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The Red Ferret: Bring out your inner Ibizan with the Discover DJ by Ion Audio. It’s a twin deck USB DJ controller with all the same controls that the big kids have. It will play m4a, aiff, wav, mp3, flac and ogg audio files, you can loop, cross-fade, scratch and tempo match. It also comes with the MixVibes software to mix and record your hits.

The deck is completely plug-and-play and only needs USB power to run. Best of all, the deck and software work with PC and Mac. £99 from Firebox. Read more…

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Pioneer.eu: The art of DJing is now in the digital age, and the next generation of DJ mixers needs to keep pace with the CDJ revolution. Our DJM-2000 truly does that.

The brand new DJM-2000 is our most powerful performance mixer and is the perfect match for the new industry-standard CDJ-2000 digital decks.

With an innovative touch screen and arsenal of remixing FX, the DJM-2000 forms the ultimate club mixer. No less than six individual effects processors lay the foundation for hundreds of music manipulation combinations, so a DJ can always create their own unique sound.

The new DJM-2000 takes advanced features – thought only possible in software – and reinvents them in the physical world. Itsintuitive layout will feel natural to existing Pioneer DJM users allowing creativity to flow whilst keeping its technical complexity under the skin. Read more…

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Wired: Director Chris Cairns, turntablist JFB, drummer Will Clarke and prolific beatboxer Beardyman have teamed up to turn Cairns’ Neurosonics film — which features disembodied heads mounted on a selection of instruments — into a live performance that’s just as jaw-dropping as the original.

The director, who’s also behind the photomontaging Land Rover Freelander advert and Radio 1′s “infectious radio” promo, originally created the Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs film back in 2009. It’s set in a lab, and depicts three scientists mounting a number of different heads onto turntables and drum sets before playing them like real instruments.

The original video was created with plenty of CGI, so shifting it into a live setting was always going to prove troublesome. To bridge the gap between the virtual and the physical, Cairns enlisted the assistance of holographic projection experts Musion. The company set up the performance for the first Musion Academy Media Awards — which exist to recognise the most impressive holographic creations. Read more…

Neurosonics Live from Chris Cairns on Vimeo.

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Engadget: The big NAMM show’s not started yet, but Otus is rolling out its latest DJ controller just in time.

The Otus Raw is a controller that can work as one or two virtual turntable decks, depending on your needs, each with a SL-turntable-style pitch slider.

Other notable features include mega-sized velocity pads, a layer switch for “virtually unlimited” possibilities, and we’ve got a feeling that with one of these bad boys, chopping and screwing Ke$ha’s never been so mindlessly easy and entertaining.

Regardless, the Otus RAW should be available this spring, though we’ll have to wait a bit longer for pricing, unfortunately.

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Engadget: Not that we haven’t seen turntable capabilities shoved into production and concept devices alike before, but there’s something curiously seductive about this one.

Dreamed up by Sir Thomas Mascall, the Touchtable is a pocket-sized PMP that boasts a digit-friendly surface meant for scratching, mixing and all manners of interacting.

Aside from playing back your favorite MP3s, this bugger can (in theory, anyway) also mix jams on the fly, cue outputs and even connect with a second Touchtable wirelessly in order to establish a more traditional DJ setup (at 1:8 scale).

Plug it into a PC, and now you’ve got a MIDI controller. Pop that source link if you’re looking for a few more images and details, and feel free to contact your local VC if interested in seeing this fast-tracked to the commercial realm.

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Engadget: Your USB-based DJ-ing options aren’t exactly all that limited these days, but there’s few rigs out there quite as eye-catching as this new Spin controller developed by Vestax and Algoriddim.

Designed for Mac users only, this one packs two touch sensitive jog wheels front and center, along with a full multi-channel audio system complete with the requisite sliders, mic input (and included microphone), audio output, and of course that USB connection, which also eliminates the need for a power adapter.

On the software side of things you’ll get Algoriddim’s djay 3 mixing application, plus some out-of-the-box integration with iTunes to let you easily pull tracks for your mix.

Sold? Then you can snag this one right now for $250 (€167).

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BBC: A video-game that boasts rap artist Jay-Z amongst its advisors is hoping to capitalise on the popularity of music titles despite poor sales forecasts.

DJ Hero will be launched in the UK on Thursday and allows players to emulate their music-mixing idols. Its publishers hope it will emulate the success of Guitar Hero, the rock-based game that let users jam along to tracks using a guitar-shaped controller.

However, US games analysts believe the game will not sell as well as expected.

“We remain very cautious about the title’s prospects at launch,” Doug Creutz at analysts Cowen and Company said in a report.

“A survey of online retailers indicates a demand profile that is well below what we would have expected to see just a few days before launch for a title that was destined to be a big (or even modest) hit.”

The company has reduced its US sales estimates for the fourth quarter of the year from 1.6 million to 600,000 and its first year estimate from 2.5 million to 950,000.

“We still believe that DJ Hero will be an important part of Activision Blizzards music franchise strategy, but we think it may take a few versions of the game for it to reach its full market potential,” he wrote.

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Electronista: Stepping even further beyond its familiar realm of in-ear buds, Shure today added the SRH750DJ over-ear headphones to its roster.

These are tailored to DJs and audio editors and have pivoting ear cups made explicitly for turntablists or producers who need to quickly remove one earpiece during a mix.

Shure vows balanced audio out of the 50mm drivers but also both strong bass and an extended high-end.

The earphones are claimed as durable and have an extra-long 10-foot cable suited to the lengths needed at a club or studio.

They can take up to 3W of power and are better suited to the higher power of mixers as a result, though the company doesn’t rule them out for home audio.

Shure plans to ship the SRH750DJ in November at $150 (€100).

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Pioneer: It’s been 15 years since the genesis of Pioneer’s first CDJ deck, which led to the world-beating CDJ-1000 series. Today Pioneer introduced a major leap forward for the club standard CDJ series: the CDJ-2000.

The CDJ-2000 fizzes with fresh DNA and can play music from multiple sources, including CD, DVD, USB storage devices and SD memory cards.

It also comes with the revolutionary music database management software for DJs: rekordbox™. Based on Pioneer’s  ‘Prepare & Perform’ concept, rekordbox works (for both Mac and PC) like the leading music database management software, but is more creative and more DJ-friendly.

rekordbox allows DJs to prepare more before their performance and opens a door to tools such as Hot Cue Banks and Quantize, for perfectly synced loops every time. DJs can then export data to a USB or SD device to access vast libraries of music files and perform live – without the need for extra equipment or any inconvenient rewiring in the club.

No need to burn CDs, simply take your USB device to the club, plug in to the CDJ and play.

Through the industry-first Pro DJ Link, music files and database data on one single USB or SD device can be shared simultaneously by up to four players connected via LAN (local area network) cable. Plus, the data history of each DJ set is automatically saved and can be made into a playlist that can be loaded back into rekordbox.

Another key facet of the CDJ-2000 is its advanced HID (human interface device) and MIDI capabilities for native control of DVS (digital vinyl systems) via USB. What’s more, it achieves Pioneer’s highest sound quality to date through an improved audio output circuit, a new audiophile-pleasing Wolfson DAC processor, and a built-in 24-bit/48 kHz sound card.

Naturally, the CDJ-2000’s layout is related to its robust, reliable predecessor, the CDJ-1000MK3. However, although it fits easily into the MK3’s footprint, it ramps up performance with the largest (6.1-inch) clearest full-colour screen in the business.

Below the screen is an industry-first waveform Needle Search™/Needle Drop ribbon, so that all the convenience of direct file browsing can now be found in an intuitive hardware format. Add to these features a highly evolved illuminated Jog wheel, and an overall enhanced design, complete with carry handles and Kensington lock, and you have the ideal digital innovation for total performance and seamless synchronisation.

The CDJ-2000 is available from November 2009 with a suggested retail price including VAT of €1799 which includes rekordbox software.

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Pioneer: Pioneer today launched the CDJ-900, a ”new multi-format performance player for the digital age”. The CDJ-900 accompanies the launch of the new range-topping CDJ-2000 player and is loaded with many shared features.

It can play from various different music sources, including CD and USB storage devices. It also comes with the revolutionary music database management software for DJs: rekordbox™.

Based on Pioneer’s ‘Prepare & Perform’ concept, rekordbox works (for both Mac and PC) like the leading music database management software, but is more creative and more DJ-friendly. rekordbox allows DJs to prepare more before their performance and opens a door to tools such as Quantize for perfectly synced loops every time.

DJs can then export data to a USB device to access vast libraries of music files and perform live – without the need for extra equipment or any inconvenient rewiring in the club.

No need to burn CDs, simply take your USB device to the club, plug in to the CDJ and play.

Through the industry-first Pro DJ Link, music files and database data on one single USB device can be shared simultaneously by up to four players connected via LAN (local area network) cable, or with one LAN cable between two players.

Plus, the data history of each DJ set is automatically saved and can be made into a playlist that can be loaded back into rekordbox. Another key facet of the CDJ-900 is its advanced HID (human interface device) and MIDI capabilities for native control of DVS (digital vinyl systems) via USB.

There is also an improved audio output circuit, a new Wolfson DAC processor, and a built-in 24-bit/48 kHz sound card. Add to these features an overall enhanced design that includes a new display screen, rotary selector, carry handles and Kensington lock.

Then check out the four-beat Emergency Loop and the three CDJ-900 exclusives: the Auto Beat Loop, Quick Return scratch feature and a Slip mode that enables DJs to perform tricks and return to their original flow in an uninterrupted fashion and you have the perfect tool for maximum performance.

The CDJ-900 is available across Europe from the end of December 2009 with a suggested retail price including VAT of €1299 which includes the rekordbox software.

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Engadget: We’re willing to bet Wacom’s nextbeat NXT-1000 would feel right at home in a mockup spacecraft console (think Starfleet, not NASA), but more importantly, if you’re one of those “creative DJs” who simply must employ this alongside the rest of your audio equipment, it’s gearing up to put moves on you the likes of which have never been seen before.

Launch dates are September 18th in Japan for 169,800¥ (€1,256) and September 25th for Europe, price probably comparable. No word on US release, but surely our Puritan heritage won’t discount us from joining the party eventually.

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DJsounds.com: Pioneer – the makers of benchmark DJ equipment  – have hinted at what their next generation of products could be. Due for global launch on 17 September, they are calling it ‘the dawn of a new species’. Intrigued? Watch the video:

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