The Apple Core

Jason D. O'Grady & David Morgenstern

djay 4.0 for Mac is a mashup machine (screenshots)

By | November 16, 2011, 12:01am PST

Summary: Fire up djay 4.0 on your Mac and you’ll be mashing up tracks from your iTunes library in no time. The new version adds harmonic mixing and key detection which helps make perfect mashups.

djay transforms your Mac into a full-fledged DJ booth

My favorite DJing application for the Mac — algoriddim’s djay — got a big upgrade to version 4.0 today (Mac App Store, $19.95 for a limited time).

djay is the pre-eminent dj software for the Mac because it’s as easy as iTunes but way more fun. It’s loaded with dj-centric features like harmonic mixing and on-the-fly audio analysis but it’s also easy to just drag-and-drop tracks from your iTunes library to get the party started.

New in djay 4.0:

Harmonic mixing makes it easier to find songs that go well together. djay performs precise beat, tempo, volume and key analysis on your tracks so that you can not only match tracks by BPM and loudness — but also by key/pitch. djay 4’s advanced key detection (including distinction between major/minor key) allows you to filter and sort your iTunes library by key for harmonic mixing — great for making chart-topping mashups of songs from your library.

Tracks are automatically analyzed when loaded onto a turntable, or you can analyze a playlist or your whole library by selecting Library > Analyze. To filter your library by key, select the treble clef in the library selector. djay 4 organizes keys in a circle of fifth to allow you to quickly find songs with similar keys. Songs within the same key match best and are best for mashups.

djay 4 organizes keys in a circle of fifth to allow you to quickly find songs with similar keys

In the case where two songs have different keys, djay allows you to automatically match the key of one song to the other in the key popover:

djay allows you to automatically match the key of one song to the other in the key popover

djay 4.0 also includes a bunch of fly new DJ tools which are revealed by clicking the triangle underneath the crossfader. A new drawer is displayed that hosts lots of cool new audio effects. Here you can toggle between three different FX styles with the up/down arrow buttons.

djay 4 for mac: toggle between different styles including Standard FX and Instant FX

Easily my favorite feature is djay’s 2D FX pad (below). It allows you to control multiple song parameters in real-time and it’s absolutely killer with the trackpad in my MacBook Air (and with the Magic Trackpad). Simply drag two fingers across the trackpad and experiment on your favorite song. Don’t forget the right/left arrow to jump between echo, reverb, gate and the others, it’s a blast.

djay 4.0 for Mac includes a 2D FX pad that allows you to control multiple parameters in real-time

djay’s enhanced bounce loop mode allows you to mash up beats on the fly without losing the timeline.

mash up beats on the fly without losing the time line

A completely new live sampler is accessible by clicking the sample button in the center. It allows you to manage your sample collection and create new ones on the fly. djay 4.0 comes bundled with a high-quality sample pack that greatly improves the out-of-box experience with the sampler.

A completely new Live Sampler

djay 4.0 also features enhanced pre-cueing, auto mix, MIDI control and several new hardware configuration options (output, headphones, mic). Add it all up and you’ve got some amazingly powerful DJ tools at your fingertips. Wether you’re a weekend warrior or semi-pro mashup artist djay 4.0 for Mac has something for everyone. With djay, the best just gets better.

New Features Overview:

- Redesigned single-window UI (OS X Lion style)
- iCloud integration
- Visual Waveforms
- Harmonic mixing: key detection, key transposition and key matching (create mash ups of songs in perfect harmony)
- New Auto-Gain/Audio Normalize based on the Loudness Recommendation EBU R128 standard
- New Audio FX: Gate, Flanger, Phaser, Reverb, Echo, Filter (Low Pass + High Pass)
- Instant FX: Absorb, Drift, Sway, Crush, Punch, Twist
- XY Pad FX
- New integrated Live Sampler
- New audio engine: high quality key lock, low-latency scratching
- New stunning OpenGL graphics engine
- New loop modes: Bounce looping
- Advanced CoreMidi integration and MIDI learn including jog wheel mapping
- Enhanced Audio Hardware support and configuration options: Master Output, Pre-Cueing, Microphone (+ Split Output Mode)
- Improved Library integration: integrated history, support for playlist folders, improved sorting, integrated key info, on-the-fly table column re-arranging
- Dark/Light library themes
- Built-in organizer of recordings with instant preview
- Enhanced Mic
- Enhanced Pre-cueing
- Enhanced Automix

Update: Here’s a video of the djay 4.0 in action:

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Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve
  • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

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Doesn't the DJ from Girl Talk use something similar to this? I love his mash-ups. My wife took me to see him for my birthday this year and it was a ridiculously fun time... This software looks like it would be loads of fun to mess around with and you could potentially make some really great tracks.

Thanks for sharing. This is neat software that would be a great way to pass the time.

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