PDX 3000 alternatives?

[Jam Burglar]

But yeah anyway, i was just trying to show that there are options out there that work as well if not better, I was never saying don't do it your way, i was pointing out that nobody has done anything worth note on any of these pitched setups, and the video you posted was no different.

Problem is, you are turntablists, not keyboard players or pad mashers as you put it, if you want to do anything useful, then you are going to have to become keyboard players or pad mashers.

 

 

Heres a couple points to mull

1 My technique vs changing a turntables speed, chords, yep my way you can play chords

2 Mellotron VS Sampler = Turntable VS Sampler, Both great, but one does the job of the other without costing the earth and breaking down a lot.

 

When you come at it this way I can make some more sense of it but I still think the main reason you're so dismissive of the idea is that you're looking at it through your own personal preferences and perameters instead of trying to put yourself in the shoes of others.

 

I barely even use DVS. I don't have anything against it, but I deal largely in records and one of the main problems I have with DVS is taking the 10 minutes per track to record something I want to experiment with. That's a waste a time for me and I just hate the idea of it. I also still don't like the feel of DVS as much as scratching with a record. It's not a huge or insurmountable thing, but given the choice between cutting on a record vs DVS, I prefer not dealing with the micro-lag of the DVS.

 

Then you've got the practicality of how you switch pitches. That keyboard to the side thing is just not cutting it (for me) compared to the buttons along the platter like the C1 has. You really need to be able to hit the notes while your hand is on the platter (unless you have a fretless fader or some other way to change the tone while you can keep your record hand on the record).

 

As for cost, my Controller One cost A LOT less than my DVS compatible mixer and computer.

 

Also, I don't see how you can say nobody has done anything worth note on a pitch changing setup. Brace just won the online DMC with one and took 2nd in the world finals. John has gotten lots of notoriety for his stuff on a pitch changing setup. People slept on Scratch Nerds 2 but Klever and Craze were all over the pitch changing on that. I agree that you can't get too carried away with it, but I honestly can't figure out why any scratch DJ would not want the option for more pitch flipping. Every single one of us (scratchers) relies on pitch changing, even if it's just manual with record hand control but I don't get why any DJ wouldn't want more control. When the +/- 50% turntables came out nobody (who scratches) was like "I don't want that option".

 

Over the years I've seen a lot of computer savy DJs say "I don't know why famous DJ X is so great, I can already do that with my macro-java X958243 and my e-prom flux converter using a simple custom program I can write up with the Hal9000." I continually read this stuff and think "I have no clue what this guy is talking about so how am I going to get on board with his method?" Also, I honestly can't say I've ever seen one of these dudes say something like that and THEN post a file that takes out the dood they're commenting on.

 

Still, I can appreciate that some DJs just don't "feel" the whole pitch changing thing. That really just goes back to personal preference though.

[DJ Rock Well]

Personally, I think that a lot of the fretless fader and midi turntable routines I've seen to date aren't the greatest adverts for the technology. BUT... there have been definite exceptions to that and more importantly, precise musical pitchings are the one big final unexplored territory in scratching. Realistically it's a new development and it will take time to pioneer and nobody's gonna get any better at it without just getting their head down and getting on with it. Comparatively, I watched the Netflix mini-series on hip hop the other day and I kept finding my self thinking how clunky rapping was when it started and how it really took a good few years to develop. But of course it got there in the end and in the same way, these new skills and technology in scratching will develope with time and practice. It's been much the same with all the other new technological advances in DJ over the last decade or so IMO.

 

At the moment, I prefer pitch changes when they're applied with other regular cuts and a variety of techniques. I struggle a bit when things start to descend into whiney test tone karaoke, especially when that tone is really dry and doesn't sit nicely with the beat/song. Making 'turntable music' is definitely more than simply swapping rap vocal samples for instrument sounds and like any music, there's bit more to being good at it than just learning which order to make the notes play in (anyone who explains away their musical shortcomings as "well it's turntable music" isn't helping the big picture IMO). I totally agree with Vekked that a turntable can control sounds in a way a sampler cannot, I don't think the potential has been fully reached yet exactly but what instrument was mastered in a couple of years/few months anyway?

 

Apart from that, I think tablists occasionally trip themselves up with is getting lost the process of the techniques and losing sight on the end goal of making music - that camera club mentality where people assume that if they submerse themselves in the process, the end result will have to be good. Like if the listener has to be told a solo was played on a turntable not a synth with some glide, then what's the point? In music, I think the end result should justify itself in isolation - if you have to be told why it's different or good, it's probably not. That isn't just a midi turntables problem though, I'd also level that at DJs who do different cut combos that all sound the same when reduced to just audio, or DJs who's only tactic to make turntable music different to sampled music is to insert a baby scratch before every single sound, etc.

[danswift]

what instrument was mastered in a couple of years/few months anyway ?

The Kazoo... i learned to play both Crosstown Traffic and Beethovens Ninth Symphony note perfectly in less than 3 days believe it or not ..

[DJ Rock Well]

 

what instrument was mastered in a couple of years/few months anyway ?

The Kazoo... i learned to play both Crosstown Traffic and Beethovens Ninth Symphony note perfectly in less than 3 days believe it or not ..

Do you take requests?

[danswift]

 

 

what instrument was mastered in a couple of years/few months anyway ?

The Kazoo... i learned to play both Crosstown Traffic and Beethovens Ninth Symphony note perfectly in less than 3 days believe it or not ..

Do you take requests?

 

Yeah of course i do but only for major $$$

 

Its free of charge for any ladies or sailors tho..

[DJ Rock Well]

Standard. Rough tough sailors have all the fun and they're too drunk to notice that all kazoo players only know the the same two songs (Crosstown Traffic and the fucking Ninth!)

[Backtrack]

Returning to the "PDX 3000 alternatives" topic
I have made a PDX2000MIDI v2 PCB because people are asking all the time.
Now has 2 octaves like the 3000.
Just ordered the PCBs. 2-3 weeks until release.

[jam1chicago]

Returning to the "PDX 3000 alternatives" topic

I have made a PDX2000MIDI v2 PCB because people are asking all the time.

Now has 2 octaves like the 3000.

Just ordered the PCBs. 2-3 weeks until release.

 

 

 

Will this be an all include kit? Just install and go type of situation, or will we need to grab some other goodies?

Price point to the USA? Very interested!

[Djmadhatter]

I'll take 1 or 2 of those backtrack if you can post to Australia what will the pricing be?

[Backtrack]

I have no clue yet about price... Im thinking of selling them without all cables because that is the most boring and time consuming work. I think everyone can solder some cables themselves. Or I will just over charge for including cables.

Guessing 70 euro + shipping. Probably double that for including cables and connectors because I hate making wire harness.