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Djing necessities?

Discussion in 'Entertainment and Technology' started by Zaio, Aug 20, 2013.

  1. Zaio

    Zaio Guest

    Hey EC, I wasn't sure whether or not to put this in 'Entertainment and Media' or here, but this seems more technology based to me, so here goes -

    So, I'm going to get into djing as I have a massive love of music, everybody loves my music and tells me I should be a dj etc so I've been thinking about it and I want to make it happen. Thing is though, I have literally no idea where to start and what to do. So... I need help sorting out what equipment to get, I can probably guess where to go from there, watch tutorials etc and generally get to grips with things like beat-matching.

    I was talking to a friend of my brothers who has played at a few pretty big clubs, like Ministry of Sound and Pacha (he's played in loads of others too), he told me this (copy/pasted): What's up <my name>. Ideally you need pioneer cdj players....most ppl have the 1000 model but they are only for playin cds rele, dnt need to be that high spec. If u visit pioneer.com u can get an idea of which ones do what. All of them count BPM (beats per min) and have play and cue which is all u need. The mixer is the important thing. You can either buy 2 decks and a mixer or use a laptop and download/buy TRAKTOR. Laptops allow you to auto-sync so its easier, a lot say its cheating coz a DJ should be able to beat-match (get the songs in time by ear). I cant rele help you with laptop side of things tho....never used it

    I didn't want to do the laptop way anyway as I agree with what he said, djs should be able to beat-match. I asked him what specifically I should get, but he hasn't gotten back to me and it's been ages.

    So my question - What model cdj players should I get, and which mixer? My limit is probably about £2000, is this enough to get high quality decks/mixer or will I need more? If it is enough, what is the optimal setup/models I should get? Would really appreciate input from anybody who has knowledge in this area, and can tell me exactly what I need/want and the perhaps the differences between models (if worthwhile). Thanks!

    All the best.
     
  2. srslywtf

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    You can still do everything on a laptop :slight_smile:

    You just need to grab a controller, which basically mimics 2 decks + a mixer

    Traktor + combined controller/audio interface or traktor + audio interface + separate controller.


    I would go with some CDJs and a mixer, but I grew up playing vinyl, so I have somewhat of a bias. It's probably easier to get into it via computer nowadays. Learn to beatmatch, I think it's important to know what you're doing.. Then after you've done that, there are lots of really cool things you can do with digital mixing that were never really possible in the past :slight_smile: It's not cheating if you're using the time that would be spent beatmatching to do something better. It was only ever done out of necessity.

    I can't really comment on current gear as I'm so not up to date, I just play old records in my bedroom/at friends house parties these days, gone are my times of playing at big parties.
     
    #2 srslywtf, Aug 20, 2013
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2013
  3. qwr42

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    Just get a controller of some kind, they arent big or expensive.

    Ableton Live is amazing because it was made for live DJing but has all the capabilities of a music workshop.
     
  4. Zaio

    Zaio Guest

    Thanks for the response guys -

    srslywtf: Hmm I don't really want to use a laptop, I do strongly agree with what my mate said, and what you say, djs should be able to beatmatch. I don't want to use a laptop at all and I do want to use CDJs and a mixer, I just need to know what to get really :/

    gwr42: Thanks for the input but I was more looking specifically at pioneers, as I believe that's the club standard, and the gear that most club djs use. I have been looking into it again lately and I do understand it'll be costly actually, so I think I might just wait a few months more so I'll have like £4000 to spend on it, cause I'd imagine that's enough. It seems you can get 2 cdj 900s for just under £2000, and my brother's friend says that the mixer is the important thing, so I suppose I should get a pretty high quality mixer, and they seem to cost quite a bit as well.

    I'm still not really sure what mixer to get though :/ I'm not sure if I even need pioneer's cdj 900s but they seem really good, something I'd definitely want eventually. I'm not really sure if I should go all out right away or not though, because I know it's something I want to do, so it'd make more sense to get the right equipment right away wouldn't it? Would be easier to learn that way too I'd imagine.

    All the best.