Gear question?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

Gear question?

Hey im wondering what gear is best for mixing psytrance & goa trance?
Ive been looking at Vinyl, technincs MkII’s & Xone 22 mixer so far those are what im leaning towards. Any opinions? Im on a budget so i cant get a djm 900 and cdj 2000’s right now. I havent touched any sort of gear. Just starting out.

what else would be needed? A cdj? like a cdj 400? xone 22, 2x technics.
Then ill be able to start mixing??

One of my friends mixing tech house told me to start off learning vinyl, now he’s saying learn analog/digital it would be better for psytrance.
Whats the difference? Ive been researching for awhile.
Any help would be appricited!

Thanks!

2

Starting on Vinyl is great, do you have a lot of records already?

If you don’t, you might want to look into a DVS, either Serato Scratch Live or Traktor Scratch. They allow you to play your MP3s from your laptop like they’re vinyl. It’s quite an expensive way to start out though, as you need turn tables, a mixer, approved soundcard and laptop.

If you already have records, your suggested setup of Technics and a Xone 22 is a great setup. Getting a good pair of headphones is also a good idea.

Tbh I don’t really listen to Psytrance, and there is no “best” set up for any genre, it all comes down to personal preference.

3

It really comes down to a few different things.

What you can afford, what you want to use, and what you would be using if you were gig’ing in the future.

If you want to go with turntables, there’s nothing wrong with that. It would allow you to pick up some vinyl and play with that, and then additionally you could get DVS software so you could mix your mp3’s with the TT’s. It’s the route I chose.

That being said, it’s also cost prohibitive in a lot of respects. A lot of people these days are going with some form of a digital controller. They generally cost less, are more portable, and can hook into any system relatively simply. That being said, a controller is no set of 1200’s.

There are a lot of different options out there, and I think you need to do a bit more research on what to look at first. 1200’s and CDJ’s are generally what you will see installed in clubs, but it doesn’t mean it has to be what you use.

I’d love a set of CDJ’s but can’t justify the price of them until this becomes more than a hobby for me personally.

4

as a psy-dj i would suggest: CD or Digital

there are no psy artists TODAY releasing their sound on vinyl, all happens in the underground, in the livingrooms of the acidheadz, they don’t press vinyls ^^

the most of them are distributing their music over the internet. (on their own, … no need for major labels, … they exist only in the pop-monkeybusiness)

i personally mix on both technologies, CD (with two pioneer cdj’s) and Digital (with traktor+X1+analogue mixer+audio interface) and work actually on my first liveset (with ableton+midicontroller)

PS: If you start today from scratch, you can think about starting with digital and leaving everything “old” back behind. (but for me in person, i like the feeling of playing with CD’s and an analogue mixer too much to suggest that to you ;D)

PPS: maybee you can conserve “that feeling” when you use two Denon SC2000’s instead of the NI X1 ? should be worth a try ^^

5

Yeah i dont have any vinyl records. Where do you purchase old records for psytrance? Ebay? Ive found some on google but not sure whats good or not.
I want to research more on that DVS your talking about, that sounds useful. Ive heard of that method, but not sure how to use those programs.
My friend uses traktor to do tech house, ive heard about serato never touched either of them. What would be needed with vinyl? a cdj or a dvs?

Well i saved up 2k. But i have no computer, no mixer, no turntables.
I want two technics a xone 22 but what else? Do i need to get started?
Cdj’s? Cheapest one i found that i heard was nice is the cdj 400. Is there another route to upload music without buying cdj’s?

How hard would it be to mix psytrance and goa trance on vinyl?
I would like to learn vinyl to start with & my genre would be trance.
But whats your opinion on my setup choice? You think that would be a good start for me. To get technics and a xone 22? anything else i should pick up?
I wouldn’t mind mixing vinyl, then putting on a cd. How would i go about that? a Cdj?

Thanks all the help is appriciated!!!

6

Honestly, unless you are really hardcore and set on mixing on vinyl, it’s REALLY cost prohibitive.

I mean, you can do it. But at $20 a record, it adds up damned fast unless you find a treasure trove someone is unloading. Not sure where you are, but at least in the US you will generally have to import most of the stuff you want.

So simply getting the equipment isn’t the end all be all of it. That’s where programs like Traktor and Serato come in. They act as an interface to allow you to spin time-coded vinyl, and mix the Mp3’s on your computer like you would vinyl.

If you don’t have a computer… well, either get one, or I’d count out that option for you.

The basic thing that you need with a CDJ setup would be the ability to burn your music ONTO the CD’s. That’s pretty much it.

Since you don’t have a computer to bring into the setup, just using CD’s is probably your best bet.

CDJ-400’s or CDJ-800’s seem to be going for (median) $400 a pop right now. You wouldn’t need anything fancier per-say, though if you were able to find a nice pair of CDJ-1000 MK3’s, I’d say go for it. With a nice mixer, you’d be well under your 2k budget with a solid CDJ setup.

That being said, you can probably get a brand new Macbook Pro (13") at bare specs (which is still more than enough for most anything you can throw at it) and then a controller like the S4 and have a solid setup. Later on you could even throw TT’s into the equation with the S4 time-code upgrade.

There are a lot of different options out there. What you need to figure out is what medium is going to keep you happy, and what is realistic.

Personally I was leaning toward CDJ’s when my computer died almost a year ago. But then I was able to get a Macbook Pro (which I also use for school) and so it changed my outlook. It’s also nice just having a functional computer, nevermind anything DJ-wise. So I shifted my focus and went with what I initially wanted. It probably took me over 6 months to piece together my “perfect” setup, and there are still parts I want to work on. But I scouted craigslist like a madman, and got deals on used gear locally.

You just need to give yourself a little more direction :slight_smile:

7

Thanks i need more knowledge you are helping me alot in the direction i want to go.

Im really interested in Vinyl, Im in America.
That would eat my budget fast 20$ a record though.

I would be buying a laptop first or after dj equipment. Which gear is best to buy first?
Should i buy the turntables or the mixer first? Or all at once?
Sorry for the beginner questions, i know people hate answering these type of questions. :eek:

heres what i had in mind.

Xone 22
technics mkII x2
Cdj 400 to burn my cd’s (upgrade later, when actually have learned something)
Serato
Macbook pro
Headphones
Speakers
Possible some 16" Display monitors ( heard these were nice to use )

8

since you really only want to mix vinyl ignoring how dumb this is (in 2011) i would advise you to get an laptop+serato first to be prepared to continue when you realize how dumb it was ;o)

9

we have one psy record - hallucinogen - space pussy. the rest is maybe 80% digital and a few cd’ here and there :wink: all my 90’s stuff is vinyl rips though.

10

Yeah ill probably just buy a macbook to start off or the xone 22.
After christmas its suppose to drop price because of the pioneer djm250

11

Xone - YES!
Techs - YES!
CDJ400, why?!
SSL, Good choice for basic A-B mixing, also a lot more accepted in clubs.
Headphones - Needed, some good, some bad though
Speakers - See headphones.
Display monitors - WHY?! only really be needed if you were producing.

TBH, i know you have your heart set on vinyl, but vinyl takes a long time to master, even with onscreen SSL cues. And chances are, when you play out they’re arent that many places with readilly available TT’s (there arent in Scotland anyway), Youll also have to buy your own carts/needles etc.

If i was starting out again in this day and age, i would buy a good spec laptop for running SSL and burning CDs off for non laptop gigs (youve chosen the MBP), SSL, HID compatible CDJ’s, (400,850,900,200) and a good mixer (xone 22 is pretty good from what ive heard).

Headphones wise, depends if you want light or heavy. Light i recomment the senny HD25 or AIAIAI TMA-1’s (youll get these recommendations everywhere throughout this site) But if you like heavy headphones i recommend the V-MODA Crossfade LP Headphones, not so good for listening, but are incredibly bass heavy which helps when beatmatching in a noisy club, the other heavy headphones i recommend are the beats pro, but theyre 3x the price and get slated silly for DJ headphones.

12

You’re right! Ive been so set on Vinyl that in my brain i didnt want to touch new gear!!! Now its the other way around, ive got to find which gear works with each other. Ever since ive seen technics sl-1200 those are what ive wanted to learn on. People have told me Vinyl is way more exspensive, needles, forearms, 20$ records, etc…
It just look’s & sounds different which i like. Don’t want to be the average joe dj, twisting knobs, chain smoking. I want to enduce energy, get people dancing!

Don’t you need cdj’s with technics to burn your music?
Thats why i listed cdj 400 i thought i needed cdj’s to start mixing. Is there another way?

Display monitors rhats good question. My friend reconmended getting monitors…
I would probably not get those, i need to other stuff before those. But i wanted to hear your opinion on that setup. You have good explanation A++
Im trying to figure what actually to buy to learn on, i just want to do house partys eventually sometime in my life. I dont need to throw burning man or eletic daisy carnival partys. ( that would be cool though) Tuns of research has my brain overloaded & confused lol.

I use my moms laptop to research but i can’t download serato and start making loud music in our home, lol she would flip out! Thats why i need headphones and my own computer. Which is probably going to be my first purchase a MBP, then a mixer or turntables.

13

If you’re just starting out with no existing equipment, you definitely want to do some research before spending any money. Dropping tons on the best equipment means nothing when you don’t know how to use it, or are intimidated by the features offered.

Sit down and see where most of the music you’re looking to spin would be coming from (vinyl, CDs, MP3 downloads, etc…) and start your initial decision on that. If you’re not planning to spin old vinyl records or do a bunch of scratching you really don’t need turntables. Granted, if you learn TTs or CDJs and master them you can pretty much use any kit put in front of you, but in this day and age they’re certainly not necessary when starting out, and you could always add them later if you want to venture down that path.

I have no idea how or where you purchase most of your music, but if a large majority is CDs or downloads, you’d probably get a good bang for your buck by getting a PC or Mac laptop, a reasonable and inexpensive controller like the Mixtrack or VCI-100, and a NI Audio 2 with Traktor Duo. The most expensive piece will be the laptop, but it also allows you to do more than just DJing and should generally follow you through upgrades of the other pieces. Say you want to start producing your own material, already having the laptop will be a big benefit there.

In any case, stop by a Guitar Center or other music store and be sure to try out whatever you’re interested in getting. There’s no replacement for the “feel” of gear, its like a fingerprint-- unique to each manufacturer.

Think about it this way: your skills are the thing you’ll need to really work on, not the gear. Once you get good with an inexpensive setup you’ll know exactly what’s missing and what you want in your next upgrade. At that point you should also chime-in on the DJTT forums to help others in the same boat you’re in now :wink:

14

Teach yourself to beatmatch manually, first, regardless of what you get. No visual cues, just your ears and headphones/monitors. After that, teach yourself to mix without any effects, loops, etc etc. This kind of monastic training will prepare you for mixing on virtually any kind of gear. After that, you can start to get crazy with all kinds of digital features, but you’ll still have the base knowledge of how to rock things if you have a bare bones setup.

Considering you’re starting from the ground up, I’d recommend using traktor, for better integration with emerging technology, HID, and built in soundcards. This way, you can mix using a controller/soundcard, a traktor audiobox, or a new CDJ with integrated HID with or without soundcard.

I’d recommend you get a controller/soundcard interface, if you can get a decent computer to go along with it. It’ll have everything a traditional setup will have, but will be way more portable.

Also, if serato is already set up somewhere you’re playing, you can download the proper drivers and use the serato box with traktor, if you’re just using audio outs, and some electronic controller. (doesn’t work with traktor scratch afaik, but again, not an issue if you use a controller)

OR, if SSL is somewhere you’ll be going, you could just download the SSL software for free, use the existing mixer (if serato is already there, then a mixer will be, too), plug into the serato box if there’s other methods of controlling the software. (borrow someone’s needles/timecodes, bring timecode CDs, midi map basic functions to your controller on the fly, but still using the serato box as audio out) The serato interface is dead easy to learn, and even the ‘midi learn’ function is quick enough that I could see mapping on the fly working for basic 2 deck mixing.

Right. I think i’ve rambled enough.

TL;DR?
Go with traktor and a controller/soundcard interface. It will be just fine to learn on if you have digital music, and considering you’ve already paid for traktor software, you have MANY MANY options when it comes to playing on your non-native setup, even with Rane hardware.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work as well the other way with Serato. Unless you also buy a copy of traktor, you’ll be forever (well, for now at least) tethered to a Rane box. I think that, although it’s not that much of a chore to bring your own box and hook into whatever, it’s not forward thinking enough given the explosion of mixer/player options that are starting to integrate soundcards, MIDI, and HID controls.