nickname: Rebel Gear Blog 1: Gemini MPX-30

The Gemini MPX-30 is a Cheap (typically under 200USD), versatile and somewhat reliable CD turntable with effects, cues, loops, etc. It has been a standby item in my house party DJ rig and a favorite tool for Hallowe’en mixes since my brother in law left it at my house over three years ago. It’s since found it’s way into nickname: Rebel recordings, like the 2009 Ouroboros single:

<a href="http://nicknamerebel.bandcamp.com/album/ouroboros">Ouroboros by nickname: Rebel</a>

The first thing that should be mentioned about this unit is that it seems to normally go under a different name – the CFX-30. Here’s a pretty comprehensive review at DJForums.com. The ’30 has been discontinued by Gemini and I’m not too impressed with it’s successors from what I can see. It’s hard to beat for the price. Digital out. Easy to use. Big, clunky design. I like it, but I’ll probably still get a Pioneer set up at some point. There is currently one available on eBay.

Stravinsky I-Ching
While on tour with Offset Needle Radius last April, we had a gig at Cambridge’s the Lily Pad, and opened with “Stravinsky I-Ching”. What you do is: Select random parts of arbitrary tracks (no sneaky previewing!) from, say, the classic 1968 recording of The Rites of Spring by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, load them as hot cue points, fuck around with them, make loops, spin the wheel on different effects, etc. It was while doing this that I discovered an interesting ‘feature’ of the ’30. Spinning very fast with (I think it was) the Zoom filter you reach some sort of overload with an interesting audio result. It shows up about three times in the sample below.

Much more of this type of audio tomfoolery is better displayed by FM Einheit on his CDs Radio Inferno and Prometheus • Lear.

Stravinsky I-Ching by WOWCOOL

If all goes well, either me or Mike Keegan will be posting a profile of some piece of equipment we use in nickname: Rebel every day for the month of February.