Pacemaker Portable DJ Mix Player
If nothing else, you have to admire the Pacemaker for its audacity. Like the iPod and the iPhone, Tonium's portable DJ mix capable MP3 player really is the first of its kind. And continuing the parallel, the DJ equipment company has launched a slick advertising campaign aimed at DJs and electronic music heads that is more than a little reminiscent of Apple, if Steve Jobs had maybe dropped a couple tabs like back in the 70s. The goal is fairly clear - Tonium wants to equate their DJ MP3 player with the high end industrial design of companies like Apple, and therefore overcome any resistance out there in the market for swallowing the rather hefty $400 price tag.
So how does the Pacemaker measure up? Rather well, actually, but more in terms of innovation than in terms of quality. It's absolutely not any kind of substitute for actual turntables, or pro DJ CD players, or even professional DJ mix software like Ableton Live. As with most technologies, it has its share of technical glitches that could prove frustrating to unlucky consumers. What it does do rather well is take DJ mixing into a whole new realm - call it casual mixing. Ever get the urge to hear what two tracks on your iPod would sound like beatmatched together? Well, now you can. The Pacemaker makes the act of mixing techno, house and trance tracks intuitive and easy enough that you can literally be mixing as you walk down the street - although you might get some puzzled expressions as you constantly fool with the controls on what looks a little like the MP3 player equivalent of those oversized cellphones from the 80s.
Mixing two tracks together in a traditional house/techno DJ format is fairly straightforward - simply load two tracks from an iPod-like list into the two available slots on the device (paralleling a pair of turntables in a real DJ setup), and pressing play while holding down the beatmatch key should sync the tracks in time together. The results aren't always perfect, and like any mixing tool it takes a little bit of practice, but Tonium's beatmatching technology is, for the most part, impressively accurate with little effort on the user's part - at least when it comes to tracks with a straightforward beat structure.
The Tonium Pacemaker makes the act of mixing techno, house and trance tracks intuitive and easy enough that you can literally be mixing as you walk down the street.
Tracks with long, beatless intros or complex percussion (think IDM rather than house or techno mixes) more often than not result in a mangled disaster out of the box, but Pacemaker also offers a piece of software where you can "prep" songs much as in Ableton to ensure smoother mixing. You can also sync your recorded mix back to the software when you're finished, which is a very cool feature, although the UI could have been a little more carefully thought out.
Besides fading between the two tracks in a typical DJ mix style, there are some fun effects that can be applied, such as filters, looping and EQ. These are depend on moving the touchpad in the right direction combined with holding down a button, so they require a bit more practice than regular mixing. Overall, though, you can definitely have some fun with it once you've mastered the technique (sort of like mastering those button combos in Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat).
So is the Tonium Pacemaker worth the price? Well, not as a substitute for real DJing - despite the novelty of being able to pull off some decent mixes on the go, you'll still miss the level of control you get with a larger, more professional-level setup. Anyone who thinks DJs are going to be dancing around the club with one of these things instead of standing behind the decks is swallowing a little bit too much of the hype. And consumers should be warned that we experienced a number of technical issues with the DJ mix device - it worked on OSX and Windows XP, but on Vista, was unable to recognize the device and charge itself successfully.
This is no small matter, obviously, for many consumers, and reminds you of the perils of dealing with a smaller company, especially one based overseas, although to their credit Tonium offers refunds if any technical problems arise. So while the Pacemaker might not be essential, if you have a little cash to burn and don't might taking a chance on a cutting edge piece of technology, it can make a very cool addition to your collection of electronic devices. It certainly points towards an interesting trend of devices offering new ways to interact with portable music - although it remains to be seen if the Pacemaker will be seen as the first of its kind years from now, or just an MP3 one hit wonder.
