► Starter Guide To DJing ►

[hl0m4n]

i want to be more productive with my spare time, love edm, and am fascinated with djs at work. so, i would like to start learning how to dj.

i know there are some djs on this forum so what do you guys recommend for startes and moving forward? also any preference/recommendations on audio format & 256 vs 320kbps along with:

equipment
software
headphones
speakers
books
etc

i will be using my macbook pro retina i recently purchased.

im sure im not the only one that wants to learn, so i hope you guys will chime in as well .

[1NS0MN1A]

I too want to learn.

I have a quad core 1.7ghz 8gb ram 1000Gb thinkpad.

[koreez88]

Use Midi controller to get the grasp of it. Then upgrade to a nice set of players and mixer and ditch the laptop. Get yourself a nice comfortable set of headphones that you could wear for hours.

That's what I did back in the day. Now, I own a personal set of Pioneer CDJ2000s and DJM900NSX and am booked for 2 club events this month.

You can do it.

[Fatty Duckets]

Originally Posted by koreez88

Use Midi controller to get the grasp of it. Then upgrade to a nice set of players and mixer and ditch the laptop. Get yourself a nice comfortable set of headphones that you could wear for hours.

That's what I did back in the day. Now, I own a personal set of Pioneer CDJ2000s and DJM900NSX and am booked for 2 club events this month.

You can do it.

I agree here. Start with an entry level midi controller to grasp the idea of mixing, effects, etc. In college, I used a $200 Numark controller that helped me out tremendously. After I graduated, I went out and bought Technic 1210 turntables and a Rane ttm57sl mixer. Also, I run Serato, which tends to be the easiest/industry standard for many dj's, old school and new. Having the laptop is essential, specifically due to the amount of tracks you can store. Lugging around crates of records and the cost of purchasing multiple versions of the same track is just not a desirable process anymore. Best piece of advice I can give you is to practice as much as you can, make it a hobby, then turn it into a business. And KNOW your music!

Best of luck!

[Robin_NL]

Come to Holland.

I'm not really into that kind of music but a few months ago BCM Mallorca, Spain I saw Afrojack because my 18 year old daughter wanted to.
One word :Awesome.

So Tiesto and Armin van Buuren are even more king I guess?

Cheers
Robin

[passing]

oh great another dj

[cuiter23]

Depends on what type of music you plan to work with.

I decided to go the controller way as I think it is the most practical for me at this moment. My first controller was a mixtrack pro, all the basic functions needed to mix with Virtual DJ (VDJ) thats what really got me started. Only cost about 200 bucks.

I have been mixing for over a year now and I mix mostly house/top40/trance and I find that my current set up is definitely more than enough

My current set-up:

Traktor Kontrol S4
Traktor Kontrol F1
Pioneer HDJ-1000 Headphones
Numark NPM5 Monitors (Planning to upgrade to rokits soon)
Traktor S4 Flight Case

All this was about $2k, I don't advise spending over 10k on CDJs for normal home use unless you are hardcore and dont care about money haha.

Definitely go with 320kbps, your output file is going to be recorded in WAV form and and any imperfections that come with low quality audio files will be enhanced from your monitors and your recordings. I would recommend to you (I have recommended this to all my friends as well) to get the Mixtrack Pro + some cheap headphones + Numark NPM5 monitors (100 bucks). Get started with these at first then upgrade.

The most important part of mixing is being able to count to 4, which is the basics of beatmatching.

Hope this helps!

[dvpouldar26]

Like others are suggesting, you could start out on a midi controller such as the traktor S4, but I had one and quickly got bored of it. You can use it to learn mixing techniques, and how to eq. I recommend starting out on a very basic setup with a simple 2 or 4 channel mixer and cd players. AS you improve your skills, you can buy more advanced, and more expensive equipment. I have seen many Pioneer DJM 700's and 800's for sale used for some great prices lately, or if you're looking for a cheaper mixer that still has some effects, look into Behringer. Behringer's quality is nowhere like Denon or Pioneer equipment, however it could be ideal for a beginner. As for players, some used CDJ400's or 800's could do the job.By going with this setup rather than with a midi controller, you can learn how to properly beatmatch as well. A comfortable set of headphones will do. You don't need the best equipment to learn. There are tutorials all over the internet to learn and make sure to practice yourself. Listen to ALOT of music and listen to alot of sets. Know your music well. Mixed in Key can be a great tool. Practice as much as you can. Hope this was helpful!

[hl0m4n]

after looking at alot of decks and software, how is the traktor with s4 deck? i like how the traktor software matches their hardware.

[koreez88]

Traktor S4 is good. I played around with one of those at my friend's house. Rubber buttons suck, though.

I'd rather get this. I'm a huge Pioneer fan.



Wireless play option AND (I can't stress that enough) USB capability, so you can practice without a laptop.

[eamon]

Are there any programs to start DJing without purchasing equipment? I'd hate to throw hundreds of dollars at this without getting a little bit of an intro into the scene first.

MacPro 13

[hl0m4n]

hey koreez is that the pioneer ddj-ergo $600? the traktor s4 is $1k.

how is the numark mixtrack pro at $250 for a beginners set?

[dvpouldar26]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

after looking at alot of decks and software, how is the traktor with s4 deck? i like how the traktor software matches their hardware.

I had a Traktor S4 years ago. I quickly got bored of it however. It beatmatches for you, which makes mixing easier, but took out alot of the fun of Djing. If you're looking for a basic setup to just practice mixing, using effects, and just want to dj at a small venue (like a party), then the traktor s4 could work for you. Professionally though, i'd skip midi controllers and try your hand at some cd players and a standard mixer.

Originally Posted by koreez88

Traktor S4 is good. I played around with one of those at my friend's house. Rubber buttons suck, though.

I'd rather get this. I'm a huge Pioneer fan.



Wireless play option AND (I can't stress that enough) USB capability, so you can practice without a laptop.

Originally Posted by eamon

Are there any programs to start DJing without purchasing equipment? I'd hate to throw hundreds of dollars at this without getting a little bit of an intro into the scene first.

MacPro 13

If you want to be able to mix, there are several options. You can produce using Ableton or Logic, however this software is expensive and can be tough to learn. For a free program to mess around with, you can always look into virtual DJ.

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

hey koreez is that the pioneer ddj-ergo $600? the traktor s4 is $1k.

how is the numark mixtrack pro at $250 for a beginners set?

Traktor S4 is around $1000 new and can be had for less used. At this price though, i'd really look into some used professional DJ equipment. I bought an entire Pioneer setup for $1000 (used DJM700 and CDJ800's). Although some of this equipment may be older, everything carries over to the newer equipment out there. The only difference here are USB capability, digital inputs, more effects, individual filters for each channel, hot cues, and information that is displayed. While all these new features are great, this setup, which is significantly cheaper than a DJM900 and CDJ2000 setup (which is the standard setup used professionally), everything carries over with any other setup you will use and you'll learn more skills such as beatmatching, eq'ing, etc.

[hl0m4n]

im still shopping for which controller to buy but have narrowed it down to 3:

Native Instruments Traktor S4: i really can't get over how the hardware and software are built for each other. it could be easier to learn on this...

Numark 4Trak: the thing looks really solid in construction but reviews keep nick nagging between this and the s4...

Pioneer DDJ-T1: this is the first traktor from pioneer and not sure about buying a new product in therms of bugs, fixes, etc. it does look solid and i like how it is raised so you can slide a laptop under and have just the monitor in front.

so what do you guys think? any others i should look into?

[BossSauce]

dj nevershowedpicsofthatonechick