When
Mixr arrived in the appstore a few weeks ago, I was keen to see what the app delivers above other DJ apps after so much time in development and with surrounding hype. In the run-up to the release date, the website was overhauled and a number of tutorial videos cropped up showing the app at its best and in a professional manner too (ie not wonky hand-held phone movie footage).
If Mixr had been released last year when it was originally intended then perhaps its reception in the appstore might be different, unfortunately for the development team of Mixr they are playing catchup with an app and development team combination who have a headstart and (a now well established and seemingly loyal) audience.
NB: to be clear here, when using Mixr the automatic response is to instantly compare it with other twin-turntable layout apps.
This week has seen an update to the app which includes;
- More accurate BPM
- Performance Improvements
- Bug Fixes
- Crash Fixes
- BPM displays in Crate Manager deck list
- More responsive EQ sliders
- Tap to tempo speed adjustments (+/- increments)
- Improved vinyl coverage
Obviously bug fixes and crash fixes are key to any apps success, however display of BPM data was a late but welcome addition to the app (I was surprised that this slipped through and was not originally a feature). Unfortunately, BPM data is only displayed if you're using the Crate Manager and have dragged a track into the deck list. It would be good to see it elsewhere in the app when tracks are listed.
Interface:
On loading the app, you're presented with the main screen clearly replicating 2 turntables sitting alongside each other. As with other apps, this does bring a degree of familiarity to the screen however when displayed like this on a flat touchscreen the positioning of the pitch control to the right of both decks (meaning the left deck's pitch control is right in the centre of the screen) feels a little awkward. What really does feel odd is moving the pitch slider away from you to increase the speed and towards you to slow down - something I made the wrong decision with on almost every time I tried to use it (which might say more about my memory than the app UI!). A double tap on the pitch control returns it to the 0 position. The tiny +/- buttons at the top and bottom of the pitch control slider are for pitch bending/nudging and not for precise movement of the pitch control as I had initially thought.
The development team have been fairly meticulous in the visual representation of the decks, down to the fine patterned reflection on the vinyl as it spins and the slightly dotted look on the deck body.
At the very top of the screen you have 2 buttons on the left ('My Mixes' and 'My Library'). If you chose to record your mix using the in-app recording button (on the right at the top), your mixes will appear in the 'My Mixes' page. In this page you can delete the mixes, rename them or play them back. Interestingly, when you view the mix detail the screen lists the tracks played in the order they were played - a very useful feature if you're thinking of uploading your mix into somewhere like Mixcloud. The mixes are stored as .AIF files and can be downloaded to a host machine using the app's filesharing in iTunes. The tracklist isn't available via the fileshare, but perhaps that might come in a future update?
The 'My Library' button is where you add tracks to crates. I'm still trying to get used to how the app uses Crates and how to best manage them. I would see myself using the crates as a means to pre-prepare what I might play out at a gig, a little like a dynamic playlist. I might set up a bunch of crates and then during the gig I could dig out tracks from the crates and assign them to decks (using the Crate Manager button in - if I were doing a gig which I was likely to get requests (eeek!), then I would pluck the track (assuming I found it) from my Music library using the button to the left of the decks.
In the centre at the top is the main output level display and volume control.
Above each deck is displayed the track progress bar while at the top of the page is the detailed waveform which scrolls as the track is playing. The detailed waveform is visually large, clear and seemed to be smooth when scrolling along and even when scratching the platters.
When you load a track, the artwork is loaded into the centre of the vinyl display (like a record label). What perhaps the app lacks here is the ability to add a marker (like a thin strip of paper) so you get a better feel of the motion - useful when beat juggling (if you're brave enough to try that on an app).
The time elapsed and remaining is displayed either side of the track progress bar with the artist name and track name above that. All very clear so far in layout.
To the left of each deck is the button to load a track directly from your Music library. This uses the standard API as seen elsewhere, but is the small version. Ideally I'd prefer to see BPM data displayed on this screen or even better the standard API shelved for something tailored. As mentioned, I'd probably use this screen for ad-hoc tracks and use the crates for prepared/organised tracks.
Below each deck are 5 buttons;
- Set Cue
- Cue
- Play/Pause - the pause is instant dead stop (strange for a vinyl/turntable replication app?)
- Loop - allowing you to set 3 loopable cue points
- Tempo
The main cue point and loopable cue points are all stored, so when the app and the track are loaded again the cues/loops are all present as previously set. The loop points are displayed with small different coloured lines in the track progress bar.
Just above the Loop button for each deck is the deck volume rotary knob. Personally, I don't find rotary knobs on flat touchscreens suitable - I'd prefer sliders/faders, but the rotary knob seems to fit in that space neatly which is probably why it was used.
Underneath the 5 buttons, are the EQ and FX buttons for each deck and the cross fader.
The cross fader can jump out to a given point (but not jump back) and if you mistakenly press the 'A' or 'B' button, the cross fader will slowly move across to that side.
Pros:
- very good graphics
- All key features of the app can be access through buttons on this screen
Cons:
- the pitch controls feel counter-intuitive
Configuration:
There's currently not much to configure in the app. You get the opportunity to use the monitor functionality (split audio) and set the headphone output volume. You can also configure the pitch control range;
It would be good to see some expansion here, including the ability to set the cross-fader curve and perhaps adjust the stop button feature (ie immediate, slow stop, very slow stop).
There was a setting in here to switch on/off Autoplay (where the app would automatically play the next track in your crate), but that appears to have disappeared in the recent update....although to be fair, I can't remember seeing it in the initial release.
Track Selection:
In order to get the most from the app you will need to use the Crate Management feature, create Crates by selecting tracks from your Music library and then dragging tracks from crates into your decks. You would then use the standard Music interface for selecting ad-hoc tracks - although to add confusion to this, these in turn get added to a default crate! I think that perhaps the use of crates may put casual users off.
Decks:
As with other turntable based apps, the instant draw is to push a track back and forth on the deck. Thankfully, the sound is pretty good (although maybe still not quite up to the main competition yet) and the waveform responds well too.
FX:
When the app was first released you had the choice of Delay or Reverb as effects to apply to each deck (as shown above), however in the latest update the buttons have disappeared on the FX screen, leaving you with just Delay. The Wet & Feedback percentages are controlled by rotary knobs with a selection of buttons to affect the delay timings. Having used a Kaoss pad a lot in the past, an X-Y pad interface here maybe better for quickly playing with effects...again, that's just a personal preference. Interestingly, on the Mixr website there's a poll for future features which includes Kaoss pad type effects.
EQ:
The EQ sliders are displayed in a popup menu and have a range of -24Db to 6Db. A quick double tap on the slider returns it to zero. There are also Kill buttons underneath each slider and a gain slider (with a range of -12db to 12db) to the far right of the EQs. I noticed that the Kill buttons didn't quite kill the audio completely as with other apps, so perhaps the EQs could do with refining a little.
Summary:
I spent some hours with this app over the past few days, albeit at home and not in a live environment. I think it shows potential but has some way to go in terms of refinement to win over customers from other similar apps. The crate system takes some getting used to and certainly once you've got the hang of creating Crates (remember there's a limited number of Crates and limited number of tracks per crate) then you stand a chance of getting the most from the application. Through the use of crates the app also pre-processes the tracks (by determining bpm, building waveform etc), so it does make sense to use them if playing out.
It will be interesting to see where the dev team take this and whether it gains popularity over time....remembering that although this app has been in development for a long, long time we are still only on version 1.0.1.
Mixr is currently priced at $19.99;
