Latest headlines from Skratchworx

1. 2008 - What came and what’s coming - 2008 has been an eventful year if only for one thing - the dawning realisation that the global credit crunch is very real and just beginning to snap at the heels of manufacturers, dealers and consumers, each of which is feeling the effects in their own way. But before we get immersed in the inevitable doom and gloom, let’s see how the year panned out.

   

   

   

2. Make Music with MixVibes and win - Want some free MixVibes stuff? Well there’s some DJ Troubl breaks up for grabs, but if you use them creatively, you could get a nice Mixvibes bundle, including a Korg PadKontrol plus the full MixVibes producer pack as well as some runners up prizes too. All you need to do is download the Sampler contest pack (includes the Producer demo) and use the sounds creatively to be in with a chance of grabbing the booty.

   

   

   

3. Finally - Torq 1.5 is here. No really it is.. - Just about 12 months ago, M-Audio did a demo at Winter NAMM 2008 of the supposed imminent release of the next generation of Torq - v1.5. It looked seriously promising, but despite many promises and more than a handful of furrowed brows within the M-Audio mothership, it just didn’t quite make it into the wild - until now. So one year later, here it is - the long awaited upgrade is out and ready for download. And for those of you who registered Torq within the last 12ish months, you get a free upgrade as well.

   

   

   

4. One last thing… - As is traditional at this time of year, we here at would like to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Or whatever you do in the holiday season in your neck of the global woods - do it well, enjoy yourselves and be safe!

   

   

   

5. Higgedy ho ho ho - While simply being a matter of taste, I generally despise animated Santa decorations of any sort. And although this is pretty much an utterly cheesy lump of Christmas tat, I can’t help but want one soooo badly yet cannot bring myself to part with the £16 to get it home delivered (if hey had it anywhere near me instore, I’d be there in a heartbeat though). You however may be able to bury your pride and self respect deep enough to grab one of these dancing beauties though.

   

   

   

6. djay gets all multitouchy feely - When deciding to grab a slice of the DJ software pie, it’s easier and safer to mimic Industry leading software and hope that the little bit difference injected is sufficiently good enough to get some sales. You could however always shit on the DJ software rulebook, embrace all that is great in the Mac OS and make something rather more like the physical experience of DJing. That’s exactly what algoriddim did, and v2.2 of their djay Mac only app is out now.

   

   

   

7. On the jog wheels of DJ Control Steel - The MIDI controller market seems to have generally settled on a particular format i.e. condensing a mixer and decks into an A3 sized of metal and/or plastic that on the whole closely mimics a Vestax VCI-100. But even within this format, there seems to be a splintering of styles i.e. with or without sound card. Hercules’ original RMX unit came out in all it’s brushed shiny steel retina burning glory - complete with sound card. Now Hercules have realised that with the world of sound cards of all shapes and sizes, perhaps people would like to use their own and thus, DJ Control Steel is born. And you don’t need sunglasses anymore.

   

   

   

8. A warning for non-US NAMM visitors - Having already been dismayed at the nerve of US security being able to seize your electrical gear, dissect it and do just whatever they please with your data on your way into the US, it seems you now need permission to set foot on US soil to go through the above process. MI Pro posted this very timely warning for people wishing to travel to NAMM (I’m not going) so heed their words and get your application in before setting off.

   

   

   

9. MixEmergency - out of beta and still playing nice with SSL - Here’s something I didn’t think I’d see happening - Inlen’s MixEmergency making it out in the big wide world with a full point release and still able to use ScratchLive as a controller. But here it is, out of beta as a fully fledged version 1 and ready to rock.

   

   

   

10. Gear Porn in the USA - Forgive me, but confusion reigns with this old hack. After Numark peeps categorically stating that the Pro SMX was strictly for the French market, it’s now up for grabs - albeit possibly temporarily - from the Numark site for $599. But before you get out your exchange rate calculator, they only ship within the USA.