Personally I love 105 BPM. I don’t know if that has any impact on the heat though.
Gonna hit on the “Game Changer” here for a sec. In short “Meh”.
Ean Gold is someone to watch, and this is a great idea. When I put this item in perspective with my controllers (analog/digital/etc) this is no more than a novelty.
Again the Dicer certainly is cool, it fits a need, and I offer my props on that level. The real question I ask is simple:
“Is the DJ crowd deprived of gadgets?”
Seriously, this is no more than a tightly packaged PIC micro-controller that is well thought out. The polish that Novation added is the only real leap (packaging and marketing). The “Game Changer” label certainly gets under my skin and contributes to (this editors) diminishing view of Novation.
Perspective : I first knew Novation in the late 1990’s when my friend Greg was repping and I managed an all synth/keyboard boutique. But we are the jolliest buncha’ mean folks you may meet when we get on the “who sucks” discussion.
In short, the only gear I am not pissed off at is Nord and anything I have not owned. (But there was a huge issues w/Nord about a year ago – but that was all US distribution channels).
Back to the Dicer, and in the scope of Ableton there is no “standard interface” like the turn table. The APC is the only kinda’ almost, the Trigger Finger is also a good contestant. So the universal “game changer” is probably not going to happen for the modern digital musician.
But this is not a sad note – “The Bridge” is coming. We are all hoping that this is a stable non-crashy release with some fun stuff. This is going to close the gap on DJ-Ableton artists. This is awesome!
On the note of “Ableton Artist” – is it DJ? I don’t like getting grouped with that crowd (I have never DJ’ed, so don’t box me in!). Electronic artist is not quite there, electronic musician is totally good but too long. What the hell are we? There is a bunch of software nipping at the heels of Ableton and you certainly do not what to reference your trade by the name of the product (sorry Ableton). So what do we call our self?
The Ableton spectrum is HUGE – from folk to techno to dub-whatever to a bunch of categories I could not describe.
Electro-crunk-wobble-swing-remixed jazz changes? HUH?
So the point is clear – make your own game changer. I am working on my own game changer as I hook up with a crew who has a CNC machine (oh HELL yeah). So if you ever wonder why I don’t do too many shows or gig like mad, I am usually soldering, programming, and plotting!
Other News
Fader Fox gets a rejuvenation. Check out this article form CDM, here’s a sexy image. The big change – USB!
File Under: I was wrong!
I was predicting apocalypse with “DJ Hero“. Well, we are still here! But now there is a new threat to society and our lives. It comes from the same concept. As Mark Mosher reports – there is a real MIDI keyboard included in the new Rock Band.
Is the the end?
Is doom near?
Mark has some great commentary as well, worth the stop.
Probably not. Here’s a video:
Follow up coolness – Mark is a synth guy (is it our age?). So much of his work touches me in that special place, you know, in the oscillator. Here’s something fresh on Modular Synthesis.
OMFG REMIX! Here’s a link for some Bass Nector Natives. Get them NOW! These don’t stay up long. Save time and go right for the stems HERE.
I gotta tell you – go out have fun! There is nothing really happening on my radar screen. The iPad hype has faded, iPhone 4g is not really a gamer changer (LOL), and no new software releases are on the horizon.
Or is there…???
–Marc
PS new site on the way. New domain too.
