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Basic Help For Beginner DJs

Well, after quite a bit of demand, here it is.

if you are a n00b DJ wanting recommendations on decks, local stores, first gigs, etc. Post your queries in here, and somebody more experienced will try their best to help you out.

A few links with useful information for people who are just setting up/ getting into the whole biz.

--> Probably one of the best sites you'll come across for dj related advice

--> How to setup your tonearm weights, straight arm vs S arm and more

--> Scroll down to Mongeone's last post on the page for more advice on setting tonearm weights

--> Suggested online record stores to purchase from (DO NOT BUY FROM HTFR!!)

--> Big Tranceaddict discussion looking at various headphones

--> Great forums where you can find lots of info about headphones from people that own them etc...

more to come

about mastering music

I use FL3.56 to make my music. Once I have a track done, how would I know to master it?? What is the real meaning of mastering a track?
What's the best software to do it in? Can I master a FL track in FL?
thnx,
A Newb Producer

you might want to take that question to the production forum

Beginner

One thing I can't stress enough.... for equipment and gear information its good to ask questions on forums, beware of alot of Bad advice on forums, but for Mixing styles?? HELL NO!! I know that the best way to learn how to mix is without any advice, lessons or any influences,even from watching other DJ's. Watch and enjoy others play, but don't copy them... YOU WILL BE A POSER IF YOU DO SO.

Anyways, obtain all the neccessary Equipment(people say go with what you can afford? Not me, go with what you can't afford. This saves you from buying 2 of everything ie...the one(s) "you can afford now", and expensive one(s) you are gonna end up get anyways.
Hook it up, and away you go. If you have the talent and ear for it, you will know what to do. Practice is the only remedy for poor mixing.

Re: Beginner

quote:

Originally posted by The Greener One thing I can't stress enough.... for equipment and gear information its good to ask questions on forums, beware of alot of Bad advice on forums, but for Mixing styles?? HELL NO!! I know that the best way to learn how to mix is without any advice, lessons or any influences,even from watching other DJ's. Watch and enjoy others play, but don't copy them... YOU WILL BE A POSER IF YOU DO SO. Anyways, obtain all the neccessary Equipment(people say go with what you can afford? Not me, go with what you can't afford. This saves you from buying 2 of everything ie...the one(s) "you can afford now", and expensive one(s) you are gonna end up get anyways. Hook it up, and away you go. If you have the talent and ear for it, you will know what to do. Practice is the only remedy for poor mixing.

the fact is, bedroom djing is a HUGE fad these days. and yes i say fad. most of us, will never make it. most of us will either lose the motivation, not be able to support the habbit of buying tons of vinyls all the time, or life will just get in the way. i'm not about to spend $1500 on the equipment that in 3 months i'll be bored of using. me, i'm just buying what i can afford here and there. i'm still at uni working my ass off, so i barely have time anyway. but once i get the time, you better believe i'll be on those decks ALLL damn day!

Fact or rumor?

I think that Mr. McGroin is right, it is a FAD and eventually life does get in the way. I have a nice set up at home that I barely get to use because of working 2 jobs, supporting a family (I'm not as old as you think I am) and believe me - it is an expensive hobby.

I posed a question elsewhere about what to get TT/CD TT/ computer TT but decided to stick with my tractor DJ...

quote:

Originally posted by The Greener Anyways, obtain all the neccessary Equipment(people say go with what you can afford? Not me, go with what you can't afford. This saves you from buying 2 of everything ie...the one(s) "you can afford now", and expensive one(s) you are gonna end up get anyways. Hook it up, and away you go. If you have the talent and ear for it, you will know what to do. Practice is the only remedy for poor mixing.

I may look into Dennon CD TT - that looks enticing... and falls very nicely into my "can't afford" category, so I am following the first bits of advise posted here in.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtFoo What is the real meaning of mastering a track?

As far as mastering goes - that's a process of combining multiple tracks and making them sound as a whole. sometimes known as "bouncing" - basically taking peices that make up your songs (as in tracks- drum track, base, lead, vocals, etc) and combining them together. Process of mastering involves setting EQ and dB levels - such as you want your base to be louder, tweak it up. When you are happy with your final mix - you MASTER it, as in make a master copy -where everything comes together into one whole. I use Cubase SX and Sonar XL... sometimes Soundforge and a weee bit of other stuff. But it's definitely not a DJ question.

BTW, allow me to vent a bit: (on the topic)

to say to someone "most of us won't make it" is kinda lame. naysayers are people who, in my opinion, are either disenchanted with their own results want to discourage others or reversely, want less competition. Personally, music is my passion and I could care less if someone tells me "most of us won't make it". I don't plan to "make it" - I plan to have as much fun as I can before I die. Sounds a bit too "cheesy" - well, like I said.. I do it for fun. Even if I am spinning in my basement to 10 friends and they are dancing, that's already good enough for me and I am out of the "bedroom" at the same time. So, does that count for "making it"?

My advise is - do whatever you can to make it, if that's what you want. Don't do it for money, coz' chances are you won't "make it" big... but do it nonetheless... I guess that's why there's a celebrity factor - people who become celebrities (through normal means - not sniping people around washington d.c.) usually have to work very hard to get to where they are. THERE IS NO OVERNIGHT SUCCESS. Some get famous faster, some take years. How many of us heard PvD five years ago??? not many. Look at him today??? he was just doing what he loves and happened to be in the right spot. It's like surfing - if you catch the right wave you're in for a time of your life or the wave may crush you and spit you out.. there's only one thing that is certain: IMPERMANENCE... nothing lasts forever... So, today it's PvD. Tomorrow - it can be you.

My advise (as a n00bi3 to n00bie3) - don't take shit from anyone, don't take no for an answer, and love what you do, otherwise don't do it.

/DJ Simple

quote:

Originally posted by TwiloThunder --> Probably one of the best sites you'll come across for dj related advice

Thx you for this link very useful

Hi,

I need a bit of help with building a desk for my turntables, there used to be a guy with a great site called http://www.shortyellowbuss.com/ but its not there anymore

I was basically gonna print out the pics from that site and give them to a Joiner and say do something like that mate. But I dont have the pics

If anyone saved the pics can u post them or let me know here so i can give u e-maio addy to send them too. OIrt just post pics of other home made set ups if u can help, its more the shelves and legs he made i was interested in.

Regarding CynepMeH's post...

FUCKIN WERD

Hey, I would like to know if there are any mixing softwares for beginners. I just want to edit and put some tracks together. Since I work fulltime and study at night, the only freetime I have is the weekend. So I dont want to spend lots of money on equipment that I will seldomly use. I just want to know what do I need in my PC to put some tracks together. I dont care if its not gonna sound REALLY good. Its just 4 fun!!! Can you help me? Thats all, thanks for you time.

You can use programs such as:
Cubase
Cool Edit
...

There is a multitude of program on the market. The best way to find out the one you like the best is to download the demo and then try them!

You can also try to find the programs on Kaza and Direct Connect.

Good luck!

Actually, the program I just gave you are not really for beginers....
You can try mixman to mix beat together. Its really basic and limited but its fun for a little bit and its free.

You can got on THERE

quote:

Originally posted by Mpl4ever Actually, the program I just gave you are not really for beginers.... You can try mixman to mix beat together. Its really basic and limited but its fun for a little bit and its free. You can got on THERE

thks man... Ill try that one...

I just want to find a good start of mixer
I don't want it to be too simple

I was looking into the
Numark dm1720x and
Vestax PMC 17A

what are you thought or opinions about it???

other suggestions???

the page with setting up the tonarm doesn't work, I want a page like that because i'm buying 2 new Concorde pickups next week so I have to change the weight etc..

Url anyone?

for all your turntable tech questions
like how to set your tonearm and others
this site is the best

http://1200s.com/Support/Tech/faq.html

and another piece of advise for n00bs
"you can always buy new needles, but sometimes you can't buy a new record. always replace your needles when they start to wear."
generally, under a decent amount of use (1-2 hours a day almost every day) you'll want to change your stylus about every 5-6 months
it's easier to replace the needle than it is to replace that hard to find record

Im a newbie when it comes to dj equipment and I was thinking of getting the Technics SL-1200M3D. Is this a good choice? Or is there something better? From what I've gathered, I should buy some really good decks so I wouldn't have to waste my money upgrading.

Im also lost when it comes to mixers and headphones. I think I'm willing to spend about $1500-$1800 all together. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

quote:

Originally posted by red eyed phil Im a newbie when it comes to dj equipment and I was thinking of getting the Technics SL-1200M3D. Is this a good choice? Or is there something better? From what I've gathered, I should buy some really good decks so I wouldn't have to waste my money upgrading. Im also lost when it comes to mixers and headphones. I think I'm willing to spend about $1500-$1800 all together. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

those are the best decks you could buy right now
as for mixers and cans
go with a decent mixer, check out vestax or pioneer
you'll want 2-3 channels with 3 band eq on each channel and headphone cueing

go to your local shop and take a look around, play with some of the mixers

now for headphones... read through the headphone sticky thread
it has a lot of valuable info

Thanks for the help! I've been thinking of getting the Sennheiser HD 280Pro headphones, the Vestax PCV 275 mixer, and a headphone amp like the Samson 4 channel headphone amp. Though I dont know if the mixer is a good choice or not. Is there anything else I might want? Could you comment on these?

http://www.dj-depot.com/info/pcv275.html

http://www.planetdj.com/expanded_de...P&IMAGE_EXIST=Y

That is indeed top quality equipment, but that doesn't mean that that's a good thing. Learning on the best equipment doesn't mean that you can play on al/most equipment around, on the contrary

Thats true. But I was thinking of making a good investment at the start so I wont have to spend more money getting better equipment.

i think its a good idea to get very good equipment from the start, which is what i did

1 - you are playing straight away on the equipment clubs use, no learning curve when you jump to the club environment (maybe some probs if you house party with someone elses belt decks - but you can bring your own in that case!)

2 - it is much easier to learn!

3 - once you have learned the basics, you will be able to play on less decent equipment with a bit of practice but your 'learning' wont have picked up bad habits on poor decks such as overcompensating for uneven torque etc

go for it!

oh and 4 which you already said - you don't have to upgrade as much! when upgrading you are basically always going to lose money...

I love music, end of story. But a poor mo-fo like myself cant afford all the 'top notch' equip, does anyone have a good place to go shopping that isnt suicide in the wallet? Im lookin to spend around $1000(US), less would be nice too.

And shopping, I mean all equipment, turntables, mixers, amps, cases - the works. And about buying vinyl, once I have all the equipment, vinyl shouldnt be a problem, but I would like a site that has good prices on vinyl too.

This isnt a fad, its an obsession - I have learned this now.

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