Ok, I’ve got some equipment, and looking for advice on best software to use/ways to set up. What I have in my ownership at the moment is:
Dell Laptop with 1.8GHz Celeron Processor and 2GB RAM
1.5TB External USB Hard Drive
External USB Sound Card with stereo phono in and stereo phono out
Behringer DDM4000 Digital MIDI Mixer
A pair of Numark Axis 9 CDJ Decks
USB-MIDI Cable to connect mixer to laptop
However, my friend runs a studio that is closing down, so have been offered to purchase various software from them on the cheap (all legit). They have Ableton 8, Virtual DJ, Traktor Pro and Mixmeister Fusion.
Out of the above, what would be the recommended setup to be an electro house DJ? I know I could do with getting a pair of Pioneer’s, MacBook Pro etc, but buying anything significant is out of my price range at the moment, though I’m able to buy the above software if needed. I’m also hoping to ditch the CDJ’s and go digital running off my laptop.
don’t even consider buyin their Virtual DJ, especially Mixmeister Fusion…
sell that soundcard unless it has 4in/4out, & consider an Audio4 by NI, cause screw the DDM4000’s soundcard, sacrafice its effects for quolity by using the soundcard you already need for your timecode cd’s to work. work a deal & try to get there traktor for a good deal then download traktors timecode CD’s burn em, revert it to version 1.1 (if your not going to get the Audio4 or Audio8 soundcard) since Traktor versions after 1.1 requires a NI certified soundcard for timecode) & from there you should be set.
Assign Channel 2 an 3 plus the Mic section of the DDM4000 to MIDI
Use ASIO4ALL to combine USB and onboard sound card, then run Traktor Deck 1 out into the DDM4000 Channel 1 and Traktor’s Deck 2 into DDM4000 Channel 4, using external mixer mode. Therefore, using DDM4000’s Channel 1, 4 and Crossfader sections as a mixer.
Use the MIDI on Channel 2 and 3 to control Traktor hot cues, effects etc and use the Mic section EQ knobs for EQ crossfaders
Run Master Output from mixer into monitors so I can utilise the mixers effects etc.
Would this work/make sense?
Also, what are the benefit of timecoded CDs? Are they essential? I have considered the Audio4DJ but the price is putting me off as I’m a newbie doing it all on a budget to learn the basics etc.
After looking around. I’m considering taking Traktor and Abelton off their hands.
I’ve also decided there’s no real place in the setup for the Axis 9’s that I can see, so am gonna be selling them (anyone interested!?). Now, am I better off selling my DDM4000 and investing in a DJ console controller, or keeping the DDM4000 as the controller to utilise it’s effects etc?
This is all purely for bedroom use at the moment, as I’m still learning the basics and building up some kind of set slowly over time.
your first resonds sounds like it would make sence but
unless your using its bad quolity soundcard, you can’t use it’s effects… but for bedroom dj’n the qualitys fine, but you;ll be investing practice on somehting not practical in a club so these are all thingsd to keep in mined. - s
there isn’t a soundcard in the ddm4k, its a standard audio mixer with midi added to it…so if you are mixing externally on it you are going to need a soundcard with that number of outs.
I wouldn’t spend money on traktor and and ableton or any software and then skimp on soundcard by trying to us your internal card and external card with asio4all.
If you’re not carrying it around, DDM works fine for both Ableton and Traktor. Depending which program you’re going to lean towards, you will want different type of controller - what works well with Ableton is probably not best with Traktor and vice versa.
Should you stop giving advice on the gear you don’t know anything about LiveFastStephen? For the umpteenth time, there is no soundcard in DDM.
I meant the quality of it’s sound circuits suck, it’s best to use the DDM4000 as a controller & mix internally and go straight from your soundcard to the speakers or clubs mixer (avoiding streaming audio threw the mixer & losing quality) & what i was saying is by doing so you loose use of its effects.. now that should clarify for the mentally stumpy.
I can see you’re a bit confused, but no need to call names. If you put through bad quality sound through any mixer using a bad soundcard, it is not the mixer’s fault. On the contrary, user experiences and reviews seem to agree with my own experiences that the sound quality is more than you would expect from a 300 dollar mixer.
I don’t know your sources on the sound quality claims, but you should clarify how the mixer was used before stating hearsay as facts, as it may affect people’s judgement. Only few of us have money to throw around…
k stumpy, thought i just clarified this.. the circuitry in the DDM4000 that processes the audio is bad. if you use it your audio will sound like shit. if you use the DDM4k simply as a controller your in the clear, but can not use it’s onboard effects.
& yo yr talking smack to me like you have mental short comings & yr named stumpy, come on its funny.
Whew. Again, you speak on hearsay. The sound quality is generally considered good for the price. You have said before that you have no experience on the DDM.
Since you have no experience on the matter and you’re talking against the general opinion on the mixer, I would strongly suggest that you would not give advice on it. I haven’t talked smack, perhaps your conception about shortcomings is due to the fact that people need to tell things to you several times and in easily comprehensible language?
My nick is not really referring to me in any way. I just like to keep Internet identity separate from the real one, and it is faster to write when I’m surfing with a phone or pda.
As we are going way offtopic and the OP has made his decision I figure I’m also done here. If you wish to continue discussing about nicks, equipment or whatever, we can continue with PMs.
Like Stumpy said, not everything has money to throw around on Pioneer equipment. Some of us have lives outside DJing and don;t have mummy and daddy to bail us out every time.
Ultimately, like I said in original post, the equipment I have is what I have and I don;t have the cash available to buy anything significant to add to the setup, and that’s what I wanted advice on.
And anyway, the main ethos of being a DJ should be accept and respect all other DJs for whatever music they play or equipment they use cos not everyone likes the same music and not everyone has money to throw at overpriced equipment.
If you can’t be constructive, then I suggest you don’t reply to this thread.
maybe i read wht he said backwards cause it appears he was saying i have no experiance cansidering i dont have money to throw on it, iv given you a honest and straight forward look into the DDM4k if you dont like it dont make a thread asking about it..
& yo stumpy and bunford
As for as this thread
looking at how i typically aproch my stay here at DJTT’s id expect to have some rope,(having helped countless members out with gear, advice, computer tweeks, mappings, etc) now i don’t expect people to not challenge what i say, granted that if i miss word one thing, in this case “souncard” inplace of “sound circut” I kind of expect more respect than what i recevied. but for sending back the deminer i felt i received was pretty childish so i do apologys.
