Does using a controller not make you a dj?
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  1. #1
    Tech Wizard
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    Default Does using a controller not make you a dj?

    Hey all,
    I've been getting some crap lately from DJ's that use CDJ's and Vinyl. Pretty much the argument is that because I use a Controller (Kontrol S4) that I'm not a dj. I was wondering how people feel about this, and the following is overall how I kind of feel about the fight.

    1.) "The controller has a Sync button, so you don't have to beat match" - Just because a controller has a sync button, doesn't mean that I don't know how to beat match. I went and learned the fundamentals on a set of numark HDX's and wasn't running time code for me to see the bpms to match those up. though with the technology most dj's use today they can set the bpm in the Timecode software they are using, or if using cdj's they can look at the readout as well.

    2.) "Cue points are cheating because you can just use them to get right into your song without even setting up the track" - Just because I put a cue point on a song to remind me of where I should and shouldn't start and stop a track should make no difference. I listen to all of my tracks before making that deck live so to make sure the track flows well with the mix and all. If that is cheating then People using straight up Vinyl and put the little markers or stickers on their records are cheating too.

    3.) "There is no talent in button Clicking" - It really bothers me when that is what djing with a controller is dumbed down to. If I'm just a button clicker, does that make you a needle dropper?

    These are just some of the things I have dealt with and overall this is my belief on the whole thing. It doesn't matter what you use or how you use it. What matters is that you are being creative and you are giving the Statium/Club/Bar/House/internet/bedroom your all and they are getting good vibe and dancing their A$$es off. If I use the sync button in a live mix, what that is doing is freeing up my time to be more creative, whether it be setting up some cue points and a drum section of a song so I can start doing some controllerism in a transition, talk into the mic to get the crowd hyped up more, or even find a new sample or track in my collection that might work in set that I'm currently doing (usually go into a show without a set playlist, usually do it all on the fly) it is giving me more time to make sure I'm giving the crowd a good show that they enjoy. Even if I wasn't adding effects and doing some controllerism in my set, and you break it down into me play a track, transition to the next and do that all night; how would me doing that on Vinyl or cdj's be any different than a controller? It would be just going through the motions and not being creative. Let me know what you all think

  2. #2
    Tech Mentor DJSigma's Avatar
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    I'm sure this has been done to death on here, being the type of forum that it is, but cheap gear and having skills that had to be done manually replaced by technology has certainly led to a decline in average DJ skills IMO, but you simply cannot judge a book by its cover. I judge a DJ by how well they can rock a party and/or how good their mixes are - nothing more, nothing less. There's no winning against this sort of DJ "prejudice" though, so you just have to get on with it and do your thing.

  3. #3
    Tech Wizard
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    That's what I try to do, but since I am rocking a "controller" dj's in the area don't give me the time of day some I'm not getting show, even though I can put together good mixes and keep a crowd going.

  4. #4
    Tech Wizard
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    You will get this all the time. It not about your equipment, its about your abillity with that equipment. Ean Im sure could rock out a party with 2 self powered speakers, a laptop and a midi fighter classic. Yes unfortanatly the equipment today is making cheap DJs pop up everywere. Hell I was even one of them. If it was not for my first VDJ sofware and a BCD 2000 (yup crap i know) I would not have got my first gig and drawn in. But from there I went into it hard, learning what I could do to bring me up to level. Im not the best, but I can rock a party with my VMS4 just like the guy on the turn table. The differnce in my area at less, is my crowd will be dancing and his turn table crowd will be listening to him chop up the songs. Its a differnt kind of DJ I think. But really what the crowd cares about is not your mix, mash and other skills, its about your programing skills. Playing the right song and the right time. Only DJs trully apreciate your skills and equipment. And if you work in a bar, its not about packing the floor, its about making the bar more money so as good as you are filling that floor you have to remember to clear it so they get drinks. Just my 2 cents.

  5. #5

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    nuff said its what's in front of the booth, not behind

  6. #6
    Tech Mentor Diskobeep's Avatar
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    when the cd-players came into the dj-booths, the vinyl dj's were saying that a cd-dj wasn't a real dj.
    Same happened when dvs was there. And again, the same was said when controllers showed up in dj-booths.

    Haters gonna hate. Fuck them. You do what you want to do/feel good to do.

  7. #7
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    Next time they say that remind them that sync and cues are now available on CDJ 2000 nexus and the new Serato DJ software! And them tell them to go to f*ck
    Traktor Scratch Pro, Ableton Live 8, MacBook Pro 13'', Traktor Kontrol S4, Traktor Kontrol X1, , Midifighter, NI Audio 6 DJ, HDJ-2000 Headphones, UDG Producer Bag.
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  8. #8
    Tech Guru AllDay's Avatar
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    Being a dj is 90% song choice and your mix ins.. What you use has basically no correlation to your skill unless your using the sync button all the time.

  9. #9
    DJTT Administrator del Ritmo padi_04's Avatar
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    The gear doesn't make the DJ. You might choose using A, B or C for whatever reasons you might have but it won't change a thing in the end other than your personal preference for making such choice.

    We will keep this open as long as the discussion is kept civilised.
    Last edited by padi_04; 11-09-2012 at 02:10 PM.

  10. #10
    Tech Guru Otacon's Avatar
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    I agree, it all comes down to skill and song selection. Not everyone will agree with the choices you make, but those people are the ones you can smile at when you see them in the crowd.
    If you don't have haters, you're not doing it right

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