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iPad for wedding music

G

Germwise

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 2, 2009
148
15
Im getting married in a week. We have decided to save the money that we would have spent on a dj and instead use an iPod or iPad


We've made our playlist and the only problem I see is that they songs dont really blend. In other words, the song ends completely before the new one begins. Also, I'd like some help in matching songs based on their bpm.


Any suggestions on an iPad or Mac software that could help with this? Thanks!
 
Germwise said:
Im getting married in a week. We have decided to save the money that we would have spent on a dj and instead use an iPod or iPad


We've made our playlist and the only problem I see is that they songs dont really blend. In other words, the song ends completely before the new one begins. Also, I'd like some help in matching songs based on their bpm.


Any suggestions on an iPad or Mac software that could help with this? Thanks!
Click to expand...

As a professional DJ, I do take some issue with this. "There is nothing like a live DJ who can play to your crowd, blah blah blah..."

But since you seem to already have made your decision not to hire a DJ, I believe that Djay for iPad has an automix function that you can use to achieve what you desire. It also analyzes your music for BPM. You would need to create playlists within the app, but the additional information provided about the tracks would help in creating better playlists. I find the software a little hit or miss in terms of lining up the correct beat phrases correctly (beat 1 of a measure matching on both songs).

A better, but more expensive option, would be to use a macbook running VirtualDJ. There is a free "home: version that may provide all of the functionality you need. In any case, the automix function in this software is excellent. We regularly use it in our nightclub before DJs go live. I also use it as my primary mixing software, as its video support is unsurpassed.

Best wishes on your wedding!
 
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I think you're going to be disappointed with the outcome. You're basically hoping you can put a playlist on an iPad, hit play, and let the reception run itself. You're not taking into account that there will be moments that you need the music to not be playing, and there will also be lots of unplanned stops and starts. Once all the speeches and tomfoolery are over at the beginning it will work fine, but I think you will be better served to have a friend manning the iPad for at least the beginning.

EDIT: I forgot to mention--I had a friend run his wedding music off of his iPod and had one of our friends run it for him just using his own library. He was assuming the wedding guests would care about the music he's into, and they largely didn't "get it". If you're going to do this, be prepared to sell out a little and have available the music that your guests want to hear.
 
spiderman0616 said:
EDIT: I forgot to mention--I had a friend run his wedding music off of his iPod and had one of our friends run it for him just using his own library. He was assuming the wedding guests would care about the music he's into, and they largely didn't "get it". If you're going to do this, be prepared to sell out a little and have available the music that your guests want to hear.
Click to expand...

One of the pluses of the iPad/iPhone at a function, we set aside $100 for music expenses. When people asked for certain songs if we didn't have them we just downloaded them on the spot from iTunes. If a theme developed I imagine you could even set up a Pandora stream if you needed to take a break.

At the end of the evening we went through about $60 and bought a little over 3 continuous hours of music.

Built up my library, but don't think I will need to listen to the electric slide ever again.
 
I have been DJing in clubs etc. for over 10 years. Wedding DJs are no better than an iPod/iPad IMO. :p
 
Nikos said:
I have been DJing in clubs etc. for over 10 years. Wedding DJs are no better than an iPod/iPad IMO. :p
Click to expand...

While I would tend to agree, I can't fully agree with you when the OP specifically pointed out what sets an iPod/iPad aside from an actual DJ. There is no seamless, or near seamless transition from one song to the other.
If there is software to do that then great but then again I also think a DJ is useful in announcing certain things and what not. That is not to say I wouldn't want to save the cash and use an iPod. :D
 
jessica. said:
While I would tend to agree, I can't fully agree with you when the OP specifically pointed out what sets an iPod/iPad aside from an actual DJ. There is no seamless, or near seamless transition from one song to the other.
If there is software to do that then great but then again I also think a DJ is useful in announcing certain things and what not. That is not to say I wouldn't want to save the cash and use an iPod. :D
Click to expand...

I was partially trolling. :eek: iTunes has a feature to "mix" tracks together, but it'll end up sounding like a trainwreck.
 
Celebrate!!

Use the iPod/iPad, hooked up to some good stereo speakers. Then have a nephew, cousin, neice, sister, brother, etc.... run the system for you. Pay them $20 for their efforts. Just tell them ahead of time to be ready to pause the player, in case of announcements or speeches that will be given. And yes, load a good variety of music on it, requests for certain songs will probably be made. Another poster had a good point, you can always download requests from iTunes if you have to.

:) :) :) :)
 
Thanks all for your comments. I will try to the Djay software. I'll let everyone know how it turns out.
 
bilibug said:
As a professional DJ, I do take some issue with this. "There is nothing like a live DJ who can play to your crowd, blah blah blah..."

But since you seem to already have made your decision not to hire a DJ, I believe that Djay for iPad has an automix function that you can use to achieve what you desire. It also analyzes your music for BPM. You would need to create playlists within the app, but the additional information provided about the tracks would help in creating better playlists. I find the software a little hit or miss in terms of lining up the correct beat phrases correctly (beat 1 of a measure matching on both songs).

A better, but more expensive option, would be to use a macbook running VirtualDJ. There is a free "home: version that may provide all of the functionality you need. In any case, the automix function in this software is excellent. We regularly use it in our nightclub before DJs go live. I also use it as my primary mixing software, as its video support is unsurpassed.

Best wishes on your wedding!
Click to expand...

The DJay iPad App is surprisingly good, it's not a substitute for an actual DJ but it's definitely better than just playing a playlist off an iPod.
 
noteple said:
One of the pluses of the iPad/iPhone at a function, we set aside $100 for music expenses. When people asked for certain songs if we didn't have them we just downloaded them on the spot from iTunes. If a theme developed I imagine you could even set up a Pandora stream if you needed to take a break.

At the end of the evening we went through about $60 and bought a little over 3 continuous hours of music.

Built up my library, but don't think I will need to listen to the electric slide ever again.
Click to expand...

Hahahaha--yes, I imagine most of that stuff you wish was NOT in your library. Good idea though--if you have access to an internet connection, you can download requests on the spot. Didn't think about that.

I do still think that it's better to have someone manning the iPad/iPod full time, at least for the beginning of the reception when everyone is still somewhat sober and the dinner/speech part is going on.
 
Buy spotify premium for a month, set cross fade to 3'ish seconds. Use offline playlist in case of network break down. In case your guest want some other songs, you got a few million to select from.

Price, 10$.
 
xraytech said:
The DJay iPad App is surprisingly good, it's not a substitute for an actual DJ but it's definitely better than just playing a playlist off an iPod.
Click to expand...
Not going to get into whether ditching the DJ is a good idea, the DJAY software is quite good. I've used it out professionally.
 
Good choice, OP. Better to get cut back and save money on the music than the drinks! LOL, jk.
 
I would not expect the "network" to be working correctly. Assume you will have to play "local" music.

Bring extra charge and extra extension cords.
 
Honestly, I doubt anyone will care about the 1,5 seconds of silence between songs. If they do, they are way too picky.

You need someone in charge of the iPad when it comes to starts and stops while speeches and stuff is going on.
Why not ask a few people to deal with the music in shifts? That way it won't be too much demanded out of one person. In my wedding experiences, people don't mind helping out.
Good luck!

Edit: Well, I see that they are married by now, so nevermind! ;)
 
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If you use just an ipod / ipad you are taking that risk that it is not going to sound good when switching in between songs etc.

Also, you also hit the risk that when people start getting drunk they will walk over to the tabe and just start playing music they want messing up the whole playlist.
 
I'm on my honeymoon so I will be brief. The iPad worked great. The gap between songs was not really a big deal. Only thing I would suggest is have whoever is doing the music practice. My dj kept using the iPad volume to fade and a couple of times it was dead and then an explosion of sound. I did the next transition myself working with the master fade and it went great.


I just used the standard player since we had already picked out our song order and I didn't have too much time to play with extra options.


Thanks for all the help. Back to a sandals Jamaica
 
Another vote for DJay app. Fire up your playlist and let Automix do it's thing. It's likely to be the best experience you will get using the iPad autonomously and far cheaper than paying for a DJ. You could easily set up a couple of playlists, one general, one with some more party tunes and perhaps one with a few tracks to end the night and just fire these up when relevant.
 
Germwise said:
I'm on my honeymoon so I will be brief. The iPad worked great. The gap between songs was not really a big deal. Only thing I would suggest is have whoever is doing the music practice. My dj kept using the iPad volume to fade and a couple of times it was dead and then an explosion of sound. I did the next transition myself working with the master fade and it went great.


I just used the standard player since we had already picked out our song order and I didn't have too much time to play with extra options.


Thanks for all the help. Back to a sandals Jamaica
Click to expand...

Which sandals are you at? We are heading to Sandals Whitehouse for our honeymoon on Monday.
 
Germwise said:
I'm on my honeymoon so I will be brief. The iPad worked great. The gap between songs was not really a big deal. Only thing I would suggest is have whoever is doing the music practice. My dj kept using the iPad volume to fade and a couple of times it was dead and then an explosion of sound. I did the next transition myself working with the master fade and it went great.


I just used the standard player since we had already picked out our song order and I didn't have too much time to play with extra options.


Thanks for all the help. Back to a sandals Jamaica
Click to expand...

congrats.

bring us back some ganja
 
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