What equipment would you buy for your first setup if you had £1700/$2500?

DJ Gear & Hardware CDJ & Vinyl DJing
1

What equipment would you buy for your first setup if you had £1700/$2500?

Hello all, this is my first thread on this forum, and I’m happy to be here!

I am a practising producer finally ready to pick up some gear to take DJing seriously and put in the time. Therefore, I am looking to create my first setup with a budget of around £1700/$2500.. I want the best equipment that I can get to help me become “club-ready”, and I think I have settled on CDJs opposed to a midi controller, just because I want to be as prepared for club gear as possible, and I like the idea of not having a screen in my setup/performance.

I have been doing a ton of research, and I’m currently looking at a pair of CDJ 850k and a Reloop RMX 20 mixer.. what do you think would be a good way to spend the money? Otherwise I would look at buying a midi controller and a macbook pro (I already have a capable laptop for my Ableton and production work, but would invest in a mac for performance).

I’m a quick learner and dedicated enough, with the passion to continually improve my skills and have fun, I would be looking to buy the best that I can afford the first time, opposed to upgrading consistently!

Thanks for any help you can offer!

KBRIDGE

2

I would go with a DJM 250 or Xone 22 over the Reloop, as Pioneer and A+H are what you see in clubs. You also get filters which are otherwise very rare on 2 channel mixers.

You can also save a huge amount of money by getting used CDJs.

3

Do you think it is worth getting used? My only scepticism is that I have heard mixed reviews on used CDJs, might just be me being paranoid though!

4

What makar1 said. Although I think you could probably fit a 4 channel mixer with that large of a budget.

5

do you really think that is a large budget? do you know of any reputable places to buy second-hand DJ products?

6

Honestly, it really depends on what you want to do.

After investing in my Macbook Pro (which I needed for more than just DJing because my old computer’s motherboard fried) I had to make a similar decision.

For me? I decided to go with Turntables, Serato, and a 2 channel mixer. That being said, turntables vary drastically on price depending on what you get, Serato SL1 is $200-300, and a decent 2 channel mixer is pretty straightforward.

Using Serato, I don’t really worry about if I’m going to show up to a club and have to play on CDJ’s or turntables, I’m always prepared. And I prefer turntables, but they just aren’t always there. I can use CDJ’s in HID mode, or I can just use timecode CD’s. That being said, it does require a decent computer. Most of the time I honestly just run the SL1 box off bus power and don’t even plug my computer in. I’ve NEVER run into an issue doing that so far.

I was really looking at the CDJ-400’s at the time before I made my investment into turntables though. There really is something to be said for mixing with just USB sticks or CD’s. But honestly, I really like the visual waveforms, and it’s something that really helped me learn.

I’m thinking about in the near future picking up a set of CDJ-850k’s because it’s a good thing to practice what you’re going to be playing on. But I don’t know if I’ll ever fully make the switch away from time-code vinyl as my main playing device.

I bought a Novation Twitch, and I sold it in about a month. I really liked it, but I found I never used it. It just didn’t keep me nearly as interested in spinning as using turntables. There’s just something about the moving platter that really just speaks to me and gets me really into the flow of things like nothing else. All of my best sets have been when I’ve been able to really just use turntables and not think about it.

Do what you think is right. If you can’t right away, save to make it happen. Buy once, don’t regret.

7

It’s a pretty big budget IMO.

You can pick up a pair of refurbished CDJ900s from Pioneer for 1700 and have enough leftover to get a very nice mixer.

8

There is no Pioneer Refurb store here, and the 900s are about £1400 for a pair on the used market.

9

Ahhh. That sucks :disappointed:

Refurb store is the only reason why I consider Pioneer.

10

Refurb products aren’t in stock 95% on the pioneer store. I call EVERY day. Seriously. It’s the same lady answering the phone. Poor lady.

11

I’ve been looking over the past day and it looks like I’ll actually be able to get a pair of CDJ 900s in good - excellent condition for less than brand new 850ks which quite excites me!

Do you guys still think the DJM 250 would be a good 2 channel choice for this setup? Although I know most of the features of DJ and production gear, I’m pretty thick when it comes to mixers, e.g how much better could the top of the line possibly be from the lower ranges (aside from additional effects etc?).

What do you guys the DJM 250 to use with the CDJ 900s? I’m pretty dense when it comes to mixers.. I’m not sure how the price can vary so much between mixers, when it SEEMS (please correct me) the only additional features to note are more effects?

12

It’s a nice mixer at a good price, and the main difference as you’ve noted is the lack of FX.

13

If I had $2500 to spend on a set up…I’d prob get a Rane 62 and two technics 1200…might set me over the limit a little. Again, Im talking about me. Best of luck w/ your decision

14

As long as you don’t overspend on a pair of 1200s, this setup is worth every penny. That Rane 62 is a bad ass mixer.

If I had to start over again, a pair of Audio Technica LP1240 and a Rane 62. Under 2500 if you know how to shop around.

15

but dedicated channel filters on the other hand.

for me personally - nice filter >>> fancy fx

16

Nice mixer but you don’t tend to see them in the UK clubs. That said mixer layouts very rarely differ so im not sure its important that the mixer you have at home is the same as what you’d find in a club. Unless you use the effects in which case its probably a slight advantage if you’ve practiced at home with those effects.

17

Seriously. If a mixer doesn’t have a filter knob I skip straight over it.

18

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=895512&Q=&is=REG&A=details
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=denon+x1600&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=

Done deal.

19

That would set you back about £2200/$3400 over here in the UK.

20

Wow, that really sucks, eh?