DJIT, the company behind popular DJ app Edjing, announced that it has created the world’s first wireless crossfader: the Mixfader. Up until now, DJ’ing on a tablet has largely been regarded as a mere novelty among professionals because of a lack of physical controls. Without real faders and real knobs, the process becomes awkward and uninspiring. DJIT seems to want to turn that around with its latest product. For those of you who are not a DJ, (which today, means no one) the crossfader is the part of a mixer that controls how much of each track is blended into the master mix. It is essential for creating the trademark choppy sound that you hear in a scratch performance. DJIT’s new product will utilize Bluetooth to connect to your smartphone or tablet, and it appears to work seamlessly with their app. They claim on their Facebook that the technology works so well, that the crossfader has a response time of less than 5ms. Check out a demonstration below.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg_Z8gfoXxg?rel=0&w=640&h=360]
Whether or not this new product will revolutionize mobile DJ’ing remains to be seen. Native Instruments has already entered the tablet-DJ market with its Kontrol Z1, a controller that has much more functionality than the Mixfader. It even seems that the only thing the Mixfader has going for it is that it’s wireless, a feature that doesn’t really solve any problems. It looks cool though, and it might be worth the investment to show off to your pals at a party. It’s not like you bring your turntables with you everywhere you go, and sometimes you just want to jam. The small form factor and convenient connectivity would make it painless to carry around in a bag, and might even spur up some more impromptu scratch sessions. If the Mixfader is priced appropriately, it just might have the ingredients to sell.
When the Mixfader arrives this Fall, would you consider buying it? Tell us in the comments below.