The idea of DJing with an iPod has been bounced around since the first generation of iPod was released in to the market, as the price of iPods has come down, and the higher end iPods such as the iPod touch becoming more functional the desire to DJ using an iPod in a portable manner has grown. Whilst there have been creations such as the Pacemaker, this is a totally different tool and probably doesn’t suit most peoples budgets. It comes as no surprise the there have been attempts to create a portable iPod DJing device. One of the most functional and fun is this little Japanese creation, its basically a case that holds two iPods, each with a volume fader on either side and each installed with the Linux base iScratch software, this then feeds into a single output which plays out the headphones and/or an amp, it’s home made and still doesn’t tackle the problem of adjusting the pitch which has been a persistent problem in iPod DJing.
The iKool - 04 iPod DJ mixer is a cheap affordable and effective iPod DJing solution, particularly for mobile DJing and for club and bed room DJs who don’t need an amazing amount of portabilty and are really looking for a simple and effective iPod DJing setup that fulfills all of the basic DJing needs whilst leveraging off the technological innovation of the iPod. The iKool - 04 iPod DJ mixer is produced by Koolsounds one of the lesser know DJ manufacturers, they also produced the ICDS-190 iPod DJ CD Player, another iPod DJing solution. The iKool - 04 iPod DJ mixer differs however in that it is a mixer, and works off of a single iPod, splitting the audio into two channels and allowing a DJ to DJ from a single iPod, it has a total of 6 inputs making it compatible with a variety of other DJing equipment and USB reader, and card reader as well as a video ou make it very versatile as far as mixers go. The addition of gain and high, mid and low EQ on each of the two channels not to mention Headphone and mic controls adds the this iPod mixer, despite all this, it seems that The iKool - 04 iPod DJ mixer doesn’t fix one of the most glaring problems with iPod DJing in that it doesn’t address the need for an iPod pitch control, for the company that produced the ICDS-190 iPod DJ CD Player, this comes as a bit of a surprise, but still its a good piece of DJing kit if you can work around the pitch altering, the easiest way to do this can be found in this iPod DJing article here.
For those of you who DJ with a normal non iPod setup, and are considering transitioning to incorporating an iPod into you DJing setup you’ll find the ICDS- 190 iPod DJ CD player to be a good addition, by being able to play both CDs and iPods, it opens up opportunities for the DJ who is only touch on iPod DJing or for the club which wants to allow a wider variety of DJing equipment that incorporates iPod DJing technology, the ICDS-190 iPod DJ CD Player is the mastermind of Kool sound, which are one of the lesser know DJing brand, however, despite this the ICDS-190 iPod DJ CD Player does benefit from some pretty awesome DJing features,and for iPod DJs this allows the iPod to be treated as a deck or digital turn table and the ICDS-190 iPod DJ CD Player allows you to manipulate the MP3s on the iPod in the same way as a normal DJ would manipulate vinyl, this means the ICDS-190 iPod DJ CD Player is the ideal for beginner iPod DJs or DJs who have had prior experience with other DJing equipment.
critically for iPod DJing the ICDS-190 iPod DJ CD Player has +/-12, 16% variable pitch range, that pitch control in layman’s terms, another massive bonus for the iPod DJ. The ICDS-190 iPod DJ CD Player can be use with any variety of DJ mixer which means you can customize your iPod DJing setup with more freedom…at the compromise of portability. An additional video output means that this could also be compatible with an iPod with video capabilities making its future proof for iPod DJs looking to get in to video DJing of VDJing.
Features:
Front loading single cd deck with ipod / mp3 player / usb inputs
Cd/cdr/cdrw cd deck compatability
Play and control audio from mp3 players, ipod, memory sticks and hard drives via usb input or ipod dock
+/-12, 16% variable pitch range
Large backlit lcd display for system information and folder / file search
Mulit-function jog wheel
Seamless looping (for cd/mp3 only)
Usb port for connecting mass storage class ipods, hard drives and memory sticks
Rca output
Video output
10 second anti-shock
Weight: 5.0kg (including packaging)
Height: 26.0cm x Width: 21.7cm x Depth: 12.0cm
The iPod’s success and its natural ability to store vasts amounts of music make it a great DJing tool, and whilst the iPod itself has limitations for DJing, this has posed a fantastic opportunity for companies making iPod accessories, and naturally DJing companies have followed suit, more surprising however, is the fact that like the fake iPod that came from China, and the many iPod clones there has emerged a new market for iPod DJing equipment clones as well, surfing the web for iPod DJing stories for www.iPodDJing.co.uk, I found these:
They all seem to be manufactured by a factory in China, and seem to copy existing iPod DJing equipment out there, and looking at the minimum order of 500 pieces, I doubt this is store for your average iPod DJ, unless of course you open up a specialist iPod DJing store. Whilst there are descriptions on the site about these iPod DJing mixers, theres very little in terms of how good they actually are or how successful they would be when iPod DJing, or even how good the quality is, as such there’s not much to go on to reassure any DJ worth their salt that this would be worth a buy, no doubt however we’ll see a few of these iPod DJing mixers appear sooner or later, and probably at lower than expected prices.
The HP DJammer is a conceptual DJ device designed to allow you to DJ on the go, and play music like an iPod would, it won the Bronze 2005 IDSA IDEA award, the control is sensitive to movement which means that DJs can use the DJammer as a music controller to scratch with. An additional brick acts as a music storage. the DJammer is also wireless, making it ideal for travelling or DJing, the DJammer has both a personal DJ User Interface (UI), and a live digital session with one (or more) similar HP DJammer appliance enabling listeners to create music and digitally mix in real-time together (hence the term jamming), so its not just an iPod -esq DJing device, but a multiuser interactive DJing device, added functionality is provided by wi-fi ability and plugs to connect instruments, the DJammer is very much still conceptual, but it does show the potential of digital DJing, and it would certainly be a benefit to any iPod DJ.
Before the iPod was recognised as a viable DJing device companies were already cashing in on the idea, with the invention of the Numark IDJ2 and the Cortex D-mix 300 iPod DJing has not only become a reality, but it’s meant that iPod DJing accessories that didn’t quite meet the mark such as this- the Blue Beatz case have thankfully been made redundant. OK perhaps this is a little harsh, theres still room for iPod DJing accessories like the Blue Beatz case, but only ever in a supporting and playful way when you compare it to the sophistication and functionality of the Numark and Cortex iPod DJing units.
SO what does the Blue Beatz case do?
Well if you haven’t seen the video, you can check it out here. Its essentially an iPod case that works with 2 AAA batteries and allows you to overlay electronic beats over the music playing on the iPod, by taking the audio signal from the iPod through the case and out to any output, to be frank, when you compaire it to the Numark and Cortex iPod DJing units its a toy, as if the blue plastic case doesn’t give that away, but for the creative iPod DJ, there’s probably an opportunity for some creative play, but Blue Beatz case is firmly an amature DJ tool and will definitely have no place in the clubs.
DJing can be pretty taxing, especially when you consider the amount of travel involved, thats why iPod DJing is so appealing, its lighter and the equipment isn’t as bulky, interestingly Gator have produced the DJ-I-GO IPOD TRANSPORTER which is designed specifically for iPod DJs to transport their iPod and DJing equipment, its a 600 denier Nylon messenger style bag with two windows to hold two iPods, its also the perfect size to fit a Numark IDJ, theres an additional external pocket which is perfect or iPod accessories, and whilst the two pockets for the iPods are a bit superfluous, especially because iPods are prime targets for pickpockets and putting your iPod on show like that would be asking for trouble, the DJ-I-GO IPOD TRANSPORTER is well padded and comfortable and perfect for those long DJing journeys.
The iPod needs a laptop and iTunes in order to load music, most of the time getting music to the iPod in this way is easy and trouble free, however, this means that your music tracks are stored on your computers hard drive as well as on your iPod, whilst for most DJs or iPod users this wont be a problem, if you have a huge amount of music that you want to store on your iPod, then the iLoad might be of some use, again if you travel a lot, this might be some thing useful, but for most this isn’t really an iPod tool that you would really need…its a bit pointless.
But what does the iLoad do? Essentially it copies CDs and DVDs directly to the iPod without needing to use a laptop, at 5 time the play back speed, regular updates of the iLoad mean that music track names can be automatically loaded to the iPod as well. You can see more about it here. To be frank however, its not really an iPod product that serves any real function that isn’t already fulfilled, but despite that some DJs or iPod users would find it useful.
Here’s a video that really shows the potential of the iPod phone or iPhone and iPod touch, interestingly, what looks like a nintendo DS is also used in the video. Its difficult to tell if the iPod is an iPod phone or an iPod touch as they both look very similar, in addition, they both allow iPod DJs to add third party applications in the same way, this is done by altering the code of the operating program in the iPod touch or iPod phone (more on this later).
The X Fader is a simple cross fader mixer, designed to work with a 3.5 mm plug, there are two input plugs and a single out put, with a single cross fader. This makes it an ideal portable mixer for casual iPod DJing, and its compatible with the iPod due to the two input plugs that fit into the iPod headphones socket.
The xfader is the size of a deck of cards and has two cables attached to it, its made of metal and has a single crossfader built in that plays out to a single output. It doesnt however have a headphone out put or a channel selector for your headphones, which means its not really a top level mixer, considering its about US$50 its not too dear, but you’d be limited in terms of your iPod DJing freedom, this being said, if you’re on the move a lot or if you’ve already got a solid iPod DJing setup or if you just toying with the idea of DJing with your iPod, then the XFader might be your cup of tea.
Check out the XFader here.
