DJ for Dummies: MixVibes

By Guest Editor Guillaume de Degroisse

We all had this experience, you go to one of your friends’ party; people are nice, the food and wine too, but what about the music? Poor… Why? No DJ of course, only an iTunes playlist in the best case. So I was glad to discover MixVibes 6 Home Edition, an idiot-proof mixer software that’s easy to understand, and to use, plus it comes with A USB sound device.

What about making your mix tonight? First you need your favorite playlists and tracks, just drag and drop them from your hard-drive into the MixVibes window. Then, go for it! Getting a good basic ‘mix’ is about three things: choosing two tracks, adapt the BPM, and launch it. Well, with this app, it’s easy. You drag and drop the two tracks into the digital decks, the lazy DJ that you are uses the automatic BPM adjust button, and with a little help of the crossfader you go from one track to another. That’s all you need to know to be better than the iTunes Playlist… Let’s play now!

After a little practice you feel like you’re the new Oakenfold! You try some new stuff and discover the cool features in this soft, like the ‘loop’ options useful to make the Shaft intro longer (if you really need it) or the locations buttons if you have time to prepare before and/or know what exact moment of the track you want to play. To make it sound like a pro you can change the High/Med/Bass of the track directly on each deck, and you can even adapt the speed yourself if you feel real confident using the jog function.

Conclusion
After some hours in front of my computer playing with Mixvibes6, I have to admit that it is really exciting. I had no problem uploading several different track formats – I even recorded my best mix and I bring it with me wherever I go – and I like the features like the locations, the jog capability or the automatic BPM adjustment.

Last but not least, the soft comes with a USB-key-like extra sound card that you can plug and use to listen to one track while playing the other. That’s a great idea! To make myself perfectly clear, this soft is fun: bring it out with your friends and impress them with your new spinning skills, or make them giggle while trying to sound like the hottest DJ in town. If you know a little more about mixing and so on, there’s also a “pro” version.

Hubert Nguyen
Categories: Audio
Tags: Hands-On