DL 32R using hard drive for backing music

[WK154]

I don't have a DL 32 R yet just using the 1608 we do play what I called intro tracks on various songs and on the DL 1608  this can be a bit awkward skipping from Mackie master fader to the playlist also the point that the iPad has to be docked all the time to play back music I was hoping that on the DL 32r had a more simple way to put tracks down and put them in order or groups that you wanted them to be in I have looked on various sites to find demos of people using this on the 32r this seems to be a bit of a grey area and not explained very well

Unfortunately, it is not a grey area. It can't be done on the DL32R, from my own experience and also from talking with Mackie support. They told me I was the only one to complain about that. Hard to believe, but it is a new product, and I'm thinking maybe not a lot of users have purchased the USB portable hard drive and tried to do that yet. The Mackie support guy said to email them with my suggestion/complaint, so I did that.

Maybe if everyone else who is frustrated by this DL32R playback limitation emails Mackie also, they might get the message and fix this in future firmware revisions.  Tell them you want to be able to playback your playlists in the order you want.  Here is the support email:   techmail@mackie.com

First let me say that anything that Mackie support doesn't have a canned answer to they will tell you that it can't be done with the current equipment. This issue dates back a few years with the DL1608 and Mackie's excuse that multichannel recording can't be done. Well others have done just that. The fact that they think that AAC or MP3 is not a format that users would want is a joke. Been around that with BenO. You're absolutely right it's not a grey area, it's been done just not by Mackie.

[WK154]

Maybe the more technically knowledgeable here may have an explanation?

In the industry we call it "limited engineering resources" .

Yeah that's why it only took the Audio industry 30 years to take advantage of a freebee by the Navy sonar research to develop Constant Beam-width Transducer technology (CBT by Don Keele and now JBL). Not familiar with it? Here is some info.  http://www.linkwitzlab.com/Keele%20-%20Introduction%20to%20CBT%20Loudspeaker%20Arrays.pdf

[wkndwarrior]

I have the same frustration. So I purchased an extended range BlueTooth receiver, and I connect my iPad to that. Now I can play whatever music I want, in whatever order I want.

This sounds like a nice workaround. Could you recommend a good long-range receiver? Do you find using Bluetooth drains your iPad battery faster, or do you only turn it on for breaks?  Be interested how you hook into your DL32R. Is it just a 1/8 to stereo 1/4" plugs or ?  Thanks!

[Michael Welter]

I got the Amped Wireless BTSA1 Long Range Bluetooth Speaker Adapter. It has 2 RCA output jacks, which I connect to 2 1/4 inch inputs on the DL32R. I then link those two channels. So far, I've been quite impressed with the range. I've connected my iPad, laptop, and phone to it, and the range has been quite impressive. I haven't noticed any significant battery issues with the iPad.

[prosoundrentals]

I think i saw it has to be in the music folder ?

Correct. Make sure that your music files are in a folder called Music. If they are not, they won't show up.

yes I called Mackie the same day . my problem was I created sub folders and put that into the music folder,  the mixer does not recognize any sub folders inside the music folder, a bad feature, that needs to be fixed! thanx!

[dpdan]

I don't understand why anyone would want to play music from within Master Fader.
There are so may apps for organizing tracks, songs, playlists etc. Changing the order on the fly is a breeze with so many.

I use an app callled "next song" on the iPhone, iPod and iPad and it's wonderful. You can start and stop tracks with a bluetooth pedal if you like,
there are options to have the next song cued up and paused,... ready for playing. Super easy to use and very reliable.

SoundCue is also incredible! But only for iPad.

 
 

[slystewart]

Thanks to all that I've posted on here and the information that's been passed about I was in the market for DL 32  to replace 1608 the reason being to have this Dl32r  off stage and to be able to run everything from the iPad. Being the bass player in the band is no time to mess about with looking for intro tracks to songs and it's bad enough on the DL 1608  I wanted something that would work seamless And be easier was a reliable and  and be easier To use  at the moment this issue with the DL 32 might put me off for awhile until something better comes along as regards a firmware update thanks to all  Stewart

[dpdan]

Stewart, as long as you are using an i-device for mixing, it is always going to be a hassel to manipulate tracks on the same device. Having a second i-device just for the music is the best.
I absolutely love the DL32R.

[prosoundrentals]

I don't understand why anyone would want to play music from within Master Fader.
There are so may apps for organizing tracks, songs, playlists etc. Changing the order on the fly is a breeze with so many.

I use an app callled "next song" on the iPhone, iPod and iPad and it's wonderful. You can start and stop tracks with a bluetooth pedal if you like,
there are options to have the next song cued up and paused,... ready for playing. Super easy to use and very reliable.

SoundCue is also incredible! But only for iPad.

I use MF and my hard drive, mainly for the amount of music I can store on it , (wav files are large)and the ability to quickly play backround music unexpectablly from sound booth or read of venue .  im new to this Bluetooth , so how do I get the music on my iTunes/ipad to play remotely via Bluetooth pedal to mixer ?  thanx 

[Michael Welter]

im new to this Bluetooth , so how do I get the music on my iTunes/ipad to play remotely via Bluetooth pedal to mixer ?  thanx

You can sync it with iTunes on your computer, by connecting to a USB port. Or you can download your purchased music from the iTunes cloud in the Music app on your iPad.

[dpdan]

I use MF and my hard drive, mainly for the amount of music I can store on it , (wav files are large)and the ability to quickly play backround music unexpectablly from sound booth or read of venue .  im new to this Bluetooth , so how do I get the music on my iTunes/ipad to play remotely via Bluetooth pedal to mixer ?  thanx

My suggestion is to first put all of your walkin, walkout, break music in your itunes library. Highlight all the tracks and convert them to MP3 files.
As you probably know this will radically decrease the size of the files, that's a good thing .

While you are in iTunes, click on preferences, then under the general tab, you will find an "Import Settings" window, you can click on this window to set the bit rate for your MP3 files.
I use 192 kbps. While this is not exactly wave file quality, it is still very decent sounding.

Once all of your music is imported into iTunes, you can create playslists containing any of the songs in the music folder of iTunes.
All the songs will reside in the music folder of iTunes, and songs that are listed in playlists are not duplicates but instead, just a reference to the song that is in the music folder, so,
you can delete songs in a playlist, and you can delete an entire playlist and the songs will still remain in the music folder. Deleteing a song from the music folder will indeed remove it from your iTunes Library.

I do not use Bluetooth streaming because as far as I am concerned it uses considerably more battery power than Wi-Fi.
I use an Apple Airport Express Wi-Fi router, (not an Airport Extreme) and this little router is so cool, it has a 3.5mm stereo connector that can be connected to two (for stereo) of your inputs on the DL mixer.

Open iTunes on your iPad, iPod or iPhone, and swipe up to reveal the "Airplay" setting. Choose the Airport Express router, now any music you play on that device will stream in stereo to your DL mixer.

It's wonderful.
Another thing I do is I make a playlist that plays for about two hours and I just let it play constantly with "repeat" turned on. As soon as I hear the lead singer say "OK folks, we'll be right back"
instantly I scroll to the input channels that the Airplay is plugged into and turn up the fader, then I hit my mute button that is labeled "BREAK" I have all inputs except the lead singer's mic and the music channels assigned to that MUTE MASTER.
       

[wkndwarrior]

I got the Amped Wireless BTSA1 Long Range Bluetooth Speaker Adapter. It has 2 RCA output jacks, which I connect to 2 1/4 inch inputs on the DL32R. I then link those two channels. So far, I've been quite impressed with the range. I've connected my iPad, laptop, and phone to it, and the range has been quite impressive. I haven't noticed any significant battery issues with the iPad.

Thanks much for the info. I like everything about the DL32R except the severe limitations on how music can be played back from the portable hard drive. You found a nice workaround solution (thanks for sharing!) but I can't think of a reason why a mixer this good should not have the ability to load and play music playlists in the order you want. I'm hoping they fix this soon with a future firmware revision.

[Kev tyler]

I don't understand why anyone would want to play music from within Master Fader.
There are so may apps for organizing tracks, songs, playlists etc. Changing the order on the fly is a breeze with so many.

I use an app callled "next song" on the iPhone, iPod and iPad and it's wonderful. You can start and stop tracks with a bluetooth pedal if you like,
there are options to have the next song cued up and paused,... ready for playing. Super easy to use and very reliable.

SoundCue is also incredible! But only for iPad.

Hi dan it just goes to show how we all have different expectations of our gear, I would love to have access to music from within master fader( if I owned a Dl) if I wanted to play music or stream music from my pad and control the mix with the same pad, then I would have to keep switching between apps, I hate the idea of that, so I could be center stage with two pads one for music one for control, and maybe have a long audio lead, long charge cables etc, or risk streamer dropout, another reason I want more accessibility is a simple one, I need access to the master fader, and a single channel fader,  and the playback fader, so all that unused real estate, well I am sorry but I want to see the playlist that is on the stick plugged in to the front of my desk, and still don't see why it's such a big deal, I think a lot of times now, people expect to approach you at a gig and give you music on a stick, having to put their stick in your lap top, I hate that idea too, and then port their tune to iTunes and then re load your pad, well what can i say? Pain in the bum or what.

Cheers

Kev

[dpdan]

Hi Kev,
your points are all very valid,
and I do agree, Mackie needs to make thier mixer read music off of a USB stick... whether it's wave of MP3 files.

I will add one thing... after literally hundreds of events with the Mackie, I have NEVER had music quit playing via Airplay, not even once.
 

[Michael Welter]

I think a lot of times now, people expect to approach you at a gig and give you music on a stick, having to put their stick in your lap top, I hate that idea too, and then port their tune to iTunes and then re load your pad, well what can i say? Pain in the bum or what.

That's one of the reasons I went with the extended range Bluetooth receiver. If someone hands me a stick or CD with a song to play, I just pop it in my laptop and play it from there. My laptop is connected to the Bluetooth receiver, so I don't have to worry about transferring the song to iTunes, then onto my iPad.