A few Questions about DJing

hey, im pretty new to DJing, currently have a numark mixtrack pro 2 and an old laptop rigged up. I get the idea of DJing, im just practising all that no-cheat beatmatching and throwing tracks in on time. I am learning production in FL studio as well. here are my questions
1) if you're listening to a mix and you hear 2 tracks that fit perfectly into each other, and you know what the tracks are, is it allowed to mix them exactly the same in your own mix?
2) my record collection is just over 200 tracks. I know I haven't been at it for very long, but its still pretty teeny. I specialize in UK Garage music, and there aren't that many tracks made in that style anymore (well, thats what I can see) most UKG promos go out through this company called beat1uk, and they specialize in Radio DJs (and being 14 years old, I cant work for a radio yet.) how do I build up my collection quicker?
3) If I suddenly got rich and could afford a high-end pioneer DJ setup, and I would only ever use rekordbox or Memory Sticks, would an XDJ1000 be better than a CDJ2000N, or does the XDJ cost more/have less features? (cant a poor kid dream :D)

thanks for reading ~DJ GR

1. its ok to practice using a mix you heard another person do, but i wouldn't record it or perform it.
2. soundcloud is full of dope free music.also try email record labels and ask to be put on promo lists. not every one will do it for no namers but it doesnt hurt to try and some will simply add you.
3. get rich first, then start shopping :P otherwise build your setup one piece at a time, im betting since you are young it will take you a while between each piece, which will give you a lot of opportunities to change your mind and really zero in on what you really need. if possible go to guitar center or similar and try out gear so you know what feels good to you.

good luck and welcome to the world of music mixing!

1)ok
2)i got 1 problem with that, there are only about 2 UKG record labels I know of, and its very hard to find them on sc and stuff. any good ideas of how to find them? should I check out the deep house labels to see if they have some but they call it deep house instead?
3)yeah ik, im a poor kid.

1 - practice? sure. But only if you need to learn a technique. I mean...it's not like it actually matters, but this kind of defeats the purpose of sharing your taste in music and your performance if they're both based on someone else.

2 - Don't worry about it. When you find a track you like, buy it. I don't bring 200 tracks to a performance because I just get burried in choices. If you play everything, that's like 8-10 hours of music, at least.

3 - the 2000nxs is the better player, but nothing pioneer makes is as good as Traktor in terms of capabilities. But, I'm with @deejaesnafu, your needs will change and evolve as you learn what you're doing. You might end up saving for a $6000-10,000 pioneer setup. You might wind up like me and think your cobbled together setup is hands-down better regardless of the price difference.

3 - the core of every DJ setup is the mixer and the changes in DJ gear have had the smallest influence on in - even today, you can use a good 15 year old mixer in a modern digital dj setup. so buy a good one.

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Originally Posted by SlayForMoney

3 - the core of every DJ setup is the mixer and the changes in DJ gear have had the smallest influence on in - even today, you can use a good 15 year old mixer in a modern digital dj setup. so buy a good one.

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I recently bought an analog mixer as the core of my all-digital setup...the mixer hasn't changed substantially since 1999.

1) I actually learned how to mix by copying mixes. I'd listen/watch and then duplicate. Eventually I came up with my own material. It's like learning jazz music. You learn your vocabulary from listening to and copying people better than you... eventually you get better too.

2) Listen, listen, listen. As one other poster said, soundcloud is great. If there are artists with podcasts/radio stations, listen to find tracks that you like. There is no hurry in building your library. It's better to know a few tracks really well than a ton of tracks you don't.

3) Nothing wrong with dreaming. This kid at heart dreams all the time. Personally, wait till the XDJ version of the CDJ2000N comes out.

1. Do it. If someone performs some killer mashup or routine thats sick as fuck and you can mimmick it, do it. Have fune
2. Dont even stress it man. There are so many other options out there. Look for sound sthat are similar to what you are playing. Dig for pop tunes that you can mix into your garage set. I have loads of UK garage as well, you'd be surprised how many of those tunes I found on labels that release breaks, trip hop, hip hop, grime, and DNB.
3. Get a setup that YOU feel comfortable on while you learn. Dont feel like you need industry standard right now. But when it comes time, the XDJ is where its at bruv. I hate to say it, but CD's are dead. We just don't need em anymore.

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Originally Posted by jon doe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29tKLyBW7HE

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I'm scared to press play.

Yeah. Don't.

It feels like my ears were just raped.

i dont use cdjs, i prefer real tables and button pushing myselff, but rubbish? im rofling, this must be why (almost) every serious or semi serious money making DJ uses them. and yet i have never , ever seen a money making dj outside the wedding circut using american dj gear.

sounds legit.

u can do what you want on any controller or even a qwerty keyboard if u put in the work, i still wouldnt go around calling cdjs rubbish. i also wouldnt brag about getting things done with a few train wrecks, just sayin.

The great thing about mixing in two songs that you heard somewhere else, is that you will never be able to fully recreate that sound that you have heard before. One of the wonders of Mixing.

I would mix the songs together as practice. Don't let this block your creativity and think 'these songs go together really well, ill keep on mixing these two.' there might be a better combination of songs that you are limiting yourself from.

Also if it is two BIG songs mixed in together that work well and everyone knows, this might play against you when trying to promote yourself. People will assume you are one of 'those' dj's who just copy everyone else.

Re garage: Spoony on Rinse FM - listen in / DL past podcasts. http://rinse.fm/artists/spoony/ also on soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/rinsefm/spoony251214

Good UKG doc to watch by vice too, get to know roots and discover more artists etc http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandc...ge-documentary

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Originally Posted by Deejaesnafu

i also wouldnt brag about getting things done with a few train wrecks, just sayin.

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and who can even tell with hardcore lols.

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Originally Posted by jon doe

who`s bragging, they are my sets, my train wrecks mixed in deckadance, i would`nt brag about buying anything based on some rubbish scratching and crappy london 120bpm music where you have 2 whole seconds to press play inbetween kicks

even more so, when most tunes arn`t even mixed in youtube video`s, everyone used the sync button, then just chops the mix into the next tune, and have to mess about with the EQ`s nonstop because they have`nt normalized all they`re tunes to the RMS averages

the latency is low enough to match a bar, and let go of the scratch part of the jog wheel, with instant "pickup" for hardcore where you have 0.8 seconds inbetween kicks

http://youtu.be/1S_fwdZig5c?t=21m14s

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I like when people come ask for help and then bash and argue with everyone...

<sigh>

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Originally Posted by jon doe

its not me who asked for help, i said the VMS4.1 will do what you want for another 5 years or so, if you want to get some cdj`s, you can just plug them in to the analog jacks, and wont need a new controller or mixer, ontop of having to buy a bling computer

ontop of everything, its only £260 in the shops in the uk

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yes you did...now calm down...

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Originally Posted by jon doe

garagehead101 started the thread, not me, nobody on london radio, or pirates can mix, its not me who needs help

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seems as though you are right...my apologies...

still...relax...