M-Audio have recently branched out, offering a range of DJ-friendly gear. This picture shows the Connectiv audio interface with a screenshot of the Torq DJ software and the timecode-stamped vinyl and CDs.
I'm looking to create a home studio so that I can make beats and improve my DJ and production skills. My current set up is a Mac, with USB/MIDI keyboard and Logic Express. I was talking to a guy the other day who has produced some well-known albums and he reckoned I would be better off using Ableton Live with an audio interface and/or a MIDI controller for what I want to do.
Matt Henson
Editor In Chief Paul White replies: Logic Express is an excellent way of learning general music production skills, and because it also includes an Apple Loops library, you can try out DJ-style copy-and-paste composition, though you'll still need an audio interface and USB MIDI keyboard to get the most out of it. If you're not a traditional keyboard player, a small two- or three-octave keyboard should be fine. You'll also need a mic for recording vocals or instruments, and a large-diaphragm condenser model with a cardioid pickup pattern is probably the best bet. These need to be used with mic preamps that can supply 48V phantom power, so choosing an audio interface with a mic preamp built in is probably the most cost-effective option.
Ableton Live is proving very popular, both for studio use and live performance, and it offers a very creative and flexible approach to working with loops and samples, though it can also handle conventional recording and sequencing. It's worth hanging onto Logic and learning both Logic and Live, because as your skills develop you may want to create or produce your own music as well as manipulating other people's loops and songs. Logic works much like a conventional recording studio, so provides a good grounding in multitracking, mixing and using effects.
M-Audio have recently released a range of DJ-friendly products that may be of interest to you. The range includes Torq, a program that reads timecode-stamped vinyl and CDs (which can be purchased through M-Audio), and applies any fluctuation in tempo, including reversing and scratching, to audio files on your computer. The other products in the range, Connectiv and X-Session Pro, are hardware units that make controlling your computer more similar to mixing with a pair of turntables and a DJ mixer.