My First Set-Up (would love some advice)

[sabraham118]

So basically I am new to this whole scene. After hours browsing through this site, i am a lot more confident that with time and work I can be a quality DJ too. I wanna start off by thanking you guys for having so many resources available to beginner djs.

So after hours of research, I purchased a vestax vci-100, and a midi-fighter classic off your b/s/t forums. I also went and purchased a m-audio FireWire solo. I have a 13"MacBook pro with only 2 USB ports so I figured it would be a smart idea to go with FireWire. I plan on purchasing arcade buttons to install, as well as the se overlay. I do not know what firmware the vci is as I just purchased it today. Still waiting on it in the mail. The seller threw in traktor scratch pro 2, which is the program I was hoping to learn. I was planning on using my Logitech x-540 speakers as my temporary monitor.

Now my questions are:

Is there anything else I should purchase?

What would be the best firmware to use?

What is a good set of headphones to start off with? Under $150.

Are there any books I should read?

What mapping should I use with this set up?

Should I get actual monitors soon? I'll be spinning in my bedroom.

Is there any advice anyone has. I'd love to learn so anything would help.


Thanks

[sabraham118]

Anything guys?

[SoRNDM]

I would say play around with it until you reach a point where your VCI 100 has it´s boundries. Combined with a Midifighter you can do a LOT of stuff with it. Learn how to map your controllers and play around with them as much as you can. Then when you think you need more buttons or want to scratch and so on, then you can think about buying new equipment.

The best firmware would be the 1.4 by DJTT, but you can easily play without it.

I bought some Sennheiser HD 25´s but as they are over your price limit, I am not sure which ones would fit your needs. Maybe some Pioneer HDJ-500?

A book that i can recommend to you is the Traktor Bible. It´s a great book to see what features Traktor Pro has and how you can map your controllers to them.

I think you can start without having decent monitors. If you have some money to spend - get them. They are not necessary, but it´s nice to have them.

Advices? Play around as much as you can, buy new tracks and play around with them. Create new mappings, watch livesets of other controllerists, listen to different genres and so on.

But as I am fairly new to the scene too, don´t trust me. That´s just my personal opinion