Djay Pro

Speculation about the DJay Pro for Mac (released Dec 18th 2014)

With the imminent release of DJay Pro, I am frankly surprised not to have found more buzz on the web or even this community forum. That said, as a user of DJay via iPad, and self proclaimed DJay enthusiast, I have decided to share my speculations about what DJay Pro will ultimately be (or rather what I hope it will be).

I have been DJing with my iPad and Numark’s iDJ Pro controller for about a year now—quite satisfactorily I might add. But the features I would most like to see incorporated into DJay Pro are Spotify integration (as is already incorporated with iOS devices and Droid devices running DJay) as well as an unprecedented (for Algoriddim anyway) upgraded sample deck feature enabling DJs to both loop and/or beat match samples with either Deck. These two additions would be enough for me to want to upgrade my whole set up.

While the first feature (Spotify integration) is the most plausible, the second (upgraded sampler features) is not beyond the realm of possibility. In fact, Algoriddim seems to have demonstrated an interest in enabling the use of samples ever since its release of DJay 2. So far, it’s shown minimal promise. My only gripe is and has always been the inability to beat match or loop samples. The inability to beat match or loop samples in DJay severely limits both the appeal of samples as well as their utility, particularly for my style of DJing. What’s more, the constant requests for four decks permeating this forum alone, would arguably be subsided by the upgraded sample deck I envision; something akin to what Serato has done with its sample deck.

With that said, four decks would definitely catapult DJay Pro into direct competition with the big boys (NI and Serato). I personally believe that algoriddim’s user interface is the sleekest and most aesthetically pleasing—albeit a bit gimicky at times. Merging the sleekness and wonderful simplicity of this platform—not to mention the seemingly seamless integration of iTunes—with the sophisticated features touted by Serato and NI would, in my opinion, give Algoriddim the competitive edge. Otherwise, such a bold move might prompt an “arms race” between the biggest players in DJ software. Either way, the consumer benefits.

Another addition which is not totally impossible, and would be a rather smart move for Algoriddim, would be to incorporate MIDI mapping for all of the most popular flagship controllers on the market, not the least of which would be Numark’s NS7 II and Pioneer’s DDJ-SZ. Algoriddim has already partnered with both Numark and Pioneer in the past, so this is not so farfetched either. It would also minimize the costs for those already owning such flagship controllers and are looking to try something new.

Another plausible upgrade might be the availability of a variety of skins—the appearance of the DJ software onscreen. I’ve seen something like this for Virtual DJ Pro. While this does little in the way of effecting the quality of your set, something can be said for the ways in which a variety of customizable skins can improve one’s DJ experience. DJay recently flirted with this idea when they released a special RED (HIV cure campaign) version of their app via iTunes which enabled the in-app purchase of a special red skin (not surprising), the proceeds from which would go towards finding a cure for HIV. The skin was pretty cool, although I got bored with it fairly quickly; but the idea of being able to change the look of my software I found pretty exciting. Perhaps, this is a sign of things to come in the near future for both the mobile and laptop versions of DJay.

Perhaps the least likely feature I would love to see incorporated into the DJay platform is one which would be unprecedented for all DJay software, and one which Algoriddim is particularly situated to enable what with its virtual monopoly on the all things mobile—more so than either NI or Serato! That would be a feature which enables the garnering of personal music preferences from a crowd in real time via their mobile devices—with their consent, of course.

Now this one would require a little finesse—understandably, there are potential privacy issues which should not be taken lightly. But the utility of mobile devices in the DJ Market is a well of untapped potential in its current state. Imagine being able to augment the reading of a crowd by gathering (with the crowd’s permission) invaluable data about their personal musical preferences right from their mobile devices—devices which increasingly double as music players. Moreover, with wearable tech in its infancy (the Apple Watch comes to mind), the ability to read a crowd for DJing purposes could be augmented even further, in a myriad of currently unthought of ways. Thus, creating innovative DJ software which can gather, organize, and perhaps even make suggestions based on the invaluable personal music preference data (what I call PMP data) these technologies make easily available is not merely forward thinking, but revolutionary.

To reiterate, that last one is perhaps just wishful thinking on my part, but it would be impressive to say the least. At any rate, we’ll all know in about 5 days what Algoriddim’s got cookin’. In short, I am looking forward to Dec 18th!

Hi Jason,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Very good and interesting read.

Ns7 map please. Will it happen?