some questions about djay pro and ipad pro

[hasen_akkhaya]

hey everyone. i am hasen from turkey. i am a saxophonist and singer, and beginner dj. english is not my main language, so please bear with me.

what i am doing as a job is playing backing tracks with my windows laptop, and play sax or sing over them. i have a ddj400 entry level controller to use with rekordbox.

lately, my laptop is giving some errors since it is quite old. and i want to replace it with a new win laptop or ipad pro. but i have never used a single apple device before, so i have some concerns. and in turkey, economy is so bad, i need to really think many many times before i decide.

my questions will be about djay ipad version. not generally about ipad. i dont find much info on the web, that is why i wanted to ask here. thanks for your patience, here i go.

-generally speaking, ipad and djay is good enough to trust? would i have problems like crashes, freezes, etc?

-i have a collection of backing tracks and regular tracks in mp3 format. will i be able to use the same files easily?

-would i have any problems with my ddj400 controller?

-i think i ll need a kind of usb dongle to be able to use the ipad with multiple external devices like controller, charger, sound interface etc. does this put any stress to ipad or djay?

-in rekordbox, i am using hot cues, memory cues, and with many of these cues, i use auto loop since im performing instrumentals or vocals. is there an option for auto loop at hot/memory cues in djay?

-as far as i found out, i ll need pro subscription to get some of these options. like using ddj400 with djay. am i correct, it is 5 dollars per month or 50 dollars per year?

-how would you generally compare djay with rekordbox? would it be easy to change software? considering i am not a full dj, we can say that i m a quarter of a dj in my gigs, but much more of a musician. so im not using dj software deeply detailed.

[djjoejoe]

Hey Hasen, welcome to the forums

Trying to answer your points one-by-one:

-generally speaking, ipad and djay is good enough to trust? would i have problems like crashes, freezes, etc?

Depends on which one you get. There have been some reports here that iPad 6th Gen is not very reliable with djay. Personally, I’m using an iPad Air 4th Gen and djay is very stable with that.

-i have a collection of backing tracks and regular tracks in mp3 format. will i be able to use the same files easily?

On iOS, djay at least supports the file formats that iTunes supports (MP3, MP4, M4A, AIFF, WAV, AAC, to the best of my knowledge). I was trying to find more details on file formats but couldn’t.

-would i have any problems with my ddj400 controller?

The DDJ-400 is listed as officially supported, I would therefore expect it to work well: DJ Controllers, DJ Mixers and other DJ Accessories | Algoriddim

-i think i ll need a kind of usb dongle to be able to use the ipad with multiple external devices like controller, charger, sound interface etc. does this put any stress to ipad or djay?

Have been using a USB-C dock with my iPad for djay and I’m happy, never had any problems. I’m using music from local storage, though, so maybe the situation changes when you want to use music from a USB drive.

-in rekordbox, i am using hot cues, memory cues, and with many of these cues, i use auto loop since im performing instrumentals or vocals. is there an option for auto loop at hot/memory cues in djay?

Not possible, AFAIK.

-as far as i found out, i ll need pro subscription to get some of these options. like using ddj400 with djay. am i correct, it is 5 dollars per month or 50 dollars per year?

Both should be correct because you’re getting a discount if you subscribe for a whole year.

-how would you generally compare djay with rekordbox? would it be easy to change software? considering i am not a full dj, we can say that i m a quarter of a dj in my gigs, but much more of a musician. so im not using dj software deeply detailed.

A thing to keep in mind here is that you’ll have to find a way to transfer all your cue points. A bigger point there is that rekordbox differentiates between Hot Cues and Memory Cues. In djay, there are only Hot Cues and you only get 8 of them per song but you get Saved Loops separately, 4 per song.

In general, maybe you can borrow an iPad or iPhone from someone to play around with djay before fully committing to it? That would be my advice, at least, so you’ll know what you’ll get.

[hasen_akkhaya]

thank you for your detailed answers.

i was thinking about at least ipad air 4, or ipad pro so im good with the stability.

look you say there is “saved loops” option, which may replace my loop cue points work flow if they work similarly. i need 1-2 loops per song anyways.

so about file formats, if i could somehow move my mp3 files to my ipad, djay would see them easily. the rest is making lists with them.

transfering cues is no problem. if needed, i can re analyze and put the cues manually even though its maybe hours of work no problem.

the idea of having an ipad for the gigs, and mobile music production among all other good stuff is very exciting. im kinda biased here, i am wishing ipad works properly

i ll try to find a borrow yes, that is my final solution in mind. thank you again for your kind response

[djjoejoe]

One more tip: take a look at DJCU to convert your cue points, it may save you a lot of work: DJ Conversion Utility (DJCU) for macOS - And The Groove Remains Production Team

[LaidbackFred]

Hey Hasen,
I say iPad Pro.
I’ve been using djay for years with iPad pros.
Never any problems due to the Pros.
Pros will always have more power.
iPhone is even good enough, just too small.
I personally don’t use any 3rd party hardware,

Know that Djay A.I. can make any song into an instrument. So special tracks like instrumentals are not really needed.
That alone is worth the monthly fee.

[NathanielAlgo]

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to pop in and thank our great community for helping out @hasen_akkhaya!

You all rock!