i wanna be a dj master (1 Viewer)

[johony]

where to start with equipment/lessons/etc? and i don't exactly have $1000 to drop on decks and mixers just yet.

 

[johony]

despite the ironic title, i'm deadly serious.

wheres mantello?

 

[justanotherposter]

obama makes an awesome pokemon master imo

 

[Absolutezero]

You can pick up some decent mixes for around $250 bucks on eBay. My mate picked one up recently (can't remember what type though offhand)

Make sure you rip all your CD's as high quality files. 30mb+ should probably be a minimum.

Finally, get yourself a decent harddrive with a huge storage capacity.

 

[Stoogey]

where to start with equipment/lessons/etc? and i don't exactly have $1000 to drop on decks and mixers just yet.

How exactly do you expect to be a 'dj master' if you dont even have the money to purchase some gear.

You must remember, you get what you pay for, spend little on some crappy low end gear, you will be given low end results, shitty mixers with bleeding faders, under/over sensitive dials and jogs on crappy tray loading cdj's and an amp that would blow up if you accidentally went too hardcore on the 'totally addicted to bass' song.

Save up some money, get some decent gear, then look around the internet, there are plenty of guides around with tutorials on mixing and beatmatching. Youtube is alright as well.

A common path that many newcomers tend to take is that they rely too much on technology, they use the beat counters on their mixers or cdj's and never really use their 'hearing' to make seamless loops and transitions. It all becomes digital and you never really get good at anything except pressing 'beatmatch' then sliding the cross fader over. I recommend you learn to mix by ear, its so much more helpful, and if you wanna be a 'dj master' and play out, it will help.

Don't bother with the digital route as well if you plan to play out as most clubs etc will have cdj's (cdj800's or the club standard 1000's) or basic decks, none of that laptop crap.

Keep your eyes out for used gear if you want to save money, but if you can, i recommend going to inspect the gear, test the drive, that the buttons arent worn out, that mixers and amps dont sound like they are dieing etc. Couple years back i scored a pair of Denon DNS1000's on a forum (ITM) for only a couple of hundred as the guy needed cash urgently, i wasnt too sure but decided on them anyway, turned out the units were almost brand spanking new and never failed me, this might not always be the case for everyone though, so watch out when buying used gear.

Other then that, make sure once you get your gear, to learn by ear and keep PRACTICING.

Good luck in becoming a "dj master"

 

[ashie0]

everyones a dj with a macbook pro.

 

[johony]

thx for that stooge, i'm on my way to saving money for some decent gear but i was hoping there would be an entry level to pick up on skills before i get something nice.

 

[CountVonChocula]

all DJs are tools.

 

[CountVonChocula]

nah jks, only failtello

 

[Absolutezero]

The good thing about DJ equipment is that it's quite easy to sell. So if you find out you don't like it after buying equipment, it's pretty easy to offload by reselling. Probably won't get all your money back, but you won't be too worse for wear.

 

[Mantello]

Basic starter equipment would cost you at LEAST $2,000 - $2,500.

Unless you can score at one day sales (Which I doubt are at all cheaper than the original retail price) or find a great deal on ebay from a seller who hasn't tampered with the product, then awesome mate.

But, honestly, the type of decks you get doesn't make any difference to the skill you have or obtaining.

VS.

Apart from the fact most clubs supply these decks and these are "THE" cdj's to get, what difference would it make...they may look spiffy and cool, but you're still inserting the CD into the cdj to play music.

Just like a car, the same type of car, whether it's the worlds fastest car or the slowest, it gets you from A to B.

The point is, don't worry about steep prices. Once you get yourself a base of hardware, learn, get gigs at private parties, functions and / or clubs you'll be able to save up and buy the better hardware.

 

[icraig88]

technics 1200s + vestax mixer or rane mixer (2 channel) + serato = can't go wrong, assuming you're playing hip hop going off your other threads.

 

[johony]

The good thing about DJ equipment is that it's quite easy to sell. So if you find out you don't like it after buying equipment, it's pretty easy to offload by reselling. Probably won't get all your money back, but you won't be too worse for wear.

yeah DJing might be another hobby i'll get sick of in a month, but i'll wait and see.

Just like a car, the same type of car, whether it's the worlds fastest car or the slowest, it gets you from A to B.

The point is, don't worry about steep prices. Once you get yourself a base of hardware, learn, get gigs at private parties, functions and / or clubs you'll be able to save up and buy the better hardware.

thanks.
quick q mantello, do you buy all your music?

technics 1200s + vestax mixer or rane mixer (2 channel) + serato = can't go wrong, assuming you're playing hip hop going off your other threads.

i'll probably end up playing a wide range of stuff
i'm not 100% sure about vinyl - but the equipment is a lot cheaper, records are probably going to make up the difference though.

 

[Mantello]

thanks.
quick q mantello, do you buy all your music?

Most of the time I do.

Dance Music Hub, Beatport & Juno Download are my homes

 

[iwannarock]

i've always wanted to learn how to do it

been turned off the price and the difficulty.

i'll stick to my loopstation.

 

[icraig88]

i'll probably end up playing a wide range of stuff
i'm not 100% sure about vinyl - but the equipment is a lot cheaper, records are probably going to make up the difference though.

thats what serato is for. its a vinyl control software which allows you to play mp3s on your decks.

here's an example of it in use

YouTube - Rane Serato Scratch Live DEMO - DJ CXL

 

[Lord Von Silly]

The world sure needs more DJ's.

Edit: Oh Mantello the hypocrisy is killing me!

 

[johony]

thats what serato is for. its a vinyl control software which allows you to play mp3s on your decks.

here's an example of it in use

YouTube - Rane Serato Scratch Live DEMO - DJ CXL

noice

i've been thinking about the pacemaker a lot:

sexy - and might be good for me as a beginner.