Video: Tonium Pacemaker in action
By Nilay Patel 
posted May 8th 2009 1:33PM
posted May 8th 2009 1:33PM
Some quick impressions:
- It's hard to deny the sheer charm of the Pacemaker. Everything about it, from the packaging to the accessory cables to the interface, feels thought-out and friendly.
- First-time DJs will certainly be able to figure things out, but you'll be well-served by knowing the basics of DJing before you go in -- the Pacemaker is essentially a portable simulation of two decks and a mixer. If you don't know how to use those, it'll take you a while to get things sorted.
- On the same note, experienced DJs shouldn't expect to just pick up and go -- there's a bit of a learning curve, and although the fundamental tools are all there, you've got to learn how the Pacemaker thinks about tracks and beatmatching before you can get into a groove. It's more like a CDJ than like vinyl, but it's still quirky enough to require some practice.
- It doesn't scratch, and we're not really even sure how you'd pull it off using the touch fader -- it's not like you can click it really fast or anything.
- It'll auto-beatmatch for you, but it doesn't lock in, and it drifts almost instantly. In fact, it drifts a lot, even when playing straight house or techno -- you have to baby the tempo adjustment just as much as vinyl.
- Mixing rap and hip-hop is a unique challenge, since the beatmatch controls seem to get confused by anything other than a steady four-four beat. It can be done, but the Pacemaker seems best suited to house, trance, and techno.
- File management is pretty much on the user -- you can use filters and set up crates, but if you've got a lot of files you'll eventually find yourself scrolling endlessly through the list.
- Speaking of file management, that's pretty much all we used the included software for -- it does have some mixing features, but they didn't seem deep enough to devote a ton of time to learning.
- Ultimately, we've had a great time playing with the Pacemaker, but we're just not sure what we'd use it for. Sure, it cuts down on having to lug two decks and a mixer around, but you still need a PA for the full experience, and we wouldn't really want to play a show with it. On the other hand, you can set it to just mix in headphones, and if you're looking to work on your set or just practice mixing on the road it could be really useful.
I assume it would blow up trying to mix breaks
Actually, it handles breaks just fine (i have one)! dnb can be a bit of a challenge however as it generally thinks they're running at half-tempo.
send me a free 1. so i can talk bad about it after actually using it at a gig
That's the thing... no one would actually use one of these at a gig. They are for hack fratboys who think they can mix.
its a great tool, but when you make things too easy... then everyone thinks they can do something.
its bad enough that just because a couple kids can use pcdj they feel that they are the best dj in the suburbs.
That being said. When you give someone who actually KNOWS what they are doing from the get go.. like Carlos here, It's just another Awesome tool to make a great set EVEN better.
IF nothing else it would be a lifesaver if you broke your last needle... got wasted and someone ripped off your gear, or your roomate left a bunch of albums out in the sun etc.
Overall i think its solid.. but i dont think the product has enough "PRO" polish to it.
GALAGA
For everyone wondering the first song he fades into is Mr. Oizo - Gay Dentists (JFK Edit)
I can see this being fun for a DJ who is on the go alot (on a plane, bus, subway, train, carpool) or to play with different stuff when you dont feel like playing with the tables or even for a small party.
I cant picture someone doing a whole set with this at a gig.
Might be possible but who will take you serious standing there twiddling that tiny thingy? (Reminds me of something she said..) And who will pay you big bucks?
does it allow you to save the "output" as a new .mp3?
you can transfer the saved mix to your computer then output that to an .ogg file. so essentially yes
Awesome! When I first glanced at the initial post a little while ago, I couldn't see how this device could do what it was claiming. I'm sure that this would fall right around the "pro-sumer" area for those of us w/o two plus decks and a whole truck load o' gear. Nice presentation, but now I just want to see how the ui feels under my own digits. It would be nice if they could enable haptics through the touchpad to help the user get more in tune w/ the Pacemaker...
No way is this prosumer hardware.
You can't win any DMC championships with this thing but I don't see why you couldn't rock a party with it.
cause it can't really do any hip-hop so that would be an issue. At least any party i'm at. House, Techno, or this stuff would get you punched.
I wonder what it would be like to replace my Grandpa's pacemaker with this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhBegKocg2U - Far more in-depth video of what it can do (jump to 5 min to see the rundown), although it's on the older firmware.
It's a shame there's no scratch feature. Also auto-beatmatching for hiphop doesn't work in ANY program i've seen so far - manual is the only way that works.
Exactly what I was thinking too. I take Bart to work so it'd be nice to use this while on bart... you can't beat two TT's or CDJ's at a party though.
What's with all this ghetto crap? When are we going to get back to real music, you know with real instruments?
ummmm it is real music... just cuz u dont listen to it grandpa doesnt mean u should bash it.. learn to have respect for music as a whole... i have respect for good music i dont listen to, you should too.
Grandpa? I'm 26 jagoff. Just because someone calls it music doesn't mean it should be respected. Learn a real G-Damned instrument and play real music.
OK, arbiter of culture, which instruments are acceptable? Can we stick with tried and true electric guitars and drum kits, or do we need to break out the trumpets and clarinets? Or are only the sackbut and rebec approved? You know, while we're complaining about the interests of others, and all.
Anything that make's it's own sounds instead of playing back other people's music.
most of the parts of the original songs weren't played on "real" instruments. drum machines, synths, etc are primarily used.
try to keep the ignorance to yourself.
Abelton Live LE is cheaper, easier to use, and you can actually use it to perform
LOL @ this thing only being good for 4/4 music because of the beat matching processors inability to handle it. God forbid a dj would actually have to beat match manually!
I think they have something here but not to mix records. Use this in conjunction with Reason or any other virtual multi track and it would make an excellent performance tool.
You could easily bang out long loops with variations and whack them over to this and then mix everything on the fly with this at a gig in real time. Writing the tracks as you mix them so to speak.
I sooooo need one of these.
This to me looks like a cool product, but I wonder how many products like this can and will be re-done with an iPhone/iPod touch and the custom hardware connectivity now allowed with iPhone OS 3.0.
If you all you need is a multitouch screen and a general CPU (provided by iPhone hardware), this might be an awesome project to attempt for an iPhone developer :)
I want one so i can practice on the road, and because i have a diesel watch already.
Engadget came to Chicago?
Wow, Nilay doesn't look like a lawyer..
Actually, in the video thumbnail I thought the people were the other way around. Nilay looks more like a DJ and Carlos looks more like an Engadget geek.
yeah... apple would never ask him to be on its commercials.
DJ'ing is cute and all but if you make your own music, you're cooler than any dj. Now if you make your music and then mix it for live performances, then you're awesome and creative.
Those are wicked turntable mats.
The mats are never shown. Those are Serato CV's. (Control Vinyl)
They are never shown? WTF are you talking about they are in the image at the top of the page.... and they are awesome.
This would only be sweet for a road trip.
Wait...how does a turntable work?
"...normally this would be spinning and there would be a needle on it..."
Oh, okay. Thanks!
Hah, I liked that comment!
Also liked the bit where he shakes his head at the start...
i'm not a DJ, i don't know anything about it. But i want this. so i can rox my cats sox off
There is pretty much no strictly beatmatching software that can instantly mix hip-hop on the fly that well because the tempo changes alot and it can't distinguish words from beats well. It's kinda like getting guitar sounds from a program. You can do it but it's not the same as a live person playing live guitar.
Kewl gadget!
I'm not a dj. I played some times with real turntables
and used Traktor a lot, but you will never get the feeling you get from
"controlling" an actual vinyl..
This could be "usefull" and fun for newbie to play,
and maybe for djs during travels to find out tunes that can be mixed togheter,
but a real DJ , as I see it, needs to feel the music under his fingers and will never use this during a gig.
What if I want to fade off the bass from 1 song and fade up the mid of the other simultaneusly?
BTW, what about the price of this thing?
Cheers from Italy.
Nilay that has GOT to be your slipmat. very cool.
It's a pretty interesting gadget. I'm not a DJ but I could see having some fun with this if I had some gear and was into it a bit.
I think this sort of thing will be good for people looking to get into being a DJ or just have dreams of it. Learn the basics and play around and have some fun. No one said it only has to be for professionals.
Lets face it if you want to get serious about being a Dj you need turntables, mixers and records. Thats a big barrier of entry for a lot of people compared to this little thing and its small price.
First off: That was DJing?
Secondly: That was music?
yeah, and that interface looks real good for beatmatching manually... ;)
seriously I agree with jgz, apart from the tiny touchpad, looks like the main limitation would be trying to set two things simultaneously.