I have been dj-ing for the last year at home. I have improved significantly over the last year and have, over the last 2 months, posted several sets on my mixcloud account. I have gotten great reviews from people and even from some Djs.
I am using an XDJ RX and i am getting quite bored with it, i considered getting an RMX 1000 to spice things up but its expensive and I am not sure it will do the trick.
My main issue is i’d like to start playing in clubs and the XDJ RX does not give me the comfort to move to CDJs despite the similarity. I am considering upgrading to a DJM NXS 2 and 2 XDJ 1000s but that is a costy investment.
The benefit will be more FX and power to learn a creative side of mixing and familiarity with this kind of set up to better help me in the transition.
Disadvantage being the significant cost (Approx USD 5000).
What do you guys recommend and has this issue happened to anyone?
The real answer: first get gigs, then buy the expensive stuff
A few good reviews on some mixes is not enough to justify this investment… invest in more music and get more skilled. If you have troubles switching from XDJ RX whatever other Pioneer setup, then it’s not the gear.
Trowing money at it will not make you a better dj nor will it land you (more) gigs… only skill & great music will do that.
Thank you for the response. Its honest and makes a lot of sense. I will listen to your advice and focus on other things at the moment rather than invest USD 5K in a new set up. In fact, i am now making my flight case for the XDJ RX so i can take it with me on weekends and play it at friend’s homes etc and parties so i can tackle the anxiety with playing in public and practice some more.
Would you recommend i add an RMX 1000 to the set up? I really feel like i could use additional things as the mixes are getting boring with the limitations i can do with the effects and the 2 channels…
In terms of building a music library. how do you recommend i go about that? Buy each song from beatport? Thats also a costly investment? Can you shed some light how i should go about this?
Any other tips on practicing and how i should go about to transition to clubs would be welcome (namely how to move from playing XDJ RX to a NXS set up) _ i know they’re very similar but not the same so is that an issue or what?
First, thanks for understanding my ‘voice of reason’
Good solution to case the RX, this way it’s mobile and you will be mixing a lot more in an ‘live’ atmosphere like small parties (with some friends). Practice makes perfect.
Since you are using Recordbox, I would not pay a premium for a RMX1000 since you have a lot of tricks (cutter, loops, color fx, hotcues, …) up your sleeve with the RX. Effects, filters, … are nice if used moderate. Take more time to learn how to use the features you have so the are an added value while you are mixing.
I’m just going to ignore the beatport remark…pay artists for their work (no compromise).
Be critical in what you buy and yes..you invest in music library !
Your collection of music is who you are behind the decks…all the other stuff is replaceable.
Unless you are a drive in dj…you don’t need 1000’s of tracks !
Your set-up is almost identical to a nexus booth…a switch should feel natural because layout is very alike.
Don’t sync it !
Guys. Thank you both for the invaluable feedback you have shared with me. I got my mixer fitted this morning and the case will be ready by next week. I’m pretty psyched about this and have begun reaching out for some venues to play there (mainly to open for djs in the dead hours - figured i need to take the step and get out of my comfort zone). What do you think? They have asked me to send them my mixes.
With regards to the music, i wholeheartedly agree with both of you and i intend to purchase new music. The issue is what do i do with the 500 songs i have collected? They are songs i have converted mainly from youtube. Can i still use those in a club setting? I know for a big event such as a rave they will be too weak (even though i have converted them to 320kbs) but basically this is going to destroy my current collection (And ability to participate in gigs right now, not to mention that i have cued and commented on these songs etc). This is the dilemma. Please advise.
Hi Moyo,
In regards to the converted YouTube music, I definitely do not suggest using those tracks outside of a stereo system at a house party. Converting them to 320Kbs actually does not improve the overall sound, especially on a club system or rave environment. Most semi-perceptive ears are going to tell that the tracks are YouTube ripped. My suggestion would be to isolate the tracks out of your 500 you feel most comfortable with and that would give you some variety in a live set. Then download those legitimately and discard your YouTube rips. I would think that 50 - 100 tracks should give you more than enough wiggle room. In most cases mp3(s) are going to be more than adequate, especially in smaller environments (i.e. bars, lounges, small nightclubs). You may not be able to tell the difference between a YouTube rip and a legit download at home, but the larger and better the systems out there will expose your music. If money is an issue, search for music on Beatport and then comparison-shop utilizing iTunes, Amazon, etc. That will save you sometimes up to 50% if you are isolating the music to mp3 quality.
Hope that helps and good luck
Thank you CB75. I will do that; i am actually going through this exercise as we speak (you would be surprised how much crappy music i downloaded cause its free). Paying for music makes me feel like i’ll be more selective and have a better library overall.
One other thing though, you mentioned mp3? Versus wav or some other format?
Buy your music yeah… YouTube rips is a bit of a joke frankly… I mean sorry to say but you don’t sound hard up for cash if you were considering a full pioneer CDJ set up worth thousands!!
AIFF or WAV ideally but if money an issue just get the 320kbs mp3s. Most stores will let u upgrade and re-download your music in higher res format at a later date anyway.
iTunes store music also good enough for rig / pa system (AAC 256kbs) and they are reasonably priced too.
Plenty of good and legit free music on soundcloud too.
I agree. We have established that idon’t need to upgrade my equipment and that it’s time to pay for music.
These points are no longer debatable. But please keep in mind that I am new to this and now i am confused as to what kind of file i should download? Some are saying mp3, some are saying .wav etc.
I use recordbox and mixedinkey on a windows pc if that helps. We can then close this topic once and for all!
MaxOne makes a good point regarding upgrades if you’re concerned about format quality. I do not produce and I’m anything but a professional professional DJ. The iTunes downloads are more than adequate for me … even for when I do get the occasional public gig. If DJing was going to be a career or supplemental income, I would definitely be converting my set list into WAV format once that booking / gig approached.
Thank you CB75. I don’t think at this point in time I need to go for WAV files, just an extra expense and a use of storage space.
I am a bedroom DJ and the moment that posts sets online, and trying to get some air time on radio shows and at the same time aiming to push myself out of the bedroom and land me some gigs at clubs and bars this year.
I am still lost between AIFF vs MP3 (and beatport vs itunes for mp3) as i heard they are all different sizes and quality and I’d rather just stick to one format. Keeping what i said in mind, what would you do?
DJing will not be a career but i would definitely hope to be able to play at clubs and bars and i don’t want to have to go through this tedious exercise again where i need to clean up my library etc.
One thing that would be very important is the ability to tag my music (seeing as i use mixed in key and write comments in recordbox etc).
MP3 is a lossy codec, meaning audio encoded in it is stripped of extraneous information to reduce its file size. Bit and sampling rate determine how much information is thrown out; a higher bitrate means less information is removed and the audio is therefore a higher quality.
But MP3 320s (and similarly iTunes 256s) are not going to mean any real difference in a club situation to WAV/AIFF but have lower cost and much smaller realestate needs.
WAV is for lossless or uncompressed audio, meaning it contains a lot of audio information — and potentially audio quality — but results in a bigger file size.
Which is better? It depends on what the audio is being used for. Since MP3 is optimized for file size, it’s good for general purpose listening and most club situations. WAV and other lossless formats are best suited for audio recording and archival.
“I am still lost between AIFF vs MP3 (and beatport vs itunes for mp3) as i heard they are all different sizes and quality and I’d rather just stick to one format. Keeping what i said in mind, what would you do?”
I typically look for all my music on Beatport first and put anything I think I may want in my Hold Bin. Since tracks on iTunes and Amazon are released on average 2-4 weeks later, I’ll periodically check back and see if they’re available on either of those sites and purchase if they are (some labels I like are only on Beatport and I seemingly spend a fortune on those eliminating any guilt switching to iTunes for the rest). I’m like you in that I want everything in the same format. On iTunes, the music comes in AIFF format. Since I primarily use MP3(s) I’ll reformat my iTunes downloads to MP3 before moving them to Traktor. For some reason on my computer or on Traktor, I’ve had issues with AIFF formatted tracks. I accidentally discovered if I change them to MP3 in iTunes before importing them, I never have issues. For my sound system at home and the few times I play out, the MP3(s) sound fantastic.
By the way, I’ll definitely check out your MIXCLOUD. Good luck
