Best setup for djing?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
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Best setup for djing?

Hi there!
I bet there is a topic about this but I couldn’t find… Anyway…

I’m a former DJ. Worked with and loved vinyl and cd. After a big break, I’m finding myself with that little feeling that says: “do it, you know you want and love”, so i’m deciding to get back to DJing. This time I think I’ll go with a Digital DJ setup, tired of carrying cases and stuff… I think the best way to go (at least for me) is with a Digital DJ setup. I don’t have much time or money to invest, I’ll keep this as something that I love to do and not as an hobbie.
I’m not much into effects. I’m kind of into House/Deep House/Lounge and using some Dj Tools like vocals.

So keeping this in mind… The setup!
Software: Thinking on using Traktor
Controller: I’ve seen Akai LPD8, got interested! Thinking on using as the main controller for the Traktor. I can even use it for other software!
Audio interface: NI Audio 2 DJ? I will only use two channels mixed on the Mixer. I will have two mixers.
PC/MAC: The big doubt. I used Windows for a long time but decided to migrate to Mac, since then… It’s my precious. Anyhow, I have a new Macbook Pro i7 but as it is my work/personal/day-to-day/everything computer, I don’t want to use it as part of my dj rig. If I want to produce music I can do on the Macbook Pro that I have but for djing… I don’t think so. So, the doubt is… A computer only to djing! Really only! Nothing else! Not even internet! Eheheh. What should I buy? I don’t see problem with used laptops. I want to keep it on a budget but a well looking computer (we’re performers right?). I don’t want it to be outdated in a week of course…

So… what do you think? What do you have to tell me about all this?

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Why will you have two mixers?

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Two guys mixing. We prefer that way but the other mixer will have cdjs and vinyl.

4

You should check out Zzounds.com they have a great thing called Pay as you Play where you pay a monthly fee for 4 months on gear over $250
Did this for my apc40 and now it’s$75 for 4 months then it’s all mine. just a thought. LPD8 looks great but Im all set with my APC40 which offers alot more, and comes with it’s own version of Ableton Live. Just if you’re interested.:smiley:

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Well… I don’t see the big interest sorry… Apc40 is nice and all but I don’t see the point for me. I don’t need an apc40 you know? I only need an LPD8 in terms of buttons and such…
But thanks by the way :wink:

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Well, if you’re only working on two decks in Traktor, it should be enough. You’re eventually going to want more control. Do some research into the controller, though, because I’ve heard mixed about the small pad controllers.

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The LPD8 will VERY QUICKLY get limited in Traktor. Do you definitely need to have Traktor if just doing it for pleasure in your home? Just asking as it’s a more serious/pro software and there are cheaper alternatives. Just asking the questions!

I use a VCI-100 as main controller and LPD8 for the sample banks, which is a more realistic setup. To expect to control Traktor with only a single LPD8 is a tad unrealistic in my opinion. Plus, it’ll soon get boring with not many buttons, knobs and faders to use.

My advice would be to get a proper MIDI controller rather than the LPD8. Something like the Hercules RMX is very good controller for the price if you don’t want to stretch to a VCI-100 and will work much, much, MUCH better with Traktor/Virtual DJ than expecting to use an LPD8. I think you may even get a copy of Virtual DJ (though not as good as Traktor but an alternative if not too serious about DJing - though I’ve seen many established clubs using Virtual DJ!) with the RMX too, and if only a hobby it has a built in sound card so that is all you would need and would be your only financial outlay.

Cheapest place I could find it new was here: http://www.yonies.com/pidD.asp?chk=1&PID=2789&manf=Hercules&model=RMX&prd=Mixer&lv1=Electronics&lv2=DJ+Equipment&lv3=Mixers&rf=frguk

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I agree with this. When I first started reading your post and got to the LPD8 part, that’s exactly what I thought.However, this is just my opinion and if you could make it work with just the LPD8 that’s awesome!

Another way to go might be pick up a MIDI Fighter or two and use that along with your mixer.

Jus a thought :roll_eyes:.

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Well… I want to do it professionally so… a pro software is a must.

About LPD8 vs Vestax… Well… I thought about that but… Traktor does a pretty good job with the pitchs and stuff… I have no problem on beat matching but since it does a good job why should I worry about that?
So… Jogs for what? Faders? I prefer to use the club mixer. I just… prefer!
So… LPD8 has two sets of 8 pads = 16 different button assignments. It has knobs for whatever the hell I want… from selecting music to pitch adjusts or even effects if I want to… Since I want to use the club mixer I kind of think that the Vestax has a lot that I won’t use you know?
On lpd8 I could I don’t know use something like Play/pause of course, Beat matching, pitch bend, selecting music, +/- music (to easily navigate), load to A, load to B. This is easily done… Just a bit of programming (I’m kind of good with that)… So… Why the Vestax?

If in the future I want more controls, If i’m not happy with the LPD8 I can always sell it (or try) and try another thing. LPD8 is like 50e so… I won’t lose much money.

What about computer?

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I’d say an X1, an audio 2 and a mixer is a pretty tidy set up… maybe add another x1 if you’re feeling it.

I really think an LPD8 just doesn’t cut the mustard, and I have one.

Must say I love my VCI-100 SE (Arcade) as a compact solution. Still just love the mapping and fader fx and juggle modes are perfect for my needs.

I’m not super into fx but it’s just a really tactile controller with the DJTT mapping.

You could look into that option?

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Ahh, well if you want to just use the LPD8, i’d say get two. That’s just me though. Either way, in the end though as long as you can use what you pick and make the dance floor go crazy you’re set!

As for computer, I have never DJ’d on anything but on an Apple. I actually started cause I switched over to Mac and I can say I use Maschine, Ableton and Traktor at the same time when DJing at home and they all run smoothly with no hiccups.

I am using: http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC723LL/A?mco=MjEyOTY4OTQ

With no upgrades.

I think it comes down to just preference, but I have heard DJ software runs better on Macs (no clue why).

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I think you’re misunderstanding the concept. You still need something to control Traktor. You can do it with a mouse, but WAY more limited and very clunky and unnatural-feeling. Also, doing it with a mouse just opens you up for mistakes. DEFINITELY NOT the pro approach if you want to do it right!

If the club use a mixer with MIDI capability, then yes, you could control Traktor from the mixer as you’d have WAY more buttons, knobs and faders than the LPD8. However, you’d need to pre-map the mixer and create your own .tsi file for Traktor to load up when you hook up the mixer to your laptop.

Oh dear! I though you said you used to DJ? If you know how to beat match, good and you shouldn’t over-rely on Traktor’s sync. If you don’t know how to beat match, learn before getting sync-happy!

How do you know you prefer? From your post it suggests you’ve never used a digital setup, nevermind a controller. Introducing mixers into the setup usually means more cumbersome cables, more money on a quality sound card etc. This is where you need to choose where to lay your money. If you’re making the wrong assumption that “a real club mixer souns better than Traktor”, then you may need to read the blog post about analog vs digital mixers (where you’ll find digital is more flexible and better sounding generally - and it comes from the people at Rane, native Instruments, Serato etc etc, so people in the know).

Jogs will help you cue tracks better without needing mouse/keyboard shortcuts, but not essential. A controller will replace the club mixer. If you want to use a club mixer, I’m afraid you’re gonna have to shell out on a decent soundcard to get dedicated stereo outputs for each of your decks into the club mixers channels. If you intend on using Traktor’s 4 decks or 2 decks + sample decks, you will need 8 mono or 4 stereo outs on your soundcard to wire into the 4 channels on the club mixer.

You could yes, but you’ll have to learn how to MIDI map well to do all this in a reliable enough fashion that it won;t let you down live if you intend on playing in clubs. Learning to MIDI map and reliably can be a fairly steep learning curve for non-techy minded people.

Well, that’s a false economy. Without trying to be a smart arse about it, you WILL hit limitations sooner rather than later by trying to use one LPD8 to control the entirity of Traktor and then lose money on your LPD8 and have to buy a new, better and more suited controller anyway. If you do manage it though, good on you!

In terms of computer, a Mac will be more reliable and also processes audio in a more efficient way than a Windows PC will. Look up the blog post mentioned above on analog vs digital mixers that touches on the fact that Macs are better.

Oh, and learn some blinkin’ punctuation…ok…please… :smiley:

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I was a DJ, I already know how to beat match without a problem.

About club mixers… I just prefer them. It’s a thing ehehe! I know that the quality will go hand on hand. I know I have to get a little more money for the soundcard but still…
I already used a DJ setup and… I prefer the mixers from the club. Most of them around here have pioneer and I do love that mixer.
No problems with the cables… Not as easy to setup but I have no problems with that and I like to mount the setup ehehe.

So… from what you say… beat match isn’t as reliable as i’m thinking?
If it isn’t than of course, I need a jog and faders for pitching and so. About cue… I can always pre-cue at home ehehe.
I’m checking some setups around the post page “Show your setup!” and most of them don’t use jogs and rely on Traktor (from what I can see)… I dunno, i’m making devil advocate so I can be more informed about.

No problems with MIDI Maps… as I said i’m pretty used to programming and I have some friends that are expert at programming for hardware and stuff.

I didn’t know that LPD8 has such limitations. From what I saw… from what I need… I thought that it would be enough. I was going for LPD8 for a various reasons… It’s “club nice” with the lights and so, I could use it on other softwares, even for my design work (like shortcuts and such), nice size of pads and such…

About the computer… As I said before i’m a mac lover, I really migrated from windows to MAC but I’ll only use the computer for DJing so… It would be nice to keep it on a budget and that’s why i am asking which would be an interesting computer. I can always mod a pc like you bunford ehehe. Or… I can try and get a white macbook 13’’ used! Maybe the first intel core 2 duo what do you think?

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Pick up a demo of Traktor Pro 2 and play around with it. Figure out what you’d need for controls. You might decide you don’t need jog wheels and will be perfectly content using the mouse or buttons to seek, or knobs.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to use a club’s mixer, people have their preference. But you are going to want to make sure you will have enough basic commands through MIDI/Keyboard controls to allow you to DJ adequately for your style. And to do that you need to figure out what you need to DJ.

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Its been said once in this thread already, but you will absolutely regret using the LPD8 by itself.

I would recommend using traktor with sixteen keyboard shortcuts as a way to feel if this will be enough control for you. Even with the knobs on the LPD, you’re going to be using the mouse no matter what. That would be a deal breaker, in my opinion.

If you’re going to use a club mixer like a Pioneer I would imagine there will either be CDJs or 1200s available?

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ok so you are asking for suggestions, people are telling you the LPD8 by itself is not enough and now you are telling everyone else why it is.

Then just buy it.

You want a pro-like set up with a very small footprint get an X1.

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I agree with this…get a pair of X1s. Since you prefer using club mixers, all you would need to bring are the X1s and perhaps an external soundcard. But depending on the mixers in the clubs that you use, a soundcard might not even be necessary if they’re built in.

IMO, I would invest in Traktor Pro, buy a pair of X1s instead of LPD8s because the X1s will already be mapped to Traktor and you won’t have to go through mapping the LPD8 the way you want. I would also consider an external soundcard such as the new Audio 6 or Audio 10 in case you need flexibility on any other equipment you would use such as CDJs or TTs.

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No… Here they prefer to rely on 800 or 1000.

No no no, I dont want to use the mouse but as I said, Akai has 2 sets so… i could say it has 16 buttons.

I’m already downloading so I can see if the beat match is that bad or something and what controls do I rely on, what do I want to use from the software. Maybe you’re right… maybe Akai is too limited. I could also go for the icon iStage for example… what do you think? Apart from the jog problem and stuff…

VCI-100 is kind of out of question. Too much money for something like this from my point of view. Even doing professionally, it won’t be easy to pay it with the money that I will earn. I also buy music of course. Maybe something with the price a little lower?

X1+Audio interface+Computer+Musics… well… that won’t be easy on the money side. I do have the money but to spend it i have to know that I will get it easily on the gigs and unfortunately, around here, only the big djs really earn money the low ones are kind of underated and get pennies.

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X1. Enough said.

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Even if I go for the X1 (since its expensive) than we will return to the same problem: Jog Wheel and pitch and kind of the same number of inputs of the akai (since the akai can have two sets)