Beginner. Can I make my own beats on a DJ controller?

[drewjonn]

I am really new into this, 0 knowledge and no experience.

What I mean is adding my own beats and add it to some parts of the song. or repeating a part consecutively, for party purpose. i just wanna know whether this can be done in a software or a controller? thanks.

the controller is lets say DDJ SX btw.

[Scalage]

You can use samples to create beats. This is called fingerdrumming or even controllerism if you're talking about complicated routines. If you want to repeat a part of a song just put a hotcue at the beginning of that part and press it when you want it to start. You can even add a hotcue on a song that's playing by loading it into another deck and adding the hotcue there. Then it will be also available on the deck that's playing. The SX is more than capable of doing all of this.

[Deejaesnafu]

to actually MAKE(PRODUCE) your OWN beats you will need a program for music CREATION known as a DAW or digital audio workspace. to really MAKE the beats YOURSELF you will need to enter the wonderful world of sound design and sampling. with these you harvest your own sound materials which you arrange, into music, within a DAW. Google: ableton, logic , reason , bitwig and cubase for some examples of popular DAWs.

a step down from this is to use factory presets or soundpacks to arrange your own songs.

a step down from this is remixing which involves either of the above , or a mix of those techniques, and looping and sampling noticeable parts of other peoples songs within your arrangement.

a step down from this would be DJing , which is all I've seen talked about so far in this thread. DJs can manipulate other peoples music into new and original creations thru methods of remixing and on the fly arranging , including but not limited to looping, queueing, scratching and juggling.

technically ANY controller could be used to DJ or PRODUCE somewhere in the workflow, but honing in on the exact controller or group of controllers thats right for you is the hurdle many DJs and Producers have to hop. figuring out if you actually want to produce, DJ or both is the first step, then trying out different avenues before you start buying things ,because its going to get real expensive real fast no matter which route you go, if youre going to be serious.

imho a great place for someone with absolutely zero experience would be an ipad. you can get your head around producing fairly well with some apps that cost 20 bucks rather than 1000. there are some apps for djing as well as controllers for ipads, but i dont think ipads are the ideal dj experience for someone thats new. the only real way to start DJing in my very very humble opinion is with 2 turntables and a mixer and a crate of records.

[Sambo]

DDJ-SX is a massive investment for any DJ, let alone someone who doesn't really appear to have a grasp of the difference between music production and DJ'ing.

The DDJ SX can launch loops, which you can buy or make yourself, but not as well as say, the Traktor Remix decks, which are like next level loopage stuff.

Invest a Numark Mixtrack Pro 2, that's essentially a cheapo SX, find what you like and what you need from your controller/set up, and then sell it and buy the gear that you need.

[drewjonn]

DDJ-SX is a massive investment for any DJ, let alone someone who doesn't really appear to have a grasp of the difference between music production and DJ'ing.

The DDJ SX can launch loops, which you can buy or make yourself, but not as well as say, the Traktor Remix decks, which are like next level loopage stuff.

Invest a Numark Mixtrack Pro 2, that's essentially a cheapo SX, find what you like and what you need from your controller/set up, and then sell it and buy the gear that you need.

That's what I actually bother doing. I like the idea of finding what I like from a setup and selling it to buy something I really require. The thing is, I do mind selling a device and lowering the price then buying another one. It would cost me more money and time. I know it is hard to find something that is really suitable for me, but if the SX has been a good selling hardware, then it should be just fine.

Do you think investing in the SX will help me learn as a beginner and help me through with the next level?

[funke]

Are you wanting to spend several hours making a finely tuned three minute mix, or hit a few buttons and drop a loop over a playing track? DJing and producing are like apples and oranges with a gray area in between usually involving a fair amount of expertise in both.

[drewjonn]

I would like to try both

[Scalage]

Do you think investing in the SX will help me learn as a beginner and help me through with the next level?

In a word, no. Absolutely not. As a beginner you won't be able to tell much difference between levels of gear anyway. And if you end up not liking dj-ing, you won't have broken the bank just to get into it. The whole point of going digital is because you get a lot more for your money. And frankly, the most for your money is in the cheaper controllers like the Mixtrack Pro II or the DDJ-SB. I own one as well, and I still use it occasionally even though I own a DDJ-SR as well.