- This topic has 41 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated September 1, 2008 at 3:01 pm by AGENT 15.
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July 19, 2008 at 3:23 am #1045026
OK so for years Ive always wanted to learn how to mix. I’ve always wanted to take my love of electronic music to the next level…
I’ve always thought Itd be too expensive, and considering i know fuck all, I though Itd be too difficult to get Into. Im sick of living In the “I wish I could/did” phase of life and have decided I want to have a crack at It. I need something to channel myself Into anyway, all I do Is pay my bills and spend the rest on getting muntered every weekend.
I was a bit hesitant about asking tbh, It almost feels like Im asking what wheels do on a car on a mechanics forum… But Im not that good a mates with any full time DJs in real life, and thought It best to get the advice of some of you lot who know what your on about. Rather than making mistakes myself even If I did my research.
Anyway. I need to know what to save for basically. I have nothing at the minute, and know fuck all either, so just drop a few names and models and some price ranges. I obviously need the whole lot, cheap bedroom sound system Included. Thankfully me old mum Is an oldskool raver, so no skimping on the power here 😀
I love my Hardtek and oldskool harcdcore/techno/hardcore breaks mostly, so Id love to build on those. Im happy looking through playlists and that though to get some tunes sorted, but I suppose I can sort that out later down the line lol. Itd be fuckin ace to build a decent collection of oldskool, but I know they are expensive on vinyl. And yeah I want vinyl… Not changing my mind on that one, after much thought 😉
I read that Its best getting some decent decks and what not to start off with, rather than some shitty ones and buying something else later, as If Im serious, Im inevitably going to get something better, so best to learn on the from the start…
So… Where to start then? :group_hug
July 19, 2008 at 10:11 am #1176302i’d suggest getting a half decent pair of direct drives to start of with as you dont want anything thats crap and if you decide after a couple of months that you dont wanna mix anymore you have’nt spent shedloads of cash on getting them either.
July 19, 2008 at 11:45 am #1176294Second hand Technics mate.
2 x Technics plus a half decent mixer go for about £400-£500 on Ebay.
July 19, 2008 at 3:22 pm #1176310bear in mind that recently many new dj tools have come out to the point where vinyl mixing is becoming obsolete.
The CDJ 1000mk111 pioneers are good but a bit pricey! I have a pair as i can afford them but i would advise looking at software djing such as Traktor 111. You dont need a hugely powerful pc to operate and it will sync bpms saving you the bother and allowing more focus on the quality of the mix
Also ableton can be used for djing but takes a while to figure out the system as it is a muliti function type of audio software
back off to glade now
July 19, 2008 at 6:16 pm #1176291i reckon there will be loads of second hand technics on sale as the recession bites and bedroom DJ’s sell kit plus clubs close down – and whilst vinyl is slowly becoming obsolete theres still obviously a large back catalogue of it available..
Think of how many bedroom DJ’s have become parents recently and unless they have a big house as their kid grows up the “decks/studio room” is usually the first to go – either the space is needed for the baby or people have to spend more time parenting and less partying, and sound equipment becomes a large cash asset lying idle at the same time the kids are approaching school age – babies/kids are expensive!
Dom is young and should seize the opportunity to follow his dreams whilst he can… I agree digital stuff is good but its also complicated and not as “fun…” (and this comes from someone with 25+ years IT experience)
July 19, 2008 at 11:46 pm #1176313I’m in the same boat Dom. Got home from Beatherder and realised that I really wanted to do something worthwhile. Thought about it and like you my love of the music led me to the thought of trying to mix some stuff etc. Few friends I know that like this kind of thing talked about fruitloops (mixing software program) so have downloaded that. As mentioned earlier in the thread though it looks complicated :crazy: . So basically I’m jumping on the band wagon and hoping someone could help me out a bit with how to use fruitloops :hopeless:
July 20, 2008 at 10:11 am #1176295NoooOOOOOO!!!
TOO MANY Dj’s:laugh_at::crazy_druJuly 20, 2008 at 11:38 am #1176314april;227928 wrote:NoooOOOOOO!!!
TOO MANY Dj’s:laugh_at::crazy_drui laughed :weee:
July 21, 2008 at 8:51 am #1176311Get a pair of 1210s, they are going for stupid money now as (stupid) people are chucking them out in favour of CDJs. Check out eBay, or Gumtree. Local cash converter type shops?
July 21, 2008 at 11:34 am #1176312They are not technics but they are cheap…
Stanton STR8-80 Direct Drive Decks and SMX-251 Mixer
These were a gift to me and never really got the use I planned, prehaps used four times since new!
Need to clear up the space in my room so they have got to go.
Decent entry level package RRP £445
Specs can be found here
http://www.djsuperstore.co.uk/=froogle/item/turntable-mixer/p01291049-stanton-mix-pak-pro-str8-80-smx-251-package-%C2%A3445.00Looking for £180 ono
July 21, 2008 at 11:46 am #1176306I have been offered my mates boss’s 1210s (not sure what mixer, but Im told very good) and his HUGE oldskool collection for £800… Apparently Its absolutely mint condition and he has had them regularly serviced. Im gonna go and look at them sometime this week or weekend. He reckons he’s got some rare vinyls but Ive only heard that off my mate, who doesn’t know many names to mention them.
I was downsizing my car anyway, which is for sale at the moment. As far as I see It, although Its expensive buy for a first timer, I cant go wrong for that price and I can always sell for alot more later on down the line If I change my mind…
August 30, 2008 at 10:52 pm #1176315bumping this thread as I’m now seriously considering getting some form of dj’ing equipment.basically i know nothing about ti and don’t really know any dj’s yet that i can get to help me learn so its going to have to be a DIY jobby.so how much am i looking at having to spend?i’d rather buy some ones that are decent and going to last rather than buying shitty things and having to fork out more down the line…if theres a line.also, should i be looking at vinyl or cd’s these days?space could be an issue as well since im moving into halls of residence :/
i basically need a “DJ’ing for Dummies” guide :p
oh and a question to those who started out with no knowledge and no guidance…how’d you manage it?
and when did the DJ’s out there start DJ’ing?i always get this horrible feeling about this type of thing that I’m strarting out too late and so theres no point, hence me never actually doing anything with my life these days :/
August 31, 2008 at 3:08 am #1176326I started out just like that, Ya Wee…no help and nobody to ask. The only way to learn is to practice constantly and trust what you already know about the music. It took me a while before everything clicked, particularly how sequencing works but the rest is pretty much intuitive.
A few years after I started getting really good at it, there was in fact a “Dj’ing for Dummies” type of book released which, had I had it, would have saved me months of frustration. It’s called….ah….How to DJ Right. And I looked on Amazon just now – there actually is a “Dj’ing for Dummies.” Go figure.
It’s possible to do it without a book, without any prior knowledge of how the music is put together, and on. I imagine you can count to 16, yeah? That’s pretty much all it takes.
A non-technical tip I’d offer you is that once you think you’re good enough to play out (if you dedicated enough to get to that point) wait and practice for a little longer. Then play…and don’t get cocky. It’s always better for people to be surprised at how good you are than to be disappointed with how much you suck.
August 31, 2008 at 10:17 am #1176303I started out on an old pair on ion belt drives … stupidly hard to control and mix with … but i learnt … i started with no vinyl and mixed old rock vinyls of my dads, from that point on having used and learnt with the worst i found my skills when it came to ‘good’ directs was great. i suggest you do the same, remember, not everybody likes it and when youve got a pair of tek 1210s or pioneer cdjs (above the 100’s anyway) sitting there it can only be regarded as a shame in my view i suggest learning from the bottom and being a true bedroom DJ, have a laugh and a f**k about, if it works out then sweet, improve your kit and move upwards but i wouldnt suggest throwing a bag a sand at it from the off. imo anyway 🙂
Ive only been DJ’ing for around half a year properly and two and a half as a bedroom DJ. I could mix rock, drums and bass, house/hardhouse and now my all time favourite psychedelic trance. i started when i was 17, it is never too late to learn how to DJ if anything being a drummer before helped me hugely i think a little more music experience is a good thing when it comes to age.
the only thing that ever held me back was money (the vinyl i owned up until a few house records were all not mine) and then i took out a mega overdraft to take up the psy on my stanton cd decks. O and another thing that held me back was thinking im not any good, dont do the same to yourself, if people want to hear you then f**k it, try and give ’em a show.
all the best squire 🙂
August 31, 2008 at 10:26 am #1176298Digital-A;233556 wrote:if people want to hear you then f**k it, try and give ’em a show.I want to hear you on the radio 😉
August 31, 2008 at 10:42 am #1176304if we can do it before the end of september then sure i move to nottingham then you see 🙂
i just need a decent internet connection, my wireless is ham!
i know i know … ive saying ill get on there for ages, im just trying to think where i could do it :hopeless:
August 31, 2008 at 11:04 am #1176299Digital-A;233558 wrote:if we can do it before the end of september then sure i move to nottingham then you see 🙂i just need a decent internet connection, my wireless is ham!
i know i know … ive saying ill get on there for ages, im just trying to think where i could do it :hopeless:
:group_hug
August 31, 2008 at 11:19 am #1176316cheers daesin and digi for the input.helps to know of other peoples successes when starting from scratch (excuse the pun).any guidance as to what i should be looking at buying?CDJ’s, vinly…brands etc?had a look on ebay and it looks as though il be spending around the £500 mark if im wanting something half decent
August 31, 2008 at 12:18 pm #1176305are you looking to dj with cd/vinyl or what ya_wee?
some of this comes down to what your actually wanting to dj …
August 31, 2008 at 9:18 pm #1176317well im not really sure tbh.i guess if things are going towards CDJ’s these days then that would be the sensible choice, but if they are more expensive then that might make vinly the better choice.im into psytrance,breaks,trance,electro,prog,acid techno…so quite a lot of shit really.what are the pro’s and con’s of each type of dj’ing?
August 31, 2008 at 10:27 pm #1176290Anonymous
KAM MIX 150 KIT PLUS – DIRECT DRIVE DJ PACKAGE- COMPLETE PACKAGE
cheap as, direct drive, everyting you need
onli id replace that mixer does the job but is abit shit tbh
August 31, 2008 at 11:07 pm #1176292@ya_wee_dancer 233604 wrote:
but if they are more expensive then that might make vinly the better choice.
Although a pair of technics may be cheaper than a pair of Pioneer CDJ’s you will be spending a ton on vinyl compared to CD’s and digital media.
I think I’ll always prefer vinyl but I would no longer argue that it’s better than CD’s. The few benefits it has over CD and digital is that it has more of a face… a connection if you will. CD’s tend to be faceless and souless to look at and connect with. Vinyl feels better to use as it’s very hands on, plus the collector element is there.
Otherwise CD and digital wins pretty much every other way provided you use a lossless data format like WAV.
Cheaper
Lighter
Smaller
Superior sound quality
Abilty to burn another if a tune gets scratched
Abilty to play your own tunes straight away
Ability to play friends tunes
Limitless supply of a release (I sometimes see that as a downside though)
More scope for being creative
+many other benefitsPeople may not want to admit it but vinyl is now for collectors, purists, romantics and people who refuse to move on (like me!)
…oh unless you plan to be a turntablist… then it’s vinyl all the way without question.
August 31, 2008 at 11:13 pm #1176318BioTech;233614 wrote:Although a pair of technics may be cheaper than a pair of Pioneer CDJ’s you will be spending a ton on vinyl compared to CD’s and digital media.I think I’ll always prefer vinyl but I would no longer argue that it’s better than CD’s. The few benefits it has over CD and digital is that it has more of a face… a connection if you will. CD’s tend to be faceless and souless to look at and connect with. Vinyl feels better to use as it’s very hands on, plus the collector element is there.
Otherwise CD and digital wins pretty much every other way provided you use a lossless data format like WAV.
Cheaper
Lighter
Smaller
Superior sound quality
Abilty to burn another if a tune gets scratched
Abilty to play your own tunes straight away
Ability to play friends tunes
Limitless supply of a release (I sometimes see that as a downside though)
More scope for being creative
+many other benefitsPeople may not want to admit it but vinyl is now for collectors, purists, romantics and people who refuse to move on (like me!)
…oh unless you plan to be a turntablist… then it’s vinyl all the way without question.
sounds like CDJ’ing is the way to go for me then.so now, what CDJ’s would you recommend for me considering im totally new to it?
Any thoughts on Death_Blooms suggestion? *(thanks for that btw death :wink:)
and um, not to sound like an idiot but whats a turntablist compared to normal djing?
September 1, 2008 at 7:31 am #1176300Everybody wants to be a DJ
I dont….. I’m fucking useless :laugh_at:
I wanna be a punter and get munted :bounce_fl
September 1, 2008 at 9:05 am #1176296Tank Girl;233633 wrote:Everybody wants to be a DJI dont….. I’m fucking useless :laugh_at:
I wanna be a punter and get munted :bounce_fl
:laught_at: im a dj and ive gone for the being a punter and getting munted option loads of times, can be a lot more fun :bounce_flash:
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