PageFlip Firefly vs. Airturn Duo Bluetooth Page Turner Comparison

[@saintecolombe]

I've been using both since the beginning. That is Airturn for at least 10 years and as soon as Pageflip existed. I have therefore three Pagelip pedals (the Firefly died, do not know why) and Airturn. The battery on the AirTurn died. They sent me a second one, but it was never the same. Also needed to solder myself. The PageFlip has "normal" batteries. Great advantage as you can buy them anywhere. Another problem inherent in both is the fact that bluetooth is paired with no individual code! This means that rarely when on stage with other musicians using a pedal and an Ipad it will pair with another person! This has happened to me once and to a whole orchestra. I therefore purchased the Pageflip Firefly. Why you may ask? It allows also a cable setting so no more Bluetooth. When I perform with other musicians (more and more now in 2023) using a pedal I am sure my pedal will ONLY turn my pages. I think these bluetooth pedal manufacturers should do as bluetooth headphones, as well as many other bluetooth devices and secure the connection and assure that the pedal will only work with the paired device and not go "searching" around to pair with anything.

[@topmusicco]

I very much agree and don’t know why ID sync isn’t a thing given the issue on stage as u mention.

[@user-cx6tw5ck2h]

This may be a very stupid question or it may be brilliant. I assume that you turned your pedal and iPad off on your way to perform with the other musicians and then you had to reconnect to Bluetooth when you arrived at the venue, leading to the pairing with another musician. Suppose you put new batteries in the pedal just before you left for the concert and left your house with the pedal turned on and paired with your iPad (maybe leave the fully charged iPad on as well). Would that avoid this problem?

[@saintecolombe]

@@user-cx6tw5ck2h Over the last 10 years of course we have turned off, repaired, changed the batteries and sang mantras to Krishna! Left it on and paired for a week. No it is inherent unfortunately in a bluetooth device which has no pairing code to look for whatever is available. A whole orchestra was a victim of this! The manufacturers need like bluetooth headphones to equip these pedals with a pair code. I still only use the cable anywhere near another musician after so many sad experiences.

[@pwoody1958]

I've used both of these page turners. Here are my two cents. The first one I had was the AirTurn model. I had big problems with this one. There is one button for on/off, pairing, reset, mode change. It was very easy to forget how long to hold in the button to get the various functions. Also, the rechargeable battery gave me trouble. Sometimes, the AirTurn ran out of juice because I had not turned it off correctly. Once the battery has been totally run down, it won't hold much of a charge. I had it crap out on me multiple times in rehearsals and in performance. The PageFlip has an actual on/off switch, and separate buttons for the various functions. The use of AA batteries means that if for some reason it gets low on juice, I can replace them instantly. Finally, the AirTurn slides around on the floor, but the PageFlip stays put.

[@topmusicco]

Thanks for the comments - great to read your experience :)

[@saintecolombe]

I agree, see my comments above.

[@maritomizuka2281]

Oh my god thank you. I will buy the firefly right now. Airturn started to flip multiple pages during a concert, and their help desk sent me a very long set of instructions to fix it, and blamed it on Forscore. Perhaps this is true, but I'm too scared to give it a second chance. Plus it is so slippery! Your comments have helped me immensely! I will probably retire the naughty airturn.

[@rockergirl2489]

Thanks for your help

[@JigOfTheDubGopher]

You might also simply use rechargeable batteries in the PageFlip FireFly which are cheaply and easily replaceable. The battery on the AirTurn Duo is not easily and cheaply replaceable.

[@joycewu9786]

Which one would be more silent while stepping? And I think weight is important too, I have a very light pedal right now and everytime I use it I’m worried about it’s gonna jiggle.

[@TomMoose]

Pageflip firefly all the way. Tons of weird connection issues and dead battery issues with air turn. Also a more surefooted switch on page flip. 2 AAA last forever in the pageflip, and I use a solar charger to recharge those AAA batteries

[@topmusicco]

Thanks Tom - glad you like it!

[@gaetanst-arnaud8840]

The main thing you missed to tell is that the AirTurn needs bluetooht 4. So you can't use olds Ipad, Android or computers. The Firefly works witn Bluethoot 3 or even you can connect it to a computer or and old Ipad via Usb.

[@topmusicco]

Thanks for letting me know 👍

[@saintecolombe]

Exactly not only that these pedals will randomly connect to anything causing havoc on stage if the other performers are using the same. See my comments above.

[@meghanweibling5137]

Thanks for this! I was debating between these two, and this helped me be more informed to make my decision. Very helpful!

[@topmusicco]

Welcome

[@rockergirl2489]

Thankyou for this great video !

[@jeffandkathyantarctica1704]

You've got it backwards. If i get to a gig and the pageflip tells me low-battery - no problem, I can do a quick swap. If the AirTurn says it's low - well, ummmm, SOL?

[@topmusicco]

Yup, I guess you've got a point there. Bring a charger!

[@tandemwings4733]

One has to be really disorganised to forget to recharge the AirTurn. BUT, one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that you could always have a power bank with you (as I always do for my phone) - so no problem. Actually, my power bank is in the same case as my AirTurn - but I've never had to use it.

[@tandemwings4733]

I absolutely LOVE my AirTurn. One important point is that we can use a power bank to run a flat AirTurn. I regularly recharge my AirTurn at least monthly, so never a problem here.

[@topmusicco]

Good tip Tandemwings.

[@WowIndescribable]

Can these be used to play/pause/rewind/fast-forward audio/video?

[@pacodegarcia]

Main issue with my AirTurn (BT-106) is sometimes when I foot press to turn the page on forescore on my iPad it skips 3-5 pages! I can’t find any help with this issue so am looking at getting rid of it…. Too risky for gigs and concerts etc…

[@topmusicco]

Sorry to hear that. Haven’t had that issue. Wonder if it’s the air turn or a glitch with forscore. To test, I’d try the air turn on different devices if you can, or reintal forscore?

[@maritomizuka2281]

same thing happened to me! I'm changing to firefly.

[@natlaurenw]

same this happens to me sometime! i play saxophone so it can definitely mess up my runs when that happens. unrelated to how many pages, i also feel feel it can be harder to control (the duo) because the pedals are further apart and than the butterfly

[@pmadamson]

Thanks for doing the comparison. Many reviews on these pedals are apple and i.o.s based. Does anybody know which of these two work well with windows and with which software for both Music and PowerPoint.

[@jackjack0]

When you get repeat from the beginning, do you need to step 20 times to reach the beginning of the music sheet? No manufactures thinking this issue?

[@traceywright4948]

thankyou for your video

[@Oleg__]

You exaggerate the "problem" of replaceable batteries too much. This is not a smartphone that needs to be charged every day. The Firefly pedal is designed to sip very little power so you won't see the low batteries warning for about a year. Is it such a big problem to replace the batteries once a year or even half a year? Now think: if the battery level of your rechargeable pedal is very low during the performing session, what will you do? You don't have time (1.5-2 hours) for the charging process. While regular AA batteries can be replaced in a few seconds. That's why Firefly pedal is more practical for professional use. Not to mention, these AA batteries can be found literally everywhere. I have a few Bluetooth pedals, including those from AirTurn. And PageFlip Firefly is my favorite pedal (I like its design the most, I appreciate LED lights on the pedals, I like dedicated buttons and switchers for the most simple and intuitive control).

[@musicbinderpro8903]

Oleg I agree with you. I have to replace the battery in my Airturn BY-105 and Airturn charge me 25$ for delivery to Canada! It would cost me 44$ + duty fees:( I wish I would have purchased a PageFlip!

[@NicoleStitchtree]

But.. you can probably see the battery level on a rechargeable battery rather than the AA batteries. So do you constantly carry batteries in case your Firefly runs out? I think I’d be nervous before long gigs about not being able to know the battery life left in this.. Rechargeable battery means peace of mind by charging before the gig.

[@hensonsf2701]

Well your comment definitely sold me. Been looking at reviews since I am new to iPad use for all my sheet music. Thank you!

[@hensonsf2701]

Nicole Greentree Piece of mind can also come from fresh batteries for gigs! Ones you take out can be used for home use.

[@Oleg__]

@@NicoleStitchtree Hey. I saw the responses just now, since KZbin did not send me a notification about this (and this is not the first time). So, regarding _"you can probably see the battery level on a rechargeable battery"_ - you can't. The "Batteries" widget on iPad never showed the battery level correctly. For example, even when the pedal was fully charged, the widget never showed a charge higher than 75%. I talked to AirTurn support about this and they said that you cannot rely on the "Batteries" widget as they cannot optimize the pedal to display the correct battery level on iPads. And over time, the widget stopped displaying the pedal at all in this widget. Instead, AirTurn support recommended relying only on the low battery indicator on the pedal itself. But the PageFlip Firefly pedal can also display a low battery level on the device itself. Therefore, there is no difference between them in this regard. And when the pedal shows a low battery level, there is still a few hours of reserve before the pedal turns off completely.

[@leilaviss]

Thanks, Tim. I need a new pedal because I was not a fan of my Air PED anymore. You've helped me make a decision!

[@Oleg__]

So what did you choose? My thoughts on this video are as follows. The author of the video exaggerates the "problem" of replaceable batteries too much. This is not a smartphone that needs to be charged every day. The Firefly pedal is designed to sip very little power so you won't see the low batteries warning for about a year. Is it such a big problem to replace the batteries once a year or even half a year? Now think: if the battery level of your rechargeable pedal is very low during the performing session, what will you do? You don't have time (1.5-2 hours) for the charging process. While regular AA batteries can be replaced in a few seconds. That's why Firefly pedal is more practical for professional use. Not to mention, these AA batteries can be found literally everywhere. I have a few Bluetooth pedals, including those from AirTurn. And PageFlip Firefly is my favorite pedal (I like its design the most, I appreciate LED lights on the pedals, I like dedicated buttons and switchers for the most simple and intuitive control).

[@DivaDeb1234]

I have Donner . It's too sensitive. It turns multiple pages when I only want one? How do these compare?

[@maryhargitt9323]

Are there any sounds associated with stepping on either pedal? Also does either register a feeling in your foot when you step on it or do you just get your cues from watching the page flip on the screen?

[@topmusicco]

It’s really about what you see on the screen in my opinion. They don’t make noise obviously, so it’s a matter of feel and what you see

[@janeandthecoolcats5033]

@@topmusicco So there is no mechanical sound? I have a cheap solution but the problem during recording is often the sound of the pedal (similar to the sound of a guitar pedal which makes a click). Can you elaborate on this? thank you

[@americandean8083]

Hi Thank your for the info, would you worry to use Powerpoint in a teleprompter using your using iPad ? to keep to the naturalness of speech. but you have to Mirror-Flip of Tablet?. the tool does no force you to read word for word

[@MichaelDaniels]

Do these allow me to turn the page on a Google doc on my iPad or my android tablet?

[@topmusicco]

Hrmmm prob depends on what software. Sure it’s possible

[@uksampson]

It appears that the Air Turn might allow the use of alternative or replacement pedals too? Does it accept a standard foot pedal input?

[@topmusicco]

Hrmmm not 💯 sure. Best check their website

[@jeffandkathyantarctica1704]

@@topmusicco I've seen it used with Boss Pedals

[@TorsSongs]

What they need to do is make that controller on the airturn unit attach to the guitar so that it could all be accomplished right on your guitar without using your feet- with a dozen other guitar pedals being controlled with your feet, it would be nice to have one at your fingertips instead..

[@topmusicco]

Interesting idea!

[@OBC_Studio]

Does the Duo make click long sounds when you press the pedals?

[@topmusicco]

No - it's designed to be quiet :)

[@IsaacLausell]

does the air turn goes to sleep? Sometimes this happens with the Firefly and you need to tap it to wake it up.

[@topmusicco]

Hrmmm maybe eventually, but it's never happened to me.

[@saintecolombe]

I think it is more the Ipad goes to sleep. I play the viola da gamba. During the Saint John Passion we have 30 minutes often between moments we need to play. Once I yes stamped on the pedal a few times to wake the Ipad up.

[@cowboy7x]

My PageFlip (right pedal) didn't last long. NOT GOOD! The other thing I don't like about it is that the pedals are a little two close together and it was easy for me to hit the wrong pedal, as I'm not looking down, I'm looking at my tablet. So now that my PageFlip has failed me (during a performance no less) I'll be looking for something different.