What DJ Equipment Should I get?

[blackhao]

I want to start to DJ but I'm not sure on what equipment to buy. I was thinking to get a Midi Fighter Pro from DJ TechTools, which is about $350, and then a Traktor Kontrol S2, which is about $600-650 depending on where you order it, from to go along with it. They are both mid range priced so they're not super expensive but there are cheaper options. the Kontrol S2 also comes with a copy of Traktor Pro 2 which is almost $300 by itself and is a great piece of software.

What are your thoughts?

[Stormcaller]

Are you sure you want to drop that much coin on something you aren't sure you are gonna like? If you have the budget for the S2 and are sure that is the right all-in-one controller for you then get just that on its own. It is a pretty good controller. I wouldn't get anything else with it until you know what sort of play style you want to go for, and thus know what controllers you will need for it.

The Midifighter pro is discontinued. They are also not that easy to find, and it has been superceded by the midifighter 3d.

Also, traktor isn't the only game in town. I would try to demo Traktor, Serato, and the more off the beaten path softwares such as VDJ, Cross and DecaDance and see which one you most get on with. Lots of controllers work wih only specific software, and once you get everything set up on one of them it is very hard to move all of it over to another one, while maintaining beatgrids and cue points. If you can test them at a music store with real hardware then that'll help you make an informed decision before you commit to one of them.

[kooper1980]

I'd take things right back to basics.

Get a 2 deck all in one controller>Use whatever software it comes bundled with>have fun

Learn to mix. Learn phrasing. Learn EQing. Learn what tunes sound good together. Then, and only then, start thinking about different controllers and software.

The more choice you give yourself to begin with the harder the journey. DJing is primarily about mixing 2 tunes. learn that first then progress.

[Eliot Han]

Are you sure you want to drop that much coin on something you aren't sure you are gonna like? If you have the budget for the S2 and are sure that is the right all-in-one controller for you then get just that on its own. It is a pretty good controller. I wouldn't get anything else with it until you know what sort of play style you want to go for, and thus know what controllers you will need for it.

The Midifighter pro is discontinued. They are also not that easy to find, and it has been superceded by the midifighter 3d.

Also, traktor isn't the only game in town. I would try to demo Traktor, Serato, and the more off the beaten path softwares such as VDJ, Cross and DecaDance and see which one you most get on with. Lots of controllers work wih only specific software, and once you get everything set up on one of them it is very hard to move all of it over to another one, while maintaining beatgrids and cue points. If you can test them at a music store with real hardware then that'll help you make an informed decision before you commit to one of them.

this x2 ... Also traktor 2 is about $100 at the moment from NI's website.

[dj max bradley]

I want to start to DJ but I'm not sure on what equipment to buy. I was thinking to get a Midi Fighter Pro from DJ TechTools, which is about $350, and then a Traktor Kontrol S2, which is about $600-650 depending on where you order it, from to go along with it. They are both mid range priced so they're not super expensive but there are cheaper options. the Kontrol S2 also comes with a copy of Traktor Pro 2 which is almost $300 by itself and is a great piece of software.

What are your thoughts?

actually if you go to the native instruments web sight witch is the traktor web sight you can buy a S2 for $399.00 and you are right it does come with traktor pro 2. im not sure what a midi fighter is. I use control vinyl with a traktor Audio 6 interface. you will get what you paid for if you buy an S2 just like all other traktor products. if you want to use a controller and you can afford it get the S2. however I have never used a controller. I am basing this on how happy I am with my Audio 6. I know the S2 does FX, loops, beat syncing, beat jumping with hot cues, pitch control............. all of witch you control on your S2 into your software

[mostapha]

Based on the prices you mentioned, I'll assume you're not in the US. If you are in the US, those prices are high. By a lot.

That being said....my first DJ setup was a pair of 1200s, a crate of badly-selected and half-worn-out vinyl, and a super-cheap gemini mixer that was noisy as all get out and only lasted about another week. I paid 600USD for it a little over a decade ago and was fine with that. So...you can do it for cheaper now, but I won't tell you to. I think the S2 has all the capabilities you need to really learn what you're doing for at least the first few years. The same is true for some cheaper controllers, but I don't know where to point you now that Vestax went out of business.

If you want a different option, some of the reloop controllers seem good for the money....as does the Numark NV (except that it's shockingly small compared to everything but the old 2-deck vestax controllers). But they both will work better with Serato DJ than Traktor....and I (and a lot of other people) prefer Traktor. With that in mind, I wouldn't buy either over the S2 to use with Traktor.

If you already have a laptop that beats the recommended specs for Traktor and want to use it, I don't really see how you could go wrong with the S2.

[dj max bradley]

you can order by credit card. shipping is free. my first gear was a sl-1200 and a sl-d2. both were direct drive and made by technics. I had a ecler smack 32 mixer witch I mixed into the ground. I played minimal techno records that I bought at the record store. this was around the year 2000.

[dayvue]

I want to start to DJ but I'm not sure on what equipment to buy. I was thinking to get a Midi Fighter Pro from DJ TechTools, which is about $350, and then a Traktor Kontrol S2,

If you are looking for the best value, I'd buy a used Serato Controller, like the VCI 300 mk2. These generally go for around $200-300, and will work with Serato without needing to buy the software. This is how I started learning, but back then it cost $600, not $200. The interface on these controllers is the classic mixer layout, but has loop and hot cue functionality too - perfect for someone looking to get into DJing. While I have since switched to a DVS-Traktor system, but that was only once I realized that I wanted to do custom midi-mapping for my midi controllers (dicers, x1, queno).

The short of it is, you should probably go for best value at this point in time, and something along the lines of a VCI-300 will be i. inexpensive ii. very functional iii. come with software iv. provide you a good base to grow as a performer v. teach you the workflow of "classical" djing vi. help you discover what kind of dj skills you'd like to level up first - scratching, effect combos, hot cue juggles, drum pad performance, etc.