With djextension on this one.

I beat matched for quarter of a century (eeep), now work with 4 decks from Traktor and I find that more challenging and enjoyable than beatmatching ever made me feel. I feel my sets are way more dynamic now, and the really cool thing is that if you layer tracks correctly you can change the energy levels in them by adding content from other tracks.
To make this really work I have found that Harmonic Mixing is the only way to go, but it has really changed the whole experience.

Yes I know I was quite anti in the beggining but if I am to be honest I see beat matching as a redundant DJ skill and shouldn't really be used to measure a DJs ability any more.

I would recomend getting a laptop and traktor as a new starter with controler, not sure if the budget will stretch to that but lap top doesn't have to be brand new.

Some controlers even come with Traktor LE which should be more than enough to get started.

For the record, there is still a learning curve in terms of understanding the music so software isn't going to do it all for you. It will still require practice, but if you are serious about being a club DJ then this would be the best route in I think.

Just so you know, being a club DJ is a completely different bag to being a DJ in the home scenario, it requires a lot of hard work in order to get the experience you need both in and out of the DJ booth. It's not something that you just decide to do one day and expect it to happen, that said, if you have any questions then feel free to PM me.

Cheers
Nem

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i'd do one thing:

-Buy the crappiest and battered turntables you can find to learn how to beatmatch
-Buy a mac + traktor + controller , future is this but knowing how to beatmatch, follow phrases and beats it's mandatory, there are a lot of djs that play with traktor because they want and some djs who play with traktor because they can't with tts, you already know who is better. (Maybe few exceptions)

quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 With djextension on this one. I beat matched for quarter of a century (eeep), now work with 4 decks from Traktor and I find that more challenging and enjoyable than beatmatching ever made me feel. I feel my sets are way more dynamic now, and the really cool thing is that if you layer tracks correctly you can change the energy levels in them by adding content from other tracks. To make this really work I have found that Harmonic Mixing is the only way to go, but it has really changed the whole experience. Yes I know I was quite anti in the beggining but if I am to be honest I see beat matching as a redundant DJ skill and shouldn't really be used to measure a DJs ability any more. I would recomend getting a laptop and traktor as a new starter with controler, not sure if the budget will stretch to that but lap top doesn't have to be brand new. Some controlers even come with Traktor LE which should be more than enough to get started. For the record, there is still a learning curve in terms of understanding the music so software isn't going to do it all for you. It will still require practice, but if you are serious about being a club DJ then this would be the best route in I think. Just so you know, being a club DJ is a completely different bag to being a DJ in the home scenario, it requires a lot of hard work in order to get the experience you need both in and out of the DJ booth. It's not something that you just decide to do one day and expect it to happen, that said, if you have any questions then feel free to PM me. Cheers Nem

this right here is the exact truth. traktor offers something conventional djing couldnt. kontrol x1s custom mappings basic controller for main decks i mean seriously this is probably one of my biggest hobbies. I was a vinyl dj then a cdj and a vinyl and in the past 4 years since traktor really started coming together i switched to controller. the possibilties are endless and honestly the most expensive part is beatport..... 200 for a basic controller(have a numark total kontrol) 4 years old still working properly. 2 kontrol x1s and eventually plan on getting a maschine to run on deck 3&4 and really start chopping the shit out of things. having multiple decks is the best imo. yes you can have 2 tables 2 cdjs but cant have 32 cuepoints instantly availble after setting up the master control. traktor is mere pennies in the long run.

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quote:

Originally posted by ZxZDeViLZxZ and really start chopping the shit out of things.

This is the only thing that worries me about controllers/sync sets.

I think it's all too obvious to see when you're watching a person perform live on ableton that often they forget to include a basic element in a set and that's flow. Ups and downs, breakdowns at the correct times and introductions of new elements at correct times.

It's very difficult to keep a count on what's going on and more importantly for how long they're going on when you have dozens of 'clips'/samples being launching every 5/10min.

It's one aspect of the whole auto sync function that has me worried. Not everyone is aware of when new elements need to be introduced or when they need to be removed. Suppose that's the skill in it.

i agree but yo u can hear the difference ebtween a snapped set thats sync and one thats being done in not snap and without a sync being pushed or rather on the whole time. Im not talking about samples im talking about the preset cue points and be able to map cue points on the fly in another deck. im sure you didnt really mean just sampling though. as stated above can hear the difference and honestly beat gridding a track in traktor to perfection is hard relaying on sync is terrible chances


as in probably wont be good.... cant argue with 4fx then even more so 4x3x4 controlling them with anything you want and really anyway you want

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quote:

Originally posted by ZxZDeViLZxZ i agree but yo u can hear the difference ebtween a snapped set thats sync and one thats being done in not snap and without a sync being pushed or rather on the whole time. Im not talking about samples im talking about the preset cue points and be able to map cue points on the fly in another deck. im sure you didnt really mean just sampling though. as stated above can hear the difference and honestly beat gridding a track in traktor to perfection is hard relaying on sync is terrible chances as in probably wont be good.... cant argue with 4fx then even more so 4x3x4 controlling them with anything you want and really anyway you want

If you can't beatgrid a track in Traktor you sure as shit can't beatmatch.

Also, hearing a difference between 2 x synced tracks and properly beatmatched tracks is bullshit.

totally didnt mean in that context of is hard not sure what my thought train was when that was typed no its not hard but yes can tell a difference bvetween synched and p roperly beat matched without a sync on... most people that rely on sync dont bother to check past 32 and im talking about when you are just leaving synch on the entire mix not for the people that just hit it at phase and shut off after which.

and gridding i dont know i have mixed opions about it and the reliabilty of it. of the 9600+ tracks i have loaded in traktor approximatly 25% ive done custom gridding on them and i honestly cant say i see a reason ears are always right just because the orange phase is right doesnt always mean it sounds right and even properly gridded the phase will be off according to the bar but audiable not. maybe im just not being anal enough about it but i dont see any reason to be mix on vinyl/cdjs where gridding wasnt possible so audibly is the only way to go and so i find myself more inclinde to go by what my ears hear. keep in mind im also someone that runs full split over both headphones and not a left cue right mix or vice versa. so maybe thats why i rely more on what i hear?

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Last edited by ZxZDeViLZxZ on Jul-06-2011 at 04:28

Uh, and if you don't know, now you know, nigga, uh.

all you need is a laptop apparently. i was in a dj contest for fun recently, and i was one of 2 people not using laptop assistance. they told everyone no laptops allowed but they said if they did that, everyone would back out and no one would come to compete, funny stuff.

you need to network, and its easy when you're well liked and have some luck .

You want to play big clob eh? Better practice your filatio techniques. that's how you win these days. Have fun

quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 With djextension on this one. I beat matched for quarter of a century (eeep), now work with 4 decks from Traktor and I find that more challenging and enjoyable than beatmatching ever made me feel. I feel my sets are way more dynamic now, and the really cool thing is that if you layer tracks correctly you can change the energy levels in them by adding content from other tracks. To make this really work I have found that Harmonic Mixing is the only way to go, but it has really changed the whole experience. Yes I know I was quite anti in the beggining but if I am to be honest I see beat matching as a redundant DJ skill and shouldn't really be used to measure a DJs ability any more. I would recomend getting a laptop and traktor as a new starter with controler, not sure if the budget will stretch to that but lap top doesn't have to be brand new. Some controlers even come with Traktor LE which should be more than enough to get started. For the record, there is still a learning curve in terms of understanding the music so software isn't going to do it all for you. It will still require practice, but if you are serious about being a club DJ then this would be the best route in I think. Just so you know, being a club DJ is a completely different bag to being a DJ in the home scenario, it requires a lot of hard work in order to get the experience you need both in and out of the DJ booth. It's not something that you just decide to do one day and expect it to happen, that said, if you have any questions then feel free to PM me. Cheers Nem

i agree 100% with everything you have said, traktor is an awesome program with amazing effects. i learned to dj on traktor and have since moved to cdj's, because of this i have lost A LOT of set flexibillity... but i have GAINED a lot of venue flexibillity. allow me to explain: clubs like the Avalon don't want you doing any set-up, they want you to throw some cd's into the decks and spin. this is why all the big club dj's use cd players. they are there and ready when you are, you just need cd's and headphones. if i had to do it over again, i'd spend more money on the mixer than anything else. the closer you can get to a djm-800 (industry standard) the better. all the set magic you hear from tiesto, armin and the like comes from the mixer. from there get the best set of pioneer cd players you can afford. start recording mixtapes and go.

quote:

Originally posted by CAKE&ICECREAM i agree 100% with everything you have said, traktor is an awesome program with amazing effects. i learned to dj on traktor and have since moved to cdj's, because of this i have lost A LOT of set flexibillity... but i have GAINED a lot of venue flexibillity. allow me to explain: clubs like the Avalon don't want you doing any set-up, they want you to throw some cd's into the decks and spin. this is why all the big club dj's use cd players. they are there and ready when you are, you just need cd's and headphones. if i had to do it over again, i'd spend more money on the mixer than anything else. the closer you can get to a djm-800 (industry standard) the better. all the set magic you hear from tiesto, armin and the like comes from the mixer. from there get the best set of pioneer cd players you can afford. start recording mixtapes and go.

oh yeah man?