So, I’m still fairly new to playing out. But recently as I’ve gotten a few more great club/rave gigs, using the installed gear… I’ve run into a problem that’s making me somewhat rethink using the 1200’s. Usually when the promoters are providing the equipment… there are no issues. Most likely because it’s their own gear. But.
At the two clubs I’ve played at that have had 1200’s installed, both times the tables have been wicked uncalibrated. Which… isn’t a huge thing and can be overcome, but is a pain to just jump up and get used to? It was by and far something I had trouble with going back to back with a friend, but someone I’ve never mixed before with last night. I want to be able to focus on mixing, and not have to think about the pitch as it is something that just moves naturally when it’s calibrated correctly.
Do I just suck it up? Deal with the cards in using 1200’s? Is this something that’s just to be expected everywhere? Should I just take a screwdriver and fuck up my 1200’s to get used to this? (lol not really, but seriously…)
I’ve also recently heard horror stories, albeit not always as bad, of CDJ’s in clubs. I haven’t really used them yet (as I stick with 1200’s w/ Serato)… but man.
Is most club equipment broken or wonky? Is this something I’m just going to need to get used to?
Part of it is my use of Serato I guess, where I still do actually manually beatmatch. I’ve thought of switching to Traktor for various situations to get around this to honestly use Sync or some such to overcome this. Or it’s just a matter of getting ready for this.
I love spinning. But using equipment that is wonked out, bothers the crap out of me >.<
The upkeep of club equipment is not something that’s in your control at all, and unfortunately it must be overcome. You could try talking to the owners about it though. If you regularly play at a place with an uncalibrated set of tables you could learn how to do the fix yourself (fairly easy as long as you have a multimeter), and offer to do it for them. Can’t hurt to ask, right?
This is exactly why I stopped using serato. Now I use traktor, x1 with the mixer. Even if the crossfader is mash the levels are normally fine and I don’t have to stress. DVS nearly ruined too many parties for me
But this is really making me rethink my choice, and I might honestly go to Traktor about it. Because then at least, I could at least add in controllers with relative ease and practice with that.
Going to be giving it more of a go with Serato, but it also seems like a lot of the working DJ’s here are making the transition from Serato over to Traktor, or have, and yeah… it’s making a lot more sense to me now.
Why not moving to Itch/Serato DJ? Might be worth hanging on to that if you are into the it’s workflow and general experience, unless you are using it just for it’s DVS capabilities.
ps: the traktor fanboy in me died a little after writing this post
If you have reasonably solid tables and play at the club with relative frequency, try to get in a bit deeper with the clubs promoters and event staff. Being able to bring in not broken equipment for the lineup for a club with pretty busted install decks is a huge bargaining chip with promoters and managers, especially if they’re your friends.
the club i regularly play at has 2xcdj900’s and the djm900 nexus
the djm900 is really beaten up and the 3rd channel is dead, dead as in no matter how loud the gain you pump into it, it just comes out really really low and distorted, and in the past i have played in many venues with missing fader knobs (lol) , xfader leaking, channel leaking etc, so it depends on the club really the really nice flashy clubs tend to service their gear regularly, some clubs dont
Tell the SM to stop using the analogue inputs like a scrub. Unless there’s something wrong with the actual input bus (at the DSP level), or the S/PDIF terminal, the analogue trim is probably fried, but the digital in should be fine.
I would say not all dj equipment in clubs is wonky. I say suck it up and deal with it; its the club owners responsibility to provide adequate equipment. I know it can be annoying when the turntables are not working right. If its a regular place you spin at get management to fix or have a replacement for it.
If your a guest dj at a another club, ask the dj that played the night before hows the equipment, and try to prepare the best you can.
I know how you feel, when something is not working right, and djing with one turntable throws off your whole game… look at it as a challenge though!
It’s honestly the most horrible feeling when you’re trying to set up serato whilst the previous dj is playing and it’s not working and everyone is looking at you etc. I played a big ish festival and had to just use one serato deck and copy it across to the other deck as a doubler after every tune. It was pretty stressful and basically was the nail in the coffin for me and serato.
At least with traktor a lot less can go wrong. Audio 10 and X1 or even my S2 now. Just plug one line in into the mixer and away I go.
Low to mid grade clubs, yes.
Clubs that generally play to the masses (top40 pop). yes
Clubs that are actually run by people in the industry or who give a fuck about the music will toss you out if you’re abusing their gear, yes stuff gets worn out over time and constant abuse but i seen a DJM2000 get installed in one of my locals, within a couple of months it was trashed. Disgusting.
You’re going to find some places that are great and others that are beat up. Yes 1200’s have been around for a while and chances are many places don’t send them for regular service. I played somewhere a few weeks ago that had 4 1200’s and each one had something wrong. I made the best of it. I even brought my VCI-300 and left in in my car “just in case”, but I left it there and just worked with what i had. I don’t think it’s a Traktor or Serato thing. It’s a where you play thing and how they maintain their stuff.
For the most part. Yes most equipment in clubs are trash. off brand, broken, missing knobs whatever. I play with that equipment all the time, cdjs, vinyl, literally whatever they got cause I don’t care to bring my stuff into a place that could give a crap less itself. So i usually just play out with my cds. That being said if you can play on that crap equipment and do well, you can play on anything. Plus you learn to appreciate good equipment then.
this is scaring me, as i now play more and more vinyl. never had to deal with dodgy 1200’s as any time i’ve used vinyl out i’ve had to bring my own decks because the bar admitted to me that they had them but, and i quote, “i wouldn’t want to use them if i were you…”
this isnt a new problem! clubs gear always gets wrecked…they have a tough life…but the beauty of 1210s is that they keep motoring on albiet slightly wonky lol. just get used to it, it will make u technically better
You could try talking to the owners about it though. If you regularly play at a place with an uncalibrated set of tables you could learn how to do the fix yourself (fairly easy as long as you have a multimeter), and offer to do it for them. Can’t hurt to ask, right?
