Every DJ had to start somewhere. Every DJ has their own story of how they started out. Personally, I'm bout as old school as it gets. I started out rocking house parties with a pair of mismatched yard sale turntables with a half shorted out mixer from Radio Shack I got third hand 17 years ago. I was walking into every gig with a cooler (not a crate, but a beer cooler) full of vinyl and a roll of duct tape in my bag for on the fly repairs as I played hoping like hell I made it through my set. My point is, as you grow as an artist, your gear will be evidence of your growth because it will grow with you.Quote:
Originally Posted by efung28
Every software has a learning curve involved. Was it a bit daunting for me making the leap from being a vinyl junkie who was dragging 2 100+ count record crates everywhere to depending on my laptop to carry me through a show? Hell yeah. But I'm also a tech geek. So, the transition was smoother for me than most because I read how-to manuals for fun. After getting the basics down and finding how each feature of my software and hardware would benefit me in a live setting, that is the same moment I upgraded to TSP.
I took baby steps when I went digital. I started with M-Audio Torq. Much like Virtual DJ, I learned Torq is built for beginners and it shows. It's buggy and sold for cheaper than the others. Then I tried Serato Scratch Live after the SL-3 box was released. I thought SSL was solid setup, but I was itching to get more bang for my buck and tweak my gear even more. By then, the only choice that was robust enough to change with me as I changed it to suit my needs was Traktor Scratch Pro. Yeah, TSP was a little overwhelming at first. But I grew into it eventually. Thanks to that touch of overkill, I'm scratching on the vinyl control, glitching the sound with my Dicers, manually bridging Ableton Live into TSP adding a bit more to the mix with my APC 40.
As you grow as an artist, your needs will grow. As your needs grow, your gear must have the headroom and extras to help you grow and inspire you to learn how to gain that little extra edge over the next DJ wanting that same payday.
Aside from that, take pride in gaining a little extra versatility. I've gone to auditions and the club manager narrowed his decision between myself and this other dude. The head bouncer asked, "Which one of you can use turntables in your mix?" I raised my hand. My competition stayed quiet. I reported for work 7pm that Saturday night. The other dude was at home simply because I had skills using a different method to spin. Traktor Scratch Pro 2 allows you to learn CDs, vinyl control, MIDI control, and more options above what you hadn't dreamed of yet that than you can shake a stick at. I understand you may not have CD decks or turntables, but believe me when I say it may come in handy one day to at least learn how to use them.
So really. Are you sold on springing for the bigger version, or should I keep going...?
(...and no, I do not work for Native Instruments. I got no stake in this. I'm just offering a starting DJ some advice I wish I got when I started.)
