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dj equipment (pg. 3)
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| feelgood |
| quote: | Originally posted by culorut
...but don't expect to be respected by the scene. If you want respect pay your dues properly, learn your craft with professional tools, not toys. |
This argument has been beaten to a pulp...
Some of the stuff that can be accomplished by going the digital route is mindblowing. Guys like Sasha who create incredible soundscape journeys with ableton dont have anything to prove to a DJ who can spin four decks.
I still spin CDJ's and I had vinyl decks, but sold them (regret this) and its definitely an artform... but its not the defining skill of a dj. |
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| culorut |
Sasha doesn't have to prove anything to anyone. He is one of best if not the best manual beat matching DJ's, he did it without the sync button for a couple of decades at least.
The digital medium should be used for storing your music collection and integrating it into your manual set up. Any DJ who uses the sync button routinely is a phony, they are scared of ing up because they don't have confidence in their abilities. They are pretenders, nothing more. Real DJ's have no fear when playing in front of an audience, even if they up a beat match during one of their sets every now and then they will still be respected because they're only human. |
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| geroin |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yohan
Because throwing a vinyl on a turntable is one sexy feeling. If you don't think this is cool, well...
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agreed, i started buying new and used records maybe a year or two ago (prior to that i just bought a few in 2004-2005) you'd be surprised how many gems you find compared to beatport and other digital sites. not to mention the amount of artist that i like that do vinyl only releases. yes they are more expensive but you dont need to buy more than 10 records a month, especialy when used ones are usually dirt cheap. |
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| geroin |
| quote: | Originally posted by feelgood
Guys like Sasha who create incredible soundscape journeys with ableton dont have anything to prove to a DJ who can spin four decks.
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i read somewhere he went back to cdjs, not sure if true.
this is my beef with laptop djing, if used with a real live setup, like a live set using gear and other then laptop is ok. when used to press sync button on traktor then its ing bull imo. We are not playlists/jukeboxes, if you want to have a spot and play a gig then learn basics of djing.
There was a funny moment at some afterparty once where a guy was told to mix a cd in from his traktor setup because the next guy coming on was using cds, he ed up the mix because he didnt know how to use a cdj, everyone was like wtf is this guy doing. It was so embarassing for him he went out and bought 2 cdjs in a few weeks just so he can learn how to play on them. |
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| culorut |
| quote: | Originally posted by geroin
i read somewhere he went back to cdjs, not sure if true. |
Sasha does go back and forth between his Ableton setup and CDJ's. I bet a lot of DJ's would probably like to go with 1200's more often but the problem is carrying around your entire vinyl collection with you everywhere and that is a bitch to do. Danny Howells still spins with vinyl regularly, maybe not 100% all the time but he brings a good chunk to include in his sets. Another real master at his craft who can back it up.
| quote: | | this is my beef with laptop djing, if used with a real live setup, like a live set using gear and other then laptop is ok. when used to press sync button on traktor then its ing bull imo. We are not playlists/jukeboxes, if you want to have a spot and play a gig then learn basics of djing. There was a funny moment at some afterparty once where a guy was told to mix a cd in from his traktor setup because the next guy coming on was using cds, he ed up the mix because he didnt know how to use a cdj, everyone was like wtf is this guy doing. It was so embarassing for him he went out and bought 2 cdjs in the new few weeks just so he can learn how to play on them. |
I'd love to see the sync button removed from these software programs one day, all these poser DJ's will be forced to learn properly or GTFO completely. The scene will go back to true artists only and not be flooded with wannabe DJ's taking $50 for a 3-4 hour set underselling what a real performance should be by real DJ's. |
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| KStuff |
| quote: | Originally posted by culorut
Does a professional drummer or a guitarist show up to a gig with a laptop instead of their instruments?
The answer is no and neither should professional DJ's, be a professional. If you only want to play in your bedroom buy an all in one piece of junk numark and be a wannabe DJ behind closed doors but don't expect to be respected by the scene. If you want respect pay your dues properly, learn your craft with professional tools, not toys. |
I get your point, but learning the basics of DJing is a long ways away from being a professional. I'm asking if a piece of Numark all-in-one is sufficient to learn on, get a feel of the basics, for a minimal investment of $150 (ie for someone that has never touched anything else before). Then one can evaluate, and try out other more expensive equipment once they're ready to upgrade, have a better idea of the direction they want to go (or quit), and do gigs in public. |
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| spiderpig |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mortyman
... and spend $20/track? As a former vinyl addict, those days are done. don't waste your time or your money. :sadgreen: |
Since when is purchasing vinyl a waste of money? Coming from a self proclaimed "vinyl addict", how can you make that statement? |
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| Jeff Button |
To me the only thing you lose by going digital is beatmatching (which I never had an issue with, ever) - what you pick up is the ability to loop on the fly (extremely effectively), have access to your entire catalogue (with search function) - and using samples with ease. So sure, if you plan on just showing up to a gig with "hot tracks" and use the sync button to mix one track after the other, it's bull. But if you plan on using Traktor to its full potential - it actually makes you more involved in the overall experience and is extremely challenging (and fun)
| quote: | Originally posted by geroin
i read somewhere he went back to cdjs, not sure if true.
this is my beef with laptop djing, if used with a real live setup, like a live set using gear and other then laptop is ok. when used to press sync button on traktor then its ing bull imo. We are not playlists/jukeboxes, if you want to have a spot and play a gig then learn basics of djing.
There was a funny moment at some afterparty once where a guy was told to mix a cd in from his traktor setup because the next guy coming on was using cds, he ed up the mix because he didnt know how to use a cdj, everyone was like wtf is this guy doing. It was so embarassing for him he went out and bought 2 cdjs in a few weeks just so he can learn how to play on them. |
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| jchung52 |
| quote: | Originally posted by geroin
i read somewhere he went back to cdjs, not sure if true.
this is my beef with laptop djing, if used with a real live setup, like a live set using gear and other then laptop is ok. when used to press sync button on traktor then its ing bull imo. We are not playlists/jukeboxes, if you want to have a spot and play a gig then learn basics of djing.
There was a funny moment at some afterparty once where a guy was told to mix a cd in from his traktor setup because the next guy coming on was using cds, he ed up the mix because he didnt know how to use a cdj, everyone was like wtf is this guy doing. It was so embarassing for him he went out and bought 2 cdjs in a few weeks just so he can learn how to play on them. |
In London, I got asked to play a gig once.. I said sure, I need 2-3 cdjs and asked what type of mixer. Reply was "We don't have any cdjs. We have an 800 mixer though you can do sick effects on. Can you bring a usb stick and plug it into my laptop?"
I think for those of us arguing the latop vs cdjs/vinyl debate, is for reasons like this. Punks who think they are hot shot djs cuz they have 50 friends that will go wherever they go. If you use traktor to its full potential (loops, cue points etc) then by all means do it. To me, I still love flipping through a binder, popping in a track cueing it up and stuff. I like to keep busy during gig. It just rattles my nerves when all these "Djs" are playing some of these events. For example. opening dj for Sydney Blu last Saturday trainwrecked a good 4 or 5 big boots. I asked my friend who was bartending who he was. Response: "He's a good friend of the promoter so that's why he is playing"
Maybe I'm just sour cuz the scene here is only so big but it's hard to go out without running into situations like that |
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| PivotTechno |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mortyman
... and spend $20/track? As a former vinyl addict, those days are done. don't waste your time or your money. :sadgreen: |
Unless you're seeking out rare, very hard-to-find items, who pays $20 a track? On average, I'm paying around $8-$12 per 12", shipped, from both the U.S. and Europe. Granted, I only buy a few records at a time, and a lot of them aren't new releases, but I'm one of them thar simple folk who doesn't need to have the latest and greatest 20,000 new tracks in my collection. :p
To wit, some of these are selling for double and triple that price on Discogs - it's all about timing and knowing where to look.
OP PM'd me regarding this - sorry, but I hadn't checked my messages recently. I can only offer a vinyl DJ's perspective, but as you can see, there are plenty of options for you to consider. |
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| geroin |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jeff Button
To me the only thing you lose by going digital is beatmatching (which I never had an issue with, ever) - what you pick up is the ability to loop on the fly (extremely effectively), have access to your entire catalogue (with search function) - and using samples with ease. So sure, if you plan on just showing up to a gig with "hot tracks" and use the sync button to mix one track after the other, it's bull. But if you plan on using Traktor to its full potential - it actually makes you more involved in the overall experience and is extremely challenging (and fun) |
i agree with you in a way but what i'm saying is a set with cds/vinyl would be completely different than a set with a laptop. The fact that you have limited time to search for a record, cueing it and mixing it will change your set style compared to when you have a thousands tracks at your fingertips. You will only have 40-50 records at most to select from and that is the biggest challenge imo. When someone s up during a vinyl mix you know a dj is up there and hes working it instead of a person having a completely perfect set with the help of traktor, unless hes obviously using timecode cds/vinyl. |
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| feelgood |
| quote: | Originally posted by jchung52
For example. opening dj for Sydney Blu last Saturday trainwrecked a good 4 or 5 big boots. I asked my friend who was bartending who he was. Response: "He's a good friend of the promoter so that's why he is playing"
Maybe I'm just sour cuz the scene here is only so big but it's hard to go out without running into situations like that |
Here here buddy. Same thing in Guelph. We've had some big names come through as of late, and historically there have been absolute dj's opening for some pretty talented acts. Some of them are trainwrecking left right and center. Some of them even auto sync incorrectly (one beat off), how is it even possible to suck this bad.
Ive been fortunate to carve a little underground niche at a small martini bar, and so far its been good. Bringing in local talent with proper DJ experience is key. I cant tell you how often Ive had people come up and commend how theres finally a place in Guelph with real DJ's. |
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