How’s it going guys? My name is Erik and I’m new to this site and fairly new to the DJ scene. I’ve been doing this for a little over a year now and started out with a Numark Mixdeck controller. Fast forward to today and I’ve been able to upgrade to the Pioneer DDJ SX. I’m starting to invest a lot more time and money in to this because I simply love DJing!
That brings me to my current dilemma. I’ve been booked to play at a festival in Mexico this Spring Break and I’m nervous about the equipment. The promoters stated they were going to provide us with equipment which happens to more and likely be a pair of CDJ’s, mixer, and some Technic 1200’s for the vinyl DJ’s. I’ve only had the chance to play with controllers and haven’t had any experience with the CDJ’s. I explained this to them and fortunately, they stated it shouldn’t be a problem having me hook up my stuff. I’m bringing my own stuff to the event and obviously this isn’t ideal for future gigs.
I’ve been primarily a mobile DJ but thankfully I know some people who can probably hook me up with some club gigs. With that being said, what should my next investment be as far as CDJ’s go? Will I be fine with the 900’s or 2k’s or should I save up to grab a pair of the Nexus’ models of either of those models? I plan on keeping the DDJ SX for parties and other mobile events.
If you’re just going to be using house CDJs you probably don’t need to buy the Nexus models. The primary usability benefit of these is the Sync button. There’s some other benefits, but if you’re going to use them as a secondary practice tool so make sure you’ll be comfortable at the club I would think you don’t need to buy the top of the line models… unless you want to, they sure look nice
However, we can’t really help you until you give us some details. What’s your budget? What CDJs do clubs in your town have? What do you want to use the CDJs with - CDs, USB, Timecode, HID, etc? (obviously, this depends on the model of the cdjs at your clubs)
Thank you and unfortunately I assumed all clubs would just have the 2000’s. I’ll do some talking with promoters to see what hardware they use to get a better idea.
Thank you for the info! I won’t be headlining but I’m doing it for the exposure. I might be djing in between a wet shirt contest but I’ll take what I can get!
i have learned to just ASSUME cdj 800’s, if you can play on those, anything else is a breeze. you wont find many turntables at a festival, unless a headliner requests them.
Thank you for all of the advice and I appreciate the support! I was very fortunate to be connected to this promoter through a friend of mine whom I did a number of gigs for his organization. Granted, I’m not going to be headlining or get a good time slot, but I’m happy that I get the chance to perform!
I think if you play any kind of CDJs/CD decks you can get the hang of it. I’m in the same situation as you because I’m not sure how I can mix on CDJ’s but I’m sure it’s pretty straight forward?
I suppose without using sync, just match the BPMs on the reader and beatmatch it using the waveforms. Kinda like what you do with a controller + DJ software, without sync?
Op just get some 800’s. If you can learn to mix on the most basic version of cdj, then moving up will be a breeze and a half. Only downside to cdj’s is the lack of cue points for myself. The newest 2000’s have some tho lol
Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! The festival is a week away and even with all of the practice, I’m still quite nervous.
I’m going to be opening the event at 1pm which kind of sucks because I prepared a set that was intended for a bunch of people to get up and dance to. I’m going to have to adjust on the spot if only 50 people (being pessimistic) show up at that time. That’s probably what my biggest fear is since I really wanted to showcase my stuff.
I’ll post up a thread with pictures, videos, and sounds from the event. I was thinking about getting a Go-Pro for the event to record but what are your thoughts on that? POV or should the camera be on me like this?
Well I wanted to give everyone a recap of the Spring Break Festival down in Rocky Point. The event was a perfect example of Murphy’s Law. I was scheduled to play from 1:00-2:30pm on Friday. I got word that the event was moved last minute from a beach front to a lot behind a resort. We got lucky and managed to see the location on our way to the hotel so we stopped by to check out the vibe. This was a little before noon and the stage was barely getting set up, the vendors were just making it to the location, and none of the DJ’s were there.
It turns out the buses with all of the performers and their guests broke down and they were stuck in the desert. It all went downhill from that point on. I was told to go relax for a while and I was going to be contacted when they figured out what to do. I got a text to come back around 4 so my friends and I headed back to the event. When we arrived, we saw that there was no one there besides the vendors and promoters. I then asked what the plan was and I was told to “just start playing music until people arrived”. At this point, only one other DJ was there with me.
We started playing at 4pm to a nonexistent crowd until around 11pm. We rotated every few hours but it was exhausting and draining. I was hoping to be feeding off the crowd but it was such a disappointment that it drained me. We managed to attract a group of maybe 30 individuals who were really cool and actually tipped me several times. I typically wouldn’t even accept that but the way things were going, I said efff it I’m going to enjoy whatever I can get!
A few days before the event, we received a group text asking if we could bring our equipment since the sound guys didn’t have CDJ’s or turntables. I ended up taking my controller and laptop and the other DJ thankfully brought his Technics. As soon as we said this was enough, the promoters had no other choice but to shut it down since we had the only equipment. Last I heard was that one of the other DJ’s was in town and was going to come and DJ for a while. We didn’t wait around and called it a night.
I met some people from a local Kiss FM station who told me the next day that the even might be cancelled entirely before Saturday night’s scheduled event. I never heard from any of the promoters again and we drove by the location only to see an abandoned lot where a stage and vendor stands once stood. The event itself was a disaster but I ended up meeting some great people in the industry. It was definitely a blow to the gut for me because I was looking forward to it and even had some friends drive out on Saturday to come check it out only to find out that their was no event or refund for their tickets. It took me a while to come out and want to talk about it but I’m over it now. It was a learning experience and I can only keep practicing and hope for the best at this point!
Welcome to the industry man It won’t be the last time you’re left with disappointment but if you are in it for the right reasons, good times ahead. Keep grinding and enjoy the music
I’m just not sure how much different CDJ’s are from controllers.