I guess I fall into that group. I worked at the record store and knew music so I was asked if I wanted to DJ. I never asked if I could be a DJ. It's 100% about the music for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ Abercrombie
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I guess I fall into that group. I worked at the record store and knew music so I was asked if I wanted to DJ. I never asked if I could be a DJ. It's 100% about the music for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ Abercrombie
I decided I wanted to be a DJ, but the music love came first.
It's still that way for me. I really feel like the best DJs I've seen are the ones who can see what a party needs and get there entirely with music and techniques that are good enough to not get in the way.
Sounds quite plausible. Ever since starting to play out, I basically stopped using Traktor at home except to prepare beatgrids and cue-points. I still spend loads of time for DJing related stuff, but I spend it looking for tunes on Beatport or sorting through my track collection rather than mixing for myself. Mixing without an audience does not really motivate me anymore.Quote:
Originally Posted by mostapha
And I definitely fall into that "music nerd first, DJ later" category. I'm also known to occasionally dance by myself while doing the whole music-searching/sorting thingie :D:cool:
Beat grids are 95% of the reason I don't spin at home anymore. I want to play my "new" tracks, but I'm not willing to beat grid them unless someone is going to enjoy them with me.Quote:
Originally Posted by 3heads
I literally have a handfull of tracks that I'll never DJ with because I got sick of them in the car playing off my iPhone before I got around to beat gridding them.
If I can get manual pitch controls working well enough, it might fix my problem…but, really, I just need to buy decks again.
Sync is literally killing my love of EDM not because it's too easy or because it's cheating or anything like that but because I just can't stand beat grids.
That is how I became a DJ as well although I never worked in a record shop.Quote:
Originally Posted by photojojo
Visiting a record shop, spending hours inside searching for tunes then, repeat the process at the next record shop up the road was my routine every week.
Some of the comments I am reading come across as odd and, I am quite certain how one became a DJ plays a factor on such thought patterns.
Cheers!
I used to run a "DJ'ing Workshop" up until last year on a weekday at the club I had a residency at. The people who used to turn up also fell into these two categories. Suffice to say, it was the ones who had love for the music and craft who went onto succeed,and the ones who thought it was "cool" often ended up frustrated as they soon realised that being a "good" DJ was harder than it looks!Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ Abercrombie
Keeping on topic, I grew up on vinyl and only really use DVS as a tool to play all my MP3's as if they were vinyl. I normally beatmatch all my songs the old fashioned way with a pitch fader but sometimes, when I run out of time, (i.e. you realise the song your about to drop won't mix well or just have a change of plan), a quick podge of the "SYNC" button sounds better than an inappropriate backspin or fade out.
I'd scratch into a drop at that point if the mixer I was using had a crossfader.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lineypirate
You can't sync with a dvs using turntables you have to beatmatch the fun way with the pitch slider, it's much more fun. It looks to me a's if you should just try to mix 2 tracks together really well instead of messing with fx. Not many people can mix two tracks these days very well
Interesting statement. Maybe I'm trying to play the wrong music...I'm going to think about that one:)Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ Abercrombie
That's basically what I'm doing right now. I'm still occupied for hours every day by my music, so the love for EDM is still there. Nothing can make me as happy as browsing the internet for hours listening to crap and suddenly hear that one pearl of a track that you immediately fall in love with...Quote:
Originally Posted by mostapha
Only downside of it is that I'm afraid I don't get enough actual spinning experience this way...
Give DVS a shot. I haven't met anyone who bought decks after playing controllers and regretted it. Anyone relevant, anyway.
It's fun, and can be relaxing since it's a ear-eye-hand coordination exercise that requires a little focus. I can pitch in a track in less than 30 seconds when it's on a loud, solid beat but hardly ever do so unless I'm running out of track or racing to catch the next chorus or drop or whatever. 90% of the time I'm just cruising through it at a leisurely pace and it's thoroughly enjoyable. I do it after work sometimes to relax.
I'll tell you what. I know you mentioned really loving EDM, so this suggestion may not be that appealing for you, I'll throw it out there anyway... try DJing a social party where dancing isn't the focus sometime. You won't need to mix beat for beat... you can just pick tunes out for the occasion, blend out on instrumental trails, cue in at leading beats, do simple crossfades, and so on. You can get surprisingly creative and deep mixes this way. It's very simple mixing, and you can stand there and chat with your friends while you're doing it because it's thoughtfully brainless. Effortless but affective.
If that sounds like DJing a wedding to you, that's fine, but trust me, it's really fun and it will teach you a lot about the state of your music library and your relationship with music.