New Decks Help

[gal-tek]

hi , after a lot of thinking i have recently decided to get a set of decks as a hobbie , i used to have a set when i was younger and it was all vinyl then . this time tho with the changes in tech and cds surely taking over i am not too sure wether to get a set of turntables or get cd decks. i have practically no dj experience ( apart from spinning my happy hardcore when i was 11/12 ) so what would be best for me ???

[cheeseweasel]

Fuck decks and CDJs nowadays when you can buy things like this. Everything you need to DJ digitally (Traktor LE, MIDI interface, 4-channel audio interface) for just shy of £150.

A lot of releases aren't even being put out on vinyl anymore as it's not cost effective for record companies. I don't see any point at all in buying a set of decks unless you have some sort of vinyl fetish and loads of records already.

[joshd96320]

Originally posted by gal-tek

hi , after a lot of thinking i have recently decided to get a set of decks as a hobbie , i used to have a set when i was younger and it was all vinyl then . this time tho with the changes in tech and cds surely taking over i am not too sure wether to get a set of turntables or get cd decks. i have practically no dj experience ( apart from spinning my happy hardcore when i was 11/12 ) so what would be best for me ???

what genres do you play? do you want to scratch? I personally believe it gives a better vibe when your mixing vinyl - people like it more. I use vinyl, i mainly mix drum n bass. the music is more expensive, turntables are cheaper. I prefer to be able to touch the music.

Originally posted by cheeseweasel

Fuck decks and CDJs nowadays when you can buy things like this. Everything you need to DJ digitally (Traktor LE, MIDI interface, 4-channel audio interface) for just shy of £150.

A lot of releases aren't even being put out on vinyl anymore as it's not cost effective for record companies. I don't see any point at all in buying a set of decks unless you have some sort of vinyl fetish and loads of records already.

them things are a piece of fucking shit. turntables or CD decks, no consoles, piles of poo.

[gal-tek]

yeah i dont think i wana get invloved with the computer dj n digi gear , i also take into account that vinyl arent available widely anymore . prob cd decks are the way forward , the types of music i would be playing would be hard trance / dance . hardstyle and acid trance .

[DaftFader]

i'm oldskool .. vinyl all the way ... love to be hands on ... and analoge for some of the tunes i love does them the justice the deserve .. imo

[joshd96320]

Originally posted by gal-tek

yeah i dont think i wana get invloved with the computer dj n digi gear , i also take into account that vinyl arent available widely anymore . prob cd decks are the way forward , the types of music i would be playing would be hard trance / dance . hardstyle and acid trance .

. Everything that i mix has been available on vinyl, but i think *traditionally* this genre would use vinyl anyway, whereas hard dance / trance is becoming increasingly digitally orientated.

Originally posted by DaftFader

i'm oldskool .. vinyl all the way ... love to be hands on ... and analoge for some of the tunes i love does them the justice the deserve .. imo

yes

[cheeseweasel]

Originally posted by joshd96320

them things are a piece of fucking shit. turntables or CD decks, no consoles, piles of poo.

Why do you say that? Traktor will do anything your CDJ can, plus more. I don't think the sound quality argument is really valid any more - a well-encoded 192kb/s AAC or MP3 is practically indistinguishable from the PCM audio on a CD (I've been involved in plenty of professional listening tests that have proved this). More and more I go to clubs and see the DJs using this sort of gear to mix with, so it can't be all that bad. (I appreciate that that Behringer thing might not be the best sounding bit of kit around, but I'm sure it will sound a lot better than a lot of people's worn-out DJ kit).

For the record, I mix with vinyl and have done for the last 7 years or so. I agree with what's been said about the feel of it - for me no poxy midi interface beats the feel of a record under my hand. I play breaks and dnb (music that has traditionally stuck with "vinyl" when a lot of other genres have moved to CD and MP3). Its only this year though, when I've tried to buy tunes and noticed a lot of them are digital release only (with apologies from record labels appearing on forums, saying the tune isn't being released on vinyl because it's not cost-effective anymore).

So there are two ways to go. 1. Whinge about the demise of vinyl, its "warm", "analogue" sound and get used to playing the same worn-out record collection until you get too old and end up selling your decks, or 2. Embrace the new digital technology, learn to love its distortion-free sound, get used to the plasticky buttons and auto-beatmatching software and make use of its full potential to find new creative ways to mix music.

[General Lighting]

to be fair the behringer kit is actually hybrid and you can connect analogue stuff to it as well.

I can see josh's POV as he is still young and enthusiastic (actually when I was his age analogue was all we had ) but realistically the electronic dance music scene has taken a fucking huge hammering in the last few years.

"back in the day" a lot of dance music labels were funded by events what were funded by drugs sales funded by the crime networks. The Met and other surrounding Police forces have got a lot smarter, used brains (forensic accoutancy) as well as brawn and put a stop to much of this revenue stream, and the drugs market is saturated anyway now and itself eroded by "legal" highs..

The MP3 download culture shut off the revenue stream from the other end. I know so many would be producers who have been forced back into the day job and many who have given up altogether - I've sat at afterparties with people what had record labels and studios a few years back and now they are selling it all and getting jobs in insurance companies etc especially with folks getting older and having kids to look after.

The money has mostly gone out of this scene and people are price concious so it increasingly means a "dual use" of PC equipment what would have normally been in an office rather than people being able to be audio purists, and as much as we all like vinyl it is expensive to produce (and not very environmentally friendly either!)

I am myself am a former DJ (raves, pirate and legal radio) and an experienced AV project engineer who has worked for a few UK and foreign broadcasters - but today work in normal office environments as I get paid several grand more to do this sort of job than to look after kit for "creative industries".

I'm actually thinking of getting one of them BCD3000s myself because I want to get back into music/media production but I know it is always gonna be a hobby in my limited spare time than a proper job so £150 is all I can really afford to spend on it.

[joshd96320]

Originally posted by cheeseweasel

Why do you say that? Traktor will do anything your CDJ can, plus more. I don't think the sound quality argument is really valid any more - a well-encoded 192kb/s AAC or MP3 is practically indistinguishable from the PCM audio on a CD (I've been involved in plenty of professional listening tests that have proved this). More and more I go to clubs and see the DJs using this sort of gear to mix with, so it can't be all that bad. (I appreciate that that Behringer thing might not be the best sounding bit of kit around, but I'm sure it will sound a lot better than a lot of people's worn-out DJ kit).

For the record, I mix with vinyl and have done for the last 7 years or so. I agree with what's been said about the feel of it - for me no poxy midi interface beats the feel of a record under my hand. I play breaks and dnb (music that has traditionally stuck with "vinyl" when a lot of other genres have moved to CD and MP3). Its only this year though, when I've tried to buy tunes and noticed a lot of them are digital release only (with apologies from record labels appearing on forums, saying the tune isn't being released on vinyl because it's not cost-effective anymore).

So there are two ways to go. 1. Whinge about the demise of vinyl, its "warm", "analogue" sound and get used to playing the same worn-out record collection until you get too old and end up selling your decks, or 2. Embrace the new digital technology, learn to love its distortion-free sound, get used to the plasticky buttons and auto-beatmatching software and make use of its full potential to find new creative ways to mix music.

its not the features or potential of the technology, its the build quality, useability and feel of the unit. thats a bad interface on that berry. and the sliders look cheap. I know this doesnt really affect the beginner, but heavy use and its gunna fall to bits, i guess i feel a bit more secure with analogue since it is "simpler" and doesnt seem to break as easy. having said that cdj1000 are good quality, but .. expensive!

[joshd96320]

GL: i see ur point, its just i love vinyl.. ill continue to buy it as one original aspect of me starting to DJ was being able to touch the music.

I will get some CDJs at some point or add a laptop to my arsenal as an extra tool, but the turntables will always be my main tool as long as vinyl is available

[killahertz]

anybody who is thinking of getting the berry should also look at the numark dxm01 usb

[BioTech]

I've mixed with vinyl for 17 years, have loads of vinyl and have only touched a digital mixing format (Cd's/Serato etc) 3 or 4 times. I love the character, sound, collector appeal and feel of vinyl......

...that said, in this day and age I'd recommend to anyone thinking of taking up dj'ing to use digital formats without a shadow of a doubt. Practical, cheap (after the inital cost of the equipment), more secure (if you backup), more flexible and creative and plenty of other reasons.

If you want to be a scratch dj then go with vinyl. For everything else, digital.

Oh and the other downside to the decline in vinyl is that I miss record shops! (good ones anyway)

[Tek Offensive]

Originally posted by BioTech

Oh and the other downside to the decline in vinyl is that I miss record shops! (good ones anyway)

ennit just, simply cant buy records round here.

ive started using cdj's , i dont yet have my own, but at the end of the day your still mixing, theres still a physical connection to the music, only with vinyl its more direct..


i cant afford to buy vinyl, when its so hard to find and hard to preserve. my favourite tunes are sounding crap from so much use and abuse.

where as a cd you can just burn again.

i do think its better to learn on vinyl tho, more hands on

[vernting]

i am in love with my vestax pdx 2000's ,they are so cheap to get hold of from ebay , love the ultra pitch, u can beatmatch any genre together :)

[DaftFader]

Originally posted by vernting

i am in love with my vestax pdx 2000's ,they are so cheap to get hold of from ebay , love the ultra pitch, u can beatmatch any genre together :)

yeah i used to have a pair of them .. they was mint ... till they broke ... i got vestax dx3's or some shit now (they locked up in there coffin atm as i moving my room around ... and i cba to open it to look at the name lol

[Tek Offensive]

ive now fully made the move to digital, bought my mates cdj's. and glad i did, even tho ive had to pack my turntables away to make space, im into mixing more now than i have been all year. getting some sweet upfront and new tunes for once, and tbh i love trawling thru download sites finding the good ones amongst the shite!

i would never buy that berry thing tho, look at the shitty little pitch bend and search wheels. they look about as accurate as a jelly steering wheel. plus you cant just take your cd's or vinyl to a club or mates house.