iDJ Live Could Unleash Your Inner Mixmaster

LAS VEGAS — The best kind of software apps are the ones that help you do things you have no business doing. File the iDJ Live under that category, especially as it pertains to those not so musically inclined.

To novices, Numark’s iDJ Live resembles that of any standard-looking turntable setup (albeit not quite the size of a typical vinyl record), but this hardware enables users of any experience level to connect with the Jam-Master Jay that’s laid latent all these years.

So long as you’re already familiar with your DJ software of choice, it really isn’t any harder than propping your iPad onto the unit’s stand, sync up the two using your connector cable, and start scratching away. It works with most compatible DJ software, but for the CES demo, Numark had one preloaded with Algoriddim’s djay for iPad, arguably the most popular brand released last year.

The most prominent thing about the iDJ Live is that it doesn’t intimidate and is super-easy to navigate. And since each side is a mirror of the other, you really only have to learn one set of controls to grasp the other. Volume, bass, and treble knobs are front and center, as well as backlit buttons that manage syncing, play/pause, and setting your cues.

And even though djay for iPad came out a month ago, it’s worth reiterating just how simple this slick app is to use. I know next to nothing about the fundamentals of DJ’ing, but a few minutes of hands-on time with the iDJ Live running djay for iPad and I had myself fooled that whatever musical concoction I was churning out resembled what you’d hear in a nightclub at 1 a.m.

Numark hasn’t yet announced pricing for the iDJ Live, although you should expect to see it around mid-2011.

Photo: Erik Malinowski/Wired.com

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