DJ controller
DJ controllers are devices used by DJs to mix music through suitable DJ software using knobs and sliders, turntables, illuminated buttons, touch sensitive strips, and other components.
Overview
DJ controllers are based on microprocessors , which simplify the operation of the software considerably compared to a conventional computer keyboard , the touchpad on notebooks or the touchscreen on a tablet or smartphone . They don't reproduce audio signals like classic DJ mixers do ; rather, they send input signals to a computer to explain to the DJ software how to play the music. Many DJ controllers also have a built-in sound card with 4 separate audio channels (2 stereo pairs) that allow the DJ to preview music in his headphones before playing it on the main channel. Most DJ controllers use either the MIDI or HID protocol to communicate with the computer via USB .
Modern DJ controllers usually emulate two DJ turntables / CDJ players and a DJ mixer. They are much cheaper than two real turntables or CD players. Unlike DJ turntables, controllers use the flexibility of software , for example to enable the DJ to save several cue points in a piece of music. Furthermore, the DJ software allows the user to assign functions other than those intended by the manufacturer to almost all of the essential components of a controller.
Some DJ controllers deviate greatly from the conventional "2 jog wheels and a mixer" form and are designed in such a way that the user can assign the functions himself. Some controllers can even be used in conjunction with Ableton Live or comparable software during live performances . Other DJ controllers, most notably the Dicer from Novation Digital Music Systems , have been specially developed for use with timecode records .
DJ controllers usually only work with manufacturer-recommended DJ software. Since most controllers use the MIDI or HID protocol, other DJ programs can usually be designed to work with them anyway. However, it is often very difficult to use a controller with software for which it was not developed. In addition, some controls often make no sense in other programs.
history
An early example of a DJ controller was the Hercules DJ Console , developed by Guillemot Corporation in 2004. It had a 6-channel sound card with SPDIF and MIDI connections, traditional mixer sliders, a crossfader , 3 separate equalizers per channel, jog wheels and buttons in the style of a DJ CD player. In 2007 the company Vestax presented the VCI-100 - a controller that was specially developed for DJing. It emulated the classic DJ layout, consisting of two turntables and a DJ mixer, and was processed for the first time in a quality suitable for DJs. Many manufacturers saw the success of the VCI-100 and gradually began to sell similar devices. In contrast to the VCI-100 , many of these controllers had integrated sound cards.
From 2009 Pioneer DJ released new models of its popular CDJ series, including individual CD turntables. The CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900 and their successors can be used as controllers for DJ software via HID, but some models also play music from a USB stick. The latest models, however, no longer have optical drives. The name CDJ , which comes from the compact disc , with which the first models exclusively ran, was retained, however. This made it possible for the first time to control DJ software with CDJs without the aid of timecode CDs . To this day, it is still very common to use two or even four CDJs and a mixer instead of an all-in-one controller. In this case, each CDJ produces its own audio signal with the help of the computer and the software, the mixing and outputting of the so-called master signal (this is the signal that is ultimately output via the loudspeakers) takes place in the classic way via the sound card of the mixer. Modern complete controllers basically work according to the same principle.
In 2010 Native Instruments introduced the Traktor Kontrol S4 , which instead of MIDI used a specially developed protocol to increase the accuracy of its high-resolution jog wheels. The second version of the Kontrol S4, introduced in 2013, used standardized HID signals instead of the proprietary protocol to communicate with the computer.
Since 2018, DJ controllers have increasingly become serious competitors of professional media players and DJ mixers, as they now contain high-quality effects sections, LCD screens and pressure-sensitive performance buttons.
In addition to the well-known and mentioned CDJ turntables, Pioneer DJ also launched all-in-one systems. A distinction is made there between the series DDJ (e.g. DDJ-200, DDJ-400, DDJ-800 or DDJ-1000), which includes controllers that only work in conjunction with a computer and installed DJ program and XDJ (e.g. B. XDJ-RR, XDJ-RX and XDJ-XZ), which includes controllers, which alternatively function as stand-alone controllers without connecting a computer and can directly access music that is stored on a USB stick . A novelty in the models DDJ-800, DDJ-1000 and XDJ-XZ are the so-called on-jog displays , which can show important information on an LCD screen in the center of the jog wheel.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Martin Russ: Sound Synthesis and Sampling ( en ). CRC Press, Aug 21, 2012, ISBN 9781136122149 , p. 497.
- ^ Hal Chamberlin: Musical Applications of Microprocessor ( en ). Hayden Books, November 1, 1985, ISBN 9780810457683 .
- ↑ John Steventon: DJing For Dummies ( en ). John Wiley & Sons, October 8, 2014, ISBN 9781118937266 , p. 142.
- ↑ Shreja Rohit: Popular DJ Controllers You Need to Know About (en-US) . In: MusicGearBlog , October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
- ↑ Ean Golden: The VCI-100 is Dead- Long live the VCI! . January 10, 2011.
- ↑ Ean Golden: Introducing the Pioneer CDJ 2000 . 17th September 2009.
- ↑ Ean Golden: Traktor Kontrol S4 DJ System . August 16, 2010.
- ↑ Native Instruments Announces Suite of Updates for Massive, Traktor, Maschine, and More (en) . In: reverb.com , September 6, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
- ↑ I Cannot Find the Driver for my NI Device on the Website (OS X) - Knowledge Base - Support .
