What do i need/ should have to start?

[photojojo]

Don't even buy dj equipment, buy tunes. Build a collection, develop your sound.

Buy is the key word here. If you torrent 100's of songs in a day you'll never be able to truly learn the songs so your sets will just sound haphazardly put together with no real flow.

[Jack Bastard]

Yeah, that's it completely. There are too many djs out there with expensive kit and literally nothing else to distinguish them from the crowd. Don't be one of those.

The love for the tunes should come first, not the desire to dj.

I can't stress how good 'Learn To Dj Properly' is for people starting up, they stress the difference between good djs and great djs and talk complete sense right the way through.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-DJ-Prope.../dp/0593058119

[Jack Hoesterey]

Well I do have a sense of music thoery I guess. I play clarinet 3 or starting today 4 days a week along with piano. I also take honors music in school which covers about half music thoery and half music history. along with some music science

[Jack Hoesterey]

It is not no questions asked!! I had to get great grades in school (honors classes) at one of the best pubic schools in the country and I also have to do 1hr and 30 mins of ISEE/SSAT prep everyday because I am taking exams. I also am not a stupid decision maker and my parents don't just buy me what I want when I want it. They grew up as the low average american and choose their future so they plan on giving me a REAL life instead of a typical"spoiled" kid. I also did HOURS of lawn work this summer to make about half of the money I have now.
In the response to everyones concerns. I have a macbook pro right now and it is pretty powerful. I have sol republic tracks HD but for DJing i would like to buy a pair of AIAIAIA's probably. For starting the AV40 monitors will be plenty and I will work from there. I also found great deals on Prostar audio so I will have to decide DJTT or ProStar. Advice upon my decision is appreciated.

[Jack Hoesterey]

If i decide to get something to make music. Should i get an APC40 or a Midi keyboard.....I know how to play piano to some extent.

[AllDay]

If i decide to get something to make music. Should i get an APC40 or a Midi keyboard.....I know how to play piano to some extent.

Why not get the MPK49 or something similar.. You get the best of both worlds. A midi keyboard with 16 pads and a bunch of knobs and faders.

[Jack Hoesterey]

What software would that use?

[AllDay]

What software would that use?

Any production program can run it. EG- Ableton, Fruity Loops, Logic.

I would recommend Ableton, But it really doesn't matter what program you use as long as you feel comfortable with it and enjoy using it.

The midi controller can be mapped to all of the software mentioned above.

[Jack Hoesterey]

Yeah thats a good idea except abelton is more than the keyboard.... And would be super expensive. I will take that step later.....DJing is the current concern. I will buy an S4 in a bit ( i am waiting to see if NI releses a MKII or a new version) because they are redoing the maschines and adding a 2 channel mixer. And a pair of headphones(aiaiai TMA-1) and monitors (AV-40). Sound good? I will add a midi fighter pro or something else at the holiday time.

[squidot]

If i decide to get something to make music. Should i get an APC40 or a Midi keyboard.....I know how to play piano to some extent.

the apc 40 isnt really the best tool for writing music. it's primarily an ableton controller (but will work as a midi controller in any software) and used mostly for triggering clips. if you are making music mostly from samples it would be a pretty good bet. if you want to write music in a more traditional sense, then a keyboard is the way to go. i prefer to write with a keyboard and if you already know how to play a little piano this option makes the most sense.

Yeah thats a good idea except abelton is more than the keyboard.... And would be super expensive.

not necessarily. you can do a full 30 day trial on all their software to see if you like it. you can also start with ableton intro for about $90 on sale ($99 normally). there are going to be some limitations in what you can do compared to the regular version or suite, but as a beginner it should be more than enough to get started with. if you decide to upgrade later you also get a discount upgrade price which makes it just slightly more expensive then buying it outright, so you don't really lose much by not getting suite right out of the gate.

tom cosm has a pretty good breakdown of the limitationsl:
http://www.cosm.co.nz/index.php?opti...&catid=20:news

http://www.ableton.com/live-intro