SUPER NEW to this forum and DJing as a whole. I have absolutely no idea where to even start so I guess i need help finding myself lol. I found this forum by watching some videos on Youtube about the midi fighters (yes..the colors attracted me hahaha.) I’ve been spending my days trying to absorb as much as I can on YouTube and on this forum. I’ve read and watched a bit about basic beat counting and such but as for programs, types of controllers, and types of mixing…I know nothing. So my questions are..
What are the different types of mixing styles and some pros and cons of each? Don’t really know what I’m trying to do
What are the differences between a mixer and a controller? What is a controller even?
What’s a good software to get started with? Traktor? Seems like that’s everyone’s favorite
What’s some good equipment for a noob like me? I see that some people use a mixer and some sort of controller..or just an all-in-one. What’s the diff? Just to put it out there I like the midi fighters just cause it’s so unconventional-looking LOL
Budget-wise I don’t mind spending a few hundred to get me started.
Any is greatly appreciated! I hope i can learn a lot from everyone
Really depends on your budget and what you want to mix. For beginners, starting out with an all in 1 controller like the S2 is best. That way you don’t have to buy a mixer, sound card, cdjs, etc. With an S2 you can learn all the basics and move on to much more advance things. The S2 comes with traktor as well so its a really good package.
2 approach of djing : analog and digital.
With analog you’ll need turntables, or cdj and a mixer.
Digital, use a pc program that analyze and send out sound like a virtual mixer.
Controllers are USB controllers like a game pad for controlling the virtual mixer and decks without using the mouse and keyboard.
Pro and cons in both of them.
IMO I prefer digital, because you can easily have all your music collection on the go, and there are some really fun controllers.
In some place digital is considered not a good thing, due the fact of sync function, that old school DJ hate (“beatmatch or you are not a DJ”)
But you can beatmatch also with controllers
If you are a scratch guy, you can go analog, or digital, adding turntables to you controller.
Try the programs mixxx, vdj Serato and traktor, and find what is the better for you.
I recommend traktor, great program now at a very low price (and if you buy something from NI it is included)
Digital DJ is the “easiest” way to start, because it is cheaper than having a good analog setup.
For a decent price you can have a mixtrack pro, that have built in sound card, it means you can have a main out and cue out directly from the controller.
If you wanna spend a little more, there is the NI s2, that came with full traktor pro 2, better build, more function, good sound card.
its also important to know song structure. this is a big aspect. think of a dj as someone who organizes the music for the audience. start by listening to music while you watch the waveform. i think this helps visualize the way a song is built. listen to your music differently than you may have in the past, paying attention to changes in the song. i.e. intro, buildups, drops, etc… when you load you first track keep it simple but also expierment at home. you will never know what sounds good until you know what sounds bad, so while venturing outside your comfort zone may lead to a bunch of loud noise, you will develop an ear for that sweet sound of success. when it happens you’ll know… for me, i start dancing, i just can’t help it. MY BIGGEST POINT HERE IS HAVE FUN, it will show in the music you create.
^this!^
and try to learn from the beginning to beatmatch, after all you can only use sync in future if you want, but it is useful, it helps a lot to understand to known the songs, and for leaning to count.
I was in your same boat about 3 months ago and luckily there was a killer deal going on with Kontrol S2. I would highly recommend this controller. There is so much support for it here on this site and forum. After mixng with this machine everyday for the past three months I have advanced by leaps and bounds. One thing I will say when you’re first starting out is be very organized with your music collection, whether your using traktor or serato (assuming you’re going digital) this will help so much when it comes to practicing and eventually performing. There was a very good article on organization this past Monday. The one thing that has helped me the most when first starting out djing is THIS WEBSITE!!! Read absolutely everything on here, watch every tutorial and then do it all again. The more you can immerse yourself within djing the more it will sink in!! The most important part of djing (IMO) is the music. You have to love searching for new music! Really really really listen to your tracks; try to listen to their compostion (builds, breakdowns, chorus, good mixing points, good phrases for looping, etc) The more in tune with your music you are the better your mixes will be. Oh Yeah…HAVE FUN!!! Learning is half the fun… i dance with my headphones on in my bedroom on a daily basis lol
Beatmatching will seem pointless at first, but learn it, and learn it well. You will get to point where you wont even want to use the sync button. It makes mixing more fun when you know you did it yourself
Thanks for all the great advice guys! I’ll definitely pay attention on mastering beat matching. As for the S2 as of right now its a bit out of my price range..I really want to get it though. Are there any more alternatives that would be just as good as the S2? I read that a midi fighter pro is pretty good if just used alone as well for a beginner such as myself..what do you guys think? Anything around the price of the midi fighter pro would be nice.
Mmh, imo no, you may need a more classical controller in order to begin djing, look for a second hand one!!
The problem of low budget controller is that when you have one, you always want to upgrade.
I think that if you go with mixtrack after a while you’ll be aiming at s2/s4.
With those controller you are done, you can add what you want like x1 f1 midifighter, machine, k2 ecc but as main controller they are great.
That’s very true..and knowing myself I wouldn’t think twice about upgrading as well. How much do used S2’s usually go for? I also saw videos and a thread about the Behringer CMD that will be coming out..should I wait for those set ups? They are quite affordable. The S2 is very attractive though..
Before you go crzy buying gear and stuff, whats your goal? Meaning like, do you want to just try out DJ’n and see if you like it as a hobby? or are you dead set on being a digital DJ and you plan on making it into clubs on a proffesional level someday? Sounds like maybe you should just download a free demo of Traktor or Virtual DJ. Learn whatever you can about the software you are using from videos and playing with it. You can accomplish basic mixing w/ just your mouse. No need to worry about gear that may not suit you, and no need to invest any $ into something you may not be into in another month or so. If or when you decide you want to step your mixing up from just using a mouse and what not, you’ll have a better idea of what gear fits you best.
i couldnt agree more with this post. i started with a cracked (yes i know it was pirated) version of vdj at a friends house. we both fell in love with mixing music and using fx and cue points and knew that this is what we wanted to do! so we both put our chips in and saved up for a s4 and now we have a legit piece of gear and legit software to run it on. yes granted i originally learned mixing and beat matching on vinyl in previous years due to always wanting to do what big brother does haha but i came into my own now with my own style and you should to the same. get music and get going, its always nice to ask questions and get it right on the first try but i’ve learned from that stand point you can fall down. personally i like trial and error because then i know for myself whats wrong. and i think ive lost sense in what i was even talking about now in my rambling sorry.. but yeah get a demo and experiment
the S2 was a bargain until recently - not sure what the price has gone back up to now. the behringer cmd studio 4A may well be a decent controller - and should be pretty cheap. nothing revolutionary about it but should give u the same basic control, more buttons to map than something like the mixtrack and nice long 14bit pitch faders. even if u didn’t want to use them for manual beatmatching they’ll be great to map to effects or a volume control or something.
Your handwriting is to your music . The pen your software .The writing paper your controller. You can do away with a pen that costs a dime to a hundred bucks. A crumbled paper or a clean white paper, your handwriting remains the same.
I would suggest just downloading a trial of Traktor and messing around with that for a little bit because Behringer is coming out with a very affordable MIDI mixer. It looks like it will be a great starting point for someone like you. Cheers!
Edit: Oops. I see that you already knew this much. My bad.
