The Spank! Records Blog

New Vestax Gear Instock and Ready To Rock

Here at Spank central we have received so much great Vestax gear that we just had to share the news.

First off the rank I’d like to mention the fabulous new 4-channel mixer on the market - the VMC004FXu - it's basically an update of one of Vestax's biggest selling mixers with some major tweaks, namely a USB connection and a slick black finish (oooh).

Isn't she lovely? As you can see it has all the great features you’d expect - 3-band EQ with gain, super-easy-to-use effects and those trusty XRL outputs.

Next up let's have a peek at the VMC002XLu 2-channel...

Once again it's time to tick the sexy box, the USB and XRL outputs box, and, it also has a crossfader on the headphone cueing so you don’t disturb any precious neighbours.

Moving right along...

You likey, like? This is the new VCM100 Midi Controller with built-in soundcard (4 in / 4 out with headphone cueing)  - it's an updated VCI100 (minus the jog-wheels) but with the same super sturdy rock solid build, hard wearing parts and up to 60 programmable parameters to control some of your favourite software.

All these new products can be viewed on our very awesome website with longer descriptions.

Rock on.

The Juan MacLean Instore

 

Just a quickie to let you know that we have scored The Juan MacLean to do a little bit of a DJ set instore at Spank Records on Saturday afternoon, June 21.

He is one of the most in-demand DJ/producers of the moment and records for the DFA label in New York.

We'll have special DFA promo packs to give away on the day so head on down to Spank if you live in Sydney.

The Juan MacLean are here supporting Cut Copy on their national tour.

DJ Kuya Instore - Mini Kaoss Pad Door Prize

Hi all, Thursday June 5th @ 6pm we're getting into Demo mode over here at Spank Central and we have recruited some serious talent to help us out on the night...

To some people he might be DJ Dexter's little brother, but to us, DJ Kuya is 3 times Victorian DMC State title holder, 1999 ITF DJ Winner and the guy that you've seen woo crowds at Public Enemy, Dj Krush and Q-Bert. Impressive hey?

Please welcome the guy with the impressive CV who'll be demonstrating how you can intergrate the Korg Zero audio/MIDI mixer into live sets or even the studio with both Traktor Scratch and Ableton Live. He'll also be tweaking the dials on the Novation Nocturn and running it off two laptops. (What the?) I guess he'll be requiring a towel.

Since we know that this is thirsty stuff we'll be providing FREE BEER or "refreshments" on the night and if you make it down early you can go into the draw for the very fun gift from our friends at Musiclink...

The Korg Mini Kaoss Pad (RRP $349). The Mini KP as it's known is really popular around these parts so we reckon this is actually quite a big deal! The main features include 100 effect presets, memory recall, hold button which recalls the last effect activated and the reliable tap function. It basically makes you sound like a creative effects genius in about 2 seconds. It's super easy to hook up to your DJ mixer or any sound source and has headphone cueing.

We're really excited to bring you this great night - don't miss out! For more information check out our website.

Spank Sessions Presents DJ Kuya Instore Demo Night.

Thursday 6th June. Spank Records, 395 Bourke St, Surry Hills, NSW. Ph. 02 9360 0548.

                   

Bang Gang Digital Online

 

We're really excited to have just received digital content from Bang Gang's 12 Inches record label.

The boys' label features artists such as K.I.M. (The Presets), Muscles, Dangerous Dan & Nicky Van She with the killer reworking of Daft Punk's 'Around The World', Bag Raiders and Like Woah.

There's also brand new content from labels like Tiga's Turbo and great minimal and tech house from Morris Audio & Citysport, Tic Tac Toe, Paso Music, 3rd Floor, Out Of Orbit, Dahback and heaps more.

Novation Nocturn

You've probably read about Novation's killer new controller, the Nocturn - it's won more awards and taken up more "cool new toys" space than its competitors*.

It looks a little something like this...

You like? We do too!

At $179.00, it can be said that Novation has taken its amazing Automap Universal (2.0, of course) technology to the people. It is the most economically priced, intelligent controller around. It instantly maps most automatable plug-ins, VSTs and major software platform mixers - even Pro-tools.

It's a fine looking little thing too. Super slim (don't we wish) and back-lit for those dark-room environments. It has a lovely 45mm cross-fader and can easily MIDI Map external devices. Learning and clearing control messages is done in a flash and the Speed Dial function is a real "oh my god" discovery - simply hover the mouse over what you want to control and the Speed Dial function will take over.

You can check it out further here.

*there is no competition.

DJs who use Traktor Scratch

One of the questions we get asked a lot regarding the new breed of digital DJ tools such as Traktor Scratch, Torq, Serato etc is - "Just who's using them?". It's a fair question - if something's proven to be reliable in the field then it definitely adds some weight and credibility to it.

If you're interested in the answer to who's using Traktor Scratch, then here's a link to a list of DJs that are doing just that:

http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=djartists&L=1

Next Ableton Training Course Dates

Our next Introduction To Ableton Live course is now locked in, and begins on Wednesday June 4th.

Also, don't forget that anyone who enrols in the course is eligible to buy Ableton Live 7 at the special educational prices of $449 for the regular version, and $649 for Ableton Live 7 Suite. Contact us at training@spankrecords.com.au for more details, or you can read more about the course here.

Kaoss Pad 3 OS 2.0 Update

Korg has released an operating system update for the Kaoss Pad 3. You can download the update here.

The update adds new gating capabilities and polyphonic sample playback, as well as a new sample start edit mode controlled, you guessed it, from the touchpad.

We have the Kaoss Pad 3 in-stock and ready to update for just $599 (the RRP is $749).

Ableton Live 7 LE Arriving Soon

Ableton has announced that the release of Live 7 LE is on the way. The affordable LE version is their entry-level product that serves as a great introduction to the Live environment. Obviously there are compromises at this price-point, but for a lot of people the feature-set is enough for their needs.

The RRP for Live 7 LE is $249, and is expected to arrive soon.

The good news is that if you buy Live 6 LE now, you'll be entitled to a FREE upgrade to Live 7 LE when it's released. Beats waiting!

Features:

• Studio-quality recording up to 32-bit/192kHz
• Sixty-four audio tracks and unlimited MIDI tracks per project
• Powerful and creative MIDI sequencing for software instruments
• More than twenty built-in audio effects, including a host of creative delays, filters, distortions, studio compressors and EQs*
• Two software instruments—Simpler for creative sample-based synthesis, and Impulse for dynamic, sampled drums*
• VST and AU effects and instruments support; automatic plug-in delay compensation*
• Real-time time-stretching and warping of AIFF, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC and MP3 files for DJing and instant remixing
• Real-time tweaking of Live’s controls with any MIDI controller—just MIDI-map it or choose from a list of popular supported controllers for instant mapping
• Single-screen user interface for simple, creativity-focused operation
• Multicore and multiprocessor support Live LE is limited to two simultaneous stereo audio inputs and outputs, twelve built-in audio effects, eight built-in instruments, two AU/VST effects and two AU/VST instruments per project.

Live 7 LE has everything you need to start
making music, including:
• Sampled instruments: Essential Instrument Collection 2 LE Edition by SONiVOX and ChocolateAudio (boxed version only)
• Loops and construction kits by Puremagnetik (boxed version only)
• A wide selection of presets for Live LE’s instruments and effects
• Extensive built-in step-by-step tutorials
• Printed reference manual in English

Richie Hawtin and Traktor Scratch

There's an interesting video interview with DJ/producer/label owner Richie Hawtin on the Native Instruments website. In it, he talks generally about the advent of digital as well as a little about the way he uses Traktor Scratch in his DJ sets.

You can find the video here