Open Labs DBeat
Open Labs DBeat
Wow. I know I’ve talked a lot about controllers and other gadgets over the last week or so, but this thing…this thing is different.
Open Labs are known for their stand-alone workstations and this is another installment in their series of products. But instead of a keyboard, this device has some MPC style pads. According to their website, the DBeat is aimed at DJs and producers looking to program beats on the fly or just creatviely mix/match their pre-rendered pieces inside programs like Ableton Live.
So what’s this thing packing?
- 3GHZ Core 2 Duo
- 4GB memory
- Bult-in soundcard: 24-bit/96kHz, 4-ins/6-outs, 2 line/XLR combo jacks with 48V phantom power, 2 analog line inputs, 6 analog line outputs, and SPIDF
- 320GB harddrive
- Dual-layer DVD burner
- 12″ touch-screen display
This beast costs just about $4,000, which really isn’t bad considering what its trying to replace (a laptop, controller and audio interface). Still, are DJs really going to adopt a system like this over what you’re seeing now? Or is this destined to be a studio-staple perhaps replacing hardware like the MPC? The thing does weight 20lbs, too.
So here’s some comparisons, price-wise for both live and studio setups:
Studio
Open Labs DBeat at $4,000 or…
20″ iMac – starting at $1,200
Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1 – $299
Akai APC40 – $400
Total: around $1,899 – more than enough money to spare! This figure doesn’t include a keyboard or mouse, though. You also need to consider software which can run you another $5-600 easily. However, if you look on eBay, you may be able to find Live 7 at a pretty decent price and the upgrade to 8 later.
Live
Open Labs DBeat or…
MacBook – starting at $1,300
Akai APC40 – $400
JazzMutant Lemur – $2,000
Total: $3,700 – okay, so this is kind of a dream setup. If you omit the Lemur, you’re sitting at $1,700 which, with the setup minus the Lemur, enables you to do just about anything you want.
What you should also remember is that PC is 100% viable for music creation and DJing. I simply left out PC desktops/laptops because more often than not you’ll see Macs when your favorite DJs play. PCs can be quite a bit cheaper versus Macs, though. So consider them when you’re putting your rig together.
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[...] in April, I wrote about the Open Labs DBeat as sort of a comparison: should you really invest money in a all-in-one device like this or should [...]
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