Algoriddim’s recently released djay Pro AI 4 for Mac and iPad/iPhone represented a big leap towards the software becoming a true pro alternative to the “big four”. Now, the company has continued the momentum with a whole host of new features, including the recent announcement that it is to switch to fuzzy keymixing, our long-championed method of key sync that gives far better results than the way key sync is usually implemented in DJ software.
Why fuzzy keymixing matters
Fuzzy keymixing was first championed by Digital DJ Tips back in 2014, when we decided to teach it this way in our “How To Master Keymixing” course. It is a method of mixing any track into any other track, in key, without either track needing to deviate too far from its original pitch – the biggest complaint about “key sync” features in DJ software, and the way keymixing is usually taught to DJs using the “Camelot Wheel”.
We called it “fuzzy keymixing” as a play on the computing term “fuzzy logic”, and we’ve been campaigning for the industry to switch to it for years. So of course we’re thrilled to see another major software company do so (Pioneer DJ incorporated fuzzy key sync in its CDJ-3000 media players and has since added it to its Rekordbox software too).
While we’ve yet to test it in djay Pro (it’s included in djay Pro AI 4.0.4, currently with beta testers), we have high hopes Algoriddim will have implemented it as we would expect.
Read this next: The Ultimate Guide To Keymixing For DJs
Other improvements
But it’s not all about better harmonic mixing – since the original release of djay Pro AI 4, Algoriddim has added a long list of integrations and feature improvements. Including those planned for the 4.0.4 release, here are some of the highlights:
- Support for Numark Scratch, Rane Seventy-Two Mk1 & Mk2
- Improvements to Pioneer DJ DDJ-FLX6 mapping
- Media Library improvements, including multiple selection support and easier access to sort & filter actions
- New & improved reverb/delay FX (“Tape Delay” and “Arctic Reverb” added, standard reverb effect changed to avoid pitch changes when changing parameters)
- Four-channel Neural Mix (real-time stems separation) on iPhone
- Incremental improvements to DVS accuracy
Where we hope djay Pro AI will go now
On reviewing djay Pro AI 4, while recognising the huge leaps forward it had made in UX and features such as DVS, we said that for the software to be more widely accepted by pro DJs, it would need near-universal plug & play with DJ hardware (a la Virtual DJ), and class-leading library features (like Rekordbox).
Many of the improvements since the original djay Pro AI 4 release demonstrate solid movement in these directions, so let’s hope Algoriddim continues to work on these areas. For us, improvements to library workflow and cross-device DJ metadata sync are the biggest outstanding issues.
Learn to DJ with Digital DJ Tips: The Complete DJ Course
• djay Pro AI 4.0.4, which contains many of the improvements mentioned, has been released to beta testers, and will be available to all users once out of beta. Current versions are available here.
Phil Morse
