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PRO AUDIO

Paul
February 26, 2013

The Traktor DJ App for iPad And Whether It’s Right For You

So I bought Traktor DJ for iPad Thursday.

Before I go any further I want to say again that I bought it Thursday. At the time of writing, it is Monday the following week. When I bought the product, I was thinking “I’ll just bang around with it, test out the sync functionality, set a few loops and cue points, and bang out a quick review for the blog.” That didn’t happen for two reasons:

1) I really dragged my feet on the whole “leaving Snow Leopard” thing. Snow Leopard was fine. I wanted to stay there. Over recent months, this or that driver update excluded me and I realized the day was coming when someone would force my hand. NI were the someone, and 2.6.1 was the update to do it. Mac users will want to note that full use of the app’s functionality with Traktor Pro 2.6.1 requires …

PRO AUDIO

Taylor
January 9, 2013

CES 2013: A Prelude to NAMM 2013

This week saw the beginning of the annual Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Typically CES is home to the latest innovations and announcements from the world of cameras, televisions, and new smart phone technology. There are however a good amount of professional audio companies that are in attendance, and these companies are there to unveil their latest generic consumer products instead the more targeted and musician/producer focused gear we see at the NAMM show. There are some very interesting audio devices coming out of CES this year and while you are desperately waiting in anticipation for all the new gear at NAMM, here are a few things to whet your appetite.

IK Multimedia

iRig HD

IK Multimedia has been at the forefront of developing hardware and interfaces that allow for audio recording on your computer, iPad, and iPhone. They are committed to developing tools to compliment the ever advancing technological …

PRO AUDIO

Taylor
December 13, 2012

iPad Controlled Digital Mixing Console Comparison

The Apple iPad has quickly become more than just a tablet for reading books and watching video. It is now a fully functional tool for doing all sorts of things including controlling your home security system, creating music, or having control of your home entertainment system. The pro audio world has found new and interesting ways of incorporating the iPad as well. Keyboard controllers, audio interfaces, DJ controllers, and live sound mixers are all getting a tech facelift with the application of the iPad. One of the more practical and prominent uses has been the iPad’s ability to sync with digital mixing consoles to control everything from monitor mixes to EQ settings. We first saw this with the introduction of the Presonus StudioLive and the StudioLive Remote application.

Since we first saw this at Winter NAMM 2011, more mixing consoles have been showing up which allow for intuitive and wireless control …

PRO AUDIO

Taylor
November 20, 2012

Akai Synthstation 49 Review

We first saw the Akai Synthstation 49 at Winter NAMM 2011 and surrounding this keyboard controller was all the buzz about the future of production and the integration of iOS devices. The public has been waiting patiently, filled with questions and anticipation for the keyboard controller that looked to take the most advantage of integrating an iPad with a keyboard controller. We were finally able to get our hands on one, play around with some different apps, and take it for a test drive when performing and using it for production. For those of you that have been holding out and waiting for the Synthstation 49, here are the things you have been waiting for:

Layout and Features

As the name implies, the Akai Synthstation 49 is a 49 key controller with selections for recording and playback, selecting instruments, and selecting between sequences, octaves, and songs. There are 9 MPC style pads for …

NEWS

UniqueSquared
November 2, 2012

Windows 8 Multi-Touch Music Apps Could Be Huge

My best guess about the 2012-2013 era of electronics is that we will see more companies breaking into untested waters; trying things out and seeing if they can take a dip in someone else’s pool. Native Instruments made headlines by producing their first hardware mixer, the Kontrol Z2 – and Ableton is even trying their hand in the hardware controller market. It is still unknown if Microsoft’s jump from a software-only company to tablet producing company will pay off, but we do know that when companies compete for the edge in technology, consumer reap the benefits of lower costs and more options.

A new version of Windows isn’t unexpected – but the use of touch screen functionally on anything other than an Apple product is remarkable. Right off the bat consumers will be given exponentially more hardware options, given that various manufactures can produce products to run Microsoft Windows 8 …