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To be honest it’s not really too important what you get as long as you have something that emulates the concept. The beatmactching part is actually the easiest skill to learn, its reading the audience that is the acquired skill that may take time.
It also depends on the levels that you are looking to take it to. But if you are producing then I would assume that you have some degree of ambition and would like to make a good go of it, which is cool. Through this you will also have an advantage compared to someone with no musical background who tries DJing for the first time.
A lot of DJs who have made it through production actually suck really hard as DJs and the comments in the thread stating that people don’t care are actually very wrong. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating the clubbers, many of them are bedroom DJs and will be your most critical listeners. If you train wreck bad enough then the crowd will let you know in no uncertain terms. Play the wrong tune and you may clear the floor, if the promoters see this they may cut your set short and stick someone else on etc. It depends on how well organised the night is and what the expectations are. I am guessing that the people who asked you to DJ actually don’t know that you actually are not one or they are just plain stupid.
That said, there is a lot to be said for learning to DJ in the clubs also, the learning curve whilst steeper as DJing at clubs is harder in some respects but it will make you a better DJ in the long run.
Assuming that you don’t have any real DJ experience and I don’t mean this to insult, you are going to be absolutely terrible. My advice even though it goes against what I do, would be to record all the tracks that you are considering to play at the same BPM and then just practice getting your drops right otherwise you will be presented with too much to handle on the night and it will be a pretty bad experience for you and those listening. On this count Traktor may not be a bad option and would have been what I would have recommended had you not already got some gear. I used to be a die hard vinyl DJ but use Traktor these days for the most part unless I fancy mixing in which case I use CDJs when I play out.
Moving forward you should probably embrace both as being part of the bigger picture and try to get your DJ skills as good as possible because it is exactly as you say; the money is in the DJing not the producing. There are areas of cross over and the more you want to do with your DJing the more the production skills will come into play. It literally is what you want to make of it. That said, if you want to make money then you have to make a track that’s big followed by another. It’s a gradual process and everything is a learning experience, I also firmly believe that the more you DJ the more you will get a good idea of what you want to do with your tracks.
I know that this is technically not what you asked, but figured you may come across some of the things I have mentioned. It’s not meant to insult so please don’t take it that way, I appreciate that you naturally want to take the opportunity because to be frank you have been offered something that many on this forum wish they had, I would however, like to see you make the most of it and succeed in this.
I would also very much like to check out your tracks as I am curious as to what style you play/produce. Any info on this would be cool, send me a PM if you wish.
Cheers
Nem
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https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/
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