Why do people judge?

[Shishdisma]

People are stubborn, I have a friend who's buying a pair of 2000 nexuses (nexi?) after he sold his 2000s 4 months ago because he never used them. I said, why not buy a DDJ-SX and a macbook? That's still cheaper than the nexi, it gives you more in the way of sonic capabilities, it still feels like a CDJ because it is a CDJ, just in a controller, and you get a macbook to use for other things! You've seen the DJ Braindead performance video! (which he still raves about now)

You know what he says?

"It's not for me, I've always liked the idea of CDJs."

Which is pretty much like when a caveman learns how to build huts, and his fellow caveman says "It's not for me, I've always liked the idea of caves"

Sure, it might withstand a few knocks more, but it's still cold, damp and lacking in versatility. I remember when I wanted a CD deck WAAAAYY back when they first came out and I was only young, and my friends older brother, who had two technics, told me "You can't really DJ on them, you need turntables" and I was really upset because it seemed like the coolest thing in the world. Turns out, he was wrong, the CD decks could do everything the turntables did and more.

Anyways, before I go off on adventures unknown, I'll just finish here with a simple solution. If a man learns to beatbox a tune out of his rectum, and it sounds amazing, what does it matter that he has a microphone up his back passage. It's all about the sound. You can have ten gazillion bajillion Yen of equipment, and mix on 5 CDJs simultaneously using a limb for each deck, if the crowd isn't jumping, you're not doing it right.

If you've ever teched a stage where multiple laptops are involved, or played for an extended period of time in a laptop-free setup, having that glowing, fragile presence-killer on stage with you can be a serious pain in the ass. The laptop in the chain is the DOA point for controllers in an install environment.

The S2 is a great piece of kit. It does everything it needs to and can be really intuitive. People just get mad because they have spent all this money buying all this stuff and think it’s a right of passage or something.

That isn't the case anymore and they need to get over it. a great DJ can DJ can mix with cheap gear just as well as with expensive gear. It’s the DJ that makes it great not the kit...

I have yet to see a piece of NI hardware thats completely intact after a year. The problem isnt the capability or limitation of the kit, its the fact that the kit is literally disposable, yet people insist on championing it as the future as it virtually deteriorates in their hands.

[HighTopFade]

I have a friend I normally jam with who judges. He uses a simple Technics 1200 Serato setup and throws down nice mixes without a midi controller. He controls Serato with the keyboard. His gripe is really about starring at the screen to assist beatmatching and relying on midi. I guess the expectations are higher when there's a lot of focus on the computer and buttons to push.

[Sambo]

If you've ever teched a stage where multiple laptops are involved, or played for an extended period of time in a laptop-free setup, having that glowing, fragile presence-killer on stage with you can be a serious pain in the ass. The laptop in the chain is the DOA point for controllers in an install environment.

I do it twice a weekend at my residency with guest DJs, sometimes up to 8 in a night, and I can tell you now that the best people I have worked with are ones who use laptops, and I've only had a laptop user crash once in 3 years and that was using Virtual DJ on a 5 year old Toshiba (surprise surprise). And yet, the E-8302 disc read problem has happened far more.

I understand that the lower price points allows a much newer and less understanding audience into the scene, but if they have real passion, they'll get good, if not, they'll drop it after a year or so.

[Shishdisma]

I do it twice a weekend at my residency with guest DJs, sometimes up to 8 in a night, and I can tell you now that the best people I have worked with are ones who use laptops, and I've only had a laptop user crash once in 3 years and that was using Virtual DJ on a 5 year old Toshiba (surprise surprise). And yet, the E-8302 disc read problem has happened far more.

I understand that the lower price points allows a much newer and less understanding audience into the scene, but if they have real passion, they'll get good, if not, they'll drop it after a year or so.

Then you know what a massive pain in the ass patching and re-patching endless sound cards is. Even with plug-and-play timecode cards, I wouldnt wish a non-certified live patch job on my worst enemy, "what's on where and why" quickly becomes a nightmare the more equipment involved. Combine that with the lovely presence-killing glow of a huge screen right in every DJ's face, and you really start to see why having 4-16 permutable slots for a single piece of USB/SD media per DJ is a godsend.

[Sambo]

Why would there be that many laptops on at once? Also it's not effort to plug two RCA cables into a mixer. Hell we even have it setup so the RCA jacks are on a rack mount unit on top so you don't have to go behind the mixer, you just plug in and whoomp. All I do is ask them to give me their output cables and that's it. If their gear doesn't work, the other DJs (or me) get an extended slot and they can jog on. It doesn't matter about the effort either way, I am paid to do a job and I do it well, whether I use CDJs, Traktor or a 1930's clarinet made from fossilised elves.

I don't get your hatred of screen glow though. My nightclub has an insane light rig, and they don't kill the presence at all. Presence killing is whipping out your BB and checking Twitter in between mixes.

[Shishdisma]

Even with two laptops, disconnecting the install, patching in the incoming, and then fully patching the second deck becomes something out of a mind game if you dont have a dedicated patch. If your entire install is nothing but timecodes, mounting a patch bay would make things significantly easier to access, but theres still the handoff effect between patching two sound cards in and out.

If you're talking about patching in external stuff like controllers, it gets a lot simpler, but then you have to have a booth capable of supporting that. Considering a set of CDJs and a DJM in cases takes up a large table, space can get pretty tight. In my situation, "external equipment" means "I get to maneuver the lids of my CDJ cases" which is just irritating and wears down my cables. If you have a large install, obviously external hardware is as easy as getting a single output in (Thats a different story, and Ive seen some bizarre shit...).

Presence killing is having a huge screen propped up literally front centre before you, with your face buried in it. If the laptop is out of the way, often the case in the aforementioned large installs, it usually isnt a problem. But the typical timecode setup features a laptop wall with a face glued to it as standard. Ironically, when the mixer is propped up in the case, I typically put my phone in the little pocket it creates and glance at it from time to time, without obviously doing so.

[epikeddie]

Do you have a residency at a club? Even at some of the bigger LA clubs where we play....the laptops are getting more and more popular.

I have Ableton and Traktor but for the most part play on CDJs via Rekordbox and USBs. I personally like to connect with the crowd by looking at them and making a connection.

But that's not to say that there aren't any dope DJs that use a laptop. In a major club, I've maybe seen maybe one act that uses a controller. Most are timecode Serato, USBs, and CDs now....

[oliosky]

Shitdisma is involved with some generic multi room commercial venue in a generic mid size US city from memory.

[DJMichaelHavok]

I think every DJ in dallas uses a laptop, serato + time code vinyl or dual X1s + audio 2/6/8/10 whatever, and whatever pioneer mixer is typically provided...
i couldnt imagine a place still using normal CDJs with actual CD swapping, unheard of out here anyway.
just more convenient for everybody, plus if your shit dies, just borrow someones gear and be straight for your set since everyone has the exact same gig bag of tricks

[hola amigos]

People love to hate more than show love. blame the devil who roams this earth, it fills the empty and heartless souls. god bless the weak.