Swedish tech company Tonium Laboratories recently announced the release of Pacemaker, “the world’s first professional pocket-sized DJ system,” the creators hoping to appeal primarily to dance and electronic-music professionals and fans. Tonium touts the device as one that could replace entire record collections, with a 120 GB hard drive compatible with any available sound system.
Pacemaker—resembling an iPod on steroids—is able to provide users with the ability to mix two tracks simultaneously, all in the palm of your hand. The accompanying Pacemaker software automatically beat-matches, thus making the device more user-friendly for amateurs and, in a sense, automating DJing.
Users can create live mixes on the fly or create and save mixes to play later. Digital audio tracks are loaded onto the Pacemaker as with any other MP3 player, but the tracks can then be used to create mixes, with features such as cross-fades, loops and pitch adjusting (corresponding buttons and an iPod-like touchpad are used for the effects). Mixes can be saved onto Pacemaker and then transferred onto a PC or Mac for editing and playback with the companion software application. Tracks are reloaded onto the Pacemaker to play at a party, nightclub, grandma’s 80th birthday, wherever. But could there really come a day when the DJ shows up for a gig with naught but a petite Pacemaker in his or her talented hands?
After perusing the initial product description, it was still unclear if the Pacemaker aims to be the new industry standard for professional DJs or is targeting the average music fan who’s simply tinkering around with DJing.
Tonium representative Jessica Darrican alleviates some of the confusion. “The Pacemaker gives everyone the tools a professional would need to create mixes,” she explains. “With this said, the Pacemaker is targeted to anyone that has an interest in using their music collection to create genuine mixes. This unit is not meant to replace a professional DJ’s equipment, but to give them an on-the-go way of creating music, which they can later tweak using the software. For the amateur, the Pacemaker is a more affordable tool they can purchase to help them get to the level they want to reach.”
But at $799, the Pacemaker doesn’t appear to be the next “it” item for just anyone. While the Pacemaker can also function as a souped-up MP3 player, it’s more likely the device will appeal to the DJ professional on the go who may want to fine-tune a mix while en route to a gig.
So how do those in the business weigh in on the Pacemaker? Since the device isn’t set for distribution until late March, many within the DJing world haven’t experienced the product—though many do have an opinion about the device. Bad Boy Bill, currently ranked No. 38 on DJ Magazine’s Top 100, looked over the Pacemaker’s specs. “The concept seems pretty cool,” he says.
One DJ who has toyed around with Pacemaker is dance-music veteran Judge Jules. “I’ve used the beta version of Pacemaker, and it’s absolutely revolutionary and unique. You still need the skills to mix, but it’s all in the palm of your hand,” he says.
While Eighteenth Street Lounge Music’s Ursula 1000 says he had not previously heard of the device, he does have a strong opinion about the course the DJ world may be taking. “The only thing I don’t really dig is laziness, where people are spinning on laptops with an entire playlist culled only from blogs. There is a bit of digging and archaeology, if you will, with certain DJ sets that I find exciting, and I’d hope the crowd would, too.”
Chad Craig, owner/operator of AWOL Productions in Las Vegas (who also periodically works alongside The Crystal Method), echoes similar doubts about the Pacemaker. “Without seeing it work, I would have to say it sounds hokey. Technology in the DJ world advances with small steps, not leaps and bounds. It took about five years for the CDJ100 CD player to make 1200s [turntables] obsolete, but in this day and age, most touring professional DJs rarely use vinyl anymore, and slowly most are going to Serato [a DJ software program].”
The possibility of Pacemaker or other future pocket-sized devices (Mac already makes a mini iPod turntable setup smaller than a TV dinner) completely replacing turntables, CDJs and laptops in the near future is unlikely. Tonium spokeswoman Darrican says while the Pacemaker is “revolutionary, the idea is for this to serve professional DJs as a supplement to their professional equipment—never replace it.”
For more information about Pacemaker, visit www.pacemaker.net.