HERCULES MOBILE DJ MP3 MIDI CONTROLLER
Published February 21st, 2008 in New Products
HERCULES MOBILE DJ MP3 MIDI CONTROLLER
The first wireless DJ mixing mini-controller (for PC - laptop and desktop).
2 deck controller: Mix, scratch and synchronize MP3 and WMA files (DJ software included)
Integrated double LCD screen: Mix your music away from the PC using the integrated double LCD screen which displays the tracks you’re mixing
Wireless: Absolutely NO WIRES. Dance with the crowd and mix at the same time!
Ultra-compact & lightweight:
- 17cm x 15cm x 3cm / 6.8″ x 6″ x 1.2″
- below 500 grams (1.1 pound), with batteries weight (not delivered)
Fun Sounds & Effects: Add fun effects such as applause, loops and much more
- Radio Frequency / RF
- An antenna powered by an alternating current in relation to a set frequency creates an electromagnetic field which moves through space at this frequency. By adding to the antenna’s frequency a wave signal of a lesser frequency (a sound, a video signal, or an encoded digital signal), this signal is then transported to a receiving antenna (within range of the transmission frequency of the transmitting antenna): the receiving antenna, once connected to a demodulator (a device which subtracts the antenna’s oscillation frequency from the received frequency), allows for reception of the original signal. This process is known as radio frequency transfer, or RF transfer, making possible the exchange of sound, video or data wirelessly and without any noise. There are 8 major types of data transfer: VLF (Very Low Frequencies): 9kHz - 30kHz // LF (Low Frequencies): 30kHz - 300kHz // FM (Medium Frequencies): 300kHz - 3MHz // HF (High Frequencies): 3MHz - 30MHz // VHF (Very High Frequencies): 30MHz - 300MHz // UHF (Ultra High Frequencies): 300MHz - 3GHz // SHF (Super High Frequencies): 3GHz - 30GHz // EHF (Extremely High Frequencies): 30GHz - 300GHz. Beyond 300GHz, we move past radio frequencies to infrared and then into the visible spectrum. Many high-tech devices communicate at 2.4GHz, a frequency broad enough to provide high data rates and accommodate many streams at the same time. Using the same frequency does not signify that protocols are compatible or identical: gamepads, audio/video transmitters and WiFi networks all function at 2.4GHz in a single location without using the same protocol.
- Digital audio library
- A digital audio library consists of all the audio tracks stored and classified on a computer.
- BPM = tempo
- Beats Per Minute: this represents the rhythm, the number of audible beats in a piece of music per minute. The greater the number of BPM, the faster the tempo of the music is for dancers. A slow song is often between 70 and 90 BPM, while dance songs average around 120 BPM, and Trance songs can approach 160 BPM. The tempo is the number of BPM.
- Synchronization
- Synchronizing two pieces consists of setting them at the same rhythm (giving them the same number of beats per minute) and adjusting the beats to line up at the same time (by slowing down or stopping the second piece to restart it at the precise moment when the device plays the beat of the first piece).
- Cross fader
- The cross fader is a horizontal slider moved to the right or left, whose position determines the mix between an audio track played on the right deck and an audio track played on the left deck. For example: when the cross fader is completely to the right, we hear 0% of the audio track on the left deck + 100% of the audio track on the right deck = we only hear the sound on the right deck. When the cross fader is completely to the left, we hear 100% of the audio track on the left deck + 0% of the audio track on the right deck = we only hear the sound on the left deck. When the cross fader is in the center, we hear 50% of the left audio track + 50% of the right audio track = we hear the left and right tracks at equal volume.
- Transition
- For a DJ, a transition means switching from one piece to another. In general, a DJ tries to synchronize the music on the second deck with the rhythm of the first, and moves the cross fader from the first deck towards the second deck (possibly while modifying EQs at the same time), allowing dancers to continue to dance at the same speed, as if to a single piece of music, without having to skip a beat to switch from one rhythm to another.
- DJ
- Abbreviation of Disc Jockey: a person who selects and plays music at a party.
- Effect
- An effect involves the transformation of a sound: this may be in the form of an echo, reverse playback, mixing with sound effects, frequency filtering…
- Jog wheel
- In DJing, a jog wheel is a wheel simulating the function of a turntable (also called a vinyl deck), and can be used to control playback of a CD, DVD, MP3 player or computer. A jog wheel is used to navigate within a piece, to speed up or slow down to the music or to produce sound effects such as scratching (the sound made by a microgroove record on a turntable when the record is quickly pushed forward or pulled back by hand). The Hercules DJ Console, DJ Control and Mobile DJ all include jog wheels
CNET editors’ review
Reviewed by: Donald Bell
Edited by: Jasmine France
Reviewed on 6/11/07
First impression
When the Hercules Mobile DJ MP3 arrived in our office, we chuckled a little at the package and wrote it off as a bit of a novelty. After taking it out of the box, installing the software, and turning the thing on, we were quite surprised that the Hercules Mobile DJ MP3 is a fairly sophisticated and well-conceived product. It is not a professional DJ solution by any means, but it does provide a surprising range of control over your music and becomes quickly addictive. It packs a lot of amateur DJ fun into a $99 package.
What’s it do?
The Hercules Mobile DJ MP3 is a product in three parts. The main component is the Mobile DJ controller. The controller is an iPod-white chunk of plastic that’s powered by two C-cell batteries and measures 6×7x1.5-inches. It has rounded edges that feel good in your hand and a relatively solid construction that could survive the wear and tear of a rowdy house party. Anyone basically familiar with a DJ mixer will quickly recognize controls such as the crossfader, volume sliders, play/pause, and cue buttons. Hercules also throws in two textured plastic jog wheels for skipping and scratching through your music, as well as a large button on the bottom of the controller labeled Automix (think autopilot). The most impressive feature of the controller is the backlit monochrome LCD that displays the tracks currently playing on your computer and allows you to wirelessly browse your computer’s music database to select and cue the next song.
The second part of the Hercules Mobile DJ MP3 is the big, dumb plastic USB dongle necessary for authenticating the software license and wirelessly linking your computer to the controller. A USB extension cable is included in case the bulky dongle is too big to fit directly into your computer’s USB port.
Last, and most important, is the MP3 DJ software that’s truly the brains of the operation. The software is Windows-only, but it was a breeze to install and will prompt you if you’d like to import your iTunes library or add music manually. We went the manual route and were pleasantly surprised that we could drag and drop folders of MP3 files directly onto the software playlist (only MP3 and WAV files are supported). The software is a near-identical graphic representation of the hardware controller. There were a few extra features found only on the software that we wish could be controlled by the hardware (filtering, EQ, turntable brake effect), but at a cost of only $99 we were more than happy with what we got. You can also use the software to record your DJ mix in real time to an uncompressed stereo WAV file.
Hercules Mobile DJ MP3
Importing MP3 files into the Hercules Mobile DJ Mix software was a snap. The software also offers DJ mix options not found on the controller–including EQ, extra effects, loop markers, and filtering. You can even record your mix in real time.
Once your music is loaded into the software and the controller confirms its connection to your computer, you’re off and running and can control the DJ software completely from the controller. The range of the wireless connection is rated around 20 feet, but when we tested it in our office we were able to squeeze about 50 feet of distance between the controller and the receiver before the controller stopped working. Even with the controller out of range, audio playback was never interrupted–only our ability to manipulate the audio using the DJ controller was affected.
Who’s it for?
There is a great big world of digital DJ equipment competing for the attention of both amateurs and professionals. The Hercules Mobile DJ MP3 is more of a trickle-down product that takes some of the most fun and intuitive parts of the professional DJ experience and translates them into a product aimed at people who just want a tool for DJing their own party. The key word here is “novelty.” We would not use the Hercules Mobile DJ MP3 at a wedding or any serious event where the music experience is held up to scrutiny. If you’re looking for a more serious product, Hercules does make a much more robust and professional digital DJ controller called the MK2, and companies such as Numark, and M-Audio offer similar pro audio solutions as well.
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