Cast your minds back 12-15 years, to a time when vinyl emulation was a just starting. DVS was basic and subject to latency and relatively poor sound quality. And a plucky bunch of people worked on more mechanical alternatives such as the Tascam TT-M1. That’s what I was reminded of when I first saw MWM’s Phase Project.
MWM reveals its latest DJ product in a preview showing at NAMM 2018: PHASE reinvents timecode technology to provide turntablists with a level of performance never reached before.
Thursday, January 25, 2018 — Two years after the release of Mixfader, the world’s first wireless crossfader, MWM unveils the prototype of its latest innovation at The NAMM Show 2018. Once again, the company disrupts djing codes, introducing Phase, which allows to control audio tracks without using a cartridge or a timecode vinyl. Phase might very well establish a brand new standard for turntablism.
A new way to approach turntablism, inspired by the DJs, for the DJs.
MWM has always attached great importance to working closely with artists while conceiving and developing its products. Since its first steps in the world of turntablism with Mixfader, the company has always surrounded itself with the best DJs, letting MWM identify their needs directly. The many discussions MWM had with professional DJs led the company to focus on one of the most central topic in djing today: timecode technology. Used by a vast majority of turntablists, timecode is currently the most efficient solution to control music playing from the software DJs are performing with. However, it remains somewhat imperfect and doesn’t guarantee a flawless performance. Timecode technology is still prone to unsteadiness caused by external interferences (rumble, defective equipments…). Building on the DVS developments, MWM sought to go even further to provide DJs with a new way to control tracks that would be the most reliable, steady and powerful of the turntablism market. Driven by these ambitions, MWM conceived Phase.
Controlling audio without needing timecode vinyls or cartridges: a revolution built for performance.
Phase revolutionizes DVS technology while building upon it, by making it possible to control tracks playing from a DJ software without using neither a timecode vinyl nor a cartridge. Phase is made up of 3 parts: 2 control remotes and a receiver. Set up directly on the turntable, the remotes measure the rotation angle and send this information to the receiver through a patented wireless technology. Then, the receiver processes the information and applies it to the digital signal it generates to send it to the DVS setup. This technology does not require to use timecode vinyls or cartridges and guarantees a perfect signal quality in any situation. Every rotation movement, even the tiniest, is detected by the remotes and instantly sent to the software offering a real-time audio control with an unrivaled accuracy. DJs regain the same feeling as if they were mixing with standard audio vinyls.
Initiating Phase is simple and intuitive since it integrates smoothly into any setup: the Receiver plugs directly into the mixer or audio interface. Also, Phase is compatible with any DJ software using DVS technology such as Serato, Traktor or Rekordbox. Thus, Phase offers the most steady and powerful solution ever for turntablism.
A custom-made wireless data transmission protocol for an unparalleled communication speed.
MWM has always paid great attention to latency issues within audio systems. From its first wireless experience with Mixfader, the company has pushed Bluetooth technology as far as possible with ProLink, its latest Mixfader add-on. The research on Bluetooth 4.0 (low energy) allowed MWM to reach inaudible latency (under 7ms) offering remarkable accuracy and velocity for a scratch performance. However with Phase, MWM had to push innovation further. That is why the company has developed its own wireless technology protocol. The goal was to increase the volume of data transferred to insure a better transmission of the information. Today, MWM has reached a transmission speed of 3200 ticks per second, in other words twice as fast as a similar digital system. This innovation in the wireless technology specifically designed for Phase, guarantees an unprecedented communication quality and reactivity.
With this innovation, MWM has set the DJ at the heart of the performance again freeing him from any technical constraint. Phase marks a turning point in wireless technology for djing and intends to establish itself as a new standard.
DJ Stresh, 3style France Champion
“Phase is all about performance! It’s the future!”
Jean-Baptiste Hironde, MWM Founder and CEO
“The same way Mixfader did, Phase comes as one of the major technological advances in turntablism. Phase offers to DJs the possibility to explore new grounds, breaking down all the obstacles between them and their performance.”
Price and availability
Phase will be available for pre-orders from February 2018 and for sell from the summer.
Prix : NC
Other Features
- the receiver charges the remotes
- 10h autonomy
Social Media
Website: www.phase-project.com
Facebook: @phaseproject
Instagram: @phase_dj #Phase #Phaseproject
Twitter: @phase_djgear
At first, I didn’t see the point of it. I think this was mainly down to the excessively hyperbolic claims — “the beginning of a new era for turntablists” for example immediately made me view this with some suspicion. And when I watched the above video, I said “but the tone arm is right there” to myself, thus reinforcing my scepticism of the idea. And I wasn’t alone either.
So after a few days of ploughing through my taxes and more NAMM PR, I stepped away from my laptop and had something to eat. Consulting with some clever and less frazzled friends, although I still have the odd reservation, I now begin to see the merit in this idea, from all kinds of angles.
THE BASIC IDEA
Here’s how it works — a wireless remote fits over the turntable spindle on top of vinyl. The USB powered hub is plugged into the RCA line inputs on an audio interface, or mixer with an audio interface. The rotational data from the remotes is transmitted to the hub, which converts it to timecode, which in turn is sent to your laptop via USB.
Clearly, you still need a platter and a computing device, so this is all about eliminating the need for control vinyl and a tone arm. Remember, there’s no audio coming from the turntable’s audio output at all, and the rotational data can in theory be a much higher resolution than regular control vinyl, which lends credence to the claims of being more accurate than timecode.
If you don’t need a needle or proprietary control vinyl, then you have technology than can easily turn any motorised platter into a digital deck. So all those people wanting motorised decks, this technology will allow for the manufacture of simple motorised turntables all different sizes that don’t need USB ports. Let me give you an example — the Denon DJ Prime SC5000 Prime needed a firmware update and an updated version of Serato DJ to work together. But with this, I could turn a potter’s wheel into a turntable and run a DVS. All of a sudden, the Rane TWELVE isn’t looking quite so hot.
But the removal of a stylus does mean no needle dropping. The equivalent in the digital age is a touch strip, so all is not lost. But it’s important to remember that people actually love to use the very things that Phase aims to banish. So no matter how amazing this tech is, turntables, vinyl, and carts are going nowhere.
So while I’m not entirely convinced that MWM’s Phase technology sending DVS to an early grave, there’s a great deal of potential for it in other areas. So I’ve gone from sceptic to definitely wanting to play with this in the space fo a few hours. It’s amazing what a plate of homemade chicken pie can do.
I’m excited to hear more about this, wasn’t expecting anything like this but after taking time to think about it…really makes sense. I was really looking forward to the Rane Twelve but this has me second guessing. Hope to hear the price point of this soon.
Ok, the price may undermine its effectiveness.
This is huge to me! The major downside of turntablism has always been the same for me, price of records and needles. This eliminates that issue completely. Using DVS for so long I have always used cue points instead of needle drops so I can back this product wholeheartedly.
This is huge! No more shitty turntable cables / arm with problematic needle connectors in club problem! Bigest PITA resolved.
Now I get it. So this is more for the club environment problems. I was trying how I could use one of these(bedroom DJ)…
Also being digital system has some “pros” over analog timecoded systems and also let portablist users go over the arm modding and so.
This is freaking awesome. If I can use this with Traktor, Serato, & Rekordbox that would be amazing. I imagine that this is freaking out Rane right now because if it works well, the Rane Tweleve is pretty much unnecessary.
Serious innovation, assuming it works equally or even better than classic dvs.
To me this makes so much more sense than Prolink. And honestly I loved my TT-M1’s. They were super fun. Being able to scratch with just my slipmats or even just a piece of card. This looks really interesting but I dont think they’ll take any market share away from Rane.
Just got back from NAMM and this was by far the best thing I saw coming from the DJ world. All the djs at the booth were wanting to buy the prototype right then and there.
Small companies with a good idea and product focus will be the only salvation for this largely uninspired market. Really nice work, MWM.
The obvious next step for mwm is to develop their own TT with this tech built in, and minus audio outs + tonearm!
When does it release and how much will they be? I want two.
It sounds like it will be released by the summer of 2018 between the range of $200-$300. Just watched an interview about it. Awesome!
Thats awesome. I cannot wait. As someone who uses both vinyl and dvs, this will make changing between formats as easy as just tossing one of these on a platter and flipping a switch on the mixer.
Awesome. So now my worthless Numark CDXs are worthwhile again.
Adding another 7ms latency??
That won’t work for scratch heads.
What about sticker drift??
In fact if they used magnetical encoding it will be best than any timecode signal. Obviously it must be high quality (like military or medical) with few degrees of bias.
The problem as someone pointed could be added latency to the timecode systems themselves. It could be possible to be HID/Midi but then compatibility will be smaller so I think they made the correct choice against comprise.
It can’t be HID or Midi. They are putting out analog signal through the RCAs.
Sticker drift = After a lot of moving forth and back, the cue points move around. Makes sense?
It could be even it isn’t. By bluetooth you can send whatever. In this case they decided to translate that signal into audio signal (like glorified cdj/sampler) for later enter the user audio interface (like denon hybrid mode) and bypass any brand fee or limitation. That system has more or less the same issues instead they build the audio signaling from algorythm but I don’t think so.
So, if they use extra info available from digital encoder (absolute position towards Earth magnetic field) and the resolution is high (medical or military as I stated before) it could be possible improve the sticker drift.
I know what I’m talking about and how to fix that drift… and you?
Previously I was not implying that you do not know how to fix sticker drift – but good point – do you know how to fix that?
Because in the current system I can’t see how they would want to fix that sticker drift by just sending relative signals – seems impossible to me.
Then excuse me but you know about the internet and lost in translation moods.
What I was trying to point is that sensor could send absolute position too since it should know it from its own inherent working. It’s not just a round counter (which helps) it’s a compass by itself so if you don’t make it “jump off” its position, it should know where it is. Then with the proper calibration (degrees x round) and some algorithm it should do the trick. Another option is to have some kind of “reset x round” (like digital encoders in some products like cdx) which tells the algorithm to where is north in the case calculation goes wrong by intensive scratching.
The problem with that is more related to how warped is the DVS/sampler material related to bpm. The moment you hit cue what behavior you will want/expect? Instant start position or keep the previous mark or cue to specific degree in the vinyl…? Then stretch the waveform to keep coherency…?
Torq did some improvements in this too (remember the stretching waveforms any time you move bpm) so there are workarounds aside noisemap and tech probably more accurate than timecode but then how many people will adopt them?
Compromise and in the end if it’s only for scratching there isn’t better solution than analog vinyl yet.
Sorry mate…
Weren’t you the person that said that Vinyl would dead in 2 years about 2 years ago?
well said
Dear Rane (or Serato?), thank you very much for keep me waiting so long for TWELVEs, so you saved me 2x $799!
(minus $300 for Phase, of course)
Make the electronics smaller, & build it directly in to a blank record.
It’s a possibility that should be explored in my view….
probably already in development
“But it’s important to remember that people actually love to use the very things that Phase aims to banish.”
I don’t.. All I’ve been asking for is a moving platter for the digital age.. and this.. goes and makes that completely and 100% irrelevant.. and it makes my X1 MK2 more useful to boot.
nothing is banished my friend – this is a bridge between both worlds
Indeed
you still need and audio interface and a laptop + this = GRANDMASTER JAY
no thanks… AKAI made 2 standalone MPCs last year so why do DJs still love to play wirh a laptop…dropping the needle on a record is part of the culture.
seeing someone play on a turntable but with the tonearm in rest position is incredibly lame.. lets play drums but put the drumsticks on the floor and just wave your hands like an idiot with virtual drumsounds.
How about using Phase device to control DVS but still put needle on record at the same time, lame?
Also interested to know if you use DVS?
Agreed. Only useful time when isolation is unfixable. Could be used as a back up in this instance.
I could not agree with you more. I think it’s extremely lame having turntables with the tonearms in the rest position. Especially with needles attached to them. Like wtf is the point of that.
Something I’d really like to see is a mixer with a display and built in drive for DVS, and with the capability of plugging in a an external drive or usb thumb drives. This to me would be a better approach.
DJ’s with a large vinyl collection will appreciate it a lot.
Intrigued to see how it feels against standard DVS. Looks like it’ll solve the poor isolation issues I’ve had playing on temporary festival stages with overzealous dancing band mates.
As mentioned in comments already, be great tool for repurposing a CDX, Denon 3900 or even a Rane 12 to work with different DVS.
Or even getting some beat up Tech 12’s, removing the tone arm’s, killing some of the weight from the 12’s (metal plate) since you don’t have to worry about bass feedback. Save yourself about two grand in the process of not having to get the new Rane 12’s. Hell the money you saved can be spent on getting the tech’s painted and customize, which i’m sure you don’t want to do with a 3-4 grand, pair of Rane 12’s.
Rane Twelve aren’t that expensive
Yes that was my fault, I just found out that they were 800. sorry about that.
And with that said, the Rane 12 is still a viable option for the cost. I mean if you don’t own tts already, you’re probably spending about the same or a little more for this setup depending on the tts you buy.
Denon 3900 already works with all DVS softwares. The way this Phase interface generates timecode is the same exact way Denon players generate Hybrid Midi timecode. And will probably suffer from same issues that plague such “not-100%” proprietary timecodes.
Looks like they took the concept of a sound card and added wireless capability to a “rotational and positional” tracker to eliminate the DVS signal and torn arm. Yes, this will absolutely get rid of isolation problems while using DVS but does it make sense to have this added to say, the following setup: TT + S9 /Rane + TT??
Why don’t you just use a controller instead if you’re concerned about isolation?
I suspect this device will only work with a motorised platter, for angular and rotational speed, hence positioning on the track. I can’t see how it would work with a static platter. Plus, there is no music signal coming from this positional tracker so it could be tighter in control. The music signal is from the hub, aka sound card, from the software to your mixer.
I am one of those who actually enjoys dropping the needles.
A pare of Rane 12’s are $1400. A pair of these are $300.
Ok, so obviously this will negate any wear /tonearm skip /audio input problems, but does this work only in relative mode? IME relative mode almost always introduces sticker drift. I guess this is a visually fresh gimmick, but lets see how this performs in the real world before deciding if it indeed is the bees knees..
Even so, this will not negate the biggest obstacle of DVS in turntablism – weak scratch sound caused by ”emulating” a vinyl record movemeent. It like comparing a MC-303 to a real teebee..
How well does it stick to the record? I want to see some seeking and backcueing, beatjuggling, slow massaging of the label for fine speed control… anything with touching the record label. You can aim your finger at a blank spot but I figure there’s a big chance you’ll knock into the device, and as for doing circles with the tip of a finger on the label…
As a mix DJ this evokes trying to rewind records with record clamps on – requires practicing a contortion of the wrist, but with added risks of skippage in absolute mode :)
edit : and you don’t wanna lose your Phase sticks when swapping between DVS and real vinyl in a challengingly lit booth.
Im hoping those little lines in the middle are also illuminated for that exact reason.
This could be a game changer. Latency and feel will decide whether it is or it isn’t.
For a person w/o TTs – what makes more sense: phase and TTs or Rane 12s? Granted TTs are able to play vinyl as well but if I already have a turntable for listening to vinyl and need platters strictly for DJing with my digital files – which option in theory is better? No carts, no tone arm adjustment is nice. Rane 12s are nice but seem over priced considering in 5 yrs they’ll be old news and the TTs will always be a useful set of TTs
Loved every minute I got to mess around with this at NAMM.
i’ll wait until the transmitter is a 3″ platter that communicates directly with the phone, and makes a bandai a digital deck..
to me,that’s what most interesting about no needles, just how small can a motorised platter get and still work, particularly for scratching
I really like the idea, especially that it eliminates the isolation issues which DVS suffers from when you have a hefty fold-back speakers blasting into the booth. Like Mark pointed out, the Rane Twelve doesn’t look that hot anymore with this kind of setup…
The fact that two sets of RCA cables are eliminated makes the ‘dance of death’ so much easier when switching between different equipment setups. On the other hand, wireless connections always have me concerned.
Actually this helps out the rane 12 a lot – you don’t have to buy that expensive azz mixer now. this rocks
My first though was pretty much “assuming there’s no additional latency, and it tracks accurately…. WHOOOOO no more banshee wail from timecode records!”
A big question that comes to mind though… can you still easily throw a regular record onto a turntable if you want, without having to do any kind of recalibrating…
Of course, easier than ever. This is independent from the turntable/tonearm output.
If they would make the top of this stuff as a touch sensitive surface…. The needle drop or the browsing/track selection could be made also pretty easily
Would be a banger than!
Is it compatible with the mixx software
It should be a midi controller version as well! There is no reason at all to depend to DVS audio interfaces.