This is a NuVJ, my second choice MIDI controller from Numark

As a class-compliant USB MIDI device it installed fine. I loaded my VJ software of choice, Resolume, mapped the jog wheels to scratch video, and scratched.

The video went bonkers.

A couple of moments looking at the MIDI messages in MIDI-OX told me why – the Total Control jogwheels use a bizarre schema for their endless encoder messages. All the MIDI controllers I’ve encountered in the past have used the same format for endless encoders, rotating clockwise will send out a stream of, (to paraphrase the machines) “+1″ messages. Counterclockwise gives “-1″. Spin your jogwheel or knob faster, and it sends out more messages per second. The Total Control, however, changes its message depending on how fast the wheel is spinning, so an increasingly quick movement would look like “+1 +1 +2 +3 +5 +7 +7 +8″ etc. Even more bizarrely, the values seem the reverse of what they should be, so a clockwise movement gives negative values.

So I took the controller back to the store, along with my Macbook to road test any alternatives. The guys were happy to swap my Total Control for a NuVJ, whose jogwheel behaved much better when tested with Resolume. It was still backwards, but it wasn’t causing the playhead to jitter all over the place.

I should have done a little more testing though, because it turns out that all of the knobs on this device work the same way. The only piece of software which recognizes them correctly is the version of Arkaos bundled with the NuVJ. Ableton Live does an ok job with the general knobs, and the jog wheels work ok moving clockwise, but counterclockwise has the live controls snapping backwards at 5 times the speed of forward movements.

So, sadly, I’m back at the same position I was in 17 months ago, sitting with a well made and reasonably priced controller, which will require hours of hacking and re-mapping to complete simple tasks.

Is anyone else in CDMLand in a similar situation? Or better still, have been in a similar situation and discovered a quick and elegant solution?

There is time, however. You can save yourselves from utter scumbagdom (at least in my eyes). This thing is obviously the same hardware as the BCD2000, so you can do it. Update the BCD2000 drivers and firmware and we’ll never speak of this again.

The alternative is to get crushed by Numark’s NuVJ and Total Control/ION’s iCue, Vestax’ VCI-100, MAudio’s Xponent… Seriously people, when the BCD2000 was announced it was basically the only kid on the block at the price point, 18 months later there are similarly functioned devices from all of the major players, and all you’ve managed is a coat of paint and platform support which was put together by a hacker sniffing USB packets?

Dude, ouch.

The US$300 NuVJ, in contrast, looks like it might have just the combination of controller features and build that people want, with complete Mac and Windows support. More on that in a moment.

In the meantime, our friend Steve Cooley writes on somesoundswelike about the disappointing lack of nudge controls on the iDJ2, Numark’s revision to its iPod DJ mixer:

I’ve been staring at the iDJ2, and noticed there’s no nudge controls … you know, the thing that lets you simulate a spindle-twist or a finger on the platter to momentarily speed up or slow down a track that you’re beatmatching to another track … these are absolutely critical tools to beat matching … Oof. To come within 99% of solving all of the criticisms of the original iDJ, and then fall on your face for the last 1%… that’s a shame.

Shown: his picture, clearly laying out his response. I don’t expect this will get fixed, as the iDJ2 is supposed to ship some time in August. Sure enough, if you look closely at the NuVJ controller, it has the same problem, and even more oddly lacks transport controls. (Maybe Numark is planning a separate controller for the music market, and assuming VJs will just use the clip buttons to trigger their video clips?)

Thanks, Steve! I’m equally disappointed: this could be a deal breaker on the iDJ2. But back to the NuVJ, I still think some people might find it useful as a controller for software like Ableton Live, musicians and DJs alike, assuming Numark gets the other details right. See Create Digital Motion for a preview of the hardware, but here are the controls that could make it useful for music, from Numark’s specs:

1. Dual large rotary wheels for scratch, scrub and pitch functions
2. Illuminated pads for each of the two channels for assigning and selecting visuals
3. A/B Auto Fade buttons on each channel for switching sides of the crossfader (largely useful for VJing — maybe you could reassign to nudge controls?)
4. Tap BPM for synchronizing visuals to the music (musicians could use as tap tempo, or, again, could reassign to something else)
5. Large backlit LCD to display messages sent by the software (excellent, provided you can send these messages via MIDI from other software)
6. Instant black (or any other color) button (This refers to blackouts/breakdowns in VJing; again, you could easily reassign to something else)
7. 360-degree rotaries: 2 for the effects on each bank, 3 for the master effect, 2 for the master brightness and contrast, 2 bank selectors (this could easily be used for filters, effects, etc., and I find a smaller number is often optimal instead of having a zillion different knobs)

What do you think? Is the NuVJ tempting, or would you rather have a different controller? The only thing really holding me back here is its size; for Ableton Live I’d really prefer something smaller.

The iDJ, Numark’s original iPod DJ mixer, got plenty of buzz from iPod lovers — and plenty of haters here on CDM. And why not? It’s not about snobbery: the iDJ just sucked the joy out of DJing, thanks to the lack of scratching, pitch control, and having to go out and buy two iPods. If you’re a newcomer, you just won’t have as much fun with the iDJ. And as for the wedding DJs this seemed aimed at, why shouldn’t you have smooth, beat-matched crossfades at your wedding? (See my review for Playlist.com.)

So, I’m sure some of you rolled your eyes when you heard about Numark’s iDJ2. But wait a second here . . . now you can scratch? And you only need one iPod, since you can play two songs off of it at once? And Numark added not only pitch control but loop cross-fading? And you can use any USB hard drive (including players like my iRiver H320) or even a MemoryStick? All these new features are possible because the iDJ2 treats these devices as USB mass storage, rather than taking simple audio output from the built-in playback on the iPod. That’s a huge step forward from the iDJ, which was basically a glorified iPod dock with a cheap mixer thrown in.

Numark even earned a little street cred by adding FLAC and OGG support, two high-quality compressed formats now available from some indie online labels and music stores. I’ve been listening to the Autechre reissues in FLAC from Bleep, and I have to say, this format sounds really great.

In fact, looking at the specs of Numark’s iDJ2, it’s almost as though . . . get ready for this . . . they listened to feedback from their customers and product reviews. That alone should warrant giving this a second shot.

So, while there are still lots of questions about how this works, and more importantly, how much it will cost, I’m looking forward to checking out the iDJ2. I can even imagine using this in a laptop music setup as a portable scratcher, loaded with samples on USB drives, for those of us who are already carrying too much gear to add a turntable. I’m also hoping the device will transmit MIDI to a laptop, like the NuVJ also introduced at Messe, though I’m less optimistic about that. (I’ll let you know; it might also connect via USB.)

Yes, I’m sure this will still be offensive to real turntablists, and more power to you. But as an upgrade for the CD-based DJ, it does look promising.

The iDJ2 wasn’t the only iPod product Numark unveiled at Messe. The iCDX is a strange combination of a CD scratch unit with an iPod device. Like the iDJ2, it treats the iPod (or other hard drive) as a USB storage device. This one has a real scratch wheel, and connects via USB; Numark tantalizingly notes that it works as a standard Human Interface Device, meaning some of our more experimental and adventurous readers can do crazy things like connect the iCDX to Max/MSP or Pd. And while the iDJ2 has only large plastic discs for simulating scratching, the iCDX appears to have a more serious scratch ring.

What’s your take? Is it possible Numark devised an iPod product we might actually want?

Numark iDJ2