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Help - I need a complete DJ setup for under $300 (pg. 2)
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| sash |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dojomaster26
What the is with you? I'm not trying to be cool, or get chicks, or get some money!!! I'm in it for the music! You don't even know me, and you're making these half-assed assumptions?!? Shut the up. |
your original question made it seem like you had $300 to buy a setup, but from your last post it seems someone's paying $300 to do a gig, for which you have no gear. |
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| dj chex |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dojomaster26
What the is with you? I'm not trying to be cool, or get chicks, or get some money!!! I'm in it for the music! You don't even know me, and you're making these half-assed assumptions?!? Shut the up.
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sorry if i pissed you off but origionally i assumed you were like so many people i encountered; people who only spin to gain popularity or something stupid. If you are in it for the music good for u thats the whole point of spinning. |
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| djsphere |
Behringer VMX 100 80$
Numark CDN 22 dual cd player 200$
That's all u cat get. |
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| Dojomaster26 |
Sash: The later is true. The ROTC had a $300 budget for a DJ, so I figured I would look around and try to find a way to rent the setup for one night, because the group doesn't have any equipment (they might have speakers... that would save a ton). I was pretty wrong with my assumption, because a typical goood setup would be close to $4000, so renting would be around $1000 (if I'm lucky) for one night...
The bottom line is that a budget like that is not possible. With that budget the only thing you can do is hire a wedding DJ, like another member said here.
chex: I have encountered many people like what you described. They think they are the s**t because they downloaded some pirated editing software and generic "Techno" tracks off of Kazaa. I've also found a lot of people that do it for nothing but the money, and that really pisses me off.
I was at the one of the only clubs in Hickory (not exactly an Ibiza), Yesterday's. I went to Teen Night, figuring "what the heck? I'm up for some DJ Sammy, etc... It's cheese but the crowd will love it". What I got was a middle-aged DJ that took pictures of random girls, then posted them on the vidoe system. I got to hear a DJ who had a bad attitude about his music. I went in to request a pretty popular song, Basement Jaxx "Lucky Star", and he said "I only play what's given to me". "OK" I said, "Let me head to the car and I'll bring you the CD. He's like "I don't play other people's stuff". It's not the fact that he played crappy Hip-hop for four hours (repeating songs near the end of the set. Ugh!), or that he couldn't fade/mix for s**t (even though he claims that he has DJ'd for over 20 years), or that he couldn't get the sound levels right for the PA system (so everything sounded like poopy anyway) that pissed me off, it was his ATTITUDE. This guy obviously wasn't into the music, the vibe, or anything else in the club.
That's why I wanted to do this gig, even though I had no prior skill (yeah I admit I'm a newb). I know that the ROTC will get a DJ like Terry (the guy that I just ranted about) to press Play on the CD decks, and they will have a horrible night as a result. I wish them good luck with their $125 DJ... |
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| punchline |
Well, not to offend, but were they actually looking for an electronic DJ or just a dj in general. The reason I ask this is because you say you are the only person in the area who knows Techno is an actual genre of electronica.
The reason that people who aren't fans call it all techno, is because it all sounds the same to them. Unless this gig is designed to be for electronic music, they are going to hate listening to an electronic DJ all night. In that situation, going for the $125 mobile DJ is a much better investment than an electronic DJ with no experience. You have to please the crowd, even if you think their taste in music sucks.
You are doing yourself a big favor not getting this gig. You say that you hate DJs who only press start, but I guarantee that is the only way you would be able to make a set sound good with no experience. It is not as easy as it you may think it is, love for the music or not. I was in the bedroom about a year before I first got a gig and it was still overwhelming. The noise, the nervousness, the people coming up to you every 2 minutes while you are beatmatching, requesting a song. My set sounded terrible, and I was a really good mixer in my own house. |
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| Inertia |
listen to the above post. my friend Nacho is an excellent mixer, in his room. he has had his turntables for a year, and his transitions were 100% spot on when i would listen to him at his house. 2 weeks ago, i got myself an amp, some speakers, and had a lil (30-40 people) gathering at my poolhouse. Nacho brought his setup, and he was nervous as before going on. before he was on, another friend of mine was spinning a quite mediocre set on his CD setup. anyways, Nacho could barely lift the tonearm without trembling. eventually, i gave him a lil pep talk and he got his together, and showed us that were there how this thing is done.
yet, whenever he talks about that night, he says it was the biggest lesson he's had. everything was different to him, he says he basically learned to mix again that night.
and this is a guy with 1 year of bedroom experience...
and man, stop trying to convert the crowd into electronica lovers. im sorry to burst your bubble, but.... ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. not for the most part at least. trust me, i know, from experience, unless the crowd is open minded, it wouldnt matter if you bring Sasha himself to spin live, they would NOT like it. the ONLY possible way you can get a group of mainstream mofos to dance to electronica, is, basically forcing them; ie. put them with a BIGGER group of people who do like it, and are dancing. when they are outnumbered (and im talking by at least 100%, in other words, the other crowd is twice as large, and should be at least 60% populated by women) they succumb to whatever is going on, because "its what everyone else is doing". if you ask me, it isnt worth it, no one will ever appreciate the music like we do unless its by personal choice. |
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| bluastigma |
| Of course u need EQ and crossfader! |
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| dj chex |
| so i guess we cool now dojo??? that's sweet what u r trying to do; and yeah i get pissed when i see people like the middle aged man you talked about trying to be a stuck up mobile dj. that actually cracked me up and made me feel better thinking you had the same views on some of these people out there spinning for money. I can just tell you one thing,,, you will learn more on your first night out spinning in front of people than practicing for 3 years straight in your bedroom. :) Just remember, be prepared w/ multiple genres of music including pop; the crowed may act strange that night |
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| Dojomaster26 |
| quote: | Originally posted by dj chex
so i guess we cool now dojo??? |
Yes we're cool. Sorry I yelled at you before:p
I agree that you will get far more experience out at the club than in the bedroom. You have to know how to work your audience, how to get them on the floor, and then keep them on the floor.
| quote: | | stop trying to convert the crowd into electronica lovers |
Conversion per se is not what I was trying to do (although it would really make my night if I made that difference to even one person). I just wanted to increase awareness, show the other side of the coin per se. I know the mainstream mofos wouldn't convert even if I brought Sasha himself to the decks (they wouldn't even know who he was:D ), but I wanted the crowd to hear REAL dance music, not what they've been fed through MTV for their entire lives. Right now the only exposure to the genre that the crowd has had has been with either Dirty Vegas, DJ Sammy, or some generic crap off of Kazaa. Add to that the taunting by Enimem (he disses Moby for 15 seconds, then says "Don't you know nobody listens to Techno?"), and you have an uninformed crowd, a crowd that has the wrong notion of what our music is about. I just want to set the boos straight for them, go "this is real Electronica. Hate it if you want to, but now you know what's really out there."
Going back to the night with that middle-aged DJ, I went into the booth a second time to ask if he could play anything that was Dance-related. He said "I'll see what I have". An hour later, cutting right into the middle of a slow R&B song, he pops Zombie Nation in at full volume and Bass. Not only did it sound like on the PA, but the audience left the floor in an instant (I was the ONLY person left on the floor for the duration of the song). This is not how the crowd should be exposed to dance. All that Zombie Nation did here was put a bad taste in everyone's mouth, making them wish that the DJ didn't cut into a perfectly fine R&B track.
Like Punchline said though, it was probably a good thing that I didn't get the gig, because I would have been easily overwhelmed, and the set probably would have turned into mush by the time the third hour rolled in. |
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| EriK_V |
| you might actually be able to buy one of those "dj in a box" kits. they go for around 500 or so?? maybe less. although, they aren't "the best". |
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| deejay2002 |
| 300 bucks? dont get cheapos.....they are a waste of $$$$ |
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| Dj Spiel |
| quote: | Originally posted by punchline
Well, not to offend, but were they actually looking for an electronic DJ or just a dj in general. The reason I ask this is because you say you are the only person in the area who knows Techno is an actual genre of electronica.
The reason that people who aren't fans call it all techno, is because it all sounds the same to them. Unless this gig is designed to be for electronic music, they are going to hate listening to an electronic DJ all night. In that situation, going for the $125 mobile DJ is a much better investment than an electronic DJ with no experience. You have to please the crowd, even if you think their taste in music sucks.
You are doing yourself a big favor not getting this gig. You say that you hate DJs who only press start, but I guarantee that is the only way you would be able to make a set sound good with no experience. It is not as easy as it you may think it is, love for the music or not. I was in the bedroom about a year before I first got a gig and it was still overwhelming. The noise, the nervousness, the people coming up to you every 2 minutes while you are beatmatching, requesting a song. My set sounded terrible, and I was a really good mixer in my own house. |
I played at 3 gigs. But wasn't all that great. I agree best bet is get a cd deck and a Mix CD throw it in and walk away. |
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