|
I am thinking of selling my gear...
|
View this Thread in Original format
| Ted Promo |
to get a macbook + Ableton (and save up for a MIDI controller). Initially I was going to get my macbook and keep my cdjs and mixer, but I've fallen on financial straights and am debating on going all digital simply for cost effectiveness.
I know I could get my macbook for about a grand (I want one with at least 2 gigs of RAM and maybe a 120 gig HD) and then I wouldn't have to spend money on cd-rs and cd books any more. My only hiccup right now is if I sold my gear I'm not entirely certain if I could get enough money to get the macbook immediately which is what I would prefer.
My setup for right now (that I'd be selling) is
2x Pioneer CDJ 200's (about 2 years old)
1x Pioneer DJM 500 (that I got used and have used for a year)
Thoughts, ideas, arguments? Anything would be appreciated. I know I'll be gutted the day I sell my if I decide to. |
|
|
| Alex |
Have you played with Ableton a lot? Like really, a lot?
Because it could be a very regrettable decision unless you've had lots of experience trying both and then make a decision!
Also, do you work? It would be better to toy with a demo of ableton while saving your pennies for the entire set up, and once you have close to enough saved up, then sell your other gear and you'll have an abundance of moolah to get the extra guarantees/order from the BEST site or buy from the BEST store.
It's a big decision to go all digital, and while it may seem cost effective in the long run, it's big monies when starting out and the entire cost of the thing can put a real damper on the enjoyment of it.
This is all based on experience too, I went from a gear whore to using my PC and a low-cost midi controller to mix, and I have no REAL desire to go and spend a ton of moolah on gear either, I'm quite satisfied with what I have.
(Also, having a macbook and ableton and no midi controller would kind of be silly, so I suggest you have ALL your money in order for all 3 components, buying them one at a time might be ok but it will be frustratingly boring to not be able to use it all) |
|
|
| Ted Promo |
Well the other thing is I need a laptop for school as well. It'd be pulling double duty. The MIDI controller can wait I think while I really get the hang of Ableton. I've messed around with it a bit and I like it, but not enough to consider myself good by any means.
The main things are:
macbook + Ableton
- less money in the long-run
- I can use it for school and plan to (if I got it)
- can still mix music
- can also make music
current setup
- I love it
- I can mix alright on it and know it by heart
- easier setup at gigs (not entirely certain how a macbook would work in this regard sans MIDI controller which means if I had a gig I would have to bank on a friend letting me borrow his ).
I think overall the usage I would get out of the macbook would surpass what I get out of my current setup. And as life would have it, at this current juncture I can't have the best of both worlds. |
|
|
| Spirit5 |
I was in a similar dilemma back in April after I sold my CDJ 1000s and two KRK RP8 monitors. I ultimately chose to spend it on CDJ 200s, DJM 400 mixer and KRK RP5 monitors (I didn't really need most of the extra features of the CDJ 1000s, and didn't scratch/use vinyl mode). If you seriously think you have the time to devote to learning music production, along with Ableton, then fine, but you might miss the hands on aspect. My suggestion? Either upgrade to say the CDJ 400s next year, sell your mixer perhaps and get something like a Nuo 4 (which is a better mixer IMO, esp for digital) and invest in getting a laptop and Serato or Torque or something in the future. You won't have to buy as many CDs, and you can also use the laptop to produce/mix. I know Macs are typically better, but I'm sure you could get a pretty decent Toshiba, Sony or even HP (you can probably get a student discount from HP or Dell) for a lot less...with say a dual core processor, 2gb of RAM and a 120 or 160gb HD...probably for something like $1,499 - $1,599....you would probably get something more basic from Apple for that much.
So basically.....
Sell Mixer (you probably will be able to get $400 - $500 out of that..maybe $600). See about getting a Nuo 4...possibly used.
Then either sell your CDJ 200s next year and buy CDJ 400s, or keep the CDJ 200s.
Buy either a MacBook if you have the money or Toshiba or Sony laptop (unless you want to save even more and go HP or Dell, but Toshiba and Sony make superior laptops..just make sure you get at least a 5,400 RPM HD or better yet a 7,200 RPM...4,200 is slow..believe me..I have a four year old Toshiba laptop). |
|
|
| Max Thomson |
| I'm in the same boat bro, will soon be trading it all in for an Evo 5 and a MBP. my only advice is make sure u know exactly what you're doing, it could get quite expensive if you don't! |
|
|
| Spirit5 |
| Edit. Went to Apple's website..your talking $1,449 for a MacBook, which is fine..but I think 13'' is quite small for the screen. So maybe it's not that much more..but I guess I'm partial to PCs...haha. You can get a Toshiba A200 with a 2.4 ghz Intel Core2Duo processor, with a 15.4' screen, 2gb of RAM and a 120gb HD for $1,319.or a little more ($1,379)...you can throw in a pretty decent video card too in case you play games or watch DVDs. Basically a slightly better system without the Apple name/Mac OS-X, but Vista really isn't that bad (and XP SP2 is decent as well). Now that Mac's use Intel processors, the only big difference is the name/operating system...most of the other parts are the same. Even if you don't play games or do extensive things like video editing and graphics, you want the best processor you can get cause those things usually aren't upgradeable in laptops. Not a huge difference between the two procs other than speed, but you get a little better for your money through Toshiba. |
|
|
| Beatflux |
| Make sure you know what goes into mixing with Ableton Live. |
|
|
| ASFSE |
| i would keep the pioneers...but that's just me. |
|
|
| ô§§|E |
| I sold my setup, moved pure digital using Ableton, i love it, but i never saw putting a record and beat matching as part of DJ'ing (any monkey can do this), if that's what you like, then don't change. If you want to be more creative, and layer lots of different tracks then get Ableton. |
|
|
| miamitranceman |
| quote: | Originally posted by Beatflux
Make sure you know what goes into mixing with Ableton Live. |
+1.
It's a great program no doubt, but to me, I could never give up my cdjs completely for a midi controller.
So you have no laptop right now?
If you do, or even a desktop, you could get a DVS and not have to burn cds and more. That'll save you some money in the long run. |
|
|
| Allied Nations |
personal opinion? I'd never do that.
cdjs are just so good to have... especially a good set of pios...
and as for ableton, its wack anyways... why on earth would you want to mix on it? :p |
|
|
| nefardec |
i could never do that.
ableton's just not fun compared to decks. |
|
|
|
|
