- D M X 1 : £ Lighting has always been an important part of any mobile disco but, let’s be honest, programming it can be a chore at times. What if a small metal box existed that promised to deliver amazing light shows without any kind of user intervention? Well that is exactly what the good folks at Pioneer DJ are now offering, let’s find out if the new RB-DMX1 interface really is the holy grail for DJ lighting control… 62 62 sponsored by If, like me, you love having the latest fantastic lighting fixtures for your mobile setup, but hate the thought of having to spend ages coming up with creative programmes for them, then the new RB-DMX1 interface promises to release you from that mundane task.

Together with the new Lighting mode included with the latest version of rekordbox dj (5.2), the RB-DMX1 automatically generates a lightshow that is synchronised with the music you play. Now, obviously, you do need to be tied into Pioneer DJ’s eco system, so that means you need to be a rekordbox dj user. If you’re not, then don’t worry, Pioneer DJ very kindly give you a full licence in the box with the RB-DMX1. From a physical point of view, it’s a neat little package, roughly 3” square and an inch deep.

At one end you’ve got a USB-B socket for connecting to your laptop and on the opposite side a Neutrik 3-pin female DMX socket for hooking up your lighting. On the top there’s a little blue LED to show you that the thing is alive, and that’s about it! As with any product like this, the physical exterior is there only to hide the magic within, so that’s where we go to next. There are two ways you can use the lighting interface.

You can either trust rekordbox dj to come up with the lighting commands and automatically generate a lightshow as you mix together the music or you can delve a little deeper and come up with your own amazing, customised lighting sequences for specific tracks that play consistently whenever you drop them into a DJ set. Either way, the starting point is a complex audio ‘phrasing’ analysis of your music library that was introduced with rekordbox v5.1.

This allows the rekordbox dj lighting system to understand how each song is ‘built’. It’s clever enough to know the differences between intros, verses, choruses and so on. Each song we play is different and the system is even clever enough to know that a ballad requires a less intense lighting show than say a house track, for example. And it can do all of this without you having to lift a finger, which I think is pretty cool!

Of course, for it to work properly, the analysis needs to be accurate and, unfortunately, I didn’t find it to be as accurate as I would’ve liked. However, it is certainly not a million miles away, which is still pretty cool for a first version. The good news is that you can edit the phrasing analysis on a per-track basis so that you can be sure that it’s 100% right for the songs you play most regularly. PIONEER DJ RB-DMX1 Setting the system up to get you use them started is super-simple, all you have hands-off to do is go into the Lighting mode easily assign and tell it what lighting you have. the song you’re It comes pre-loaded with a library the atmosphere of over 13,000 popular fixtures, time.

You can so finding yours shouldn’t be a fine-tune the problem. However, if you do find changes for one that doesn’t exist then you Macro Editor. can easily request for a fixture file can have the to be made for you. Unfortunately, then go off the current version doesn’t allow before going you to build your own. exact sequence track – will then Adding your lighting is as simple as triggered every dragging and dropping onto a DMX same song again channel grid.

This will then tell you what channel you need to assign The system is to each fixture. You also need to if you feel let rekordbox know what type of lighting show fixture it is, for example: moving match the head, par can, strobe, mirrorball you’re playing spot, LED batten and so on. easily change is an incredibly rekordbox Lighting comes with to have. The a load of pre-made lighting basically adjust sequences that will work with your scenes and lighting system once you’ve set it between each up.

You can either let rekordbox additional PIONEER DJ RB-DMX1 Pioneer DJ RB-DMX1 automatically, for a true DDJ-XP1, for example – you can use experience, or you can its Performance Pads to control the them to any part of many different moods and colours, playing to match as well as effects such as strobing. of the party at that It is also possible to map other MIDI even go deeper and controllers, such as the Novation patterns and colour Launchpad, for use in this way. individual tracks in the So, for example, you So far, so good.

However, there lighting build up and are some limitations, mainly with just before the drop moving heads. For example, you mental again. This can’t access the GOBO wheel, – synched to the prism or in fact any feature other be automatically than X/Y movement, colour and time you play the dimmer, but I’m sure that this will in the future. come in time. also flexible in that At the moment it’s very clear that that the generated rekordbox Lighting is still in its doesn’t particularly infancy, but I’m sure that future mood of the music updates will address a lot of its then you can also current shortcomings.

What is it on the fly, which very clear, however, is that it has useful feature the ability to take the headache different settings out of programming. Anything the speed of the that allows me to do that, and how they transition concentrate on the music, is a very other. If you have an welcome addition to my collection controller – such as the of useful DJ tools! 63