Following is an overview of the main user interface of djay, including the available tools (Looping, Cue Points, Skipping, Audio FX).
Main Interface
Display
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Artist Name
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Song Title
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Time: indicates the current location in the song. You can toggle between elapsed and remaining time by clicking on the time display.
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Status Section: shows on/off status of audio effects, looping and waveform zooming. You can toggle each status by clicking its indicator.
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Recording Button: Learn more about recording your mix
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Key Section: shows the analyzed key of the loaded song. By pressing the popover triangle you can bring up the popover with more controls allowing you to match the key to the other song, or manually shift the pitch of the song to transpose it to an arbitrary key.
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Waveforms: the audio waveform display gives you an overview of a song's structure and allows you to visually cue to specific points to prepare the prefect transition.
Turntable
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BPM display: shows the analyzed tempo of the song in beats per minute (BPM).
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Sync button: matches the tempo (BPM) of one song to the other and aligns the beats so the songs play perfectly in sync.
Learn more about beat-matching songs
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Speed slider: changes the tempo of the current song.
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Key-Lock button: preserves the pitch of the song when changing the speed slider (Time-Stretching).
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Pitch-Bend buttons (+/-): temporarily slows down/speeds up the tempo of the current song, which allows you to fine tune after pressing Sync to perfectly align the beats.
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Play button: starts/stops the turntable.
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Motor button: gradually starts/stops the turntable.
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Cue Point Set/Jump: sets a marker at the current playback position and allows you to instantly jump to it.
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Tone-arm and needle: drag the needle to change the playback position in the current song.
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Vinyl: hold with the mouse to scratch or move forward/backward.
Learn more about scratching with djay
Equalizer (EQ)
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Low: changes the bass frequency range of the current song.
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Mid: changes the mid frequency range of the current song.
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High: changes the treble frequency range of the current song.
Gain & Level Meters
djay automatically adjusts the gain of all songs to match the overall volume intensity (Auto Gain). This can be turned off in djay’s Advanced preferences.
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Gain slider: increases or decreases the volume of the current song, allowing you to boost the level of quiet songs or reduce the level of loud songs.
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Meters: visually represent the intensity of the turntable’s audio signal. When the top red lights flash, this means the sound is clipping, which should be avoided to preserve the sound quality.
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Pan slider: allows panning of the stereo signal between left and right.
Volume Fader
fades the volume level of the turntable in/out (0-100%).
Mixer
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Crossfader: allows you to mix/crossfade between the left and the right turntable.
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Transition Buttons: let you trigger a smooth transition between the two turntables. You can adjust the transition style and duration in the Automix preferences.
Tools Section
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Tools Button: lets you show or hide the tools section.
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Tools Selector: lets you switch between different tools (Audio FX, Cue Points, Skipping, Looping).
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Sampler Button: shows or hides the Sampler.
Audio FX Tool
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Instant FX: hold button to apply each effect (Absorb, Drift, Sway, Crush, Punch, Twist). You can smoothly slide from one effect to the next by moving the mouse cursor.
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FX Pad: you can modify the effect parameter as well as the filter (high pass / low pass) simultaneously by dragging the mouse on the X-Y pad. Alternatively you can use two fingers on a track pad.
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Manual FX: lets you select and chain two effects (Flanger, Phaser, Echo, Gate, Bit Crusher, Reverb) per turntable. Additionally, you you can adjust the filter to add a high pass or low pass effect.
Cue Point Tool
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Set Cue Point: sets a marker at the current playback position.
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Jump to Cue Point: jumps to the marker that was previously set.
Skipping Tool
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Skip backward: skips backward by the number of beats set as the skip duration.
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Skip forward: skips forward by the number of beats set as the skip duration.
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Skip duration: number of beats to be skipped (relative to the BPM of the song).
Looping Tool
Choose between three different looping styles: Auto, Manual and Bounce. Manually set loop in and out points, use Auto-Loop to continuously loop part of a song, or remix live using Bounce-Loop to mash up your song, all in perfect sync with the beat.
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Bounce Loop: hold button to temporarily loop part of a beat. When releasing the loop the playhead jumps back to its regular position as if the loop had not been set. This lets you repeat part of a song without interrupting its progress.
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Manual Loop: by pressing IN / OUT you can manually define a loop region which is auto-quantized to the beat. While looping you can halve the loop length by pressing IN / OUT subsequently. To disable the loop to reactivate it press the Reloop button.
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Auto Loop: automatically loop a given number of beats and halve / double the loop region by pressing the arrow buttons next to the LOOP button.
Sampler Section
Consist of six sample slots. You can record, assign and trigger sounds on each slot individually.
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Sample trigger
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Sampler popover switch
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Sample folder selection (~/Music/djay/Samples)
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Sample selection
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Sample preview
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Sample volume
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Sample record (from turntable 1, turntable 2 or microphone)
Music Library
Browse your entire iTunes music library.
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Categories selector: browse media by Playlists, Artists, Albums, Genre, Key, History.
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Search field: find a specific track quickly.
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Tracks table: lists the tracks of the selected playlist. Learn more about loading songs
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Automix Queue: lets you add requests or manage upcoming songs for Automix.
Bottom bar
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Light switch: switch between a light and a dark library theme.
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Master volume: change the master output volume.
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Automix button: start / stop Automix mode and modify various settings (shuffle, transition style, transition duration, BPM sync). Learn more about Automix
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Microphone: add your own voice to the mix.
Learn more about using the Microphone
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Pre-Cueing: preview and prepare the next song through headphones via USB audio interface or split cable.
Learn more about Pre-Cueing
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Automix Queue switch: show or hide the Automix Queue.