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BPM 2011: new DJing and music making gear in pictures

By Ben Rogerson
published 5 October 2011

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Upping the tempo

Upping the tempo

Billed as “the world’s largest event dedicated to DJing, electronic music production and club culture,” BPM 2011 took place at Birmingham’s NEC from 1-3 October.

MusicRadar was prowling the show floor on the look out for the latest (and, indeed, greatest) hardware and software products: here’s a snapshot (or rather, the snapshots) of what we saw.

NEXT: NI Maschine overload

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Page 1 of 10
Maschine overload

Maschine overload

Native Instruments was understandably keen to show off its Maschine Mikro, which has just been released, but we were also rather taken with this wooden-end-panelled version of the original Maschine hardware, which is ‘angled up’ for ease of use.

Don’t go asking NI where you can buy one, though: this is a third-party custom job that comes courtesy of Tempo Records.

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Page 2 of 10
Traktor Kontrol S2

Traktor Kontrol S2

Also wowing the crowds at the NI booth was the just-released Traktor Kontrol S2 system, which ships with the full version of Traktor Pro 2.

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Page 3 of 10
Vestax Spin meets the iPad

Vestax Spin meets the iPad

Vestax’s Spin controller isn’t new, but what you might not know is that, as well as shipping with the Mac version of Alogoriddim’s djay software, it’s also compatible with the iPad edition. Just hook it up via the Camera Connection Kit.

Vestax was also previewing its new VCI-400 controller, which will ship with both Serato DJ Intro and Virtual DJ LE.

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Page 4 of 10
Numark N4

Numark N4

Numark’s big launch was the N4: a 4-deck DJ controller/mixed that can be used with or without a computer. It comes with copies of Serato DJ Intro and Virtual DJ LE.

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Page 5 of 10
Pioneer DDJ-ERGO-V

Pioneer DDJ-ERGO-V

Pioneer’s new DDJ-ERGO-V, an entry-level controller, ships with Virtual DJ LE, though as you can see here, it was also being demoed with Traktor.

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Page 6 of 10
Allen & Heath

Allen & Heath

Allen & Heath had a sizeable plot at BPM, and the company had two new products to show. The Xone:K2 is a compact controller, while the Xone:DB2 is a stripped back version of the Xone:DB4 mixer.

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Page 7 of 10
Novation Impulse

Novation Impulse

Say hello to the two- and four-octave versions of Novation’s new Impulse controller keyboard. A 61-note version is available, too.

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Page 8 of 10
Propellerhead Reason 6

Propellerhead Reason 6

BPM is, first and foremost, a DJ show, but Propellerhead was among those flying the flag for music production-orientated software with Reason 6, which was released on Friday.

If you tried to buy it over the weekend, though, you might have run into a brick wall.

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Page 9 of 10
Emulator

Emulator

It’s hard not to be impressed by Smithson Martin’s Emulator: a huge, transparent multi-touch display that you can use to control your DJing software.

If you need to ask how much it costs, though, you probably can’t afford it…

Liked this? Now read: 8 ways to use your 4-deck DJ controller

Connect with MusicRadar: via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube

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Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson
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I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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