Forward Migration Kit: Deejay software, part 1

(For those new to the column, Forward Migration is our term for companies moving from Wintel machines to Macs — or at least adding or increasing the number of Macs they use. A Forward Migration Kit is an overview of Mac OS products for a particular occupation, such as photography, optometry, etc.)

This week we start the first of a three-part look at Mac OS software that current and budding deejays will find useful.

Audiofile

Michael Lewis of Off Balance Productions recommends Audiofile from Spinfree.

“I have nearly 300 CDs in my collection, over 100 cassette tapes, and many record albums,” he told MacCentral. “Audiofile has a complete filing system which allows me to track for each type, include full listings of the song titles on each album, artists (a special section allows me to enter musicians for each track, so I can cross-index favorite session artists even), song lyrics, publisher, year and more. There are also several user-customizable fields for my own use and for a place to mark whether an album is on my shelf or in the car or loaned to someone else.”

The US$49.95 Filemaker Pro-based application doesn’t actually cue up the music itself, but is “an incredible” cataloguing program, Lewis said. Plus, with the Audiofile Internet Companion (the AIC) you can download CD information from the Internet so you don’t have to type it in yourself.

Blackcat Systems

Blackcat Systems offer several products that should be of interest to deejays and potential deejays, including:

Audiocorder, a $10 audio recording program that can work like a VOX recorder. This allows you to set the volume that the sound must reach to begin recording, and the volume at which it should end recording. It also allows you to set the trigger length for the start and stop values, which helps you to eliminate recording short bursts of sound or ending the recording process during a short pause (such as in normal speech). A start and stop button allows manual recording.

Sound Byte, a computerized cart machine for the Mac that’s similar to the so-called cart machines used at radio stations in the past. You can select up to 75 recordings per rack, and assign each to a button. Clicking on a button plays that recording. Multiple recordings can be played at the same time. A playlist feature lets you organize sound clips to be played in a particular order. Plus, an audio playthrough feature is available that lets you mix audio clips with sound input coming through your microphone. Registration is $49 for Sound Byte, $24 for Sound Byte Lite, and $149 for Sound Byte Pro.

Disco

Disco is MP3 DJ mixing software from Aleksi Strandberg. It simulates two dual CD players and a DJ mixer. It can be used for playing on clubs and other live gigs or just practicing and jamming out on your Mac. You can prelisten to an upcoming song with your headphones while another is playing. You can create your own techniques and practice common mixing styles like crossmixing and beatmixing. And Disco lets you get the beats matching with cue points customizable for every song, pitch shifting and pitch bend buttons. You’ll need a Power Mac with 32 MB of free RAM, Mac OS 8 or better, and QuickTime 4.1 or later.

DrDJ

DrDJ Free is a little QuickTime sound player for “those semi-DJs out there,” according to author Lieven Dekeyser. It features MP3 support (QuickTime 4.1 or better), fading (automatic or not), and a simple interface. The free app also has built in skin support. System requirements are a Power Mac 604 at 166 MHz or better (G3 or better recommended, so iMacs should do just fine); 32 MB of RAM (64 MB recommended); MacOS 8 or 9 with CarbonLib 1.04 or better or Mac OS X (note: it’s only tested on the public beta); and QuickTime 3.0 or better (4.1 is required for MP3)

Dekeyser is also the author of DrSample, which reads a list of sounds, lets you assign a key to each sound, and do your own samples. All you need is a Power Mac. You can download DrDJ and DrSample at Dekeyser’s Web site.

DJ Bryan Lemire uses a software utility called MacBPM. It’s a utility to easily determine the beats per minute of a song and also is a music database, he said. MacBPM — a freeware bpm-counter, bpm catalogue and playlist compiling utility — consists of two applications: MacBPM Counter and MacBPM Manager. MacBPM Counter is an interactive beats-per-minute counter. MacBPM Manager is a complete bpm catalogue and playlist management system. With them you can store all information of your songs in a bpm catalogue, simply create playlists, and more. It’s available from the MacBPM home page.

GrooveMaker

GrooveMaker, which can be found at MP3 Machine, is music software for creating dance tracks in real-time. It puts you at the controls of the music. It’s your mix, and it all happens in real-time. And you can save your work as new remix when you wish. GrooveMaker lets you import and match any audio file instantaneously (including WAV, AIFF, MP3) and export your mix using many different audio formats ranging from hi-quality CD to Internet publishing. It comes with lots of professional drum grooves, synth pads, sound effects and ambient loops.

Next week: part II.