manufacturers a little while to get up to speed. A bit of background tech: Most DJ controllers communicate with your computer using something called "Midi" - it's a 30-year-old protocol for electronic communication of musical data. More recently, some manufacturers have come up with their own-brand improvements to Midi, designed to make jogwheels more responsive, and you'll also
hear "HID" bandied around; it stands for "human interface device" and is a theoretically better way to achieve what Midi does. Finally, manufacturers often speak of "high resolution" jogwheels, indicating that for any particular movement, the wheel can transmit more data to software than previously. We tested 50 controllers, and at the end of it all, we now regard overly worrying yourself about whether your controller offers Midi, HID, high resolution or some other weird and wonderful concoction of jogwheel/software communication as a bit of a red herring. There are controllers that do just fine with Midi, and controllers with non-Midi interfaces that only achieve average grades. But here's the good news, and this is what you should take away: Nearly all modern controllers are fine for beginner to intermediate scratching. The hardware is good enough, even on cheap models. For instance, the Numark Mixtrack series are basically plastic boxes, plainly built to a budget so as to be affordable to beginners, yet the jogs are good, and with some software, they are indeed excellent (more on software later). This is indicative of the care and attention manufacturers pay in getting their jogwheels to perform well. But that brings us on to the vital second point, which is that a controller is only ever going to be as good as the software it's running...
Your DJ software
Hand-in-hand with improvements in DJ hardware, the
manufacturers of DJ software have also made massive strides to improve the way their programs interact with controllers. So let's look at the three major packages. Traktor Traktor is 100% fantastic with its own controllers (the Traktor Kontrol S2 and S4, at the time of writing). Of the third-party controllers it works with (which is most of them, whether officially or via user-created third-party mappings), it is usually also very good. It has improved a lot in recent times (since 2.5), and will only get better. We did find with some of the cheaper controllers (the aforementioned Mixtrack Pro is a good example) its performance was not excellent, but was passable nonetheless. We particularly liked its performance with the Pioneer DDJ-T1, which gave a great approximation of scratching on CDJs but in a DJ controller. Serato Serato ITCH / Serato DJ (including Serato DJ Intro) performed across-the-board excellently - almost. Why so good? Well, Serato doesn't make its own controllers, and it's staked its reputation on scratch performance (as its digital vinyl product, Serato Scratch Live, was what built the company's reputation). To get "Serato in the box", a DJ gear manufacturer has license the software, and in that process, Serato applies quality control to ensure great scratch performance. Curiously, though, there was one modern DJ controller (albeit now discontinued) - the Allen & Heath Xone:DX - that despite being
Serato, is not possible to scratch on, due to its tiny jogwheels. But apart from that, if your controller can run any flavour of Serato, it'll be fine. Virtual DJ Overall, Virtual DJ we found to be "very good", especially because there are several software settings with this particular program that you can use to tweak the way it interacts with your jogwheels, and we also know that the company is proactive in working with gear manufacturers to ensure good performance. It wasn't perfect (we could reproduce an erratic forward-spin behaviour on most controllers), but having said that, we've had a chance to demo Virtual DJ 8 at a couple of DJ shows recently (which is at the time of writing forthcoming) and in the same way that Traktor 2.5 and upwards dramatically improved on that program's scratch ability, Virtual DJ 8 improves over Virtual DJ 7's already pretty good performance still further. Other programs As far as other programs go, we found MixVibes Cross performed well with its own U-Mix Pro controller, and we've heard good things about Algoriddim's Mac-only djay software when mapped to econtrollers like the Vestax VCI-400, although we found that program a little "spongy" on the Vestax Spin2. Having said that, DMC scratch champion DJ Rasp is gigging with the Spin2 - just goes to show nowadays, the gear really shouldnt hold you back. However,
that brings us on to the next truth: Neither the hardware manufacturers nor the software houses can help you if you don't get the next thing right: Your laptop.
Your laptop
It all comes back to the laptop. Your software runs on it, your hardware interfaces with it. Without a well functioning "brain" at the centre of your DJing universe, none of this digital scratching stuff is possible. So what's the important advice to remember here? 1. Meet the recommended spec Check out the websites for the software and hardware you're using. There is always a "technical spec" or "minimum spec" page. Also, check your quick start manual, printed manual, or the box your gear came in for the same info. Now check your computer to make sure you're meeting that spec! The main culprits in our experience are: Not enough memory (easy to fix: buy a memory expansion) and (less easy to fix) weird processor incompatibilities (generally, you're fine with Intel, there is some weird behaviour with some controllers and AMD chips, though). Hard disk type is not important, as the computer loads tracks into memory before you scratch them anyway. Truth? Nowadays, we found that even cheap PCs can do this stuff. DJ software when used for basic scratching does not put massive strains on a modern laptops.
2. Keep it simple, stupid Computers are amazingly complex things. Whenever I speak to audio engineers working with sound cards, DJ controllers and digital audio, all they seem to say is "timing! (usually accompanied by head-shaking.) Trying to get everything to work exactly when it should in a sound environment when it comes to digital is extremely hard - and so if they've done their bit to ensure this happens, for your part you need to give your software and hardware half a chance by moving everything else out of your DJ softwares way. That means closing down all software you're not using, making sure there's as little going on in the background as possible (Bluetooth, WiFi, auto update, internet connection, notifications and so on), always running on outlet power (battery power usually has a performance compromise) and all the other common-sense things that will allow your computer to give its undivided attention to your DJ performance. 3. Reduce the latency It's a control in your settings that sets how much "buffer" the computer puts between you doing something and the sound coming out of the speakers. Obviously for scratching, the lower this number the better, but the more demands it'll put on your PC. Weird crackles, freezes, glitches and so on indicate you've been a bit overambitious and set this too low. Here's the thing though: If you follow the two
points above, it's my guess you'll never have a problem with latency. Here's a little confession: When we tested the 50 controllers we have here to see how many of them you can actually scratch on, we rarely had to play with latency - and when we did, it turned out the problem actually couldn't be solved by messing with it (ie it was something else causing our issues). Again, nowadays you should find latency isn't an issue for you. 4. Mac vs PC Listen up kids. It doesn't matter. I'm not saying it doesn't make a difference, but whichever one you've got, that's the one you're going to use, and it'll work fine. Nearly all the software works with both. All the hardware (bar one or two units) works with both. Sure there are differences but the manufacturers and software houses have worked around them on your behalf. You can achieve perfectly good results with both. Don't sweat it. Buy and use whatever makes you comfortable, but don't let the OS be an excuse for you not to use whatever computer you happen to have for scratching. Worrying about it is a nonsense, in practical terms. In 2004, I bought a Sony Vaio which I DJed with until 2010, when I bought a MacBook. It's only me, sure, but I've had equal (ie very few) problems with both OSes. I hear the same stuff every day from all kinds of folk. Don't sweat it.
ii. Hardware overview

Rather than give you a detailed analysis of every controller we tested in words (its very hard to demonstrate scratching in words!), it is our intention over the coming months to publish as many controller demos on the Digital DJ Tips YouTube channel as we can, to show you some of these units in action. For now, though, here is a summary of our notes from the testing sessions, organised alphabetically by manufacturer. Note that we've only tested software controllers, not USB units etc. A word on crossfaders: All of these DJ controllers had passable crossfaders for basic scratching, and none had a crossfader as good as a decent standalone battle scratch mixer. Loose is best - but more important is crossfader curve adjustment, and thankfully all major software packages (and some higher-end hardware) offers this option. Dont sweat it - live with what youve got.
The controllers by brand:

American DJ - The company's VMS2 and VMS4 models are usable, but not the best as they are physically a little weird, with a kind of "afterthought" rubber ring fitted to give the standard "nudge" behaviour to the jogwheels. We also found the wheels quite wobbly. However, you can get good sounds out of them
(VMS4.1 is better than VMS4 as it has a better sound card) and theyre fine for learning on. Behringer - The company's very early controllers (BCD2000/3000) are ancient news now and you can't scratch with them, but the company has a new controller due imminently (CMD Studio 4A) that comes with lesser-known software package Deckadance. The prototype we tested was alpha software and wasn't performing well, but we'd expect them to have this tightened up for launch. Until we get one to test, though, can't really say on this one. Denon - Funnily enough, we liked Denon's cheapest controller (the MC2000) the best of all for scratching, as it performs flawlessly with Serato. Having said that, the MC3000 and MC6000, both of which you can use with Virtual DJ and Traktor, are solid controllers and good scratch performers. All Denon controllers have rather small jogwheels, but we think small jogs are fine for scratching, so and as long as you don't have clumsy, big hands we wouldn't let that put you off! Gemini - Well known for their scratch mixers in the past, Gemini is looking forward with a new flagship controller called the GV4, which is a very modern-looking device and which was promising from the preview model we've played on. We found their current controllers (CNTRL-2, CNTRL-7 and FirstMix Pro) to be OK performers for basic scratching, but the most intriguing model in their range is the CDMP-7000. This is a
CDJ-style unit (in fact, it is two CDJs, just in one big case) with a mixer, that you can use with Virtual DJ - and performance was pretty good. If you want to learn to scratch on something that feels like CDJs rather than the more lightweight DJ controller-style jogs, and you're on a budget, this is definitely one to consider. Hercules - The DJ Control Instinct was the smallest controller we tested out of all 50, and we found it honestly to be too small for scratching, and also the software (DJUCED) didn't produce the nicest scratch noises. The DJ Control Air was at least a bit bigger, but really the 4Mx and the RMX2 were the controllers we liked the best out of this range. Hercules has a mechanical-style jogwheel that you'll either like or hate; it's wobbly, clunky and chunky, and we actually loved it - it feels nice under the hand, is responsive and something a bit different from most. Native Instruments - Another manufacturer with mechanical rather than capacitive jogwheels (meaning they detect the presence of your hands on them by micro-switches, not electrical current changes). With jogwheels that were quite small, deep and slightly weird to use (Native Instruments jogwheels stop dead almost instantly you remove your hand from them, so no spinbacks), the Kontrol S2 and Kontrol S4 nonetheless proved to be extremely responsive units for intricate scratching - no doubt helped by the fact that as the company makes both the hardware and the software, they can
prioritise getting everything just-so. However, due to the positioning of the jogs and the size, were giving these controllers a very good rather than an excellent. Certainly theyre fine for all but some advanced scratch DJs, though. Novation - We love the Novation Twitch, but despite it producing a convincing scratch sound when you "throw" the touchstrips, you can't scratch on this. You can do some innovative digital stuff, sure, but for scratching? You need jogwheels. Trust us on that one. Numark - From the lowliest Mixtrack to the all-bells NS6 and 4Trak, Numark's stuff is dependable, and frequently excellent. While their DJ2GO is simply too small for scratching (or, to be honest, anything past novelty DJing), the rest of the range lets you do it fine. Slightly better performance from the Serato controllers (NS6, Mixtrack Pro) than Traktor (4Trak, which although good, wasn't 100% perfect. 95%, maybe). The NS7 and now the NS7 II take it a stage further by being motorised (ie the jogwheels spin like real turntables), and are both excellent if you really must have the vinyl feel. Be aware that older, discontinued Numark controllers (Steel, Stealth, Total Control) don't cut it. Pioneer - Late to the controller game, and so able to ensure they didn't repeat some other manufacturers' early mistakes, Pioneer gear is all very good or excellent when it comes to the jogwheel performance. We loved the DDJ-SX (although like the
Traktor Kontrol S4, the jogs, lovely as they are, won't let you do spinbacks); if you want passable CDJ-style jogs, the DDJ-T1 for Traktor and the DDJ-S1 for Serato deliver that; and every the smaller controller (the DDJ-Ergo for that CDJ feel, the DDJ-WeGO for the classic controller-style jogs) are fine for learning to scratch. Reloop - Some slight imprefections of performance with Traktor and the earlier Reloop controllers (Digital Jockey II models, now discontinued), but the Jockey III and Mixage with Traktor were pretty good. The cheaper Beatmix model for Virtual DJ was also good, while the Terminal Mix 2 and Terminal Mix 4 with Serato software (all variations) we found to be excellent. Stanton - These guys made their name with record deck cartridges and still have a hand in the analogue mixing world. Of straight DJ controllers, the DJC-4 for Virtual DJ performed well and is a nicely made unit too, and their SCS.4DJ standalone (ie no laptop required!) controller actually has surprisingly tight, good jogwheels. You can't scratch in the SCS.3 system though, as its jogs have no moving parts! Quick mention for the SCS.1 system here too, which preceded Numark's NS7 in delivering motorised platters first to digital DJs, despite being impractical for most(mainly due to it being huge, expensive, and FireWire only, ie no USB). Vestax - Again, an old hand at this game, responsible for some
wonderful scratch mixers both past and present. Since the VCI-100 for Traktor, all of its controller have been excellent for scratching. The VCI-100, while not perfect, set the bar (and despite its age, that controller is still very good), but the VCI-300, VCI-380 and VCI-400 all perform brilliantly, the latter slightly better with Serato than Traktor.
Conclusion
Weve said it so many times: Nearly all modern controllers (ie from the last two years) are fine for learning to scratch on. Dont let the controller you own put you off trying, and if youre finding it hard, it is nearly always because you need to improve your technique, not because theres a fundamental problem with your set-up. Next: In the next chapter of this special three-part report, youll meet the seven golden rules of learning to scratch on your DJ controller.

Scratching For Controller DJs Part 2 PDF

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Исходное описание:

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Scratching For Controller DJs Part 2 PDF

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

2: Can I Scratch On My DJ Controller?

major manufacturers in the second half.

i. What affects your ability to scratch on a DJ controller?

ii. Hardware overview

The controllers by brand:

Вам также может понравиться