Audio-Technica decided to imitate, and not innovate. Long Term Evaluation of the ATH-PRO700 DJ headphones reveals The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly...
>>> FULL REVIEW
Tila Tequila's mediocre "I Love U" single proves that having the most MySpace friends doesn't translate into big music sales...
>>> FULL STORY
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free stuff if you include your mailing address!) >>> Futuremusic Direct
CD Spotlight
Dance music needs more artists like Miguel Migs. His songwriting, playing and producing talents shine on his new Those Things disc due March 20th on Salted.
By fusing the organic - live instrumentation - with the electronic, Migs achieves a unique, soulful sound that works the body and the heart. For Those Things, Miguel even drops
a reggae burner with Junior Reid on vocals, as well as a couple of easy-groovers with long-time collaborator, Lisa Shaw.
LISTEN!
Digital Spotlight
Gabriel Ananda is set to release his full-length, Bambusbeats on March 19th. The new release has a mature sound, but falls away from his well-known melodic style to venture into new territories. To celebrate the release his label is graciously giving away one of the album's best cuts, Lamakov as a free download. This artistic minimal journey builds to a nice crescendo before melting in your mouth and then your pants...
LISTEN!
Vinyl Spotlight
Paul Van Dyk's Vandit Imprint drops Lange Vs. Gareth Emery's Another You, Another Me. a Funky Trance release with a nice throbbing percussive tech house remix by Terranova & Austin Leeds.
LISTEN!
../ The Stanton Management Shuffle
Time Will Tell If Stanton's Internal Promotions Pay Off
Stanton recently sent off a press release proclaiming several new appointments and promotions from within the company. The release
follows the recent announcement that Timothy Dorwart was promoted from Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales to CEO after
the sudden departure of Dave Froker, who left the concern for another company.
To apparently solidify his core base, Dorwart then promoted his in-house supporters to new positions and most likely salary increases.
But the question remains if this massive sweep of management changes and promotions across the company will address the serious problems
that Stanton faces in the future >>> FULL STORY
../ Music Trends: MySpace Popularity Doesn't Sell Music
MySpace vixen, Tila Tequila, has failed to turn her immense popularity into sales for her much ballyhooed, but mediocre MySpace
promoted single, "I Love U." Tequila hoped to leverage her 1.7 million MySpace friends into substantial iTunes profits, but
preliminary reports indicate lackluster numbers. >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Apple iPod Shuffle 2.0
UPDATED: This Review Was Updated on March 7, 2007
The second incarnation of the Apple iPod Shuffle hit our offices several days before the national rollout and caused quite a sensation. The all
aluminum chassis, with a built-in clip, looked beautiful and was quite the music fashion statement when each of us sported the digital player
during our individual TestDrives... >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Slappa CD Cases
You'd think in today's world finding a quality CD case that can stand up to the rigors of the road for a working DJ wouldn't be
an impossible task. Unfortunately, that's not the case. If you explore the market, you'll find many mediocre offerings that are
extremely overpriced. Several of our readers, feeling the pain, wrote to us asking if we run across a quality container in any of
our adventures. A quick poll of the office came to the same conclusion, none of us owned a CD case that we thought was the perfect
balance of quality and value. Thus, we went on a mission to find the best possible CD case for the money, and then share our
findings with you, our esteemed readers... >>> FULL STORY
../ Music Trends: DanceRecords.com Online Store
What makes a good online music store? Is it flashy graphics with lots of dazzling animation? Is it customer service where the emphasis is
actually on the customer? Is it the ability to find what you're looking for quickly and efficiently? For this month's MusicTrends, we are
going to explore DanceRecords.com. >>> FULL STORY
When Audio-Technica, the esteemed Japanese manufacturer of microphones and headphones, decided to enter the professional DJ
headphone market several months ago, our expectations were quite high. Audio-Technica has developed a number of outstanding
transducer products over the years and we were hoping their new ATH-PRO700 headphones would live up to their reputation.
Many of us expected Audio-Technica to decimate the DJ headphone playing field, and in one product introduction, own the
high-end DJ market with their new PRO700's. Sadly, Audio-Technica decided to imitate, and not innovate... >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: IK Multimedia CSR
IK Multimedia, a concern who has made a concerted effort to offer a wider breath of products as of late, has released their own dedicated
reverb plug-in, which has been modeled on the classic units of yore. >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: iSoundCap iPod Hat
Here at Futuremusic, we're big fans of iPod hats. After getting our meaty paws on the first generation iPod Shuffle, we couldn't help but
notice that a dedicated iPod Hat would be the ultimate accessory for anyone leading an active lifestyle. A couple of snowboarders on staff
here actually designed their own Shuffle hats and took to the slopes, but when the weather warmed up, they're iPod baseball hat designs
were not nearly as inspired. Enter iSoundCap. >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Ecler Nuo4 MIDI DJ Mixer
The Ecler Nuo4 MIDI DJ Mixer offers a tremendous value to the modern DJ who wants a mixer that bridges the gap between the analog and
digital worlds for only $749... >>> FULL STORY
../ Apple iPhone In Early 2007?
Apple iPhone speculation is heating up with the Commercial Times of China reporting that Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co
will soon begin production on an iPod phone. The newspaper cited industry sources who confirmed that Hon Hai Precision Industry Co
Ltd has secured contracts from Apple Computer for 12 million mobile handsets that also function as music players... >>> FULL STORY
../ MusicTrends: Mobile Music Sales
According to a report published by 3, the UK mobile media company, if mobile sales continue to grow at the same pace they could rival, and eventually overtake, computer-based downloads in just five years. >>> FULL STORY
../ MusicTrends: DJ MIDI Controllers
The DJ MIDI controller market has been simmering for the last couple of years with several boutique manufacturers stealing
the majority of the business, and the buzz. However, two small events in the last week have raised the eyebrows of several
industry watchers who feel this segment will come to a boil by early January... >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Sony PCM-D1 Portable Recorder
When Sony first showcased the PCM-D1 at the AES trade show, I got a severe case of technolust. The sexy, beautifully designed, unit was a
true digital recorder with built-in mics, a titanium case, and no internal moving parts, save for the tasty analog level meters. As I wiped
the drool from my bottom lip, I couldn't help but think that this was the first Sony product in years that I wanted no matter what the cost.
Unfortunately, after using the unit, I think I'll save the $2000 dollars it costs for owning one. >>> FULL STORY
../ Output Recordings Closes Up Shop
Output Recordings, the UK based label, has ceased operations. In a farewell "letter" to industry contacts, the label's founder and owner, Trevor Jackson, ranted
about artist conflicts and financial strains as the reason to shutter the label which was home to LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, Mu, Tet, and others including
Jackson's own musical ventures, Playgroup and Underdog. >>> FULL STORY
../ Apple Updates iPod Line
Apple Computer completely revamped the entire iPod line in a pre-emptive strike to the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons. The new iPod features a 60 percent brighter and more vibrant 2.5-inch color display perfect for watching TV shows and now Hollywood movies right in the palm of your hand.
Apple also introduced the all-new iPod nano with a new aluminum body, a claimed 24 hours of battery life and more than twice the music capacity for the same price as the previous generation. The new iPod nano features Apple's innovative Click Wheel and an even smaller, thinner and lighter design available in silver, pink, green, blue and black.
The real buzz came when Apple introduced the new iPod Shuffle. Nearly half the size of the original, the new iPod shuffle is just half a cubic inch in volume, weighs just half an ounce and features a stunning all-new aluminum design and a built-in clip which makes it the most wearable iPod ever.
Apple has released iTunes 7, delivering new features such as the new album and Cover Flow views of music, TV shows and movies, enabling users to quickly find titles in their library as well as casually browse through and re-discover titles they already own.
Apple also displayed a set-top television device dubbed the "iTV." Looking similar to a Mac Mini, but half the height, the iTV contains a variety of connectors, including USB, Ethernet, RCA video connectors, HDMI, optical audio and 802.11 wireless connectivity. The iTV should make its debut next year possibly with the release of Mac OS 10.5. >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Amplitube 2
Let's just get this out of the way immediately. The sound quality of Amplitube 2 is simply amazing. IK completely revamped the sound
engine of Amplitube 2 with a new technology dubbed Dynamic Saturation Modeling (DSM) which mimics each component's circuit boards, tubes,
cabinets, stomp boxes and other attributes to obtain the most accurate emulations to date. The improvement in aural quality is staggering
when compared to the first incarnation of Amplitube, and opens the doors even wider for electronic musicians to create tantalizing sonic
landscapes... >>> FULL STORY
../ New Faderfox Controllers Announced
Faderfox has announced the second generation of their handmade MIDI controllers for DJs and electronic musicians. Faderfox also revealed
that the controllers, which have only been available in limited supply in Europe, now have a North American distributor. The ingenious,
over-the-keyboard design remains, but the new units have been revamped to meet the needs of Ableton Live and Native Instruments Traktor
users. >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro
Usually the arrival of yet another set of earphones in our mailbox doesn't cause much of a stir in our offices, but the super.fi 5
Pro earphones by Ultimate Ears caused a quite a sensation. I was the first to get my grubby hands on the sleek metal case that housed
the super.fi Pro's and the multitude of accessories that came along for the ride... >>> FULL STORY
../ Sound Artist Trimpin Triumphs With Der Ring
Gerhard Trimpin, a brilliant sound artist, is someone you've probably never heard of. Trimpin, who legally only goes by his surname,
has been creating brilliant music installations since he was a boy. The sound sculptures fuse mathematics, acoustic instruments and
computer-controlled mechanics into a fascinating sonic blend that never fails to inspire. >>> FULL STORY
TestDrive will feature the lab results of our DJ Experiments so that everyone can get in on the action. Take the latest electronic music releases, mix vigorously
with bleeding-edge DJ production technology in a large beeker, and then cook the hell out of it! Check out our latest TestDrive: Slappa CD Cases.
