I wouldn't mind having a go at abit of DJing?

[LeperousDust]

But i don't really know where to start and it all looks mentally expensive. I love music of all types and i think being able to DJ it sometime would be pretty cool, i'd probably like to play around myself and see what i can put together. Problem is i only have digital music so i'm assuming a midi controller of some sort and some software i can erm... buy(?*) from somewhere would do for a beginner bedroom DJ? If so what should i be looking at on the utter cheap since i can't actually afford it at all. Is there anyway i can check out eBay for bargains? Theres a lot on the internet but i'm overwhelmed if i'm honest, i'm a total novice and a lot of it seems horrendously expensive and out of my league. I don't seem to be finding any threads aimed at the total beginner laptop DJ :( ;D

I'm hoping someone (i think luke?) could point me somewhere in the right direction, and/or maybe some forums to peruse and soak up useful knowledge :)



*;D;D

[Pheebs]

lol! LD you're a proper student - Mister Ebay Mighty and trying to get uber bargains!

I DJ'd a bit at uni - I was proper awful (as in... horrendous) - buuut because I was on Uni FM and lived with a DJ... I didn't have to worry about spending wonga on records and things! In fact... I think the only ever record I used of my own was Nelly the Elephant (which I would put on straight after a God awful trance track and mixed with some craaaaaaaaazy beat!)

Surprisingly this went down really well ;D

I also got on supremely well with a DJ at Jaks and would *always* go chat to him and get dragged into the evening entertainment etc. Was awesome - buuuut after getting to know them and doing some bar work for Jaks, they let me play around for a few minutes here and there and eventually gave me fillers whilst they popped off for a 15min breaks! That was digital mixing and muchos easier than record mixing (although I was still awful at it - but luckily enough to make people laugh and want more! Woo!)

SooOOOo... I would... get yourself some DJ mushtys and give it a go yourself with their stuff before thinking of investing - it's hexpensive stoof! I know you'll probably say "But it was easy for you to talk to a DJ and let him play with his decks cos you're a girl" buuuut another bloke who worked at Jaks got the chance to play around too! We made quite a team :) My advice would be is to participate in *every* student game they do ;D That's how I got to know my DJ and for him to trust me with his equipment *fnar* (even if it did mean eating dog food/drinking LOADs of milk/putting maggots in my mouth/eating worms ;D)

Plus get your butt onto the Student Radio! You'll meet people who DJ through there too and no doubt will be able to have a play :D

[LeperousDust]

Interesting actually i'd not really though about student radio or anything like that actually. And yes i am a proper cheap ass student, but i'm like that naturally i'll buy anything cheap second hand sniped off ebay if i can. I see no point in buying things new usually :p;D

I think if *any* of my friend group was into DJing i'd probably be in there pretty easy now, i just don't know anyone, which means i guess i've got to get my ass out to some events not that i feel i have the time at all...! I don't really want to DJ in front of any crowds as such, i just actually LOVE music and when i'm listening to some songs on my own or with mates i feel i'd love to give a go at properly mixing them. As it stands i'm just a wealth of music knowledge and material i need to fix this!

I might wait until next term and start of all the societies again, see what i can join that would be related like te SU radio.

Thats what i'm after though digital mixing i guess as opposed to real old school vinyl or anything. Since my whole collection of everything is digital.

[Feek]

How do you do the whole scratching and eee eee eee stuff of wobbling the deck about backwards and forwards if you're all digital?

[SidewinderINC]

How do you do the whole scratching and eee eee eee stuff of wobbling the deck about backwards and forwards if you're all digital?

have ye not seen digital decks? They're funky as hell!

[LeperousDust]

How do you do the whole scratching and eee eee eee stuff of wobbling the deck about backwards and forwards if you're all digital?

MIDI controller with software basically, it's all the same really (experts i'm sure would disagree) but it saves me needing thousands of £££'s worth of vinyl and equipment i'm sure :p

[Justsomebloke]

MIDI controller with software basically, it's all the same really


Wash your mouth out with fairy liquid you bad boy dirty boy :angry:


It may take me a while to recover from that outrageous post before I can reply so I will ask, What are we talking here ? Rinky dink Disco mixing for weddings & birthdays or proper mixing as in hands on the VINYL << NOTE THE WORD VINYL ;D

[divine]

Could always get something like Traktor or VDJ to have a play with for a bit, as they'll both work with or without external controllers depending how you want to do it...

[LeperousDust]

Yeah i did fall across software capable without, but i can't see how its really very natural without having a controller, like trying to play the keyboard with a computer keyboard instead of a MIDI keyboard (slight over exaggeration i know :p). But being able to adjust two sets of sound levels tempos etc on the fly naturally doesn't really seem to lend itself to a standard human computer interface. I was thinking nab something alright off ebay anyway, and if i dont like it or use it, i can just put it back on ebay, maybe lose a bit of money but that'd be worth it, and knowing ebay i'd probably turn a profit as well ;D:D

JSB, i know sod all very much about DJing but the clubs i go to, none of them use vinyl anymore from what i can see, and they've all got 3 massive monitors and MBP's lying around, so if they're doing it that way, i'd hasten to think its probably pretty mainstream and more than acceptable now :p Apart from being hella cheaper and easier at a guess...?

[divine]

I think luke uses Technics 1200s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SL-1200) hooked up to his PC somehow but I might be completely wrong.

[Dr. Z]

Traktor and a controller = awesome.

Anything other than a setup like that (there is LOTS of software out there, Pete Tong uses Ableton Live for example) and it HAS to be vinyl.

I think the Pioneer CDJ1000Mk3s can play MP3 CDs and DVDs so that might be worth a stab but they are R I D I C U L O U S L Y expensive.

Fresh Air is the Edinburgh Uni student station. They are nowhere near as good as my old station but the society is MASSIVE. Check out http://www.freshair.org.uk/

[Garp]

Some new kit that's on its way:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/17/hercules-introduces-dj-control-steel-mixing-deck/

[LeperousDust]

Noticed that myself, i religiously read engadget too :p It's still a dream atm, but i'm always thinking about it, just need to talk to the right people spend a little bit of money but i have an aversion to doing that :D

[Garp]

Noticed that myself, i religiously read engadget too :p It's still a dream atm, but i'm always thinking about it, just need to talk to the right people spend a little bit of money but i have an aversion to doing that :D

It's one of my google reader subscriptions, source of good stuff along with boingboing and gizmodo :)

[luke]

I think luke uses Technics 1200s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SL-1200) hooked up to his PC somehow but I might be completely wrong.

right, sorry i haven't seen this thread before

i have been djing since i was 18, i'm 31 now

it depends on your budget, but obviously you need the best you can get.

now i have seen friends over the years spend many £100's on dj setups only to realize thay cannot mix for ****. if you know you have rhythm then carry on,, if not get a budget set up to see if you can

so if you are serious, then you need 2x pioneer cdj 800's and a laptop running serato with a suitable mixer. serato is the way forward tbh, i will never use anything else, a set up like this will cost you £2-3k

if you are just starting out then get a budget mixer, and 2x cdj-200's prolly cost you £400-600 depending wether its second hand and the quality of your mixer

i always say get the best mixer you can

i use serato with 2x technics 1200's as a control interface. now this is because i have had my technics decks for 10 years but pioneer cdj's are a better bet as a controler for serato

you dont need serato, you can just get 2 cdjs and a mixer as ive said, its all personal preference, but the options are infinate

if you have a budget i'll spec you something :)

meanwhile here's me spinning it up with my setup, minus the recent effects modules and stuff i added :) :

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