Think I'm going Jekyll 'n Hyde on this DJ'ing business!

[RobDeLarge]

lol well thank u for making me feeling like the old fart. LOL

WE lived just fine b4 the internet. It was called BBSes. Bullition board systems. it was like going to one web page at a time. U had to dial out to each differnt BBS. so its like dialing a # to go to myspace. then a differnt one for Dj tech tools. also prodigy & then AOL god Those were dark times. Dark times indeed.

However we were the first house on the block with DSL. so i mean yeah we were way ahead of everyone else. LOL. I was rocking just a cell phone (no land line) circa 1999 with my NEXTEL flip phone, with 2 way hand held. OH YEAH.

god and im only 31. LOL:eek:

Haha man I am around your age and I am feeling you, haha!

[RobDeLarge]

I remember my old Tiscali dial-up at 1p per minute, lololol.

I've had quite a few instances where my phone has been fucked and i've had to kick it oldschool and use a phone box

Phone booths are HARDCORE retro, you had to get coins or friggin' get a phone card!

SICK!

[RobDeLarge]

I remember my old Tiscali dial-up at 1p per minute, lololol.

I've had quite a few instances where my phone has been fucked and i've had to kick it oldschool and use a phone box

HAlolHA!

[VanGogo]

They were no phone cards and pay phones cost 10 cents. And... if you remember the cell phones started as a car install only, then there was a phone in a bag that was about 1ft x 8in. x 3in., then there was the phone like Chris Katan and Will Ferrel got from mom on Night at the Roxbury (this was my first cell).
Well from the ages here you probably wouldn't remember, lol.
VanGogo=Old Fart

Back to the thread for a sec. As others have said, doesn't matter what you use, as long as you are good at what you do.

[Djtom420]

Now where was i. awww thats right I had tied an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time.

[ctrld]

Thankful for any kind of opinions in this matter, anything!

my opinion: you worry too much.

to me, it seems like you've done enough research to make a somewhat competent decision regarding the gear you are going to use, but you're holding yourself back by worrying about the wrong things.

you have a clearly set goal. you know what the technological possibilities are. why do you care what other DJs will think about you? why do you care about bookers? the only thing that matters is that you do the things that make you happy; I'd call it "a healthy dose of ego(centr)ism". play the music you love, the way you love it, and only that. adapting to other people's expectations isn't going to get you anywhere, just focus on doing what you need to get the sound you want and be authentic in what you do.

there's a ton of DJs out there nowadays, but you don't have to be an über-skilled tech nerd to make yourself stick out from the crowd. you don't have to chop up tracks and remix them on the fly to play a good set. you can, but it's much more important to feel the crowd and give them exactly what they want; in the next step, you can try giving them something they didn't yet know they wanted and make them want more of it. track selection is key and you can do that with an ipod if you want. going the S4/ableton route is fun, but way overkill when you're just starting out. DJing is definitely evolving, but don't try setting new standards before you've grasped the basics. you can get an S4 now, but if you don't know how to take advantage of its functionality, don't bother because the next shiny toy will be out before you've mastered it. most of us are gear sluts, but upgrading to hardcore equipment only makes sense when you have gained enough experience to know exactly what you want to get out of it.

for now, just do your thing, be cool to people and stuff will come to you naturally. networking and putting out content is much more important than technique. there is a lot of stuff you can't learn in your bedroom - I've seen a lot of technically excellent DJs waste their talent because they didn't invest time in getting people's attention. I'm one of them, actually; turns out there's a lot of stuff I'm pretty good at, but my perfectionism has been holding me back for a couple of years. if there's a lesson I've learned, it's this: no matter how good you are, nothing's gonna happen if you just sit on your ass and wait. go to parties. talk to people. hand out mixes occasionally. don't be obtrusive, but be present. you'll end up playing out before you know it and it doesn't matter whether you'll be using CDs, vinyl or controllers. use whatever you're comfortable with - if you end up using some weird combination of gear, you'll have to bring it with you anyway. don't worry about that, it's become commonplace.

regarding producing... I think it would be best if you focused on one thing at a time. the game has changed. there's a lot of young producers out there, almost as many as DJs, but most of them suck really bad because they're trying to imitate stuff that already exists. only a very small percentage of them can be called "artists". in my opinion, if you want to be a good producer, you have to become a good DJ first. getting to know how crowds work and finding your unique sound takes time, but it's the foundation of your style as a producer. a couple of kickass tunes is better than a ton of shitty ones that people will forget a month after the release date

[mostapha]

tl;dr. Sorry if it's not relevant anymore.

Talk to the promoters and local DJs and see how they feel. That'll do more for your career–regardless of what they say–than all the forums in the world.

[Nesquigs]

dont tell booking agents or whom ever is booking u what u use. Let it be a surprise.

^^for sure. its always awesome walking in with just your speakers and a backpack and therye like wtf? and then you blow everyone away once the tunes start flowing. :P

And in all honesty, your work on the social/business side is gonna matter a lot more for getting booked than how you're mixing.

yeah i mean wahts the worst thing that could happen? they say nah. were not interested. or sure man, ill let you know if something comes up. atleast you put yourself out there. its like with askin a girl out. who gives a shit if she says no? shes prob a stupid ass bitch anyways, and theres always other bitches (places to play) out there, you just gotta be relaxed and confident all without seeming like you think youre tiesto or somethin.

play what makes the ladies dance. thats all you gotta do. quite simple really.and once that happens everyone there will be in the palm of your hands

[ctrld]

tl;dr.

you probably don't like books very much.

[Flash101uk]

I had a conundrum like this a while back.
My first gig playing out was on a couple of comtrollers and it was a hell of a pain trying to fit them all in the booth.

I decided to change to older gear, (TT's and a standard mixer) so I could use what was there instead of having to try and fit all my stuff on top of everything else. 1 small midi controller and a lappy is much more friendly with a packed booth than vci's, s4's, etc.

My advice is, go to your scene and scope it out. If you wanna play in this certain underground venue, sneak a little look into the booth. What are they rocking? Is there any space for extra's? Is he using a lappy already? As you know, DJ's are gear whores. Im sure he'd be more than happy to talk shop for 5 mins.

That way you'll already know what youre expected to use before you even hand over a mix to the management.