CDJ 200 + DJM 400 or Ableton + MIDI Controller?

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Posted by Spirit5 on Apr-04-2007 02:04:

CDJ 200 + DJM 400 or Ableton + MIDI Controller?

After now selling most of my gear and starting from scratch basically, I'm trying to decide what I want to do more. I don't know much about production, but I know I eventually would like to learn to produce ambient/downtempo or "chill music" essentially soundscapes. I also would like to mix this kind of music, but I also still enjoy melodic progressive house and some trance. But definitely my interests lately are more towards ambient and downtempo, since last year I got more into it and now I'm almost exclusively listening to that style, with some older trance and progressive house.

I am saving some money and think by the summer i'll have enough for either a decent laptop with Ableton Live and a MIDI Controller, like a MIDI keyboard, or CDJ 200s, DJM 400 and an inexpensive laptop. If I don't go for the CDJs and the mixer, i'll most likely get a better, more expensive laptop that I can use for many purposes. Basically i'm just looking for people's thoughts about what they feel might be my best bet when it comes to producing and mixing ambient music, and or using CDJ 200s and DJM 400 and mixing that stuff, as well as the dance stuff. I know this might sound like a question more for the production forum, but I am more knowledgeable about DJing/mixing than music production, and don't know how hard it is or what exactly would be better for mixing less dance orientated music.

Posted by miamitranceman on Apr-04-2007 02:56:

CDJ 200s, DJM 400, and Torq and/or Ableton.

Or just get an X-Session Pro for Ableton/Torq. But I'm telling you you're gonna miss the physical nature of external mixing if you go the latter.

Posted by Spirit5 on Apr-04-2007 03:00:

quote:
Originally posted by miamitranceman
CDJ 200s, DJM 400, and Torq and/or Ableton.

Or just get an X-Session Pro for Ableton/Torq. But I'm telling you you're gonna miss the physical nature of external mixing if you go the latter.

Yeah but I have to see about the laptop first. See what kind I can get and one that will last. I do kinda feel that external mixing is more fun, yet I really want to learn to produce music.

Posted by Zild on Apr-04-2007 04:22:

If you want to produce then do that, but if you're thinking about completely switching over to digital as a DJ I'd think it over a few times.