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As ever, closely guarded technology secrets are leakier than BP's oil pipes. Such is the case with Novation's new MIDI controller. Rather than being a controller that DJs seem to adopt, Dicer is aimed directly at DJs, and quite specifically Scratch Live DJs using Technics turntables. And if you didn't get that from the teaser pictures then you should hang your head in shame. Hell I even gave you the name with my "dicing with journalist death" comment.

Firstly the official words from Novation:

Novation introduces Dicer, a performance controller designed especially for the digital DJ, and seamlessly integrated with the cue-point and looping features of Serato Scratch Live. Supplied in pairs, the compact USB-powered devices are compatible with any Scratch Live setup, whether using turntables or CDJs. Dicer is the ultimate performance upgrade for Serato, and in fact for any digital DJ. With a pair of Dicers in your DJ setup, you can mash-up your beats on the fly, and create a unique performance every time you play.

Multi-colour backlit soft-touch 'dice' buttons provide real-time visual feedback from the software, and Dicers are so small and rugged that they can be dropped into your laptop bag at the end of the night. Their compact form factor and versatile mounting options enable them to be fastened securely on the corner of turntables, CDJs or a laptop: Dicer mounts into the 45RPM-adaptor hole on a Technics 1200-series turntable, or on to any flat surface using Novation's removable DJ putty. Battle-style or standard, Dicer fits ergonomically into any turntable setup, and one-deck configurations are fine too: just use the reusable DJ putty to secure the second Dicer to your laptop.

Just like Launchpad, which revolutionised the way electronic musicians play Live, Dicer will change the way the Scratch Live DJ performs. With Dicer on the corner of the turntable, CDJ or laptop, you have instant control of Serato’s Cue-Point, Loop Roll and Auto-Loop features literally at your fingertips, allowing you to throw tricks into your set without touching the computer. Now, you have the freedom to turn your DJ set into a true performance.

A pair of Dicers requires just one USB socket; an included mini-jack cable provides data connection and bus power to the second unit. Dicers are class-compliant MIDI controllers, and they can be used straight out of the box on a Mac or PC without installing any custom drivers or additional software. As standard MIDI devices, Dicers can be programmed to control any MIDI-compatible software, such as Native Instruments Traktor, Ableton Live or Propellerhead Reason. What’s more, using Dicer’s shift functions, up to 60 MIDI assignments can be made, to control everything from effects plug-ins to software samplers and instruments.

Dicer is expected to be in stores in late June/early July 2010, priced:
USA: $99.99 MAP
Germany: €99.99 inc. 19% VAT
UK: £79.99 inc. 17.5% VAT

So what is Dicer? Well it's a 2 part high quality plastic and rubber buttoned MIDI controller - one for each deck - that are daisy chained via a minijack cable. There's even provision for a Kensington lock, because if it ain't nailed down someone will attempt to relieve them from you for sure.

Out of the box they have 3 mapped functions: hot cues, auto loops and loop rolls, each of which is accessible via the 3 preset buttons. When each is selected, the buttons change colour to match so you know which mode you're in.

They sit very happily in the 45 adaptor slot on your Technics, but the peg unscrews from the Dicer leaving you to sit it in whatever space you choose. This could be in the corner of a deck, or on the faceplate of a mixer for example. And while the units do have rubber feet, they also supply some really aggressive black putty to keep the controllers in place. My Numark TTXs for example have curved surfaces, but with the putty they stay in place.

As for mapping - Dicers are incredibly easy to map in your chosen software. I had no trouble manually mapping it in SSL v2, and it even worked first time with SSL v2.1 beta (which you don't have yet). I believe config files will be available at release for all major software too as well as native plug and play operation in SSL v2.1

Do they work? Of course they do. You'll need to trail the wires around your setup and find a place for them, but once installed and configured, they work great. Of course, you can map them to whatever you want. The Traktor preset for example has effects control mapped to the third button. You also get a second shift layer for even more controls.

All in all, it's a well thought out product that will have a lot of fans - especially Technics owners. I've visiting someone tomorrow who has Technics so I can do some photos and videos to go along with the review, which to be honest is going to read very similarly to this piece really.

Price wise, Dicer is priced at £79.99/€99.99/$99.99. Granted it's a little more than the Korg and Akai controllers, but it's designed to integrate better with turntables. You'll just have to decide if it's for you or not.

And just so you know, Dicer used to have 6 buttons which explains the name.