DJ Digital Gear Reviews
If there's one area of DJ gear that's been impacted the most over the last few years, it's vinyl emulation. For a while there was only Stanton's Final Scratch, but now there's an ever growing and developing range of solutions popping up left, right and centre.
We have a small but growing list below. Expect some major additions and changes over the coming months and years.
Digital Showdown
Review by Nick Nack - December 2004
Nick Nack and his Crowd Control buddies pit their very own hardware head to head and provide the results for your viewing pleasure.
AKAI MPC-500
Review by Deft - March 2007
It's all about being on the go right now. But how do you drag an MPC out with you and make beats? AKAI bring you the pocket sized MPC-500 so you can
Akai MPD24
Review by Deft - April 2007
The MPD24 is a MIDI box, giving MPC style control to your software. Deft beats the pads and sees how it measures up.
Akai APC-40
Review by Andrew Unsworth - March 2010
And so it begins... the slow and steady infliction of Ableton Live into the DJ world. So why not have a controller that tames it perfectly from the people who already make pad bashing boxes?
Alcatech DigiScratch v2
Review by Deft - July 2005
Another new contender for the digital throne is Alcatech's Digiscratch. Now at v2, Deft continues his adventures in the digital realm.
algoriddim djay
Review by Gizmo - September 2009
While the DJ spews out Traktorlikes, algoriddim embraces the graphical richness of OS X and makes a very different type of DJ app. And it's very good.
Allen & Heath Xone:DX
Review by Gizmo - June 2010
Allen & Heath are best known for mixers, but then branches out successfully into MIDI controllers. The Xone:DX however is a partnership with Serato to bring 4 decks to a compact box.
Behringer BCD-2000
Review by Deft - December 2006
It's all about MIDI controllers right now. Behringer have had one out for a while though. Is the plastic marvel up to the challenge? Deft tries it out.
Cockos Reaper
Review by Flexinoodle - June 2009
DJs often wear multiple hats - some are musicians, some producers and some are all these things. Reaper is a budget priced piece of production software. Flexinoodle learns it inside out and reports hi
DJ Tech uSolo
Review by Gizmo - October 2009
Media is dead - digital is king. And DJ Tech are embracing the USB only approach with zest. Enter the uSolo - a tiny box of digital tricks. Gizmo gropes it and writes his views.
DJDecks v0.69
Review by Deft - August 2005
There a large number of relatively expensive software otions around these days, so it's refreshing to find one that's affordable to everyone. Deft carries on his digital roundup.
EKS Otus
Review by Gizmo - May 2009
There's nothing quite like EKS's OTUS. Space age looks and a split personality 2 deck in one operation. Gizmo tries to get his head round working with just one deck.
Gemini iKey
Review by skratchworx - january 2006
Gemini's iKey aims to make your recording experience a whole lot easier. Sitting between your mixer and any old USB storage device, the team try it out and see if it really is that easy.
Glanzmann 4MidiLoop
Review by Gizmo - November 2010
Is it a mixer or a controller? Well both to be honest. 4MidiLoop is a full MIDI controller in the guise of a regular 4 channel mixer, complete with 4 x Pro X Fades too. Nice.
Hercules DJ Control MP3 e2
Review by Gizmo - December 2009
DJ setups are usually les than space efficient. But then Hercules decided to squish as much as possible into the smallest space. Is the e2 the epitome of optiisation, or just too damned small?
Image Line Deckadance v1.5
Review by Professor BX - April 2009
Deckadance has taken time to mature, but v1.5 seems to offer everything a DJ needs, including the choice of interface and timecode. Professor BX checks it out.
ION Discover DJ
Review by Gizmo - December 2009
Beginners have to start somewhere, and experienced DJs need an emergency backup. The ION Discover DJ provides both and is a heap of fun for everyone else too.
Korg Korg Nano Midi Controllers
Review by Flexinoodle - July 2009
Midi controllers come in all shapes and sizes, but the Korg nanos adopt the less is more ideology. Flexinoodle punishes all 3 with his huge amount of MIDI knowledge.
Livid Ohm64
Review by Chris Cartledge - July 2010
Raw MIDI controllers are rare round these parts. But the Livid Ohm64 was offered so we covered it. Aside from its obvious aesthetic quality, the Ohm64 works perfectly.
MixVibes DVS v6
Review by Deft - August 2005
MixVibes has been around for a while now, but in a pretty rough state. Now hitting v6, it's clearly a capable piece of software. Deft installed it and drops his opinion.
Native Instruments Traktor Scratch Pro
Review by Deft - April 2009
NI's Traktor range recently got a big brother and tagged a "Pro" at the end. Now you get full 4 deck scratching and a heap of effects as well. Deft tries all the new stuff out and writes some words.
Native Instruments Traktor Scratch
Review by Gizmo - August 2007
Native Instruments bounce back from the split with Stanton and bring forth Traktor Scratch - the complete NI DVS package. Gizmo gets indepth and reports from a beginning to end point of view
Native Instruments Maschine v1.5
Review by Chris Cartledge - August 2010
NI's MAschine is becoming a firm favourite with DJs and producers. And v1.5 of the software brings some much needed polish to the introductory first release.
Native Instruments Maschine
Review by Chris Cartledge - June 2009
NI have their finger dipped in all corners of the music making pie, but definitely do it their own way. Maschine is like an MPC but with the brain on the outside. Chris Cartledge uses his MPC skills t
Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol X1
Review by Chris Cartledge - November 2010
Native Instruments have expanded the Traktor range into hardware, and the Kontrol X1 is the perfect companion for not only Traktor, but all other DVS software out there too.
Novation Dicer
Review by Gizmo - March 2011
Novation make all manner of MIDI related hardware, but the Dicers are the first DJ specific product in their range. Already a firm favourite with many DJs, Gizmo finds out why.
Numark Total Control
Review by Gizmo - August 2007
MIDI is all the rage and Numark are grabbing themselves a slice of this market with the small but perfectly formed Total Control. Gizmo plugs it into hid USB port and plays.
Numark MixMeister Control
Review by Yorick - September 2009
The vast majority of MIDI controllers are generic. Not so with the MixMeister Control, which is aimed at making MIxMeister a lot easier to use. Yorick uses his MixMeister experience to test the hardwa
Numark NS7
Review by Gizmo - April 2009
Arguably the most anticipated product in recent years, the NS7 has Serato's ITCH pounding away in its chest. Gizmo checks it out and falls head over heels in love in a way he didn't expect.
Numark iDJ2
Review by Gizmo - February 2008
You don't need to look like Arnie to take your gear to a gig anymore. The iDJ2 successfully shrinks your whole deck and mixer setup into a laptop bag and gets rid of physical media at the same time.
Numark D2 Director
Review by Gizmo - June 2007
The digital age is here and now you can spin without media. Numark's Dē Director gives you all you need to start spinning your digital music.
Numark DJIO
Review by Gizmo - August 2007
So you have your laptop and your sound system... what can link them? Numark's DJIO bridges the gap very neatly as a simple I/O card for the digital DJ.
Numark MixMeister Fusion
Review by Yorick - July 2009
Back in the olden days, making mixtapes was all about hitting "record" and hoping that you wouldn't mess up too much in 60 minutes. Now, software like MixMeister Fusion lets you do it without touching
Pioneer DDJ-T1
Review by Andrew Unsworth - March 2011
Pioneer changed the DJ game with the CDJs, but have been a bit slow at getting on the controller gravy train. The DDJ-T1 is their Traktor specific controller. Andrew Unsworth writes an epic tome.
Pioneer MEP-7000
Review by Andrew Unsworth - October 2009
Pioneer aren't all about CDJs - they make gear for other types of DJs too. Andrew Unsworth casts his Pioneer experienced eye over the dual headed rack mounting MEP-7000.
Rane Serato Scratch Live v1.9
Review by DJ Bozak - June 2009
Serato drags itself snails pace like with mainly minor but often (like this) major leaps toward v2. DJ Bozak take a look at what's new.
Rane Serato Scratch Live v1.6.2
Review by Idlemind - October 2006
Having already covered Serato Scratch v1.4, it hardly seemed worth doing a full review for an update. So Idlemind tells us what's new.
Rane Serato Scratch Live v1.4
Review by Deft - July 2005
When Rane picked up the digital ball in the shape of Serato Scratch Live, they almost immediately took the crown from Final Scratch. Deft checks out the goods.
Stanton SCS.3 System
Review by Professor BX - January 2010
Stanton continue to dare to be different. These MIDI controllers are all about touch - no actual controls, stick together like magnetic lego and take minimal space in your DJ life.
Tonium Pacemaker
Review by Andrew Unsworth - January 2010
DJing has always been about a large 2 deck setup - until Tonium decided to make it fit into your pocket. Do they succeed? Andrew Unsworth finds out.
Valeway OOVJ
Review by Andrew Unsworth - March 2011
Off the shelf laptops are all well and good, but they're not specifically tunmed for DJ use. But the OOVJ is designed from the ground up for DJs. Andrew Unsworth gets all James Bond and checks it out.
Vestax VFX-1
Review by Gizmo - February 2010
Technically a dongle that enables effects in ITCH, and now a proper effects controller for SSL too, the Vestax VFX-1 is a solid lump of controller goodness.
Vestax VCI-100
Review by Gizmo - March 2007
Not a review as such, Gizmo lays his hands on a pre-production model of the hottest MIDI controller and loves what he finds.
Vestax VCI-300
Review by Gizmo - July 2009
Vestax have firmly put themselves back on the DJ map. But when they teamed up with Serato to make the ITCH based VCI-300. Gizmo chucks it around the skratchlab and relays his experiences.
