begining in the digital world, advice please

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

begining in the digital world, advice please

Ok first off, i dont have a computer at home so i cant check the forum that often. If anyone has real advice along with some equipment ideas please email me at Djsaunders88@gmail.com

As a dj i would like to see myself playing large festivals some day, but to start I live in Mammoth Lakes and it will be easy to play in local bars and get feedback. I am thinking a nice macbook with my external hard drive and one of these vestax controlers with the arcade buttons is exactly what i need. I am looking to mix plain tracks but i would also like to get a number of different routines down to add a live aspect. would this vestax controler not be the perfect thing? i need to get started asap and anyone with advice or used but in new condition gear that you mite be planing on selling please email me.

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are you already a competent DJ or have you never mixed music before?

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ahahahaha a troll surely…

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wow i dont get that! lol

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Using an external disk is not a good idea IMO. As a backup yes, but an internal will always be faster, more reliable, and you won’t be using a precious usb port. Macbooks come with 2 usb ports…

Doing more complex routines means you will need more controllers, and more usb ports… if you have an external disk you will need to buy a usb hub and that means more potential failures or things you can forget, more cables, more stuff in the booth, and more time to set up your rig…

If you want more space in your macbook buy a bigger/better/faster disk and replace the one that comes with the computer. You can buy a kickass momentus 500Gb 7200 rpm seagate for about 100 dollars of ebay. Nowadays is just a matter of some screws and some plugs to change it. If you go that route it’s a good idea to switch the disk before you start installing stuff. The more you wait, the more headaches you will have.

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external drives can be connected via firewire and thats quite a feasible option. actually i am working on some data import routines and i cut the time from over 8 hours to just over 2 with an external harddrive connected via firewire 800, thanks to the external harddrive being an ssd :slight_smile:

anyways the vci is a good start in a lot of ways, since it really enables pretty much any style of djing. however if you are not yet sure, you can just start out with your keyboard. if you want some knobs or faders you can start of with an Akai LPD8 or one of the Korg nano controllers until you have a better idea of where you want to go.

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i really hope this guy is already able to mix with an email addy like ‘djsaunders’…

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thanks for insight

first off, my name is Dwight James Saunders, hence djsaunders and 88 is my birth year. any ways here’s the scoop.

I have been in my bedroom for 3 years or so now maybe 4 just scratching.. 1 turntable with some d-styles battle vinyl and my mixer with an ipod plugged into line to play the beat.

I never wanted much more out of my turntables until i went to my first rave which was Together As One 07/08… ever sens than it has been my lifes calling to bump the most raw electronic beats i can: play, make myself, or remix.. Id also like to get a live vibe instead of just playing track after track.

which brings me to my next point. Im going to be in school for the next 5 or 6 years. Working to become a journalist, however im also going to be orchestrating partys and hopefully playing at bars and clubs. So i want to buy one set of gear, that i wont need to upgrade all the way up to ferstival type shows… To answer your question, no i dont have any formal expierence mixing with either traktor or serato… i understand about beat matching, juggling with cue points (juggling ol school wit vinyl!!), Plus i listen to mix tapes every so often trying to listen to how dj’s mix different styles of electro, so i have a good understanding of what im getting myself into, and im ready to drop the cash and start practicing.

I know for sure im going to start out with a mac book pro (prolly will upgrade the disc if u can offer any more advice.)

2 vestax pdx 3000’s(i wana compete in DMC so these have the power and skip resistence i need, plus a USb Midi input that i think i could use well for live performance, in cahoots with my turntablist mind state.

I currently own a rane ttm 56 - think i will pick up a djm 400 to start my mixing career.

dont know what audio interface im going to use.

Id like to use ableton live with a vci and traktor however i’d also like to have the option of using 4 decks. im not familiar enough with these programs to know what my options are yet.

IF you read all this, and respond… Thank You

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you’re going all pokemon master now, but you have not even gotten your first pokemon.

slow down bro.

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yeah man, glad the dwight james is involved, my bad! :slight_smile:

still i dig the pokemon thing.. you need to learn how to actually mix before you aspire to playing bars and clubs, never mind DMC champs. Good to have dreams, but better to learn how to achieve them first. but cool nonetheless..

since you’ve added me on facey, send me a message on there, and i’ll chat to you about what you want to be gettin and stuff if you want. It might save the same old same old thread reappearing on here too..

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Unless you are superman, you will have to drop a lot of things to even get into the competition…

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I would say before getting a controller like the vestax, start with control vinyl since you’re already comfortable with a standard turntable. My setup I use with my band just to give you an idea (keep in mind I’m broke a lot, so it’s not the greatest…)

Two Numark TT-200’s, a Bheringer DDM 4000, Traktor Pro, Audio 8 DJ interface, and two Korg Nanopads.

I got four decks running in Traktor A & B I have controlled by the turntables with control vinyl. Decks C & D I use for triggering extra samples & loops from the Nanopads. Aside from being a 4 channel mixer, the DDM4000 can also switch many of it’s functions from audio to midi. For example, the onboard sampler I really don’t use, so I switched them to midi controls to trigger functions in Traktor.

The key is just research a lot of stuff. Most manuals for anything these days you can download from manufacturer’s web sites before you buy the gear, so you can make sure you can do what you need to with it.