Test BPM Studio 4 Pro with RCP
2001 Remote Control / Heiner Kruse
basswerk | heiner kruse | basswerk@netcologne.de |
schanzenstr. 28 | 51063 cologne | germany |
fon +49 221 9624598 | fax +49 221 9624599 |
http://www.basswerk.de
The
next step within the area "computer DJ" is on... the hardware
comes. BPM Studio offers several,
particularly adapted remote controls as the first professional DJ program
directly. These resemble in Design,
appearance of material and differences
in capability characteristics, to the entire product range of available Denon
DJ CD players without being similar to them. The program of the company
ALCATech from Sonneberg is already inserted with hardware by Antenne Thüringen
and is nevertheless also an already well-known picture on the display of the
home DJ, which sprinkles his party guests from the computer. A gastronome can spread out the sound with
the sister program
BPM
Gastro up to 6 spaces from a computer with different kind of musics. After we have already tested the native
instruments tractor here, I save more dissoluting gossip this time about
ethical aspects of the transformation from the DJ to the computerjockey and
will make it briefly – it will become still long enough.
BPM
Studio offers self-developed Kernel drivers, which support almost all usual
audio cards – also for Notebooks - (e.g. WaMi box or RME case of hammer). These enable a troublefree operation even on
the simplest systems with a latency of 4ms (!) – which worked perfectly in the
test. That is a fantastic value which
garuantees the full applicability in the deeds - so BPM Studio is in the front
of all competitors with a very important point – and qualifies itself thereby
for a further, detailed test. It is
possible to operate very precisely even without a remote control and only with
the mouse with the usual keys CUE and PLAY.
With Direct sound drivers 20 to 30ms, which are acceptable, can be
achieved according to the guidance (in the test: 23ms). The version number
of of the tested version is 4.1. under Windows 98, the new version 4.2., which
works with selected soundcards also under Windows 2000 and XP, enables even
latencies up to 2ms, according to ALCATech in optimal configuration, this was
already tested.
Apart
from the two drives, which are able to play MP3 or audio files, the program can
head an inserted CD player and a Sample Player simultaneously, which is
equipped with its own playing editor and represents a separate "Jingle
machine" as a main point. In the long run BPM Studio is in the position to
play up to 14 MP3` s at the same time.
Different storable Cue points, loop functions, automatic adjustment of
speed and rate modifications with continuous pitch (master speed) round off the
comfort of the player. BPM Studio offers as extra tools a MP3-Decoder/Encoder,
a CD-Writer program, a layout -/print program, a mixer with fade automation and
EQ ' s, a type of Sample Editor, a
Compressor/Limiter (AGC), a real time BPM Counter, complex data base and
archiving functions as well as a user administration and network
functions.
In the
total, a program, which follows some similar and nevertheless also completely
different beginnings than e.g. the native instrument program tractor which was
tested here some months ago. BPM Studio
alone (without external mixer) is rather a studio with several playing devices,
file, cut space, master station and Faderstart as a battlemixer. But: you can assign a single output to each
player and also to the monitor, and so the cards will be mixed again.
Denon
CD players are, in the CD-DJ area, something like a Technics SL 1210 Mk2 is the
Vinyl area: a standard. The large mass of the commercial disk riders
works with CD players in huge discos, clubs or for private celebrations already
today. So fewer materials must be
dragged, Samplers will be burned and....a DJ, who wants to cover all the usual
music desires would get the current repertoire, even if it was desired, only
hardly together completely on vinyl.
With orientation at the Denon user guide, ALCATech wants to facilitate
the change for the DJ ' s mentioned above.
Roughly
said, it works that way: you mark one
point, where you want to start. In
addition you can play the tracks, press play/break sometimes, adjust the exact
starting point with the lookup keys or the Jogwheel and determine the Cue point
by printing the Cue button then. For
playing, only play must be pressed then.
BPM Studio permitts the saving of several Cue points additionally as
well as the Jumps to these points with continuing play mode – CD players were not able to do this so far
yet.
The
further operation is so, as it could be expected: Pitch area between 8, 16 and 24%, selectable with a possible pitch
correction. The Jog Wheel behaves
similarly as with the Denon 2600, while finding a point within the piece in the
software resembles the method with the
old 2000er Denon without remote control:
Printing the before/rewind keys releases a scroll, first slow, later
fast. But you have the chance to bounce
to one point e.g. in the middle or end of the piece vía a further beam. There
is also a Brake function which emulates the stopping or starting of a disk
convincingly and its speed can be selected within a certain area – so to speak from the belt drive to the
1210er sound. Finally a bold desire
would be an even self-definable Brake effect with the parameters playing
direction, terminal velocity in % and duration up to achieving the terminal
velocities (process recordable as a curve ) e.g. with the Drum& bass a disk
is fast turned back and not stopped
when "rewinding".
There
exists an automix function in form of a BPM Counter, which works quite
reliably, even if it seems to be unnecessary, to select the BPM area beforehand
(e.g. 150-300). Player A can set itself
to the same BPM number as Player B automatically. On the other hand automatic
"Halftimemixes" can be realized by this small awkwardness now. The starting point for the mix entrance,
however, must be marked and found by the DJ , what is no deficiency, surely.
In the
opposite to a CD device, you have to get used to the circumstance that e.g.
track No. 1 appears within the display of the external remote control sometimes
, after you have selected it by button, while track 2 is still playing... to
prevent this, the new track has to be loaded by printing the button load
first. That can be done fast and is
also an intention, because in that way the DJ can load tracks also without
having a view on the monitor. But
nevertheless I find, the display should never show, what is not ready for the
playing regularly – anyhow not at the same place, where you can see, what is
being played otherwise (within the computer monitor display this conflict does
not exist, however)
The
possibility, to loop sections from the music represents one of the substantial
advantages for the CD/Mp3 DJ opposite to the colleagues using vinyl and can
lead to a completely different technique of putting on a record ("load a
track"), which has many in common with a live performance. For creating the Loop, several possibilities
can be chosen with BPM Studio: The Loop Sampler, which can be served on the
display, and making the Loop with the remote control 2001 A or B. The latter
works similarly as with Denon again: The loop jumps between the loop points A
and B towards and here. These are set
as follows: Basically by hand through
printing the buttons A or B during the music plays. Afterwards, similarly as in the case of the Cue point, a fine
adjustment can take place. The other
possibility: you can define a point B
vía the Player independently, after a marking of the point A, which is situated exactly one tact behind
it. Furthermore the "Beat
Stepping" function permits the hopping with the same loop length to a
later place of the track. The key exit -/reloop enables the going out of the loop
play mode, back to the normal playback.
Once defined loops can be put onto the 6 Cue buttons of the remote
control or onto the Sample Player, if this is within the loop mode, and to be
used again and again. Result: Clear advantages in the opposite to a CD
player when making the loops , but NI
tractor has a new, fantastic feature, which is being missed here: Tractor can set loops in 3 different,
professed lengths independently automatically during the play, which is
substantially more intuitive... but you can defind several non-standard loops
more comfortably and directly. Also BPM Studio can define even a loop of a tact
length... but for that, the player has to be stopped before,
unfortunately.
Surprisingly,
the program offers a Loop Sampler additionally, which actually pleases me still
better than the loop functions of the professional remote control: These can take up a loop, which can be
edited subsequently within a wave shape display and being played forwards and
backwards. The Clou: The thing plays additionally to the normal
playback, is equipped with an own volume- and pitch ruler, and can also be
routed to the monitor output.
Making
Loops with BPM Studio in both versions particularly permits also the
following: I can branch during the
piece to a loop... and take up the playback in another place towards the end of
the piece again.
The
Sample Player is still a further feature, which works together with the Loop
Sampler only in that way, as the defined loops –with or without remote control
–can be put onto the 9 buttons of the Sample Player.
It has
its own output within the mixer and plays completing to the other drives again
– as said, BPM-Studio can play up to 14 MP3` s at the same time. A push onto a
button of the 9 keys solves out the Sample or the loop, whereby different run
modes can be selected, among other things whether a second printing plays the
Sample from the beginning again or if the play will be terminated.
This
Tool is suitable, to bring in Jingles or small transitions excellently...
surely optimally for each radio station.
The capacity of this dream machine is limited only by the workspace of
the computer.
From
the Sample Player the Editor of the Sample Player can be reached comfortably
, parameters, such as Sample selection,
volume, pitch, loop on/off and Fade in/out can be regulated right here....and
the actual Sample Editor, where the length of loops and Samplestart can be
processed. Thereby it is very simple,
to occupy a button with another Sample occasionally.
The
internal mixer consists of 5 stereo channels:
Player A, Player B, the CD player, Sample Player, master and
monitor. The Player can be pre-heard
vía the monitor channel, the master channel regulates the total volume. BPM Studio is appropriate above all, to be
attached to an external mixer. Different outputs can be assigned to the
individual players and the monitor, so that they can be connected to an
external mixer like a double CD drive or 3 record players - if their sound
cards have so many different outputs.
Otherwise, outputs can be used also by several players at the same
time. For the actual master channel
there is no link, however. The conceptional difference of the tractor becomes
very clear right here: A master and a
monitor channel for the connection to the external mixer can be found at
tractor – but the individual player can not be attached to the mixer channels
individually, unless, you would route one to the monitor and the other to the
master channel improvisingly . Tractor
directs to a mixture of its two drives within the program. The BPM solution
pleases me better right here, because it designates operating in the
old-familiar way with the DJ mixer – but that is a matter of taste,
surely.
Furthermore
the BPM solution is not only DJ-, but also radio-friendly here. So BPM studio offers a graphic equalizer,
14-taped, with optional limiter, whose adjustments can be saved and used for
Player A,B and a CD player. First
impression: you can not make any drastic modifications, but it is beautiful for
the sound fine purification, e.g. if you want to play a disk from the 70s in
the radio according to a current hit.
This type of EQ is not intended for the DJ, who wants to turn out the
bass from a track when he is mixing, surely
– because he would have to
serve, I would estimate, about seven small regulators. There
are no
handily EQ ' s or filters as this can be found at tractor and here it becomes
clear again, too : The professional DJ
should operate with the external mixer first , while he should make mixes
inside of the program with tractor. The BPM Fader in the center of the
"rack", which is separated from the main mixer, offers some
comfortable Fade program options and automations with different Fade curve
courses and the option to join the playlists of the two players to only one
playlist by the zipper system.
The
Automatic Gain Control (AGC) of BPM Studio sounds quite good at the first
impression and offers additional parameters, apart from the usual adjustments
like Threshold, Attack and release:
Target marks the target output level, Scope indicates the max.
correction permission by the AGC. If a
level point is situated over the target value e.g. more as adjusted within the
Scope value, it will be only lowered for the Scope value. In addition to this type of the volume
adjustment a classical limiter can be set at the end of the chain, too. The
Equalizer has to facilitate, like the AGC, the possibility to mix together
material of different volume homogeneously.
Additionally,
the mixer can add 2 input ports of external signal sources as well as record
the total of all signals with a recorder.
The
recorder enables the record of the performance inclusively of the external
channels - as a WAV or Mp3 file directly.
In interaction with the streaming function it is possible to transmit
the master signal to a streaming server from BPM Studio directly – finished is
the internet sender. If you require a
visual accessory for your performance, the recorder signal can also be passed
on to a WinAmp visualization Plug in.
The
printing onto the button "Ripper" opens the CD unit, which is offered
as a third player with the same DJ mix functions as the Player A and B... so in
principle, this converts your computer CD Rom drive into a DJ drive , but this can not to be served vía the the
remote control , unless you pulled the complete CD from the CD player into the
Player A or B simply. The latency
values are displayed with 4ms when selecting the Kernel driver, too – in the
test, the play button (with mouse-click) actually worked without any noticeable
delay. Also pitch, pitch Bend and loop
Sampler ran perfectly. Only the
branching back to the selected CUE point lasted a few time longer.
Here
the program for copying CD ' s is integrated on the hard disk – alternatively
with or without any transformation into the Mp3 format, and this worked quite
briskly. The Clou: When printing the key CDDB, the program is being
connected automatically and without opening an Explorer window including CD
database servers, which store CD titles text-moderately, this makes sense, if
the CD does not use the format CD text.
I create the test, shift in my "air –Moon Safari" CD, press
CDDB... and the program actually finds out that this is that CD, even if it
suggests two alternatives, but I reject this manually. Afterwards it designates all the pieces of
the CD automatically, so the annoying naming for my new Mp3` s, which must be
stored, is omitted. At the same time, the program noted all
those which were inserted before, unnamed CD ' s and looks up for the titles
within the database, so that they will appear possibly, when inserting the
latter.
The CD
reader is considerably comfortable also in many other ways. It allows, for
example the copying of a mix CD with several index points in the "RK
once" mode. The Encoder permits a
conversion of WAV files into the Mp3 format.
The CD Writer provides similarly headlines, which are quite positive.
Audio CD ' s and data CD ' s can be burned, e.g. for the export of the Mp3 data
base. And you can transfer complete
playlists into the burning program (?) simply.
The titles and lengths will be burnt as CD text on audio CD ' s when
desired, if your burner accepts this. If the Writer supports CD-RW ' s, sections of the CD-RW can be eliminated very
comfortably through printing "Erase". Result: A genuine
workstation, switching to separate burning programs are not necessary any
more.
There
is a Playlist section, consisting either from one window or from two (1 window
per Player) as well as a File Archive display, which can be inserted instead
of the mixer or the CD players. Played titles will be saved as one playlist
automatically with their date and can be used again. In that way, a successful
evening can be reconstructed in, or sent to the GEMA J within the print designer directly. In contrast to
tractor, the mix with all its details and automatic controller movements can
not be recorded and revised in the Overdub mode in several passages. Which
program permits the better performance here, is not said thereby, because
instead of this you can turn the regulators of the external mixer as used
to.
Furthermore,
the program-own archiving and data base functions are rather widely with BPM
Studio. So, for example, entries of the File Archive can be sorted
alphabetically according to different columns, when you click onto the
respective column. Furthermore, many
arbitrary groups and sub-groups can be applied from BPM Studio. The entries
within the respective files, which can be called e. g. songs played, styles,
current CD ' s or artists, are only references to the original files, which do
not cost as much memory, so a track can be represented in several files easily,
without having to be on the disk physically for several times. The main
difficulty in many situations, when putting on a record, the finding of a
searched track, will belong to the past with BPM Studio. Above this, there is still a "file
search"– dialog. The playlist and the file section offer a small extra
pre-hear player additionally, which allude the tracks without necessary loading
into the main player, and route them to the monitor channel. That means, you are able to pre-hear e.g.
also tracks from the playlist for Player B, while this player is running.
Slowly it becomes clear to me, how you can get into the temptation to play 14
Mp3` s at the same time.
The
print designer rounds off the possibilities of editorial operating. Naturally
playlists, whole files, groups or sub-groups with various layout possibilities
can be printed out. Particularly interesting is still the possibility of storing
data within foreign formats e.g. HTML or Excel. Surely, that is no sensational
feature, but practical for the daily work.
Here are no traps, which leave alone a
BPM Studio user in future times. BPM provides all the tools and the
music editor for the archiving DJ. No French car, for which I do only get some
expensive spare parts for very few cities... no Outlook express, which draws
the most beautiful dead headings onto
the paper regularly, when I attempt to export my e-mail contacts.
Other
things
Furthermore
BPM Studio offers a user administration, which regulates the rights of access
to modules, files or writing prohibitions.
And... a quantity of different Designs (Skins), which offer a design
surface of the program referring to your desires. The numerous adjustments, which can be made within the
preferences, contain things like a normalize function furthermore, storage of
ID3 tags (e.g. those, which contain BPM (beats per minute) information), or
which permit the prohibition of any parallel running programs beside BPM
Studio.
... was
referred into the test more or less here, but this should be treated separately
once again, because BPM Studio is completely competitionless in the
professional area so far. As mentioned before, there are the most different
remote controls for different users, which can be compared vaguely with the
different comfort displays of the Denon Player 1800, 2000, 2100 or 2600, I
think, those are well known. All that works like I described it, except that
the program announced, that it had detected the remote control a few times too
often. Except of the loop functions,
most of the things can be controled also by the mouse on the computer, but
every DJ will require the beautiful remote control. Almost all the functions can
be controlled from here – you can even search within the archive title within
the playlist, but I would prefer the display nevertheless personally. The tested RCP 2001 B (with pitch Wheel
instead of the Slider, which can be found at RCP 2001 A) has inserted the
buttons of the Sample Player additionally, among other things, that is a huge
advantage. If this remote control will not be built into the rack, but put on
the soil, it can be connected to the computer with a special cable, which has
to be put laterally, but not at the back - but this must be ordered
additionally, unfortunately.
Practice:
As said
before: The program holds, what it
promised before, feels stable and, above all, very fast, owing to the drivers. Nevertheless,
especially the remote control permits the new technique dimensions, and the
user does not have to renounce on the
dear-won comfort when using CD players. The operating instruction is structured
complexely and sometimes not optimally, but with a little patience no questions
will be open at the end. The program will be supplied with a Dongle as a copy
protection, it can be wedged at the parallel interface e.g. in front of the
printer, a USB connection can be used by a USB-serial converter, available from
ALCATech, too.
BPM
Studio offers - referring to the software with its playing devices, the Sample
Player, the filing- transmitting-, accommodation and network functions- a
complete radio studio - and it is the first choice for each mobile DJ. Who has
to work with a large music repertoire, should purchase this program. BPM Studio
is - with its numerous tools - like a
Swiss penknife for DJ ' s and msic editors.
In addition to that, it also offers unbelievably fast drivers, so the DJ
receives real confidence in the new technique – and the remote controls, which
are competitionless so far. The competition program tractor can be the first
choice, with its filters, its automatic loop identification and the recording
of the automatic controller movements when mixing, nevertheless, for DJ`s who
like to edit. In combination with a good DJ mixer, however, the concept of BPM
Studio is situated in the front and offers -
with the different Sample- or Loop Players and Cue points different
intuitively tools for experimentations. A program, which can not be
comprehended in the abundance of its possibilities, and it is worth its
price.
FOCUS:
Per
BPM
Studio can be described as an adequate DJ workstation or also as a complete
radio station, which offers numerous possibilities of bringing in additional
sounds, editing, archiving, structuring, transmission, documentation and fun in
making experimentations, up to network and remote control functions, and also
convinces in smaller, fewer remarkable detailed solutions. Above this, it facilitates the change for
many DJ ' s by a user administration, which is well-known from CD players. In
contrary to tractor, it especially offers the possibility to connect the
drives, which are program internal, to the external DJ mixer vía allocatable
outputs. Without competition, or the absolutely top class, are the speed and
reliability of the drivers, the supply pallet of hardware remote controls, as
well as the function range within the area of the computer
DJ '
ing.
You
will have to get used to some functions of the remote control, to the Loop function within the remote
control and to the obligation, of having to load the track before. The tractor
competition offers a more interesting loop function. Unfortunately, no Mac version will appear.
Profile:
|
Functions
|
Complete
DJ workstation (among other things: double Mp3/audio player/Sample Player) or
radio station with filing-, transmission-, documentation- and network
functions as a software in connection with a PC, optionally together with the
hardware remote control. |
|
System
prerequisites |
Pentium2
400MHz, 128MB workspace, 20MB fixed-disk storage for the installation, SVGA graphics 800x600 pixel, 16Bit sound
card (2 sound cards recommended), 40 times CD Rom for its alternatively use
as a player, parallel interface LPT1, serial interface COM 1 or 2, Windows
95, Windows 98 or ME alternatively Windows 2000 or XP (starting from BPM
Studio version 4.2 ) |
|
Scope
of supply |
CD,
manual, Dongle, Remote controls with cables, if necessary |
|
price
recommendation, not binding |
BPM Studio
4: 399 , - Euro Remote
Control RCP 2001 B: 1.399 , - Euro,
including BPM Studio Pro software |
|
Manufacturer: |
ALCATech, 96515 Sonneberg, Otto Bergner
Str. 30 |
|
Internet: |