Jan 12

The Technofile 2010 Awards

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

Pioneer CDJ-2000

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 »

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Feb 09

Contour Design Shuttle Pro V2.0 reviewed in the Technofile

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 »

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Nov 18

BPM DJ show reviewed by MC Rebbe The Rapping Rabbi in The Technofile

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 »

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Sep 26

LinPlug Albino 3 by Rob Papen reviewed by MC Rebbe The Rapping Rabbi in The Technofile

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 »

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Jul 06

MC Rebbe The Rapping Rabbi reviews Propellerheads Recycle in The Technofile

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 »

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May 24

Arturia Jupiter-8V reviewed in The Technofile by MC Rebbe The Rapping Rabbi

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 »

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Apr 25

LG Electronics Super Multi Blue GGW-H10N previewed in The Technofile by MC Rebbe The Rapping Rabbi

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 »

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Apr 13

MC Rebbe The Rapping Rabbi reviews Native Instruments Absynth 4 in The Technofile

Absynth is one of the best sound design tools out there. Like its brethren, ‘Battery’ (reviewed below) and ‘FM8′ (review coming soon), it has recently had a makeover.

If you’re not already familiar with this soft synth, then check out my Absynth 3 review. If, on the other hand, you already know the score, read on. Continue reading »

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Apr 05

MC Rebbe The Rapping Rabbi reviews Native Instruments Battery 3 in The Technofile

If you’re not familiar with Battery, it’s a dedicated drum sampler by Native Instruments, which makes editing samples and creating kits easier than making jokes about bad drummers. Continue reading »

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