Without this, getting two tracks to line up neatly during a mix (without using the “Sync” button) was incredibly difficult – even if you tried to use the deck platters to nudge a track along. I felt that an equal measure above and below would make more sense here.Īn omission on the tempo control is that of a “nudge” facility, where you just want to jog the track forward or back just for a moment to bring the two decks into alignment. It went from -50% through to +100% yet zero was placed in the centre. What I found curious with the tempo control was the calibration of the slider. The tempo slider can be quickly reset to zero with a double tap. For finer adjustments, the up (faster) and down (slower) arrows can be used. This is about an inch in height which makes using the slider difficult to use to any degree of precision. On the outer edge of each of the waveforms is the tempo control. Also coupled with the FX section at the top is the Automix configuration – where you can set the app up to play one track after another automatically. These are Stutter, Turntable, Censor, Break and Spin. There is also another five “Deck” style FX hidden on the central panel. The X-Y FX pad is a popular addition to DJ apps, however in this instance the pad area is so small (about 1 x 2 inches, possibly less) that controlling the parameter icon is difficult – and bear in mind I was trying this out in the comfort of my home and not in a DJ booth at a club. Your choices are Ring Mod, Lo-Pass, Hi-Pass and Tap Delay. To assign an effect you tap the “A” or “B” (or both) buttons either side of the FX drop-down list. Here you can assign one of the four FX to each deck. FXīetween the track displays at the top of the screen is the FX section. You are totally at the mercy of the “Sync” button or your “peek-a-boo” crossfader skills! If the BPM and beatgrid detection aren’t correct then the “Sync” button will be of little use. Yes, you read that right, not even with a splitter cable. The point I mention above about BPM is especially important since there is no form of headphone cueing. Unfortunately, there’s no way to correct it within the app – ie no tap tempo and no half/double adjustment. The BPM detection was good on most reliable 4:4 house/techno tracks, however, if you started to deviate into the worlds of drum & bass or live funk then the BPM was anyone’s guess. You don’t see the beatgrids, but the app uses them when performing looping. When a track is loaded (using the standard music library access screen, no search, BPM data or sorting) the waveform and BPM are both calculated along with some beatgrid-style detection. The time remaining and BPM indicator is also displayed at the top. Above the waveform is an indicator of the tempo control (curiously, the tempo with the tempo slider at zero is labelled as 1.00x – it makes sense but in a roundabout sort of way). Here you get a crisp waveform which is pleasantly colour-coded with red, which I believe is showing the bass/breakdowns, and green representing a more solid sound. If you have the central section showing the loop amounts, pressing the half/double buttons will move the selected loop amount up or down (from 32 beats down to 1/32).Ībove the decks, the track detail is displayed. The “Loop” button on the deck is flanked either side by half and double buttons. While we’re focused on the deck area, there’s a tiny “Rev” button which can instantly flick the track into reverse play (the loop functionality will also work in reverse play). The cover art for your tracks is displayed on the deck face, with a neat blue LED-type of graphic in the centre that moves around as the track plays. Digging deep in the old skool crates to test the app! In use InterfaceĪll the features of Deckadance Mobile are on one screen while there are some hidden features through clever use of the central panel, the main focus is certainly on the two CDJ-style decks. But as the company has some experience of providing solutions for DJs, and has obviously managed to hook it up for some pretty impressive scratch action via Midi, we thought we’d find out how Deckadance Mobile stacks up on the iPad. But we spotted it, and we spotted the video above, too…ĭeckadance for Mac and PC – originally released in 2007 – is an established if second-tier (as far as market share goes) DJ program. You have to be a brave development team to release a new DJ app to the App Store in 2012, given that so many apps are already doing so well on a variety of iOS devices, packing a diverse set of quality features between them. Maybe that’s why Image-Line chose to sneak out Deckadance Mobile, without fanfare or news bulletin, earlier this month.
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