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DJ EQUIPMENT????
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| DJ SHY |
THIS IS A QUESTION FOR ALL YOU DJ'S OUT THERE-I AM GOING TO PURCHASE MY FIRST SET OF TURNTABLES  I KNOW TECHINICS SL1200'S ARE THE BEST, BUT THEY ARE ALSO THE MOST EXPENSIVE ($500.00 PER DECK) I FOUND A PAIR OF GEMINI XL-500II DIRECT DRIVE TABLES, A PMX-60 2 CHANNEL MIXER,2 CARTRIDGES AND 2 SLIPMATS FOR $389.00! CAN ANY OF YOU TRANCE ADDICTS WITH EXPERIENCE TELL ME IF THIS IS A GOOD DEAL???? ALSO, IF I HAVE A TWO CHANNEL MIXER CAN I CONNECT A CD PLAYER TO IT ALONG WITH MY TABLES (MIXER HAS 3 LINE INPUTS)  THX IN ADVANCE
CODY |
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| skywarp |
Hehe, the Gemini decks ... something every starting out DJ has to be firmly steered away from. I've posted this once already, but hell, here goes. If you are serious about spinning then please do yourself a favor and get the Technics 1200 MK2 or MK3D ... you'll thank yourself later. If you get any other (ie cheaper / inferior) deck you'll be fine for the first three months or so, then you'll just end up selling them and buying the 1200s (and losing money in the process) ... So what I would do if I was you is following:
a) forget the Geminis
b) get one Technics 1200 MK2
c) get a mixer (one you can use later ... separate 3band EQ for each channel is a MUST if you want to spin trance/techno ... Numark 1001x / 1002x is a good beginner mixer)
d) hook up your CD player to the mixer
e) hook up your 1200 to the mixer
f) play tracks off CD, mix vinyl into it.
g) learn to beatmatch
h) buy vinyl
i) buy another 1200 when you have the money
j) before that happens, take your vinyl somewhere where you can play on 2 1200s and learn.
If you go out and spend lots of money on decks, you won't have money for vinyl, and it must suck very bad not having anything to play on your shiny new decks.
And yes, most 2-channel mixers allow you to hook up a LINE source and a PHONO source on the same channel ... you can chose which one to play through a hamster switch.
And also, turn off your caps lock ! =)
peace |
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| Morbius |
OK, I'm also thinking (only kinda seriously  ) about buying some decks and such... money isn't really a problem for me (for now at least!) so I'd go for the Technics 1200's. But what I'm wondering about is what sort of mixer is good and about how much it'd cost? And what sort of different features would I get in a cheap one vs a more expensive one?
And thank you very much skywarp, I didn't wanna be the one to mention the caps lock problem
ps. what sort of problems would the gemini's give that make them inferior to the technics exactly?
[This message has been edited by Morbius (edited 12-01-2000).] |
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| skywarp |
Morbius, depends what style of music you are planing to spin ... i'll just assume it's trance/techno/house and that you won't be doing any turntablism (since they require two different mixer styles).
If money isn't an issue, get the Pioneer DJM-600 mixer ... extremely nice piece of electronics, very smooth to operate, and quite reliable (from what I've heard). I had a chance to play with it a few times and it is plain amazing. The bad: it will set you back over a grand (about $1200), and it doesn't have kill switches. It includes a 8 second sampler and a beatcounter (which you should NOT use ...) so you'd be set for a while. If you don't wish to spend that much money, another good mixer for about $300 would be the Vestax PMC-170A. Well-balanced mixer, 3 channel, no bells and whistles like the Pioneer, but it does its job really good. Vestax has a range of scratch-mixers so their faders are very high quality and very robust, so they shouldn't break that easily. I've also heard some rather positive comments about Rane mixer but never had the chance of actually using one myself, so I can't really tell you about it. If you want to go a little cheaper still, take a look at the Numark mixers, the 2002x is a nice mixer you can get for under $200 ...
Basically, the main difference between mixers is the fader quality (sound and durability) and the ruggedness ... also, some advanced features come into play at higher prices (ie. samplers, bpm counters, effect processors) but if you're just starting out it only distracts from the actual mixing.
Gemini decks, especially the low and mid-price range have very poor torque. It is very easy to physically stop the platter when you hold the record still (which should not happen) and they also take a long time to get up to full speed. The pitch is not as precise as on the Technics (especially the new M3D pitch slider) and they also tend to lose their pitch slightly - the deck would randomly speed up or slow down slightly ... you wouldn't notice it when listening to music, but it can be very annoying when beatmatching. Also, Tehcnics are built like a tank ... I think they weigh over 30 pounds. That helps absorb vibrations caused by the speakers and also by you messing around with the record. And also Technics decks have a magnetic drive, while the other decks (I'm not sure about the new Vestax and Denon ones) have mechanical drive - so when you put pressure on the platter, you put strain on the motor, which can shorten its life. And another thing, if you ever play out, you'll probably play on 1200s, so it is good to be familiar with the feel of the deck you'll use at a party.
hope this helps
peace |
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| DJ SHY |
Thanks for the reply Skywarp! Sorry if the caps lock is annoying, but the only time I am on a computer is at work. The program I use requires caps lock, so when my boss walks by I have to switch back quickly and start typing  (or maybe I am just to lazy) Back to the topic, I thought the function of a hamster switch was to reverse the action of the crossfader? Also what is the difference in phono and line inputs? The only difference I see between the two numarks you mentioned is one of them has a kill switch, is this an advantage?
Thanks for your help
Cody |
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| skywarp |
The hamster switch is a type of switch, not a function (as far as I am informed) - some mixers do have a hamster switch to reverse the crossfader (why ? i don't know). It looks kind of like this
Yes, the only difference between the Numark 1001x and 1002x are the kill switches. Basically, the killswithces allow you to cut out a given frequency by -36 dB (a little more than the EQ knobs will let you), and they let you do it instantly, while it takes some time to twist the EQ knob, so that allows for some nice effects.
Difference between LINE signal and PHONO signal is their strength (plus phono has some weird frequency stuff done to it, but explaining it would take too long). Basically, your PHONO signal is the signal generated by the turntable cartridge and is around 5-7 mv (millivolt), while the PHONO signal is way stronger because it is already preamplified to an extent. You have to hook up your decks to the PHONO connector or you will be getting only a very quiet signal from your decks. And also, ALWAYS hook up your LINE connections to LINE - phono will try to amplify an already amplified signal and you risk blowing your mixer that way.
peace |
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| Fluoro |
quote:
Originally posted by skywarp:
The hamster switch is a type of switch, not a function (as far as I am informed) - some mixers do have a hamster switch to reverse the crossfader (why ? i don't know).
It is for turntablist, they tend to reverse the crossfader when scratching....
And I thought Phono is the connection for turntables and Line are for CDs...???
Fluoro
[This message has been edited by Fluoro (edited 12-01-2000).] |
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| Joel Fielder |
| Phono is a weak signal and has to be earthed whereas line level is reference +4 dBu with no earth. |
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| sKyBreAK |
I would go for the Stanton STR8-80's and Ecler mixers. :P
Well I have STR8-80's and the Ecler first. hehe.  |
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