First Festival Advice
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  1. #1
    Tech Convert
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    Default First Festival Advice

    How's it going guys? My name is Erik and I'm new to this site and fairly new to the DJ scene. I've been doing this for a little over a year now and started out with a Numark Mixdeck controller. Fast forward to today and I've been able to upgrade to the Pioneer DDJ SX. I'm starting to invest a lot more time and money in to this because I simply love DJing!

    That brings me to my current dilemma. I've been booked to play at a festival in Mexico this Spring Break and I'm nervous about the equipment. The promoters stated they were going to provide us with equipment which happens to more and likely be a pair of CDJ's, mixer, and some Technic 1200's for the vinyl DJ's. I've only had the chance to play with controllers and haven't had any experience with the CDJ's. I explained this to them and fortunately, they stated it shouldn't be a problem having me hook up my stuff. I'm bringing my own stuff to the event and obviously this isn't ideal for future gigs.

    I've been primarily a mobile DJ but thankfully I know some people who can probably hook me up with some club gigs. With that being said, what should my next investment be as far as CDJ's go? Will I be fine with the 900's or 2k's or should I save up to grab a pair of the Nexus' models of either of those models? I plan on keeping the DDJ SX for parties and other mobile events.

    Any feedback is appreciated!

  2. #2
    Tech Wizard
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    First, congrats on your first festival!

    If you're just going to be using house CDJs you probably don't need to buy the Nexus models. The primary usability benefit of these is the Sync button. There's some other benefits, but if you're going to use them as a secondary practice tool so make sure you'll be comfortable at the club I would think you don't need to buy the top of the line models... unless you want to, they sure look nice

  3. #3
    Tech Guru
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    Good job on the festival!

    However, we can't really help you until you give us some details. What's your budget? What CDJs do clubs in your town have? What do you want to use the CDJs with - CDs, USB, Timecode, HID, etc? (obviously, this depends on the model of the cdjs at your clubs)

  4. #4
    Tech Guru William Gibson's Avatar
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    Congrats on the festival at 1 year in, brother! Ill live vicariously through you!

  5. #5
    Tech Convert
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    Quote Originally Posted by DISaS73R View Post
    Good job on the festival!

    However, we can't really help you until you give us some details. What's your budget? What CDJs do clbetter idea. your town have? What do you want to use the CDJs with - CDs, USB, Timecode, HID, etc? (obviously, this depends on the model of the cdjs at your clubs)
    Thank you and unfortunately I assumed all clubs would just have the 2000's. I'll do some talking with promoters to see what hardware they use to get a better idea.

    Quote Originally Posted by RajMahal View Post
    First, congrats on your first festival!

    If you're just going to be using house CDJs you probably don't need to buy the Nexus models. The primary usability benefit of these is the Sync button. There's some other benefits, but if you're going to use them as a secondary practice tool so make sure you'll be comfortable at the club I would think you don't need to buy the top of the line models... unless you want to, they sure look nice
    Thank you for the info! I won't be headlining but I'm doing it for the exposure. I might be djing in between a wet shirt contest but I'll take what I can get!

    Quote Originally Posted by William Gibson View Post
    Congrats on the festival at 1 year in, brother! Ill live vicariously through you!

  6. #6
    Tech Guru 031999's Avatar
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    i have learned to just ASSUME cdj 800's, if you can play on those, anything else is a breeze. you wont find many turntables at a festival, unless a headliner requests them.

  7. #7
    Tech Convert
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    Thank you for all of the advice and I appreciate the support! I was very fortunate to be connected to this promoter through a friend of mine whom I did a number of gigs for his organization. Granted, I'm not going to be headlining or get a good time slot, but I'm happy that I get the chance to perform!

  8. #8
    Tech Mentor Daily Crisis's Avatar
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    I think if you play any kind of CDJs/CD decks you can get the hang of it. I'm in the same situation as you because I'm not sure how I can mix on CDJ's but I'm sure it's pretty straight forward?

    I suppose without using sync, just match the BPMs on the reader and beatmatch it using the waveforms. Kinda like what you do with a controller + DJ software, without sync?

    Quote Originally Posted by Patch View Post
    Have a large glass of water and a wank. Problem solved.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Daily Crisis View Post
    I suppose without using sync, just match the BPMs on the reader and beatmatch it using the waveforms. Kinda like what you do with a controller + DJ software, without sync?
    Or you could just use your ears to beatmatch?
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  10. #10
    Tech Mentor Daily Crisis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by amadeus View Post
    Or you could just use your ears to beatmatch?
    Indeed I'm just not sure how much different CDJ's are from controllers.

    Quote Originally Posted by Patch View Post
    Have a large glass of water and a wank. Problem solved.

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