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The iPad DJ

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 10:29 am
by Mr Awesomer
I'm kind of surprised there isn't a thread for this yet... so time to start one.

Ever since the iPad came out I was excited about the possibilties of using it for DJing. The first one, and the software available at the time, was a big let down though... mainly because there simply we no stable solutions.

Current options and the power of either the iPad2 or 3 however are, and I've been happily, and stabily, using my iPad3 for DJing for a number of months now. It, and a 3.5mm to RCA plug, are literally all I bring to DJ now. (I always have my iPhone as a backup of sorts.) I've always been a minimalist, and like to travel light, and I can't imagine it getting better then this.

I'm currently using djay and am pretty happy with it. Has all the functions I need and more, though a couple things are annoying:

1. It overrides your BPM tag with it's own calculation which is typically half of the actual tempo. Thankfully though there is a setting to double it's calculation and I don't believe it's actually saving over the BPM tag.

2. A plus is that you can actually cue using a splitter, however no stereo out when you're doing so. This isn't actually a big deal for me, as most dances are not condusive to stereo anyway.

Have any questions, or your own experiences DJing on an iPad? Please post away.

Android tablet users feel free to start your own thread.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 10:34 am
by Mr Awesomer
I suppose one other downside has been capacity. 64GB minus apps minus all the other stuff I have on my iPad limits me to about 30GB of music. To deal with this I went through my entire collection of music and simply asked two simple questions about each and every track:

1. Would I really, honestly, EVER actually play this song at a dance?
2. Do I have duplicates of this song?

I think everyone who feels they have to have all 100+GBs of their music collection with them at all times would be surprised how "little" music you actually would truly play at a dance (and how much of your 100+GBs is actually duplicates of the exact same recording.)

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 1:52 pm
by straycat
I'm in a similar position - I've wanted a touch-screen DJing setup since I first saw Minority Report ;) - but the iPad has two main disadvantages for me - previewing (I'm holding out for a better solution than using a splitter), and software - Djay is (to me) the best of a bad bunch. I've been spoiled by using Megaseg, and I've not come across any iPad software which remotely lives up to it.

Another possibility I'm looking into is getting some kind of touch-screen laptop or netbook, which I can turn into a Hackintosh. I think it's going to be a while before this is really a good solution though. Assuming it ever happens.

On the capacity side of things... I'm not fussed. My DJing collection comes to only 13Gb, so it'll be a long long while before that becomes a problem (I've always lived by your points 1 & 2, ever since I started DJing, which has stood me in pretty good stead)

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:18 am
by straycat
Been looking at the IOS6 details... and it looks like we're in luck on the previewing front... IOS6 will have "multi-route audio", and it looks like that is what it sounds like.

Wonder if it's finally time to buy myself an iPad...

http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2012/06/wi ... phone-djs/

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:36 am
by Mr Awesomer
Interesting. That will be a nice little plus if it does. I wonder if djay will be updated to take advantage of it in time for Showdown.

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:28 am
by SoundInMotionDJ
I have been playing around with the Redbull BPM DJ app as a backup for my iPhone. It also works on the iPad (and has a MUCH nicer layout on the bigger screen).

This is a manual DJ program that is accurate enough to allow songs to be beatmatched...which is a LOT of fun to play with, but overkill for (almost?) everyone here.

The app if free to download and try, with 4 built in songs. You have to pay to use your own music. There is an in app purchase that allows the output to be mono & split between Master & cue.

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:57 am
by Mr Awesomer
I dropped RedBull BPM because when I bought it for my iPad 1 it was terribly instable. I liked it's simply layout though. I'm sure it works fine on the new iPad's, but they stopped supporting the original version, re-released it as a "free" app requiring the unlock purchase you mention. That was a huge f-u to the early adoptors.

Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:51 pm
by Surreal
Mr Awesomer wrote:I think everyone who feels they have to have all 100+GBs of their music collection with them at all times would be surprised how "little" music you actually would truly play at a dance (and how much of your 100+GBs is actually duplicates of the exact same recording.)
My entire music library is over 300 gigs, maybe half that is swing/jazz/etc. Total music I've ever used for dances, including a lot of salsa and tango events, a few wedding socials, etc... is roughly 16 gigs. About 3000 songs. Hmm.

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:37 am
by Mr Awesomer
djay was updated yesterday with multi-route audio support... so you can now supposedly que off the head phone jack and master out from an adaptor... in stereo.

However, everyone is scratching their heads on how to use it, including myself, since the developer hasn't provided a stitch of documention on the new feature:

http://community.algoriddim.com/algorid ... ut_routing
straycat wrote:Been looking at the IOS6 details... and it looks like we're in luck on the previewing front... IOS6 will have "multi-route audio", and it looks like that is what it sounds like.

Wonder if it's finally time to buy myself an iPad...

http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2012/06/wi ... phone-djs/

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 5:30 pm
by dogpossum
I'm keeping an eye on this thread, even though I don't really have anything useful to add, as DJing from an ipad seems an excellent for my interstate and traveling gigs...

Re: The iPad DJ

Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 6:40 am
by Swingmagistern
Hi all,

Responding to an old thread here, perhaps interesting to someone :)
I DJ exclusively on an iPad, using Djay 2 and a Focusrite iTrack Solo interface, sometimes skipping the interface and run a splitter cable in the headphone jack. It works really well! The setup of the audio outputs in Djay 2 is straightforward, just connect the headphones and interface and they appear in the settings. The only thing I miss, and I really miss it, is a way to attach comments to tracks. Apart from that it is super stable and nice to work with.

//Per

Re: The iPad DJ

Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:32 pm
by Surreal
These days there are portable routers and network streamers with built in storage or with usb inputs where you can stick a 100+gb flash drive.

Pro mixers are gradually shifting over to digital interfaces via wirelessly networked ipads these days too and replacing entire racks of gear. It'll probably be another year or two (or maybe already?) before those mixers can simply stream music from the ipad or other wireless sources.

Re: The iPad DJ

Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 5:10 am
by mette
Hello everyone!
Since my computer died I've been considering just using an iPad. I have the same question as Per tho, about the possibility to use comments (see and make) while dj:ing from an iPad. I'm really relying on my comments since I don't have a very good memory ;)
Does anyone have a good solution?
Thanks!

Re: The iPad DJ

Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 7:15 pm
by philippecrhk
I use the ipad for outdoor and spontaneous dances .
Its light and easy to carry around with you .
I also keep it as a backup as It has the advantage of being able to switch on immediately when something goes wrong and you dont need a power supply .
As your library grows you would still need your computer to manage the music anyway and with itunes sync you can choose what to put on the ipad .

The big weaknesses of using the ipad only for swing djs:
-you can only amend the rating easily and the new heart rating . The comments cant be easily edited
-no smart playlist
-lack of memory ( I have started using some better larger files)
-sound is average when compared to a computer with an external sound card.
-no backup if you dont have a computer