I might be crazy but… breathing new life into Djing for me
I have been stalking these forums for years so heres my little story.
Brief History of me: I started DJing/mixing mostly in my bedroom when I was 16 . I am 22 now and still haven’t dropped this hobby. I truly love almost all dance music and listen to it constantly. I saved my pennies to get a set of 1200’s, a worthless unmark mixer and SSL. I didn’t start on vinyl so I did not have the attraction to them as much as others on these forums.
A year later I upgraded to a Xone 92R and Traktor Scratch.
Now I ditched the turntables and I am using 2 Kontrol X1’s paired with my Xone.
My Dilemma: So lately I have spent many hours looking for new music like usual. When I am digging for more music the entire time I am thinking this would sound fantastic with this track. I am really excited to go try my new tracks.
When I actually get to mixing I sync the music and try to fill my time with layering loops, effects, ect. I focus on my computer the whole time and try to be next level if you want to call it that.
I absolutely hate it. I find my mixes a year ago honestly sound more sonically pleasing when I spent more time blending my tracks, staying in the mix and really focusing on my track selection. When I use my X1’s to just sync tracks, blend my mix, and use minor effects I am bored and really don’t like their feel. I also feel I am not using the software for what it is capable of and that I should be.
I now want to rid my laptop out of my setup and go to 2 CDJ-900’s or 2000’s. Return to focusing on mixing not on a laptop.
Am I crazy for wanting to do this. Am I limiting myself? Thanks for help guys and gals. I really want to make DJing for enjoyable again.
Nothing crazy about it at all. It might even lead you to the blend between “next level” and traditional that you are seeking. If you change your mind you aren’t going to really lose money on reselling the gear.
OP, I wish I started on CDJs and CDs rather than Traktor. I feel like I’ve cheated myself of an excellent experience from just playing “old school”. I’m trying to scale back from traktor but its certainly a pain in the ass to burn CDs, since I dont have CDJs with flash drive ports. I’m getting better now, considering I have a mixer with a great FX unit onboard now. I salute your “downgrade” back to analog mixing and hope you enjoy it! Hope to see you there!
Its all about the DVS baby! Bag yourself some 1210’s!
Honestly, I feel where you’re coming from. I had the same thing a couple of years back and went for turntables.
Turn off all the ‘next level shit’ and feel the music again, it wont take long
My goal is to get the laptop out of my setup to be honest the more I think of it. I want to focus on mixing and not a computer. I realize I should just put the laptop over on the side and mix. It just doesn’t feel right to me mixing on a laptop. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe there is a right or wrong way to mix.
-I feel people should mix on the medium they enjoy most and not what other people say people should be moving to.
Also, I think I have my mind set on it. It just is hard for me to swallow always having a computer in my setup.
Despite complaining about them being insanely overpriced or crap, I’d probably buy CDJs if I could justify the expense to myself so I didn’t have to think about a computer while I was spinning.
I just went back form Traktor Scratch Pro, using Turntables to CDJs.
Reasons:
I justed hated using the Laptop. All the unplug-plugin work when playing out (which honestly was mostly just once a month, but still…), and having to pick up the laptop, connect it, start the software whenever I wanted to play at home. The last part may sound silly, but to me it kinda felt like having to interrupt foreplay and go to the bathroom to look for a condom, if you know what I mean. Not really an issue, but kind of a show-stopper when all you want is get it on…
It kind of made me a worse DJ… I found myself buying too much music and not knowing it well enough anymore. Instead of learing my tracks I learned to rely on waveforms instead. Which gets you really far technically, but musically no waveform in the world can beat trained ears and a DJ who knows his tunes.
I just didn’t like scrolling in a list for tracks any more. I actually went back to CDJ800 MK2s and started burning CDs, as flipping through a CD book or record bag just feels so much better than scrolling through tracks on a screen.
Right now, I’m really happy with my decision. I’m probably going to keep Traktor in case I get to play somewhere where they don’t have CDJs, but right now I’m having so much fun just playing with CDs.
If you want to be a bedroom DJ and make mix CD’s for your friends that’s great. If you want to make a lot of money DJing and you aspire to be a superstar DJ you need to have a “performance” down. Just look at the festivals everyone is just standing there looking at the stage.
SHHHHHH !!! I know, I know, there are some famous DJ’s that just mix tracks and get paid, but I think the future is going towards performance on stage. I liked it better when the music was bigger than the DJ.
I wish I could go see a good DJ just play good music. It’s difficult to find a dancefloor these days.
The last place I heard a great set was at a gay club.
The only place where I see that trend is the newly popped up EDM festivals, especially in the US. Maybe it’s because many of the people who are new to electronic music after discovering it on their local hit radio station are used to see popstars performing their latest hits on stage and expect something similar form their new “stars”.
[quote]I wish I could go see a good DJ just play good music. It’s difficult to find a dancefloor these days.
The last place I heard a great set was at a gay club.[/quote]
Then why don’t you just do so? Just avoid the new big festivals and go to small clubs instead and you should be fine… There’s still a very active underground scene where you’ll find just that: good DJs playing goog music that is bigger than them…
I find that I only really get sucked into the laptop when I am doing something new.
Once that curve has passed, i add it to my arsenal and jam proper again.
I keep it pure by knowing my base style. How I mix. Then I add to it. I don;t try and change it totally…else I falls apart for me.
I then start noticing that my overall sound is not what it should be.
Its all about finding your balance with your gear and abilities.
Oh yeah……there’s at least one venue in Atlanta doing that several nights a week. A lot of it is the funk/soul/afrobeat/sorta-kinda-hip-hop thing…but it’s still better. And their actual “dance” DJs are pretty limited to tech house, but it exists at least. Or you could pay 4 times as much to see someone like LMFAO making idiots out of themselves and overpaying for drinks from bartenders hired based only on how many facebook friends they have who don’t know “cocktails” more complicated than jagerbombs.
Heh…funny story…the last time I tried to get a Martini at one of Atlanta’s “superclubs”, she used red vermouth. It’s fine…but if I’d wanted a Hoffman House, I would have ordered it.
yup! you just have to find what works best for you and get the gear that you will have the most fun with. i was the opposite and went from technics, added cdj 100s, moved to strictly cdjs, and finally onto a vci-400 ege with traktor. my current setup has got me more excited than i ever was djing in the past. i’m now buying far less music and taking more time listening to my current library, getting grids/cues setup, and adding notes which has really helped my workflow, programming, and mixing. i’m also djing way more frequently than i ever did with my old tt/cdj setup.
i’ve found my proper balance and hope that everyone else ends up in the same boat. just have some fun out there!
I learnt to mix on turntables, spent 7-8 years using nothing other then records and CDs. Got a controller, have been using that for the last 12-18 months now I’m looking at getting away from it, I liked the idea, but FX/Loop heavy mixing isn’t my thing to mix or listen to.
I’d get a kick ass mixer and stick with the 1200s.
1200s > CDJ2000s (in price and fun), just tuck the computer away and only use it when choosing a song, just like flicking through a usb stick/record box.
i did feel like this, but instead of getting rid of the laptop and carrying so many cd’s around i just turn the laptop away and only use it to chose and load a song now, its nothing more than a compact record box, one of the reasons i moved to serato over tsp, less temptation to piss about with things, my residencies are in open format clubs where genre isnt as near important as song selection.
There is something beautiful about a minimalistic approach.
That being said, I wanted to use turntables and using a computer with DVS was the best way of going about playing and gathering music. I really enjoy it honestly.
I have this debate with a buddy of mine every so often because we respectfully have different styles of mixing. He’s pushing the envelope with mashing and layering, and I like to keep things more simple really, and let the tracks do the talking. It’s a really interesting dynamic because we’ll chill and go back to back fairly often, and it’s really helped me define myself personally as a DJ.
The new stuff, to me, is really neat. But I just can’t enjoy the sound of pushing the envelope right that nearly as much as I like a simple smooth mix. And that’s what it comes down to in the end, what I like to hear. Because, maybe it’s egotistical part about being a selector, but if I like it I expect others to as well.
. I am 22 now and still haven’t dropped this hobby. I truly love almost all dance music and listen to it constantly. I saved my pennies to get a set of 1200’s, a worthless unmark mixer and SSL. I didn’t start on vinyl so I did not have the attraction to them as much as others on these forums.
