Used the Cortex for the first time last night.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I was at my local last night for my REQUEST FEST night so it was a perfect opportunity to try out the Cortex for the first time. I had 9000 tracks transferred so was confident that I would get through the night ok. I explained to the landlady what I was doing and she was excited to see how it would all work. They are so chilled and relaxed in the pub that they wouldn't mind if I had to get my CD's and decks out of the van should anything go wrong.

I decided to leave the decks and all my CD's in the van and go all out with the Cortex. I was fully aware that I may have some teething problems and I also explained that to the landlady, again she was totally cool with that.

So, how did it go?

Well...A couple of hiccups but nothing really bad. Silly little things really like on one occasion I forgot to tab across to the other side when I was using the keyboard to search for the next track and also I was playing 'Purple Rain' by Prince and the track stopped halfway through...not sure why that happened but will look into that today.

Plus points - Quick and easy to set up. Searching for a track is so much quicker and when people were asking me for a band I was showing them the tracks that I had by that band on the screen. Less space used up for the gear. All I used last night was a keyboard stand with the case on top and an amp and speakers. I did make a bit of a boo boo and that was that I had the lead from the mixer to the amp coming out of the record output instead of the main so the main volume on the Numark FX mixer didn't make any difference so I was using the gain/trim buttons for extra volume (I didn't want to stop the music in order to change the lead over to the right output).

Negative points - Well, I am sure these won't be negatives for long but I did find that I was concentrating more and also in the back of my mind I was always wondering if it would last the night without crashing. I also found that not having actual CD's in front of me was a lot harder as I couldn't look through them for tracks and pick and choose what I wanted to play. I am sure this will become easier. Last night was a request night so I searched for tracks that people were asking for but I can imagine that at the beginning of the night for say a wedding, I would be a bit stuck for what to choose if that makes sense?

So, everything seemed to go well. I think it will be a while before I totally trust the system 100% and don't take back up etc..in fact I am not sure that I will ever do that. I find it a bit frustrating if I am honest that I have this new system to make life a lot easier yet I will still take my decks and CD's along just in case which kind of defeats the whole object.

How many people out there who use HD formats like Denon and Cortex actually just rely on them? I think I will continue to use the system when I do my pub gigs etc and maybe my own promoted nights (Indie and Retro) but will use it as a backup when I do weddings etc until I am totally confident with it. The mixer I have to go with the Cortex is a 4 channel Numark 200FX so it won't be much bother putting the CD players through it too.

Apologies for the long post.

[BeerFunk]

Interesting, sounds like you had a positive 'first' outing with it. I personally do not 'rely' on one playout system, whereas I used to in the past - I'm paranoid that way! Even if I've just got a single CD deck at hand, it puts me at ease.

Not being familiar with the Cortex, can you create playlists (ie. floorfillers, rock, classic pop etc) to refer to, for inspiration?

[Shakermaker Promotions]

You can but apparently not using the PC software. I haven't looked into it that much as yet but I think you can do it via I-tunes. I'll get there in the end, I'm confident of that.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Glad it went alright for you Gary. I would always have some kind of backup hooked up though.

[rob1963]

I personally do not 'rely' on one playout system, whereas I used to in the past - I'm paranoid that way! Even if I've just got a single CD deck at hand, it puts me at ease.

Same here. I work with a dual CD player AND a single one, so I have three music sources, meaning I still have two if one packs up. Not only that, but I also carry a spare single player...just in case!


Not being familiar with the Cortex, can you create playlists (ie. floorfillers, rock, classic pop etc) to refer to, for inspiration?

I'm not sure about that, but I came up with a simple idea for when I go digital. For my 100 most played songs, I thought of putting an X followed by a space before the titles. That way, I can search by title, key in the letter x, and up will come my 100 most played songs which I can quickly & easily scroll through to find the next track I want to play.


Glad it went alright for you Gary. I would always have some kind of backup hooked up though.

Agreed. I'll be doing a similar post to Gary within the next year...although mine will be with a D2. Yikes!

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Agreed. I'll be doing a similar post to Gary within the next year...although mine will be with a D2. Yikes!

By the time you do it Rob, you'll probably be thinking of using a Denon. After all, you've already gone from the Cortex to the D2.

Pm for for a very nice price on either though. ;)

[Excalibur]

I think I may have to relinquish my membership of the " Luddites and Dinosaurs " club very soon, and go to a Hard Drive system. Initial impressions ( and empty pockets ) suggets Cortex. It's got two screens, buttons like CD players, and seems to be getting most of the bugs out by now. I have nothing but admiration for Jay Dee and his laptop system, but couldn't ever use it, even if you put a gun to my head! So in the foreseeable future, I hope to see a Cortex in action in the field( or barn, or marquee, or hotel:D :D )

Better start saving up. :D

[BeerFunk]

I'm not sure about that, but I came up with a simple idea for when I go digital. For my 100 most played songs, I thought of putting an X followed by a space before the titles. That way, I can search by title, key in the letter x, and up will come my 100 most played songs which I can quickly & easily scroll through to find the next track I want to play.Call me old fashioned, but I'd prefer a good old printout to that! :D

[rob1963]

Call me old fashioned, but I'd prefer a good old printout to that! :D

You're old fashioned!

:rolleyes:

[Excalibur]

You're old fashioned!

:rolleyes:

Not as old fashioned as me , Sonny! :p :D

[CRAZY K]

I was at my local last night for my REQUEST FEST night so it was a perfect opportunity to try out the Cortex for the first time. I had 9000 tracks transferred so was confident that I would get through the night ok. I explained to the landlady what I was doing and she was excited to see how it would all work. They are so chilled and relaxed in the pub that they wouldn't mind if I had to get my CD's and decks out of the van should anything go wrong.

I decided to leave the decks and all my CD's in the van and go all out with the Cortex. I was fully aware that I may have some teething problems and I also explained that to the landlady, again she was totally cool with that.

So, how did it go?

Well...A couple of hiccups but nothing really bad. Silly little things really like on one occasion I forgot to tab across to the other side when I was using the keyboard to search for the next track and also I was playing 'Purple Rain' by Prince and the track stopped halfway through...not sure why that happened but will look into that today.

Plus points - Quick and easy to set up. Searching for a track is so much quicker and when people were asking me for a band I was showing them the tracks that I had by that band on the screen. Less space used up for the gear. All I used last night was a keyboard stand with the case on top and an amp and speakers. I did make a bit of a boo boo and that was that I had the lead from the mixer to the amp coming out of the record output instead of the main so the main volume on the Numark FX mixer didn't make any difference so I was using the gain/trim buttons for extra volume (I didn't want to stop the music in order to change the lead over to the right output).

Negative points - Well, I am sure these won't be negatives for long but I did find that I was concentrating more and also in the back of my mind I was always wondering if it would last the night without crashing. I also found that not having actual CD's in front of me was a lot harder as I couldn't look through them for tracks and pick and choose what I wanted to play. I am sure this will become easier. Last night was a request night so I searched for tracks that people were asking for but I can imagine that at the beginning of the night for say a wedding, I would be a bit stuck for what to choose if that makes sense?

So, everything seemed to go well. I think it will be a while before I totally trust the system 100% and don't take back up etc..in fact I am not sure that I will ever do that. I find it a bit frustrating if I am honest that I have this new system to make life a lot easier yet I will still take my decks and CD's along just in case which kind of defeats the whole object.

How many people out there who use HD formats like Denon and Cortex actually just rely on them? I think I will continue to use the system when I do my pub gigs etc and maybe my own promoted nights (Indie and Retro) but will use it as a backup when I do weddings etc until I am totally confident with it. The mixer I have to go with the Cortex is a 4 channel Numark 200FX so it won't be much bother putting the CD players through it too.

Apologies for the long post.

Nice to hear --good one.

Yes weve all forgotten to switch sides and suddenly changed the track playing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If a track stops it will be a fault with the MP3 file somewhere--weve all been there.

I also found that not having actual CD's in front of me was a lot harder as I couldn't look through them for tracks and pick and choose what I wanted to play.

I work off playlists from customers mainly so that makes it very easy--you can print off a paper list of most popular tracks and have it by you--thats what I do--theres a specimen one on my website if you go there--

www.crazyk.co.uk/menu.htm (http://www.crazyk.co.uk/menu.htm)

Backup? What backup-- I now carry 2 hard drives and 2 Cortex players thats it!

Im so confident of the Cortex after 12 months that I dont even bother getting the spare out the box! I do have the mini disc ready though.

I have the mini disc player for Barn Dances and a cheap CD player in case a customer brings up a CD.

Welcome to the digital age.

Come on Excalibur---keep up:D :D :D

CRAZY K

[Dragonfly]

well done , yep good solid bit of kit i found the cortex .... i'm sure the confidence will come in it , i just rely on a hd pc based playout although i do have 2 so back up is there.

as i got used to it i also found i was trying different things out , different combinations of tracks as with cds i found if i'd played x then y would go next , you called it concentrating and yep you are right but as you get used to it that concentrating time becomes thinking time .

i started to think mmmm yes i would normally play this but ..... i think that would sound good with it, and the quickness of the system allows you that grace.

[Corabar Steve]

How many people out there who use HD formats like Denon and Cortex actually just rely on them?
I do, but then, I do use 2 of them meaning 4 decks in total

Same here. I work with a dual CD player AND a single one, so I have three music sources, meaning I still have two if one packs up. Not only that, but I also carry a spare single player...just in case!
Why don't you just carry 2 twin players?

Backup? What backup-- I now carry 2 hard drives and 2 Cortex players thats it!So one of them is in effect your backup. If one goes down you've still got the other.

[Shaun]

Apologies for the long post.


Still feeling the need to apologise for the long posts? :D. You shouldn't my friend, I look forward to your posts, they always make good reading. :) :approve:

[Creature]

You can but apparently not using the PC software

Not true you can - in fact i do as i have found if too many tracks on harddrive you sometimes get a slight pause in teh playing track whilst searching - were a playlist of everything u got (as well as split into genres) stops this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am still using my cd decks as well, but am finding now that for a lot of my gigs the Cortex is doing over 70% of teh work :):)

Not sure at this stage if im gonna go over to it 100% as sometimes its handy to have cds there as well

[Tom]

I have to agree with you shakermaker about it making ir harder to look for songs. I used to be the same as i had a laptop where i click the mouse and a new folder would come up really quickly.

Althought im still having problems attaching my external hard drive but im sure it will work some day. :lol:

As for do i trust my system, yes i do.I need to. If i didnt trust it i would be forever taking things slow when searching for songs and hoping it dont crash. I just use what i have and get on with it.

But i will be buying some back up. Was thinking about buying the SD card reader by American DJ. Only takes up 2U of space and if the main rig did fail i can just more my hands down a few inches and im ready with my back up.

[rob1963]

But i will be buying some back up. Was thinking about buying the SD card reader by American DJ. Only takes up 2U of space and if the main rig did fail i can just more my hands down a few inches and im ready with my back up.

Alternatively, if you have a spare 2U of space, you could get a couple of 1U CD players & just carry a wallet of CDs.

When I go digital with a D2, my new console will include a 1U CD player, and I'll also carry a separate single CD player for back up.

:)

[Corabar Steve]

A 1U CD player??????????????

Does such a thing exist?

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

A 1U CD player??????????????

Does such a thing exist?

Certainly does. (http://www.studiospares.com/Product.aspx?code=271410)

[rob1963]

Certainly does. (http://www.studiospares.com/Product.aspx?code=271410)

Indeed, although I only discovered them about a week ago.

It was the perfect solution to the problem with my new digital console. I wanted a sliding rack tray as well as a single CD player underneath, but could not find any cases with a 3U space underneath...only 2U, 4U or more.

I discovered 1U CD players when searching the internet. Although the range is limited, there are several companies apart from Denon who also make them, including Tascam & Omnitronic, if I remember correctly.

[Penfold42]

Nice price.....:eek:

You can get a lappy for that........:)

[rob1963]

Nice price.....:eek:

You can get a lappy for that........:)

Indeed.

£581 for a single CD player?

It could only be Denon!

The ones I'm looking at are more like half that amount!

[Penfold42]

Indeed.

£581 for a single CD player?

It could only be Denon!

The ones I'm looking at are more like half that amount!

Ah....but can the ones you are looking at do this -
"The DN-C640 is a 1U rack-mount unit featuring a slot-load CD/DVD drive, able to read CDA, MP3, WMA, MP2 and PCM .wav files from CD or DVD media. It is also equipped with an inbuilt LAN port offering complete access to network audio files and remote control via a web based GUI. "

And it's Denon.....:D :D :D ......plus i'm sure someone can get a really good price for you........;) :D

[Corabar Steve]

Yuk! That's nasty, I don't like it.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Yuk! That's nasty, I don't like it.

It's a 1U CD player, what could possibly be nasty about it? :confused: