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Advice for my situation on the endless debate.
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| nousplacidus |
I am going to be making my initial investment in my gear, and the obvious question that every aspiring bedroom DJ asks him/herself has come up. Unfortunately, I'm at an impasse.
I see the obvious strength of the CDJ being the copious amounts of music I can immediately start mixing. And in reality it accomplishes the same task as its Vinyl counterpart.
That said, DJing/Mixing has always been about vinyl. It somehow seems like I'm cheating if I used the CDJs. Thats not to say that people who use them are cheating or aren't "real" DJs, but to me having your fingers on the Vinyl with that touch, feel, and control at your fingers enables you in a lot of ways the CDJs can't.
So I guess, my question is, with Vinyl will I have an advantage with that tactile response? Is the difference that I described real or simply perceived?
New to the forums, thanks for taking the time to respond. :happy2:
[EDIT] Im rarely going to be doing heavy scratching, mostly mixing house/garage and some trance (not togther!) |
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| djthunderbird |
In my opinion it would make absolutelly no sense startin to dj on 12" today (Ofcourse unless you want to learn to scratch or want to play on 12" because they seem cool)
If you want to be able to play at parties asap then CD is the obvious choice since 80% of todays tracks are released digitally months before the 12" arrives and you wouldnt want to play outdated tunes now would you?
On another note: when you learn how to mix 12" you also already know how to mix cds. Vice versa its not so easy.
Look at todays top djs. None of the djmag top play 12" anymore and many of them are already beyond cd's too.. playing with ableton etc..
so long story short: If you want to scratch or learn to mix just to appreciate the art of Djing then 12" is a way to go.
But if you want to be competitive in todays dj market then its CD all the way.
(I started djng in 2001 and back then there were no digital releases and I started to play 12". nowadays I play about 95% of my tracks from cd..) |
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| nousplacidus |
This is exactly the response I was expecting. To be honest I think everyone who starts DJing does it with the distant thought of mixing for a seething mass of thousands of adoring half naked women in some distant location, but initially I am looking at it as a way for me to enjoy the amazing music I love so much and then participate in it.
So I assume because of my romantic/aesthetic side I should go with 12" because if I ever do decide to DJ professionally I can always pickup a pair of CDJs, and this way I will be able to do both.
Mind you the chances that I will ever end up at a party, let alone a club, DJing are slim (I have a 40 hour a week job that pays me well). But maybe having my job makes it easier? I don't know, but its a distant aspiration. |
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| AnomalyConcept |
You never know if you'll end up at a party =). Just keep that in mind, but don't let it be an absolute deciding factor.
You can still rock parties with older music. One thing to consider is the availability of the tracks you want in the genres you mentioned. I know there isn't a wide selection at the local record shop for me, so digital downloads -> CD is the better option for me. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| theres nothing wrong with starting on 12". sure its more expensive in the long run, but it also stops you buying every tune that everyone else has already downloaded. it also depends on how much edm you actually like. i like only a tiny fraction so the cost of vinyl is irrelevant to me if im only buying 15-20 tunes a year. dont let anyone turn you off 12", its still alive and kicking :) |
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| Alex |
| quote: | Originally posted by djthunderbird
In my opinion it would make absolutelly no sense startin to dj on 12" today (Ofcourse unless you want to learn to scratch or want to play on 12" because they seem cool)
If you want to be able to play at parties asap then CD is the obvious choice since 80% of todays tracks are released digitally months before the 12" arrives and you wouldnt want to play outdated tunes now would you?
On another note: when you learn how to mix 12" you also already know how to mix cds. Vice versa its not so easy.
Look at todays top djs. None of the djmag top play 12" anymore and many of them are already beyond cd's too.. playing with ableton etc..
so long story short: If you want to scratch or learn to mix just to appreciate the art of Djing then 12" is a way to go.
But if you want to be competitive in todays dj market then its CD all the way.
(I started djng in 2001 and back then there were no digital releases and I started to play 12". nowadays I play about 95% of my tracks from cd..) |
I believe DJ Dan still uses almost purely vinyl, but ya he's one out of the top10 that does... So your point still makes sense hehe :toothless |
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| i got big pants |
you also need to ask yourself what type of genre you'll be spinning. i know there are some genres where vinyl is still used on a quite frequent basis.
drum n bass is that way although its slowly taking steps to the digital world...but still, from my views, is predominantly vinyl |
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| nousplacidus |
Genre: I like a lot of different types. With a gun to my head, I would go with Trance or some House with Soul elements in it (some people call this Garage I think).
As it was posted before I don't need to be on the bleeding edge, I would rather have a good selection of tracks that I like. Furthermore, I've never been well connected on where to find good tunes/tracks if I could get some suggestions on websites/magazines/etc. that have reviews of albums or just good tracks that would be great.
Also, if you want, can't you have tracks cranked out on vinyl over the inet for like 20 bucks (not cheap, but available if you're desperate)?
I guess it all comes down to the fact I can't seem to convince myself that using a CD is going to be the same experience, and seeing as how this is going to be a hobby for a long time, I might as well enjoy the aesthetics of it.
Finally, I do OK with my 9-5 so I do have a little money to spend on vinyl, granted I'm not going to be throwing a grand down the drain on records every year but I feel like I can afford to go vinyl if I want to. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| if the cost of vinyl isnt off-putting then i say go with 12". its less forgiving than CDs, it'll teach you to be better imo. you can always add CDs later. plus, ive always thought theres nothing quite so cool as the feel of the wax ;) |
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| IntegraR0064 |
| quote: | Originally posted by nousplacidus
Mind you the chances that I will ever end up at a party, let alone a club, DJing are slim (I have a 40 hour a week job that pays me well). But maybe having my job makes it easier? I don't know, but its a distant aspiration. |
haha, I have a 40 hour a week job that pays me well too, and I find the time to spin out at clubs. It's more of a hobby though...I'm not touring the world or anything ;).
By the way, hit me with a PM if you're interested in buying some new equipment for really cheap. |
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| Raveaddict19 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Alex
I believe DJ Dan still uses almost purely vinyl, but ya he's one out of the top10 that does... So your point still makes sense hehe :toothless |
Nope, DJ Dan and Dave Aude just came to my town a few months ago and I got to chill with him. The exact conversation we had was about his switching to CD's and ditching the vinyl. It was funny because he actually was asking me (and 18 year old kid) about ableton and what not haha :crazy:
I started about 2 years ago, and while I do own techs and a fair share of vinyl, i would agree that if someones starting, go the cdj or strictly laptop route. The only reason I have vinyl is because I still find tracks that come out only on vinyl and alot of old releases that havent made it digital and might not ever make it are only obtainable on wax...of course I immediatley rip that to a Wav file and thats that.
But yeah, I agree with the first repsonse completley. |
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| ASFSE |
| quote: | Originally posted by nousplacidus
It somehow seems like I'm cheating if I used the CDJs. |
i don't see how it would be cheating.
i always recommend SSL + 1200s, otherwise laptop + midi mixer...skip the cdjs. |
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