My iPad setup

[Paco Loco]

Ever since I first got my iPad I was obsessed with the idea of DJing from it. It just seemed so perfect for house parties and little unexpected sessions. I started off with the simplest setup possible - i.e. just a headphone splitter cable:

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I still use this simple setup occasionally, because it's so easy to keep the cable in your bag all the time and be ready to play some tunes at a moments notice.

So then iOS6 came along with multi-route audio and I wanted to take advantage of it with a sound card.
I also wanted a stand for the iPad so I had the idea to fix a stand and sound card together to try to keep things simple.
After much research I decided on the ESI Maya 44 sound card and a Wallee Kick Stand
These are a surprisingly good match in size and construction, and I attached them with some self-adhesive velcro strips so that they could still be separated if i need to use the sound card with my laptop.

I also had to add a powered USB hub since the iPad could not power the sound card on it's own, so i went for a small LinkSys one which I stuck to the top of the sound card.
Once assembled it looked like this:

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This was great. However, I craved some physical controls. I find the touchscreen is great for most operations, but not for everything and particularly not for the crossfader.
My priority was to keep the setup very compact so after some research I opted for the Ion Audio dj2Go:

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I was pleasantly surprised by this controller, but I felt it was really missing EQ knobs, which would have made it perfect for me.
So I added another controller to give me more knobs - an Akai MPD8. This was a good match as it's the same dimensions as the other controller, and it allowed me to map EQs and filters to the knobs and also have the pads for cue points.
So here's the full setup that I've been using for a while now:

ipad 10.JPG

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[JudemanG]

Nice! I love how portable it is. What apps do you typically use?

[Paco Loco]

Thanks!

I have tried all of the serious iPad DJing apps. Here's my top 4:

4) Djay 2 - A good app, but for me it places aesthetics and a stylised user interface above usability, so it's not a pro-level piece of software.

3) Traktor DJ - brilliant at doing what it does, but it's current feature set is too limited. I play all genres and lots of old live recorded music, so a sync-based app is not enough for me. I could see this app being my favourite though if they broaden the feature set, because I use Traktor Pro on my laptop and I love the idea of all my metadata syncing effortlessly back and forth between the two.

2) Cross DJ - This is a really solid app and I like it a lot. The only thing that keeps it off the top spot for me is that it doesn't have all the features DJ Player currently has and it's development is not happening as fast as DJ Player.

1) DJ Player - This is the best iPad app as far as I am concerned. It's very full featured and there's not a whole lot of functionality missing when compared to full desktop apps. It's the only app that can allow me to run the setup above where I have multiple midi controllers. Add to that the developers are very active with new releases and they often incorporate user feature requests. It's a real winner

[the shmobletons]

Dope man, I've be experimenting with dj player with my vci lately. it really is a powerful mobile setup. my only gripe is the requirement of a powered USB hub to power most midi controllers. other than that its awesome, great setup mate

[tothecloudd]

i like the whole mobile and effective feel of your set up pretty sweet man

[Paco Loco]

Cheers guys

So after living with the setup above for a while I still really like it, but I've decided to change it up a bit for the following reasons:

- I would much prefer a proper vertical row of controls for each channel, more like a conventional mixer layout.
- All the knobs and faders are a bit too compact, would prefer full size.
- Although the pads are nice I don't really prefer them to triggering cue points on screen, so they are surplus to requirements really. Same can be said for some of the other buttons too.
- I still feel like I am missing a knob or two (e.g. for cue mix which I always fiddle with a lot).
- I would rather have one controller than two to keep things as simple as possible.

These are all fairly minor issues, but I'm after perfection here

So after doing my research I think there are two possible controllers I would like to try out instead. Neither is that expensive so I'm gonna try to pick up both second hand over the next few weeks and try them out.
I will post pics and feedback when I get them.

[JudemanG]

I agree about Djay 2. I might have to try DJ Player again. I didn't like any of the older versions, but the new versions look much better.

[Paco Loco]

Definitely give it another try. It's waaaay better since they overhauled the user interface.

[LoVeOfHoUsE]

This is my iPad set up, I'm new to this, what do you think ?


Comments appreciated

[asthmaticatom]

have you guys tried pacemaker DJ for the iPad? http://pacemaker.net/

the one feature that stands out is the ability to use your spotify library. Kinda fun to just mess around with.