neal666

i know there is a few on here (dj`s that is) so how hard is it?

after d/l`ing escort-ian`s trance mix yesterday (which was quality by the way ) i wondered if it was somthing i could get into and enjoy doing. i dont mean doing it in clubs etc that would take years i suppose but doing it for myself as a hobby/interest?

take it its all cd and mp3 mixing these days? 1210`s are redundant?

what price would a sensible setup cost? what do i need?
how hard is it to beat match?
how hard is it to do stuff like mix songs/ put diffrent vocals over other tunes etc?

cossiegreg1

how long's a piece of string?

I was beatmatching in 4 weeks. i'm still learning now.
I been djing 10 years.(i got them when i was 13)
i started with shitty soundlab deck's then when i couldnt mix any better on them. i saved and bought some 1210's. i still have the 1210's but i now have cdj1000's as well.

try and borrow or have a go on someones decks if you like it buy some cheap turntables(you can pick technics up now for£200), buy a bundle pack of vinyl off ebay(£50) and get practising. if you still like it. save up and buy some cd decks(pioneer Imo) because to be honest the new music isnt really being released much on vinyl.
hope that helps

notroubleclubber

I was always told - if you wanna be a dj ....just call yourself one!!!

Only prob comes when you have to prove it.
Persoanlly wouldnt bother with vinyl these days due to it hardly being used and cd or mp3 mixing is so much better with so many more options.
When starting out, dont just get the all singing all dancing kit as half the stuff on there you wouldnt wanna do to start with. Learn to beatmix 1st then you can start adding effects such as phasing,stuttering,looping etc.Also your find its alot cheaper to cd or mp3 mix to start with (if you know what i mean

cossiegreg1

Tbh £250- 300 he could be mixing on technics, practising. if you can mix on them you can mix on anything. if he likes it then the option is there to buy cd decks, pc dj etc

pa_sjo

Even now, I still wouldn't bother with anything other than 12xx's... Sure, MP3 mixing is going to take over (yergh ) but not quite yet.

You need to have a natural ear for the music, good rythym and an understanding of how music tracks are composed (to be good at it)....

PeteBrom

Ive been playing for almost 8yrs, and went from:

(Jan 01) Soundlabs DL32 direct drive vinyl decks + Soundlab 2channel mixer
(Jan 03) Technic 1200's + Vestex 3 channel mixer with kills & eq
(Oct 03) +1 x Pioneer CDJ 100 mk1 + 1 x Seinhesser HD 25's
(Jan 05) + 1 x Pioneer CDJ 1000 mk2
(May 05) + 1 x Pioneer DJM 500 (4 channel mixer with effects)
(Feb 07) + 1 x Pioneer CDJ 200
(Sept 07) + 1 x Pioneer DJM 600
(Jan 08) + 1 x Mixed In Key (Mik) (software programme)
(June 08) vinyl decks finally retired, leaving me with CDJ only
(Present) 2 x CDJ (200 + 1000) with 1 x DJM 600 + 1 x HD25's + Laptop with MIK

As I was at uni from 02 - 05, i didnt have the budgets to upgrade hardware AND records, so my build up on DJ Hardware was gradual. Its the best way I think, as in terms of hardness to master cd is far easier than vinyl. These days however ive fully migrated across to CDJs, as when im playing out I can have 2 wallets containing roughly 2000 tunes, rather than a stupidly heavy record bag containing 50.

In todays world - the easiest way is just to buy CDJs, as sadly vinyl is dying and most new stuff is mp3 only. The best way in the long term would be to start with vinyl, because if you can master plastic, then cdjs are a piece of p*ss.

In terms of how hard things are, easiest way is to describe my background and history, then you can judge for yourself how hard it is to try and get good....

For the first 4 yrs of my dj ing life i would probs play somewhere between 1 - 5hrs every night, depending what I had going on at the time.

I got my first gig at a party after 3 months, and continued doing parties. The problem I had however was I refused to turn commercial, and as lytham was a commercial place, there were no places to play progressive trance & other none commercial dance out. That all changed when I went to uni in Sheff in Sept 02, home to Gatecrasher (RIP.)...

With in 2 months I got my first break by playing at Hallam uni, and from there i went onto do alot of Sheff related things, the pinnacle being bagging one of the monthly residents at the student version of Gatecrasher, held at Gatecrasher between oct 03 - june 04. Im still lucky enough to have Scott Bond as a reference on the dj cv so to speak It also allowed me to get the odd fun gig back in lytham (playing on the Queens balcony on lytham club day 03 etc)

DJ ing however, despite how much I love it, has always remained a hobbie... so its very much taken a back seat since i moved to manc (may 05 - present.) I did a residency playing electro / house at Flambe in lytham for 18 months, though that stopped when, depite every single one of my gigs causing Flambe to be 1-in-1-out, management changed and they wanted a more 'classical' & 80's themed DJ. We parted ways at that point - im not in this to make money, i do it because enjoy it. Id rather rip my own spleen out than get caught playing Cyndi Lauper!!

These days i mostly knock out mixes for people to d/l online (think alot of you lot will have at least one or two of mine about,) though if the odd decent gig gets offered i dont turn it down! My lot keep mythering to get back into the club scene, but in truth, with a stressful career, g/f & friends - i just dont get the time too. Will see how it goes...


As for how hard it is to get good? Well id say i still have things to learn - a good dj never rests on laurells so to speak. What i will say is u need to master the following:

Beginning: - beat matching, musical phrasing (tunes fit together like a jigsaw, one part will stop just another starts in the new record) + basic set structure

Advanced: Mixing in musical Key, changing the mood / adapting to the crowd, creating your own style.


Summary - if u want to DJ just for fame / attention - please don't. You'll never get good, as your heart isnt in it.
If however your reasons are genuine - id def recommend it as for me, putting on headphones is the easiest&best of escaping from reality there is. 8yrs later i can still play records for hrs on my own (much to the bemuesment of the g/f!!)

Also stick to your guns - dont turn commercial just for the sake of a gig. When i started, i was constantly moaned by friends in the fact i wouldnt play the generic flip/fill type shite, and instead stuck to my guns and played stuff i wanted - your Tilts / Max Grahams of the world. Tables are turned these days, as my lot now love the stuff i do.

Practice practice practice!!!

Hope this helps

pa_sjo

I find that House/Trance DJ's are much happier with digital mixing than say hardcore/dnb DJ's.. the latter are a bit more creative usually..

PeteBrom

i dont agree

With the exception of turntablists, the most gifted of dj s come from the house & techno background - check out zabiela, jeff mills, richard Hawtin & dave clarke. From a trance point of view, i do admit its not the most innovative of genres. Would recommend you have a read on how on how pvd djs though....

http://www.apple.com/pro/profiles/pa...sr=hotnews.rss

kevnoize

i got my 1st decks when i was 16 in 1996, they was some fuckin shite technics that had nobs for pitch control instead of sliders and what a bag of shit they wer. still i tried and tried untill i could beatmatch then i bought some vestax in 1998 dint like them coz the setup was all wrong so sent them back for 1210's, had them till 2005 and got rid and started making my own beats an doin live pa's instead. and now im back on some shit fuckin sony things. but like some 1 said once u can mix u can mix anything on anything!!!!!

1210's id say tho! or for an even cheaper deal download NATIVE INSTRUMENTS TRAKTOR DJ STUDIO and practice on them for the time beeing to get the idea of beat matching.

pa_sjo

I'm not saying they're not skilled, they are extremely skilled; what I am saying is the style of House mixing makes it easier to use digital mixing platforms. The complex techniques often used in jungle etc (not too far away from turntablism) is more suited to vinyl.

kevnoize

ha ha i just found them!!!! SL1800'S

Twellsie

iTrader: (1)

i started out on a pair of shitty belt driven Numarks, i found it pretty easy to get to grips with beat matching, it certainly helps if you are using tunes that you know very well, trance tunes are pretty good to learn with as they are quite structured

kevnoize

4/4 beats cant fault them specialy when there traveling at around 200-300bpm. arrrrrrrrrrrr noize

DazS1Turbo

It's an art I tell thee

As a famous old tune says though "What is a Dj if he cant scratch"

Start off with Vinyl, I cant stand all this new technology

Pair of mk2 1210's and happy days

Im just about to get back into it after a relationship split and i cant wait to dust off the tunes

cossiegreg1

shows how long you been out of the buisness.
Have you used a set of cdj 1000's?

5t1g

here here, who cares if the needle jumps when sounds like this.

In the beging there was jack, and jack had a rule!

Can't wait to get home now

5t1g

There's no doubt that digital cd/mp3 decks are better, you can do more, they have more features... hell, some might say it even takes less skill to mix.

A bit like comparing a saph to an evo 8. Evo is the better car, (please no) more features, but the saph will always have a more rewarding feel to it so that when you pull of that perfect mix you'll know it was you that did it and not some microprocessor doing it for you! The problem is the in-between time from starting to getting to that point often sounds like a bag of clocks

Lets see some picks of peoples set-ups, i'll post mine when i get home!

neal666

lets see some pics of peoples setups then

pa_sjo

My old stuff..

Mixja

ableton live, just turn up with your laptop, job done....

wayne thomas

5t1g,

Pretty sure Jack had a groove .

ECU Monitor Enthusiast

iTrader: (1)

I have 8 off 12010's in 4 rooms at my club

Cant mix to save my ass though...lol

DazS1Turbo

Fraid not and dont intend to mate

wayne thomas

Is right pal, just outed a pair of 1000's, it just aint the same, there'll always be room for the vinyl purists!!

cossiegreg1

I'm not knockin vinyl 1 bit, it took me long enough to buy my cdj's, cos i didnt want to change to digital.
vinyl is ok for mixing old stuff, but where are you going to find all the new stuff on vinyl? 50% of it is not available on vinyl,

5t1g

Not on my bootleg!

Smartdj.

iTrader: (2)

go down cash convertrs pick yours self of 1210's then find a decent pioneer mixer and get somone to show u how....oh and get ya self on redeyerecords.co.uk for some beats...its really easy to pick up as soon as u understand what u have to do....dont use anything else othe that 1210's and pioneers mixer both of them are club standards and u need then ...other wise its a big waist of time....other that that when u pull off your first crisp mix u will be buzzzzing

Smartdj.

iTrader: (2)

pioneer cdj1000's will cost about 800 from new but lern to mix on 12's first