DJ's switching back to hardware article, and a FB post from a house music legend.

[r08zy]

I think that a large amount of people have been buying controllers and using traktor and serato to DJ purely because it is the cheaper option. These guys get used to using this kit at home as for some newer DJs it is all they have used and so they want to take it into a club to bring their familiar mixing environment with them.

My intention with Traktor is to use 3 track decks with loops and play samples and percussion loops on the 4th deck with an F1. I bought the MM-1 mixer because it is a cheaper option over a xone 92 (I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I had the cash). Now with the new Pioneer Toraiz coming out it will be possible to do exactly what I do in Traktor with 3 CDJs and the Toraiz... However I don't have £7,500 spare to buy that equipment for home to practise on.

Whilst the author of that facebook post seems to have good intentions the post seems aimed at the kind of person I describe above, if that club's head liner sends over his rider which includes clearing space for his S8 or SZ do you think they will cancel the booking with him? If a young kid turning up there to play his first ever gig outside his bedroom arrives with a controller they probably will tell him he can't play.

Technology has made DJing more open and accessible than it has ever been before, of course the negative to this is it means a lot of people are using technology to short cut learning the skills that most of us built our careers on. The positive is that more musically but less DJ oriented people are stepping into the booth and with the aid of software are re-writing the rules and blurring the lines between DJ and live performance.

[snapandslide]

Technology has made DJing more open and accessible than it has ever been before, of course the negative to this is it means a lot of people are using technology to short cut learning the skills that most of us built our careers on. The positive is that more musically but less DJ oriented people are stepping into the booth and with the aid of software are re-writing the rules and blurring the lines between DJ and live performance.

Your last paragraph is quite on point. Technology should force us to up our game and be more creative than simply mixing A and B. I do understand that setups may be cumbersome in the booths to set up but maybe the booth itself and the equipment in them need to also reflect the times.

Also if others would create stand alone solutions (I'm looking at you NI) that would be fantastic, in the end I loathe the fact that only one manufacturer dominates - monopolies kill innovation and breeds stagnation.

[r08zy]

Your last paragraph is quite on point. Technology should force us to up our game and be more creative than simply mixing A and B. I do understand that setups may be cumbersome in the booths to set up but maybe the booth itself and the equipment in them need to also reflect the times.

Also if others would create stand alone solutions (I'm looking at you NI) that would be fantastic, in the end I loathe the fact that only one manufacturer dominates - monopolies kill innovation and breeds stagnation.

Yeah the size of the kit is definitely a negative point. I've been there myself as a promoter, one night springs to mind back in 2009 at a night in a tiny club with a very small booth, all of us were playing vinyl on a pair of 1210s with a 2 channel mixer until one DJ turned up with the new NS7... That thing was a monster, on the outside I was smiling and telling him 'don't worry we'll help get it set up' but inside I was thinking 'FFS we've got to juggle all the equipment round whilst another DJ is playing to get this thing to fit'

I've had a couple of controllers myself over the years, the standalone Stanton SCS4.DJ was one of the best, I bought it mostly whilst doing radio shows so I could present the shows from home or friends houses without carting a load of kit with me. However the couple of times I did play in a club with it it was a pain in the arse getting enough room to fit it in. At least with a modular set up I can squeeze my X1s next to the clubs mixer... Not that I think I'll ever be playing out again.

[Nicky H]

Lot's of people around here use a laptop with 1 or 2 X1's and usually an Audio 8/10.
Very few use an all-in-one controller, can't remember the last time I saw one - think it was about 3 years ago.

[r08zy]

Lot's of people around here use a laptop with 1 or 2 X1's and usually an Audio 8/10.
Very few use an all-in-one controller, can't remember the last time I saw one - think it was about 3 years ago.

Yeah I've seen more modular set ups than people showing up to clubs with full sized controllers, even with modular it still means connecting the audio interface to the clubs mixer (unless they have a mixer with one built in or a patchbay).

[PartyMcFly]

More club installations should use a coffin for the gear in the booth. Create a sturdy table space for alternative equipment by latching the lid on top and covering the Pioneer stuff. Personally I've never seen this done in the wild but have always thought it would solve so many problems.

Additional nice-to-haves: Install a patch bay that includes a bypass of the DJM for when it's covered up. Run additional power outlets in that are accessible to someone besides a tech or the club manager crawling under the booth.

[lecroixboy]

More club installations should use a coffin for the gear in the booth. Create a sturdy table space for alternative equipment by latching the lid on top and covering the Pioneer stuff. Personally I've never seen this done in the wild but have always thought it would solve so many problems.

Additional nice-to-haves: Install a patch bay that includes a bypass of the DJM for when it's covered up. Run additional power outlets in that are accessible to someone besides a tech or the club manager crawling under the booth.

Wouldnt that be nice? Would make sense to protect their decks and cdjs too. I cringe whenever people have to put stuff on top of a tech12 but sometimes its so cramped you have to

[sobi]

I've seen a lot of responses railing against the club in question, but really showing they haven't read through the info in the thread.

[sobi]

Also, curious... would you say it's true or false that there is more talent in a DJ who can show up and rock it just as hard with whatever is provided vs someone who needs a specific setup to rock their own way?

I guess my issue is that while I DEFINITELY don't think it matters what you use, I have a hard time arguing the logic that the guy who has no issue with gear restrictions and plays on everything is better than the niche guy.

Back when I first started, you could have played on CD players, but they were no where near standard (or worth a shit really). That standard set up forced the cream to rise. Sort of a "here's what your given. Let's see what you've got."

[r08zy]

You make a good point sobi.

I think there are a few different ways of looking at this, I'm sure that if 90% of bedroom DJs making their first move into clubland could afford a full CDJ & DJM set up at home they would buy one and would turn up to the club with rekordbox prepped USBs and play a set on equipment they know and love.

In certain genres of music the niche guys you talk about are the ones who are really pushing the envelope of what is possible, bringing their ableton push or maschine, or TR-8 with them and integrating that into their set... truly making something unique for that club and that crowd that would be difficult to reproduce again. That's what some clubs and some audiences pay for.

If you use the term niche guy to refer to the guy who needs space for his mixtrack pro and laptop with virtual DJ because that's all he can use then yeah I fully understand, but back to my first point that this guy could be using this kit either because he's been priced out of buying and practising on the standard equipment (can't really blame him for that) or he is lazy and wants to let the software do a lot of the work for him (in this case he shouldn't have been booked in the first place).