Algoriddim just updated its djay and vjay apps with a whole host of improvements and fixes, hot on the heels of the last flurry of changes. Audiobus for djay is the big news, but it’s only one of many improvements. Oh, and if you’re a djay user and are always pushed for storage space on your iOS device, you’ll definitely want to read to the end for some more news…
iPhone/iPad changes to vjay and djay
The iPad and iPhone versions of both apps have been updated with some commonality throughout. The changes are as follows:
- Pause playback when disconnecting headphones or dock audio
- Improved handling of iOS audio system errors
- Changed Ion Audio iDJ2Go jogwheels to scratch during playback (the previous pitch-bend behaviour can be enabled using “Jog Pitch Bend Mode” in the Midi settings)
- Improved Vestax Spin2 mapping: allow tempo fine-adjust using Shift & +/– buttons
This last change is good news for Spin2 owners, as the tempo slider is rather small so fine adjustments were difficult before the update. The addition of scratch functionality to the iDJ2Go is an strange one; it’s not something I’ll be running back to do again having given it a go. The jogwheels are tiny and so it’s no fun. (I also think they probably have a low tickcount, meaning they send less data than most resulting in them being even less responsive.)
iPad-only changes to vjay & djay
The iPad versions of the djay and vjay apps now get support for the Pioneer DDJ-WeGo and DDJ-Ergo controllers via the Pioneer DJC-WeCAi iPad connection cable.
This is great news for owners of these controllers as it should open the possibilities for other iOS DJ apps to follow suit. There are a number of questions I have around the cable, but I’ll address them in the forthcoming review.
djay changes on iPad & iPhone
The following are the main changes for the djay apps (both iPad and iPhone versions):
- Audiobus support: Now you can stream live audio directly to other Audiobus-compatible apps
- “Shuffle” setting is now also applied to Automix Queue
- Gain is no longer reset when “Reset EQ” setting is off
- Allow sliding of the crossfader up after tapping to leave it centred
The big news here, of course, is Audiobus (which we mentioned in our February article). Using Audiobus, you could play your mix in djay, pass it through an FX app (such as LiveFX) and then into one of the DAW-type apps (such as GarageBand). In fact, using the Audiobus flow you could overcome missing features in djay such as uploading your mix directly to SoundCloud (copyright police permitting, of course).
vjay changes on iPad & iPhone
The vjay app received only a couple of specific changes. One was fixing an issue when trying to load movies from the Camera Roll, the other being the addition of a “Reset EQ” option in the settings – which could save you a lot of frantic tapping between tracks.
Finally…
All of the above items are the official detail from Algoriddim on the app updates. However, a video has appeared on YouTube showing how to access tracks stored on a Seagate GoFlex Satellite external WiFi hard drive for use on the djay app.
Storage on iOS devices is notoriously expensive when compared with the current price of external hard drives, so such approach is certainly interesting. The process shown in the video feel laborious (loading a track into the file access app and then into djay, where it gets cached) and so is not ideal, but perhaps it’s worth keeping an eye open in case a more streamlined method emerges in the future.
Do you use vjay or djay on your iOS device? what improvements would you like to see made to the apps to give you a better experience? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
• Both apps are available in the App Store for your iPhone or iPad.
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