DJ Equipment Recommendations October 2014

Review: One of the best pro DJ turntables on the market. Design loosely inspired by the classic Technics approach. Well worth considering as a slightly more affordable alternative to SL-1200s.

Supplier notes:
The PLX-1000 is precision engineered for the booth, drawing on 50 years' experience of making high-end turntables. This high-torque direct drive turntable is equipped with a classic layout and a rubber-lined, S-shaped tone arm that improves isolation and prevents feedback. It is solidly built for excellent vibration damping and ultra-precise, high grade audio playback.

Featuring next generation improvements, the PLX-1000 is the perfect score for professional DJs and vinyl enthusiasts. Combine this turntable with your Pioneer DJM mixer and get the ideal DJ system set-up.

The high-torque direct drive makes sure that your tracks reach a rotation speed of 33? rpm in merely 0.3 seconds thanks to a starting torque of 4.5kg/cm (or more). On top of that it ensures stable rotation and exceptional control.

For low impendance and amazing sound quality output, you can easily connect to the professional-grade, gold-plated RCA jacks. Ideal for a DJ on the road, the PLX-1000 has interchangeble power and audio cables.

Unique to this turntable is the multi-pitch tempo control. Next to a standard variable width of i8%, you can also select a variable width from i16% and i50%. A simple reset button instantly reverts to the fixed rotation speed at i0%.

Review: Great performance and durability as to basic scratch and back-cueing is what the Pro is known for.

It has a good quality spherical stylus, a rock-solid cantilever, and serves general purposes well.

The Pro is the logical alternative to the more expensive expert carts. It offers both reasonable output and high sound quality which is, in fact, all there is needed to entertain an audience.

The Pro Series of cartridges provides a great balance of sound quality with tracking ability, for virtually any style of music. With flat, transparent sound across the spectrum and excellent handling ability, the Pro Series represents one of the longest running values in DJ styluses..

Ideal choice for talented, but less experienced DJs!

Pro Stylus Technical Data
Output voltage at 1000Hz, 5cm/sec. - 5 mV
Channel balance at 1kHz - 1,5 dB
Channel separation at 1kHz - 20 dB
Channel separation at 15 kHz - 15 dB
Frequency response - 20-20.000 Hz +3/-2 dB
Tracking ability at 315 Hz at recommended tracking force - 70 um
Compliance, dynamic lateral - 7 um/m N
Stylus type - Spherical
Stylus tip radius - R 18 um

Tracking force range - 3.0-5.0 g (30-50 mN)
Tracking force recommended - 4.0 g (40 mN)
Tracking angle - 20-
Internal impedance, DC resistance - 750 Ohm
Internal inductance - 450 mH
Recommended load resistance - 47 kOhm
Recommended load capacitance - 200-600 pF
Concorde/OM cartridge weight - 18.5 / 5.0 g

Compatible with cartridges - Pro

Review: NDX500 is a USB/CD media player and software controller that lets you DJ with your entire media library - anywhere. Combining comprehensive standalone functionality with deep hardware and software integration, NDX500 is capable of playing and mixing music from virtually any digital audio source. DJ with USB flash drives, CDs, and MP3 CDs without turning on your computer, or use NDX500's built-in audio interface and USB-MIDI Mode to DJ with software.

The touch-sensitive jog wheel gets the job done with uncanny accuracy. Scratch, search and backspin with precision and reliability in any environmentiadaptive platter technology automatically calibrates itself for optimum performance regardless of humidity or environmental changes. An adjustable start/stop time lets you create vinyl-style braking and power-up/down effects.

All of NDX500's controls come mapped to Serato DJ* (sold separately), so you can plug in to your Mac and PC and start performing. NDX500 also features USB Audio, allowing you to play back audio from your computer. No matter the source, all critical information is displayed on the backlit display so you can manage your library of tracks at a glance.

An extensive set of track manipulation controls lets you maneuver a set with practicality or raw creativity. Thre hot cues provide immediate access to key points in the track. Both a looping section and stutter start provide seamless creation of mix foundations, transitions, and more. Auto BPM counters with tap-tempo override gets to the point so you can mix with pecision.

*The NDX500 is an Official Serato Accessory and requires a supported Serato DJ interface, controller or mixer to control Serato DJ.

Box includes:
NDX500 Player
USB Cable
RCA Audio Cable
User Guide
Safety & Warranty Manual

Minimum system requirements:

Mac:

Mac OS X 10.6 - macOS 10.13 High Sierra
1.6GHz Intel Core Duo
All Intel i3, i5 and i7 Processors are supported
Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768
RAM 1GB (minimum)
Available USB 2.0 port

Windows:
Windows Vista with Service Pack 1, Windows 7 with SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10
2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Available USB 2.0 port

Review: Native Instruments Traktor Scratch Timecode vinyl also featuring Duck Sauce "Radio Stereo" single

Review: To commemorate Cut Chemist & DJ Shadows Renegades Of Rhythm tour Boo Hooray has prepared this limited edition tour book. Inside you'll find exclusive texts by DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist and Afrika Bambaataa detailing the history of the Zulu Nation, the history of Hip Hop DJ-ing and Bambaataa as well.

Included are full color reproductions of numerous original records, test pressing and acetates from Afrika Bambaataa's collection. As DJ Shadow says of the records used on the tour and featured in the book, "They're his records, with his blessings. this isn't just ANY copy of 'X' breakbeat, it's THE copy, THE copy that started everything."

Also included are full color images of dozens of funky-fresh, original Bambaataa hip hop flyers (examples below), rare drawings, rare photographs and more including lists of Bambaataa's favorite breaks.

Review: This Allen & Heath crossfader is the offical replacement part from Allen & Heath, which fits the Alpha crossfader of the Xone:42 mixer.