it's not dumb at all. you only need to use a laptop to prepare stuff *if* you want to. then you just plug your usb stick into the cdj - no laptop required.Quote:
Originally Posted by cutflow
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it's not dumb at all. you only need to use a laptop to prepare stuff *if* you want to. then you just plug your usb stick into the cdj - no laptop required.Quote:
Originally Posted by cutflow
Honestly, you're kind of silly for not considering a controller. If you're starting from a blank slate, why would you go with CD players and a 2 channel mixer? It sounds like you're kinda new to this, what's your reasoning behind wanting low end CD players? I recommend you take a long hard look at the S4 or NS6. They are capable of so much more than CDJs and a mixer would ever be. If you're trying to be old school, get records.
And hauling around all that gear and flipping through CD cases sucks. Typing the name of a song and pushing load is so much easier.
Don't be such a snob. He want to use CDJs, let him use CDJs. Looking through a wallet isn't that fucking hard. It's certainly easier than carrying an expensive laptop and some big ass controller everywhere and then having to set it all up whenever you have a gig.
You're no better than the CDJ folks who dismiss controllers.
i got rid of my controllers for a CDJ set up. I have less features, more flexibility.....but really --- I just enjoy how it feels more.
Exactly the same with me and vinyl.
I personally prefare the feel of cjd's and its less to carry for me.... a cd wallet compaired to controller and laptop and since most users on this site insist on macbook pro and s4 thats like 4000 euro being hauled around... when nearly alllllllll clubs have a semi decent cdj, usually 800's or 1000's here in irelandQuote:
Originally Posted by DJ Nada
i like the last sentence. in the future i will also like to get into vinyls just scared of how long it could take for me to get really good with it, imagin counting bars in ur brain at all time, i think its scary just thinking about it. with cdjs im going to use loops to make transitions/blend, something i wont be able to do with vinyls alone so memorizing the bars of a track with vinyl wud be a lot more work but should be fun =xQuote:
Originally Posted by haze324
One of the benefits of playing on "standard" gear is that the kit is already at the venue... But yes, making and flipping through CDs is definitely something I don't miss. Get something with flash drive support.Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ Nada
much cooler avatar :D reminds me i need to come up with something. figured i'd do it "after i posted a bit" oopsQuote:
Originally Posted by cutflow
certainly not a bad idea starting with something more "manual" than a controller and software - and i'm pretty sure my years more "traditional dj'ing" really helped me now i'm just experimenting with controllers. makes you "listen" more and will give you skills you probably wouldn't pick up if starting on controllers.
there again controllers are another cool thing to consider sometime - but with those 350's you could use those anyway ofc.
i actually don't think using vinyl is more work than cd's (even tho my only real experience with cd's was a rather crappy gemini (i think)) as you don't need to actively memorize so much - you can see the grooves in the record to see when the transitions are going to come in. certainly more fun than watching a counter on a cd - but is maybe kind of like looking at the waveform - which you will have on those ofc.
swings and roundabouts anyway - it's all good if it gets you into dj'ing really...
if you can get 350s for cheaper go for it. They aren't really much of an improvement over the 400s imo. I have 400s, my friend has 350, I find the tempo to be fairly off at times, but its probably cause I was relying on the screen readout a little too much. Supposedly the jogs on the 350 are weighted the same as 800s, 900s, 1000s etc. Honestly I thought the jogs felt like donkey balls, I mean the 350 jogs are smaller, so making them weighted the same as bigger jogs doesn't really make much sense to me but thats me. Other then that the screen read out has a beat counter to show you 1-4 beats. Also for a mixer I have a 400 and I love it (its for sale ;)), I enjoyed having the effects and everything built into the mixer. The 350 only has 4 crappy effects.
If you have doubts about the 350's i just got them and I absolutely love them. I upgraded from the VCI-100 setup and you can check out my review that i posted in the gear review section of DJTT.
You won't regret them. At first i really wanted 400's but a found a good deal on rebate which you might want to consider. Check this out: (its also why i got the djm350 over xone 22 and have grown to love the record feature which ur interested in)
http://pioneerdjusa.com/happening.aspx
I'll chime in here, while I don't have extensive CDJ experience by any means, the PLATTER on the CDJ-400's and CDJ-350's are very different. I personally prefer the CDJ-400 platter over the 350. The 400 also has the light up ring on the platter, which is a nice touch IMO.
If you have a chance to try them out, they do /feel/ very different. Just something to think about.
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by BigC
I'll agree to this. The beatgrid display on the CDJ-350 is not an adequate replacement to the light up ring if you're into scratching. But when i tested this out i found i liked the 350 jogs more, especially how its risen so its easier to pitch bend. But it isn't as sexy as the 400's light up :( (I do however think the 350's are sexier)
You should definitely try them both out though.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Rekordbox on CDJ 350s and 850s is bullshit. You do not get the system link or basically any of the nice features shown in the video with the 2000s linked earlier - you need 2000s or 900s for that. On the 350 and 850 it's basically like the denon music manager software: only waveforms, cuepoints, and BPM.
Who cares? Just use USB sticks with tunes. The software still isn't good enough to warrant using the laptop at all.
LOL, I would suggest learning how to DJ and trying different equipment before you drop close to a grand on equipment. Nobody constantly counts bars in their head.Quote:
Originally Posted by cutflow
What if you have to bring your equipment to a gig? That's a lot of crap, trust me. There's very good reasons controllers were invented. What if you have to do requests? Pretty hard to do with CDs. You know every time you get new music, you have to download it, organize it, burn the CD and label it? That's time that could be spent practicing your swing flare or macking on pretty women.
But if you're going to ignore all that and use CDs, try the higher end CDJs and compare them to the low end ones. If you want vinyl eventually, just get it now, it's really fun.
I dunno though, how do those dnb DJ always manage to pull off double drops with vinyl? I know I happen to know one but that's easy because I just remember where to start the other song as the vocals come in the first track then.
If I had to learn it for a bunch of generic jump up where phrases all sounds the same I'm not sure how I'd do it other than write it all down and then count along.