Interested in DJing - Need Somewhere to Start

[rajabothra]

Hey everyone, I've been thinking about getting into DJing for a long time now. I just haven't had the money. I've recently gotten a career type position. I would hope to start DJing as a hobby to start. However there's one huge issue. DJing is expensive. I looked around at the Budget DJ equipment thread but that only gave me more questions. I guess I can list out my main questions and hope someone can answer some (or all) of them. and one more thing if i go wit controller i'm thinking about Pioneer Controller's but i want in small budget because i use to change my hobbies.

Thanks in advance!

# What's the best to start out with DJing? A controller or decks and a mixer?
# Best places to get new music?
# Common DJ equipment/DJing terms?
# What is the difference between Serato and Tracktor?

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

[Scalage]

There is a series of videos for beginners on youtube made by digitaldjtips. You can find it here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...AB77DB5A3828A2 It adresses almost all of your questions. It starts with the differences between turntables, cdj's and controllers, gives you ideas where to get music and talks about software and which one to choose among other things.

Choosing software and equipment is somewhat personal. Take some time to think about what you want to do. What music are you going to play? Do you want to get into turntablism (scratching for instance) or controllerism (samples for instance) at some point? Do you want to learn how to beatmatch manually? Write all of this down after watching some of the videos and do some research on the available software and equipment for it. You can find free buyer's guides online for equipment. Then people in forums like these can give you directions on where to go.

[rajabothra]

thanks for your reply dude. and sorry i forgot to mention that i already used cdj's at my friends place and i know beatmatch manually. i want to get a home setup in low budget.

[rajabothra]

There is a series of videos for beginners on youtube made by digitaldjtips. You can find it here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...AB77DB5A3828A2 It adresses almost all of your questions. It starts with the differences between turntables, cdj's and controllers, gives you ideas where to get music and talks about software and which one to choose among other things.

Choosing software and equipment is somewhat personal. Take some time to think about what you want to do. What music are you going to play? Do you want to get into turntablism (scratching for instance) or controllerism (samples for instance) at some point? Do you want to learn how to beatmatch manually? Write all of this down after watching some of the videos and do some research on the available software and equipment for it. You can find free buyer's guides online for equipment. Then people in forums like these can give you directions on where to go.

thanks for reply dude. i had seen some of the videos. its really very help full. i want to get a home setup in low budget.

[tilldrop]

Welcome!

Since your questions are probably the most asked on this forum, reddit etc. You will find a lot of additional information when doing some research on with google - which I would recommend no matter how many people do answer. Anyways I will try to give a brief overview:

# What's the best to start out with DJing? A controller or decks and a mixer?

There are basically four possibilities: turntables with vinyl, CD-Players (CDJs) - which can be "downgraded" to be used as controllers as well if wanted, controllers which are basically a keyboard for DJ software and DVS (digital vinyl system) which use special audio vinyl or CDs to control DJ software.
There is a lot of discussion on which system is "the best", but in the end they all have advantages and disadvantages:
- Vinyl is famous for its "feeling" - the classic style etc.
- CDJs are what you will find in most clubs around the world today, but it's the most expensive solution too
- DVS is somewhere in between: It can give you the vinyl feeling while granting a mobile solution as well since you don't use real vinyl, but music on your laptop.
- Controllers are the cheapest gear (given that you don't need to buy a laptop as well) and they are often referred as the most creative solution since the possibilities are much more limited by software (which is cheaper) - not too much by hardware.

What this means to beginners: A good point to start is grabbing a free DJ software and just mess around with it. Try VirtualDJ or the Traktor demo. This does not cost any money and you can already get some insight. For your first gear it comes a lot to personal preference and the budget. A controller is the most common choice since it's the cheapest in most cases. You can find decent controllers form about $200 up and even the top line controllers do not cost much more than $700-1000 (apart from one or two exceptions). Maybe let us know what your budget is and we can help some more. Also just do some research on this. "Which controller to start with?" is by far the most common question asked!

# Best places to get new music?
There are quite a few: Beatport, Juno, iTunes, Amazon, Google, ...

# Common DJ equipment/DJing terms?
Take a look at reddits /r/Beatmatch wiki

# What is the difference between Serato and Tracktor?
Serato is plug-and-play since you can only use it with "certified" controllers (the software is bound to the hardware)
Traktor can be used with any MIDI device - though the controllers by NativeInstruments (the company behind Traktor) are a bit more accurate here and there and also plug-and-play. Traktor is not bound to the hardware though which is good to know in case you want to get some second hand gear.

Both softwares serve pretty much the same purpose. There are some differences, but they are not too big.

[rajabothra]

Welcome!

Since your questions are probably the most asked on this forum, reddit etc. You will find a lot of additional information when doing some research on with google - which I would recommend no matter how many people do answer. Anyways I will try to give a brief overview:

# What's the best to start out with DJing? A controller or decks and a mixer?

There are basically four possibilities: turntables with vinyl, CD-Players (CDJs) - which can be "downgraded" to be used as controllers as well if wanted, controllers which are basically a keyboard for DJ software and DVS (digital vinyl system) which use special audio vinyl or CDs to control DJ software.
There is a lot of discussion on which system is "the best", but in the end they all have advantages and disadvantages:
- Vinyl is famous for its "feeling" - the classic style etc.
- CDJs are what you will find in most clubs around the world today, but it's the most expensive solution too
- DVS is somewhere in between: It can give you the vinyl feeling while granting a mobile solution as well since you don't use real vinyl, but music on your laptop.
- Controllers are the cheapest gear (given that you don't need to buy a laptop as well) and they are often referred as the most creative solution since the possibilities are much more limited by software (which is cheaper) - not too much by hardware.

What this means to beginners: A good point to start is grabbing a free DJ software and just mess around with it. Try VirtualDJ or the Traktor demo. This does not cost any money and you can already get some insight. For your first gear it comes a lot to personal preference and the budget. A controller is the most common choice since it's the cheapest in most cases. You can find decent controllers form about $200 up and even the top line controllers do not cost much more than $700-1000 (apart from one or two exceptions). Maybe let us know what your budget is and we can help some more. Also just do some research on this. "Which controller to start with?" is by far the most common question asked!

# Best places to get new music?
There are quite a few: Beatport, Juno, iTunes, Amazon, Google, ...

# Common DJ equipment/DJing terms?
Take a look at reddits /r/Beatmatch wiki

# What is the difference between Serato and Tracktor?
Serato is plug-and-play since you can only use it with "certified" controllers (the software is bound to the hardware)
Traktor can be used with any MIDI device - though the controllers by NativeInstruments (the company behind Traktor) are a bit more accurate here and there and also plug-and-play. Traktor is not bound to the hardware though which is good to know in case you want to get some second hand gear.

Both softwares serve pretty much the same purpose. There are some differences, but they are not too big.

thanks tilldrop. your answers were really usefull to me.
and after searching in google i decided that i'll start with controller.
so here is the list i had noted that i'll get for my home setup:
1. Laptop (i already have)
2. Controller.
3. Headphone.
4. Monitor Speakers.
and my budget is around $700

[ImNotDedYet]

First, download the demos of Traktor and Serato. There is other DJ software out there, but these are the most popular. Find out which you like better. Play with the effects, etc. Once you've done that, the cheapest way to get into DJing is buying a controller. Find one that works best for your software or has a really good mapping for it. Beatport and traxsource are what I use for digital songs. You can also get a lot for free from soundcloud.

[tilldrop]

You can also get a lot for free from soundcloud.

This often is not legal, but on the other hand hardly ever beeing persued. Just thought you should know.

[Patch]

By FAR the best way to learn to DJ these days is to download the software, and just click around with the mouse until you know what is going on.

THEN, once you know what the software is capable of, and what you want your controller to do, get a controller.

Too many people buy a controller and expect to dive right in. Take some time tpo do some prep work, and understand what the controller is ACTUALLY controlling. This can be done for FREE (software demo's and a mouse), and will pay dividends later on.

[Grav0T]

I was in your position 3 weeks ago. Between this forum, a lot of gear reviews, some outside friends, and this guy:

I was able to piece together a set.

This guy has about 4 hours of material. I would highly recommend grabbing a bowl of popcorn and just watching his 4 videos. He goes over just about everything you can think of.