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How long till you were ready for gigs?

How long did it take for you till you thought you were ready to do gigs?
Did it went well? Were you good enough and what were the biggest problems you had to encounter?
Some tips maybe

You can also see it like this: when was your first gig and how did it turn out?

Thanks in advance

I was probably ready to play out after a year of mixing, the main thing that got in my way was my own confidence, I didn't believe that i was good enough, even though all my mates did.

Played my first set out in July this year (2yrs 2mnth after I started playing), and i fucking rocked the place!!! Played last set for a new trance night, and got a VERY good reaction

I'm ready for gigs now and I still haven't gotten one.

you think people would mind if there are a few beatmatches that are a little bit failed?

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_Progrezz you think people would mind if there are a few beatmatches that are a little bit failed?

Typically, no. A lot of times when you are in the crowd dancing and what not you can't tell if two tracks aren't beatmatched 100%, especially on a bad sound system anyway.

But take your time on the mixes and don't worry if you aren't able to drop in a track when you want if it isn't properly beatmatched. Just wait till the next phrase, if there even is one!

if youre a jump or commercial dj, and the beatmatch goes a bit wrong you can just mix in the one track and cut away the other one, but with progressive thats even worse than playen 2 tracks not 100% synced

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_Progrezz if youre a jump or commercial dj, and the beatmatch goes a bit wrong you can just mix in the one track and cut away the other one, but with progressive thats even worse than playen 2 tracks not 100% synced

If the mix becomes pretty bad and there is almost no chance of saving it then the best thing to do is completely cut out the outgoing track.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_Progrezz you think people would mind if there are a few beatmatches that are a little bit failed?

depends on what you mean by failed... If it's a little bit off, but u still can't hear the 2 separate beats, no-one will notice.

My advice is, find the EQ (not the basic one on ur mixer, but something like a 8-10band EQ), Dip the frequencies between 156Hz-100Hz, and make the curve higher as the frequency gets lower.

This will make the bass a lot more deeper and rumbly, so kicks and the beat won't be easy to pick out.

Cheap trick, but meh. WHatever works for you. It's better if you just learn to correct quickly.

Can't remember...

Cheers
Nem

I am ready and I haven't got a gig yet. I haven't even tried either.

Damn being underage.

yeah, i hope that wont be to much of a problem
see i'm "only" 17 myself
think i'll just practice for a few moths and then go searching really hard and making some promotion
progressive isnt the easiest style to mix

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_Progrezz you think people would mind if there are a few beatmatches that are a little bit failed?

you need to remember that a club sound system is very bass heavy, so little slips wont be that noticable. Even if you can hear it very clearly on the monitor in the booth, it will be hard to hear on the main system.

i got my first gig about a little more than a year in, but i was ready a few months before that. you have to factor in that i would constantly spin in front of people with my other DJ friends at house parties. we'd also hold gatherings every wednesday to practice spinning, comment on eachothers mixing and progression, and every now and then we'd invite people who weren't DJs just to see their impressions as well.

does it help if you filter out the bass from the monitors? so i can hear the kicks clearer

maybe the beatmatching itself wont be too noticable on the main system, but with alot of songs it sound fucked up if its not 100% perfectly beatmatched

I had my first "gig" at a house party like 1.5 months after I started. I wasn't ready whatsoever and thought I really sucked (track selection, keying, beatmatching were all bad) but people were really drunk and no one cared.

I defintley learned a few stuff, one being that if its your first few times your gonna be nervous so have some general idea where you wanna take your set and have some stuff pre arranged.

I had my first gig 3 months after I started. I played a 30 min set in between my friends bands setbrea. It went well. I had a lot of friends there to support me so I wasnt too scared. All of my sets were strictly trance... I continued to do the 30min set once a week for 3 months ~ it paid 20 bucks.

Then I met a local DJ who was a vinyl hip hop dj. He told me to come out and open for him, but I had no idea how to spin hip-hop. I practiced for about a month and then opened for him. I did a 1 hour set and it paid 100 bucks. It also went well because I had a lot of support there too (and my set was totally planned out). The next day, he called me and told me a band cancelled and he had a gig for me. I showed up expecting a small gig, but it turned out to be the hot spot for the area on sat nights. There was over 500 people there!!!! I was fuckin scared shitless... It went very well and I made 400 bucks!!! I play there this friday so i'm pumped ~ big money!! After that night, he got me a wed. night gig. It pays 100 bucks for 4 hours. I've been doing that for 6 months now.

I called the local gay bar (its the only place in town that listens to trance/house/techno/etc..) and asked them if I could DJ there and they asked for my demo.. I gave them a house and trance mixes and I guess they liked it because they booked me every saturday for that month. They were having a falling out w/ their current dj at the time and I was there to pick up the pieces. Then after a few weeks they started booking me every friday and saturday. When I started there, it was very dead. On fridays, we started 18+ night and it has been doing very well. We get over 300 people a night on fridays and maybe 75-100 people on sats. I get paid 100 bucks a night there..

I have been DJing for 11 months and have 3 gigs a week. I make anywhere from 300 to 700 a week (depending on where I'm at). There are only 2 turntable dj's in town (that i know of) and we basically have the shit on lockdown

I was a quick learner, but being in the right place at the right time is what got me all of these gigs (i was not ready at the time i got them). but i do dj 12 hrs a week in front of a crowd and that gave me a lot of practice. i am ahead of where i should be in terms of talent/success. If I sucked, i woudnt be able to keep these gigs, they'd get bands or whatever...

quote:

Originally posted by discobiscuit I called the local gay bar ... They were having a falling out w/ their current dj at the time and I was there to pick up the pieces.

So you're biting the pillow now?

wow, you have been pretty lucky i guess, but where i live there arent much clubs and those little places are not really dj based

hope i can change that

quote:

Originally posted by Rebel Brown So you're biting the pillow now?

No not at all... I'm straight but i'm sure you can find another gay TA here if you keep trying.. good luck man

Anyone else?

Any suggestions or tips specificly for progressive mixing?


Another question:

I have a stanton dj pro3000 headphone and i can mix on only the high tones, but i need to turn up the volume quit a bit to hear it clearly in my hp. Will this go loud enough in a dj booth in a club or on a party?

First gig was just this past Wednesday, which I posted a thread about. Although I would have taken a gig months ago, I think now (10 months since I started mixing) was a good time to start. I have really gained a lot of confidence in myself as far as being able to beatmatch every track and keeping a nice steady flow. It also helped having people tell me they thought I should start playing out.

I think a big thing you have to instill in yourself is confidence. If you feel you are truely ready, then I believe you are. There is no set time when you should or shouldn't play. I talked to a guy that night who had been spinning for about 3 years and said he wasn't sure if he were ready to make a promo cd or not. I was like wtf? haha

And as far as tips? I honestly went in there with a game plan that I definitely didn't follow. It's all about the moment and what you are feeling at that very moment. I played tracks that I haven't touched for a while and everyone seemed to love it.

Well, I got my gear in July and my first 100% confirmed gig is at this pro wakeboard tournament in March in Miami called Board Up Miami. I plan on playing a bunch of "summery" house, prog house, and prog trance tracks. I'm pretty damn excited.

a good solid 3 months of doing nothing but learning the basics and reading all the theory and trying it out. After that it all slipped into place. First gig was 7 months after i touched my first mixer.

thx for the reply's people

now just gotta learn the people here some good music, because no one even knows the word progressive..

Me & a mate Djed at my university course social last week, only about 25-30 ppl there, we both fucked up a few mixes but every1 seemed to love us. I did it for free but the organiser said he'd pay us for the next one

Such a thrill to DJ in front of people in a proper place on a proper system, just lookin for more house parties to hone my skillz.

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