Before you start buying equipment and things like that, you need to be sure that this is what you want to do. You have to realise that DJing is a lifestyle. You buy your equipment, but it doesn't stop there, because you'll always be buying the latest tunes and looking for those older ones that elude you. Not only that, but you'll always be wanting to upgrade your equipment. To DJ is to have no money for anything other than vinyl.

Having said that, DJing is great fun, ask any DJ. I love it, I love the lifestyle, I love going vinyl shopping and I love going clubbing.

So before making any quick decisions on buying turntables you need to make this decision.

Once you have made this decision, tell us what kind of a budget you're on. It's very difficult to tell you what to buy and what not to buy unless we have an idea of how much you're willing to spend. Really bottom of the range, piece of shit equipment that will last five minutes will probably cost you around $250 - $300 to get started. Records are not included in that figure. Top of the range, best you can get equipment can cost anything up to $2000 if that's what you want to spend. (I'm just talking turntables and mixer here, other bits like sound system are totally separate to this.) You will probably want to be somewhere in between, so just direct us to where.

Hey thanks for the reply.

Yes, this is what I want to do. I spend all of my money on computer equipment now, so spending money on DJ equipment for a change will be nice

Price range...Mediocore, don't want top end, don't want POS that will last 5 minutes So I'm just looking for prices before I go and say yay or nay to anything.

Again, thanks for the help!

check out www.pssl.com they got a crap load of dj stuff

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I was in the same boat as you about a year ago when I finally decided to become a DJ. I spent a whole year saving my money, talking to DJ's, and really researching equipment and finally I am getting my equipment in about 2weeks. This is what I have decided on...

Mixer: Vestax PCV 275 ( $389 @ www.123dj.com )
Offers really nice features like EQ Isolaters and such which ya might not want at first but ya will down the road
Headphones: Sennheiser 280HD ( $84 @ yahoo shopping )
Come highly recommended
Turntables: Numark TTX-1 ( $389each @ www.123dj.com )
Cant say much about this table yet since it doesnt come out for a few more days but it is boasting a lot
Cartridges: Ortofon Concorde DJ's ( $110each @ www.pssl.cpm )
From all my research Ortofons are the bes. Although these arent top of the line Ortofons they are awesome


From all the research I have done this is the best setup IMO. As DJTJ said, you always want to upgrade your gear so I decided to start out with pretty decent stuff instead of the lower end gear. The only thing I would change in this setup is possibly cartridges and turntables. If ya needed to save a few bucks you could always go with Shure M35 S's. I hear they work great and are only $50 a piece. I would also look into Technics 1200's as they are the industry standard. I only chose the Numarks cause they have awesome new features and if they turn out to suck I can easily unload them ( DJ's in my area are total idiots and all want the TTX-1's for the looks so I can sell them fast enough). The Numarks are definitly a gamble tho since in the past Numarks track record isn't real great. If ya dont want to take a chance go with the Technics.

Hope this helps a little as I am not an expert and can not offer a ton of insight ( I tried =P )

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Evil is an art and I'm friggin' Picasso!! ~Veldrid

Hey thanks for the input sir! I'll definitely have to do some more research on this...

But just out curiosity, is it the sound mixers that give you those special effects?

My school has this awesome Yamaha "mixing console" that we use for our sound in the auditorium (I know all about it since I helped set it up and I run it 98% of the time).....I wonder if I coul hook up some turn tables to that and see what would happen...hehe thanks again!

quote:

Originally posted by DJTJ Before you start buying equipment and things like that, you need to be sure that this is what you want to do. You have to realise that DJing is a lifestyle. You buy your equipment, but it doesn't stop there, because you'll always be buying the latest tunes and looking for those older ones that elude you. Not only that, but you'll always be wanting to upgrade your equipment. To DJ is to have no money for anything other than vinyl. Having said that, DJing is great fun, ask any DJ. I love it, I love the lifestyle, I love going vinyl shopping and I love going clubbing. So before making any quick decisions on buying turntables you need to make this decision. Once you have made this decision, tell us what kind of a budget you're on. It's very difficult to tell you what to buy and what not to buy unless we have an idea of how much you're willing to spend. Really bottom of the range, piece of shit equipment that will last five minutes will probably cost you around $250 - $300 to get started. Records are not included in that figure. Top of the range, best you can get equipment can cost anything up to $2000 if that's what you want to spend. (I'm just talking turntables and mixer here, other bits like sound system are totally separate to this.) You will probably want to be somewhere in between, so just direct us to where.

i agree with most of that........xcept.....i dont feel like i need to upgrade my equipment
<---(techz and a pioneer djm600 mixer )

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From my understandong most effects ( other than the EQ fades and cutouts ) are obtained through samplers and sequencers except on some of the higher end mixers or mixers with built in KAOSS pads. I plan on getting a Yamaha SU200 for this, that was another reason I chose the Vestax PCV 275, it has 3 inputs so I can have my turntables and the sampler all hooked up. This would allow me more creativity in my mixes and even allow me to make minors remixes of tracks. If I remember correctly the Yamaha runs from $300-$400.

Someone plz correct and enlighten me if I am wrong

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Evil is an art and I'm friggin' Picasso!! ~Veldrid

Ok then maybe my perception of Dj'ing just got turned upside down...

What do you do when you spin then? What is the point of the mixing console?

if ur in Chicago check out Midwest Stereo

www.midweststereo.com

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The mixer allows you to take Track A and "mix" it with Track B. You can do this with a crossfader or as most DJ's do it, with equalizers. There a little tricks that you will learn with your mixer and turntable to make some kewl transitions but a sampler is what really allows ya to make the real kewl sound effects and such. A sampler allows you you make loops of a part of a song so you can add vocals or extended part of a song. They also have effect banks in them so you can distort and change your loops and/or tracks.

Your best bet is to talk to a DJ in person and try to get a demo or go to a music store so they can elaborate and show ya live on some equipment.

Also check out some DJing software like PCDJ. It isnt much but it will give ya a general idea as to what DJing is.

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Evil is an art and I'm friggin' Picasso!! ~Veldrid

I get it...Ok that's what I thought it was then, but it looks like I'll have to learn how to use the software...tried Fruity Loops before, but didn't work out too well