I haven't seen this discussed elsewhere...it seems this chap is using the DVS control wav file found here, loading it into DJay and then plugging the iPad into the deck input of his Serato setup.
So this could possibly be a potential setup for those without decks and a laptop with Serato, and would allow the laptop to store your entire library...not sure it overcomes the mono issue though when using a splitter with the control wavs.
I just thought it was an interesting use of DJay, having not seen it done elsewhere;
Touch DJ Evolution has arrived...
Full details available at PalmSounds.
I haven't been able to take a look at this properly yet on my iPad, but the comments on PalmSounds give you some idea of what to expect from the app. Not a huge leap from Touch DJ original app, garish colour scheme, but does have batch track analyzer - so you can pre-build all your waveforms in advance.
It seems that the app is free, but to realise it's full potential you need to go through in-app purchasing. The ability to import your own music costs $4.99 and 'Premium Mode' costs $14.99.
...not sure...I may just pass on this one.
I haven't been able to take a look at this properly yet on my iPad, but the comments on PalmSounds give you some idea of what to expect from the app. Not a huge leap from Touch DJ original app, garish colour scheme, but does have batch track analyzer - so you can pre-build all your waveforms in advance.
It seems that the app is free, but to realise it's full potential you need to go through in-app purchasing. The ability to import your own music costs $4.99 and 'Premium Mode' costs $14.99.
...not sure...I may just pass on this one.
TraxPad 1.3.1 arrives...
The latest version of TraxPad is finally here, bringing (at last!) iPod Library support. I haven't had the opportunity yet to give this latest version a go, but when I do I'll post a review!
Here's the official detail...
What's New in Version 1.3.1
- iPod Library Support!
- iPod playlists show up as crates
- Audio FX (Filter, Delay, Reverb)
- Custom colors can be chosen for background and waveform
- Album art from iTunes
- Removed old crate system (playlists are much easier)
- New UI look
- New improved resampling algorithm
- Double tap pitch control to center pitch
Things to look forward to...
Things we're anticipating soon (or at least, I am!);
- Red Bull BPM HD / DJ Player new version (lots of new features including looping!)
- Cue.Play.DJ v1.7 (after which there maybe an iPad version developed?!)
- TraxPad new version (including iPod Library access, custom colour scheme...)
- Touch DJ Evolution new app (enhanced universal edition of popular Touch DJ app)
- Quixpin v2.0 (no news on this since Jan 2011, supposedly bringing better UI and MIDI compatibility)
- Stanton SCS4DJ new all-in-one hardware...no host machine needed! (@ August 2011)
- BPM 2011 at Birmingham, UK (trying to score myself VIP tickets at the moment!) @ Oct 2011
What Audio file format are you using?
I'm having a conundrum at the moment. I want my tracks on the iPad for DJ use to be the best quality possible...however the space restriction of 60Gb is very limiting. I have been ripping CDs on my laptop using the default "iTunes Plus" setting which sticks everything in at 256kbps (VBR) as an .m4a file. All of which play fine on all iPad DJ apps, however I am now wondering whether it is worth improving the quality by re-ripping or converting (possibly) at a higher rate to create Apple Lossless or AIFF files.
Does this really make a difference when played out over a sound system - especially if the app is caching the file (possibly in another format) and as a result of using an audio splitter (if applicable), will be in mono anyway?
I know that AIFF take up considerably more space which would then mean much fewer tracks. I'm also wary that perhaps some of the DJ apps I've tested support the more substantial file formats. However, I am also interested in the Stanton SCS4DJ console which does support all of the above and you use external hard drives as the track source, so you're not limited to a paltry 60Gb.
I'd be interested to hear what others are doing here. Are you keeping your high quality AIFF source files on your host machine and keeping a downgraded copy in a different format on your iDevice - allowing lots of songs, albeit at a lower bitrate? Or are you using high quality file formats on the iDevice, but with a much smaller selection of tracks? I would imagine you're not mixing your file formats.
Any thoughts / comments very welcome!
Does this really make a difference when played out over a sound system - especially if the app is caching the file (possibly in another format) and as a result of using an audio splitter (if applicable), will be in mono anyway?
I know that AIFF take up considerably more space which would then mean much fewer tracks. I'm also wary that perhaps some of the DJ apps I've tested support the more substantial file formats. However, I am also interested in the Stanton SCS4DJ console which does support all of the above and you use external hard drives as the track source, so you're not limited to a paltry 60Gb.
I'd be interested to hear what others are doing here. Are you keeping your high quality AIFF source files on your host machine and keeping a downgraded copy in a different format on your iDevice - allowing lots of songs, albeit at a lower bitrate? Or are you using high quality file formats on the iDevice, but with a much smaller selection of tracks? I would imagine you're not mixing your file formats.
Any thoughts / comments very welcome!
IDJ Live video review
Simon Bailey has posted an excellent video review of the iDJ Live DJ MIDI console in conjunction with the DJay app;
I've got to admit, the decision NOT to charge the iPad via the 30pin connector and NOT to use the 30pin connector for audio as well as MIDI processing is a little odd. But as Simon mentioned, it is the first version of this unit with the iPad in mind, so perhaps in the future it'll change. I'm looking forward to seeing other manufacturers take up this sort of things as well.
Plus the missing 'Jog Wheel' mode seems quite an issue - this maybe just a problem in what DJay is accepting as MIDI data rather than what the device is sending out...although I couldn't be sure.
I've got to admit, the decision NOT to charge the iPad via the 30pin connector and NOT to use the 30pin connector for audio as well as MIDI processing is a little odd. But as Simon mentioned, it is the first version of this unit with the iPad in mind, so perhaps in the future it'll change. I'm looking forward to seeing other manufacturers take up this sort of things as well.
Plus the missing 'Jog Wheel' mode seems quite an issue - this maybe just a problem in what DJay is accepting as MIDI data rather than what the device is sending out...although I couldn't be sure.
Mixing 20 tracks in 10 minutes with Touch DJ Evolution on iPhone (Visual Mixing 2.0)
As posted earlier on PalmSounds.
Nice to see how this long awaited for app finally looks (to be honest, it looks very similar to the previous Touch DJ app), although I'd have liked to see a bit more detail on the features (like looping, effects etc) and maybe answering some questions like 'Are the tracks accessed from the iPod library?', are there any cueing options?...you know, all the usual!
Anyway, the video itself is not the greatest advert for the app, there are sound glitches throughout during actions within the app. This could be down to the device, the app or the video...but it really doesn't look good coming from the app team themselves.
It seems the app will be priced at $14.99 (for the Premium mode - whatever that is) to start with and will be Universal.
Nice to see how this long awaited for app finally looks (to be honest, it looks very similar to the previous Touch DJ app), although I'd have liked to see a bit more detail on the features (like looping, effects etc) and maybe answering some questions like 'Are the tracks accessed from the iPod library?', are there any cueing options?...you know, all the usual!
Anyway, the video itself is not the greatest advert for the app, there are sound glitches throughout during actions within the app. This could be down to the device, the app or the video...but it really doesn't look good coming from the app team themselves.
It seems the app will be priced at $14.99 (for the Premium mode - whatever that is) to start with and will be Universal.
Alesis IO Dock, DJ Apps and iOS...
I've recently been asked what my thoughts on the Alesis IO Dock are. I had posted briefly about this before and despite it having a multitude of audio inputs and outputs, the issue for DJ apps is that it would not provide 2 independent stereo outputs (one for master and one for cueing).
The person that asked about the IO Dock has done some digging and uncovered this review which although states the outputs are separate - I think he means that you can control the volume of the outputs separately - rather than having 2 different stereo output signals - which is ideally what we all want from iOS.
I'm wondering if pressure from app developers can persuade Apple to at least consider altering iOS to allow 2 different stereo outputs from the device - one from the 30pin connector and one from the headphone socket. That really would be the ideal solution and would mean no more splitter cables, no MONO signal, no need to bluetooth / WiFi broadcast one stereo signal - all in all, a very neat solution.
My feeling is that if it were possible, Apple would have considered it already. In fact, it may not be just a limitation of iOS, but also the hardware involved too - in which case there would need to be a HUGE amount of pressure on Apple to change this in the product lines.
I wonder if any of the dev teams have already approach Apple about this? I always feel a little sorry for Anders at Algoriddim who appears to bear the brunt of user complaints about having to split the channels down to mono.
The person that asked about the IO Dock has done some digging and uncovered this review which although states the outputs are separate - I think he means that you can control the volume of the outputs separately - rather than having 2 different stereo output signals - which is ideally what we all want from iOS.
I'm wondering if pressure from app developers can persuade Apple to at least consider altering iOS to allow 2 different stereo outputs from the device - one from the 30pin connector and one from the headphone socket. That really would be the ideal solution and would mean no more splitter cables, no MONO signal, no need to bluetooth / WiFi broadcast one stereo signal - all in all, a very neat solution.
My feeling is that if it were possible, Apple would have considered it already. In fact, it may not be just a limitation of iOS, but also the hardware involved too - in which case there would need to be a HUGE amount of pressure on Apple to change this in the product lines.
I wonder if any of the dev teams have already approach Apple about this? I always feel a little sorry for Anders at Algoriddim who appears to bear the brunt of user complaints about having to split the channels down to mono.
Touch DJ Evolution submitted to app store!
As posted earlier by PalmSounds, Amidio Inc appear to be back in circulation after a couple of tweets today. One of which included a screenshot of Touch DJ Evolution;
It looks like there's been a few tweaks to the UI since the original Touch DJ app, namely the overall waveform display at the sides, the BPM & time grouping. It also looks like there could be some looping & effects functionality in there too. I'm also assuming this is an iPad (or at least universal) app?
This was one of the apps which Numark were looking to share their API with for the iDJ Live controller, I think it's too early for that just yet, but I think the waveform based apps may lend themselves better to controller usage due to their larger display of the main information you need.
Anyway, no clues on pricing or official detail on functionality...so watch this space!
It looks like there's been a few tweaks to the UI since the original Touch DJ app, namely the overall waveform display at the sides, the BPM & time grouping. It also looks like there could be some looping & effects functionality in there too. I'm also assuming this is an iPad (or at least universal) app?
This was one of the apps which Numark were looking to share their API with for the iDJ Live controller, I think it's too early for that just yet, but I think the waveform based apps may lend themselves better to controller usage due to their larger display of the main information you need.
Anyway, no clues on pricing or official detail on functionality...so watch this space!
DJay & iDJ Live video...
First one I've seen so far;
It still looks a little bit flimsy in terms of robustness to me...also I'm pretty sure you need to go back to the touchscreen to get to various functions.
At £79.99 it's a bargain, but I would still be tempted to hold on for something else - assuming something else comes up?
DJay is back to its normal price of $19.99;
Stanton SCS.4DJ
...thanks to Starpause on a comment from an earlier post, I've now got another piece of DJ gear to lust after.
The Stanton SCS.4DJ is a pretty cool proposition. It bundles the 2 deck & mixer plus a decent size central LCD monitor into 1 neat package. All you would need to do is plug your USB drive with your tracks into one of the 4 USB ports and away you go. There are stacks of reviews out there, so I wont even go into the heavy details of it, however the product does seem to be lacking in Hot Cues which is a shame, otherwise this would be a much handier piece of kit.
The central waveform display is a little like the Cue.Play.DJ app, with the beat grid and colour coded waveforms. I'm guessing the unit has some serious power to build those waveforms and calculate the beat grids quickly when loading a new track from the USB key.
...actually, tucked away in the manual, the following line reads;
"Songs are analyzed at 1/5 real time, so a large collection may take a day or two to finish analyzing"
Hmmm....maybe this isn't as attractive as I had thought! I was thinking that this would be a great piece of kit for a bar/small club/party where different DJs would just turn up with the USB drive...however, if they have to wait a number of days to analyse the waveforms, it could end up being a very, very, very long gig! So, with this in mind, perhaps it's more aimed towards personal use - a DJ turns up at the venue with this unit under their arm and a USB drive - which they've pre-analysed at home. Still quite good for those parties/venues which don't have a mixer or decks, or where the DVS system in use (Traktor/Serato) may not be up to the job....I've heard from a friend who warms up for the Nextmen (UK Hip-Hop) that they're making a move back to using CDJs after having a number of bad Serato issues over the past year.
My only concern would be that this is only ever going to be as good/reliable as your USB key / external HD, so if you were to get one of these, you would probably need to invest in a decent external storage device.
The other caveat I noticed in the manual was this one;
"...there is a 20,000 song limit per drive"
Another useful feature is the ability to record your mix as a wav onto your USB drive - gone are the days of taking a minidisc recorder (...maybe just me then!) to a gig! It can also act as a USB MIDI controller too, if you still wanted to use a laptop or whatever else (iPad maybe?).
There's a decent number of sort options (including BPM) and search options in the library screen for you to quickly access the next track you need.
I think if I were just starting out and wanting to move away from the flat touchscreen of an iPad, I would probably be seriously considering getting the Stanton SCS.4DJ as an alternative to turntables, especially since it has a responsive (knobs, faders, platters) interface.
I had a feeling I had seen the product earlier this year and I was right!
The Stanton SCS.4DJ is available now via various online stores and appears to be priced (in the UK) around £450.
I'd love to hear how it performs, if anyone has one, please let me know!
Update: DMC competitor and fellow DJ gadget collector, FileSpnr recently uploaded a video of this unit in action...apparently he's a tester for Stanton. Nice work if you can get it!
...maybe I'll get to have a play with one at BPM this year?
The Stanton SCS.4DJ is a pretty cool proposition. It bundles the 2 deck & mixer plus a decent size central LCD monitor into 1 neat package. All you would need to do is plug your USB drive with your tracks into one of the 4 USB ports and away you go. There are stacks of reviews out there, so I wont even go into the heavy details of it, however the product does seem to be lacking in Hot Cues which is a shame, otherwise this would be a much handier piece of kit.
The central waveform display is a little like the Cue.Play.DJ app, with the beat grid and colour coded waveforms. I'm guessing the unit has some serious power to build those waveforms and calculate the beat grids quickly when loading a new track from the USB key.
...actually, tucked away in the manual, the following line reads;
"Songs are analyzed at 1/5 real time, so a large collection may take a day or two to finish analyzing"
Hmmm....maybe this isn't as attractive as I had thought! I was thinking that this would be a great piece of kit for a bar/small club/party where different DJs would just turn up with the USB drive...however, if they have to wait a number of days to analyse the waveforms, it could end up being a very, very, very long gig! So, with this in mind, perhaps it's more aimed towards personal use - a DJ turns up at the venue with this unit under their arm and a USB drive - which they've pre-analysed at home. Still quite good for those parties/venues which don't have a mixer or decks, or where the DVS system in use (Traktor/Serato) may not be up to the job....I've heard from a friend who warms up for the Nextmen (UK Hip-Hop) that they're making a move back to using CDJs after having a number of bad Serato issues over the past year.
My only concern would be that this is only ever going to be as good/reliable as your USB key / external HD, so if you were to get one of these, you would probably need to invest in a decent external storage device.
The other caveat I noticed in the manual was this one;
"...there is a 20,000 song limit per drive"
Another useful feature is the ability to record your mix as a wav onto your USB drive - gone are the days of taking a minidisc recorder (...maybe just me then!) to a gig! It can also act as a USB MIDI controller too, if you still wanted to use a laptop or whatever else (iPad maybe?).
There's a decent number of sort options (including BPM) and search options in the library screen for you to quickly access the next track you need.
I think if I were just starting out and wanting to move away from the flat touchscreen of an iPad, I would probably be seriously considering getting the Stanton SCS.4DJ as an alternative to turntables, especially since it has a responsive (knobs, faders, platters) interface.
I had a feeling I had seen the product earlier this year and I was right!
The Stanton SCS.4DJ is available now via various online stores and appears to be priced (in the UK) around £450.
I'd love to hear how it performs, if anyone has one, please let me know!
Update: DMC competitor and fellow DJ gadget collector, FileSpnr recently uploaded a video of this unit in action...apparently he's a tester for Stanton. Nice work if you can get it!
...maybe I'll get to have a play with one at BPM this year?
DJ Player / Red Bull BPM update details
Exciting times for the DJ Player / Red Bull BPM app dev team, it looks like looping is coming!
Once again, I've been getting to grips with twitter to keep up to date. Updates on the DJ Player / Red Bull BPM apps can be found from @szantog_en.
The details so far are;
Exciting not only for the app team, but also anyone who has the app installed.
Once again, I've been getting to grips with twitter to keep up to date. Updates on the DJ Player / Red Bull BPM apps can be found from @szantog_en.
The details so far are;
- Looping. Seamless, gapless. Traktor and Serato loops are also imported.
- Cue/Loop modify without interrupting the music. Both start and end visible. 8 cue/loop points (on iPad, 6 on iPhone), all "instant".
- Better BPM detection, beat and block-aligned seeking.
Exciting not only for the app team, but also anyone who has the app installed.
Numark aggressively hunting other DJ apps...
While wasting time on Twitter, I came across a flurry of activity from @SimonBangs who appears to be from Numark (at least he seems to be tweeting on Numark's behalf). His tweets from 4 days ago appear to fly out to a number of different DJ app dev teams, including;
- Sonorasaurus Rex
- Tap DJ
- DJ Mixer
- FlareScratch
- Touch DJ (an odd choice, I thought Amidio have dropped off the face of the earth...plus their proposed new Touch DJ Evolution was meant to be the new DJ app from them?)
- IPadMixr (this one is odd as I don't believe it will ever see the light of day! It's been "in development" since April 2010!).
Also, no tweet to the DJ Player / Red Bull BPM team? Nothing to Capsulated Software (Cue.Play.DJ)?
The tweets read something along the lines of;
"simonbangs @sonorasaurus Hello this is Simon from @Numark Would be interested in talking to you about adding iDJ live support Sonorasaurus"
Looks like we might get a swathe of apps becoming iDJ Live compliant...I'd like to think that the app dev teams might take a broader view and check out other USB MIDI compliant DJ controllers which may be suitable for the iPad. I'm actually not sure there's much else out there at the moment that would fit as neatly...Vestax Spin would be a little more professional build though?
- Sonorasaurus Rex
- Tap DJ
- DJ Mixer
- FlareScratch
- Touch DJ (an odd choice, I thought Amidio have dropped off the face of the earth...plus their proposed new Touch DJ Evolution was meant to be the new DJ app from them?)
- IPadMixr (this one is odd as I don't believe it will ever see the light of day! It's been "in development" since April 2010!).
Also, no tweet to the DJ Player / Red Bull BPM team? Nothing to Capsulated Software (Cue.Play.DJ)?
The tweets read something along the lines of;
"simonbangs @sonorasaurus Hello this is Simon from @Numark Would be interested in talking to you about adding iDJ live support Sonorasaurus"
Looks like we might get a swathe of apps becoming iDJ Live compliant...I'd like to think that the app dev teams might take a broader view and check out other USB MIDI compliant DJ controllers which may be suitable for the iPad. I'm actually not sure there's much else out there at the moment that would fit as neatly...Vestax Spin would be a little more professional build though?
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