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My Tech: Let's make (digital) tracks

Jennifer Rodger
Monday 04 May 1998 23:02 BST
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Dave Pearce, Radio 1 DJ, tells Jennifer Rodger about his favourite bit of kit: a Denon Mini-Disc Player

It is a relatively new technology and what is exciting is that it's a form of digital recording. I think in terms of radio it has transformed the way we do our shows. Five years ago it was cartridges and turntables, and even CDs were quite new. Now it's the basis of our operation.

We do 80 per cent of our playback with this. Unlike a DAT tape, which is like a cassette tape recorder, it means you can record on diskettes. These are like the ones you put in a PC but slightly smaller, and each disk can store up to 75 minutes of digital audio.

I think they will really take off. Sony has now developed a mini-disc player like a Walkman, so you can carry it around. You'll see them on the Tube and buses. That's for the consumer market. These Walkman-types are only pounds 300 already, and I am sure the price will get lower. It's definitely the future. The ones I have are more complex, and are about pounds 2,000.

It is a very handy way of recording. As well as recording sound you can also type information on to a digital readout, like an LED display. So whilst it's playing you can tell what the tracks are with the information put in. It's a lot easier to edit, to cue and re-cue than with a DAT tape, which is the nearest equivalent. Also, mini-disks don't have the same wear and tear, these are much more resilient. You can keep an entire library of music and work you are doing in a few tiny boxes. I bring it straight into Radio 1. A few years ago you would have had to lug a great amount of equipment.

I use it every day of my life. I have one at home for creating the Dance Anthem show. Basically, I have a whole lot of big dance tracks, get them all digitally recorded and then play them back. I can record mixes on there as well. It is not out of the price range to have one at home. You can record on them or transfer original recordings.

I have had it for about six months, but there have been some at Radio 1 for about two years. Mark Goodyear has some, and he used them a lot at first and turned people on to them. He is the one who checks out these new gadgets.

It's really handy. Unfortunately, I don't travel with it, as it is quite bulky. But you could with these portable ones, which I will get because they are really good. They have proved to be so reliable and they are fairly easy to use. Obviously, when you are on radio, speed is important, especially for changing my mind and putting something else on. There is nothing else out there that is this easy and also compatible with stuff you have at home. It is unique in its field.

I haven't had any problems. It has been trouble free, which is excellent, touch wood. In this business they have to be reliable. I might record at 3pm and the show starts at 7pm, so I don't have time for it to go wrong.

Anybody can use it after a short explanation. For instance, with the Dance Anthem album we wanted to play a load of tracks to see which one was our favourite, and we could flick them through to people. Again, this is something you couldn't do with DAT. It is literally like clicking fingers, it's what makes it exciting.

I think people are looking for things which don't take up a lot of room and are quick, easy and efficient. I am always cynical. I think that it won't work but this does, so I like it. It is a welcome development. I don't make a point of rushing out and finding new technology. But if people can convince me it's worthwhile, it must be something that will save time and energy. Anything which requires those I don't have time for, because I have too busy a life.

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