I dabbled in djing as a teen back in 1997. I am ready to get back into it. the the advance technology these days i’m a little confused on what type of set up I should invest in.
my sole purpose would be to create mixtapes (stones throw inspired) and perhaps the occasional house party. my focus is to extend mixes so beat mixing would be the main skill to excel at.
my question is, to achieve this should I invest in the traditional turntables and mixer (w serato) or should I go the way of a controller. I have my eye on the Numark NS6?
(although not a professional, I do feel that beat mixing on turntables would be more comfortable.)
price is not an issue.
any help would be great in helping me come up with a decision.
First off i’d D/l the freebie home editions of the software out there, have a play with that without a controller and go from there.
If you already had the TT’s id have said Serato is a No brainer… then after that (No laughing at the back now ) Virtual DJ.. as these are the closest to vinyl in feel, in my opinion…
Seems a little extreme for someone coming back to the scene.
I’d suggest picking up CDJ’s second hand, 800 or higher. I bought a pair of mk2’s a few years ago for £850 which was relatively cheap for the time. Keep your eye on good deals. Don’t jump into anything without researching the product and the market.
While doing this, you can look for a second hand mixer. I just picked up a DJM800 for £600 in near mint condition (absolute steal, guy had no clue about DJ equipment), but you should be able to find a deal somewhere in that region fairly easily. I see a lot up for 700+ but most vendors will give a little room for negotiation.
As said fairly often, you will both be looking for a deal. Try to bring the price down, but don’t slap anyone in the face whilst doing so.
[quote=“ericonly, post:1, topic:35028, username:ericonly”]
my sole purpose would be to create mixtapes (stones throw inspired) and perhaps the occasional house party. my focus is to extend mixes so beat mixing would be the main skill to excel at.
[/quote]I would completely skip hardware and just get an audio interface & software.
Myself personally, I’d go with, MixMeister Fusion &/or Ableton Live for making mix-tapes. And PCDJ or VDJ for house parties.
I am an old school DJ that started on turntables and vinyl. When I was looking to go digital, I tried many avenues including turntable with time code vinyl. I finally settled on the Denon DNS3700. Its MIDI capable, can be used with timecode, its a CDJ and it has a spinning platter that emulates a turntable.
I’m personally a proponent of getting turntables and going with Serato. If that’s an option, then I don’t see why not honestly.
It’s also the setup I’m using, and I’m quite happy with it.
The big thing about it, is there’s nothing like spinning on vinyl. I really like the control Serato gives me by being able to play my Mp3’s, though I know some people prefer other software choices. Really though, it’s just nice.
The one thing I’d say is that getting an SL3 box is EASIER to record with rather than the SL1 or SL2. Being able to just do it from the software instead of routing cables around from your mixer is just convenience. I get by routing the second output on my mixer back into the computer, and recording with Ableton.
It’s not a really mobile setup. That being said, for a planned ahead house party you’d be more than fine. (Individual cases or bust though IMO ). You could always get another controller later if you found yourself needing to be more mobile.
My plan is down the line to pick up a VCI-300 or something of the sort (to use with Serato ITCH) and go with that if I feel the need to be super-mobile. So far I’ve gotten by fine with just bringing the Serato box and control records though, since most of my friends have TT’s.
Really though, there is just something about spinning on vinyl. Not only does it feel natural, but it’s so much fun when you power everything on and go to town with a mix.
). You could always get another controller later if you found yourself needing to be more mobile.