Pretty siccck!

wow, rewire + sampler for that cheap? I don't trust M-Audio at all, but this looks like a steal if it works.

I love the 1 deck control. And I double love a Mac version.

You know what? No one can talk any junk on this - I peeped this at Summer NAMM and its the real deal, and you better believe it.

You can say what you want about how the competition is better, blah blah blah, SSL r0x0rz. Nevermind that, this does everything everyone else does and more, AND this shit is $350 - end of story, case closed. Why pay more for less?

Buyin that shit, son!!

About the sampler trick "scratch-on-the-fly", is that possible with SSL and a laptop or any other existing sampler ?

I've got to be a bitch here but it looks like it was designed by playschool. Time will tell if its reliable as its competitors and if it is well. . . I guess I'll shut my mouth and interface this with my CDX's. Save a lot of money with this option instead of going to HDX's.

I love M-Audio stuff. I'm already using a Trigger Finger & a Quattro usb audio port in the studio. But this is the shit I've been wating for. I could'nt justify $800 plus a laptop for Final Scratch, but this I can swing. Cheap + Quality = M-Audio.

When he loaded the ahhhh and babied it back and forth it had a pretty plastic sound, but then again I don't know how he encoded it.

If the skratch sound is accurate and the software is very stable like SSL it's a no brainer. I'd cop it.

i wouldnt ever judge a scratch sound by a heavily compressed video clip...

this looks dope. excellent demo video, even if you couldnt follow the plasma particularly clearly. the guy was coherent and gave a good overview.

m-audio often cut a few corners imo to hit price points. not quite behringer level, but a bit plasticky nonetheless (see trigger finger and keystations) - but this does seem pretty interesting and good comp for serato, whilst opening up some new angles that SSL have been clamouring for (does it have master tempo btw? and was he actually saying it locks a mix for you?)

the effects seem well-considered, love those hyper edits (i'm an 80's kind of guy). how do these stack up to what the 57 offers i wonder?

look forward to the SW verdict - deft?

One word - Damn!

I hope it's great. SSL rocks, but competition will only push the technology forward and prices down.

Xactly!

The "Vinyl Control" is sick
Torq become sicker when we hook it up with trigger finger
It's cheaper than other digital vinyl solution
I don't know if this thing can record a live loop via drumming on TT
Looking forward to watch more demo videos by DJs in the coming future
M-Audio should hired DJs to demo this thing
After that we can know what really this thing capable off
Good Stuff Giz

I think the strength of this will be how much better it integrates into production software / being more open ended.
Although Serato performs excellently, it's very much a closed system (which may well help with bug fixing + stability, but can be a bit frustrating).

Use any midi record or just FS/SSL?

and when you thought nothing too different would be comming out, here is a great example! they really did a good job on the features and interaction between different programs! Looks promising :]

i hope that software is skinneable, cause it looks rather toyish and dark to me..

So you can control the MP3s by coded vinyl like SSL? Do the turntables plug into the interface? Or can you hook your turntables up to the mixer, then to the interface? Were would the DJ mixer go into if you can use the turtables and coded vinyl?
I do like the look of the software. ^_^

"I love the 1 deck control."

does ssl not have that toggle control? i always assumed all of those digital-scratch products would have it as it's so obvious..

anyway, torq or whatever it's called looks interesting, and the price looks very interesting, and i just got more confused about which of these digi-scratch doodahs i want to get. this one has a big advantage over ssl if it offers more opportunity to integrate with other audio software.

Quite good demo video for sure. But what's better comparing to MixVibes?

quote:

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"does ssl not have that toggle control? i always assumed all of those digital-scratch products would have it as it's so obvious.."

---

yep you can flip one deck to internal and use one deck as your control and just flip between the two with the inbuilt reverse.

Have to say this looks very very promising... will be watching this to see how it progresses

I think what they mean when they say it can be integrated with sequencers is that the box can be used like a very basic card, NOT that you can do something cool with it like having Ableton running at the same time and use it to do something.

I like the idea of being able to use VSTs in it, thats something I wish SSL would introduce (mmmm, tape delays).

Also agreed that the Torq interface, and to a lesser extent the box, looks a bit playschool...

Seems very cool though, but I'll reserve my judgement until I've seen it going and read the reviews - Serato hasn't crashed on me once, and that counts for a lot!

Sorry, wrote that post before I watched the video, thats a hugely impressive bit of kit actually...

dood, this looks pretty dope, tons of features, great look( whoever said this looks toyish, your rediculous , it looks just like ableton live.) and a price point that cant be beat. even if you have FS2/SSL this thing is so affordable you could have this as well.

Oh another thing, can you play ordinary vinyl while using it?

quote:

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" like the idea of being able to use VSTs in it, thats something I wish SSL would introduce (mmmm, tape delays)."

---

yes but thats within the program, so it's all going to be pre mixer, so very very annoying - why not build in a wet/dry send return or something useful?

quote:

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"Oh another thing, can you play ordinary vinyl while using it?"

---

i would have thought so i think the Line Bypass is what your looking for.

good point! is there a bypass function like on SSL and FS2 that allows you to use regular cds/vinyl in-case your computer dies on you?

OMFG that looks siccccckkkk !

quote:

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"Oh another thing, can you play ordinary vinyl while using it?"

---

I would think so. Look at the channel knobs on the interface. They mix between the inputs & the usb channels. But wouldn't it make more sense to use a button or a switch? Who would fade between a usb channel & a vinyl, especially if the vinyl is a control record?

Anyone heard about control CDS so I could use it with my CDX?

quote:

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"Anyone heard about control CDS so I could use it with my CDX?"

---

I think they mentioned cd control in the video. Hmmm.... Idea. Has anyone tried recording the audio signal from control vinyl & burning it to a cd? Just a thought...

right so its just djdecks or ms pinky but with a m-audio sound card, ill stick to mspinky in ableton i think. the auto bpm thing is cool, if it works of course, but a good option by the looks of it if you have no computer based system - sounds like you need to map/warp bpm to the tunes like you do with ableton or traktor

All seems pretty spot on. I think the waveform view that displays one track on top and the other bellow looks confusing (more so than two seperate displays running next to each other). And also would like to know if you can turn off the auto BPM matching feature coz i don't want that.

Apart from these things and waiting to find out how stable it is and whether its skratching sounds on point i think M audio might have just robbed a potential serato customer.

quote:

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"Oh another thing, can you play ordinary vinyl while using it?"

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Ordinary vinyl, ordinary CDs...you an control a CDJ with a timecoded CD...pop your DJ name in the sampler and scratch that bitch on the fly.

I'm excited because this shit just sold me totally, I wasn't going to feel good about paying $500 for SSL, let alone $1400 for the TTM57SL mixer....when this comes out, its gettin snatched quick, by ME...

quote:

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"I think the waveform view that displays one track on top and the other bellow looks confusing (more so than two seperate displays running next to each other)."

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I would think the opposite. Wouldn't make more sense to have them rolling on top of eachother so you can see how the waveforms directly relate to eachother? To me, thats a no-brainer right there . . if they are sitting next to eachother, there just doesn't seem to be a point, unless you really don't care.

quote:

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"dood, this looks pretty dope, tons of features, great look( whoever said this looks toyish, your rediculous , it looks just like ableton live.)"

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did you ever work with Ableton Live? Live is an amazingly clear interface, this GUI will only confuse you when you are in a dark club

Wow another copy cat of VDJ! Can't you guys develop your own software.

quote:

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"I would think the opposite. Wouldn't make more sense to have them rolling on top of eachother so you can see how the waveforms directly relate to eachother? To me, thats a no-brainer right there . . if they are sitting next to eachother, there just doesn't seem to be a point, unless you really don't care."

---

Maybe it's coz I'm used to lining two seperate tracks up in a sequencer for production and stuff. But to me having a merge of two waveforms visually would confuse. I'm sure it's coz I'm used to looking at them seperatly actually coz the line in the middle is the zero crossing point on a most wave displays and so the sample tends to be pretty symetrical looking.

Also i do agree the software has alot of confusing things. Looks like too much info for someone who wants to use it simply to use MP3s etc in the way they would vinyl. Just checked out Serato screen shots and it all looks so much simpler.

Now I'm not ruling it out at all but It will have to provide everything i would want with performance if i was to settle with it while it has these (minor) floors.

Still for M audio's debut DJ related piece of equipment/software i don't think they've gone far wrong and if their soundcards are anything to go by this should be good and stable (in my experience).

Soz for the rant....I'm out. Peace.

dj NickNack and I got to demo this at NAMM...and let me tell you...this is going to take over Serato and FS hands down. you can use this with Abelton, other audio apps etc.
Some of you may have doubts, but when you see it/use it...thos will all go bye bye!
And the Street price will be less than $350!
this shit has me sold.
Waaayyyyy more features that Serato or FS!

Can anyone explain how to hook up a mixer and 2 turnables with the vinyl coded lp's to the computer with this and control MP3s and Wav files?

quote:

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"Wow another copy cat of VDJ! Can't you guys develop your own software."

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Think again - this naughtiness is gonna cut into some serious market share.

quote:

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"Also i do agree the software has alot of confusing things. Looks like too much info for someone who wants to use it simply to use MP3s etc in the way they would vinyl. Just checked out Serato screen shots and it all looks so much simpler."

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Well, I hate to say this...but maybe it looks simpler because it doesn't have as many features. And USEFUL ones at that, I've seen this shit in action. You better believe its hot, because it is.

quote:

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"Can anyone explain how to hook up a mixer and 2 turnables with the vinyl coded lp's to the computer with this and control MP3s and Wav files?"

---

I hope I understand what you're asking. But basically, the program reads the timecoded signal from the LP and uses it to control where in the digital file the song is. When you cue up the beginning of the record, it cues up the beginning of the song you've selected. It's all in the timecoded signal, really.

Ok, I'M BUYING THIS THING!!!Man...You can mix everything on only 1 turntable or CD player...The sampler...FXs...Rewire...All that for under 350$ US??? Ohhhh holy mamma...1 TT, Trigger, mixer, laptop and this interface. You only need one road case and a backpack to carry it all around! I'm about to cry of joy... I've been waiting for a digital solution like this for like 3 years. M-Audio rocks!

Serato and FS developers must crap their pants right now...

Oh yes, I do love my Serato. This definitely looks hella-sic though!

Yes you got the question right sublicon thanks. I can't wait to go home to check out the vid.

quote:

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"Serato and FS developers must crap their pants right now..."

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I don't think Serato will - the mixer/interface combo can't be beat. It's going to be the expensive solution, and this will be the cheap one.

FS on the other hand, they need to do something new, and quick. Numark is developing a Virtual Vinyl software also that has probably the best interface I've seen out of any of these, but is still gonna fall short, with the exception of its video mixing capability.

We'll see - this is gonna be a fun show to watch.

This is sick. I used it this past weekend at the Summer NAMM here in Austin. Steve (from the video) let me scratch on it for a while. It's got some really sick features. The 16 quick sample/scratch banks and VST/internal effects are my fav features. Very dope.

What up Giz!! How you been?

www.crowdcontrolrecords.com

you know the funny thing is though is that only a couple years ago, when final scratch 1 came out , heads on all the skratch boards like asisphonics, and d-styles were dogging vynal emulation, saying its not real, you can only mimick vynal, it aint the real thing bla bla this and that, and i was pushing
this technology like crazy, now look at it, everyeon is comming out with one, and they get better and better and now you cant even tell the difference between the sounds and they have more and more killer features and every hip hopper is now getting it. shit when im right im right

Hey guys! Chad Carrier here, Product Manager for SynchroScience at M-Audio. I just read through all the comments here on the forum and wanted to take a moment to clear up a few of the issues being discussed here.

The Conectiv Interface: First of all, the Conectiv interface is by no means a CONTROLLER--it is a straight-up 4x4 USB audio interface and has been mis-categorized in the above review as well as our own website (which has now been fixed). We put phono preamps on the inputs so you can directly connect your turntables to it without using any external boxes. For what it's worth, the Conectiv is analagous to the Scratch Amps from NI or the interface box from Serato--it is placed between the turntables/CD player and the DJ mixer.

So what are those big Mix knobs for? Those blend between the direct input (your turntables or CD players) and the audio from the computer. Since Torq will allow you to process your incoming signals through it's myriad of effects, you can use the Mix knobs as effect blends when using real records or CDs, making the system a dual-channel, multi-effect processor (three built-in effects and one VST effect PER DECK). Turn the Mix knob clockwise to introduce the effect you've dialed in on Torq.

Again, the Conectiv is just an audio interface--you're not supposed to mix with it in the way you do with the X-Session or something.

Sound Card functionality: The Conectiv is a full 4x4 ASIO and CoreAudio compatible audio interface so you're free to use it with any compatible application you want. No need to take a separate interface when you want to work on other programs.

ReWire functions: Torq does ReWire into Live--both applications will run simultaneously and will keep music in sync. Write beats in real-time in Live and they'll automatically sync up to the music in Torq or vice versa. Create weird loops and noises in Torq and immediately capture them as new Clips in Live. Isn't ReWire great?

The User Interface: Some of you think it looks a little "playskool". I figured some people may think this at first, but once you actually bring the interface up on a screen in a club, you're going to see the genius behind it's design.

First of all, the user interface is vectorized, meaning that it looks crisp and sharp at ANY screen resolution or aspect ratio. You can make the program really small (if you want to be able to see Live at the same time) and all the controls will shrink in size so everything is still available for you to use (no scroll bars for finding controls off screen).

Secondly, the colors we chose were based on studying car dashboards and their dials. We went for maximum visibility and minimal eye-strain. You'll find that you can be quite a few feet away from your laptop and will be able to clearly see all the vital information you need, such as BPMs, play times, waveforms, etc. The colors pop out against the dark backgroud, making the app look totally sick in the dark. The days of DJing with your head buried in the laptop screen are over. Nobody wants to go to a club and see a DJ that looks like he's checking his e-mail for two hours. ;-)

Thirdly, the interface is almost entirely graphical--if we could express something using a symbol or icon, we did so, instead of using words. It makes things easier to read since you don't have to squint to read tiny labels next to controls. It also makes it easier to use for all our international customers.

Yes, there is a lot of information on the user interface because Torq has so many features (built-in and VST effects, samplers, snapshots, waveforms, etc.). Like Live, we feel it's important to have all informaiton on one screen at once instead of having to sort your way through handfulls of pop-up windows. The only pop-ups you'll have to deal with are the VST windows. You can hide various parts of the screen, such as the Sampler, if you never use them. You can also make the database or waveforms go fullscreen for easier access.

The Sampler: Yes, Torq can record anything directly into its Sampler in real-time. You can capture loops from tracks you're playing, sample yourself talking on a mic, or perform drumming using the QuickCues and record the results. The loops will then play back in sync with the Master Tempo or you could immediately assign the sample to one of the Decks for scratching.

The Vinyl/CD Control: We are using the Ms. Pinky control system for Torq. It's the sickest I've ever seen and Scott makes it so easy to integrate his stuff that the decision was a no-brainer. Already have the Ms. Pinky records? You're in luck--they'll work with Torq. Same is true for the CD.

Well, that's about all the characters I get for this post, but I'll check back once in a while to see how you all are doing. I'll be very interested to hear all the crazy stuff you guys come up with once you have this extremely flexible tool in your hands

I just watched the video again and seeing the shotgun edits done live etc... really makes me go woah!! as a live performance tool this is looking pretty awesome..... I'm using Serato at the moment and i Love it, but if the latency and reliabiltiy of this are on a par with serato then it's looking nice.

If you can record in on the fly, and then blend between the USB and Phono does that mean we can route the phono signal in and use that USB/Phono rotary as a wet dry control? the effects are still going to be pre-mixer though :(

I'm wondering, does torq got a "skip proof" function?
It would be a great idea if they list the torq features and functions
May be in the future the will upgrade this thing and allow us to connect 2 turntables and 2 cd decks at once
I don’t know if an ordinary Audio/Video Source Selector Switch Box can achieve that goal
I didn’t expect that m-audio will come out with hot stuff like this
I really can’t wait to read reviews when this stuff hit the streets
M-Audio, please make a real demo with this product
This thing will be banging this earth
I really can’t believe the price for this stuff
The price is so so so consumer friendly
I really never into m-audio stuff until this thing come out
It really opens up my eyes and mind about m-audio
Well done m-audio ^_^

mixvibes is only 199$, 150$ less and i would trust more to mixvibes than m-audio as company making dj-products.

Back in the day...I remember a well known Bay Area DJ (not ISP) dissed Final Scratch when it was in Beta stage using BEOS and two sound cards. That was about 8 years ago!!!!

What's interesting is that a lot of people in the non DJ circles are wondering how to use this.

They don't understand it's supposed to be in direct competition with Serato.

Hey Chad! You guys taking pre-orders or what?

CHAD: (soz just wanted yo make sure u read this post)

Thanks for getting back about things. the car dashboard idea sounds good and i can see how the crucial parts would "pop out" in a dark club.

Would be cool if you could clarify this though....is it possible to disable the auto BPM match which you seemed to talk about in the demo? If so then i think this will be bought by me for sure if it really is stable.

M-audio should try to make this available at a slightly cheaper rate for those of us who already have M audio cards. If it will work with them......don't what cards would work with Torq mind.

Also I don't know if it is possible (to late to think propperly) to enable it to route say input A through channel B and apply effects on this channel. Then send this wet signal out through Output B and the dry signal through output A thus enabling DJs using one table for skratching to have post fader effects using the channel faders as wet/dry controls?!

Anyway, thanks for listening to our comments and good to see a company taking note. Seems like you did enough before you came up with this anyway.

Peace. Mr Itchy

Chad: the more I learn about this system, the more I'm thinking about defecting from Serato (thats something I never thought I'd say! ). If it doesn't crash, performs as well as it looks like its going to, and your customer service is even half as good as Rane's then you may have me, especially at that price...

Anyway, I have a few questions

1) Are the functions of Torq assignable to controllers (using either MIDI CC or an inbuilt system) - e.g. if you weren't happy with the mapping of the Trigger Finger, could you customise it?

2) The other thing which Monk-A brought up is that all the effects will be pre-mixer, but will they be pre or post fader on the internal Torq faders? The main use for post-fader effects that I can think of is when you use a delay, ducking the original signal to leave the delay signal going (an effect I use a lot), so I'd like to be able to do this.

Basically, what I was getting at is that I'd like to be able to know if I can map one of the trigger finger buttons to cut the signal from one of the channels...

3)How many VSTs can be used per channel? Do they affect each other (e.g. if I stuck a delay with a large feedback on, and then a sequenced gate after, would the gate affect the delay feedback or only the original sound)?

4) How will the VSTs affect the system latency (particularly when scratching)?

5)And sorry to be thick, but will the Mac version use VSTs too?

How durable is the unit itself? Looks really... crackable.

so whens the review :d:

quote:

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"so whens the review :d: "

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As soon as the nice people at M-Audio process the emails I've sent, and they end up on the right desk. Summer NAMM has just finished so I'm sure it'll take a little while for someone to get back to me. But having the guy who created it and demo'd respond on skratchworx is a good sign!

hmm, im a bit more interested knowing its the ms pinky code they are using as thats what i have already, now if i can use those 2 outs on the m-audio card within ableton also id be tempted to give this a whirl and sell my esi u46dj card that does the same job. i take it the mic input can be routed into the computer too eh. hmm will have to see on this.

What's the latency and pitch resolution

quote:

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"The Vinyl/CD Control: We are using the Ms. Pinky control system for Torq. It's the sickest I've ever seen and Scott makes it so easy to integrate his stuff that the decision was a no-brainer. Already have the Ms. Pinky records? You're in luck--they'll work with Torq. Same is true for the CD."

---

Hi Chad,

nice of you to drop in, that's a good sign! I am currently using djdecks with ms.pinky, FS and/or SSL timecode-vinyl. I have the 1th gen ms.pinky vinyl, is this compatible with your application? I believe the current generation of ms.pinky tc-vinyl is 3th?

Olaf

Hi Chad,

are there any plans to implement some kind of "warming up" algorithm to recreate the good-sounding artifacts of vinyl inside Torq? (Maybe some convolution plugin with impulse responses of vinyl-recordings or something like that? I've had good experiences with using studer tape impulses in djdecks)

Furthermore: is it possible to loop playing audio on the fly for a certain number of bars?

last: i've been using djdecks for some time now when DJ'ing out, and i noticed that having the option of setting the output-signal from line-level to phono-level can sometimes really save the day when a mixer doesn't have enough available line inputs. Currently i am using an EMU 1616m with DJdecks and i've created a patchmix setup where i correct the line-level output with EQ and gain plugins to phono-level signal. This works very good.

Olaf

one last thing that seems to missing in all the other DJ-software tools: a visual music-browser. A lot of vinyl-DJ's are used to browsing through the crates and looking at the record-covers/stickers instead of names. It would be so cool to have this kind of visual browsing available in Torq: some kind of thumbnail or fisheye overview where you can quickly browse through all the cover-images that are attached in the MP3-tag (V2) and select the track by clicking on the cover-image.

Olaf

Yeah. How about latency, pitch resolution and stability?

Um, what are Ms Pinky records?

quote:

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"Um, what are Ms Pinky records?"

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Enjoy - http://www.cycling74.com/products/mspinky

are ms pinky records REALLY better than serato v2's?

VST compatibility is cool, but it brings a LOT of other apps to their knees...

visual browser? i dont even know what the artwork looks like on recent albums...

who have m-audio signed up big-name wise to promote this?

Chad, will the mac-version be universal, so that i can use it on my G4-Mac?

M-Audio always drops quality equipment, and i don't think think this is an exception...only time will see though.
i think this looks cool, but i won't cop it cause i'm gonna stay with the vinyl a couple of years more and then we'll see.
if i had this i would probably fall in love with it.

The interface looks like a flash movie... no way this thing is putting a finger on Serato. Also you can use one turntable with Serato as well.

if it is to be sold at $300, then they'll give serato a run for the money

they definately should make the GUI skinneable and deliver some alternative skins with it. Imho this one has a way to dark "neon/glow in the dark" look, while f.e. ableton Live is nice and clear with it's clear colors and light-grey background

Olaf

um so serato does not work with Ableton?
im loving that on m- audio

quote:

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"The interface looks like a flash movie... no way this thing is putting a finger on Serato. Also you can use one turntable with Serato as well."

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Wyse, its clear you didn't really think this through before you posted. A "flash movie"? Gimme a break man, what about all the other reasons why this put more than finger on Serato - more features, lower price, rewire capability for starters.

Am I the only one that finds this announcement extemely exciting? I would like to see a turntablist demo it, but otherwise I'm sold. I think any DJ that uses Ableton Live and a Trigger Finger should be gushing over this. I just got a trigger finger and was already pleased with the purchase before I heard of this. With this new software and hardware my trigger finger just became twice as valuable to me.

I was already excited to get Serato so I could play the tracks I made in Live on some Technics that day. With this I can actually create with Live on location and DJ it right in. I think we are going to see a lot more DJ duos where one guy is DJing with the Techs and Torq while the other guy is performing tracks live in Live.

quote:

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"Wyse, its clear you didn't really think this through before you posted. A "flash movie"? Gimme a break man, what about all the other reasons why this put more than finger on Serato - more features, lower price, rewire capability for starters."

---

The interface looks like a flash movie interface. I guess you've never seen them, but it looks too toyish. Also you forgot one thing, all those things create extra latency. That is why Serato choose to exclude those features, and Final Scratch 2 has them. Final Scratch 2 has a much higher latency than Serato due to all the extra add-ins. All those features increase latency due to all the extra communication needed for them to arrive. So if you are okay with extra latency and the inability to get a true scratching sound then this thing is great for you, but if you want the exact scratch sound then there is no other choice other than Serato. Serato does scratching very well, that's what that it was designed to do, also the robust hardware that can take a beating (made in the USA of course). This control looks crappy piece of plastic manufactured out of China, and all I'm seeing is another "all in one" program that accomplishes everything with mediocrity .

quote:

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"That is why Serato choose to exclude those features, and Final Scratch 2 has them. Final Scratch 2 has a much higher latency than Serato due to all the extra add-ins. All those features increase latency due to all the extra communication needed for them to arrive. So if you are okay with extra latency and the inability to get a true scratching sound then this thing is great for you, but if you want the exact scratch sound then there is no other choice other than Serato. "

---

Well we haven't got a full review yet. Maybe someone could come up with software with enough user configurization. Disabling the features you don't need in order to free up the processor for lower latency...

this is great. so it's suppose to come out in aug. The price of $250 for the Conectiv™—and Torq sounds good. Will they offer the software stand alone for people who already own midi controllers? This should work great with my axiom.

Contact has been made with M-Audio. They're impressed with skratchworx. Plans are being made. Patience... ^_^

cool giz cant wait u should vs it with the rane scratch live for the review

i think an optional interface with those rane-looking round disks would be great, if so i'm definately sold. i don't know that i could juggle just waveforms

quote:

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"i think an optional interface with those rane-looking round disks would be great, if so i'm definately sold. i don't know that i could juggle just waveforms
"

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Maybe they could put a mark on the control vinyl lable where the time code starts up. That way you could just juggle the vinyl normally without looking at the screen.

quote:

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"If this is any good the SSL is going on ebay, I might add that in theory there will be less latency ? due to the larger bitrate needing to be filled with data.. I had noticed before when using a normal sound card with the pc and Virtual DJ - increasing the audio output to 48khz lowered the latency.

not that I really notice any latency but I must confess that I sense a difference when using ssl over vinyl, its hard for me to get over.

.. I was worried something would come out that would be better than SSL when I was buying it.."

---

Obviously you have never read the Serato manual, or have a computer that is half a decade old. I run SSL off a macbook, I calibrate it everytime, and I can say it runs very well. Fortunately I took the time to completely understand the software before making baseless claims. If you don't notice latency then how do you sense a difference? Because SSL and this aren't different in terms because they both read time stamped values.

Where has Chad got to? We got Questions that need answers!

Please Mr Chad.

I just breezed this over as "just another one" until I saw the video. This thing is like Serato and Live combined. Incredible. Considering I only have 1 turntable suitable for serious mixing, an Oxygen 8 controller, and an iBook (and 40GB of mp3's), this is the perfect thing for me. It will allow me to mix, scratch, edit and remix on the fly. O glory be! ^_^

Wasap all DJ D-Mass from Ottawa, Canada...this is my first post here.

This product seems pretty cool.
But am I the only one who thinks it is wierd that a product so close to being released hasn't disclosed its requirments?
I mean I might just get this over Serato but at this point I doubt it. Am I the only person who thinks that this thing has a few too many bells and whistles...What is that going to do to CPU usage.

I'd like to see ya'll test this thing for.

1/Sticker drift.
since this is a tablist board I dont need to explain. But for those that dont know...Alot of these record emulators have problems traking ish when you are doing backspinning (looping, doubling...basic juggling) So the sound drifts away from your sticker point.

2/Durability. I cant take a product out if I think it might fail on me...or get broken on the way to a gig.

3/Latency. If the latency is too high I doubt I'll be able to do chirps or flares...I've used SSL before and I felt that SSL's latency was about as high as I could stand...If it is as high as people are saying it might be (getting close to 20 msecs) I dont think it will be unusable (please prove me wrong I want to save money here)

4/processor usage: I dont need to explain this one

5/Requirments...I have a pretty powerful laptop. But I would rather have too much computer than just enough anyday...
$150 is worth my state of mind IMHO.

I really want ya'll to prove me wrong on this one. but I'm a synic and this looks to good to be true...more features for less money...there has got to be a catch. I want to know what that catch is before I make a descion...

peace, (scurries back into the shadows)

I have been waiting for a product like this for a long time! Integration with ablton live, beat synchronization, and the ability to control loops via the trigger finger is sick! Can somebody post the release date as soon as they know it?

Does anyone know a release Date... Giz when is product review gonna be posted.... holla

I asked m-audio germany, they told me the beginning of october as release date ...

Hey y'all. I'm back. Here to answer some of the questions that have been building up here. Sorry if I don't cover all of them here...

Q: Can you disable Auto Beatmatching?
A: Yes. You actually have four different settings for the beatmatching:

- Bar: This will cause Torq to match tempos and also synchronize the positions of the songs so their downbeats are aligned.

- Beat: This will cause Torq to match tempos and will synchronize the positions of the music, but will only ensure that the beat markers are aligned--it is possible to have the doenbeats out of alignment.

- Tempo Only: This will cause Torq to match BPMs on the Decks, but will do nothing to synchronize the positions of the songs. It will be up to you to drop the track in at the right time and ensure it doesn't drift at all during playback. I like this one a lot.

- Off: If you don't click the Sync button on any of the Decks, you'll never trigger the auto beat-matching, so the program will behave like two old-school turntables. It will be up to the DJ to do the tempo and phase matching.

Q: Can we change MIDI assignments if we don't like the defaults?
A: Of course. In fact, Torq doesn't really have any defaults at all, except for a few special SynchroScience products that you all haven't seen yet. ;-) The Trigger Finger, for example, has no preset assignments at all. Since every DJ approaches the craft differently, it makes more sense for you to define your own MIDI and key assignments instead of trying to learn and remember ours.

In the cases where some products do come with pre-assigned maps, you'll always be able to change them to something else if you desire.

Q: Can you use other controllers with Torq?
A: Abosolutely. Torq will do MIDI Learns on incoming MIDI CCs and MIDI Notes. As long as your controller will transmit those types of messages, you'll be able to use it with Torq.

Q: Are the EFX pre- or post-fader?
A: The Effect Rack is inserted between the Deck and the Mixer, so the effects are all pre-fader for the time being.

Q: How many VSTs can be used on each Deck? How does it affect system latency?
A: Just one per Deck. Using multiple VSTs could create serious system latency because some VSTs need to buffer large amounts of audio in order to do their jobs. This is the same on any audio application--it's no different for Torq.

Q: Can the Conectiv be used as an audio out for Ableton Live? Does the mic input go into the computer?
A: Yes, the Conectiv is a full-function ASIO- and Core Audio-compatible audio interface. It's required for Torq to run, but you can use it as your audio interface for any other application, too. The Mic input can be routed into the computer, too.

Q: Will my Ms Pinky records work with Torq?
A: Yes. Torq will support Ms Pinky vinyl generations 1, 2, and 3.

Q: Can I loop playing audio?
A: Yes. If you're playing music from the internal Decks, you can use looping just like on a CD player. If you're using real records run through Torq, you can use the Repeat Effect to capture up to two-bars of incoming audio. You can then do all those stutter-edits with the effect right on your vinyl.

Q: Will this be Universal Binary?
A: It already is--it has to be. I was using a MacBook Pro Intel CoreDuo 2.0GHz 1GB RAM at the NAMM show. It will run on non-Intel machines, too, but keep in mind that there is a large performance gap between the fastest G4 laptop and the new Intel-based laptops. Apple unfortunately skipped over making any G5 laptops, so the old PowerBooks are not anywhere near the Intel-based MacBooks as far as performance is concerned. This is a full-featured application--it's doing things that haven't been possible with the slower computer technology of the past. Otherwise, we would have made this a lot sooner. ;-) As with anything, you'll want a fast computer to get the smoothest and cleanest results.

Q: Will this program be skinnable?
A: Yes, it already is, but only in the way Live is skinnable: The skins will change the colors of the interface only--the control shapes and positions will remain the same. This is due to the fact that we're using a vectorized GUI instead of bitmaps. Bitmaps are easy for anyone to create and add to an interface. The vetorized graphics actually have to be coded into the application. Sure, it make is harder/impossible to skin, but it allows all the cool resizing and scaling that's not possible with bitmapped-based GUIs.

Q: Latency?
A: On my MacBook Pro, I'm currently running Torq and the Conectiv at a 32 sample buffer size. Yeah, you read that right: 32 samples. Of course, slower computers may need higher latency settings, just like any other audio application.

Q: Sticker Drift?
A: That's one of the reasons I like the Ms Pinky system so much: It tracks position while the record is running backwards. This keeps everything in sync even during quick backcueing.

I'm out of characters...I'

And speaking of skins... I've been helping Chad out with the making of new Skins for the release of Torq. Here is but a small sampling of what we've come up with (there's many more in the app itself, from conservative and functional to wild and brain-melting!:

ah the conservative color-schemes look a lot better

- about the looping: the cool thing in djdecks is that i can setup a X-bar loop (f.e. 4 bars) in realtime while having vinyl-control, and the track loops a perfect 4 bars (because the bpm detection) and vinyl-control is automatically switched from absolute to relative mode, which means i can still use the vinyl to control pitch and direction of the current loop..works very nice

- about VST effects: it would be very usefull to be able to use VST effects in a send-return config instead of as an insert.

Olaf (interested in beta-testing torq

They [Chad and the Torq team] wanted some bright and crazy colors so when you are DJing in a dark club, those particular controls and info jumps out. So I wound up doing most of the crazy color schemes for this. My graphics partner Casey did most of the conservative ones which are most likely more for studio use and I agree, she did a great job on those!

We're just trying to give as many options as possble since all of this is so subjective and what some people hate, others love! For example, most of the Psytrance DJs I ran this by loved the Psytranced Skin when I showed it in person while most everyone else thinks it's too crazy.

There are also a couple of more mono-chrome skins that will be available as well and I am certainly open for suggestions! (though we literally only have one or two days left, so let me know what you would like to see!

Olaf,

If you're using the control records for playback of audio files, then you can do the very looping behaviors you describe above. You can do a perfect tempo-synced loop and still maintain vinyl control. You could also use the Repeat Effect if you prefer.

The VST effects (along with the built-in effects) can all be individually switched between send and insert modes. That way, you can use delays and reverbs (send mode) as well as filters, distortions and repeaters (insert mode).

I got to scratch on this at Summer NAMM. The interface is sweet. The MIDI functions leave Serato wondering how they forgot to implement it into the design they have. Sampling, VSTs, or even using it as a MIDI controller to manipulate ableton's bpm and such...WOW. But... The demo I got to play on had some issues with scratching. A small amount of drifting and some visuals bugs with the software following the sample as you scratch. The sound was fine. The guys I talked to said that these bugs will be ironed out by release. For the price, you really can't beat the functions of this.

The guy demoing it wasn't using tables at one point. Just manipulting MP3s via the software and a trigger finger for start and stop and pith up and down.

Hey Chad what other products can you tell us about coming out of synchroscience? or is it all hush hush for the time being?

Please, let us know when it is comming out. Man, if it does what it seems like it can do...I will cream my pants.

I wonder if it will work with my ibook G4 1,33GHZ?
I got 1,5 gig of RAM

Is that enough?

Spot on for that response Chad. I've never seen other companies discussing their products on here as much as you and it really does help. The only thing that I and obviously others would like to know is the release date/s for a few diff countries (UK for me). Maybe you could give us a list.

Also I have a similar powerbook to that mentioned above and I'm interested in the audible latency that I am 'likely' to experience. If you could give me a range in ms that it's likely to fall into that would be great.

Peace.

Chad> Is it possible to connect the software to another external soundcard? ie ESI quatafire 610?

this program is looking really awesome

I'm curious as to the 32 sample buffer/latency size. That's approximentally 1ms, right? Now is that with the vinyl control, or just in internal mode? Because 313ctro pointed out on that page quoted in his post above that Ms.Pinky records themselves have a 12ms latecny. Just wanted some clairification.

Is there anyway to hook up a dual laptop system, one running Torq and one running Ableton (or another Rewire system), with seperate audio channels going into Ableton? That'd be incredible, one guy playing on Torq while the other mashes the signals through Ableton...

"A small amount of drifting"

I noticed it while messing around with it...

I was trying to do juggles and some drumming and it was drifting...Putting it in Economy mode seems to help.

This is defintiely a Serato Killer.

My FinalScratch 2.0 decided to blow up before ever playing with it, so looking for a replacement. Was going for Numark Virtual Vinyl cause of it's support for the subscription services, even though they haven't been introduced in Denmark it's probably just a matter of time. Please tell me that this product will have that support as well, and i'll purchase it

Looks great.

Chad, what are the products going to be? Something like a M-Audio X-Session except better build and a crossfader and upfaders with curve control and reverse? That would be so amazing cuz then all we would need is that midi controller, the Torq system, and one turntable to rock it.

System Requirements & release date?

As far as other producs go PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE combine the Connectiv functions into a full blown DJ mixer! M-Audio makes killer recording equipment & I would love to see a mixer from you guys. (Especially since Numark can't seem to get mine fixed or send me one that actually works! Sent two mixers a total of four times within two months!

Now for the big question: When you making turntables?

guys wait before you demand the new products. i want a review on this first. hasn´t anybody seen news or reviews on this one yet?

People jump in with both feet sometimes - carried away by the torrent of positive praise and demand reviews and the product now.

The M-Audio DJ division has only just been announced, and the Torq gear show for the very first time at a show. There's no reviews anywhere and only the same news coverage that everyone else has. is lucky however in having the creator actually post comments!

I'm slowly building a relationship with M-Audio so hopefully you'll get to see the latest news and reviews right here.

I'm getting antsy...this thing better be out and in Guitar Center or AGI by September 28th (my birthday), I don't even care if there are no reviews.

It better be able to run on my 1.2GHz iBook too...please?

there should be a way to synchronise 2 laptops through the rewire protocol someway. I miss this on the hardware interface, there is no MIDI or network-connection or anythink like that. I don't think most people can/will run both Ableton Live and Torq on the same system, so it would be essential to be able to use 2 laptops synchronised together, one being the masterclock, the other the slave. Right now i don't see any way to synchronise 2 systems using the default product?

Olaf, I was thinking the same thing you were about the laptops not being able to handle both Ableton and Torq. I think that will be the case with older lap tops, but I think that laptops with the new multi core processors will be able to handle the workload. It really depends on how its programmed. I am not sure what kind of execution restrictions that will be created by rewire. Best case scenerio would be that process associated with torq would be handled by one of the cores, and ableton and Rewire by the other core. In terms of RAM, 2 Gigs of 667MHz DDR2 ram should do the trick. In terms of a front side bus...I would play it safe and get something that is higher than 1 gig (Is that available for laptops yet?).

It could also be the case that a laptop/computer can power both torq and ableton but it would be incovenient for a user(s) to work off of one laptop. In that case, I think you would be able to share the masterclock via an adhock peer-to-peer 802.11(x) network (although I am not sure how much of a latency overhead would create). This of course, would require there to be a server/client (master/slave)interface built into rewire. Any other type of connectivity between laptops, would probably require some sort of hardware middleman (usb A to hardware to USB A).

I am really excited about the possibilities that will be available with the Torq and Abelton live combinations. So much so, that I am planning on building a new desktop (workstation if necessary) to handle the setup. Chad, please give us some 411 on the hardware recommendations, and synchronization issues presented by OLAf. Also

WHEN IS THIS COMMING OUT!!! Your killing me, Smalls.

Word,
Clean Slate

Hey Chad!
videos, videos, videos... somebody rocking with Torq and two TT or CD players.

Just got the new Remix Magazine, the teaser ad look sick! Great logo.
Good job M-audio, I hope your product is dope.

Chad why you hiding?
Give us a release date, please

Hi guys,

Everyone getting stoked? ;-)

Indeed, we do have plenty of other fun things on their way, but I cannot talk about them just yet. Believe me, we're all antsy to get this stuff out there so you'll all know about it as soon as possible. We're not just sitting around on some great gear contemplating when we'll release it--it's all in development and hits the streets once it's done.

As for release dates, I would think that you'd find the Conectiv w/ Torq in stores by end of September. I cannot be completely accurate because, after we ship products out to distributors, it's entirely out of our hands. Still, they're antsy to get this stuff on their shelves, too, so I doubt there will be any delays.

Vinyl Drifting: This has been improved significantly since Summer NAMM by us as well as Ms Pinky.

Juggling: I couldn't do it at Summer NAMM (never learned how) but managed to teach myself in an evening last week. I'm not super flashy, but I'm getting better every night. Holy cow, it's SO EASY and fun to do with two huge waveforms staring you straight in the face! I can mark all sorts of cool stabs and drums with QuickCues and hit them every time by watching those things scroll by. Nice. You guys will like this. This would have been a lot harder to learn without those waveforms...probably why I never tried before!

ReWire: As you all know, ReWire is for interconnecting applications on the SAME computer. There is currently no version of ReWire that can extend the same integration onto a different computer. So, if you're hoping to run Ableton Live on one machine and Torq on another, you're out of luck for the time being. For now, you'll have to hook up a second monitor to the same computer and put Torq and Live on separate screens. You'll also want a pretty fast computer in order to do this (see below).

Minimum Specs: You don't really want to know the Minimum Specs, do you? I assume you'd all prefer to know the Recommended Specs, right? After all, Minimum Spec only gives you minimum functionality. ;-) I will be honest with you all and tell you that Mac G4 users are not going to be able to use every single feature of Torq simultaneously. So while a G4 laptop might be within the Minimum Spec, it probably won't be within the Recommended Spec range, knowhatimean? The G4 chip is just too old and too slow for what we're doing. While I know some may have purchased new G4 computers as little as eight months ago, you must remember that the G4 chip is now TWO GENERATIONS out-of-date compared to the current top-of-the-line Mac systems with the Intel chips that came out at the beginning of the year. It's super annoying since Apple never made any G5 laptops--there is a huge performance gap on Mac laptops when comparing the fastest G4 PowerBook ever made to the slowest Intel-based MacBook Pro you can find. It makes it very difficult for us and all other software companies to make something that exceeds the limits of what's been done before but still works within the constraints of older hardware--it's a paradox. As you all have seen, Torq has a LOT of features and these features require lots of CPU power to work. You're going to need more than the Minimum Spec computer to use them all. An AMD- or Intel-based machine (Mac or PC) is going to be your best bet for getting the most from Torq, especially if you wish to ReWire into Live.

Third-Party Audio Interfaces: It is possible to use a third-party interface with Torq, but you'll still need to have the Conectiv, er, connected in order for Torq to run (it acts as a dongle for the application. Aren't you glad I didn't make you carry around an iLok key in addition to the interface?). Once Torq is launched, you can choose any audio interface you want. However, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're willing to put in a lot of time testing your system yourself before a gig. Part of the reason for locking Torq to the Conectiv was for improving stability. By testing the snot out of Conectiv<->Torq, we're able to hone in on bugs and fix them to provide the most stable DJ platform we can. When a third-party interface is used, all of that testing is thrown out the window and you'll be on your own. I'm not saying it won't work--it will probably work just fine--you just won't have the reassurance of our outstanding testing team behind you. ;-)

Subscription Services: None yet.

That's it for now, guys. I'm going to be at Burning Man next week (my one vacation this year) so you won't hear anything from me again until the beginning of September. Hang tight 'til then! Perhaps I'll even meet some of you there...

-Chad

Chad, by "Mac G4 users are not going to be able to use every single feature of Torq simultaneously", what exactly do you mean? We won't be able to use the control records? We won't be able to use the control records and effects simultaneously? Or do you simply mean we won't be able to do all that along with Live?

I might be able to use a PowerMac G4 dual processor (the last model Apple made), since that's so much faster than the kind of iBooks and PowerBooks you're talking about, there ought to be no issues right?

Thanks for answering so many of our questions...

Thanks for the updates Chad, I'll be getting this after I get the new MacBook Pro.

Freako Suave,

What I mean is, you won't be playing two time-stretched, pitch-shifted tracks via the control records while running three built-in effects on each of them, a VST effect on each, plus have 6 sample loops playing at the same time...all while running at 64 samples buffer size on the audio interface and recording the MIDI-controlled mix back to the hard drive. You'll be able to cut completely loose like that with the Recommended Spec machine...but would you really need to? I tell ya, it sounds pretty crazy with all that stuff running at once. ;-)

If your machine is lower than the Recommended Spec, you'll still do fine, but you'll just have to use a little more discretion with the toys--that's all I'm saying. Perhaps you'll only run a couple effects on a track at a given time. Maybe you'll just run two sample loops while tweaking a VST. Typically, that's all you'll need, anyway. For practical DJing (spinning tracks and throwing in some effects from time to time), you'll be able to get away with less than the Recommended Spec without any trouble. It's just that, with so many aditional features in Torq that can be used all at once, we have to set our Recommended Spec while running Torq with all the stops wide open. If we measure Torq's performance while confining it to the same feature set of other apps, Torq is right on par, which isn't surprising, but isn't an accurate representation of the load the program can put on a computer. We can't list that as our Recommended Spec, otherwise you all would be saying "what the hell?" when trying to stretch out into the new creative (and CPU-hungry) areas possible with Torq.

For another example, take a look at the system specs for Pro Tools M-Powered on the M-Audio site, in particular the Max Track Count specs under the Music Production Toolkit section. You'll see that it lists all sorts of Dual Mac G5s--there are no Single G5s or G4s in the list at all. In fact, you'll see that it says one of the Dual G5s can't obtain the maximum track count. Does that mean you can't use Pro Tools M-Powered without a Dual G5? Of course not...you can get by comfortably with less. Yet the Recomended Spec must show what is necessary to achieve every single function advertised for the software--the same is true for Torq.

And you are correct: Most of my statements are concerning the Mac laptops since Torq is such a laptop-centric program (which is why the program is written and built on a laptop and the majority of tests are done on laptops, too). Of course, for those of you who will be using faster desktop machines, the Dual G4s and the G5s (Dualies and Quads) will work great. That's what we use when making the videos of the software, and we're even running a screen/audio capture program at the same time, too!

I hope that clears up any confusion.

-Chad

Hi Chad,

so what are the recommended specs on a pc running winxp? can you say anything about that?

i'm really happy you are so activ here, cause there is no other forum out there, where i can get more information about the product, is there? so please stay right here for a little bit longer ;-)

Chad, tnx for the updates, really cool that the main developer is so active participating with the potential customers!

how indepth is Torq's midi control?

I currently use a Mixman DM2 for a control surface, and have this running through DM2MIDI/Bomes Miditranslator and into NI Traktor.


from what i can see, i would like to trade Traktor for Torq!

has anybody used this?

Hey Chad, I have a couple of questions for you.

- Why did you guys make the device USB 1.1, instead of USB 2.0?
- Can I use the Trigger Finger to load samples to be scratched using Torq?

One more question, does SynchroScience have a webpage yet?

Curious, I could answer your first question for you. USB 1.1 is fast enough to deliver the 5 audio lines coming in and out of the Conectiv.

5 x 1.4mbps = 7mbps < 11mbps

If they made it USB 2.0 it wouldn't improve the unit, it would only alienate users with only USB 1.0.

Just watched the NAMM '06 video on the M-Audio site. Got the answer I was hoping for to my second question, "Can I use the Trigger Finger to load samples, to be scratched using Torq?". This software comes with a 16 cell sampler, that you can use to fire off samples to be scratched. They specifically called out the Trigger Finger in the video, as a matter of fact.

Hi chad, it's me again. i just wanted to add a little comment about free configuration (midiwise and audiowise). i'm a (pretty happy) mixvibes pro user and i would really like to see a real plug&play product. i come from a product where everything is customizable and this leads to a whole lot of work just to get things started. so i would really appreciate if i could plug in the connectiv and the trigger finger and do the same things like in your presentation at namm, without configuring ANYthing. nothing againt customization, but djs need a product to work with. if i can change midi-commands? fine. but if i can just plug it in and have crazy effects and low-latency vinyl control? even better!

Hey Gizmo,
This topic is hot. Have you considered moving this back up to the front page?

This product looks amazing, I'm just a bit hesitant on the G4 Powerbook thing. I own a 12" G4 Powerbook with Ableton 5.2. I'd like to utilize both, any way possible. I even decided to upgrade my ram to 764, in preparation for the conectiv.

CHAD: will I be able to run both Ableton and Conectiv/Torq at the same time with these specs?

i don´t know if people saw this already. again it´s friendly chad presenting torq at namm but explainig mainly the software.
since we´re all hungry for this thing i post the vid, though ther´s at scratch performance:

http://www.gearwire.com/mov/MAudio_Torq.mov

I love this product already and i ihavnt even touched it!

What i wanna know whether or not it will play the AAC files downloaded through the newer version of i-tunes, i-tunes 6.0????

i know serato doesnt support AAC and i know prorgams that used to be able to break the DRM on the older versionof i-tunes, i-tunes 5.0.1., cant anymore,

I wonder if m-audio will be able to do this or whether there will need to be a update? I hope you can you hear me Chad carrier?

toastytraxx has a very important question! tell us about it!

I sincerely doubt it will be able to play the iTMS AAC files. I plan on burning and reripping, furthur degrading the quality...

Ive been looking inbto it abit,

there are programs you can use to break the DRM, one is the new version of of "fairuse", just downloaded the free version, hav'nt used it but people have said it works.....

Oh yeah, there has been a lot of talk about this but i gotta take my hat off to you chad carrier you are truely a smart man!! Everything this program does, answers all the questions i have ever asked of other programs, rewire into ableton , if you can scratch and everything still sync's in ableton then ill take my hat AND bow down to pay homage!

hello...
so, when will this hit the stores? any drop dead date? very very exciting stuff!

probably beginning of october

I wanted to comment on Chad talking about rewire not being able to go between two different computers. That is not true. You can slave Reason from one laptop into another laptop running Ableton Live.

For this scenario, the partners will have to establish a MIDI link between the two computers, after which the ReWire relationship takes place. A MIDI Link goes from the master computer's (running Live) MIDI output (from the UC-33e, for instance) to the slave computer's MIDI Input (on the MIDI keyboard). You then set up the master to send MIDI Time Code and the slave to receive it.

For those of you who may want to use songs from iTunes you may want to check out this posting on Slashdot:

<a href="http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/30/1621211&from=rss"> iTunes v6 FairPlay DRM Cracked</a>

got this straight from the M-AUDIO website....

quote:

---

"Torq supports popular formats such as MP3, WAV, WMA and AAC files and is configured to automatically work with Conectiv—no messy set-ups. And unlike most digital DJ systems, Conectiv works with other third-party software as well."

---

hope this helps... and from what i heard in stores in august!

Ok start of Sept not august

Check out this video.... in it he states you can use Itunes play list directly.... you can even.... HOOK UP YOUR IPOD AND MIX FROM IT! hope that helps... here's the vid link

http://www.gearwire.com/mov/MAudio_Torq.mov

Sure, AAC is the iTunes format, but there is also DRM-free AAC. As AAC is a sub-format of MP4, it can include DRM, but doesn't have to.

sorry gizmo for spamming your site, there is none on that issue, but now that skratchworx is sponsored it might be good for you...

I´m not really into Rewire.
Does that mean I can do my multitrack recording, take after take for mixes, like with ableton live straight into live? This would be a massive advantage for me, cause till now I record on pc and mix with ssl from laptop.

spewin, i just realised its in itunes "terms of use" that thier files cannot be played to a live audience or used for any other reason than personal reasons,

All i can say is, what a bastard!

Hey Chad - man, this stuff looks great! After my bad experiences with the ESI u46, this is hopefully gonna work
I have a 12" Powerbook G4 (bought in December) with 768 MB of RAM. All I wanna do is control my MP3s with my Turntables. I'm playing HipHop, so scratching would be necessary. Is that gonna work with my setup? If yes, I know what I'm gonna do as soon as this device hits the stores..

Hi guys !!!

I'm Tony from France, first post here on this great website that i visit sometimes to see what's going on...

I'm a current Mixvibes 6 PRO user and it's clear that' if torq will be as stable and realistic than serato or mixvibes during hard scratch/pass pass/turntablism sessions, we got a winner !!!

Indeed mixvibes is a great software but the lack of kind of "plug and play" integration between hardware/software, the lack of midi learn (scripts ), the too confused interface (but depends on wich skin you use) and no rewire are boring from my point of view.

So if torq is good for scratchin'/beat jugglin' as mixvibes or serato, i'm gonna buy it as soon as it hit the stores !!!

But i'm a lil' scared by the conectiv soundcard...only usb1 and 16bit/48khz seems not enough to me for serious scratchin' with my mk2'... maybe not cause i think the serato box is usb too ? (1.1 or 2 ?)
In mixvibes you got good results with pci/firewire sounds cards, and only decent with usb so... that's why i ask :blink:

I was plannin' on buyin' an ecler nuo 4 to control abelton and mixvibes but it's expensive as i need to buy a new 8/8 soundcard too (like m audio 1010 lt) and maybe a second laptop as far as mixvibes still not support rewire...

So i checked the specs and comments on the m audio site for the conectiv/torq package...

And god it's seems that the two big knobs on the conectiv could mix the sounds from my two mk2' with timecoded vinyls controllin' torq (for rough scratchin' (so my 2 TT plugged into conectiv pair of in' and the 2 outs of conectiv plugged into my mixer i guess) with the sound of abelton live (main stereo master i think) out transitin' by the usb cable between conectiv and my computer ? And so the sound of both Live 5 tracks and Torq mp3' playin' on my TT's could be heard on my monitors plugged into my mixer ?

Furthermore, it's seems that torq offer midi learn...is that simple as the abelton live system ? (no more scripts plz like in mixvibes)
For exemple, i got a korg microkontrol (midi keyboard with 16 pads, 8 faders and knobs) wich i use pretty well with Live 5, so could i keep usin' it in live 5 for controllin' on the fly my tracks in abelton while usin' torq rewired ?
Better, could i switch templates of the korg on the fly to control torq at one moment and live next ? and vice versa ? i mean that this only one controller could be enough to use the 2 applications rewired in the same set/gig (alternatively of course) ?

Actually i got 2 mk2' and im plannin' on buyin' shure m44-7 cells, and a new mixer (was thinkin' of stanton sa-5 if nuo 4 not necessary).
My pc is an amd athlon 3200+ with 2 go ram and 80 + 160 gig s-ata 7200t/min, and im plannin' on upgradin' my proc. by an amd 4400x2 (dual core) if torq + live rewired needs more power...

Chad, please could you tell me if i am right (for the moment it's only speculations) as i think if it is the case, i wouldn't be the only (future) happy customer from m audio to switch from my current setup to welcome your product :blink:

Sorry if this post is so long but im very interestin' in that product...

Thanks guys if you read all the post and thanks gizmo for your great job here...

Just keep on movin'

^_^ :embarrest :cry: :blink:

i'm counting the days!

:d: :d:

From the Scratch Live forums:

"If it helps at all, I intially installed Torq on my PowerPC based Mac and the performance sucked worse than anything I have ever used before! So it DOES require a pretty heafty Intel-Based system."

jido_genshi (a graphic designer for Torq and who also has used it)

Inconsistent with what Chad Carrier said-

"For practical DJing (spinning tracks and throwing in some effects from time to time), you'll be able to get away with less than the Recommended Spec without any trouble."

What is the verdict, I need to know, I want to make my decision sooner than later.

My notebook has a Pentium M 725.
with a 512MB DDR. (i could upgrade it to 1Gig).

will I be able to do intensive time coded vinyl scratching/juggling with Conectiv/torq using this notebook?


If not, will an Intel Duo Macbook (not Pro) with 2.0Ghz CPU and memory upgraded to 1 Gig be ok?

I've got a pre-order in with Sam Ash. Hope this thing hits the stores soon and lives up to the hype.

Chad, where are you?
Would be very important for me to know how it's gonna work with my 1.5 Ghz 768 MB RAM (12" Powerbook.

Tim, you have the exact same laptop as me, let's hope, *crosses fingers

Uhm, whats this?
http://www.floridamusicco.com/proddetail.asp?prod=m-audio_conectiv_99005185200&partner=froogle
Looks like its already available in the US. Does anyone have an idea how much the shipping to Germany would be?

And what about our Powerbooks?

Tim, It's not available in the states yet either. They're just taking pre-orders.

Talked to the people at m-audio last week they said it will be out SEPT 15th.... sent them an email yesterday ... the response today...


from the good people at M-Audio....

"The current ETA is late Sept.

Thank you for your interest in M-Audio."

from the people over at AGI...
just found out today that NOBODY is getting Conectiv until Mid-October. Waiting for the Sound Card boxes to get here from over-seas.

Any1 who read my comment on itunes files, scrap it! I was told a lie. You can use AAC for Djing.

Still be interested though to see if it does play the newer AAC/mp4. I know it has been said that it does and says on the video, but the protection is designed so that Itunes files only work on apple hardware and in correspondance with apple products. A issue that will hopefully yield a answer...

If this is the case then the next question is, will it be still classed as a legal file if the protection is removed?

Surely removing DRM is illegal. That's why it's there - to stop you using on any device except the one it's licensed to. I guess it's like removing the security tag from clothing just so you can walk out the shop without paying.

I know what you are saying.....apple want to limit the use of thier software specifically to work with apple hardware.

My point was more that, how is it any more illegal to burn a file to a CD as audio (cant burn as mp3 for some reason) and ripp it back as a mp3 to itunes, than it is to convert the file straight to a M4a in a program like "fairuse6" or having them converted to a mp3.

What itunes wants everyone to have crap qulity music.

They shouldnt allow any product other than apple products to play itunes files if they are intent on keeping strict with the play of thier files.

If you are aloud to burn a CD as audio then rip it back in what ever format you want then i dont see how it is any more illegal to just convert the file, with fairuse6 it is still going to be a m4a and not even a mp3 which i could be coverted with burning and re-ripping!

Hello guys,

I´m Dany, a 25 year old Dj from Germany. I´m acutally searching for the perfect vinyl control dj system. final scratch and serato is imho too expensive, i´m already running on a selfmade system. it´s called Dj Decks and it´s programmed by a belgium guy.

http://www.djdeck.be

All you need is a license of djdecks, a 4 line-in/-out sound card (e.g. maya 44 usb), 2 serato timecode vinyls and 2 pre-amps (for optimal volume and perfect signal). it costs me only about 160 EUR but i´m not very happy with this solution. the beatmatching is very hard, the turntables don´t run very precise and it´s not very handy for clubs (you must build your own case/connectiv).

so i hope the torq thing will be released quick next time.

@chad:
Are they any screenshots in hi-res for download? what will be the european price in EUR? Is Torq a hybrid solution (PC and MAC)?

Best Regards,

Dany
http://www.danyholm.de

Yo danny,

yes torq is a hybrid solution and the only screenshots are above..

Apparently this thing will never be released.

Hey Dany

the UVP is 269€ without control vinyl, so I guess street price with vinyl will be around 260-300€...

M-Audio Germany told me it should be available in the beginning of october over here... hopefully

Grüsse

T*M

yeah illegal to remove the DRM.

Let just hope torq plays the Mp4's...

just called a local shop and they told me it will be available by the end of november!!

Good News:
M-Audio Germany just told me it will be available by the end of October.
They also told me that my powerbook is gonna work fine, they are testing Torq with an even smaller setup (1Ghz!.

Now I'm excited, I'm gonna count the days til the end of November

In my last sentence I meant October, of course :embarrest

@Tim:

M-Audio Germany also told me end of october, but the shops say something different...:

here

^^

Just wanted to know if you could record "in" with connectiv.

Say if you were using TTs and CD players with a analogue signal, ofcoarse could?

yes

Nice one tom. ^^ and WTF, get out of our forum casino man. The only cash that will be getting spent here is on torq. You are a loser and a scammer, i hope someone robs you!

Hmm i just wrote "c asino" and it went to scratchworx. Is there something im missing here, i hope not. Doh

Sorry if there is.

And.... does the torq software record too? Can you say yes agian tom?

Sadly, this thread has been latched onto by spammers - I guess from it being linked to all over the net. Such is the price pays for being the most popular DJ on the net.

I have a new version of this script that has a verification box. I need to thoroughly check it out, move the news stories over and then I can make all the old news live again and not worry about spammers. In the meantime, I have to keep manually deleting them.

so whens it out... and when is the review on ?

That's in the hands of M-Audio.

@toasty:
it supports rewire, so you can record into protools, logic, ableton, cubase and any other application which supports rewire. i think you can do a direct recording in the program for sampling

so is it out yet?

Nice worx tom

Any body knows when this product drops or at least a time frame?

It's not out yet. There seems to be a few online dealers taking orders but nobody actually has it in stock yet. I'm fairly sure that we'll find out when it does come out and will post a news story!

Sweet.

I'll be waiting

I'm really wondering what will happen to the prices of serato & co when this hot stuff comes out!

By the way: All spammers have a little dick!

well i guess that will depend on how good this produt really is. If it lives up to its expectation then i realy think you will see more flexible prices in this product area. :blink:

i actually saw it on sale at guitar center last night for 270. they just got it in. i was tempted to buy it, but ill check it out first at the digiworld covention this friday in s.f. then maybe ill buy it!

AGI got them in stock as well.

I have my copy and wil be putting it through it's paces.

Great stuff as usual Gizmo.

Chad Carrier I would like to invite you to my site to help field some questions if you can. The link is below.

Pro DJ Forums.com


Btw, just in case some you did not know they M-Audio has also released a DJ Mixer as well.

Hey guys i bought the Conectiv yesterday and so far i saw a couple negative comments online but, i am here to say that so far torq is nice except for the fact that it didnt come with a very good detail set up manual. But as for the latency they are some settings that i got to focus on perfecting and getting some help with but the settings that i have at this point seems to be fine and i have not dected no latency.

Any news if it's in stock yet in stores here in Europe?

The biggest shop in germany will have it by the end of october.

@DJ MDX: Make a video please!

I have been using FS2 since it initially came out, and for the most part (since I’m an EDM DJ) it’s done a good job. I was always pissed that for all that I paid for Traktor3, it never worked as advertised with the vinyl, so I have only used FS2 for all this time. Since I’m not a scratch DJ, I won’t be able to give a definitive opinion about that aspect of the application, but I will try to give as much info as possible.

Things to note: I am using a g4 powerbook at 1.5ghz and 2gb of memory, so this may answer some of the questions on this thread.

So, here’s my take on this thing. I got it from JRR shop next day. I picked it up yesterday (Wednesday) and took it home, set it up, and so far:

THIS WILL BE TAKING THE PLACE OF FS.

THINGS THAT ARE GOOD:

The Cue accuracy is far better than FS in both absolute as well as relative mode. I can finally, at least rudimentarily, drop the beat and scratch it back in with confidence. The scratch sound sounds good to me, but I am no tablist, so I’m sure someone more qualified will post up shortly about that aspect.

The Library management looks like something I can get used to (not as good as FS).

The Beat detection so far seems to be pretty good (it’s analyzing my collection as we speak), but it really seemed spot on (it does halve the bpm quite a bit, but it doesn’t really mess up the beat grid. And you can select to double the bpm when necessary).

The sound card setup with the software was very simple and easy, very little messing around required, though overall, the soundcard seems a bit on the cheap side. I will probably get it set up to use my scratchamp, as it has more I/O and that’s always good.

I really like the playlist management in this thing. It starts a new session playlist everytime you start the software, so on those faded evenings that I throw down a magical set in my living room, I can go back and remember what I did. I think the playlist handling is going to really do wonders for designing my sets…

THINGS THAT ARE NOT SO GOOD:

There is no needle dropping in relative mode. I am really used to being able to needle drop in relative, but with this I have to go to the interface and click to the part of the song that I want to move to. I could get accustomed to this, but it really shouldn’t be a big deal for the timecode engine to do a timeout on the signal when the needle goes up, and cue to an absolute position on drop, then back to relative mode.

The interface is very very slow (of course this is related to my computer speed I’m sure). I’m sure that once my collection’s analyzed it won’t be so bad, as it won’t be chugging to analyze files while underway. (The caveat to this is that functions that are slow to respond to mouse click, “set loop”, etc, respond very well to keyboard assignments)

THINGS I REALLY DON’T LIKE:

There are a couple of ways to attach a turntable to this thing, full external control (2 decks, the way I play) and one armed (amputate) mode, where you can have 1 deck take turns. This would be fine, except that if you are in full external mode, you can’t disable vinyl control of the software, and make use of the transport controls directly. This only works in single armed mode. I really hate this, as my method for dealing with tracks with traktor is to set a short loop, beatmatch, THEN engage vinyl control and I’m off and running.

No bulk id3tag editing in the browser. Very irritating, especially as it looks like I will have a serious case of bpm halving when the analysis is done. I am really going to want to select 2 hundred files, and say double, or define a bpm range... As it is, I’ll just have to correct it as I play through one by one…

There is no preview player in the collection manager…. This sucks. When you’re staring at 60 files, and you know 3 of them are good next choices, and you know to within 20 which they are, it’s nice to be able to preview instead of loading a track to a deck, load a track to a deck, load a track to a deck, load a track to a deck, etc… plus, when you’re in a mix, both decks going, and trying to pick the next track, it makes a huge difference.



FINAL THOUGHTS:

In general, I’m really impressed. I wish they had made the soundcard 6 in 6 out instead, even if it does mean that it would cost another 50 bucks. Although the interface sort of smacked of virtualdj or something when looking at the pics, now that I’ve used it, it feels very solid, and so far it has not crashed, which is saying a lot more than Native Instruments ever deserved particularly on a version 1 product. I can also say that however the software designers did it, they have managed to optimize the timecode and playback engine so that whatever else is going on, analyzing a track, browsing the web, whatever, the music must play. Even when the interface gets really glitchy, the music never dropped or misbehaved and the vinyl control continued to work well. (as much as my

. (as much as my limited testing can reveal)

My collection should be analyzed sometime in the next couple of days, and I have a desert party to play near flagstaff, Arizona this weekend, so I’ll follow this up sometime next week if there are issues I haven’t seen yet.

I like it!

yo semuta thanks a lot for your review, good job.
of course I got some questions left

how is the sound of the pitch keylock? does it affect performance a lot? and how about the effects in general?

thanks dude

tom

ITs out!! Gonna have one of my hard core turntablist buddies put it to the test. Ill post the results on Tuesday. Peace!

Here and here you have some reviews or first impressions. Funny that there is more information provided on seratos site than on m-audio´s...

since m-audio has no user forums... I've set up a Torq/conectiv forum.


i really like this software and would like to talk with other users about it...

http://www.torq.tk(http://torqforum.proboards67.com) (work in progress btw)

Hopefully My (not finished yet) Review can help answer some questions.

DJ MDX's Torq Review

forget about the above post - that forum has been deleted.



http://www.torqdj.com from http://www.agiprodj.com

quote:

---

"On 05.09.06, blueprint commented...
From the Scratch Live forums:

"If it helps at all, I intially installed Torq on my PowerPC based Mac and the performance sucked worse than anything I have ever used before! So it DOES require a pretty heafty Intel-Based system."

jido_genshi (a graphic designer for Torq and who also has used it)

Inconsistent with what Chad Carrier said-

"For practical DJing (spinning tracks and throwing in some effects from time to time), you'll be able to get away with less than the Recommended Spec without any trouble."

What is the verdict, I need to know, I want to make my decision sooner than later."

---

In regards to this, keep in mind that I was using an early beta version of Torq and my Mac was way under the minimum system requirements, so to be fair, it shouldn't have worked at all!

Well the lowest recommended specs are a P3 256 Mb. So i say that would cover the use of two timcodes and maybe a effect. Nothing to much.

If you have a Pc less than the required specs you seriously need to be lookin at a p4 or something that is not ultra crap. I think people are getting confused thinking that torq is going to be some power hungry beast but in reality it aint going to be that much more "if any" than serato. Of coarse it is going to get a little CPU hungry but that is what comes with 3 effects VSTs and teh rest of it.

so what about my g4 1.5 ghz, 768 MB RAM 12" Powerbook? Does Vinyl Control work?

Well it is meant to yes. Justin in the torq video from agipropdj was giving torq a real worx out and he was using a G4. Backspinning literally as fast as he could and it didnt skipp a beat. Two timecodes should be a worry for a G4. Adding effects may be a different story.

i have a centrino 1.5 Ghz which is pretty much the exact same speed as a G4 so it'll be interesting to see how much they can handle.

mines on order

^^should'nt* in replace of should

That'll make more sense now!

@ Tim:

watch this

quote:

---

"[quote=corporation]forget about the above post - that forum has been deleted.



http://www.torqdj.com from http://www.agiprodj.com"size="1" />

No it has'nt, there even better now!

torq dj ^_^

I'm sick of spam - THIS POST IS LOCKED!

If you've got any more questions or observations, please go to http://www.skratchlounge.comand post questions there. Sorry for the inconvenience.