NAMM 2018: PLNIFY Tour Management Software Product Preview

Aloha!

On Friday I met with Victor from PLNIFY about his new software and app that allows easier coordination of all factors that are needed to run a successful tour. He is in the industry ad has worked with top-tier entertainers, so he knows exactly what is needed. He ran me through the software and I was impressed with the effort that went into making all of the details right. And though the software was just recently finished, it is already in use by around 100 major acts.

Please see the attached video to hear more about the PLNIFY, and for more information, please go to plnify.com.

Mahalo!

NAMM 2017: PageFlip Dragonfly Page Turner Review

Aloha!

Sorry this post is a little late, but I wanted to share a little about a cool product I tried out at the 2017 Winter NAMM show in Anaheim. At this show, the founders of PageFlip introduced their new Dragonfly 4-pedal controller, and after seeing it I was definitely impressed.

The Dragonfly is a device that helps musicians manage their sheet music and chord charts by simple pedal clicks. I first saw similar products in action at a stage show in Las Vegas, and I loved the idea of being able to view the music on a tablet and control the page turns wirelessly. After speaking with the founder of PageFlip I had a lot better idea of what was going on, and I was very impressed.

PageFlip is based out of New York City, and they were founded in 2002 by people with backgrounds in occupational therapy and engineering. They were not happy with what was on the market and sought to develop better page-turning technology that was more affordable. Their products are a godsend to people with disabilities and musicians, and over the years they have refined their products to be easy-to-use, versatile, durable and quiet.

The latest product is the Dragonfly, which can connect via Bluetooth or USB to your iPad, Android device, or computer. To make this work you will need a compatible app on your device, and there is a huge list of apps on the PageFlip website (a few of the popular ones are ForScore, OnSong, and Newzik). You will also need digital versions of your music, and there are plenty of services out there that can scan your music in if you cannot figure out how to do it yourself. This unit has four pedals that can be programmed to do pretty much whatever things you would like, such as turning pages, switching songs, volume control, and control of multimedia content. Here is a list of Dragonfly features from PageFlip:

- compact 4-pedal design with standard dual pedal footprint

- four illuminated pedals for use in dim locations

- five programmable pedal modes for a completely personal experience

- 30-minute inactivity period before entering sleep mode

- wireless (Bluetooth) or wired (USB) connectivity options

- silent operation

- sturdy, hefty design for durability

- operates for about a year using two AA batteries (or AC adapter)

I had a chance to try out the DragonFly at the show, and it worked marvelously. The pedal has a very sturdy feel to it, and the pedals are laid out logically. The pedals have a nice feel and there is no annoyingly loud click when they are selected.

For $129, the Dragonfly is a great deal, and it includes a one-year warranty and the excellent PageFlip customer service. If you are working in the orchestra pit or on stage it is a must-have product, and if you have limited use of your hands it would be a great way to be able to still read your favorite books or control your computer. By the way, if you do not need to control as many functions there are some less expensive models in their line-up, so you might want to poke around their website some to see what you really need.

I think the PageFlip Dragonfly is a really cool and useful product, and I am going to purchase one of these pretty soon. For more details or to see their full line of products, head on over to pageflip.com

Mahalo!

Ludwig Metronome iPhone App Review

Aloha!

If you are a studio rat and squirrel yourself away practicing all day, you had better get yourself a metronome. You can spend anywhere between $9.99 and $160 to get a dedicated metronome, or…if you have an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, you can download a free app that does the job just as well.

Lately I have been using the Ludwig Metronome app by Steinway Musical Instruments. Since when did Steinway buy Ludwig?

Anyway, the app downloaded quickly enough for me, and should work on any of the aforementioned Apple products as long as they are updated with at least iOS 4.2 or later. I used my iPhone initially, but have since put it on my iPad too. It seems to work about the same either way.

It took just a few seconds to figure out how to use it, and it does exactly what it is supposed to, which is help keep time. It makes the usual “tick, tick” noises, but it is customizable in a lot of other useful ways. It can be set up so that the downbeat has a different sound, and in one of nine different common time signatures (or none at all, hmm).

As you use the imaginary tempo wheel on the main screen to change the speed, the app will let you know the name of the time signature, and then the difference between allegro and presto becomes crystal clear.

You can set up the Ludwig Metronome app so that it flashes too (in one of seven colors) – and you can modify it so that it flashes on every beat, on just the downbeats, or on every beat with a different color downbeat. It can also be used with no flashes at all.

And the last thing in the function department is that you can tap in your own tempo (maybe for that Metallica song you are learning), and then hit the play icon so it will motor along at your selected speed. This is a surprisingly handy function when learning new music.

There are a few other fun features too, like the option of using new of vintage Ludwig logos, or selecting nifty Ludwig drum wraps as the decoration for your app. Of course there is a Ludwig dealer locater that is built in too – you have to expect that from a free app…

The Ludwig drum wrap is a stone cold awesome deal, and if you are looking for a metronome, you have nothing to lose by giving it a try. Check it out!

Mahalo

Numark iDJ App Review

Howdy!

I don’t usually write app reviews, but this is one I have used a bit and I think it might come in handy for the masses. Today we are looking at Numark’s iDJ app, which allows users to create their own DJ-like music mixes on their iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.

Numark has been designing and manufacturing DJ equipment for over thirty years, and is probably the biggest player in the industry. So, while it makes sense that they would introduce a DJ app, it also takes away from their core business. Their accountants must have worked overtime to figure out how many apps they could sell versus how much hardware sales they might lose. A funny puzzler, to be sure.

Numark’s intended audience for this is the mainstream music lover, rather than the professional DJ. This app allows folks to create their own seamless and synchronized playlists, so they can liven up their parties or create inspiring workout mixes.

I can also see iDJ being very useful for bands that want to play a mix before a show or while they are on a break between sets. Just run leads from the mixing board to the 1/8-inch jack into an iPad, hit play and go – what could be easier?.

As with any app, the install was easy and iDJ provides a brief tutorial of the program’s highlights the first time it is started. Each track needs to be loaded into the program from iTunes, which takes a while, but I had troubles with loaded songs. About 24% of the track I wanted to put into iDJ would not load at all. There was no rhyme or reason to why they would not load – I had problems with tracks purchased from iTunes and ones loaded from CD. Very frustrating.

iDJ analyzes each song with Numark’s BPM detection technology, and lists the BPM (beats per minute) for each track. This is gold for disc jockeys so they can match up tracks better, because too big of a variance in BOPM between songs can make for awkward transitions and kill the mood the mix was supposed to create.

The user creates their own playlists by dragging songs in and sequencing them to their preference. If the BPM are too far off between tracks, Tempo Graph will warn that the transitions might be too much. There is the option of having the software shuffle the tracks, but what fun is that?

After the mix order is set, just press the “Mix Now” icon, and the iDJ software will go to work by overlapping and beatmatching the tracks. After this operation is completed, the user can view a bar graph that shows the overlap, and allows the user to change the length of the song transitions, and truncate songs to remove long intros or outros.

Overall, the iDJ app works well, and can provide a useable mix that is a lot smoother than just running a playlist directly from iTunes. There have been a few instances where the app crashed on me, but it always started up immediately afterwards. I give it a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10…

The Numark iDJ app is on sale in the App Store for $1.99, so download a copy today and start messing around with it. You will certainly enjoy it for longer than the cup of coffee you could have bought for the same amount of money.

Mahalo!