![]() ![]() Annoyingly, you're forced to go through a tedious registration process, armed with the serial number of a purchased unit, before gaining access to the Numark software a process rendered more annoying by its complete failure to work for me. There's a bunch of Traktor templates available, plus Numark's own Orbit-specific DJ software and a device editor. The Orbit comes with a quick start guide, but no manual or software, instead directing you to the Numark web site for downloads. The central control wheel is smooth but a little stiff for my tastes unfortunately there seems to be no way to adjust the friction. A slight disappointment is the shoulder buttons, which appear to be chrome-coated plastic and feel a little cheap, although they worked well enough. On the whole, the build quality of the device seems good. If that all seems too much, rubber pads allow the Orbit to sit solidly on a table. The underside of the Orbit has a rotatable bracket into which can be threaded the included velcro strap, allowing you to actually wear the device, if you're that way inclined, while two metal hoops on the lower edge would instead let you hang it round your neck. ![]() Two shoulder buttons are mounted on the top edge of the device, again mimicking the design of game controllers. A central control wheel is flanked on each side by eight pads containing multi-colour LEDs, while small pad buttons above and below the wheel allow for bank and 'virtual knob' (control wheel assignment) switching. The Orbit looks, and feels, like a large and chunky game controller. The key selling points here seem to be portability, motion sensitivity and wireless operation, a combination of features which warrants a closer look. Technically, though, this gear works in much the same way regardless of genre: USB devices operating as controllers, perhaps with some audio mixing functionality, connected to production or performance software on a computer.Įnter the Orbit, a small, low-cost USB MIDI controller whose design aesthetic clearly marks it as coming from the DJ fold, but which looks like it might be interesting as an input or performance device away from the DJ scene. As someone firmly in the composition camp, I find the DJ technology scene curious and slightly bemusing, but there's clearly a lot going on interms of both hardware and software innovation: a quick glance at Numark's web site shows a huge selection of wonderful-looking DJ tools. Numark's Orbit is aimed at DJs, but it also has plenty of potential as an unusual controller for the studio.įor years, music creation and DJ'ing have existed in largely parallel worlds, both pushing technology to their own ends and coming up with interesting products, but with little overlap or cross-fertilisation.
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