BEATNIK/Mixman DM2 Digital Music Mixer
Jul 1, 2001 12:00 PM,
By Randy Alberts
It's hard to beat two decks, a mixer, and a crate of vinyl when mixing songs together. But a computer has a distinct advantage when it comes to working with shorter loops and a wide variety of sounds at once. The main problem with working with a computer, however, is that a mouse and keyboard just aren't as satisfyingly interactive as a pair of turntables and a mixer.
Beatnik/Mixman's DM2 Digital Music Mixer provides computer-music makers with a turntable-like tactile surface for arranging loops to create spontaneous remixes. The controller features two circular CD-size touch pads, each with eight on/off switches for selecting loops or sounds, a crossfader, an effects joystick, transformer buttons, and more. Rotating “scratch” rings surrounding the touch pads even let you manipulate digital files much as though you were scratching vinyl.
The DM2 comes packaged with a special version of Mixman's StudioPro software (see “Ear2Gear” in the February 2001 issue for more details), the company's flagship remixing program for Mac and PC. Right now the DM2 is compatible only with Windows computers, and Mac users will have to wait awhile to join the fun. The DM2 version of the software lacks some features found on the standard version of StudioPro 4.0, such as a postedit screen and an effects editor. Otherwise, it works and feels the same as other Mixman software: all of the tricked-out effects, the incredibly complex breaks, and Mixman's patented automatic beat-matching technology are intact.
WHAT NEXT DRUM 'N' BASS BARBIE?
Developed with assistance from Apzu, a Mattel company, the DM2 is a solid, well-built controller that feels exceptionally sturdy and looks extremely cool. It ships with a CD-ROM containing 30 Mixman Singles (16-track songs) in styles such as drum 'n' bass, techno, house, hip-hop, and trance. In all, there are more than 600 digital-audio tracks to remix, scratch, detune, pan, transform, process, and generally tweak until eternity. Even if you quickly burn out on the grooves and sounds, loads more Mixman Singles and e-Mixes are available from Beatnik's Web site (www.beatnik.com). When you're done recording a mix, you can e-mail it to a friend, burn it to CD, and post it on Mixman Radio on the Mixman Web site (www.mixman.com) to give the world a listen.
Weighing barely 3 pounds and measuring 17 inches wide, 9½ inches deep, and 2 inches high, the hard plastic- and aluminum-constructed DM2 attaches to a USB port by its attached 6-foot cable. If you need a longer cable in order to perform live with a DM2 or to work without having to stay tethered within a few feet of a minitower, you'll need to buy a USB extender cable, but the 6-foot cable is long enough for most desktop applications.
The DM2's front control panel includes a 4-inch-long solo bar between the turntables; stop, start, and record buttons; an effects joystick; transformer switches; a crossfader; and the aforementioned scratch rings. Even with all those features, the DM2 lacks track and master volume controls. Eight ¼-inch-wide green LEDs encircle each turntable, and each of the LEDs represents 1 of the 16 digital-audio loops or sounds in each Mixman Single. You can lock and unlock these loops or sounds by pressing down the corresponding button while pressing a big engage button in the center of each turntable. Sometimes it's hard to see the LEDs clearly through the translucent touch panels when using the DM2 in a brightly lit room and sitting at an angle from it. The LEDs are plenty bright enough for use in darkened studios or onstage.
HAPPY, HAPPY JOYSTICK
Four macro keys take “snapshots” of which loops are triggered at a given moment for instant recall in a remix. Although it's nice to have four macro keys, I wanted more so I could have further options for twisting a mix. The effects joystick controls two parameters of a desired effect, which is selected by pressing one of three effects buttons directly above the WARP (Wideband Audio Real-time Processing) knob. The effects process only the entire mix and can't be applied to individual tracks, but most of the effects sound extremely cool when processing the entire output. It's fun to flick the joystick in time with the beat to get a bouncing rhythmic effect.
It's as easy to record your own WAV samples directly into the DM2's software as it is with StudioPro. A new crosshair interface overlays the display of the turntables on the computer's monitor when you click on the record microphone icon to target which of the 16 sample pads to record a new WAV sound to. A large stereo input meter displays the input signal horizontally, making it easy to monitor the signal from a microphone, synth, or guitar. Not designed for recording extended solos or lengthy overdubs, the DM2 software works best for recording sound effects, voice clips, and short samples that you can trigger within a mix.
DIGITAL SCRATCHING 101
The DM2's scratch rings make scratching software samples a cinch. The crossfader feels a little too stiff for performing fast cuts, but the transformer buttons on either side of the fader make it simple to slice and dice your scratches. I'm no Q-Bert, but I had a great time practicing audio scratching without having to worry about skipping needles or wrecking my valuable wax. Even relative novices can perform scratches with a minimum of embarrassment, bringing out the turntablist lurking within.
Eight different settings in the program's Options menu let you select how the DM2 determines which track or group of tracks to scratch. The default setting is a stereo scratch of the most recently triggered track; the sample is one beat long. If your computer is strapped for CPU power, you can choose a tiny mono scratch that's just half a beat long.
A lot of the material on the Mixman Singles works great for scratching. For instance, the “Beatbox Bass” track from a drum ‘n’ bass Single titled “Beatbox Argot” by VFX (included with the DM2) is a cheesy synth-bass sound with squonks and low-frequency bumps that are easy to manipulate rhythmically. However, there is some latency, even in faster systems. I encountered a slight delay from the time I stopped a scratch to the time the sample stopped playing. The amount of the delay depends on the track selected and the computer's RAM, CPU, and power management. (I plugged the DM2 into a 400 MHz Pentium II with 128 MB of RAM.) Overall, the performance was fast and responsive to the touch, and the DM2 never choked up or crashed during testing.
I had a lot of fun playing with the DM2, and I discovered that it's much more powerful than it first appears to be. I enjoyed jamming with CDs placed in my PC's CD-ROM drive while experimenting with sounds controlled by the DM2. Although its scratching capabilities are no replacement for vinyl, creating a convincing-sounding emulation of the real deal is a snap. My next project is to try out the DM2 plugged into a friend's laptop to do headphones-only mixes at a local coffeehouse. If you want to hear what an admittedly faux DJ like me can do with the DM2, click on the debut of DJ ran-D on Mixman Radio.
Randy Alberts is a Bay Area-based musician and author who recently finished writing a book on the history of Tascam for Hal Leonard Publishing. Much gratitude to Dub Mission's DJ Sep for her feedback on the DM2.
PRODUCT SUMMARY
BEATNIK/MIXMAN
DM2 Digital Music Mixer
$119.95
PROS: Solidly built, affordable, one-of-a-kind remix hardware and software package. Scratches individual audio samples or groups of tracks together. Joystick for tweaking effects. Records new WAV sounds from microphone, instrument, or audio input. More than 600 loops and 30 Mixman Singles included.
CONS: No postperformance edit screen or effects editor. No track or master volume slider on controller. USB cable could be longer. Turntable LEDs sometimes hard to see. Available for Windows only.
Overall Rating (1 through 5): 4
Contact: tel. (650) 295-2300
e-mail info@mixman.com
Web www.my-dm2.com
MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Pentium II/233; 32 MB RAM (64 MB recommended); Windows 98/ME; 50 MB free disk space (275 MB for the full install with samples); 8× CD-ROM; 800×600, 16-bit color SVGA monitor; 16-bit Sound Blaster-compatible or Windows-compatible sound card and speakers; USB port
