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MorganX

macrumors 6502a
Jan 20, 2003
853
0
Midwest
Originally posted by springscansing
It would need many more controls to be able to handle all the real-time beat matching and such that DJs have to do.

Basically all you need is a cue, forward and reverse. Beat mixing is in the ear. And yes, it is a talent.

A talented DJ with a trained ear can beatmix with whatever they have.

If you can beat mix, you can do it with an iPod or anything else.
 

Abstract

macrumors Penryn
Dec 27, 2002
24,836
848
Location Location Location
Originally posted by h'biki

2.Then there are DJs like DJ Vadim and Rip-One who beat mix tracks and throw in some tricks now and then. They, again, are unlikely to use an iPod DJ system. But hey, they're unlikely to even use a CD mixing system. Vinyl is life to these guys. Not just for sound, but for the culture and the tactile sense. (And anyone who doesn't see vinyl as a culture hasn't met any crate diggers).

Haha, DJ Vadim. He's aiight. I have his USSR album (forgot the actual name :eek:) and h'biki is right in saying that guys like Vadim cannot use these iPods. But if these pro iPods are only a variant of the current iPod, and accessories produced by Apple are sold to accomodate the different possible uses of this technology, then I think Apple can be very successful.
 

couch

macrumors newbie
Apr 28, 2003
7
0
i don't believe it. this is not a market big enough to develop a special dj-edition. the ipod was developed for the mass-consumer market.

couch
 

jhaeusler

macrumors newbie
May 6, 2003
4
0
Berlin, Germany
There really is no need for new hardware for a DJ iPod, if you want to change pitch etc. it only takes a software update.

As for mixing within one machine (and not hooking up two iPods to a hardware mixing desk, which of course is possible and people already do it), you need proper DJ software and a screen big enough to handle your file list, the mixer, pitch control, overview... in other words: You take your iBook, PowerBook, whatever and use software like Native Instrument's Traktor (http://www.nativeinstruments.de) to control your internal or external harddrive's (or iPod's) song collection. Traktor lets you pitch, synch songs, everything a hardware mixer does and more.

The iPods's wheel makes you think about DJing, of course, but a DJ iPod would basically mean a large iPod with two wheels, mixing hardware and pitching etc. via software. The thing would need a larger screen as well. It would sure look very cool, but let's face it: It would come close to a 12" PowerBook in size or at least wouldn't be portable enough anymore. On second thought, it would look *very* cool... :)

Another possibility would be a software update and a new dock with two stereo outs and a headphone out, that's the minimum need for a DJ. I am not sure if handling the pre-listening tasks, cueing and all that on the iPod screen with only one wheel would be fun and practical, but it could be a reason for some DJs to finally by an iPod. You'd have to hook it up to a hardware mixer then.

And for the quality bit: If you use MP3s only, you can adjust the sound system to get the most out of it (if you mix vinyl and MP3s, you're in sound adjustment hell...). It'll never beat vinyl, though, but that's the price we all pay anyway and that's the one argument that the record industry never thought of in their "fight" against piracy... The ongoing loss of sound and dynamic quality in recordings we pay for.
 

aasmund

macrumors member
Sep 7, 2002
48
0
Trondheim
Maybe cross-fading is not possible on current line of ipods, because mp3/aac decoding is done in hardware, and this hardware may only be capable of handling one stream at a time.
:(
 

bennetsaysargh

macrumors 68020
Jan 20, 2003
2,367
1
New York
Originally posted by aasmund
Maybe cross-fading is not possible on current line of ipods, because mp3/aac decoding is done in hardware, and this hardware may only be capable of handling one stream at a time.
:(

well, all i know is that even the origional iPods (5, 10, slim 10, and 20) all had the processing power to decode a lot of different file types and even burn cds if the OS was enabled to! that woud truely be one of the pivital innovations if they were to just enable the OS to. i don't think it woud have trouble managing multiple streams at one time.:);)
 

ennerseed

macrumors regular
Jan 3, 2002
142
0
Re: Re: So, to sum up....

Originally posted by tjwett
i'm not saying it couldn't happen, i'm just saying it would be lame. i work as a musician for media and i also do live sets sometimes with vinyl or laptop. the amount of processing power it would take to actually make this thing cool is well, alot. it would need more than just a simple tempo adjustment feature even to be worth it's weight in dog crap. it would have to be fairly large if we are to assume it will have some sort of "scratch" feature. it would need a decent spec processor to handle the DSP. to get quality stretching/pitching results with an Mp3 is near impossible. to be of any use to DJs it should also incorporate some MIDI i/o for syncing. some internal effects wouldn't go amiss either. also it would need to have the abilty to cue up loop points and be able to punch them in and out on the fly. a basic sampler/looper function should be standard too. basically this thing would have to take the features of the current iPod and throw in the advanced timstretching algorithm technology of Ableton Live or Traktor, plus a new proprietory onboard FX format unless you expect it to handle VST plugins or something (yeah right), a decent size realistic feeling scratch wheel/jog, quality audio in/out, MIDI, etc, etc, etc. without all these things it's nothing special and certainly does nothing software can't do already for cheap. if it CAN do all these things Apple will have just taken their first steps into the hardware musical instrument business which currently is suffering sales drops of up to 80% over the past 2 years, thanks to you guessed it-SOFTWARE. i can't imagine Apple waiting to get into the hardware sampler industry a year after it's pretty much been declared dead. even Akai and E-mu are jumping ship and will soon be pushing software versions of all their stuff. i think Apple is a little smarter than to try and release a hardware musical instrument into a saturated and depressed market where everything you need to do and more is being handled by low cost software. and even if they squeeze all that magic into a box it would probably cost well, i don't even want to think about that.

ok, you should have just changed your first line to say something like:
"i'm not saying it couldn't happen, i'm just saying it would be better if it had a whole bunch of features in it that is not even available for people that are using cd or vinyl setups."

Then I could say something like:
"man you are right, that really would make it far better than cd or vinyl setups. without all those features it would be just at the same level as cd or vinyl setups (of course with pros and cons on both sides) and nobody is purchasing those."
 

makkystyle

macrumors regular
Aug 12, 2002
209
0
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE MAKING ANY MORE SILLY POSTS

Originally posted by TSEliotLives
I see this as being an absolute golden move on the part of Apple...something that I've been pining for for a long time.

I'm a DJ...but not the beatmixing kind. I lug hundreds of pounds of gear all around the state for weddings, school dances, fraternity formals, and the like...and I run my entire show off my PowerBook G4 and iTunes.

Do people laugh when they first see the laptop? Sure. But they shut up pretty quick once the show starts.

MP3's (even the poorly encoded ones) sound just fine through my system, which is nothing but the best. Running the output of the PowerBook through an iMic even furthers the quality. I've already convinced my mentor (a professional mobile DJ of over 20 years) to convert to MP3...and winning those old-school folks over is no easy task.

An iPod tailored to the mobile DJ crowd would be a massive boon for Apple. There's a LOT of us out there...and ANYTHING to lighten the load to a gig is a blessing. If I could find a way around putting my precious PowerBook in harm's way, I would. Having a drunk sorority girl spill her Cosmo on an iPod would be far less devastating than on what serves as my main machine when I'm not working.


I quote this to prove the point I made earlier. SOOOOOOO many of you are so small minded and not seeing the BIG PICTURE. A product like this would NOT be for dj's who are mixing beats or scratching. It's for people like my man TSEliot above who are carrying all their own equipment AND records/cds and playing gigs like weddings, parties, etc. All of you people whining about how it can't compare to vinyl, it wouldn't be anything without ableton and it would definitely need two scroll wheels, a crossfader, line-in, built in sampler and an OS that is able to run reason please take your head out of the sand and realize that this product (if it even exists) is not targeted at you. There are thousands of DJ's like the guy above who would jump at the chance to lighten their load by about 50 pounds every time they played a gig. The 'DJ' world is not only alive in nightclubs and dance venues; in fact they are probably the minority.
 

jhaeusler

macrumors newbie
May 6, 2003
4
0
Berlin, Germany
The 'DJ' world is not only alive in nightclubs and dance venues; in fact they are probably the minority.

I hear what you're saying and I agree. But what's your point? *Any* DJ, be it a hip club DJ or someone who spins top10 CDs on a wedding party, needs to pre-listen and cue and start the songs in time. My (and other's) above posting wasn't meant for club DJs, but for anyone who puts on songs in a chosen order. So please stop calling other's posts "silly", but read them carefully and think about it. ;)
 

technocoy

macrumors 6502a
Sep 4, 2002
765
0
Raleigh, NC
moby is not really a dj..

moby is an "electronic music producer" not a dj in the traditional sense... at least not anymore... people like the crystal method and fluke and kraftwerk and such are often creating completely new music from samples and digital effects... they have come to be called DJ's, but the term isn't meant in the original sense. and they often have crap-loads of digital processors and laptops on stage... now it could be cool to make the iPod into a sampling device with a dock that could do simple processing and such. sorry just throwin' out my two cents... i've seen moby live and he often has live guitars and singers with him.

technocoy:D
 

makkystyle

macrumors regular
Aug 12, 2002
209
0
Originally posted by jhaeusler
I hear what you're saying and I agree. But what's your point? *Any* DJ, be it a hip club DJ or someone who spins top10 CDs on a wedding party, needs to pre-listen and cue and start the songs in time. My (and other's) above posting wasn't meant for club DJs, but for anyone who puts on songs in a chosen order. So please stop calling other's posts "silly", but read them carefully and think about it. ;)

I've read the posts, and I feel I've read them with a fair amount of care. I'm not saying that all the posts are silly, just that many of the posts don't seem to really understand that a product like this is not targeted at the beat-mixing dance DJ. Many people that have posted don't seem to realize that the "DJ" market does not ONLY include the aforementioned house, trance, hip-hop, rap, drum & bass, breakbeat, etc. club dj's.

Any amount of thought would make the obvious clear, that there is a market for a product like this. Many people just don't seem to be doing the simple mental arithmetic to realize that this is the case. This can be quite frustrating and annoying, especially since it has been pointed out in earlier posts.

So the point you were looking for :) is: People should take a look at where and to whom this product is marketed to before making SILLY statements like "this would be stupid", "no dj would have any use for this" and "I'm not giving up my vinyl". Additionally, the people saying these things are the ones who should be reading these posts more "carefully", because if they did I probably wouldn't be writing this right now.
:rolleyes:
 

WannabeSQ

macrumors 6502
Oct 24, 2002
361
0
Just to stir up this rumor more, what ever happened to the new plastic enclosure that MacWhispers said was being made? Maybe that is the new casing for the DJ iPod. Who knows?
 

yuri_koval

macrumors newbie
Dec 8, 2002
20
0
K-PAX
nah....

I don't beleive they are going to make a dj ipod, maybe a newer system with better song transitions that'll be cool
 

hermes369

macrumors newbie
May 25, 2003
26
0
South
Hopeful the rumor is true

I teach classical ballet from my PowerBook. Sometimes the tracks are too fast or too slow to use. It would great to be able to adjust the speed of the tracks. I hope this feature is added to iTunes and not just the iPod. I've been suggesting it every so often on Apple's feedback page. I'm hoping they listened. Now, if only I can get them to use me in the commercial!
 

jhaeusler

macrumors newbie
May 6, 2003
4
0
Berlin, Germany
Originally posted by makkystyle
People should take a look at where and to whom this product is marketed to before making SILLY statements like "this would be stupid", "no dj would have any use for this" and "I'm not giving up my vinyl". Additionally, the people saying these things are the ones who should be reading these posts more "carefully", because if they did I probably wouldn't be writing this right now.

Ok. Point taken and agreed. :)
 

makkystyle

macrumors regular
Aug 12, 2002
209
0
Originally posted by WannabeSQ
Just to stir up this rumor more, what ever happened to the new plastic enclosure that MacWhispers said was being made? Maybe that is the new casing for the DJ iPod. Who knows?


[homer] MMMMMMM, New enclosure! MMMMMMMM [/homer]
 

tychay

macrumors regular
Jul 1, 2002
222
30
San Francisco, CA
Re: iTunes is great...

Originally posted by pfranzen
Oh and by the way...We have started to experiment with iTunes for playback of Music in our restaurants and Bars and it is great.

You might also want to look into MegaSeg. There are other solutions (some free) that are better for live DJs, but this product focuses on automation which is what a restaurant or bar needs.

Not sure what advantages it has over iTunes since I don't use the product nor do I run a restaurant/bar. :)

Take care,
 

tychay

macrumors regular
Jul 1, 2002
222
30
San Francisco, CA
Re: Hopeful the rumor is true

Originally posted by hermes369
I teach classical ballet from my PowerBook. Sometimes the tracks are too fast or too slow to use. It would great to be able to adjust the speed of the tracks.

Try Amazing Slow Downer which will speed up or slow down music without changing pitch. There might be other solutions out there in live DJing software.

Unfortunately, it is not integrated with iTunes (a pity since iTunes is easily scriptable). With a bit of work and the new system events Scripting you could integrate the two from iTunes.

Anyone know of others?

Take care,
 

hermes369

macrumors newbie
May 25, 2003
26
0
South
Amazing Slow Downer

I have this program. I didn't think of scripting it, hmmm. I would have to make something that would work quickly. I wouldn't want to spend any time when using it. It's takes long enough to think of combinations! Great idea though! Thanks.
 

JSRockit

macrumors 6502a
Aug 24, 2002
637
0
NYC
Re: hm somethings fishy...

Originally posted by pfranzen
a 'professional' ipod would have to be nothing like the current ipod. there is no way youd get a DJ mixing up two pods (as they are today) to a mixer and DJing. Theyd get laughed out of the venue.

Well...start laughing... I live near NYC and there are people using two ipods and a mixer. Do a search on the internet for Apt. They even have a permanent iPod rig set up for all to use.
 

JSRockit

macrumors 6502a
Aug 24, 2002
637
0
NYC
Are you fools this ignorant that you cannot see how a redesigned Pro iPod with a cross-fader, the ability to play two songs at once (one through RCAs, one through the headphone jack for previewing), two LCD windows and pitch controls could work?

If you have ever used NI's Traktor, then you would know that this is possible....and useful. Pioneer not only makes CD "turntables" (as well as others), but an MP3 player for DJs!!!!

Stop thinking of the iPod in its current form as the solution and think of a redesigned Pro iPod along the lines of what i mentioned above.

People already use two iPods and a mixer to DJ...even with all the shortcomings.

I'd buy it in a second.
 

Grog

macrumors newbie
May 26, 2003
2
0
DeKstacy

I have to mention DeKstacy since it's easier to use than Tracktor, it's free and the folks who wrote it know their s**t. All you need is a powerbook and some mp3s and you can start mixing as only the best djs in the world can (3 decks, 4 decks, external drum machines, etc. all in sync...). Of course, you still have to know what sounds good...
 

Wry Cooter

macrumors 6502
Mar 10, 2002
418
0
Originally posted by JSRockit
Are you fools this ignorant that you cannot see how a redesigned Pro iPod with a cross-fader, the ability to play two songs at once (one through RCAs, one through the headphone jack for previewing), two LCD windows and pitch controls could work?

No. They are intelligent enough to see this isn't the best business decision for Apple, with third parties filling the niche already.



If you have ever used NI's Traktor, then you would know that this is possible....and useful.

And why it isn't necessary for Apple to build one. Get Final Scratch, Traktor, and an iBook, use an iPod or two to store the songs and samples. Get Ableton Live if you want to get even fancier.

If you are a DJ doing the weddings Partys and reunion circuit, you don't even need to match beats. You could do a lot of these jobs with an iPod and a PA system, although a notebook would be handier for seeing playlists and available library.

Why aren't you screaming for a Karaoke iPod?

DON"T YOU REALIZE HOW INSANELY EASY IT WOULD BE FOR APPLE TO ENABLE KARAOKE IN THE IPOD!!!!!!!!??????




;)
 

JSRockit

macrumors 6502a
Aug 24, 2002
637
0
NYC
Originally posted by Wry Cooter
No. They are intelligent enough to see this isn't the best business decision for Apple, with third parties filling the niche already.




And why it isn't necessary for Apple to build one. Get Final Scratch, Traktor, and an iBook, use an iPod or two to store the songs and samples. Get Ableton Live if you want to get even fancier.

If you are a DJ doing the weddings Partys and reunion circuit, you don't even need to match beats. You could do a lot of these jobs with an iPod and a PA system, although a notebook would be handier for seeing playlists and available library.

Why aren't you screaming for a Karaoke iPod?

DON"T YOU REALIZE HOW INSANELY EASY IT WOULD BE FOR APPLE TO ENABLE KARAOKE IN THE IPOD!!!!!!!!??????




;)
I use Traktor 2 and Live 2.0 and would still love to have one of these "DJ iPods"...
Computers are a part of most DJ set-ups these days. A professional ipod would go over well with DJs...we can always say there is always "This", so why do we need "That"...why? because we are all addicted to technology and this would be one cool piece of tech. While your arguement to use a laptop is a good one...there still is no reason not to make a professional iPod. You have to admit that using the wheel on the iPod would be more comfortable than a mouse for browsing through menus no?
 
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