Saturday, December 21, 2013

My Current Top 3 Daily Gear

Current Gear: MBP 2012 / Galaxy Note 3 / Google Nexus 7 (2013 FHD)
TOP THREE GEAR!

My current daily 3 items:
  • Macbook Pro 2012 (Intel i5 Ivy Bridge 2.5ghz / 16GB DDR3 / 1TB
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  • Google Nexus 7 2013 (32GB)
Its funny because out of these three items, my Macbook Pro seems to be the most outdated gadget even though its the largest and heaviest.

Both my tablet (Nexus 7 MK2) and my phone (Galaxy Note 3 by Samsung) has a full hd resolution of 1920x1080 and above (1920 x 1200 for my Nexus!).

My Macbook Pro has a very sad and lowly resolution of.... 1280x800

Yep...

Perhaps its time for me to upgrade to the Retina Macbook Pro?

Anyhow, no matter how good your tablet is, nothing gets work done way faster than the traditional Laptop with Keyboard + Trackpad, honest!

I tried so hard to replace my macbook pro with my Nexus 7 or my iPad to get work things done (replying to emails, writing documentations etc) but I always get things done faster on my macbook pro.

So will tablets replace laptops? Maybe, but definitely not yet. Not now. There is still a place for physical keyboards and mouse!


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

OSX Maverick is out now! For... FREE!


Today on the weird and wonderful world of TECH, for the first time ever, apple released the OSX MAVERICK for.... ZERO DOLLARS!

Yes, anyone with OSX Snow Leopard and above can download OSX Maverick for FREE, as opposed to the usual $19.95 in the past.

In fact I just paid for a Mountain Lion installation a few months ago just so I can use Logic Pro X (which requires Mountain Lion as standard!). Oh well, at least I dont have to pay this time!

What's New? Visually, its not very different from either OSX Lion or OSX Mountain Lion, they feel almost the same, I was expecting a very IOS 7 ish design but in fact the new OSX stays familiar as ever (that could be a good thing or a bad thing).

So far all my usual programs such as Traktor Scratch Pro and Ableton Live Suite 9 works without any problems, which is surprising. Perhaps the jump from mountain lion to Mavericks is not that much?

If you are a Mac user, hop on the the app store to download your free copy of OSX Mavericks, if you are to that is, new Operating Systems are bound to be buggy

Me? Let's just say that I like to live on the edge!


Thursday, June 13, 2013

Update

Hello... Yes how are you!

I have been really really busy the past few months with my new job (in the high end audio product industry - very interesting indeed, will blog about it soon perhaps). I have been kinda neglecting this blog, but seeing that I do still get people checking out my blog (and emailing me - thank you - no I am not dead but thanks for asking) I have decided to write this - like a quick update thing and some stuff that I always wanted to write on the blog (but never had the time - i work 6 days a week now!)

Anyways, here is a quick update on whats been happening  while I was gone

The XDJ-R1 is Real!


HOLY SHIT! See! I told you its gonna come out! This thing will sell like hotcakes, seeing that it supports both CD's and Rekordbox USB's - the built in effects are similar to that of the PRO level DJM800/850/900 and with Quantize and Hotcue features - this thing is going to be a hit as it is pretty affordable (USD $1099 RRP? yep thats a good price). Seems like Pioneer wants to defend itself against the increasingly-affordable dj controllers.


Native Instruments Announced the Traktor Z1


SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!
This thing looks so portable and fun! Mind you - this will not likely be replacing your dj mixer nor it will be a pro DJ solution, but it seems like a super fun and portable Traktor controller - just one of this and an X1 or the F1 and you are good to rock a house party~


The Traktor X1 MK2 "Alleged" photos are online


In case you havent seen them in the DJTT Article, the alleged photos of the Traktor X1 MK2 controller looks AMAZING - and seems like just the right controller to compliment the Traktor Z1 controller recently announced. The touch strips seem to work like the Novation Twitch and would work for pitch bending and track seeking. Not bad NI, not bad at all.... Please release it ASAP!!


Sennheiser Announced The HD-25 Aluminium


Say Woooot? Not content with inflicting RGAS to Gear Addicts (like you and me) with the Sennheiser Amperior, Sennheiser announced the all new HD25 Aluminium - As the name suggested, it.... has aluminium parts! This 25 year anniversary model has SOLID aluminium cups which will give a super significant sound quality upgrade over the old plastic models of the HD25  (More details HERE)

Monday, May 13, 2013

Pioneer's new XDJ-R1 - Allegedly?

The XDJ-R1... finally!

Remember a few months back I speculated the XDJ-R1?

Well...

Apparently its coming out soon!

Found these pics on facebook, dunno what the deal is with all the plasticky build, looks really cheap and poorly built, if this was priced above the XDJ-Aero or the DDJ-SX then this looks plain cheap, not too impressed at all~


More pics:

XLR eh? not bad...

See the XDJ R1 logo at the top?

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Soundcloud PRO : Now More Affordable Than Ever!!


Soundcloud, the premier music hosting service for DJ's and Producers just dropped the pricing on their PRO hosting plans!

Premium plans now start at 3 Euro per month (For 4 hours of storage) and.... 9 Euro per month for unlimited cloud music storage!!

If you are still using a Free account, this is the perfect time to upgrade to PRO now!


Details HERE

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Pioneer XDJ-R1 - Pioneer's new mysterious DJ gear?

The first time someone mentioned the Pioneer "XDJ-R1" was in the Pioneer forums where someone said they saw it being mentioned in the latest Rekordbox (Pioneer's Music Library Management Software) PDF manual.

I love conspiracy theories and TOP-SECRET Stuff so I decided to conduct my own investigation on the matter

The Evidences


Hmm... another Rekordbox DJ Gear? What's that - The XDJ-R1?

Did someone say Hot Cues? Woot!!
Another mention of the XDJ-R1 and the quantize features

The mysterious "Pioneer XDJ-R1" is mentioned many many times in the Rekordbox manual (found here). It seems like it is some kind of Rekordbox-ready DJ Player (like a cdj without a cd drive?), or perhaps an all-in-one unit (similar to the XDJ-AERO?).

The evidences suggest that the XDJ-R1 supports quantize mode for loops and cues (much like the CDJ900/2000/XDJ-Aero) and... check this out - HOT CUES!!! It appears that 3 of them are supported

The evidences also point that the XDJ-R1 may not have wifi or networking functions, so a possibility that it is a cheaper version of the XDJ-Aero without the networking/wifi functions?

I guess for now we can only guess as nothing else has been revealed at this point in time (March 5 2013) but I am definitely interested to see what Pioneer has in store for us very soon!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Traktor 2.6.1 is Out with FREE Key Detection!

BIG NEWS!!!


Straight from Berlin - The Traktor Pro DJ Software has recently been updated to the latest version for both Mac OSX and Windows Platform


What’s new in TRAKTOR 2.6.1?

  • Key detection
  • Downbeat detection
  • Collection metadata synchronization with TRAKTOR DJ
  • Various fixes and improvements

Traktor users get a minor yet significant update today with the release of Traktor Pro 2.6.1

Traktor adopts the 'Open Key' Notation as opposed to the Camelot wheel found in its competitor

This update includes one unexpected (oh Native Instruments you sneaky you!) FREE feature - Key detection of all your Traktor Library songs!

This means that you can (to some extend - depending on how accurate their algorithm is) find out the musical key signature pretty easily and conveniently without the use of any external program.

If you sort your playlist by Key, the column is color coded to follow the Open Key Notation!

When I installed the update Traktor automatically scans and updates my whole library and added a new ID3 column "Key Text" - this process may take some time (about 20-30 minute in my case in which case I just left it open while I made coffee). As illustrated above, Traktor uses the Open Key notation which is essentially a simplified circle of fifth, very very similar to the camelot wheel system used in its competitor software 'Mixed in Key' - BUT FREE!!

As a user of Mixed in Key (which costs USD $58) I find this extra feature to be AMAZING considering it is FREE, and it seems to be pretty much on PAR with Mixed In Key's detection according to my early test... Yes it works well!!

And the bonus is that now that the key detection is built into Traktor's system, there is no need to drag and drop songs into Mixed in key - everything is done in the system which enables a much faster work flow in song preparation!

Native Instruments - you've just made the best featured DJing software even better! (Now that I am also an owner of the Pioneer DDJ-SX with Serato I am allowed to make that statement - feature wise Traktor just knocks down Serato, hands down there is no comparison!)

And... Introducing the Traktor DJ iPad app!



There is now one portion of the settings page of Traktor 2.6.1 which links your traktor library to the new iPad Traktor APP integation!

And guess what... with a firmware upgrade now you are able to use your Native Instruments Audio 6 / Audio 10 sound cards with your iPad for multiple, super high quality outputs!!!

Yes that means you can have a full, high quality, loud stereo output while having a separate headphone cue channel in full stereo - is the iPad/Tablet the future that will one day replace laptops? Perhaps its a sign as It is definitely getting closer!


Traktor Owners can simply log into Native Instruments website or open the Service Centre to enjoy this update!

Traktor DJ iPad app is available for USD $19.99 in the iPad APP Store

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

New Mainroom/House Mixtape!



21 of the best main-room smashers mixed and compiled in a 77 Minute Mixtape for your enjoyment!

Feat Tracks and remixes by Avicii, Alesso, Deniz Koyu, Kaskade, Dirty South, Nicky Romero, Hardwell & Dannic, Michael Woods, and more!!

The theme for the mixtape this time is... BIG ROOM SOUND!

The Big Room Sound is the thing that is taking the world by storm at the moment - you can see that pretty much everyone LOVES this sound, even many of the more Progressive Trance producers and DJs have slowly transformed their style into main-room friendly

Personally I love the vocals and the melodic elements of the big room stuff, there are so many flavours in this mixtape, I compiled and mixed 21 high-energy, big room tunes and crafting them into a seamless musical journey - I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed mixing it!

This  mixtape was done LIVE on the Pioneer DDJ-SX with Serato, I took several different takes all with different flow and different tracklists, I have finally decided to go with this as the final product!

Well if you are wondering why I have been hammering mixtapes rapidly these days - I plan to make a whole batch of new (2013) mixtapes before I go into hibernation mode (picture a hermit or some warrior training in the mountains of tibet) and focus on my own original productions / remixes - I think its time for me to cut down on playing other people's music and spend more time working on my original music!




ZILCH - The Main Room Vol.1 (Mainroom House / Progressive House / Electro)


MIXCRATE LINK (CLICK)


Tracklist:
01. Dirty South & Michael Brun - Rift (Original Mix)
02. Arty, Nadia Ali & BT - Must Be The Love (Dannic Remix)
03. Nervo & Hook N Sling - Reason (Sick Individuals Remix)
04. Deniz Koyu Vs Avicii - Bong Into Darkness (Hardwell & Dannic MashUp)
05. Jewelz Feat. Scott Sparks - Toxic Rush (Original Mix)
06. Showtek & Justin Prime - Cannonball (Original Mix)
07. The Ashton Shuffle vs Tommy Trash - Sunrise (Won't Get Lost) (Tommy Trash Version)
08. Gemini - Robots (Original Mix)
09. Mikkas & Amba Shepard - Finally (Original Mix)
10. Alesso - Clash (Original Mix)
11. Nicky Romero & Nervo - Like Home (Original Mix)
12. W&W - Lift Off! (Original Mix)
13. Steve Aoki & Angger Dimas Feat. Kay - Singularity (Original Mix)
14. Miike Snow - Pretender (Deniz Koyu Remix)
15. Kaskade Feat. Haley - LLOVE (Dada Life Remix)
16. Avicii vs Nicky Romero - I Could Be The One (Didrick Remix)
17. Hardwell Feat. Amba Sheperd - Apollo (Original Mix)
18. Kid Massive & Alex Sayz Feat. Miella - Strong (Dannic Remix)
19. Eric Turner Vs Avicii - Dancing In My Head (Michael Woods Club Mix)
20. Marcel Woods & Allure - Are You Ready (Original Mix)
21. Ellie Goulding - Lights (Feenixpawl Bootleg)

Friday, January 18, 2013

New Electro/House Mixtape 2013!

New mixtape for 2013!!!

21 seizure-inducing, straight up hard electro tracks (hence the appropriate mixtape name and the cover art)

I love doing mixtapes, for me it allows me to shape some kind of journey, like a book that is meant to be read from the first page to the last one - this mixtape is the same, every single track was chosen and compiled to form some sort of musical journey to the listener~ the theme this time is... hard, heavy, robotic, mechanical, video game kinda noise

The mix opens with a familiar song... "Bug hunt - Noisia Remix" by Skrillex, yes this song is one of the sound track to the walt disney movie "Wreck It Ralph", in which I intent to carry the listener to "the video game world" - where noises do sound like what would you hear for the rest of the mix!

This mix is influenced by the rage, seizure music the likes of knife party, porter robinson, and such, meaning it would be on the harder spectrum of electro house, with a very heavy dose of Dubstep (or shall we say... BROstep) influences. Following with the "video game" theme, the next song "Atarii" by Eminence follows the style of bleeping noises (Atari - get it? hence the song name) with very heavy bass, the rest of the mix pretty much is self explanatory, I try to include some tracks with vocal elements such as Zedd's "Fall Into The Sky" which has beautiful vocals by none other than Ellie Goulding, to keep this mix from being all bleepy and wub wub. Other beautiful vocal tracks include Felix Cartal's "No Sleep" and REVOLVR's "Machine"

To finish off the mix, we have GTA's "Ai Novinha", an interesting track that starts off at 128 bpm and ends at the Dubstep/Brostep/Trap BPM of 145 Beats per minute - just to give the listener that nasty surprise at the end!

Enjoy!

Listen/Download on MIXCRATE



Dropbox public link to download MP3: CLICK

ZILCH - High Voltage! Vol. 2

01. Intro - Skrillex - Bug Hunt (NOISIA remix)
02. Eminence - Atarii (original mix)
03. A-Trak Feat. Oliver - Disco Nap (original mix)
04. Calvin Harris & Nicky Romero - Iron (Dyro remix)
05. Felix Cartal Feat. Natalie Angiuli - No Sleep (original mix)
06. Zedd & Lucky Date Feat. Ellie Goulding - Fall Into The Sky (original mix)
07. Sander Van Doorn - Joyenergizer
08. Steve Aoki - Emergency (Laidback Luke remix)
09. Starkillers & Bl3nd - Xception (original mix)
10. Showtek & Bassjackers - Hey! (original mix)
11. Jordy Dazz & Dannic - Fuego (original mix)
12. REVOLVR & Lea Luna - Machine (original mix)
13. Whiite, Prima Volta & Stazz - Broken (Vandalism & Mr. Fluff remix)
14. Tradelove - Seven Nation Army (Alex Mind remix)
15. D-Rashid & Blasterjaxx - Reborn (original mix)
16. Congorock - Monolith (original mix)
17. Deezee & Joshua K - Rockstar (Mind Electric remix)
18. Elite Force - Captain America (Felix Luker remix)
19. Tomcraft - Loneliness 2K13 (Jaxxon remix)
20. Digital Freq & Pyramyth - Space Craft (original mix)
21. GTA - Ai Novinha (128 - 145 BPM mix)


Listen on Mixcloud!



Tuesday, January 8, 2013

PT1: Building the 'Ultimate' Lean, Mean, MIKRO MASCHINE Mapping for TRAKTOR

Part One: Maschine Mikro Traktor Mapping

Maschine Mikro - The Beatmaking Hardware/Software Package

This is a part one of a multi-part series of my journey to create the "ULTIMATE" Maschine Mikro mapping for Traktor Pro 2.6+

Note that "ULTIMATE" is relative - as everyone will have different objectives of what their midi mapping should and should not do, with Traktor's flexibility in midi mapping, everyone has a different way of playing out, some uses full track decks, some uses a combination of remix decks and track decks, it is also not impossible to play a set entirely from remix decks!

'Ultimate' in terms of midi mapping simply means = a mapping of functions that you ACTUALLY use, rather than a confusing mapping that does everything that you dont need, making it hard to use and cluttered

The whole point and reasoning of my me making my own mapping is that, when I tried to look for a good Maschine Mikro mapping, I was unable to find a really good one that suits me, there are a lot of REALLY GOOD mappings out there that seems to do everything that Traktor does, but I find them to be way too confusing, one of the mapping comes with 20+ pages of instruction on how to use the mapping, so that was a bit much, I guess i'd spend the time to do my own mapping instead! 

So the goal here... is to make a mapping that suits OUR (Mine and yours of course!) objectives, and making it as intuitive, easy to use as possible, by explaining how I did my mapping, and how you can do yours, rather than just giving you a TSI configuration file of my own mapping (which i might or might not do - lets see! as Im still working on it now)

you know there is this old saying "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, show him how to catch a fish and he'll be full for a lifetime"? 

Well... who wants to go fishing? :)

Why The Maschine Mikro?

MASCHINE Mikro MK1 - Orange Buttons Only!

The Maschine Mikro is a Hardware and Software beatmaking package from the German based Native Instruments, it works with both Mac OSX and Microsoft Windows and the Hardware (pictured above) was designed to work together with the software (installed on your computer) to create an all-in-one music making package. However, the Maschine Mikro also acts as a fully configurable Midi Controller, in which it is essentially a blank slate free for users to re-program and re-configure as they wish - according to their own intentions and purposes

The Maschine Mikro is packed with super-awesome value, not only that it comes with a full featured, MPC Style, beat making software - "MASCHINE", it now also includes the super awesome software synthesizer "MASSIVE" - made popular by the BROstep King Skrillrex to make the infamous WUB WUB WUB sound (Oh and Massive originally sells for USD $200!)

The Maschine Mikro itself is also a super sturdy, well-built MIDI Pad Controller, the awesome 4x4 Drum Pads has 8 Different separate Banks to map, making the amount of available, mappable pads amount to 128 in all!

So you get all these things, a nice fully mappable Midi controller, a full length beat making software that also host plugins within in (and also can be used inside DAW software of your choice), for a relatively low price - I got my Maschine Mikro MK1 during their special clearance SALE for ultra cheap! 

The MK2 Maschine Mikro currently sells for $399 USD, which is still a great value considering it still comes with the heavyweight software synth MASSIVE that retails for $200 by itself!

The only downside to the Maschine Mikro is of course - the single LCD screen (compared to the DUAL screen on the Full Sized Maschine), and the Singular endless encoder (very clicky - not good for smooth effects). If you absolutely must have 8 rotaries / endless encoders, the Maschine Mikro might not be the best for you, and the Full-Sized Maschine might be the better alternative instead

Keep in mind that you dont have to have the Maschine Mikro to use these tips, as in any midi mappable controller will do, you will find that you will get the most benefit from PAD Midi controllers with multiple banks and also LED feedback - in a dark club it can be really hard to see which pad you are smashing - and this could have fatal consequences - so LED feedback, if possible, is a must!

Examples of good midi controller to map would be the Allen and Heath Xone K2 - this thing have multiple, latching layers, and has multiple colors of assignable LED Feedback!

Is the Maschine Mikro For You?


Maschine VS Maschine MIKRO

The Maschine MIKRO is a lot smaller than the original Maschine, but it is still, not small at all, and will take up a lot of space, if you decide to use the Maschine Mikro for gigs you need to be aware that there is not always enough space in the DJ Booth - For example in one of the venues that I play at regularly there is just enough space to put my Macbook Pro (They have a pair of CDJ900's and DJM900 there) which leaves no space at all for the Maschine Mikro - keep this in mind, if space is an issue the Traktor X1 or the Allen and heath Xone K2 may be a better alternative!

Reasons to choose the Maschine Mikro as a midi controller


  • 8 Banks of 16 PADS!!! Easily swappable, and Freely mappable to whatever you want! (Midi Mapper's dream!)
  • Visual Feedback on the Screen shows which bank you are at exactly - no confusion here, both for Pads bank and the Encoder banks, plus LED feedback is easily done!
  • Visibility - The Maschine controller is perfectly playable even in pitch Black DARK ~ the Led feedback that you can assign helps to make sure you dont press the wrong button!
  • Built Like a Tank and Durable
  • Comes with MASCHINE Beat making software and MASSIVE Software Synth (Both are great!)
  • Mashing Maschine Pads are Fun!
  • Space is not an issue and you dont mind carrying extra stuff in your backpack (The Maschine Mikro is about the size of a laptop and it normally fits in the laptop compartment of any bag pretty easily anyway)

Reasons NOT TO choose the Maschine Mikro as a midi controller

  • There is only one endless encoder and its clicky - NOT GOOD For assigning FX! (Believe me i tried...) If you do a lot of FX with smooth rotary movements you will not be happy with the single endless encoder that they provide
  • The controller is not too small, some might find it hard to find a space to put it

Set Objectives

Ok first things first - decide on WHAT DO YOU NEED in a midi mapped controller?

What do you have under control already? - and what extra controls do you need and how you can benefit from easy access to them, for example, if you need all 8 hotcues, and the keyboard mapping only has 5, you might want all 8 hotcues mapped to each of the decks (8 pads each , for decks A and B meaning all 16 pads are assigned)

Maybe you use the BEATJUMP Feature a lot and need to map them on a controller?

Do you intend to use the Maschine Mikro with a Timecode DVS Setup? (With Traktor Scratch Pro for example, with Technics Turntable or with PIONEER CDJ's) - this is what I currently do, in this case, you will most likely need access to HOTCUES and Loops (that is, if you use the LOOP functions a lot like I do)

Those who intend to use the Maschine Mikro with an External mixer to control everything (like the now common Traktor X1 setup, to be used with an external sound card and an external mixer - normally the club's) will find that they need transport controls as well, such as Play/Pause, Cue, Pitch controls, Pitch bends, Looping, pretty much everything, this will need much more planning and ideally you should write down what you want to do in a piece of paper to keep it organized, and keep all these functions in the same pad bank for ease access

As an example, Im going to list my objectives according to the "Groups" of PADs (8 available on the maschine mikro) - PRESS AND HOLD the Blue "GROUP" Button to switch between the 8 different, separately mappable Pad Groups


See that BLUE Button? Press and Hold it to switch between GROUPS! 8 Are available!


GROUP 1 - Hotcues for A/B decks

  • 8 x Pads (Left Side) - Hotcue 1-8 for Deck A
  • 8 x Pads (Right Side) - Hotcue 1-8 for Deck B
  • SHIFT 1 + Pads - Erase Hotcue
  • SHIFT 2 + Pads - (NOT DECIDED yet)
  • LED feedback for when there is a hotcue present (led is dimmed when there is no hotcue)
  • SHIFT 1 = "MUTE" Key
  • SHIFT 2 = "SOLO" Key
This bank is for me when I use Traktor Scratch with CDJ's or turntable so all that is need is really hotcues

i am keeping this mapping relatively simple for ease of access, 8 hotcues on the left for deck A, 8 hotcues on the right for deck B - simple and you can hardly press a button accidentally

now the GROUP 2 i intend to make it a bit more interesting by creating my adaptation of the Traktor X1 controller....


GROUP 2 - X1 Emulation (My Take)



  • 8x Pads on the left - Deck A , 8x Pads on the right - Deck B
  • Play/Pause with SHIFT 1 =  KEYLOCK
  • SYNC with SHIFT 1 = Set Master Tempo to this Deck
  • CUE + SHIFT 1 = Jump to Previous HOTCUE
  • CUE(P) + SHIFT 1 = Jump to NEXT HOTCUE
  • BEAT + SHIFT 1 = Pitch Bends
  • In/Out + SHIFT 1 = /2 or *2 the Loop Value (BEAT NOW BEATJUMPS ACCORDING TO LOOP VALUE SHOWN here)
  • SHIFT 2 - turns the whole Pads into hotcue 1-8 for decks A and B , complete with LED Feedbacks (Eg. hold down shift 2 and all the pads will correspond according to whether there is hotcue present for that slot or not - this way you ALWAYS have access to all  hotcues without changing Groups!)

GROUP 3/4 - Hotcues &  X1 Emulation for Deck C/D (Same as group 1/2 but C/D)

Self explanatory - I actually use THREE decks more than anything, due to my Audio Interface (Traktor Audio 6) limitations to having 3 x Stereo Outputs. 

However, Traktor does not have a very handy 3 deck control view in its current version (2.6.0) , its either 2 Decks or 4 Decks so sometimes Im really forced to have 4 decks open even though I really only use 3!

Group 5 - Loop Rolls (with flux mode?) or FX? - Undecided yet

I have several Ideas for the next Group banks, but at the moment I'm experimenting with different things - I am having some problems mapping the Loop Roll / Flux mode function into the pads, somehow they dont work as they should (and this seems like a bug in Traktor 2.6 according to my findings of the Native Instruments forums).

Group 6 - Remix Deck Controls?

Well, more on that when I'm done experimenting!

TO BE CONTINUED....


Coming up in PART 2 - 

Mapping The Maschine Mikro: 

Controller Editor, Traktor Midi Mapping,  Understanding and Setting up Modifiers, LED Feedback (With modifiers)

Sunday, January 6, 2013

SOUNCLOUD VS MIXCLOUD VS MIXCRATE

So recently Soundcloud decided to take down some of my Trance / House mixtapes due to "copyright infringement", the weird thing is they did not even tell me which tracks on the mixtapes are the culprit and instead just to decide to take down the whole mixtape without any additional info

Mixtapes has been a part of the DJing culture for eternity now, from the days of distributing Cassette Tapes to Burnt CDR's - the Mixtape is a part of the DJ scene as it is like the DJ's portfolio,

I can understand the reasoning of this act of taking down people's copyrighted stuff (which apparently is being HEAVILY reinforced) -  many people apparently used Soundcloud as a means of distributing illegal, full length, unmixed tracks (some of them straight off beatport!) - so that's why!

Soundcloud Pricing - From FREE to 500 Euro A year!

So as my Soundcloud premium was approaching its end... It made me think, do I really want to pay 79 euro a year (the premium plan that i was on - which included 12 Hours of Upload) just for soundcloud to take them down? If that is the case - what would I use the 12 hours of bandwith for?

There are 2 pretty good competitiors or alternatives to Soundcloud, namely 'Mixcloud' and 'MixCrate', I shall discuss each and one of them in pretty good detail you so you can decide which is best for you - keep in mind all of them are free (Soundcloud includes 120 upload minutes on free account) so you can definitely sign up for all of them anyway - but its good to know which one is best for your particular needs!

Soundcloud

Why Its Good?


  • Good, attractive layout, easy to use widget to embed on social media
  • Highly populated - Everyone has one! Gets your sound the most exposure!
  • Nice postable APP on both IOS and Android - easily accessible from tablets and mobile phones
  • Premium is Expensive (up to 500 Euro!!!)

The Bad

  • Limited to 120 Minutes on FREE Account
  • Mixtapes containing other artist works are prone to be taken down immediately
  • Limited Downloads on FREE Account (100 Downloads only!)

Mixcloud


The Good

  • FREE and Unlimited!
  • Tracklist of mixtape built in
  • Not as heavily populated as Soundcloud, but its pretty crowded
  • OK Looking widget, although not as nice as SoundCloud's, but still, looks pretty cool!
  • Pretty good and fast app on the Android

The Bad

  • Mixtape only - no single sounds are to be uploaded!
  • No DOWNLOADS!!! (Except by the use of other, third party applications to download the sound) - why not??? They need to enable the downloads as an option!
  • Android app disables "seek" in mixtapes, forcing you to listen from beginning to the end without the ability to skip to the middle

Mixcrate

The Good

  • FREE and Unlimited!
  • DOWNLOADS Enabled!!! (Only for Registered Users)
  • Tracklist built in on the mixtapes

The Bad

  • No Android or IOS APP!
  • Mixtapes only - no single tracks here
  • No Fancy widgets with awesome waveforms
  • Not as populated as Soundcloud (Currently - that might change with Soundcloud taking down mixes!)
  • Downloads of mixtape require registration - some people are lazy and this may stop them from actually downloading your music!

My Recommendation

If the whole purpose of you getting a soundcloud premium to upload mixtapes, keep in mind that even though you paid some serious $$$, they may (and will) take down your mixtapes if they find that something in there that belongs to another producer (particularly well known ones, say Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, Swedish House Mafia? Include any of their tracks in a mixtape and you will almost definitely be taken down)

If you produce original tracks and remixes, its a good idea to get soundcloud's free account anyway (for 120 minutes of upload - thats enough to upload 40 songs of 3 minutes in length for example) and that is quite much for single tracks and original production, or you can choose to get their lowest premium account which costs 29 euro a year which doubles your upload time to 240 minutes

If you dont produce and upload only mixtapes - i'd go with either Mixcrate or Mixcloud, since they are both free - if enabling downloads are a must, then I'd definitely recommend Mixcrate - if you dont mind that they require signing in / registration before downloding of course

A good recommendation is to "cycle" your mixtapes, lets say you get the Free Soundcloud account, you can upload one 60 minute mixtape to your soundcloud for a short amount of time, and then after that when you have made your next mixtape, delete the old one and upload it to either Mixcrate or Mixcloud, where your COMPLETE collection of works can be accessed at all times, this way you are still getting Soundcloud's maximum exposure, even if just for a limited time

Oh and for reference, here are the links to all 3 of my pages: