This year's show included demos and showcases from the Perverts, Tigerstyle, 2tall, Square One, Yoda (who was meant to do a showcase on Pioneer's new DVD decks which unfortunately fell through due to copyright issues - Lucas is a tight basta*d!), Woody (who performed his Flutine routine at the end of day 1) and many more. In addition to all this the show is rounded off with lectures and seminars as well as plenty of space to network and build contacts. Anyway onto the good stuff you'll be wanting to know about. To make it all simpler to read I've broken it down by manufacturer and to help me along I've enlisted the help of Gizmo, from Skratchworx.com, whose knowledge and expertise (as well as industry contacts) have been providing heads with regular info and in depth quality reviews for the last year. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen we bring you PLASA 2004

Vestax - May the force be with you?

Vestax's main attraction was the QFO, the first turntable and mixer hybrid of its kind, which went on sale in the UK last month. It was designed hand in hand with QBert, and after a good year of rumours, debates and arguments surrounding it and its real worth to the tablist community we were able to finally play with it for the first time. Overall it must be said this is one piece of equipment that could have a lot of potential. Pluses have to be the platter and pitch range, with minuses to the fader curve placement, the curve itself which was quite poor on the display units and the fact that the faders are not interchangeable (i.e you can't swap a line fader for the cross and vice-versa). Still those are minor gripes and overall the QFO left a very pleasant impression in most people's minds and got the thumbs up from 2tall and Woody.

Next up from Vestax was the brand new 05 Pro SL mixer with its built in sampler and effects. Didn't get much of a chance to test the sampler itself (which has 23 seconds of sampling with unlimited layers within that time, though you can't delete layers without erasing them all bar the base layer), though the mixer has a very nice feel to it and is graced with a new faceplate, knobs and faders, making it a well worth upgrade if your old 05 or 07 has had a battering.

Vestax also had their new CD deck, the CDX-05 on display. It was mainly fitted to decks using the new Tascam TTM-1 device, which allows you to control the CD via the turntable it's fitted on (it reads the movement of the vinyl and uses that to control the track the CD plays). Whilst we didn't get the time to play with the CD deck itself, the TTM-1 got a fair bit of attention and like most who've used it we were very impressed by the quality of the control, playback and overall stability and ease of use. This is definitely one digital controller to keep an eye out for!

The last offering from Vestax came in the shape of the new Güber lifestyle range of products, which includes a very trendy and iPod like looking deck and mixer. The only thing I shall say on this subject is a quote from Woody, who upon seeing the deck and mixer proclaimed it to be ‘on some stormtrooper shit!' 

Gizmo says - I have one of the CDX-05's in the skratchlair right now and so far, things are looking good. (you can check video demos of the CDX-05 on www.skratchworx.com now)

More on them at www.vestax.co.uk

Denon - Scratch happy people!

While Denon may be known more for their CD decks then their scratch products, this year's stand had a few items on feature which really caught our eye and could definitely help drive them further into the scratch market. These are the DN-S3000 CD deck and DN-X300 mixer.

The deck has been out for a while and is similar to its 5000 big brother. It's equipped with a scratch function and platter that will have most heads smiling in delight and makes for a really decent piece of scratch kit. It's a decent entry level CD deck that can be used for both scratching and mixing without letting you down.

The X300 mixer is distinct in its Rane TTM-56 look-a-like features, and encompasses much of the same features as the 56 and a few others too. From the small time we got to play with it and the 3000 we can definitely say that this is a strong contender in the scratch mixer market and should find a home with most heads.

Gizmo says - Don't forget the even smaller DN-X100 mixer. Basically a cut down 300 but without the send and receive loop, P&G and EQ kill switches and all coming in for the wallet friendly price of £250.

More on them at www.denondj.com

Stanton - Finally you get to scratch!

Having helped set the standards for digital controllers a few years back with the release of Final Scratch, Stanton's digital controller has since been plagued with bad feedback from users, problems with the interface and the rise of competitors on the digi controller market (for those of you unaware of digital controllers, they are essentially computer based emulation programs that allow to control mp3s and audio files on your computer via your turntable). This year seems them strike back with version 2, the demo version of which seems a whole lot better then 1 by far with a new scratchamp, firewire connections and a whole lot more.

The set up took only a few minutes getting used to, with the new interface (which uses Native Instruments' Traktor software) feeling very intuitive and the response to the vinyl manipulations excellent. After playing on it for 10 minutes or so I didn't experience any real problems and it handled basic scratches, little juggles and more with ease. For those of you still deciding on whether or not to invest in a controller this one could help swing it.

Gizmo says - Skratchworx has a very close relationship with Stanton and have been promised one of the first units asap. First impressions are good - a much better gut feeling than the more recent versions of FS. And from what I can gather, this is just the beginning.

More on them at www.stantondj.com

Numark - You call this a CD deck?

Alongside Vestax, Numark were the one exhibitor to check out with the now established TTX turntable on show as well as the now ubiquitous CDX.

The CDX is the first CD deck of its kind to offer a 12" platter which mimics a real turntable, allowing you to control the CD as if you were scratching vinyl and replicating the feel. As such it has slowly been proving more and more successful since its official launch, and getting to play with them we can easily see why. They are definitely a much more scratch orientated CD deck than most, a clever move on Numark's behalf. This is probably the most direct contender to Technics' new SL-DZ1200 deck and frankly from what I've heard and seen so far, Numark seems to be ahead for now.

The capability of the CDX was tested by 2tall who managed to pull some very nice moves on it, including a good little juggle of the ‘900 Number' proving that the CDX can live up to its expectations and specs quite easily.

Gizmo says - Numark also showed off their new DXMPro digital scratch mixer. Fully equipped with everything you'd expect from a scratch mixer but coming in at a very respectable £350. Ideal compliment to the CDX.

More on them at www.numark.com

Eclectic Breaks - A fader revolution?
London based Eclectic Breaks' stand held the one major surprise (if we can call it this) of this year's PLASA event, with the introduction of their new Pro X Fader. Not much info available on this one just yet, beyond the basic facts: it offers adjustable tension and lag (with rotaries) and comes with an 8mm wide stem. EB hopes to be able to start selling these in January, making their first move into the equipment market and backed by a strong belief that their non-corporate status (they are a diverse media company focusing on music, events and promotion) will help attract the customers who are left dissapointed by poor customer service and big corporate scams.

The main thing about this fader was that beyond all the specs and hype around it, it seems to be a damn good fader and will be made to fit most analogue mixers, starting with the Vestax range, and could prove to become a serious threat to the likes of P&G. All the DJs showcasing on the day had nothing but praises for it, a sure sign that the Pro X Fader could turn some heads very soon.

So that's about it for PLASA this year. Last mention to Pioneer's stand which didn't have many new exciting things to test, which is a shame as their recent 707 and 909 mixers are proving a favourite of many DJs right now. Both these mixers have been designed with the scratch DJ in mind but without alienating the rest of the community either. The 909 is especially interesting because it offers a multitude of easy to use built-in effects (around 50) coupled with quality faders and cut in time. The only other main attraction for Pioneer was their new DVD-Js and fx unit which were showcased on all days by various acts from the dance music world. The new DVD decks basically allow you to do anything you can on a Pioneer CD deck but using the DVD and thus adding a whole visual dimension to your work. They do look heavily impressive and offer so many new opportunities for the visually minded DJs out there. Expect the price to be high on release and dropping when everyone else enters the fray next year (Numark were also showcasing their DVD mixer set up, which was much less appealing on looks, but shows that the competition is getting ready). For more on the Pioneer mixers check www.battlemixer.com

The Sunday was rounded up with the Gemini DJ competition which saw Kouadjo from France take the title and bag himself some free gear and promotion in I-DJ Magazine, sponsor of the event. Overall PLASA 2004 was a success on all counts, with the professional side of the event proving more successful then ever it seem and firmly confirming that the industry side of things are in good health. And for us music and equipment geeks it's also proven to be a fine year. Roll on 2005!

PLASA round-up:

Best stands - Pioneer, Denon and Numark (who get props for making things usable this year!)

Worst stands - Rodec (not so much a stand, more like a pile of pebbles)and Citronic

Best non-obvious scratch product - Xone:92 CTRL

Worst obvious scratch product - Reloop range

What the f*&%! Moment - The Cheeky Girls performing on the stand next to the one 2tall and Square One were demo-ing the new EB fader.

That's it from us, many thanks to Emily at Articulate for hooking us up with prizes and tickets. And many thanks to Gizmo for lending a helping hand and chipping in with advice and pics. Check the related links for more info on all this!

Related links

www.articulate.co.uk - PR for the event

www.skratchworx.com - the one stop for all your equipment needs on the net. News, reviews, movie demos and many more with the expertise of people like Deft, Professor BX, Fingerlickin' B and Gizmo himself.

www.plasashow.com - the 2004 site.