monkey_magic Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 I've always been a vinyl purist. Never quite got the hang of mixing with CDs. Vinyl's just better, and probably always will be. But lately I've been seeing more and more sense in using CDs. They're far, far cheaper than vinyl. And you can download bootlegs and remixes direct from the people who make them (if you know where to look) rather than hoping that they get a vinyl pressing. So, I decided I'd finally splash out on a CD deck. I've never quite liked the look of the Pioneers, or the very highly rated Denons. The new Technics SL-DZ 1200 on the other hand, is a damn sexy piece of kit. So I just bought one. And first impressions are that it was money very well spent. The only pictures I've seen of them are the standard ones from the Technics website, so I thought I'd share some more pics of mine. The flash on my camera has packed in, and I must have shaky hands or something, so excuse the poor quality of some of them. It's not quite as high build quality as an SL1200, but not far off. It has a platter which works the same as on the SL1200 - it spins around - it's even got a little strobe to keep an eye on the speed of it. On top of the platter is a removable vinyl sheet. This even has grooves on it to make it feel like a record, and it moves as if it is on a slipmat - which means it is very easy to scratch and cue with. Almost identical to vinyl. Sitting alonside my DJM600 and SL1210. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Godfather of Manx House Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 ...the very same has been tempting me. Decisions, decisions, eh ?... ...GOMH*... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 I always wondered what a cd deck looked like. Had no idea it would look like a vinyl deck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaf Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 Barely any of the ones that have been around for years do. I reckon it's still behind the times though - last year in Ibiza most of the DJs that I saw did their sets with CDs and CDRs only. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that the next step is for DJs to carry their entire collection on portable HD or flash card and use this kind of gear to mix it. You just have to wait for a standard to emerge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilDDog Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 the next step is for DJs to carry their entire collection on portable HD or flash card and use this kind of gear to mix it. You just have to wait for a standard to emerge They already do that m8, even over here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey_magic Posted February 24, 2005 Author Share Posted February 24, 2005 This will play MP3s, and you can play tracks from an SD memory card, currently up to 512mb. I saw John Aquaviva playing a couple of years ago and he did most of his mixing on a laptop. I think one of the main downsides to digital mixing is the reliability in a nightclub. I.e. if you spill a drink on an SL1200 it probably won't do much damage. Not so sure about this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaf Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 They already do that m8, even over here. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hmm, well, I sorta know "they've" been doing that for a while because I used to do it a bit with a ropey package called VTT around 1999, and then onto BPM studio after that (tried Traktor after then for a bit, but it's rubbish for stable "walk away" beatmatching IMO, straight back to BPM studio...). But I'll grant you I've never heard of there being hardware of the calibre of the Denon CD decks accepting flash cards. What I really had in mind was the idea of DJs being able to turn up to practically any major venue with an agreed standard of mass storage media and do a set with it, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deejay Denzel Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 2 DVD decks and 2 DVD's is probably the best way, 300kbs mp3's and you can't go wrong. the way forward and will probably be the standard. Laser optics have a faster tracking speed than hard drives so the response time for cd jogging and tracking is pretty spot on compared to hard drive data access. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deejay Denzel Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 For practicality though Pioneer DJM800's do the trick, raw DJ'ing skills mixed with it's simplistic features and tricks are the dogs blox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey_magic Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 Laser optics have a faster tracking speed than hard drives so the response time for cd jogging and tracking is pretty spot on compared to hard drive data access. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's reportedly one of the drawbacks of using the SD memory cards on these Technics decks - apparently the cueing isn't as responsive. No doubt they'll bring out a mark 2 (and 3 and 4 etc) that will improve on these things. DVD storage sounds good though - 4gigs is plenty of memory for storing MP3s. You could fit your entire collection in a CD wallet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaf Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Laser optics have a faster tracking speed than hard drives so the response time for cd jogging and tracking is pretty spot on compared to hard drive data access. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I don't think that's really true and in any case I wouldn't pit one format against another in this way - none of this technology will be relying on the media's transfer speed - it'll be generously buffered in a cache, just like it's been done with CD decks for years, but since memory is cheap as chips these days, the caching will be extensive, possibly comprehensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deejay Denzel Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 I know pioneer decks have several optics in them so i'm sure that is way more efficient than hard drive access and cache, especially if your re-calling several cue point while already minutes ahead or behind on the track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busby Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 Playing music from your Laptop? right here right now! Last Friday @ Full-on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deejay Denzel Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 I've just aquired that software dan was using, good stuff indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the mo beats experience Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 I've got a pair of numark axis 8's, i was pretty happy with them till i saw my mates denons, so cool, tiny little things, bout half the size of the pioneers. Play mp3's, and even two tunes off the same cd, using a seperate pitch fade. The loops are very good too, easily set and perfectly in time, if i uprade anytime soon, which i fink i might have to , i'll be going for them. Final Scratch is the tool thats been heavily used for laptop dj'ing, although now ableton has come up and given it a run for its money of late, Rennie Pilgrim and Sasha swear by it, using it solely for their sets lately. I don't argue that vinyl is the don, but by embracing technology, you open so many more creative possibilities, its effectively live remixing at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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