intro to digital djing
Hey DJTT,
so I have djing for a while now and my current set up consists of two turntables, a mixer and a bag of vinyls.
This is my problem, I am now looking into djing for parties to earn some money and in order for me to do that i would need to start playing more modern music. what gear should I be looking at purchasing? My budget is $1000 or under and I dont mind buying DJ gear second hand.
Thanks a lot
Ba5 Booster
Dvs?
Seconded. Use the gear you have, just add something like Traktor Scratch Pro 2 or Serato DJ. Easily under $1000. Throw in a controller for effects (like Traktor X1) and you’re gravy.
You’ll first need a laptop (capable of meeting the minimum specs for the software you choose).
You’ll also need a DVS system as johney mentioned if you want to continue using your turntables with your laptop
or
You’ll need a controller which would replace your Turntable/mixer altogether
A Digital Vinyl System would be the easiest to get used to as you are basically using exactly the same setup as you already know and just selecting the music on the computer and you’ll still be able to spin your regular vinyl as well.
If you go with the likes of Serato you could get something like the Behringer CMD-DV-1 so you don’t need to go near the computer half as much.
If you go the Controller route will mean everything gets routed though the computer all your functions / effects etc will be set up through the software but would makes things more portable however sacrifice the “realism” of touching your turntables and mixer.
If you like the sound of DVS check out both Serato and Traktor - they are really the “industry standard”.
If you like the sound of a controller - there are literally hundreds to choose from, however I’d first consider which of the above routes you want to take.
I have just recently looked into a controller based setup and i am not liking the fact that i cant use a my physical mixer (that’s more a personal choice), how does DVS allow me to use my current turntables and mixer to mix ???
All in one controllers replace the mixer. That said, you can still use an external mixer but it’ll take up a ton of space.
You go with a modular system that allows you to use an external mixer → DVS. You need a scratch certified mixer though.
you have a special record with timecode signal on it.
the signal goes to computer via a soundcard and controls the playback of audio files.
the audio then goes out of the soundcard into the mixer
roughly how much would the whole set ( timecode vinyl, soundcard, software) set me back ??
That’s not true. You’d need a scratch certified sound card.
depends on what you’re getting
try looking on some online dj shops to get the idea
alright so what would be the major differences in the sound quality between the Native Instruments Traktor Audio 10 and Native Instruments Traktor Audio 6??
You knew what I meant…
There’s no difference in sound quality. Just channels.
If you would use only 3 tables or less TA6 is fine.
if you want to use more then get the TA10
but just in case you don’t know if you will add in the future, get the A10, for future expansion’s sake 
My TA6 sounds fine, although I havent used the TA10 for comparison. but if i would buy again, i’d get the audio 10 for more channels.
Cheapest good quality entry into the DVS market would probably be a Traktor A6, set you back £240 new, seen them as low as £180 second hand. But if you want to do parties, lugging around those turntables and mixer is going to be a pain, this is why digital DJing was invented! I’d buy a high-end controller like the DDJ-S1 or the Traktor S4 and be done with it. Both under a grand, even cheaper second hand.
If you get an NI audio card second hand, make sure you get the Traktor Scratch Pro vinyls and license key, otherwise that will run you another $110 or $120? (not sure the conversion to Euros or pounds) That is, if you want to run DVS as opposed to just straight vinyl.
if later on i wanted to ditch the turntables for parties and just use traktor and my mixer would that be possible?? (to roue the outgoing sound straight through the audio to my mixer ??)
Without an actual controller for your software, you would have to go straight keyboard/mouse to control the software sans tables. Unless your current mixer happens to have a USB interface for the software. A lot of people go NI X1 or similar to control the non-DVS decks in their DVS setups. There are also other options to do this, but I think the X1 is one of the cheaper, least fussy options for Traktor. I don’t know what could/would work for Serato in that case.
a mixer and the audio card are possible, but you will need to have some transport controls if you do not want to use your laptop keyboard.
a mixer and audio 2 is enough.
but if you want scratch functionality, get the a6 or a10.
oh im not planning to use serato i like the look, workflow and feel of traktor
