Production

Meta.dj Review by SoundTrends – iPad Music Creation / Mixing Apps

Now we’re all no stranger to the awesome apps that SoundTrends makes, but I was completely shocked when I first installed this app. Honestly at first I was overwhelmed with so many options to choose from. Where do I start?

I created a New “Set” and was presented with four black boxes. By Clicking the add button in the middle, I am given the choice of a Track Deck, LoopTastic, SaMPL3R, or Drumtron. I wasn’t sure what I wanted so I added each choice to a different box… Boy was that a fun couple hours at the office…

Meta.dj is a live performance app that combines new ideas with classic mixing. Meta.dj gives you Four decks to play with and a Cross fader between the two top decks, and the two bottom decks. There is also the option to set a master tempo for the “set”.

 

Here’s a breakdown for each of Meta.dj’s main elements:

TrackDeck – A fully functional DJ “Track Deck”. This deck integrates tempo/beat Sync, Looping, 4 Cues, and a waveform view all in less than a fourth of the iPad screen, which somehow doesn’t feel cramped at all! This deck has direct integration with your iPad’s iTunes library so can mix it up with all your favorite tracks.

Looptastic – This deck option allows you to integrate a “mini” Looptastic within Meta.dj.  You can select the various Looptastic loop sets right inside of the deck. With this option you can create loops in sync with you loaded iTunes track and mix between the two. Those aren’t already familiar with Looptastic, CLICK HERE to check out our review on that little gem.

SaMPL3R – Now don’t get me wrong, but at first use this seems VERY similar to Gruvtron but with a different name. Then I came to release that it really is, and that’s what I loved most about it. You are able to play note patterns with the touch of a couple fingers that again, are in sync with your iTunes track and or Looptastic’s loop. Simply press your finger on a square and away the melodic masterpiece goes! In SaMPL3R you have the ability to set the key and scale the note patterns play in and you can change the complexity by moving up and down a square. Moving left to right changes the note. There is also a Modulation wheel on the left side to alter the sounds shape. We suggest looking at this Gruvtron review to get a good feel on how this section works.

Drumtron – Is a drum machine on steroids. It is similar to a regular drum machine with playable pads, but has the functionality of SaMPL3R or Gruvtron. Left to right changes from Kick to Snare to Clap to HighHat etc… and Up and down on the pads changes the complexity.  On the right side you also have a convenient pitch wheel to alter the drums pitch.

 

Drumtron and SaMPL3R also have “Hold” buttons to take away the need to manually hold down any of the pads.

One GREAT feature we loved about Meta.dj is that it has “smart” beat recognition. Now that may be a term we gave this feature but what I mean by that is it will always continue out a measure of four beats before stopping or switching instruments. In some minds this could be good or bad but we liked that it recognized that something shouldn’t start on the 3rd count of a beat if it didn’t make sense to. Maybe you understand that maybe not, either way you have to see it and experience it yourself!

Now that this article is too long we can move on to the built in effects! J

Each deck has it’s own FX bank with 15 different FX to choose from. Simply hit the FX button and you can add up to four FX inserts per deck.

The only thing that would make this app more amazing is the ability to record your mixes, and import them back in to mix with other elements.

Meta.DJ also has a built in loopstore with access to hundreds of FREE loops to use in your mixes!

Overall Meta.dj is outstanding and really gives a unique perspective to live mixing and iOS music production. It’s the love child of DJ mixing and music creation. Check out our gallery below!

 

Gallery

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