I feel terrible to say this…but I think I made a mistake choosing a midi set-up!
ARGH!
Let me explain. When I discovered that I wanted to do DJing, I was torn between cdj and midi. What made me choose midi?
Cost. Cdjs just seemed too expensive.
Sigh…the ease. Pre-syncing the bpm, 8 frigging cue points, all sorts of extra features…it was so obvious. So much more can be done with Traktor, and it can be learned so much more easily.
Now that I have been DJing for almost 6 months now…I feel like I have invested in the wrong set-up. I have Traktor Pro, an Akai APC40 which is fully mapped, and an LPD8. I also have an audio 4 dj as well as an audio 2 for back-up.
I feel now that I should have invested in cdj. Reasons being
!!! CLUBS USE CDJS !!! This is the main reason! I play progressive/trance /electro house, which is CLUB music. I have zero interest in playing at house parties, the main place where I can see myself playing is a club, and that’s about it. Hauling in this huge piece of junk to hook up to a mixer along with a laptop, and lpd8…what a pain in the ass. Making sure the sound levels are even if mixing in and out. Club owners discriminate against midi-users. There are so many factors as to why bringing my set-up is a pain in the ass.
Clear mind! I don’t want to constantly stare at a laptop, at a frigging screen. I am tired of looking at a screen. DJing is a musical hobby, not a computer hobby! The classic DJ set-up just looks so…great! Buttons and knobs and the disc of course! All audio! It looks great from the audience perspective compared to pressing some buttons and knobs and staring at a computer. Using actual cds!
Zero transportation issues! Headphones, cd binder…what else is there? So clear and fresh and…agh so nice! Just go to a club with a small bag and that’s it.
Actually learning to properly beat-match! Actually learning to use/spin the disc! No confusion between deck A and B!
I need to calm down lol, but this is very concerned as I’ve invested a LOT into the midi set-up. If I exclude everything non-midi (ex. headphones, speakers, etc.). I will have spent… practically 800$! At most, if I were to sell some of it, I could get back about…maybe 300? I wouldn’t sell traktor or the audio 2, but the rest would go. As a university student working part-time at not far from min. wage that also needs to pay for his ridiculous tuition costs, that concerns me.
Anyway, cdjs don’t seem all that perfect, the flaws I dislike are:
Lack of cue points. #1 no way am I buying a cdj-1000. The rest of the cdjs however, seem to lack cue points. I really dislike this as I rely on my cue points very heavily; I really love to get songs in and out on perfect timings. On one hand, this would force me to learn my music more. On the other hand, I don’t know if I need extra work, school is enough mentally already.
Cost of course.
Harder to use and less options, hence mixes might be more basic. I am not an effects DJ anyway, but this is a factor.
and not all clubs discriminate against midi. i’m starting a weekly gig next thursday running midi. the owner loved what i do and wanted me back for that reason. (have to give up some credit to DeeperBreed for helping with this)
traktor scratch pro=best of both worlds
you get to use your cdj’s yet still have all your cue points effects etc…
all you would have to take a club is your laptop,soundcard,timecode cd’s
I was just thinking of the actual process of playing at a club. What concerns me the most is the scenario of me having to go after another DJ, and bring in all my gear, get everything set up so that the volume is all good and everything is equal to the previous track, bpm, all that. Not to mention the transportation of lugging this thing around. I know for a fact that I intend on either playing in clubs maybe once every 2-3 months during school, or not DJing at all because my music really isn’t suitable for non-clubs. CDJs seem so much more…easier.
Seems ideal but defeats the purpose of ease of mind with setting up #1, #2 simplicity, 3 no screen.
I’d rather get the benefits of all midi or just get the benefits of only cdj.
think you’ve been listening to too many pioneer fanboys
the cd is a dead format, this is why poineer have turned their cdj’s into expensive
Hid controllers,
having gigged with cd’s i can tell you that one wallet of cd’s is no good,
i used to carry 8, and theres the constant juggling to find the right wallet.
cd’s get scratched, even tho i’m very carful, i’ve had many times where the cd sticks.
cdj’s wear out, i’ve played clubs where you are basically playing with one deck as the other cdj keeps spitting discs out cause its motor can spin up.
punters love to grab the cdj jog wheel, and nearly always grab the currently play deck.
so i’ll never go back to cds, but i’ve made life easier for myself, i’ve a laptop dedicated to djing, it, my soundcard, my external hd and all their power supplies are built into a record deck flightcase, so set up is one kettle lead, 2 audio leads and 2 midi leads.
cdj’s are my laptop stand.
tbh i’m pretty sure you could squeeze your current gear into a tt flightcase.
put a power strip under the controllers with a power supply for laptop/apc/soundcard, leave it all connected inside, then have power strip cable trailing out, with audio cable and usbs. then you’d only have 5 things to plug in. unless you also used a usb hub, then 3. (i’m assuming you use internal mode?)
transport would be easy enough then, it’s all good to go in the box, and would only take a couple of minutes to set-up. plus it’ll look reasonably professional.
as for the sound levels, that is normal anyway. even if you used cds, you’d still have to match the gain of the starting track to current output, and then for all following tracks. whereas with traktor, match the master out once, and let auto gain do the rest.
to make this simpler i suggest, turning the gain on the channel you use right down, push the fader all way up, then fade in using gain knob on mixer until it all matches.
Yeah I use a usb hub so it’s fairly easy once it’s all set up, problem is just setting up. Will take a good…while to set up for sure. I also have this weird thing that sometimes I have restart traktor for the volume to kick in, however with enough bad-scenario testing that shouldn’t be a problem. I do have a case and everything as well…it’s just lugging it around that might be a pain.
Yeah the gains are really what concerned me. I was doing manual gains but I found it to still be off when using the LEDs. I am considering just saying screw it and getting platinum notes so I don’t have to worry about that junk. The only issue would be making sure that the output is the same as the song I am transitioning from (the other djs song on the cdj), but I suppose all I need to do is match the LEDs on the mixer so that’s all good. I use a decible meter as well so that will ensure I don’t go outrageously off anyway…
My set-up is certainly do-able…just a bit awkward, which makes me reconsider.
i wouldn’t say awkward. yeah there’s going to a bit of weight. even my vci/dicers/laptop/cables all in a bag have some weight, but still lighter than my old vinyl bag.
i can appreciate the ‘cold-feet’ over some of the logistics of it all, had it myself and considered just burning my tracks to cds, use the vci at home and play out with cds. but once you’ve done the setting up a few times it isn’t all that bad.
Be there before the club opens, hook everything up properly - and wait.
Learn how to handle a CDJ and learn hot to work with this supposedly dead format which is still standard in many clubs all over.
I love my Midi, but sometimes, I really don’t feel like showing up at 10pm for my 90 minutes starting at 2am, just to hook up my traktor gear properly without annoying the DJ that is playing while I fiddle around with cables on the mixer.
I really dislike this “ignore the dead format” thinking. I mean, Vinyl is in theory a dead format as well, and still there’s countless new releases every week and countless people still use it. Books are old technology, for crying out loud. Can’t hurt to know how to handle those old tech dinosaurs, eh? Sometimes it can make your life a lot easier.
Yeah really that’s what it is, cold feet. Doing a gig in a club seems somewhat intimidating as it is, having to set up non-standard doesn’t help. If I were to make an analogy, it feels like I’m a 2nd grader who is using a tricycle while all my other friends are on skateboards… however my trike is a beastly tank once I start pushing the pedals. You are right though, it really doesn’t seem that bad now, not worth giving up the benefits of midi at least…
At least the benefit of the APC40 being huge is that there IS some visual/looks more professional like you mentioned.
Yeah on my list of dj-to-do’s is to rent out a cdj system to learn how to connect my set-up as well as how to actually use it. I suppose that would take care of that..
Thanks for the responses so far guys, I feel better already. Now I can sleep knowing I didn’t waste hundreds of dollars.
only if you want to remap, if not then use a default tsi. and most of them are so labour unintensive you can run on a budget vista laptop without any issues and still have ‘fun’ mixing.
trust me. when i first got traktor 3 and vci, used the default tks and had done nothing in terms of optimization and it ran, well… ok, kinda.
I here you I used a vci for a while got the firmware upgrade kit and overlay ect I had fun with the default / techtools tsi
You have a dual boot and most prob have done reg tweaks ect ect so you are extremely pc savvy
I used to have a triple boot of xp I fuck you not ! One for web ! One for production and one for Djing ( got that down to 12 processes tweaked to bones )
but having to do all the above messed my flow life was simpler in the 90s
Maybe Djs have been geeks all along I mean getting a boner about new vinyl and crate digging is abit that way :eek: just like getting a boner at a circuit board full of arcade buttons well maybe not lol
Start your gig on CD’s and have a couple of long songs so you can get your midi set up going without being in the way of the DJ before you. Being six months in means more than likely you’ll be the opening act anyway and by the time you move up the ladder you’ll be comfortable setting up.
@ OP: I know what you mean on the midi setup vs the club setup. I’ve spun in a club once and I definitely wasnt in a state of mind to rock the fucking crowd…I was more focused on the cramping of the booth…the gear acting weird and not being comfortable with my “musical” setup. I even brought a mouse…the only shot of me in the booth is of me fucking around with the mouse. (GO “DJ”).
The other guy came in and rocked the shit with his case of scribbled on CDs. BTW…I’ve seen the way CDs are treated…anybody ever been to an event where the CD skips?
But hey…what am I doing now? Remapping and thinking of how to adapt. For me its no question and we need to embrace the new technology. WE determine the future of the music…NOT the clubs.
@PHOTO…dude you always have really simple/great ideas!
12 fucking processes?! OK…you have to show me how to do this with Win 7. I’d be forever thankful!
Which reminds me…we have a place to post maps here (a forum dedicated to it actually). We ought to have a place to post Windows profiles, dual-boot configs, etc.
Ean’s video on setting up in a club was cool but I think we need a much more detailed updated one. I’ve googled and cant find much either.
Sidenote: Midi Midlife crisis always puts an image in my mind of some 50 year old who just ran out and spent like 5-10k on a Dual Otus system or shiny new S4 and Xone setup. vroooooooooooom-vrooooooooom!!!
i wouldn’t go that far… but yeah, even when it was the good ol’ days of turntables & a mixer, and that was the only option really available (as cdjs were crap or way too expensive for something good) djs were a bit geeky.
