CDJ vs Vinyl...But not the way you think.

This is not a debate about which is better, and then the technology guys pipe in about all new features, and then the vinyl purists say nothing beats the feel. This is based on a practicality for MOBILE DJing, weddings. corporate. I use either the house kit and a club, or bring my ddj-sx for bars, never ONCE used MY turntables or CDJ's at a club/bar.

SO THE QUESTION:

I bought CDJ 900NXS last year because "if my HID fails, I run rekordbox, if that fails, i run cd's, if that fails i run iPods

very noble for mobile gigs where i'm only playing open format top40 stuff really, where no one cares if i even mix songs at those gigs. lets say cdj's and roadcases are worth $4000 Canadian. big cash

but recently i been thinking "why don't i just go back to my tech1210's for 1/4 the price and pay off some bills?" i am comfortable with both, and i know really the CDJ's have WAY more features, but all i ever use to be honest is my pitch fader, loop, and cue button. that's it.

turntables i can do the exact same thing, so it's not a matter of that. it's more of a matter (based on YOUR experience) do you think i am going way overboard with all of these systems in place for failure, and maybe sell the 900nxs' and pay off some bills?
and then just use my 1210's, have my two ipods on standby, and even buy a cheap pair of cdj800's to leave in the car in case of emergency (can still play timecode and cd's anyways)

thoughts? (the things that keep me up at night)

...Thinking of a Solution like Pioneers XDJ-R1 or a Numark Mixdeck Express???

Cd-Players, Mixer, Controller All-in-One???

It seems like to me you're worried about hardware failure. Have you experienced this before?

CDJs might be more expensive but if you buy new, at least they'll still have warranties whereas 1200s will not be on warranties and from what've heard, it could cost an arm and a leg to fix them.

Personally I'd say look at the gig. Like you said, people don't really care if you're mixing at open format/top 40 stuff, so why bother with Techs or CDJs if you have the DDJ-SX? If the crowd won't be bothered by lack of mixing, they definitely won't have any weird issues with controllers.

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Originally Posted by overcast

It seems like to me you're worried about hardware failure. Have you experienced this before?

CDJs might be more expensive but if you buy new, at least they'll still have warranties whereas 1200s will not be on warranties and from what've heard, it could cost an arm and a leg to fix them.

Personally I'd say look at the gig. Like you said, people don't really care if you're mixing at open format/top 40 stuff, so why bother with Techs or CDJs if you have the DDJ-SX? If the crowd won't be bothered by lack of mixing, they definitely won't have any weird issues with controllers.

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This can depend on your market too. A wedding DJ with more proper appearing equipment can definitely get mroe referral business than one without. (no bias from me, just how a crowd sees it).

If it were me, I would stick with the technics plus traktor dvs/serato dvs.

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Originally Posted by the_bastet

This can depend on your market too. A wedding DJ with more proper appearing equipment can definitely get mroe referral business than one without. (no bias from me, just how a crowd sees it).

If it were me, I would stick with the technics plus traktor dvs/serato dvs.

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I never really thought about future referrals. That does make sense though!

Turntables are fucking heavy. That's the biggest thing I think that has been left out of this equation. If that's not an issue - what you are saying makes sense monetarily.

TBH I would recommend the XDJ-RX if I were buying new again - but something like that wasn't out when I got my equipment. It can do everything you would want out of it - and you don't need to worry about bringing a laptop either.

If you're doing mobile work less shit to setup and worry about it clutch.

I mainly use my Serato SL1 box when I am home to practice on with my turntables. Sometimes if I take a gig and they just have turntables or CDJs without USB it's perfect to lug that stuff out. The majority of the time I play out recently though I've been running USB sticks off of rekordbox with the CDJ's that most places provide. Given though I'm not doing weddings but playing bars/clubs.

If I didn't rent out equipment on occasion the XDJ-RX would be at the top of my list because it's just so damned smart and convenient.

yeah that xdj from pioneer looks slick,but again it's an "all in one" meaning if it dies, it all dies haha (i have the fear that it won't be a simple failure, but catastrophic) i put my CDJ's up for sale, hopefully pay some bills off. the only real danger with timecode is my computer dying. i wonder if there are any good party albums out there that have A-B sides of some classics mixed current tracks to just put on and let play in an emergency? like a backup that i can carry so i don't have to carry a crate of records. i guess my idea of buying cdj800's might be the best backup. i can find a pair for $300 here. my job has me "prepare for the worst case scenario" and now that's all i do. 9/10 i don't think a wedding or corporate would care if i just put my ipod on shuffle on one of my "press play incase of emergency" playlist. just my paranoia

There are plenty of "party mix" records out there man. A little digging for old one and some disogging for newer ones will get you a decent backup.

I am going to repeat the post that I thought would have more traction... Turntables are heavy and a pain to drag. Add in the fact you will bring vinyl and it will make it worse.
On the plus side, the attention one gets when they show up with turntables (outside of hip hop venues) is amazing... It hasn't been that long, but people tend to have a nostalgic smile when they see it. I play on vinyl every so often, but I wouldn't make it a common thing (my back won't like it lol)

arguably, if you have a SL3 or a Rane/AH mixer and a pair of TTs, you have SDJ/Traktor for your main apparatus, internal mode if your TT gets wonky, maybe emergency vinyl if the computer dies, and the ability to play off of ipod if all but the mixer goes down.