Hot new DJ kit and studio gear: Summer 2008 edition

Hot new DJ kit and studio gear: Summer 2008 edition

17 July, 2008 | 12.00PM

• Section: Music News Topics: Technology
• Written by: francispreve

Summer’s in full swing and over the past few months we’ve been kicking the tires on a bunch of new production goodies.

From speakers to microphones to artifacts from the future, there are some extraordinary tech toys hitting the market right now.

Here’s a summary of the products that have got our creative juices flowing this season.

Yamaha Tenori-On

The first order of business is the stateside arrival of Yamaha’s buzzworthy Tenori-On.

We have one in our possession – it just arrived last week – and we can honestly say that it is worthy of the hype.

First impressions?

While it includes extensive and unique tone-generation and sequencing capabilities, it is an instrument - not a groovebox - and should be treated accordingly.

While it can load very short samples via SD card, the included soundbank is extremely specific – perfect for minimal, ambient and some forms of tech house.

Rather than considering these functional parameters as “limitations”, ponder for a moment that the piano and violin each have one preset - you either like their sound or you don’t, but it is not a limitation, just a part of the overall character.

As seen in the You Tube demo videos, each track has its own visual character, displayed by the 16x16 LED grid.

The videos do not adequately convey the impact of this aspect of the Tenori-On, which needs to be experienced in a darkened environment – be it a club or a cozy bedroom.

It is mesmerizing, hypnotic, beautiful, and immediately intuitive for an audience to discern the artist’s actions.

Speaking of intuitive… The musical key for each sequence-set is defined globally, so novices need not worry about “wrong” notes.

There is something about the Tenori-On that feels “ahead of its time” – in much the same way that the iPhone also feels like an artifact from the future – this simultaneously gives us hope for the future of electronic music and makes us wonder if the Tenori-On might be a tad too alien for mainstream success.

Do we like it?

A resounding “Yes!”

Is it for everyone?

Absolutely not.

Is it worth a street price of around $1200 US?

That’s a tough question, as it really is a matter of whether you like its sound.

If you’re looking for something to replace your Roland MC-909, then no.

If you want something that’s going to set your music apart from the crowd in a very specific, delicate and ethereal manner, then the Tenori-On is definitely worth a closer look.

Yamaha Tenori-On

MSRP $1200 US

MOTU Electric Keys

We love synths.

That’s not in question.

But beyond synths and samplers, there’s a remarkable assortment of vintage keyboards out there that combine the organic character of mechanical components with the otherworldly exotica of old-school electronics.

Obvious examples include the Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos, classic organ technology from Hammond and Farfisa, and the original tape-based sampler – The Mellotron.

At the opposite end are electronic rarities like the RMI Keyboard Computer, Korg Lambda, and ARP Omni.

MOTU has assembled a massive array of these classic gems into a single software package called Electric Keys.

We quickly tested a beta at NAMM and were quite impressed at the time.

Well as of this summer, Electric Keys is shipping and it’s a fantastic achievement that blurs the lines between museum, pawnshop and over-equipped studio.

It’s safe to say that until now, if you were into classic keys, you’d have needed to purchase a bunch of dedicated softsynths and sample collections to get anywhere near the range of this collection.

Add to that, there’s a built-in effects rack that includes equally retro chorus, reverb, delay, EQ and such.

But the bottom line is always the sound and from our tests, it’s clear that Electric Keys was crafted with loving care.

If vintage warmth is your bag, Electric Keys is a must-have addition to your sonic arsenal.

Just make sure you have a spare 40GB of drive space for installation.

The baby is huge.

MOTU Electric Keys

MSRP $295

Blue Snowflake

Continuing this year’s trend toward impossibly small gear, Blue’s Snowflake is a truly portable – and more importantly, great sounding – condenser microphone.

About the size of an iPod, the Snowflake is USB class compliant, so it requires no drivers or external power.

This makes it absolutely perfect for throwing down a scratch vocal in a hotel room or other suitably quiet environment.

On the design side, the Snowflake is an elegant piece of kit.

The unit consists of two halves which separate, revealing an interior space that holds the USB cable when not in use.

The microphone half of the case is hook-shaped so it can perch atop a monitor or laptop, while the capsule assembly swivels for easy adjustment of the mic position.

We tested the Snowflake with Live, Logic and GarageBand with nary a hiccup and surprisingly good sound for a product in this price range.

And at a street price of around sixty bucks US, it’s got “impulse buy” written all over it.

Blue Snowflake

MSRP $79.00 US

M-Audio BX8a Deluxe

On the speaker front, M-Audio recently started shipping their updated BX8a Deluxe monitors.

These should be of special interest to club music producers, since their rear-ported 8” Kevlar woofers make them ideal for reproducing bombastic bass without the need for an added subwoofer.

The integrated 130-watt bi-amplification eliminates the need for an additional amplifier.

We spent a bit of time with these recently and - after testing them with a variety of tracks – came away very impressed with the honesty and overall lack of coloration for monitors in this price range.

They can easily go toe-to-toe with monitors costing twice as much – and they look great too.

Best of all, they’re way more affordable than most speakers with these specs, with a street price of $499 a pair.

M-Audio BX8a Deluxe

MSRP $599 US

Honorable mention: Ableton Live 7 LE

While not as glamorous or revolutionary as its big brother, the recently updated Ableton Live 7 LE is a great way to sample the power of Live without breaking the bank.

What makes it LE?

Well, instead of Live’s unlimited instruments, effects and audio tracks, LE only allows up to 8 instruments, 12 effects and 64 audio tracks per set.

Also absent are ReWire and REX support, video import, track freezing, MIDI output to hardware synths and several other professional amenities.

A full comparison can be found here.

That said, there’s still a lot of power lurking within Live 7 LE.

There’s more than enough power to get started with DJing in Live - and ample resources for starting original tracks as well.

And when you’re ready to make the jump to the full version, all of your Live LE projects will transfer without a hitch.

Ableton Live 7 LE

MSRP $149 US (download), $199 US (boxed version)

On the horizon

In the next few months, we’ll be checking out Korg’s new nanoControl series of portable MIDI controllers, as well as MOTU’s new 828mk3 audio interface.

There are also a few other goodies in the music tech pipeline that we’re not at liberty to discuss… Yet.

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