Jul 24
Ableton Live is something of a dichotomy. For live performance and remixing it provides the best possible software interface…which is seriously constrained by the worst possible hardware interface…a screen and a mouse. And if that’s not bad enough, running Live on a laptop, on stage, makes it look more like you’re surfing the web than performing. The answer is a control surface that frees you from the prison of the computer and lets you play ‘Live’. Although there are plenty of these around, until recently, none were optimal or optimised for working with Live. However, Akai Professional’s dedicated Live controller, the APC40, changes this. Continue reading »
Jun 11
Ableton Suite 8 is 50 percent live performance instrument, 50 per cent digital audio workstation…and 50 per cent remix tool. If that sounds like 150 per cent…it is! Based around the latest release of Ableton’s now legendary ‘Live’ application, it adds into the mix no less than ten instruments and sample libraries. If you’re not already familiar with Live, either you’re an Alpha Centaurian Ostrich, or a member of Status Quo. Either way, you can familiarise yourself with what it is and does here. Continue reading »
Tagged with: Ableton Live 8 • Ableton Suite 8 • DAW • DJ • Music Technology • Reviews
Jan 12
All Posts, Apple, Audio/Music, Awards, Cameras, Computers, DJ, Design, Features, Hardware, Lightroom, Photography, Photoshop, Plugins, Software, VJ, Video, Web, Writing
At the risk of stating the obvious, it’s the start of a new decade and this, in conjunction with the Technofile celebrating its 5th birthday (albeit slightly belatedly) seems like the perfect opportunity to give out some awards. Unlike everyone else’s awards though, the Technies are not for the best of 2009, or even for the best of the noughties. They are for, what, in the opinion of The Technofile, is the best software and hardware currently available to creative professionals. Whether it was released yesterday or 5 years ago is immaterial, the only stipulation is that you can go out and buy it…or sit at home and download it (legally, of course) now. So, without further ado: Continue reading »
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Sep 17
I remember a time when no DJ worth his salt took CD players seriously (I say his, because they were all blokes back then). The objections were longer than a 12” (remember those?). “CDs are all very well, but what are you going to do when one starts jumping in the middle of a set?”…“It’s not like you can scratch with them is it?” “CDs? What next, female DJs?” Enter Pioneer (DJ booth left), with their now legendary CDJ-1000s, which, combined rock solid performance, optimal ergonomics, industrial build quality and the ability to emulate the entire cannon of vinyl tricks…and then some. The CDJs revolutionised the industry to such an extent that it’s almost impossible to find a club that doesn’t have a pair. But with a whole new generation getting their tunes direct from the net (some even, legally…) and the ever growing popularity of laptop DJing with Live, Traktor and Serrato, it seems that the graffiti’s on the wall for CDs. So what next? Continue reading »
Tagged with: DJ • Hardware • Music • Previews
Feb 09
Desktop audio and video editing is a great thing…using a mouse to navigate a timeline is not…enter Contour Design’s Shuttle Pro, a mini control surface that’s pre-configured to work out of the box with many of today’s top A/V applications. Continue reading »
Tagged with: Animation • Control Surfaces • Hardware • Reviews • Video
Nov 18
In the UK, there’s no shortage of music industry trade shows, but until recently if you wanted to check out the latest DJing kit, you were faced with a choice between PLASA (the main focus of which is sound and lighting for concert tours and large installations, making it 95% irrelevant to the average DJ) and a handful of shows targeted at musicians and producers. Last weekend though, the landscape changed, as DJs took control at BPM, a brand new show organised by Marked Events. Continue reading »
Tagged with: DJ • Hardware • Shows • VJ
Sep 26
It seems like there’s a million soft synths on the market. Most are pretty good, a few are excellent. Albino? It’s one in a million! Continue reading »
Tagged with: Music • Plugins • Reviews • Soft Synths • Software
Jul 06
If you work with loops or breakbeats, you’ll love Propellerheads ReCycle. Simply Open it up, load in an audio file and move the sensitivity slider to the right. As you do so, the program uses some clever algorithms to slice up your file into…’slices’, (conveniently visualised in its waveform display). The further you drag this slider, the smaller these slices get, until you’ve broken it down into discrete rhythmic components (e.g. kick, snare, hats, etc.). Continue reading »
Tagged with: Music • Reviews • Software
May 24
In 1981, Roland released the Jupiter 8 synthesizer. A true flagship, it offered, amongst other things, a massive (for the time) 8 voices, keyboard split and layering, a powerful arpeggiator, a unison mode…and lots of sexy multi coloured buttons. Most importantly though, it was more reliable and flexible than many of its contemporaries. Continue reading »
Tagged with: Music • Reviews • Soft Synths • Software
Apr 25
It had to happen sooner or later and now it has…someone has released a dual format Blue Ray and HD DVD drive…and that someone is LG Electronics. I know this because last week I was at the launch of not one, but two dual format drives, by the major Korean manufacturer, at appropriately cutting edge London venue, 24. Continue reading »
Tagged with: Audio • News • Previews • Rebbetorials • Storage • Video
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