Newbie Bedroom DJ

[bartboy]

Hey guys I have been looking all over this site and all the info is great a bit overwhelming at times. But I recently picked up a Ion Discover DJ system for real cheap. I know it's super basic but I have very little money right now and am just wondering what else I should buy to get a basic bedroom setup. Like another sound card or monitor speakers I have a great set of headphones do I need any eternal equipment. I know these are all basic basic questions. If anyone could just point me in the right direction I would be most grateful. Thanks for all the help guys.

[djmoonie]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that controller just isn't going to cut it... at all. Its more a toy than a DJ tool.

But as you have one... I assume its a midi controller. The blurb doesn't say so, but it connects into mixvibes.

So..

Step 1.. dump mixvibes and get a copy of traktor pro.
Step 2.. some creative mapping to overcome the shortfalls in the controllers design/layout.
Step 3.. Eat Cake.

On the subject of other kit.. if all you have at the moment is a pc, this controller, and mixvibes.. then I would suggest the following:-

If you PC has a surround sound card, you can use that, otherwise buy a cheap multi channel USB sound card with at least 2 stereo outputs.

You WILL need speakers of some sort, so you can hear whats playing live. You can do this all in your headphones, but if you are learning, just get some speakers! If budget is tight, nick the sound system from downstairs and use a phono to line cable to hook it up to your PC.

Other than that, you are good to go.

[bartboy]

Thanks alot I already dumped mixvibes for the trial of virtualdj but ill try traktor hopefully they have a pre mapping for this thing I know it's more a toy than anything near professional I got it for 30$ on clearance and I love music figured if it's something where I can put say 200$ into and get some fun out of doing it in my room by myself it's worth the effort thanks alot

I can pick up a decent sound card pretty cheap I fix computers for a living so that's no problem is there any other equipment I could buy that is fairly cheap that would help me get a better practice envirment for myself?

Also I'm assuming if I pick up 2 sound cards for my tower PC I could get one to goto my headphones for monitoring and the other for speakers no problem anyone know a single card that can do this or a laptop version I've been searching and haven't come up with much.

[djmoonie]

I can almost guarrantee you that there will be no mappings supplied as standard from either traktor or virtual DJ for that controller. You can hope that the community have one somewhere, or if you are serious about dj'ing, learning how to midi map is not time badly invested.

One piece of advice when you start learning.. dont use the sync/auto match or whatever. Start by matching the tunes by ear. Your mixes WILL be better for it in the end.

[bartboy]

Thanks alot yeah the synch button will only really match songs with deep bass lines at least in virtual dj but I really wanna learn albeit slow in my spare time but I have a few more pieces to complete this newbie setup of mine gonna find some cheap sound cards and already have a simple speaker system to work on. Thank you so much any other advice on the sound cards would be great

Also has anyone played around with Numark - Total Computer DJ Experience. I saw this on sale at a computer store in the area and it looked alot more sturdy and professional but I could be wrong it could be just as crappy as this thing I already got. Thanks everyone.

[Nosferatu]

everything djmoonie said plus....

be patient with the forums, true all the info can be a bit overwhelming, but you can pull out a hardware/software combo that will be perfect for you. i personally prefer Traktor Pro because i've been with it for such a long time. I have a few controllers and had to try out several mappings before I felt comfortable with one that I would stick with. Now since this costs money, you will have to pay your dues with that controller until you realize you need more (or for that matter, until you realize that it suits you just fine). controllerism isn't like your traditional "ones and twos" setup where your only option is to keep tonearms to the right or up top. with controllers you've got some real choices, and you'll find that your setup of choice may be unique to only your style. Experiment and have fun.

[Nosferatu]

try searching for a native instruments Audio 2 DJ or the Numark DJIO, both appear to be around 100 bucks and you can use it on any machine with a USB port, and you get a headphone output.

[bartboy]

Thanks alot I plan on ordering the Numark DJ I/O when I pay some of my CC down :P anyone have any idea if I can get the same or similar effect by installing 2 sound cards in my desktop I know it be harder to do with my mac book but if anyone has a suggestion please let me know. Thank you all for all the help I have learned more hardware wise in the last 24 hours than all I have ever learned.

[Jester]

I would even go so far as to say don't worry so much about gear at this stage mate, you can get all that later. I used a keyboard & mouse with No soundcard till 2004
Practise & Enjoy! And welcome to the forums.

[eastcoastams]

Yeah for real, I lurked forums, blogs, youtube (especially youtube) for over a year just trying to learn the basics, it didn't take long to realize that there was a lot more to being a DJ than playing songs haha. I fooled around with a bunch of different crappy trial versions of programs before I ended up getting traktor off ebay for like 10 bucks and spent about 6 months with the program before even getting an hardware. So yeah, don't worry so much about gathering equipment, do some reading! There is always something new to learn that will help you out