Was 2006 the year that manufacturers really started paying attention to visualists? Sure, the DVJ-X1 has been out for 3 years now, but prices of video mixers and custom video hardware like the DVJ mean it’s not really a tool for aspiring VJs to dip their toes into the form. So purpose-built VJ hardware has been the exclusive domain of established, touring VJs (or DJs adding video to their performance). The VJ-in-training-and-on-a-budget has traditionally been confined to either off the shelf DVD players and a cheap video switcher, or shoehorning midi control into a laptop based, software solution, and praying like hell that nothing crashes.

This situation seems to be changing with increasing speed. While in previous years there has been a trickle of midi controllers and hardware, the flow is now increasing. We now have VJ-specific gear from Pioneer and Numark joining the flow of cool new stuff which can be shoehorned into controlling your favourite VJ app.

So in the face of this impending revolution of awesomeness, here comes the first NAMM VJ announcement for CDMotion: The Numark VM03-MKII.

Hoorah! It’s just like the VM03, but with slightly bigger screens and individual image control settings for each. Kind of like the M-Connection MC-100NP but 50% more expensive!

Can we talk about new cool stuff now please?

Hard-core VJs have long known about Motion Dive. This VJ app is so rock-solid, intuitive, and flexible that people were willing to import it from Japan and use it with all-Japanese menus. Weirdly, it was easier to use that product in Japanese than many others in English. Now, Roland division Edirol is handling US distribution, and good things are happening. The menus are in English, for starters, and this week Edirol announces the motion dive .tokyo Performance Package, complete with a very practical-looking custom hardware controller. (What I’d like to know is whether it sends MIDI; the absence of simple crossfader hardware has meant almost everyone relies on the X-Session; it’d be nice to have another choice. I’ll let you know if I find anything out.)

But what if you want to run visuals while you play? Here’s another Edirol/Roland extra: the software now supports V.Link, the company’s initiative to make it easy to trigger visuals from music hardware. You can use your existing Roland/Edirol hardware (like the Fantom-X series keyboards, MC-909 sampling groovebox, SP-606 sampling workstation, and Edirol PCR series (PCR-30/50/80/M1/M30/M50/M80/A30), and run visuals, without manually mapping controllers. Very cool.

I expect to take a closer look at this soon, so stay tuned. CDM 5 words: VJing for musicians gets easier.