Controllerist prejudice?

[kooper1980]

@dope, hit the nail on the head.

Now I want to add before I say this next bit that I use sync and I have NO issues with that at all. BUT... When I first started to mix it was all about beatmatching and you wouldn't ever put yourself forward for a gig until you were super confident that your beatmatching was perfect. Now this took time. A LOT of time and practice and with that practice you also developed a deeper knowledge of your music collection, phrasing and most of all what to play and when. This meant that when you then had the confidence to gig you actually understood a lot of things. The problem with controllers and sync is that it gives people the (false) confidence to gig out and they haven't had the time to develop that deeper understanding and when they play in the real world and not just their bedrooms they don't know their tunes, they can't phrase for shit and they dont know what to play and when. I can't recall how many times I've seen threads where people say that they have been mixing for a month and want to get gigs. In my opinion a month just isn't enough time to perfect your craft enought to the point of playing out.

Like I said I'm an advocate of controllers and the sync button but it can breed a false sense of readiness in my opinion. And I think this contributes to the prejudice.

[deevey]

As I mentioned in a previous thread, its the same in any industry where computers rule the roost .. Web Development, Graphic Design, Music Production etc ..

I can't imagine a web development firm hiring a member of staff that can't hand code a website regardless of them being able to fire up dreamweaver and drag and drop a site together.

[IznremiX]

I think he just needs to stop hiring bad djs. I've seen a few guys who use cdjs, and are absolutely horrible (think flanger and filter every 10 seconds), but they think they're amazing because they don't use a laptop.

As for all the sound quality stuff, I think if your using a controller, its important to show up early to set up and make sure everything sounds alright and is stable.

[DJGammon]

I dont see the relevance to DJ controllerism at all. I think the problem lays within his selection process, hes giving every shit DJ in town a saturday night slot

[flexmartin]

I'd he's giving local noobs a shot good on him. Why not run an open decks night on a normally quiet night? Bar tab and a job as the prize. End up with several wannabes who all bring their crew and buy drinks. Hopefully one of them is good enough to handle a Saturday.
Otherwise, poach a pro from around town or put more effort into interview/audition.

Edit. So, to the thread topic. The prejudice is somewhat justified due to the experiences. But there are ways to deal with it coz its not a sensible way to book djs; based on their kit.

[Arbite]

I'd he's giving local noobs a shot good on him. Why not run an open decks night on a normally quiet night? Bar tab and a job as the prize. End up with several wannabes who all bring their crew and buy drinks. Hopefully one of them is good enough to handle a Saturday.
Otherwise, poach a pro from around town or put more effort into interview/audition.

Edit. So, to the thread topic. The prejudice is somewhat justified due to the experiences. But there are ways to deal with it coz its not a sensible way to book djs; based on their kit.

I played an open decks night similar to that recently. Two new DJ's every Monday night for six or so weeks. I had a cha to the manager after I finished, and he was saying he nearly wrote me off when I showed up with my Twitch (which does looks bit toylike). Apparently he'd had issues with the others who brought controllers suffering poor mixing techniques, dropouts, crashes and being rude. I guess it ties in to the fact that anyone with a couple of hundred can drop it on a controller and call themselves a DJ without actually learning anything.

The best you can do in that situation is to be courteous and play well. If they have one image in their mind about a controllerist, then show them another one. Get to know the sound system, make sure all your gear is working well, and if it isn't bring a USB or some CDs/records.

[rotebass]

I'd he's giving local noobs a shot good on him. Why not run an open decks night on a normally quiet night? Bar tab and a job as the prize. End up with several wannabes who all bring their crew and buy drinks. Hopefully one of them is good enough to handle a Saturday.
Otherwise, poach a pro from around town or put more effort into interview/audition.

Edit. So, to the thread topic. The prejudice is somewhat justified due to the experiences. But there are ways to deal with it coz its not a sensible way to book djs; based on their kit.

That's a very good idea actually. Bring in some extra clientele on a slow night, and avoid scaring away your clientele on the weekend. It's a common tactic in band world actually: You start a band, you play lots of sunday-thursday gigs in dives and community centers, a promoter notices you, you get booked to open for a small time touring act, you play your ass off, you get booked for a bigger touring act, repeat, repeat, groupies, blow, broken guitar strings. repeat.

The thing that stuck out to me in the OP was the part about song selection, it was stated that people were playing "weird" tracks. IMO there is no relation between that and controllerism, the real issue is that someone is too lazy to do their research before they give joe schmoe a go on a prime club night. I think most DJs are pretty open about what they play, some play Top 40, some don't, some play a mix. I don't think any of us are shy about this preference, you can talk to a fellow DJ for 5 minutes and you'll know his top 10 favourite songs, in order. Somebody needs to start thinking with their noodle.

[Nontablist]

Every time tehcnology make a step... There is always somebody hating!!!

From vinyl to cds, to mp3s.... from the turntable to the laptop, to the ipad... from traktor to serato, to ableton!!!

there is always somebody hating something. As a example, last night i have a gig with some friends, one of them use serato, and it was "hating" about traktor, and that serato its the new standard industry...

All I say is the hell with standards, haters, and club owners, all that matters is music!!!

[coupon]

I understand that he doesn't want to deal with the issues that come up with using a controller. i help run a night and even though we always use the same set up, external mixer + s4, random problems always seem to come up. luckily i'm pretty good at troubleshooting and the venue gives me tons of freedom to mess around with the sound equipment to solve the problems without anyone noticing. i'd imagine if i would have a much harder time at other venues where i dont have this freedom. with that said, when gigging out, i would ALWAYS show up early to do a soundcheck and make sure everything is ready to go when using a controller. too many factors can go into a problem but they can easily be fixed with a bit of preparation and experience

[Nontablist]

here is a blog entry about this same issue...

http://djworx.com/opinion-dj-gear-hate-it-has-to-stop/