2011 - Present : In 2011 I bought the AKAI LPK25 piano keyboard (still love the Korg microKONTROL though) and went back to the Korg nanoKONTROL, both for travel reasons. In 2013 I updated to a DELL Inspiron laptop and in 2016 I updated to a MSI GT72 laptop.
2009 - 2010 : I broke four more keys on the nanoKEY so I bought the older Korg microKONTROL (I love the piano for VJing ). The Sima SFX-9 mixer buttons started having issues, so I updated to a Sima SFX-11.
2008/11 : For travel reasons I bought the Korg nanoseries; nanoKEY & nanoKONTROL. However, I accidentally knocked off one piano key while moving a tissue box near it; the keys are thin, fragile and impossible to put back on! But I'm very happy with the nanoKONTROL! The pen tablet midi was a good start, but limited to using one control at a time. Also, it's a lot easier to grab knobs and sliders than place a pen in the right slot.
2008 : I bought a used Sima SFX-9 Mixer for various reasons; 1) to switch back and forth between my live mix and my media player (with other VJ mixes), also in case my PC crashed, 2) to use my CCTV camera to capture the DJ and use him/her in the mix, 3) and to record my live mixes to my camcorder (with my previous ITX PC setup I could do this too because it had a S-Video output). Also, neither the Edirol or Vixid had four inputs and outputs with sound. For travel reasons I updated to a Dell Vostro 1700 laptop.
2007 : Changed the pen tablet midi layout and added more controls. I also bought the Creative keyboard with piano keys. However, it was a bit awkward controling both pen and piano keys at same time.
2006/09 : I bought Live Lab's Tablet 2 Midi software! It's a DIY midi which allows you to create your own midi layout with various buttons and sliders on a pen tablet. Because it was not always easy to place my pen in the right area while mixing live, I made a cut-out cardboard guide that I placed on top of the tablet. Also it took a bit of trial and error to get the midi configuration to work with Resolume.
2004 - 2006 : My first VJ setup using a mini ITX PC, monitor, keyboard, mouse and early Resolume software version 1.0.
1998 - 2003 : My first VJ setup using VCRs & Videonics VE-1 equalizer. In 1999 I bought my first digital Sony D8 camcorder. Often when I videotaped a live band, I scrolled back and forth the built-in digital effects knob between various effects; from solarize to mosaic to sepia, etc.. I also started scratching in the timeline of early non-linear editing software; Avid & Adobe Premiere. Click here for an example of scratching in the timeline.
1996 - 2005 : Film Jockey (FJ) with 16mm film projectors. I started out with two projectors then three. They were lined in a row and sometimes I superimposed one on the other using a lazy susan. I also made strobe wheels, even one with colored gels, that I spun before the projector beam on an editor handle. One projector I had was called an analyzer projector that was often used in high school to study sports; slow motion and single frame. With this I toggled back and forth the film one frame at a time or slowed it down or sped it up. It usually took me a couple of weeks to a month to prepare a film mix show because I had to go through my big 16mm educational film collection searching for footage to fit a theme. Film mixing shows were always stressful because anything could go wrong during the show; projector bulb burns out, sprocket hole damage (projector eats film), synchronization between all projectors off, etc.
Click here for more detailed Film Jockey info.