Why? Famous DJ's use CDJ vs. Timecode?

Here is the way I see it,

A laptop DJ comes to a gig and has 2k-10k tracks.
A CD/LP DJ comes to a gig and has 100 tracks in CD or LP form.

How is this laptop DJ going to fit his 2k-10k tracks into one two hour set?

I often hear the laptop DJ brag about how many tracks he has on his computer, I personally let my CD wallet do the talking for me whilst I check out tits and ass on the dancefloor ;).

To each their own though. There have been gigs where I have Scratch Live or Traktor readily installed on my laptop and will come in, plug in, play simply because there are only controllers available to play on.

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Originally Posted by lanceblaise

i know for a fact that plenty of the big names at ultra were using traktor last year. Maybe the few videos that you saw were of djs using, but, hawtin, loco dice, luciano, cox, and plenty of others were using traktor. So to say 100% of the big names were on cdjs is false.

So don't sweat it, many of the big names have embraced technology just like us. And plenty of them lurk these boards.

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^^^^ this!

let me put this thread to bed...why do big names still use 4 CDJs...ahem...cough cough...

BECAUSE THEY WANT TO!!!

Sorry for the typos, but....
I just went to Nocturnal Wonderland in San Bernardino, California (www.nocturnalwonderland.com for line up / info) last weekend and was on stage / backstage the entire weekend. Shameless plug =)
Every act except for two or three used Pioneer CDJ's with a Rane mixer and No timecode.
All used burned CD's in binders - mainly with their own / new tracks on them.
This included Kaskade Fedde Le Grande, Mark Knight, Green Velvet, TC, Sunnery James, Manufactured Superstars, Sewdish House Mafia, Albert, Arty, Lisa Lashes etc.
Also, there were a couple DJ's (2 that I saw) who only put one CD on one side and hit play then hand gestured the rest of their set - maybe because of the BIG crowd 50,000+ there... They still rocked it, so not hating, just saying...
Regardless, the event rocked and Pioneer CDJ's were the standard among them - how do Iknow - because I asked them how they felt about using them opposed to Serato Traktor etc.... Also, just as an FYI for this even - the pioneers, mixer etc. were set up at ll the 5 rooms beforhand, so DJ's just came in with their CD's and played.

It could indeed be that the top 100 DJs (however you count it as I think people like James Holden should be in there and he uses Traktor...) are Pioneer users. That's fine. And if I was in the DJ top client circuit I would use Pioneer gear as that's given at the places where such gigs are.

Does not mean that every DJ out there have to use Pioneer gear. It's expensive. You get same or even better results with other gear. It's like telling every aspiring guitar player that they need a Marshall amp and a Gibson, otherwise forget about playing on-stage.

And if there still are naive ones thinking that the gear itself is the soul of DJs, not the DJ itself, can't do much about that.

PS: Music revolutions happened with players such as Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen et rest that actually made their own equipment to express something new, not copycat:ing existing guitar players and their gear.

Timecode blows for cds, cueing is always buggy. Well it was for me.

I like cds because of organizational reasons,

when I can afford cdjs with usb input I will give up with the cds but continue to organize the songs as if they were on cds.

I got too caught up in the "optimum" midi mapping for the controllers I have. I wasn't even djing, just sitting down trying to reinvent the midi fighter mapping.

I'm willing to bet that if you compared how much money you spent between upgrading a pioneer setup on midi controllers it would cost about the same thing.

Every 2-3 months a new software/ hardware comes out. No sense in trying to keep up with that.

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Originally Posted by Carl Gantzer

what happened to SKILL??

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Originally Posted by Carl Gantzer

come on guys.. wheres the soul anymore? :(:(:(

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In music production. Unless you're James Zabiela - there isn't much skill behind pushing cue/play and inching the pitch slider into the appropriate value. Programming a well structured set - sure, but again that's kind of the job of any good DJ to begin with, no matter what medium is used.

Now excuse me while I hop off this dead horse lol.

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Originally Posted by Ciconte

With that kind of show CDJs are simply easier... They are the industry standard and you simply do not have to worry about laptop crashes and more importantly swapping everyones gear out. Everyone transitions the same.

The reason for the 4 CDJs is that some of these DJs actually use up to 4 CDJs to mix with, while other just mix between two (three for fills and samples).. Redundancy is really a byproduct of having four there (although if one of those 4 goes done you can be sure a fifth is waiting near by)

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When you are a professional you bring two Macbooks Pros as a safety measure against crashes. More possibilities than 4 CDJs + no hassle with CDs. Plus cheaper too, but that's not really relevant for the big names out there.

I think about ease of use as well. If you already have an extensive binder of cd's, adding those new tracks to your collection is just a 3 minute cd burn away in your room. No gridding, no computer, no bs.

We all like to embrace technology, but sometimes it's just easier to show up with a cd wallet.

It's nothing to do with personal preference or what is technically good/bad for sound quality or ergonomics or whatever.

These Guetta types playing big gigs are not using their own gear.

They are doing gigs where they have to fly and everyone is hounding them for interviews and other PR BS. All they have to do is play the hits that people expect and they know exactly how long they have to play for etc.

Carrying anything vital for the gig (even remembering an ipod cable) is too much for them and they do not care. A book of burned CDs is so cheap and if it gets lost on the plane there is no issue.

Asking the promoter to provide equpiment is ALWAYS a problem for anyone who is travelling. So you have to make it so simple that even a monkey isn't going to fuck up. Asking for CDJs and a DJM is the most simple tech spec in the world. And even when they do fuck up (and it WILL happen) it's the most basic thing to explain to the clipboard-holding-girl who can't tell a drumstick from a guitar amp. "This clearly says CDJ1000, and my contract clearly says CDJ2000. You are in breach of contract. I will not play and you will still pay my full fee".

Extreme example I know. But really in the pro world it's not about what gear is good or bad or appropriate or whatever. It's about what is the most simple stuff to communicate to the people is Russia or where-ever-land who have no experience putting on gigs.

People like deadmau5 or whoever who care about putting on a show carry all their own gear and have techs with them etc. In which case everything what was said above is valid but largely just comes down to personal preference and budget etc.