BPM Studio Pro Software Questions

[JohnDyer]

This probably belongs in the laptop djing thread, but I didn't want to have to dig down through 28 pages everytime someone can't get iTunes to do what they want

For reference, my setup:
Dell 700m
80G hard drive
512M RAM
PCDJ Red
Approx 6-7k songs within PCDJ Red
Zonealarm, Norton only running when NOT djing.

I am now starting to have problems with PCDJ Red. It has occasionally played "mixes" of 2 songs (or same song) for no apparent reason, has started having issues in starting and stopping, and my recordcase subgroups are so large that there is definitely some delay in scrolling through songs. PCDJ Red was only supposed to support 1000 songs/group - seems ridiculous for the amount of music I need to categorize.

So I looked at Traktor Studio 3. It's pretty nice, but requires a multi-output soundcard (I have multiple virtual outputs on my Indigo Echo IO, but they all get funneled into one output - impossible to split up the monitor and master out unless I go to mono for each and split the wire - yech).

So I started looking at BPM Studio Pro again. I tried the demo several months ago and it has got to be the best setup and interface I have ever seen for laptop djing. Apparently it's now only $400 (what a steal - for them). With Traktor being $279 and requiring a new soundcard, BPM looks like the way to go to get what I want.

So before I plop down my cash, I have a number of questions for Jesse Gearhart (GemZombie) that I hope he (or anyone else currently using BPM Studio Pro) can answer. I post here in case anyone else is considering BPM and would also like to know the answers to the following questions:

1. Does it support multiple soundcards or just soundcards with multiple outputs? I would prefer to use the internal card for cueing, and my Echo Indigo IO for master out.

2. Is there an upper limit to the number of mp3 tunes you can have in its database before it starts lagging in performance?

3. Have you EVER had a glitch (not user error) while djing a gig?

4. How well does the auto-gain/normalize function work with songs of various levels?

5. Have you ever needed support, and if so did you get it in a timely fashion?

6. Is there an English manual somewhere? I couldn't find it if there is.

7. I like to attach my BPMs to an MP3 tag. If I've done this up front already, will BPM Studio correctly read and display this tag (and other tags as I see fit)? Will it let me enter BPM as an mp3 tag within itself?

8. What is its memory footprint when in operation?

9. Any conflicts with other apps that will make my life miserable? (although my dj laptop is pretty stripped down - and I turn off my firewall, wireless and virus checker when spinning).

10. Will it mangle mp3 tags if you're not careful?

11. Does it load the entire song into its player (into memory) or does it do disk access while playing (bad in IMHO)?

12. How long have you been using BPM Studio Pro, and on a scale of 1 to 10, what is your satisfaction level?

Thanks in advance for your help (especially Jesse)

[GemZombie]

So before I plop down my cash, I have a number of questions for Jesse Gearhart (GemZombie) that I hope he (or anyone else currently using BPM Studio Pro) can answer. I post here in case anyone else is considering BPM and would also like to know the answers to the following questions:

1. Does it support multiple soundcards or just soundcards with multiple outputs? I would prefer to use the internal card for cueing, and my Echo Indigo IO for master out.

It supports both. And I've used both. I personally have two sound devices, but in the past I used one external, and used the different outputs. BPM Studio is the most robust in these terms...

2. Is there an upper limit to the number of mp3 tunes you can have in its database before it starts lagging in performance?

Here I don't know. I'm not aware of any, but I don't really use the library interface. I still use explorer for most of my organization needs, but i use it's library for setting up specific playlists. I can tell you that it does take quite some time to import 12,000 songs

3. Have you EVER had a glitch (not user error) while djing a gig?

Yes, but it's been rare. And I believe the new version has addressed the rare glitch I've seen. I'd say I've had 4 glitches in the 3 years that I've used it. It's been extremely stable.

4. How well does the auto-gain/normalize function work with songs of various levels?

Very well. I've used them a bit, and I've found that they keep things in check quite well. I usually do things manually though, because I like the hands on approach.

5. Have you ever needed support, and if so did you get it in a timely fashion?

Never needed it. I think that app is extremely well done in that it's all very obvious, and the manual is also very adequate.

6. Is there an English manual somewhere? I couldn't find it if there is.

Ya, I have it It's available for download on their site as I recall.

7. I like to attach my BPMs to an MP3 tag. If I've done this up front already, will BPM Studio correctly read and display this tag (and other tags as I see fit)? Will it let me enter BPM as an mp3 tag within itself?

This is the one bad thing about BPM Studio. Turn off all settings that "write" tags. It will read your tags just fine, but don't let it rewrite them, as it will overwrite all your good data with it's own. Once you turn that off it stores it's own data in it's own database, and all is good. So ya, it will read them fine, but use another app for id3 tag manipulation.

8. What is its memory footprint when in operation?

I'll have to check next time I run it, but as I recall it's not too bad. I ran it on a PIII 400 with 256MB of Ram and it would performed extremely well. now I run it on a much better system and haven't had a single stall or problem. I've even opened up Photoshop and such while DJing. No problems.

9. Any conflicts with other apps that will make my life miserable? (although my dj laptop is pretty stripped down - and I turn off my firewall, wireless and virus checker when spinning).

No conflicts so far... I generally turn everything off while DJing as well, so I can't say there aren't any conflicts. I just take pre-emptive action.

10. Will it mangle mp3 tags if you're not careful?

As mentioned above. Yes. But it's a matter of turning two settings off before you do anything. Once that's done... it never mangles a thing. I wrote about those options in the DJ essay I wrote (www.sloswing.com/dj/).

11. Does it load the entire song into its player (into memory) or does it do disk access while playing (bad in IMHO)?

I don't know for sure, but I know it does a full scan of the song before playing if it's VBR. My guess is that it loads a large amount of it. It would be bad to automatically load a song into memory, as the song might be very large. It's better to have a buffer, albeit large, and to fill that in chunks. I think BPM Studio does this.

12. How long have you been using BPM Studio Pro, and on a scale of 1 to 10, what is your satisfaction level?

3 or so years now. I'd rate it a 9.

Thanks in advance for your help (especially Jesse)

Your welcome.

[JohnDyer]

Thanks Jesse - here are some more questions:

13. Do you have to use a dongle while operating BPM Studio? USB dongle? Can you modify the program to work without it?

14. The website suggests NOT running SP2 on XP. Do you run SP2 on XP?

15. How long will updates be free after purchase? Have you been getting them free in your 3 years of use?

16. Assuming your mp3 tags were already set in all of your songs, how long did it take you to convert to BPM Studio Pro (or are you still converting?)

Thanks again.

[GemZombie]

Thanks Jesse - here are some more questions:

13. Do you have to use a dongle while operating BPM Studio? USB dongle? Can you modify the program to work without it?

Ya, there's a dongle. I'm not sure if the newest versions still uses that method. There are ways around it, but not legal that I know of.

14. The website suggests NOT running SP2 on XP. Do you run SP2 on XP?

I actually do run SP2. No problems.

15. How long will updates be free after purchase? Have you been getting them free in your 3 years of use?

Been running the same 4.2 version for so long, I don't even know the answer to that question. I haven't checked their website in over a year. Honestly I've been so happy with what I've used, I haven't wanted to change.

16. Assuming your mp3 tags were already set in all of your songs, how long did it take you to convert to BPM Studio Pro (or are you still converting?)

I'm not sure what your asking. There's no conversion. My mp3 files just work with BPM Studio. The ID3 tags were generated by the ripping software I used, and since I turned off BPM Studio's ID3 tag writing there's nothing else to do. I have an ID3 tag editor I use occasionally.

When I got BPM Studio I started using it immediatly. I organize my MP3's in a file structure and use Explorer to drag and drop files into the playlist.

I Also use the single playlist mode instead of a playlist under each "Deck". I then use "Auto" mode so that it grabs the next song and puts it into the next Deck.. it then auto fades between the two decks. I adjust the fading so that it really doesn't fade, but automatically starts the next song after about 1 - 2 seconds of silence. I hit the manual fade button if I want to make adjustments to that.

Before I used BPM Studio I used VTT (Virtual Turn Tables). It had lots of problems, and the author gave up on it. Before that I supposed I used winamp. I tried PCDJ, OtsJuke (Now known as OtsDJ -- pretty good software for "radio" use), and a few others... nothing worked as good as BPM studio, it worked "out of the box" so to speak.

Hope that helps.

[JohnDyer]

Are you still using BPM Studio Pro Jesse? I upgraded to the latest version (after it stopped working after a Windows update - d'oh!) and have been slowly turning my dj laptop into a standalone computer to cut down on all of the riff raff programs that don't need to be running.

I _think_ I'm noticing some artifacts on some songs when compared to listening to the same MP3s on Windows Media Player (going through same soundcard). I turned off auto-gain, and the equalizer to play it "raw" and was still noticing a little warbling in the right channel. I've been hearing it the most with Hammond B3 music (Brother Jack McDuff -what I'm currently cataloging) for some reason. I'm trying to figure out if BPM is doing something wrong, or if Windows Media Player is doing some processing on songs to cut down on this artifact.

Any ideas? (from anyone that uses BPM Studio Pro). I have absolutely loved this software for djing, and the artifacts are minor and barely noticeable, but...

[GemZombie]

I still use it, and never had to update it even after using it on Vista.

I've not noticed any artifacting either, so I'm afraid I'm not much help.

[tornredcarpet]

I notice audio artifacts too when I play mp3PRO codec files. Sounds fine when I play high bitrate LAME though.

BTW, I think the company has suspended its anticipated new release indefinitely.... so um... yeah. i've been hoping for it to play different formats such as APE, OGG, and VGF, but I don't think that will really happen.

[JohnDyer]

Interesting - very bad news about its new release, however as long as it keeps working the way it has I'll be happy. I've locked down my laptop from future updates, no web access, and am starting to turn things off using BlackViper's tips.

Maybe one of you guys can answer this question I've had for awhile:
Q: How do I remove a song from the archive so that it will never show up in a search anymore?

The hard way I think is to "delete" the file from the hard drive, or possibly move it, then "Archive Update", but that's a pain in the ass, especially if I want to keep the file physically where it is.

[GemZombie]

I use it differently than that. I keep all my files organized by explorer. I use the "archive" as an archive of what i've played, and do all my searches through explorer. I realize I'd have more power in using BPM Studio's archive (i'd be able to search via BPM etc), but I have chosen not to go down that path.

Having said that, you can use the delete key to delete something from the archive and not delete it from the drive. When you right click and "remove" it both removes the file, and the archive entry.

[JohnDyer]

I actually use the search functions of BPM exclusively. I have filled in the comments tags with my own special ratings of style and ease of dancing to (not just BPM - I tend to go after a "feeling" first, then just make sure the BPM isn't extreme for what I'm looking for).

I find that if I just "remove" from the archive that the song will still show up on searches. Seems like a bug to me.

[kitkat]

I don't get why "Clear List," "+ Dir," "+ File," "- File," "M - A," and "M - B" buttons are all grayed out & unclickable in BPM studio for me. And why I can't delete anything out of the playlist (although I can drag stuff into it from other windows sometimes).

[tornredcarpet]

i had this problem before. whatever database file that it's using for playlists is read-only, corrupted, or otherwise fried. Just delete it I guess or otherwise reinstall.

[kitkat]

Just tried a re-install--that cleared out the library, but the buttons are still inaccessible.

Unrelated P.S: Bah! Just noticed on a gig last night that it doesn't play FLACs!