Dubspot DJ School: Is it worth it?

[Uncle DJ]

Been using Traktor/Traktor 2 for some time now and playing paid gigs on a somewhat regular basis. Just starting to learn abelton but looking to really tear it apart. In my search for online tutorials, I keep coming across these awesome videos for Dubspot DJ school in NY. After reading the descriptions and watching their videos it looks totally awesome. The only problem is the price...

$12,600 seems like an awful lot of money for an online certificate program... I guess what I'm asking is, has anyone taken any of their classes, online or in person, and what did you think? Was it worth the money? Did you learn a lot and would you recommend it to a friend? Or... do you think these courses are unnecessary? Is it possible to learn all of these things without paying a lot of money and if so, what do you think is the best way?

I'm not knocking or promoting the insitution in any way. Just looking for the best way to learn more about the digital DJing and production stuff that we all love so much!

Thanks in advance for sharing your opinions and experiences,
Uncle DJ

[DjZzeless]

Practice, practice, practice.............thats how you learn!

[tombruton69]

personally id say the price is ridiculous. there are lots of uni's in the uk that do awesome degree's in music production. that being said they have some of the worlds best dh's and producers as tutors so if ur mega flush go for it

[Xonetacular]

I took some classes in person a year or two ago (I didn't pay for it...). I took the DJ/producer package so DJ plus 3 levels of ableton. In person it was excellent and I learned a ton. You could learn it on your own but it takes patience and what I really got out of it was the experience and people I met. I used to hang out a dubspot and just practice mixing, work on production, or just screw around.

I met some really great and talented people, famous djs, and producers (John Selway taught me ableton). It was excellent and worth it for the networking. If you are really into it and get to know them you can start to hang out with them and go to their gigs, you can get small gigs with the dubspot crew, radio slots, they will introduce you to promoters and you will get to know the scene. I got some experience doing small gigs with the guy who ran the DJ class and he would bring along a few of the motivated students and give them slots. It was a ton of fun and a great experience. That said I wouldn't do it online because the real value was the face to face work and the people i met and hung around with outside of classes, but it might be worth it to you.

I miss NY.

[Coldfuzion]

I took some classes in person a year or two ago (I didn't pay for it...). I took the DJ/producer package so DJ plus 3 levels of ableton. In person it was excellent and I learned a ton. You could learn it on your own but it takes patience and what I really got out of it was the experience and people I met. I used to hang out a dubspot and just practice mixing, work on production, or just screw around.

I met some really great and talented people, famous djs, and producers (John Selway taught me ableton). It was excellent and worth it for the networking. If you are really into it and get to know them you can start to hang out with them and go to their gigs, you can get small gigs with the dubspot crew, radio slots, they will introduce you to promoters and you will get to know the scene. I got some experience doing small gigs with the guy who ran the DJ class and he would bring along a few of the motivated students and give them slots. It was a ton of fun and a great experience. That said I wouldn't do it online because the real value was the face to face work and the people i met and hung around with outside of classes, but it might be worth it to you.

I miss NY.

I'm just summarizing what you said (I think) - it is worth it if you have the cash AND you live in N.Y. right? Not the online school?

[Xonetacular]

I'm just summarizing what you said (I think) - it is worth it if you have the cash AND you live in N.Y. right? Not the online school?

Definitely worth it if you have cash to burn and do it in NY. I did it before the online school so I couldn't tell you. I'm sure you will learn a lot but I can't imagine it being the same and you miss out on the human element and networking opportunities which is way more valuable to me. If you do it in NY and get involved with the instructors it is easy to get some chances to gig out and meet a lot of people. If you get into production and do it in person there a good portion of the staff are successful producers with lots of contacts. You might get a little bit of that online but you don't have the social element and studio environment of interacting with everyone at dubspot.

Before the online thing I was friends with a guy a couple summers ago who actually moved to NY and stayed in NYU housing to take a bunch of the classes there. He got connected at dubspot and I'm pretty sure has since moved to NY for good and makes a living as a DJ and working at dubspot. That wouldn't have happened online.

That said the production stuff is a lot more expensive than the dj stuff. It is also definitely catered towards people who have money to spend on something interesting to them that they've wanted to try- I don't think most people go there treating it like an education where they realistically expect to earn that money back. I'm sure some do though.

[DJ Nada]

That's the price of a small car... Go out and do small gigs and you'll learn fast enough. I think qbert and company have videos you can buy too?

[liam1895]

Have a look at http://sonicacademy.com/

30 bucks a month or something and you can view all their videos free via website. Great Vids and teach a shitload.

Ive taken some big tips from some of their videos which have helped me and I know they have some awsome beginner courses.

[DJZILCH]

$12600? damn thats a lot of money for an online course

do you at least get a diploma when you are done?

is it 100% online or is there any live one-on-one lectures?

[jezalenko]

$12600? I'd rather indulge my RGAS habit actually....