Novation has announced Dicer, a palm-sized cue point and looping controller developed with Serato.
Plug Dicer in, slot it on your turntable/CDJ, and you can instantly set cue points and use them to trigger ‘Hot Cues’. Or, flip Dicer into ‘Auto-Loop’ or ‘Loop Roll’ modes, to trigger loops, or ‘roll’ sections of the track to create climaxes, drops and glitchy breaks. Each ‘mode’ illuminates Dicer’s pads a different colour, so you can instantly see what mode the pads in, even in dark clubs and venues.
Dicer’s buttons can also ‘learn’ other software functions. So, you can assign different FX to the pads, or trigger samples over the top of your mix, or even browse tracks in your iTunes library!
Dicer was designed by Novation in collaboration with Ean Golden – DJ and curator of DJ Tech Tools. Ean came up with the concept of a controller that fits on the turntable, and his contribution has been crucial in helping Novation design and develop Dicer.
Dicer features
- Performance buttons with visual feedback — Backlit, multi-colour, soft touch ‘dice’ buttons, provide immediate LED feedback from Serato Scratch Live software.
- Locks straight onto Technics SL 1200/10, and similar decks — Using the 45-adapter hole, Dicer places looping control right where you need it – on your decks, millimetres away from your vinyl.
- Attaches to CDJs, mixers and laptops — With Novation’s reusable ‘DJ putty’, your Dicers can slot into even the most cramped of DJ performance set-ups, sticking cleanly and directly onto your CDJs, mixer or laptop.
- Default set-up for Serato Scratch Live — Dicer is pre-programmed to take advantage of the cue point and looping functions in Serato Scratch Live, including ‘Hot Cues’, ‘Auto Roll’ and ‘Loop Roll’.
- Works with all major DJ software — Dicer is fully MIDI assignable, so it can be set up to control almost any software, including Traktor Scratch Pro. Up to 60 assignable MIDI controls are available from a pair of Dicers.
- USB bus-powered — Dicer gets all the power it needs from a single USB cable, with no need for an external power supply. A mini Jack cable transmits power and data to the second Dicer.
- A Fully class compliant MIDI device — Dicer is a plug and play device, so no need to install any drivers.
Dicer is expected to be in stores in late June/early July 2010, priced at $99.99 USD / 99.99 EUR / £79.99 GBP.
More information: Novation / Dicer
