3 Awesome Halloween Fog and Mist Effects

Decorating for Halloween has become more of time-honored tradition than most other holidays. People prep year round for a month of hauntings. Whether you're building your own haunted house or just out to impress the ghouls and goblins that roam the streets for candy on Halloween, here are some amazing effects that are sure to put your visitors in awe.

ADJ Mister Kool Low-Lying Fog Machine

Make your fog MUCH creepier with low lying fog fluid. This machine combines up to four pounds of ice, as well as low-lying fog fluid, to make a Halloween effect that's been one of our favorites for quite some time.Check out this video and see what this fog machine was designed to do.

Chauvet Geyser RGB Jr Vertical Fog Machine

Spew lit up fog from a coffin or a chimney with the Geyser RGB Jr vertical fog machine. LEDs allow you to light up your fog in a variety of colors, and the included remote control lets you control the unit from several feet away. Mount it upright, horizontally, or upside down to create fog columns that will scare even the boldest trick-or-treaters.


Chauvet Nimbus Jr. Dry Ice Machine

Dry ice runs just over about $1.25 a pound around here. And if you want to take a step up from fog and get an even thicker effect, than the Nimbus might just be what you're looking for. This is a dry ice machine that simply allows you to place dry ice into a tub of heated water. Forced pressure pushes the vapors out and the warmer temperature outside keeps the results low to the ground, replicating an effect often used in the best of Friday the 13th films. Also available is the big brother for larger areas of coverage, the Nimbus.




Want to Take Your Fog a Step Further?
A Halloween favorite of fog lovers is the Antari colored fog fluids. Available in Yellow, Green, and Red, these fog juices give your decorations a boost with mysterious color and heavier fog.

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Comparing the KRK Rokit G3 Models

KRK's Rokit monitors have long been some of the best-selling, best-priced studio speakers on the market. Currently in their 3rd generation, these bad boys have become somewhat of their own standard. This 3rd generation in particular seems to move like never before. The white KRK monitors are super sleek too, and maintain the same price point as the black.

So how does one monitor stack up from the other? While the RP5, RP6 and RP8 have several similarities, it's all about loudness, frequency response, and power that's going to make the difference in your investment.



First, let's point out some of the similarites.

• All units use a 1" soft dome tweeter
• All units have a high frequency response of 35Khz
• All units have XLR, 1/4" or RCA inputs

Now, let's take a look at where the differences lie:

With the KRK Rokit series, you're definitely getting what you pay for.

Even at the lowest point of the KRK RP5 G3, you still get some pretty good stats. While I'd love a bit more than 50 watts, you still get some decent loudness, and the tweeter tops out at 35 Khz, just like the bigger brothers.

KRK's RP6 G3 tacks on 46% more power overall, but since the 1" tweeter doesn't need more than 25 watts, that means you're getting an additional 60% of power. The slightly larger woofer, unbelievably, brings your frequency response down to a great point of 38 Hz.

What's great about the 100 watts on KRK's RP8 G3 is that the 1" dome really doesn't need more than 25 watts, so all of the extra power is driven to the woofer, giving you a boost of more than 56% to the low end. Additionally, it drives another 2dB of Max loudness, compared to the 1dB difference between the 5 and the 6, justifying the higher price no problem.

I will say that folks who purchase the RP5 get what they pay for, and they're certainly impressed. What I think I might be trying to convey is that as you step up, the investment becomes even more worth it, giving you better sound response and loudness with each level.

As always, we definitely recommend using balanced audio outputs from your audio source. If you're using RCA, we highly recommend the switch.

Choosing the Best Blacklight for Halloween

Halloween is a holiday favorite for so many. No other holiday lets our creativity of the creepy flow and give us free-range to scare and impress at the same time. While we've got lots of halloween lights for folks to choose from, we always see a larger movement of two effects...blacklights and fog machines. Today, we're going to compare some of our best-selling blacklights, and hopefully help you determine which one is best for your application.

ADJ BLACK-24BLB 24" Blacklight Fixture w/ Bulb

These are your standard, run-of-the-mill blacklight bulbs, often found in novelty stores in the mall. These 2-foot blacklight bulbs aren't very strong, and don't have an intense throw, but are the perfect solution for bedroom blacklights and other small rooms.

ADJ BLB18W Ultraviolet LED Blacklight Bulb

The BLB18W is a great solution beyond that of standard screw in blacklight bulbs. These throw 18-watts of UV LED light, and screw into standard lighting sockets. These may not fit well in recessed lighting, so be sure to check that you have enough room in your lighting sockets for them. The LED is short-lived at 10,000 hours, but well worth the price.

Now that we're past that, it's time to get into the big boys of blacklights. These lights are often used by larger venues, clubs and outdoor scenarios, simply because of their strong throw of the UV light.

ADJ ECO UV BAR PLUS IR Ultraviolet Blacklight Bar

The ECO UV Bar is a 39" LED UV blacklight bar, featuring 18 3-watt UV LEDs. This light has a killer price point, and has long been one of the best-selling blacklights in the business. Primarily popular for its 120-degree beam angle, this light will often work in rooms 20-25 feet across in both directions. If you go wider than that, you'll most likely want a second one. The included remote allows you to hand them and still be able to operate them with ease. These units are also available with DMX control.

Chauvet DJ TFX-UVLED LED Shadow Blacklight

Chauvet's TFX UV-LED blacklight is a great panel piece. While it doesn't have the wide coverage of the ECO Bar, the 20-degree beam angle, is perfect for concentrating a lot of UV power in a 15-20 foot x 15-20 foot area. The panels help to distribute the light much more evenly than others, but again, but you'll need  more if you go much wider than the mentioned coverage area.

Now let's talk some bigger rooms...

ADJ UV COB CANNON High Powered Blacklight

The UV COB Cannon is a chip-on-board UV LED, boasting a whopping 100-Watt LED engine. This light throws 35-40 across easy, and can probably go further than that in an indoor situation. The 33-degree beam angle is solid, but if your room is wider than 25 feet or so, you'll want a second unit. Hands down, this is one of the most powerful blacklight LEDs on the market, and is usually purchased by larger venues, haunted houses, and the like. Nonetheless, this light will definitely impress and bring out blacklight features with ease.

ADJ UV CANON Blacklight

For those that still love the bulb, there is the original UV Cannon, brought out before the LED version was introduced. This powerful 400-watt blacklight bulb trumps most blacklight bulbs, and has the same great coverage of the UV version. Be sure to place this in an environment where heat won't be an issue. That kind of power can get a bit warm.

A final note...
One of the benefits of LED is that their lifespan is usually 30,000 hours and greater. Even at the low end of 30,000 hours, that's nearly 3 1/2 years of constant running before the LED burns out. Additionally, LEDs run cooler and draw less power, so they save on the money you drop into your Halloween decorations all around.

All the best in scaring the public this year. Halloween is a favorite here too.

How the new Pioneer DJ HDJ-700 Headphones Stack Up

Earlier this week, Pioneer DJ announced their new HDJ-700 headphones. Boasting a strong low and mid-range frequency response, and designed with maximum comfort in mind, they're already appealing at a $129 price point. But with the presence of now 5 DJ headphones (not including the studio headphones), it's easy to get lost in the all the specs and choice of which one is the best for the price. So allow us to take a little bit of the guess work out of things, rather than having to search every headphone page.

The comparison chart below looks at 8 different specs for each headphone. While some of it may surprise you (or not), there are other things to keep in mind, which we'll point out below.

Frequency Response
The HDJ-700 utilizes the same frequency response as the HDJ-500. But the outer skin of the HDJ-700 has a better grip when actually in use, and the aluminum build is much stronger than that of the HDJ-500.

Impedance 
In case you didn't know, less is more when it comes to Impedance. In short, the lower impedance means that the less power is required to drive high audio levels. The 32 ohms of the HDJ-1500 and HDJ-2000 is remarkably better than the 700, but that's part of what allows the HDJ-700 to stay at a good price point.

Output
A few decibels is a BIG difference in terms of sound, but we're impressed to see that both the 500 and the 700 stay on top of the HDJ-C70. We're not sure if the HDJ-C70 should be in the mix given its entirely different build altogether, but it's nice to see the info.

Aperture 
The drivers aren't as big as the HDJ-2000 and HDJ-1500, and it seems that Pioneer DJ likes to stick to those two drivers. I'm sure the crew in the R&D office would tell us why, but Pioneer does put some good dough down on developing on quality headphone.

Weight
The build is ultimately what brings the weight of the HDJ-700 to 220 grams. The stainless steel headband is certainly a contributing factor, but it's also a contributing factor to keeping them from busting so easily.

We'd also like to note that the earpads on the HDJ-500 are made of urethane, while the HDJ-700 is polyurethane...you'll notice a lot more comfort during a marathon gig if you were to choose between these two.

Ultimately, the choice is yours to make, and Pioneer does produce a quality headphone.

The HDJ-700 will begin shipping in October, and is available in Black, White, Red Stripe, or Gold Stripe.

Audio Innovate Announces Innofader Pro2 Crossfader

Elliot Marx and Audio Innovate are names synonymous DJing. But if you don't know his name, that's ok, because it's the product that he brought to the world that has time and time again had DJs rethink their crossfader. The Innofader has long been a standard replacement. Fitting dozens of mixers, featuring an easy install process, and having a quality that is second to none has brought the Innofader to the stature it's held to today.

Allow us to reflect back to 2013, when we got to speak with Elliot at NAMM:

All of that sounded awesome 2 years ago, and still sounds awesome today. But a successful product doesn't stay successful without evolution, so today, we (Elliot Marx, rather) bring you the INNOFADER PRO2.

The Innofader Pro2 from Audio Innovate fits the same mixers that the pro fits in. But it's been so refined that we think you'll love it a little bit more. The new version will feature a much easier install process, making it quicker than ever to switch out that original crossfader for this bad boy.

If there was one thing (and it was tough to come up with it becasue the original is that awesome) that we wanted to improve upon on the Innofader Pro2, it was a faster, more precise response...our wish has been granted. According to Audio Innovate, users of the Innofader Pro2 will experience a better response time that's designed to handle the needs of turntablists today, giving you a better mixing and scratching experience.

For those that loved the ability to fine tune the Innofader Pro2, you haven't been ignored. Adjusting the crossfader is going to be easier than ever, and while we wait to get the final technical specifications, which we'll post here, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the difference between this new version and the original.

The Audio Innovate Innofader Pro2 begins shipping mid September and is available for order at PlanetDJ.com.

Pioneer Meets Us Half Way With The XDJ-1000

I can almost assure you that every DJ today who doesn't already own a pair of CDJ-2000 Nexus', wish they would. Yes, that includes some of you turntablists, such as I. Admit it, who wouldn't deny the CDJ-2000 Nexus; with its sleek, robust, and futuristic appearance? Well I'll tell you who actually. Someone who simply can't afford a $1997 CDJ! Hmm... I wonder why It's called the CDJ-2000 Nexus?

But I'm not typing this to just whine about Its price. I'm typing this article to inform you that Pioneer has heard our cry, and has met us half way with the very similar CDJ to the 2000, the XDJ-1000! Priced at $997, you get just about every feature the 2000 Nexus offers, and more!

Due to Its large 7 inch display, you can now activate several commands that were only activated with physical buttons. PLUS, the XDJ-1000 has a touch keyboard that can be used for quick, and easy accessibility to your library! 

Now why is the XDJ-1000 considerably cheaper than the 2000 Nexus you ask? Well, the XDJ can NOT play CD's! (Hence the name XDJ, not CDJ). But if you think about it, who uses CD's nowadays when you can have all your music stored digitally into a flash drive--which can be managed with Rekordbox  (Included), and stored on your Laptop for Serato, and Traktor use (Fully MIDI compatible). But wait, there's more! Browse your library using rekordbox-ready music from PCs, laptops and smartphones using a Wi-Fi connection! Just simply connect a device running rekordbox or the rekordbox app (iOS/Android) to the XDJ-1000 and then browse and load tracks from the device's screen. USB devices will even be charged during your performance! 

If the XDJ-1000 hasn't won you over yet... Then I don't know what will. Purchase yours today, at Planet DJ!

The Stylus, the Cartridge, and the Headshell, Explained

For the veteran vinyl DJ:  this post isn't exactly for you. In fact, you may find it hard to believe that we even wrote something like this. But for the newbie that's just getting started, and the ones that don't quite understand the concept of turntable needles, cartridges, etc...listen up. This is one of the most valuable lessons you may receive in making yourself look somewhat experienced in the world of turntables.

We write this article for the sake of saving the newbie from the trouble of an incorrect purchase. As with most dealers, cartridges are non-returnable unless defective, so if you make the mistake you may be out of luck.

Couple of important things to remember:

• A stylus (or styli for plural) is NOT cross compatible with another brand, and in nearly all cases, won't work on a different model. (A Stanton stylus won't work on a Shure cartridge; A Shure M35X stylus won't work on a Shure M44-7 Cartridge).
• Most DJ headshells will work with any DJ cartridge. These ARE cross compatible

• A stylus can NOT be mounted to a headshell or tonearm. You need the cartridge. 
• A stylus can NOT be mounted to a headshell or tonearm. You need the cartridge.
• A stylus can NOT be mounted to a headshell or tonearm. You need the cartridge.

• A cartridge without a tonearm element (headshell or similar) can NOT be screwed into a turntable tonearm without the headshell
• MOST cartridges come with a stylus. The stylus will eventually need to be replaced after heavy use. Always carry a spare. 

Will any needle work on my turntable?
That depends on your turntable. Most DJ turntables follow a standard for their tonearms, allowing you to mix and match brands. If you don't know if you have a DJ turntable, the easiest way to tell is if you have a pitch slider on your deck. In most cases, a pitch slider will indicate that you have a DJ turntable, and you can almost rest assured that most DJ cartridges will work for your turntable. Again, this is the simplest way to tell. If there are any instances where this is not the case, they're rare. The important thing to know is there are a LOT of consumer turntables and cartridges out there, so make sure you're buying something labeled for DJs at the very least. Click here for a list of some of the most common DJ turntables available for sale today. (Note: This link does not include the ever so popular Technic 1200's, which are no longer manufactured)

Do I really need a headshell?
Well, that kind of depends on the needles you're using. Shure cartridges like the M44-7 and the Gemini CN-15 need to be mounted to a headshell, which is then screwed in to the tonearm. Notice the screw slots on the sides of the cartridges designed to mount to the headshell. Most cartridges will come with the screws for the headshells.

 



On the other hand, the Shure Whitelabel and most Ortofon needles do not require a headshell, as the mounting element is built in to the cartridge, like so:




So which needles are best for DJing?
This is a somewhat tough question, but there are plenty of "standards" that folks will attest to, and the majority decision is usually the best one to help you at least pick something out.

Here are a couple of "budget-minded" cartridges available:

Gemini CN-15 Stereo Cartridge with Stylus - $19.99 (As of 7/15)

Numark Groove Tool Cartridge - $29.99 (As of 7/15)


Here are two of the best-selling cartridges available. These cartridges are known for their stability on vinyl, as well as their sound quality:

Shure M44-7 Turntablist Expressions Cartridge - $69.95 (As of 7/15)

Ortofon CC-PRO-S Black Spherical DJ Cartridge - $99.99 (As of 7/15)



Here are some of our favorite headshells:

Technics Replacement Headshell - $34.95 (As of 7/15)

 Numark Replacement Headshell - $18.95 (As of 7/15)





If you have a fear of mounting a cartridge to a headshell, here's a pre-mounted setup:

Ortofon OM-S120 Serato DJ Cartridge Pre-Mounted on Headshell ($104.99 as of 7/15)

Finally, you can find a killer package deal and save a few bucks when buying the headshell and cartridge together (you'll have to mount this one yourself):

Shure/Technics M44-7 Cartridge/Headshell Package