New cables for a temporary replacement mixer

Just last night, one of my colleagues told me that the Mackie mixer belonging to a client of mine has issues so it must be sent for repair. Unfortunately, the client needs the mixer for an event today. So we search our store and the only mixer that we have available is a Behringer Xenyx 802. But unfortunately, the Mackie mixer has XLR balanced outputs and the Behringer only has unbalanced 1/4″ outputs. So how do we solve this?

Simple. I asked my colleague if they had any DI boxes in the store. She said that we have a single DI box. So what I do is to make a XLR Y-cable and a couple of 1/4″ to 1/4″ TS phone jacks. I had some spare plugs and XLRs left over so they would do nicely. The way it is going to be connected is:

1. 1/4″ to 1/4″ TS phone plug cable will be plugged to the unbalanced output of the Behringer mixer
2. The other end of the 1/4″ to 1/4″ TS phone plug cable will be plugged to the input of the DI box
3. The output of the DI box will be connected to the XLR Y-cable
4. The two outputs of the Y-cable will be plugged into the existing XLR cables

This is the only way this is going to work. Meanwhile, I have to make sure we have a proper mixer with a balanced output. Unbalanced outputs like the one that Behringer has is not gonna cut it these days

Indonesian gamelan gongs at Malay Heritage Centre

While passing through the Malay Heritage Centre a couple of weeks back, I happened to come across this gamelan orchestra that was playing there. In case you guys do not know, gamelan orchestras hail from Indonesia and the music is pleasant to hear, especially when those gongs are struck. I am just sad because I missed the preformance and I waited a while longer to see if it would begin again. Sad to say, they had finished and their instruments were only for exhibition. No worries…there will be e next time

A nice, chilled gin and tonic after a hot day

Years ago, I used to remember my dad coming back home after a hard day’s work and always pouring himself a very diluted whiskey in a tall, highball glass. Just the other day I did the same with a gin tonic. I can tell you that it really tasted good after a hot day out in the sun. I am far from being an alcoholic…but sometimes, a pick-me-up like a nice cold gin tonic will work wonders for you…as it did for me.

Denon DN-MC6000 does not work with Serato DJ

I have always liked this Denon DN-MC6000 and at one time I was seriously thinking of buying it. It oozes Denon quality, is made of metal and is just reliable. But here is the shocker…well…not really a shocker as I should have known better.

About three weeks ago I was doing a party. One of my co-DJs had an issue with the Serato SL4 box that he plugged into. So he borrows a controller that one of the other DJs was using. Imagine his horror when he found out that this controller could not be detected by Serato DJ! Apparently, the DN-MC6000 MK-II is compatible with Serato. The other co-DJ was running on VirtualDJ and this controller works just fine with that…not with Serato DJ unfortunately

So there you have it folks. I was also asked this question fairly recently about the younger brother of the DN-MC6000 which is the DN-MC3000. That does not work with Serato DJ either. There are lots of these controllers up for sale online. Just be forewarned that they do not work with Serato DJ.

Lovely night-time shot of The Fullerton Hotel

I was waiting for my bus the other night, a bout a week back, and I happened to glance at the adjacent Fullerton Hotel. It looked really good and I thought I would snap a picture of it. Not bad for my crappy phone camera…it caught it in all its glory! This hotel was at one time a post office when it was first built but since then, it has been turned into a hotel…and a grand hotel it is too. I think this shot of mine of the hotel is lovely and I was glad to be able to take it and share it on my blog

Lynn N Dough otak bun average at best

So I bought this supposedly “gourmet” otak (fish paste) bun for breakfast a couple of days ago. Paid above the average price for it I admit. To be honest, it was nothing to praise about. Sure, the bread was softer but in my opinion, too soft. I have tasted better I admit, But after all, it was breakfast time, and I was hungry…so beggars cannot be choosers. Given a choice, I will steer clear of this next time.

Holes near manhole covers are dangerous

That is precisely what I faced a couple of days back. I was crossing the road and I stepped into this manhole cover. As I was wearing slippers, the edge of the hole caused some deep scratches to my ankle. The hole was pretty deep and later, I took a picture of this hole next to the manhole. This is quite dangerous and I sincerely hope that the Public Works Department, or whatever it is called now, will do something about it

Fing network tool for Android

I have a fantastic network discovery tool on my PC but some days, when I cannot use my PC in a client’s place, I turn to the next best tool that I can use. It is called Fing and so far, among the network scanning tools for Android, I finf that this is the best so far. It has really helped me out in many cases and it’s GUI is superb and the app is easy to use. Download it now…its free. If you are a network and IT guy, you will need this

SanDisk and the 1Tb SD card

Looks like SanDisk has done it again. They have unveiled a 1Tb SD card. According to the article I got this from, the SDXC card is only a prototype at this point, with no details available on price or release date. I am already looking forward to this. Before this, they came out with the 512Gb SD card and now this. Things are looking good for portable storage all of a sudden but it also depends on the device this huge capacity SD card is attached to.

Pioneer DDJ-SB2

I wrote a write-up about the DDJ-SB some time back, a controller that a friend of mine was utilising, to great effect. Since then, I have seen it used in many places and while the DDJ-SB was viewed as an entry-level controller, it was pretty good and did the job well.

Also some time back, Pioneer released the DDJ-SB2, the updated model to the original DDJ-SB. Now I can almost hear you ask…what are the differences? Well, for the most part, one of the new things available on the DDJ-SB2 are the level meters. Now, you do not have to look at the Serato software LED meters to check on your levels. It also put to rest some of the complaints that DJs were making, something about what a cheaper controller like the DDJ-WeGo has LEDs but the more expensive DDJ-SB did not. Well, now that the DDJ-SB2 has them, that should put some of the complaints to bed

The second new feature on the DDJ-SB2 is the addition of TRIM knobs. Now there is a bone of contention about TRIM vs GAIN. The only difference is that GAINs are active and TRIMs are passive. But I digress. The TRIM knobs are a welcome setting but in a world where DJ software does all the autogain for you, you really start to ask yourself if this addition was needed. I think it still is needed and I think that it is a wonderful addition to the new DDJ-SB2

The third new feature is 4-deck control. Once again the DJs were complaining and once again about the DDJ-WeGo vs the DDJ-SB…why were there 4-deck control options on a cheaper controller? So Pioneer heard you and delivered…just like that.

So if you want to know more about the DDJ-SB2, check out the Pioneer website that will explain it in its entirety. It’s a bit big in size or else I would snap it up. I have always gone for small, zippy controllers like the DDJ-WeGo so it looks like this might be an impulse buy…later!