Trying to get my first setup ever, any recommendations?

[Jimmya90]

So im soon to be a new dj and later a producer.... but im just getting started. Im learning stuff about hardware and software everyday. I know almost nothing about music, except for i love it more than every person i know (like i love it a ridiculous amount; an absolute overkill). So to my point I was seeing if the following items would be great for my first setup, or what would be better....

New MacBook Pro
Tracktor Pro 2
Tracktor Kontrol Z1 and X1
Midi Fighter Twister (when it becomes available)
Beatbox Portable (just for when im alone learning to mix inside my bedroom, and also finding actual starting speakers is kinda of a dead end street for me; help)
Beats Pro

For production...... I think i might go with

Ableton Live 9 Suite
Ableton Push
Komplete 9
Akai MPK25

I also need to come up with a good producer alias. Im soon to be going to Dubspot online and I cant wait.

-see yall on the other side :-)

[bottumboy622]

Stay away from the beats... Unless you are buying for the brand. If you're looking for quality and value, there are much better options. I have beats studios and frankly love them, but there are better options. If you're not looking at using turntables, I would at least look at the S2/S4, because as far as I know, the Z2 was intended for Traktor Scratch. Best of luck!

[JonnoI]

First off, Hi there.

Right, I should probably state a few things you should know before you start DJ'ing. It's easy to get into, hard to get anywhere with. Anyway, it depends if you want to DJ for fun or as a job or both. If it's just for fun get something cheap and simple so you can get the hang of basic mixing technique (Phrasing, EQ'ing right, working out what sounds nice with what). But I'm assuming you're not going to peruse DJ'ing as less of a job more of a Hobby.
In that case go to your local DJ store and try some stuff out, and don't just blindly buy something; do your research and compare.
I can recommend (obviously) the S2/S4, Denon DNMC 2000 or even the cheaper Numark controllers.
Oh and Don't skip out of stuff like Lights and speakers (Just doing house parties can keep money rolling and expand your fan base) Having good lights adds so much to an experience and is sometimes overlooked.
In terms of headphones I concur with Bottumboy622 you buy it for the Brand and sadly Beats have some certain connotations associated with those that use them. I personally adore my V-MODAS, but it depends on what feels good. It's pretty annoying buying some headphones only for them to be uncomfortable.
Check out, the HD-25s, HDJ 1000s, Audio technica and V-MODA do pretty good "Hybrid headphones" (Although some on here would happily shoot me for saying that's a thing).

Right now onto producing.
First of don't constrict yourself to Ableton, there's so many other DAWs it's crazy and almost all of them have some form of a demo you can try out. If you want to take Producing seriously you'll probably need monitors, stereo imaging and all that stuff. Then there's the myriad amount of stuff you'll need before you start.
Samples (Vengeance, so sue me they work but just look for them. Check soundcloud, check beatport, check facebook pages)
VST's are really expensive (and I won't condone pirating) and the sheer amount of time it takes to create something original in massive is pretty mind blowing.

I've probably missed some things that others will correct me on, but I digress. Have fun producing and DJ'ing and hopefully it all works out.
Good luck!

[lemeiux1]

So im soon to be a new dj and later a producer.... but im just getting started. Im learning stuff about hardware and software everyday. I know almost nothing about music, except for i love it more than every person i know (like i love it a ridiculous amount; an absolute overkill). So to my point I was seeing if the following items would be great for my first setup, or what would be better....

New MacBook Pro
Tracktor Pro 2
Tracktor Kontrol Z1 and X1
Midi Fighter Twister (when it becomes available)
Beatbox Portable (just for when im alone learning to mix inside my bedroom, and also finding actual starting speakers is kinda of a dead end street for me; help)
Beats Pro

For production...... I think i might go with

Ableton Live 9 Suite
Ableton Push
Komplete 9
Akai MPK25

I also need to come up with a good producer alias. Im soon to be going to Dubspot online and I cant wait.

-see yall on the other side :-)

I'd recommend trying the different software first when it comes to both DJing and Producing. I thought I was gonna be a serato guy and completely changed my mind when I used traktor for the first time. I think an all in one system like an S2 or an S4 would be good to start out with basically because right out of the box it controls just about every aspect of the software, so it will be easy to learn on.

As for production, again give the different programs a shot with intro versions or if some of your friends have them to try (worst case youtube to see the workflows) so that it gives you an idea before you invest a ton of money into a DAW that you later find out isn't right for you. Also, don't underestimate the amount of work you can get done with just a mouse too. Controllers are there to make life easier, but they aren't always necessary. The way I have been doing it is starting with just a mouse, then adding gear based on what would make my personal workflow easier.

Given that list of equipment and the courses, you are clearly serious about this because thats gonna be A LOT of $$ just keep doing your research so that the money is well spent, and if you are passionate about it, you'll have a blast.

[William Gibson]

Lem knows whats up. You HAVE to try different software before you settle. There are so many different options. For instance, I really do nkt like traktor at all, I Dj out of Live. In my opinion, if you plan on producing anyways, I would stick with the least amount of software in the begining to learn as possible. Pick up live 9 suite demo from ableton. Set up a simple 2 or 4 "deck" layout and practice mixing on it.

Im sure ill get crap for saying this but if you are going to DJ or perform your own stuff, you will be able to be a lot more creative on the fly with live apposed to Traktor. That is what drew me towards live. I have a lot of stems, instramentals, accapellas, etc. Using these on the fly opens up lots of creative doors.

not saying there is anything what so ever wrong with traktor. You can deffinatly rock crowds with both. Try them all and see which ones you like best.

.02


P.s. no midi fighter on the list? What the hells wrong with you, boy?!
Just kidding brother.

[Jimmya90]

I'd recommend trying the different software first when it comes to both DJing and Producing. I thought I was gonna be a serato guy and completely changed my mind when I used traktor for the first time. I think an all in one system like an S2 or an S4 would be good to start out with basically because right out of the box it controls just about every aspect of the software, so it will be easy to learn on.

As for production, again give the different programs a shot with intro versions or if some of your friends have them to try (worst case youtube to see the workflows) so that it gives you an idea before you invest a ton of money into a DAW that you later find out isn't right for you. Also, don't underestimate the amount of work you can get done with just a mouse too. Controllers are there to make life easier, but they aren't always necessary. The way I have been doing it is starting with just a mouse, then adding gear based on what would make my personal workflow easier.

Given that list of equipment and the courses, you are clearly serious about this because thats gonna be A LOT of $$ just keep doing your research so that the money is well spent, and if you are passionate about it, you'll have a blast.

I am very serious about this. but my only reason for choosing that software is bc Dubspot online only offer courses on them programs....

[bottumboy622]

[QUOTE=

P.s. no midi fighter on the list? What the hells wrong with you, boy?!
Just kidding brother.[/QUOTE]

Gotta rep DJTT

[Sambo]

Definitely try all the the software options if that's the way you're going to go. You have a few options but will probably want to go with one of the "big 3"

- Traktor
- Serato
- VirtualDJ

Try all three before you settle. Stability wise, Traktor and VirtualDJ can both be hit and miss at times but Serato tends to be rock solid, I've only ever seen Serato crash twice in my 3 years of DJing, VDJ on the other hand I've seen crash more times than I can remember. (I've seen Traktor crash a lot but thats because it's the one I use and I'm always dicking around with it, haha)

Using laptops, you'll find your mixing style will be different. Obviously, you can mix by ear, the traditional method of all DJing platforms, however the software gives you an extra visual cue. VirtualDJ and Serato lay the songs waveform over/next to each other, admittedly Serato does this in a smoother and coherent manner. Traktor however uses a "phase meter", which although pinpoint accurate, it also relies on how well gridded your songs are.

Also on production, try all the platforms. FL Studio is being used by a lot of big names, once considered a toy, in recent times it's become one of the main powerhouse DAWs. The reason I suggest this is that Ableton has a very unique approach to production in that it is designed to also pay your productions live, which is great for a DJ but the learning curve for traditional DAW style production is pretty steep.

Hardware wise, there's two ways you should consider:

-Getting a monstrous laptop that will eat anything you throw at it
- Buying a laptop that will manage your DJ software fine and investing a desktop for production.

If you're serious about production, and I mean, REAL serious, you're going to want to get a desktop set up. There's nothing like 64 GB of RAM and a high end PCI soundcard when you're producing and mastering. No commercially available laptop comes within close and more importantly it's a LOT cheaper to set up a desktop. You'll find that any laptop capable of running Serato/Traktor at a decent speed will also run something like Ableton comfortably enough to do a song from start to finish, but when you come to mastering and start throwing on a ton of plug ins it will start to struggle.

[adde71]

The other repliers in this thread wrote great posts and I guess that I don't have much to add but as I'm also a beginner DJ, I can come up with this tip: you should start simple, like not buying all those products for X $$$$ which you don't even know how to use.

If I were you, then I would start with a Traktor Kontrol S2/S4 (I started out with the Traktor Kontrol S2 MK2)
and start to play around with it. Try to understand how to count BPM, bars and make some awesome mixes When you get better at DJ'ing you will notice that you miss some functions or starting to think that this and that would be nice to have (that's what most people do I guess, not buying everything because they can) in order to improve your mixing or make your DJing easier.

For producing, I would go with FL Studio (I tried it out and I <3 it) and start using some of the free plugins etc. Look up some tutorials on YouTube.

Remember that patience is the key for becoming a good producer/DJ

[RedTurboMr2]

Buy my setup It'll be for sale on here shortly.