Tech / News / Serious Sounds

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Constantly on the look out for a powerful, project studio monitoring set-up DJmag thought it would take a look at M Audio’s DSM3 monitors married up with the SBX10 subwoofer to see if this combo could provide serious earth-moving sounds for producers dabbling in electronic dance music who need big room sound, but in a space-conscious environment.

I remember the day when I first walked into a professional studio and experienced the wall of sound that was the main monitoring system, huge 15-inch sub woofers that would pound the living daylights out of my ears. This was serious sound — only found in the super studios — that many a producer would be envious of. Nowadays, studios like this are in the domain of the uber professional and cost big bucks to hire day to day — not really that practical for the majority of dance producers.

A lot of killer tunes have been created in bedrooms or project studios and space is at a premium. Studios and producers still need to find big room sound from their monitors, but at a fraction of the cost and space.

What we are going to look at is how to create this big room sound at a fraction of the cost and with out the need for lots of space. The speakers we are going to use to demonstrate this are M Audio’s DSM3 High Resolution monitors and their SBX10 Subwoofer, but any combination of studio speaker and woofer can work.

Bass In The Place
The DSM3 monitors can work well as full-range speakers and have a nice overall sound to them. But when producing tracks and throwing a lot of bass through them at high volumes, it can be very taxing on them, and at worse, tiring on the ears — not good. This is the same for any near-field monitors. Using them together with the SBX10, or any subwoofer, will allow your monitors to reproduce full-range signals at higher levels without stressing the internal components, meaning the speakers aren’t taxed and your ears won’t get bashed — that’s the scientific bit explained!

With this in mind, our task was to see if we could get a large sound from these relatively small speakers and subwoofer in comparison to the studio beasts we are trying to mimic, so we went about creating a Skream-style dubstep track, loaded with bass and subs to tear apart any dancefloor. As mentioned, the SBX10 was going to handle the bass duties whilst the DSM3s captured the rest of the sound. Straight away, when plugged in and not fine-tuned to the room, the sound that came from our combo was immense. It tore apart our test studio, the bass response was awesome and we spent a good few hours on full blast with the woofer turned up to 11, just laughing at how much bass was coming through the system.

Producers have to be careful here, as if the woofer isn’t tuned properly you may think you’re getting too much bass in the mix and compensate for this by rolling it off in your tracks — the result being a track that is bass light. The woofer should be used to get a feel on how your track would sound on a big rig — don’t mix on it — the handy foot switch will turn it on and off. The main monitors are only selected on occasion, whilst the body of the mix and track development are done on the near-fields. Utilising the woofer bypass will create this effect: let the DSM3s carry most of the mix duties and then for that little more oomph, smash in the woofer.

Set up the subwoofer to work with the monitors by setting the crossovers on the back of the sub, so that when the woofer is on, it’s still possible to hear all the facets of the sound of the track coming through the monitoring system — punchy kicks, tight bass, defined midrange — not just an overpowering sub bass drone. This will re-enforce the bass frequencies that are coming through the system so that the sound still has clarity.

The technical minded amongst us will also know that if a subwoofer is placed close to a wall in a small room, it can effectively turn the room into one gigantic speaker so take care with placement and remember it’s all about the tuning. Once tuned correctly, the combination of near-fields and sub — as in the DSM3 and SHX10s — can definitely give the desired effect of creating a very big sound ideal for electronic dance music and playing out in a club.

The DSM3 monitors and SBX10 woofer are available from M-Audio costing £640 and £240 respectively. For the purpose of this review, the scorings are for the combined set-up of the DSM3s and the SBX10.

Fedde Le Grand launches new Toolroom comp

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Fedde Le Grand touched down at Ministry of Sound on 6th February to launch his new double CD Toolroom Knights compilation (out 22nd March) with a takeover of the Box playing back-to-back with Toolroom main man, Mark Knight.

Recreating the successful DJ partnership which heard them join forces behind the decks in Ibiza last summer, the pair played a seven hour set to a club rammed with eager ravers.

“I’ve never seen it like that in Ministry,” laughs Fedde. “People were queuing around the block when I got there at 1.30 in the morning! The demand must be pretty high so you never know, maybe we will do it again.”

When asked about his track of the night, however, Fedde is remaining tight-lipped.

“It’s a track in progress, which I tried out that night. Mark too was amazed. Luckily it was on my USB, not on CD, otherwise he would definitely have snatched it out of my hands.”

With the future of Ministry also recently put in doubt due to plans to build flats opposite, he is quick to speak out in the club’s defence.

“It’s shocking. I can’t quite believe that somebody somewhere is actually seriously thinking about this.

“I read online that one of the corporate people who want to build these flats said, ‘nightclubs come and go’. I don’t think they realize what the Ministry of Sound is. It’s not just any other club, it’s the benchmark for many DJs of what a club should be like. It’s an institution, it’s the head of a huge global music empire and it’s part of our international dance history.

"They already know that if they build these apartments, it will cause problems, so why do they decide to go through with it? It will just cause the developers problems and I honestly think that they will be shocked by the reaction to their plans.”

You can watch footage of the party at be-at.tv

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Listen to my Mashups @ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/djadamgonzalez

Berghain Nightclub, Berlin

As far as techno goes, there is little debate about where the centre of the universe lies at the moment - deep inside the vast vortex of 70 Am Wriezener Bahnhof, Berlin. Or Berghain and its upstairs Panorama Bar to be specific.
Like its '90s Berlin forefathers E-Werk and Tresor before it, the unhinged happenings of Berghain are resonating out of the German capital and shaping the future of this sound like no other space on Earth.
Joris Voorn describes it as "the true definition of a techno club that is all about the music", Joel Mull believes it is "the temple of techno and house on planet Earth", whilst Paul Woolford lauds it as "a massive inspiration for anybody serious about house and techno culture".
But for the thousands that are magnetised here from Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK and beyond, those words will amount to nothing more than preaching to the converted. In 2009, Berghain is the essential techno pilgrimage.

A colossus in every sense, the towering former power station has hosted just about every key name in techno. But whereas most clubs merely showcase them, Berghain hands its DJs the time, space and freedom to explore the full frontiers of their craft.
Where else will you see Carl Craig play for the best part of a waking day or Laurent Garnier (it was where he first roadtested his Innervisions release 'Back To My Roots') embark on a marathon voyage just as the rest of Europe is tucking into Sunday lunch? Even the very shortest sets at this place tend towards the three-hour mark.
"You can go into deep, slow 110bpm burners from someone like Moodyman, take it up to 130bpm techno classics - and everything in between," explains Jesse Rose. "As long as you get your groove on the crowd will follow."

Bringing house names like Switch, Sneak and Derrick Carter to Berlin, Jesse's monthly Made To Play residency in the Panorama Bar is a perfect example of Berghain's musical democracy. For whilst rising tall as an undisputed techno stronghold, Berghain is far from a closed musical fortress with Jerome Sydenham's soulful deepness, Distance's edgy industrial dubstep and the dystopian voodoo rhythms of Shackleton all finding a home here.
Of course, any weekly club will always be mastered by its residents and in Marcel Dettman Berghain have a DJ that has commanded the main room since 2004. His 'Berghain 02' mix frames the sound of the club at its best - deep, intense, hypnotic and informed by past, present and future in equal measure.

But what really places Berghain in another dimension altogether is that perpetual air of unchecked debauchery. One that consumes the concepts of time and space entirely. As Jesse Rose explains: "Entering Panorama Bar is like going back in time to an age when people went out to really party."
A true hedonists' playground, no club on earth goes deeper, or longer, than the full Berghain/Panorama Bar experience at the moment. Beginning at midnight and just about hitting stride at 10am every Sunday morning in the Panorama Bar, it runs to the late hours of Sunday evening each week.

It is always the forbidden pleasures that satisfy the very deepest urges and the journey into Berghain's abyss is laced with deviant exploration from the start.
Lying like a dark secret at the end of dusty, fence-enclosed road, its huge looming face is as foreboding as the militant rhythms that have become associated with peak-time Berghain.
But whilst the bouncers are notoriously selective, once you finally infiltrate the mainframe it is anything goes.
A reincarnation of Berlin's legendary Ostgut club, which regularly hosted men-only fetish night 'Snax' between '98 and '03, Berghain is still witness to open sex acts - there's even a basement space called The Laboratory designed specifically for them - but it remains a mixed and musically focused environment.
Forget about VIP areas, mirrors in the toilets and your camera (photography is one of the only practices that is actually outlawed here), Berghain's inner structures are two of the most pure, epic and stripped-back rave environments you ever will encounter. All exposed concrete and steelwork, the Berghain main room is the very definition of industrial and cavernous with ceilings so high they might as well not exist at all.
Sundays, of course, are all about Panorama Bar with the slightly more intimate dancefloor and the club's famous shutters that allow the breaking day's light to momentarily infiltrate the venue, only to shut moments later, leaving you lost in the timeless vortex of hedonism.
"Words really cannot describe how good this place is but I will try," says Matt Edwards, aka Radio Slave. "It is the real deal, run by incredibly dedicated people who love music and understand what makes a club work. It really is a place where you get lost in time and space."

http://www.berghain.de/

CDJ-2000

Compatibility is the name of the game with Pioneer’s forward-thinking new CDJ players

Life in the DJ box is about to get a whole lot easier with Pioneer’s new CDJ-2000. For this spanking new CD player is also compatible with all the main pro digital DJing software. Which will make setting up nice and easy.

The CDJ-2000 is more than just an update of the industry standard CDJ-1000. It can play music from multiple sources, including CD, DVD, USB storage devices and SD memory cards. It can also be used as a controller and soundcard for Native Instruments’ Traktor and Rane’s Serato digital DJing software — so no need for external soundcards or control vinyl.

The CDJ-2000 also boasts Pioneer’s new music database management software, Rekordbox. This allows DJs to prepare their music and sets pre-gig by setting up loop points and quantising tracks.

At first glance, the CDJ-2000 looks similar to its predecessor, the CDJ-1000. However, there are a few big differences, like a full colour LCD view screen, where track artwork can be displayed for visual reference.

But the big welcome surprise is its touch-sensitive waveform Needle Search/Needle Drop ribbon. This lets DJs audition tracks by simply running their finger up and down the ribbon (just like picking up and placing the needle on vinyl), complemented by a visual representation of the waveform in the view screen. This feature has been a long time coming, but it’s been worth the wait as this function rocks!

The CDJ-2000 is already drawing gasps of admiration from those DJs lucky enough to get their hands on one.

Roger Sanchez said: “One of the most amazing things about the CDJ-2000 is that I don’t have to look at my CD book to find tracks. Everything is organised from my computer onto a USB key, which is transferred to the CDJ-2000. In a split second, everything is at my fingertips, which makes life a lot easier for me.”

Unfortunately, the touch-sensitive waveform Needle Search/Needle Drop ribbon is not available on the CDJ-900 version, the little brother of the CDJ-2000.

But the CDJ-900 is also a very capable beast with a few exclusive features of its own, including auto beat loop, a quick return scratch feature and a slip mode that enables DJs to perform tricks normally associated only with vinyl DJs.

Both have a highly evolved illuminated jog-wheel, easy track selection and overall enhanced design, making them the new must-haves from Pioneer.

www.pioneerdj.com

David Vendetta - I Hope She Turns Around Clip

David Guetta's secret Rowland duet

David Guetta is working on some "top secret" songs with Kelly Rowland.

The 'When Love Takes Over' DJ - who recorded the hit record with the former Destiny's Child singer - has revealed he has joined forces with the "amazing" songstress once again for her upcoming album.
He revealed to Digital Spy: "I'm actually already working with her on her next album. We've just done a few songs at the moment and it's all fairly top secret. We've become really close friends over time. I think she's an amazing singer - one of the best in the industry - and a great person too."
The French star - who has also collaborated with Black Eyed Peas, Estelle and Akon - is also keen to work with 'Poker Face' hitmaker Lady Gaga and pop sensation Madonna.
He said: "Lady Gaga's amazing. I met her last month and she's like a crazy genius! She's a great writer, producer and can play so many instruments. It's incredible how successful she's been in such a short amount of time. I met with one of her producers, RedOne, and we're going to try and work together. If we could sort it out, we could come up with something crazy!
"I would love to work with Madonna. It will probably happen very soon actually. It's all in the early stages and I'm not allowed to speak about it yet!"