When this writer wanted to learn how to mix, you had to start with record decks, mixing on vinyl. These days, though, it’s a fair bit easier, and Philips has teamed up with internationally renowned DJ Armin van Buuren to show how that’s possible.
Technology changes everything, and if you’ve wanted to try your hand at mixing and cueing tracks, technology helps there, too.
Over the past decade, we’ve seen disc jockeys move from vinyl to CD and even to MP3 mixing, with the creative digital vinyl technology found in Serato finding a beloved placed in the mixing world, making it possible for DJs to mix music from a computer using special control vinyl.
We’ve even seen some unique solutions to the world of DJing, with the Tonium Pacemaker popping up with a touchpad for modern DJ control, the BlackBerry PlayBook running a software version of the Pacemaker, the DJay iPad app for on-screen iPad mixing, and a Pioneer approach to mixing with the iPad.
Philips are this week chiming in with its take on what Pioneer has built, teaming up with Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren to launch both a DJ mixing kit for the iPad and iPhone, as well as a portable speaker all in the same kit.
Built for devices that utilise the Lightning connector, the M1X-DJ is a mixing gadget that will let you mix and scratch tracks using large jog wheels, with an integrated crossfader and equaliser controls to let you control tracks using the software on your iDevice.
“Fans often ask me what equipment they should buy when they want to start mixing themselves,” said Van Buuren.
“A lot of kit can be expensive, so with the M1X I wanted to create something that’s accessible for everybody. The other great thing about the M1X is that you can play it wherever you want, whether that’s the beach, the park or your street: it’s the ghetto-blaster reinvented for today.”
At the moment, the preferred software of choice for this to work is the latest version of the aforementioned DJay, an on-screen mixing app developed for the iPad, though it’s possible for other apps to work here too.
Also part of the package is a speaker, with 80 watts of power possible from this box, capable of running off several D-cell batteries — yes, those big chunky batteries — so you can mix and play music in a portable environment.
If mixing isn’t your thing at the moment and you’d prefer to play something else, the M1X-DJ will also work as a standard Bluetooth speaker, albeit one with a fair amount more power than your conventional pocketable box.
Pricing for the M1X-DJ system comes in at $549.95, with availability at Apple, Harvey Norman, and Myer stores across the country. You will have to bring your own iDevice if you’re interested, though, and possibly a copy of that DJay software ($13).
