What do you think about this?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

What do you think about this?

So I have been Djing about 6 months and I have had 4 gigs, mainly with laptop + 2 midifighters. I’m now a resident of this wednesday D’nB, dubstep thing.

Now the person (lets say “A”) behind this wednesday thing came to chat with me at Facebook:

A: Hi hey just a question mark popped up

B: yees?

A: your style of music that you dj and what equipment do you use
do you play on cd or vinyl

B: Dubstep, Drum 'n bass and electro and all kind of EDM
neither
With laptor, two midifighters and mixer

A: yes thats a problem???
i heard you play with midi things and laptop
i dont want that

B: why?

A: i want my dj’s to play cd or vinyl. or serato

B: really why?
Can I have even one good reason?

A: resons being
1 i dont like anyother gadgets being set up at any event
2
djs at live events need to know how to mix with out gadgets
3.
i made everyone els do the same
for example XXXX and XXXXX

B: 1.They are easier to set up than serato

A: and there was someone els
but for example
XXXX started mixing with cdjs
and now he play’s a lot better
i don’t want djs using midi controls etc at my events

B: 2. Whats midi things different from serato?

A: serato you use vinyl

B: there isn’t technics at XXXXX?

A: yes there are
4 technics
2 in each room
they just need to be set up

B: Okkeey

A: XXXX are original djs
you can do it man

B: So in a nutshell you are saying that its not proper djing with midi things?

A: switch over
!!
yes
my opinion
it sucks
i know
but learn to mix with out programs

B: Yes all is ok
But wait a sec

A: even serato you have to use the pitch on the technics
with those midi box’s and programs you can sync mix’s etc witch i dont think is a real dj
Im only on your case because of what ive heard
i just want you to start mixing with cdj
so that i can prove them people wrong
you get me

B: Yes you use pitch and watch from serato that bpm is same? Can’t see the difference
Adn you are saying that this isn’t djing?

A: hey dont disagree with me
just learn to mix with cdjs
or vinyl
no questions please
rules aply for everybody

B: So I can use serato?

A: yes

B: Aaand how about other programs?
And can I use midi things with serato? XXX was using novation dicers at his gig.

A: what is novation dicers
??
XXXX uses purely vinyl
and cd

B: With serato?
http://www.musicmatter.co.uk/media/catalog/product/n/o/novation_dicer.jpg

A: what other programs are used apart from serato
i dont have a qlue

B: Traktor, VDJ, audio torq

A: listen this is really straight forward and clear
use vinyl
use cd
and if you need laptop to help you dj then fine
but No midi box’s
no extra hasstle
ok

So what are you saying? This kind of shit just makes me mad :smiley:

2

Wow. That guy’s not too bright. Good luck however it works out.

3

I duno man. I assume person A is the promoter?? Dont think your going to change his mind and he seems like a pure C*nt he obviously dose not understand djing very well. I mean ‘midi boxes’ his stupidity made me laugh.

4

yea, i’m, sorry man…that’s a horrible story, i guess you have to learn to beatmatch with technics, suppose later in the future you are just going to have to pick your battles.

I’ve actually turned down some gigs because they wouldn’t let me use my s4.

5

[quote]A: what other programs are used apart from serato
i dont have a qlue [/quote]

.> Really?

6

It sucks that this guy is totally ignorant. I guess you’ll just have to look at it this way. You have a gig! Don’t focus so much on the medium that you are using. And if it bugs you that much then you’ll just have to find another place to play at.

Were you doing traditional mixing or were you including routines in your set?

7

Tell him your good at what you do and the he gave you the gig because he liked what you did. Tell him your confident in your abilities and the only people that really care about what gear you’re using are other DJ’s. Tell him you’re not there to make other DJ’s happy you’re there to make the people dance and buy drinks.

Be prepared to lose the gig if you stand your ground though.

8

tell him ok! ill use my laptop to help me. tell him your gonna use serato

then pop the midifighters in and go! rock the place. and if hes pissed. smile and get teh bitches anyways cause you earned it!

seriously fuck that guy tho. (i kept getting jerked around about this gig at a local bar in my town until i made a facebook fan page… 10 min later. gig gotten. – i guess i wasnt a real dj till i had a fan page)

9

It sounds to me like one of the promoters other DJ’s either XXX or maybe XXXXX has his ear and is maybe trying to keep you down. Sucks that the promoter doesn’t have enough knowledge, balls or intelligence to not buy into the BS. I mean, you got the gig presumably because he heard you rock it and saw the crowd was into it. WTF? And I’m sorry but 2 midifighters and a laptop takes up WAY less space then Serato with turntables that according to him would have to be set up anyway. I bet if you used your setup anyway but just had 2 turntables with timecode vinyl just spinning, he wouldn’t even know the difference. Hint hint. I mean what’s he going to do, stop you mid set if you’re killing it? :wink:

Squigs just beat me to it. Great minds…

10

lol i brought my apc40 out once, i mean it was a shitty play/pause kinda gig.. play all the party favorites for a few hrs. so i left most of my shit at home cause i didnt wanna carry it.

showed up with the apc and the dude was like? what? no turntables? i was like dood. they broke. this has lights :stuck_out_tongue:

11

Hahaha, LoL… What a bunch of shitebombs… If they don’ want you doing the MIDIdance, tell 'em to sod off.
People come to dance and have a good time. Most of 'em won’t even be able to tell what you are using and even more important, don’t care about it too.
If promotors or bookers do not want to see this simple fact, it tells you more than enough about the venue/party etc. (You probably do not want to be associated with them anyway)

12

Yes he is a promoter.

And it’s not that I couldn’t play with cd’s (CD’s are okey for him) or that I don’t want to play with cd’s at any chance. It’s just the way that he brings it up and says, not directly, “you are not djing properly”. And saying that playing with midifighters etc isn’t real.

And the best part is that I can use serato, just not the “midi box’s”. And it’s also hard to say that I quit playing at these events, 'cause I don’t have much of gigs (I have just started DJing at clubs etc.) and he is a big promoter.

Jeeeezz, maybe I just have to dj “properly” at his gigs and use “midi box’s” at other gigs.

13

sucks to be in a situation like that.
at my club it was kinda the opposite. 3 years ago when we had new dj’s auditioning, and they only brought laptops, we looked down on them cause we didn’t know anything about it. all 3 sucked bigtime anyway, they weren’t djs. sucky songs, volume up and downs, distorted, songs either ending cold or crash mixing into each other. (the expectation was top40/club remix).
but the VERY FIRST guest on a friday night holiday weekend to use Traktor 3 on an old mac, with just a mouse, and he friggin killed it, the club was packed, made tons of money, it was like open format club, pop, r&b mash. our boss was like ‘umm… so when the rest of you guys gonna jump on this?’
from my point of view, there must be a reason for your promoter to think like this, and its probably ignorance. you’ve got a tough choice. +1 on photojojo’s advice.
from what i read though, your promoter didn’t know what equip you were using, and just going off of what he ‘heard’. thats another tough thing all on its own, imho, his contacting you and talking to you about it is better than not talking to you about it, even though this type of stuff would be better over the phone.

14

Just tell him sure…you will wax it Serato.

Then get there…make sure there is no issue swapping to your system…and BLOW them AWAY.

Then when he tells you afterward…SEE…SERATO is better…you tell him the truth…

See what he says then…

15

What do i think? Wanker.

Does he want good music or just someone standing there fiddling with a pair of technics? I mean, I have no idea what your skillset is and you might be a demon on the decks, but really if you’re booking a DJ do you then ask them to learn a whole new skill before the gig?

16

I had a “similar” encounter with a promoter once, when I asked for a raise. He actually had the balls to tell me he’d rather have someone to plug in an iPod and “look cool for the ladies” than having everyone dance their asses off. Needless to say, i packed my gear and left.
Today they have an pc running iTunes and the only one enjoying the played to death playlists is this man. The bar is almost empty now :roll_eyes:

17

LOL
You should go there and ask him, how is the bar doing.:wink:

18

I had tons of problems… When one guy, a club owner, told me that I m not a dj cuz I use laptop (also using external mixer and controlled by denon cd player) I started to dig pics on web of famous dj’s using laptop. Then he agreed that “its not such a bad thing”…

19

I did lol, but they were paying crap (cheap owners) and can’t afford me. At first I did it for the love of music, until they asked me to spin Reggaeton regularly (which I hate) so I asked for what I normally charge (3 times more than what they were paying). Sayonara suckers!

The sad part is that the only one who wanted that kind of music was the promoter, the rest were having a blast. Oh well.

20

That’s pretty much what happened to me when I first got signed to a production company.

I would basically headline their club events and play before or after the main act at a party of 15 DJ’s and 1 International gig…and they would pay me R200. That’s about $25. WTF.

That’s what my fuel would cost to get to the damn venue. But as you say…for the love of it!

Until you had enough of being taken advantage of and other gigs are paying you double their pay…for a simple club gig. When i asked for more…they asked me if I could pull a crowd by being on the flyer…?

They gave me R100 more…that’s about $12.

Did one more gig as the flyer was out already and told em to shove it.

The club I was playing at decided to start their own production company and start doing parties too. They offered me residency and i took it.

Been with em for about 5 years now.

So fuck em mate…unless its your bread and butter.