Am I getting this right? (A few questions from someone new to DVS)

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06-06-2017, 11:13 PM
Jane Doe

Am I getting this right? (A few questions from someone new to DVS)

So the forum deleted the post I spent two hours typing, (It was kind of a wall of text, anyway) so I guess I'll keep this short.

So, just to clarify, for TVS/Timecode;

Serato Scratch Live; You need a ridiculously expensive mixer or so-so priced interface, control vinyl, and software license, (for software that charges even more for the full feature set)

Rekordbox; you need an even more ridiculously expensive mixer, (no info on interfaces?) control vinyl, and software license.

Traktor; You need a specific so-so to expensively priced interface, (at new prices) control vinyl, plus software license.

I don't even know anything about Mixvibes. Sorry.

Am I spot-on so far? Fantastic, moving on.

My current setup is a Hercules RMX (The original) and Mixxx (mixxx.org/ if you've not heard of it) 'cause it's honestly a huge upgrade from VDJ v5 LE.

I'd like to go from controller-only to DVS and controller, to put my train of thought into one sentence.

I'd like to grab some starter Turntables, (henceforth referred to as TT's for sake of character count) and would like a recommendation I could do some gigs with before I end up replacing them. I'd likely be using Serato control vinyl and Mixxx for a while until I decided I liked it, and from there I'd like your advice. Don't need an interface since I have a built in '2 deck' soundcard in my RMX. I'd appreciate some advice here. I'm currently looking at the Numark TT250 as far as new TT's go, and anything I can get in a pair with decent torque for less than $400 as far as used/discontinued models. Also like, am I the only one seeing Technics SL-1200MK2 up on ebay for like $200/ea? ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/Technics-SL-...cAAOSwrhBZNMpo ) What is up with that? Aren't they supposedly the best, ever? Or is the Mk2 frowned upon or somethin'? Let me know. Weight is a concern if they're something I could gig with and not get laughed at with. I'm a 120lb girl, so TT's + mixer + road case + backpack with laptop and control vinyl is going to be quite a bit on it's own, so if you guys have light recommendations, I'm down. If not, your standard recommendations will be fine I s'pose. Also, how taboo is having two different TT's with matching pitch faders? (IE: two different brands or models but both have 33/45 RPM settings and a +/-10% fader?) Or is that totally not cool?

I have a couple questions about needles, too. Will any headshell and cartridge work together? Will some headshells not screw onto some turntables? As in, are there conflicting brands? I know a lot of parts, especially for essentially the same thing, (e.g. Fender Stratocaster clones) between guitars won't fit different brands at all. Even some from the same parent company won't fit, (IE: Squier parts won't fit on Fender and vice versa) I'm curious. Also, I'm unsure how often these need replaced. I know you need 2 sets - one for practice and one for gigs, but otherwise, I dunno. I've read it depends on how often you practice, but in one thread on the Serato forums I was reading the example given was an hour of practice a day, & there were a few people arguing over whether it'd cost $25/month or $100/month, to replace N44-7's, (NOT M44-7's) What the hell, dude. Let's say I practice that often, (which I probably won't, but let's just say) and I guess let me have it. I've also heard mixed results on how often to replace control vinyl. Some say once every six months, some say never. Thoughts? If I ended up sticking with Mixxx for whatever reason, I could just rock like 5 different sets of Serato vinyl with different colors n' shit to reduce wear on any one set when practicing, but with Traktor it's kinda pointless since there's only like 4, (Black, Red, Blue, White, right?)

It seems to me I can go cheapest into Traktor - which works for me since I'm interested in the remix decks feature. (How rad would two TT's and two F1's be? Eh? Anybody?) There are people on Ebay selling their unregistered license, interface, and control vinyl for $200USD. Reasonable-ish, in my opinion. I'm also an NI fangirl, so there's that. Would it even be worth it?

For reference, I'm a hybrid genre Dance Music DJ & producer, - mostly I do rock mashups & remixes & have a lot of punk/grunge influence in my original tracks. The tempo is usually kept near DnB, though I blend into other stuff like House, Dubstep, Breaks, Trap, etc depending on the set/mood/mix/crowd/etc. Anyway, point is, I intend to include scratching in my sets, but I don't plan on being JFB or a female Q-bert or something. I'm mostly interested in it because it looks like way more fun than staring at my screen, holding the crossfader on my controller, waiting for the track to finish so I can blend over. I wanna be able to do different mixing styles, and the styles I want to do seem to do best on Vinyl, - don't gotta worry about buying a new $300 controller when the new shit comes out, I can just upgrade to new $30-50 set of vinyl. Not to mention I can throw in actual vinyl. Surprisingly, classic DnB circa late 90's, early 2000's fits nicely into my sets. I dig the vibe they bring a lot, and I have a fair-ish collection, for someone from the rural US. Guess my question here is; good idea, bad idea? More of an opinion based question, but go for it if you've input to give.

Thank you guys! I really appreciate it. I hope this is the right subforum, heh...
06-07-2017, 02:19 AM
SlayForMoney

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jane Doe

Serato Scratch Live; You need a ridiculously expensive mixer or so-so priced interface, control vinyl, and software license, (for software that charges even more for the full feature set)

Serato Scratch Live (SSL) is a discontinued software (it supported only SL interfaces and Rane mixers with a dash of dual deck controllers). New one is called SeratoDJ (SDJ) and has support for a wider range of hardware (all-in-one controllers mostly) but some of the hardware that previously worked with SSL doesn't work with SDJ (SL1 interface, Rane 57mk1 mixer, some controllers). If SSL will satisfy your needs (and you have a older laptop with older OS) you might save yourself a fair bit of $$$ (SL1 intefaces are under 100$).

SDJ on the other hand has the option of using controllers for DVS (with some you get SDJ or even DVS licence included, for some both have to be paid as a upgrade - still often cheaper that a SDJ capable mixer that go from $1000 upwards). Cheapest option for your needs is Akai AMX, middle range is Mixars Duo, top range would be DJM-S9. What's your price range anyway?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jane Doe

Rekordbox; you need an even more ridiculously expensive mixer, (no info on interfaces?) control vinyl, and software license.

Actually, DJM-250mk2 is only $350 and you get a pretty good deal with that (mixer+interface+software licence+DVS licence). Downside is it's only capable of running with one software (which doesn't have the DVS portion of it that good yet. Compared with SDJ and Traktor.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jane Doe

Traktor; You need a specific so-so to expensively priced interface, (at new prices) control vinyl, plus software license.

All in one solution like the NI Z2 mixer/controller goes at 600$. But yes, you could buy a second-hand NI interface and use it for DVS while you have your Hercules RMX also plugged in to control decks in Traktor.
06-07-2017, 06:01 AM
mhyde71

i found some Vestax pdx2000 tt's on eBay for likes of 140-160; it took like a month, but they pop up from time to time,
I do however recommend the sure m44-7's, (unfamiliar with the n44's); or Ortofon makes good stylus/cartridges. Elecktro, pro s, etc

head-shells are universal 97% of the time i have found anyways. Technics goes onto vestax, vise-versa, etc etc etc

whereabouts rural US are you ?? i am in rural US also, about as rural as you can get here in Vermont - I found that with the NS&iii, i can run SDJ through DVS or controller....and i got the controller nib (w/ for 750 to the door)- unbelievable price, but you just have to scavenge the eBay/craigslist. and wait patiently- or pay about double for that for retail nib.
I personally like the Vestax 2000 (mk, mkii,) stuff better than a Technics, but that is just preference.

i might be willing to sell one of pdx2000 i have; i know i am willing to sell the Vestax D3 i have; but that TT isnt great for scratching; the pdx2000 is, and they are all over ebay i found in last month- bought 3 of them nothing over 160 shipped. tonearms needed calibrating; but that Youtube'able and easy to do.

cant speak so so much on the different DVS software out there only used SDJ; but you mentioned that MIXX, i like the look and cost- so i may try it out.

best of luck
06-07-2017, 09:25 AM
the_bastet

Rekordbox DVS works with ANY audio interface.
06-07-2017, 11:57 AM
Jane Doe

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlayForMoney

Serato Scratch Live (SSL) is a discontinued software (it supported only SL interfaces and Rane mixers with a dash of dual deck controllers). New one is called SeratoDJ (SDJ) and has support for a wider range of hardware (all-in-one controllers mostly) but some of the hardware that previously worked with SSL doesn't work with SDJ (SL1 interface, Rane 57mk1 mixer, some controllers). If SSL will satisfy your needs (and you have a older laptop with older OS) you might save yourself a fair bit of $$$ (SL1 intefaces are under 100$)

SDJ on the other hand has the option of using controllers for DVS (with some you get SDJ or even DVS licence included, for some both have to be paid as a upgrade - still often cheaper that a SDJ capable mixer that go from $1000 upwards). Cheapest option for your needs is Akai AMX, middle range is Mixars Duo, top range would be DJM-S9. What's your price range anyway?

Actually, DJM-250mk2 is only $350 and you get a pretty good deal with that (mixer+interface+software licence+DVS licence). Downside is it's only capable of running with one software (which doesn't have the DVS portion of it that good yet. Compared with SDJ and Traktor.)

Well, um, I'm not really in the market for a mixer at the moment, however I did look at the ones you mentioned and if I decided to go the Serato route, I'd certainly pick up that Akai. As I'm not in the market for a mixer, my price range is nil unless I genuinely can't map mine to the software.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlayForMoney

All in one solution like the NI Z2 mixer/controller goes at 600$. But yes, you could buy a second-hand NI interface and use it for DVS while you have your Hercules RMX also plugged in to control decks in Traktor.

That mixer is wicked cool but at this time it's way outside my price range. If I went the Traktor route, (which is where I think I'm headed) I'd eventually pick this up with two F1's instead of those four tiny buttons to have 2 DVS decks and 2 remix decks. Would be pretty cool. Thank you so much for your input, I appreciate it!

-

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhyde71

i found some Vestax pdx2000 tt's on eBay for likes of 140-160; it took like a month, but they pop up from time to time,
I do however recommend the sure m44-7's, (unfamiliar with the n44's); or Ortofon makes good stylus/cartridges. Elecktro, pro s, etc

I'm browsing over some Vestax results on ebay, not seeing any of that specific model but plenty of the D3's you mentioned below, haha. Also, as far as needles - I know the more expensive ones are better, but if they're gonna die on me in a month, I may as well go cheap until I'm actually any good. How long do they last?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhyde71

head-shells are universal 97% of the time i have found anyways. Technics goes onto vestax, vise-versa, etc etc etc

Thank you! It seemed like I was just typing gibberish into my search engine and getting nothing for this question!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhyde71

whereabouts rural US are you ?? i am in rural US also, about as rural as you can get here in Vermont - I found that with the NS&iii, i can run SDJ through DVS or controller....and i got the controller nib (w/ for 750 to the door)- unbelievable price, but you just have to scavenge the eBay/craigslist. and wait patiently- or pay about double for that for retail nib.
I personally like the Vestax 2000 (mk, mkii,) stuff better than a Technics, but that is just preference.

Eastern Wyoming.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhyde71

i might be willing to sell one of pdx2000 i have; i know i am willing to sell the Vestax D3 i have; but that TT isnt great for scratching; the pdx2000 is, and they are all over ebay i found in last month- bought 3 of them nothing over 160 shipped. tonearms needed calibrating; but that Youtube'able and easy to do.

Let me know, I guess? I can't actually buy anything for a bit, have to save my money, haha. However I'm not disinterested.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhyde71

cant speak so so much on the different DVS software out there only used SDJ; but you mentioned that MIXX, i like the look and cost- so i may try it out.

best of luck

'preciate the honesty about software, haha. And yeah, Mixxx is pretty chill, not gonna lie.

-

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_bastet

Rekordbox DVS works with ANY audio interface.

Thank you so much for clearing that up for me! :)

-

When I first started wanting to be a DJ, when I was 15, one of my friend's older brother's had a set of turntables and mixer in a road case that were beat to hell but worked okay, with a huge bunch of records. His parents offered to sell it all to me for $50, just to get it out of the house. I decided I wanted to do digital stuff and got my RMX instead for $250. After looking at all these turntables on ebay for a few hours, I'm pretty sure the mixer was a Numark something or another, and the TT's were some model of Technics 1200's, I think the Mk2's, and I regret it so much now. Oh well, I guess. Live and learn.

So I have more questions! What is with the stigma for S shaped tonearms? What's the deal? Is S or straight better? Edit #3 (I think): Answered some questions on my own via yet more reading and browsing online.

Edit #4: I have decided, based on their extremely low eBay price and surprisingly positive reviews, (for their price range) on the Stanton T.92 USB Turntables - they have torque ratings comparable to the Technics 1200 tables, and are essentially an updated T.90 USB from what I've read, which have even better reviews and ratings, though seem to be harder to find and are no longer made. A low ebay price means the sting will keep me from hurting too badly over the initial purchase, (and make it hurt less if I resell them later and don't get what I paid - losing 20% of $100 is better than losing 20% of $400, etc)and allow me to afford a better set of needles for the tables, and I'm going to go with a set of Traktor control vinyl to practice with using Mixxx as my software, until which point I decide to swap to Traktor. Hell, it has a demo version, - with a set of Traktor vinyl I can actually try it out, haha! And if I don't like it, I can just scratch the hell out of them until they wear out, and pop over to Serato, which has cooler and more abundant vinyl, (that I've heard is longer-lasting, anyway) and go to that software, or stay with Mixxx, or whatever.

Thanks so much guys!