New gear time. Gemini seem hell bent on having the largest product line in the history of product lines. And despite already having a bewildering range of stuff, they figure it couldn't harm to add 3 more bits of stuff just to confuse us even more. This time, the CDMP series debuts, packed with the usual amount of digital goodness that we demand. I just wish Gemini would have a bloody good cull of the product range. And for the love of God, please stop with the long product names. Couldn't you just call them real names instead of a string of letters and numbers?

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The downturn in the global economy is hitting hard everywhere you look. Credit crunch this, negative equity that - but notably it's confidence in the high street that is also being hammered, as well as an evolving internet based retail model that hitting the shops hard. So it comes as sad news (but not necessarily surprising) that UK high street music retailer Sound Control has gone into administration and closed 10 stores, leaving 14 stores trading for 90 more days until a buyer can be found.

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The Innofader is in the skratchlab people, embedded with zero wire cutting or soldering nonsense at all. Such is the joy of Audio Innovate's Innofader. The Ecler HAK360 has what I have always considered to be the daddy of all faders. The Pro X Fade sure is good, but the Eternal fader has always felt buttery smooth, with silly levels of lag and curve adjust. but it's a long way from wallet friendly. But now, the Innofader has taken the place of the Eternal for a while, so that I can push it around, mock it and generally be mean to it. I'll be smacking it upside it's head and telling it it's got big shoes to fill.

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Once upon a time ( like 1998 ), a dutch company called N2IT had the spark of an idea - making some sort of system that allowed you, the DJ, to manipulate computer based digital music. This consisted of timecoded vinyl, a custom sound card and software written, for some completely insane reason, for the potentially great but staggeringly unpopular BeOS. They named this product Final Scratch, and being the visionary people that they were, they took it upon themselves to patent this idea - good plan. Hooking up with Stanton and Native instruments, Final Scratch evolved through different versions, to what we have today - Traktor Scratch. Smelling blood, N2IT's legal dogs were uncaged and had NI soiling their pants. But all is now well, with N2IT and NI sitting in a tree, c-u-t-t-i-n-g.

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Usually news is delivered from these pages on a global scale. But this is just for one country, albeit the largest vistor to my ickle tiny England based site. Even though the Hercules RMX seems to follow the now established blueprint for MIDI controllers laid down by Vestax, Hercules' experience in the MIDI controller market shouldn't be ignored. So just for the US readers, the RMX is now available from all good disco boutiques stateside right now for the paltry sum of $349.

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As you know, Allen & Heath have gone through some changes recently, and so is one of their products. The big assed MIDI mixer/controlling xone:3D is getting a facelift and a version number update. The familiar somewhat science project Hammerite feel will be gone, replaced with a darker look and feel. People - the xone:4D is coming in gleaming black and with a few updated details as well.

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We've waited, waited and waited some more (you have no idea...really) but finally the Mackie d.Pro series of mixers (well 2) finally made into skratchlabs around the UK. I was endowed with a d.2 Pro to beat the living crap out of, especially with Traktor Scratch and Deft got his maulers all over the probably more eagerly awaited d.4 Pro.

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Times change - tastes evolve and technology marches onwards and upwards. But in the scratch scene, one thing will never change - you need 2 copies of DirtStyle's Superseal wax in your record bag. It's been a decade since the original release and all manner of different styles of battle wax have appeared, so I guess now is the time to bring out a sequel. Superseal II is upon us people.

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As the planet goes social networking crazy, and the next myfacespacebebobook.com is just around the corner, having one targeted at DJs and electronic musicians can only be a good thing. Enter weeloop - a place where you can have your own profile URL (http://skratchworx.weeloop.com for example) and make the space very much your own. Community is the name of the game here as well as showcasing your stuff to the expectant target audience.

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Despite owning and running the hotbed of DJ pr0n that is , I'm still somewhat of a Luddite when it comes to playing music. I likes me vinyl I do and no mistake guvner, and largely leave the computer only style of spinning choons to the hotter younger things. But when I saw one of these new fangled softwares actually using a turntable, my interest was piqued enough to wonder if I should really take my head out of my arse and learn Ableton.

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"Limited Edition" tends to mean just that - you scuff or break the usually expensive item in question and you're screwed. What's that? You actually used your 05 Pro Limited Edition mixer and now it's looks less that factory fresh? Oh dear... oh deary deary me. So what's to do? Why not check out Brimstone Productions and fit your soiled by human hand 05 LE with a whole new showroom condition faceplate.

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Having the word "Holdings" in your company name indicate that from time to time, you might like to do some moving and shaking, but not necessarily of the disco dancing variety. But in the case of D&M Holdings Inc, the market they operate in is ideally suited to the aforementioned moving/shaking pursuit. Already owning Denon, D&M have snapped up Allen & Heath - yes I know it sounds like Denon have bought A&H but they haven't. But it does open the doors to some speculative fun as to where this could go...

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Whereas the previously reported FL Studio is for PC using creative types, Bias Inc's Peak is for Mac using backroom johnnys twiddling the knobs and honing the sound. And while they operate largely at opposite ends of the audio creation spectrum, there is a certain overlap zone where they share common features. Mac users will be familiar with Peak - it seems to have been around since Steve Jobs donned his first turtle neck and has certainly raised it's game with this new version 6.

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Increasingly, DJs are becoming more than just people who spin tracks to hordes of semi-naked loved up revellers. Indeed, many a classic track has been knocked up by DJs who have stepped outside of the confines of the 1s and 2s to make - rather than just mix - music. For many of these adventurous creative types, a tool of choice has been Fruity Loops - now called FL Studio - which has now reached version 8.

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Going to trade shows is a real pain in the arse. The strain they put on my financial, logistical and physical resources makes me groan every time I have to plan the trips. So if I go to one, it'd better be bloody well worth it or I'm returning home one grumpy DJ hack. So having all but decided that PLASA 2007 would be my last, I'm especially chuffed that The BPM Show is happening one month earlier than last year and will be bigger than before - and just a car ride away from skratchworx HQ.

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From a DJ point of view, this year's Messe was split between 2 floors with a broad hardware/software split. Most of my attention was diverted to the hardware side of things with just a few journeys to the software floor. Quite literally in passing while rushing to the airport, I spied a small stand against a wall with what looked like a Traktorish system running. That system is called Ultramixer2 - I've never heard of it but it certainly is worth of attention, especially as it works on Mac, PC and Linux and supports a lot of controllers as well.

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Being a shameless bag whore, I tend to get more excited about new luggage than any amount of nextlevelness - most probably because I can actually afford to buy this stuff and still get something vital to my existence in this DJ world, namely keeping the tools of my trade snug as I don my roving reporter cap. But with DJing becoming much more of a bag based rather than coffin based business, finding the right luggage is becoming a key factor. I've always liked Gigskinz but the shiny grey and blackness was somewhat of an acquired taste. So listening to feedback and realising that they'd shift more product if they undertook an image change, Gigskinz now come in Black, but with a suitable Gigskinz twist.

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Hercules have been in the controller game probably longer than anyone else so should know a thing or two about making them. So when I read about their new RMX console, I had high hopes. The RMX clearly is pisses all over the rest of their range but first impressions, for me anyway, are that you need sunglasses to use it.

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Time to spend a few moments mopping up some lingering stories from Messe so I can get the glut of reviews out. We've already had a scan over Reloop's Spin! DVS systems but the other story was a hands on their VCIalike Digital Jockey MIDI controller.

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Welcome to Korgworx - or at least that's what it feels like in the lab right now. Deft has worked his magic on the Zero8 review and I'm drawing the Zero4 and KM202/402 reviews to a close as well. So outside of the KAOSSILATOR, we'll have the Korg DJ range covered. In the meantime, check out Tatsuki and DJ Go from the UK's Mixologists working some Korg magic at Musikmesse 2008.

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After a few years in limbo, Stanton have picked themselves up by the scruff of the neck, dusted themselves off and are getting on with business again. At the same time, they pulled away another layer or two of cobwebs from some designs that at the time of scribbling were just too ahead of the game for people to understand (think back 4 years and you'll know what I mean). But now those designs are slowly becoming a reality. The Stanton SC System was available for heavy handed trade show hordes to slowly destroy right before the very eyes of nervous Stantoners hoping that these fairly fragile prototypes would be OK for the WMC this week.

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From the outside looking in, writing reviews must be a blast. Get boxes full of nextlevelness delivered to the bulging at the seams skratchlab - spending days/weeks/months tampering with this factory fresh newness at screwdriver level - writing some sarcasm and snapping pretty pics - all sounds just too easy right? But it's not - trust me on that. It's fair to say that DJ gear is on the whole good, if not bloody great so differentiating one box from another via an arbitrary scoring system is getting tougher with each new release. So instead of giving ratings to products, we're considering losing the largely objective and possible meaningless ratings totally and keeping our personal feelings (for that is all they are at the end of the day) at the forefront instead.

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A few years ago, we were sat in a bar at MusikMesse with a well known skateboarding industry type who was sharing his vision for the future of skratchworx with us. "What you wanna do" said the Englishman in New York "is make skratchworx into a real online mag, with turning pages and evryfing". Of course, this sounded like a great idea, but with zero resource to do such a thing, the idea was put on the "if only" pile. But then ourhousemag did exactly that and now they're doing it for Numark as well in the very well written online Cue Mag.

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After accosting me on the Numark stand trying to find a way into the NS7 case undetected, head techy bod Chris Roman and I nodded heads and exchanged trade show pleasantries as men do. Then he said "have you seen this?" and ominously and quite disturbingly reaching into his pocket, he pulled out an iPod Touch running onscreen scratching courtesy of MixMeister Scratch.

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Something I really didn't spend enough time with was the Ecler EVO4. It was one of those stands that I kept walking past, looking for the Ecler people I knew but never saw. And being up on a big podium, I really didn't feel like drawing attention to myself while people expected some kind of show. So grabbing a few moments before leaving, I took a couple of snaps and got some more insight. Although not much - I'm leaving that for the review.

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Nothing gets DJs juices flowing like a good old crossfader, and this was most certainly the case when Audio Innovate announced their highly adjustable non-contact Innofader just before NAMM. The US skratchworx posse captured a video of Elliot Marx chatting about his new creation, so not wanting to feel left out, I did the same - in the 5 minutes when my video camera actually worked without having to hit it very hard.

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The last time I did an interview, it was with Same Gribben, the big guy from New Zealand responsible for bringing you Serato Scratch Live. And by strange coincidence, this time I've interviewed exactly the same guy, as well as Aureliano Pisa from Numark who together have worked hard, often till after 5pm and through some lunchbreaks to bring you some of the newest nextlevelness aka Numark's NS7 controller and Serato's ITCH. I threw some questions at them, and eversonicely, they responded.

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Slowly but surely, and mainly due to market forces all manufacturers are adding software to their product menu. But it's not just a matter of throwing some code together and within a few weeks having a beta DVS up and running. So it comes as no surprise to hear that Reloop have gone and got some guys to make one for them. Spin! adopts Reloop's clean white interface and with a splash of minty green freshness aims to extract a small amount of currency from your wallets in return for a fully fledged DVS system.

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Within reason, headshells are headshells are headshells and you're not likely to notice any difference in performance between each one with the same cart installed. But a little more choice in design would be nice - enter Ortofon's new Evolution headshell.

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The first rule about Scratch live Beta is that you don't talk about Scratch Live Beta, unless of course 2 different Serato teamsters drag you along to the Denon stand to show you the not yet available to the masses v1.8.1 snuggling up to Denon's DN-HC4500 unit.

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