Switching up the scene in music technology is no easy feat. The Gamechanger Award, therefore, reminds us that there are limits still to be pushed. It goes out to those forward-thinking brands that managed to shift our perspective of what’s possible in music production and performance in 2022.
One innovator is Beatport, launching its Party Mode feature for the Beatport DJ App. This lets DJs mix back-to-back live and remotely from across the globe while streaming to up to 100 fans who can save tracks, build playlists and chat to the DJs – phenomenal. Modular headphone brand AIAIAI brought wireless headphone monitoring to our studios for the first time with the AIAIAI TMA-2 Studio Wireless+, freeing us from the shackles of our cables. And MIDI guitar extraordinaire Jamstik released its Jamstik Studio, which we dubbed as the “the best iteration of a MIDI guitar yet,” some 40 years after the MIDI guitar concept had first been imagined.
Beatport Party Mode
DJing has always been a shared experience – whether that’s with a crowd, a fellow DJ, or both. Beatport’s Party Mode for the browser-based Beatport DJ App brings performers and punters together online, allowing a four-way back-to-back DJ set and up to 100 listeners in one server. This means that if you’re in a New York apartment wanting to DJ with your three pals who are based in London, Singapore and Australia, you’re free to do so with Party Mode – as long as you can navigate those time zones.
While you’re mixing your tracks – which you can either upload to the app or select from Beatport’s entire catalogue – you can create playlists on-the-go and share them with your friends and fans that are in on the set. Naturally, it’s set up to be latency-free and easy-to-use; why haven’t you tried it out yet?
AIAIAI TMA-2 Studio Wireless
Many of us might be move towards wireless headphones for our casual listening habits, but we’re still bound to our desks in the studio with wired cans. Unless we want to compromise audio quality on consumer-grade Bluetooth headphones, cable-free monitoring has been a myth. That’s until AIAIAI deicded to step in with the TMA-2 Studio Wireless+ headphones, offering ultra low-latency monitoring at a bitrate of 1,500kbps – reaching beyond the CD quality of 1,411kbps. These headphones aren’t the final form of a piece of studio tech, but quite possibly the start of a new chapter in studio monitoring.
In our review, we said: “[The headphones] work fantastically, and it’s liberating to be able to move around a studio freely while being confident that any recordings wouldn’t experience monitoring latency…There are precious few [wireless] solutions tailored to producers, with most 2.4Ghz models aimed at gamers or home cinema buffs. As such, if you crave the freedom to move while recording or mixing, freed from the desk while still enjoying high-fidelity, latency-free monitoring, these are an excellent choice.”
Read our full review here.
Jamstik Studio
Come on, surely we can’t be the only ones who have dreamed of playing a Yamaha CS-80 with a guitar? While previous attempts at creating MIDI guitars have been admirable, they’ve certainly not been as intuitive as the Jamstik Studio. It’s not easy to create a MIDI guitar that is literally a guitar and doesn’t demand the player to press buttons that correspond to a MIDI value. Here, you’re free to slide, bend, strum and sweep pick through your virtual instruments as you would with your trusty axe. Now, load up that CS-80 emulation and start shredding.
In our review, we said: “The Jamstik Studio is an incredible instrument. The guitar is adequate but doesn’t have enough character to replace your main six-string. However, the MIDI capability and integration make this an essential instrument for the studio of any musician that plays a bit of guitar. Even if you aren’t an amazing guitarist, playing MIDI parts on a different platform opens up so many inspiring musical ideas. The Jamstik Studio may feel a little expensive, but with the instrument in your hands, you’ll find yourself immediately inspired to make music – and it’s difficult to put a price on inspiration.”
Read our full review here.
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