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Average rating:
4.1 out of 5
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You people are more entertaining than a one armed hooker in a hand clapping contest. I'm glad I don't own a television because this is much better.
Anyway, to keep in context I'll give the DJX a little review. I played one for about 30 minutes at a Best Buy store. Since I'm such a synth freak I just had to try it out. Was I impressed? No. Did it sound good? Not particularly but it was sort of interesting and I can see why they're selling like hot cakes. Kids love that stuff.
Remember folks, you don't have to have the most expensive kit to make good music. You just have to have talent and if Nathan can make good music on a $200 synth than more power to him.
I have a Korg Trinity, Akai MPC 2000XL, EMU XL-1 and I had more fun and made better(more original) tunes with my Moog MG-1, an Ibanez flanger and a four track cassette recorder. Hmm.. I think gear lust has gotten the best of me. Anyone want to buy a Trinity?
I'll give the DJX a 2 rather than a 1 for it's huge impact on this site and it's entertainment value.
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why the hell CANT he compare it to a Triton??? I dont understand.. theyre both romplers!!! just one is REALLY expensive and one is REALLY cheap! and , as nathan says, the DJX can make voices that are actually comparable to the Triton! SURE i say comparing a cheapo peice of gear to expensive is ok just as long as your not putting down the cheap because of its 'limitations'.... of course the cheap is gonna have 'limitations' and so is the expensive.... now im just rambling... so jsut let nathan and his review BE... OK??? he likes the board.. he says its a good investment.. or whatever... oh yeah.. and Nathan.. i liked that third paragraph on your last post! good one! cya-----Flukewurm
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The DJX is probably the best musical purchase I have ever made....picked mine up at The Good Guys (!) for under $200.00 as a floor model, and I can't imagine where I could have spent that kind of money to get these kinds of capabilities. It's just like anything else - the music you make is only partially determined by your gear; there has to be some originality in the process, or you might as well stick with Band-in-a-Box. My other keyboard is a Triton, and I am consistently surprised at what my DJX can do next to that (for less than a TENTH of the price!). If the user is willing to put in the time learning the instrument, anything can be used in the creative process. I agree with Skoob - there are some KILLER sounds hidden in this thing, but you've got to be willing to fiddle a bit. I LOVE the fact that the Assign knob 'remembers' the parameters - makes it very easy (once you've gotten the hang of getting around the interface) to edit on the fly. I think there is a lot more to this board than people are seeing - I mean, it does very well as a lead synth, and if you want to lay down a groove it's fairly easy to do that, too. I really like some of the brass/horn sounds, and the strings are great, but I have found that the bass and lead sounds are the ones I use consistently (live, anyway). I play keys in an r&b /soul /groove band, and I think my next project is going to be screwing a couple of guitar strap pegs onto this thing and MIDI-ing it up (everyone else has said it, because it's true, but the DJX makes an EXCELLENT controller - if only it had aftertouch it would be perfect!!!) to the Korg for the phat organ sounds in the Triton. Get out from behind the keyboard stand and cut the rug...(BATTERIES!)...the basses are huge through a good system, especially when you mess with the reso a bit, and the drums are absolutely incredible at this price point. I guess the point I'm trying to make is this: the fact that there are limitations to what this keyboard can do (and there are certainly limitations) is almost a demonstration of how amazing it is....you start playing with it, and you realize that you're not thinking 'PSR' anymore, you're thinking 'MUSIC' - and when you run up against the limitations like minimal sound editing, no portamenteau, limited sampling, cheesy sequencer, no aftertouch...you start to realize that you should never even begin to think about those things on a $200.00 keyboard - and the fact that you're expecting those things tells you that this crazy little blue board with onboard speakers is doing a fantastic job at all the other little things. Unlike some others who have posted here I find myself playing this more and more....I use it at home with my old Kawai sequencer and it's FUN. Use it at practice with the band and it's MUSICAL. Use it camping and it scares the wildlife. Use it at a show, and I can keep the people dancing between sets (THEY don't care that they're dancing to a little home portable keyboard, they're just feelin' it)...use it in the car, in a bar, on a train, on a plane, HOW FREAKIN' GREAT IS THIS THING? Love it.
Oh, and don't piss on gear you don't know how to utilize. I've never met a keyboard that didn't have good and bad points, and the good FAR outweighs the bad on this little beast. If the M1 were released today it would be universally hated, because it's not a K2500 or a Triton, UNLESS IT WERE PRICED MUCH LOWER. 'Nuff said.
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As the last post pointed out, effects are the key. They are a pain in the butt to edit, but careful use of them and Dual patches gets some quite good sounds.
I came up with a pair of great hammond organ patches - well, far better than the ones it comes with. The trick is layering two voices, and putting the mod on one to full and the other to almost nothing. Add rotary etc... One is a screaming funk lead organ noise, with the assignable knob doing a kind of leslie effect (or tries to be). Used for our version of Starksy+Hutch.
The other is far better, and is a pure percussive Jimmy-Smith jazz funk sound. It's really quite good, quite convincing and played properly sounds great.
Yeah, I have to play mine in our school r+b group thing... strings, organs, eps, the lot. It handles them admirably.
(and my cutoff-lowered Funky EP with footswitched auto-wah is fantastic...)
Yeah, you have to fiddle. A lot. Basically.
Skb.
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The DJX keyboard is more than a pleasant surprise, it is a keyboard in which beginning midi musicians can create remixes of their previous compositions without playing the keyboard at all.
The DJX mailing list and website has been established to provide whatever assistance is necessary to help everyone get the maximum benefit out of the product.
The DJX list is located at:
http://www.onelist.com/group/DJX
Take care and stay focused.
Peace,
Roney Smith http://www.onelist.com/group/DJX
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Manuals can often be found on the links section for this model.
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