Guys I am noob. I going to start to give my life to djing. I am asking you that which equipment combination is good for the start. I wanted to play in small clubs after working with my setup for 6 months.
First combination is;
Behringer DDM4000Mixer $350
Gemini CDJ - 650 $250 x2= $500
Pioneer RMX-1000 (for using club) $750
Total=$1500 Second combination is;
Behringer DDM4000Mixer $350
Gemini CDJ - 700 $375 x2= $750
Native Instruments X1 $200
Numark Orbit $100
Total=$1400
I told you that I am noob. Please help me that choosing right combination for learn and being local club dj fastly. Thank you..
You’re obviously looking for something with a budget of around $1500 right? If I were you, someone with no experience, which I originally was, I would start off using a MIDI controller.
Start off with a controller like an S4, VCI-400 or DDJ-SX. The DDJ-SX is the most expensive of the lot, but it is Pioneer and you are paying for the brand-name and sophisticated looks. The S4 and VCI-400 are around $400 cheaper than the DDJ-SX and are probably 90% the same in terms of build quality and functionality.
All of these controllers come with the software to use them and in-built soundcards, so all you will need is a laptop (which I am assuming you probably already have) and speakers/monitors which you can buy using the extra money, or if you already have, you can save the extra money for buying better equipment in the future i.e. Pioneer CDJ/DJM, Technics Turntables or more MIDI Controllers.
Mixer, CDJs, and an X1 make the most sense if you plan on doing gigs at clubs. You’ll need a sound card too (ideally a timecode one) so that should bring you up to the budget limit.
Guys really thank you. I have questions;
1-Can I use 4trak instead of mixer? Or mixer is better than controller for learning and go club?
2-Which sound card should I get?
3-İs getting X1 good idea?
I miss the days where people started practicing their DJing on turntables salvaged from skips or even borrowed (with much begging) from a friend. All these people going out and dropping £1000+ on gear without any previous experience makes me sad.
That’s my point though, people didn’t go out - with no experience of DJing - and buy a pair of Technics 1200s. They started mixing on whatever they could get for the least money possible; because they couldn’t afford to waste money on something they weren’t even sure if they were any good at.
It really seems to me like you have no idea what all these things do. Do you want to use Traktor or CDJs at clubs? How many decks do you want to use? What genre do you want to mix?
Also, you shouldn’t do this to become a club DJ quickly. First you need to see if you like it and as you get better, start looking for gigs. It’d be a shame to spend $1500 on a set up and resell it for half of its original price a year later. And don’t forget a decent pair of headphones is essential.
The problem is that the modern equivalent of that is buying a shitty controller… And they almost always end up hitting the sync button, ignoring the mixer, and getting distracted by flashy bullshit like Madeon’s pretend-finger drumming, or spamming midifighter effects, instead of learning the actual process of DJing.
I’m a Traktor performance-heavy DJ. I constantly make fun of CDJ DJs who just transition between tracks… and even I would still prefer a kid spent a grand on CDJs than start using Traktor on whatever midi controller they can afford.
Trust me, I started DJing when the very first hercules controllers started coming out, and I got distracted by ean golden’s stupid shenanigans, when I should have been learning to DJ. Now I wish I’d just started out with a pairoof CDJs and a mixer until i was ready to do performance-DJing.
The trouble is, there’s a lot of people who buy stuff on credit just assuming they’ll get gigs in clubs and be able to pay it off. So you end up with two end scenarios out of that: useless DJs who manage to blag themselves into a club based on the gear that they own, which is bad for the industry, and people who realise DJing isn’t for them, and can’t afford to pay the loan back, which is bad for the economy.
Buying a cheap controller (especially a second hand one) is a MUCH lower risk to everyone involved.
I think also years back, having to make a good sized investment in decks and a mixer also almost forced you to learn properly because of the investment one had made. The instant gratification generation wants to spend as little as possible, hit a few buttons and call it a day. Kinda sucks, but there’s a huge market of them.
In two of the three venues I worked tonight, the DJs had brought their own mixers because they either didn’t like the brand of the house mixer (one guy brought a DJM-800 because the venue had a Xone:62), or the general condition of the equipment was sub-par.
Whatever setup you decide to go with (modular controllers, CDJs, or all-in-ones), make sure you have enough gear of your OWN for a complete setup, just in case the equipment in the venue isn’t up to scratch.
You know, that’s like 50% of my argument when explaining to people why going out and buying THE MOST EXPENSIVE GEAR isn’t always the best way… I tell them; buy the cheapest setup that SUITS what you do - without making compromises with regards to needed features/comfort - and you’ve got X amount of cash left over to spend on music
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