TECH

In light of the recent news about Lil Louis DJ Mag thought it would be a good opportunity to touch base with the DJ community about the importance of protecting their major assets: their ears. We recently took a trip down to a hearing specialist to get the lowdown on our hearing and the potential damage we may have inflicted on them after over 25 years behind the decks.

DJs who are looking to purchase a controller are certainly not faced with a shortage of choice these days, with almost every taste and platform catered for by one or more manufacturers.

They say good things (or is that bad things?) come in threes, and this latest incarnation in Numark's popular NS7 range is looking better than ever now that it has reached its third edition — thanks to the addition of no less than three display screens. DJ Mag was very impressed with the Numark NV and its integrated screens in each deck section, and while that remains an excellent controller the NS7 III has really upped the ante.

Stimming is an artist looking to challenge the norm, pushing boundaries with his productions and his “live” sets. Part of Solomun’s DIYnamic crew, he's made his fair share of modern dancefloor bombs for Freerange, Buzzin' Fly, Pampa and Green — everything from the alternately bleepy and soulful 'Radar' alongside H.O.S.H to the lush, abstract house of 'China Tree'. 

See how the panel at the PBLA launch party played out…

Korg is a name best known for producing some of the best synthesisers that have ever been made. Almost every producer who grew up in the '80s will remember watching Top of the Pops or MTV with their favourite bands playing on stage with synths bearing the Korg name.

Reloop drop a new club mixer onto the DJ masses — the RMX-60. The RMX-60 is a fully featured four channel digital mixer that borrows a lot of its technological goodness from its older brother the RMX-80. Customisable EQ section, eight studio effects and a wealth of connection capabilities means that this mixer is no slouch in the features department, packing a punch for less than £400. 

reloop.com

Native Instruments have just given everyone a peek at their new deck, the Traktor 'D2'. 

The new decks were showcased at their Traktor event last night in Miami with MK, Dubfire and Uner all playing at the event. The night was streamed live by our friends over at Be-at.tv — you can watch it back below.

The deck looks similar to the S8 which had a lot of DJs swaying to use the controller rather than a mixer and two CDJs, including Carl Cox and many others. 

Gavin Lynch discovered a love for electronic music at a very early age. An avid vinyl collector and dab hand in the kitchen, he took a job as a part-time chef to help feed his vinyl and music addiction. With a pair of skilled hands, he took the jump into sound engineering and music production — a self-professed techno nut who is equally skilled in the studio and the kitchen. Matador is cooking up a storm in the techno world, with tunes for a host of respected labels like Trapez, Perc Trax and M_nus, so we badgered him about his studio techniques...

 It is no secret that the makers of the two leading DJing platforms, namely Serato and Native Instruments, are in fierce competition with each other. As with all wars each side will push forward and gain the advantage over the other for a while. For a time, it looked like Native Instruments were going to win hands down thanks to the impressive array of controllers available for Traktor, but in recent times Serato have turned the tables and if anything look to be leading the charge when it comes to choice of controllers.