If you’ve ever teched a stage where multiple laptops are involved, or played for an extended period of time in a laptop-free setup, having that glowing, fragile presence-killer on stage with you can be a serious pain in the ass. The laptop in the chain is the DOA point for controllers in an install environment.
I have yet to see a piece of NI hardware thats completely intact after a year. The problem isnt the capability or limitation of the kit, its the fact that the kit is literally disposable, yet people insist on championing it as the future as it virtually deteriorates in their hands.
I have a friend I normally jam with who judges. He uses a simple Technics 1200 Serato setup and throws down nice mixes without a midi controller. He controls Serato with the keyboard. His gripe is really about starring at the screen to assist beatmatching and relying on midi. I guess the expectations are higher when there’s a lot of focus on the computer and buttons to push.
I do it twice a weekend at my residency with guest DJs, sometimes up to 8 in a night, and I can tell you now that the best people I have worked with are ones who use laptops, and I’ve only had a laptop user crash once in 3 years and that was using Virtual DJ on a 5 year old Toshiba (surprise surprise). And yet, the E-8302 disc read problem has happened far more.
I understand that the lower price points allows a much newer and less understanding audience into the scene, but if they have real passion, they’ll get good, if not, they’ll drop it after a year or so.
Then you know what a massive pain in the ass patching and re-patching endless sound cards is. Even with plug-and-play timecode cards, I wouldnt wish a non-certified live patch job on my worst enemy, “what’s on where and why” quickly becomes a nightmare the more equipment involved. Combine that with the lovely presence-killing glow of a huge screen right in every DJ’s face, and you really start to see why having 4-16 permutable slots for a single piece of USB/SD media per DJ is a godsend.
Why would there be that many laptops on at once? Also it’s not effort to plug two RCA cables into a mixer. Hell we even have it setup so the RCA jacks are on a rack mount unit on top so you don’t have to go behind the mixer, you just plug in and whoomp. All I do is ask them to give me their output cables and that’s it. If their gear doesn’t work, the other DJs (or me) get an extended slot and they can jog on. It doesn’t matter about the effort either way, I am paid to do a job and I do it well, whether I use CDJs, Traktor or a 1930’s clarinet made from fossilised elves.
I don’t get your hatred of screen glow though. My nightclub has an insane light rig, and they don’t kill the presence at all. Presence killing is whipping out your BB and checking Twitter in between mixes.
Even with two laptops, disconnecting the install, patching in the incoming, and then fully patching the second deck becomes something out of a mind game if you dont have a dedicated patch. If your entire install is nothing but timecodes, mounting a patch bay would make things significantly easier to access, but theres still the handoff effect between patching two sound cards in and out.
If you’re talking about patching in external stuff like controllers, it gets a lot simpler, but then you have to have a booth capable of supporting that. Considering a set of CDJs and a DJM in cases takes up a large table, space can get pretty tight. In my situation, “external equipment” means “I get to maneuver the lids of my CDJ cases” which is just irritating and wears down my cables. If you have a large install, obviously external hardware is as easy as getting a single output in (Thats a different story, and Ive seen some bizarre shit…).
Presence killing is having a huge screen propped up literally front centre before you, with your face buried in it. If the laptop is out of the way, often the case in the aforementioned large installs, it usually isnt a problem. But the typical timecode setup features a laptop wall with a face glued to it as standard. Ironically, when the mixer is propped up in the case, I typically put my phone in the little pocket it creates and glance at it from time to time, without obviously doing so.
Do you have a residency at a club? Even at some of the bigger LA clubs where we play…the laptops are getting more and more popular.
I have Ableton and Traktor but for the most part play on CDJs via Rekordbox and USBs. I personally like to connect with the crowd by looking at them and making a connection.
But that’s not to say that there aren’t any dope DJs that use a laptop. In a major club, I’ve maybe seen maybe one act that uses a controller. Most are timecode Serato, USBs, and CDs now…
I think every DJ in dallas uses a laptop, serato + time code vinyl or dual X1s + audio 2/6/8/10 whatever, and whatever pioneer mixer is typically provided…
i couldnt imagine a place still using normal CDJs with actual CD swapping, unheard of out here anyway.
just more convenient for everybody, plus if your shit dies, just borrow someones gear and be straight for your set since everyone has the exact same gig bag of tricks
I do agree that people need to at least have a basic understanding of CDJ’s and/or TT’s so they could at least wing a set if they had to. Alot of the times it is the controller folks who will look at a TT like its Chinese math.
I don’t get the hate for DJ’s buried behind a laptop screen. Who gives a fuck? As long as the sound is proper, you’re there to dance or at least have a good time and that for me usually doesn’t mean to stare at the DJ. I like the booths were you can’t/barely see the DJ.
My point isnt that people dont use timecode, my point is that it’s a major pain in the ass to manage. Thats the reasoning between the Rane dual USB functions (which ironically, rarely get installed), and it’s why clubs have been installing CDJ-2000’s over the past 3 years. Timecode is a holdover from the 5 year period after 2003 when CDs and vinyl were the main way of getting tracks to the venue, and for people who want a vinyl feel. There’s essentially no reason a laptop needs to be involved with a club setup, except in cases of legacy support (which, I admit, is pretty huge).
Compare the efforts of handing over sound cards constantly, patching the same set of RCAs in and out ad nauseum, to having virtually everyone already patched in before the show even starts via USB/SD, with literally no hardware management. Its almost like the “industry standard” install hardware has significant advantages over the incumbent system…
In some ways bringing an s2 to a club is less intrusive than dvs/soundcards because you just need one line in. Tbh that’s what originally attracted me to traktor when I was using serato because sketchy decks nearly ruined so many parties. Many venues still have cdj1000s so for me just bringing my s2 with crane stand means I can use traktor with our ripping to many cables out the back of the mixer. If the venue has 2000s I just bring a USB stick
[QUOTE]I don’t get the hate for DJ’s buried behind a laptop screen. Who gives a fuck? As long as the sound is proper, you’re there to dance or at least have a good time and that for me usually doesn’t mean to stare at the DJ. I like the booths were you can’t/barely see the DJ.
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Its the connection to the Performer and Music thats missing if you you cant see anything.
Personally I hate when you cant see the DJ or see their reaction, especially when its a big name when you catch his/her sly grin that they know the place is going to go completely nuts at the next break, its like a little mashed up secret between the two of you that can make a night.
That’s the biggest problem with laptop DJs, it’s hard to pull your eyes away from the screen sometimes. The pros still manage it, just takes a bit of discipline imo.
i’m a turntable DJ, used a vci-100 a few years back, went back to turntables… I’ve thought about getting an S2 for my mobile gigs/weddings b/c most people do not care what you use. The most important part is picking the right music and keeping the interaction with the crowd. I’ve DJ’ed events with my laptop, mixer, and a mic before when I had to sell most my gear to pay bills…
pick the right music, keep a smile on your face, and remember…your job as a DJ is to satisfy the crowd 1st and foremost… if they are not into your set it does not matter how well you mix it
ttables are a pain in the *$! to carry to gigs and setup plus they are HEAVY. I’m going to be using my Maschine Mk2 going forward unless someone really wants ttables.
i’ve got buddies that DJ multiple weddings with itunes and their personality. SONG SELECTION!!!
Over here, turntables are basically extinct; even the boothes are sized specifically for CDJ1000s and a 4 channel mixer, usually screwed down in the middle. Venues usually have a mixer and a set of Denon DN-4000s (those bloody nasty rackmount things with the 1.5" jogwheels), which very few people ever use.
Most people either bring CDJs or controllers, although finding a spot for your controller (especially if it’s larger than an S2) is generally a nightmare. I use a pair of Reloop Contours, so I can at least go either side of the mixer, but then you have to put your laptop off-side, which makes changing playlists etc a pain in the backside.
Personally, I can’t see the point of CDJs, and never really have done; I went from using turntables back at the turn of the milennium, to a gap of about 8 years, completely skipping the CDJ generation, and then straight back into MIDI. CDJs are essentially just limited, basic versions of a Traktor setup, with very limited filters and effects (and no VST support), and you still have to carry a massive amount of media around. The 2000s are a little bit better, with USB mass storage support, but they’re still basically just cut-down laptops.
With turntables you have that tactile feel and moving platters, which gives them a notable difference (not necessarily ADVANTAGE, but a difference) to MIDI controllers. I’m sure CDJs were great when they were the ONLY choice besides turntables, but MIDI should’ve killed off that segment of the market immediately upon release.
The irony is, it’s usually the CDJ users who bitch about everyone else’s equipment choice. Usually while pointing at their pitchfaders and saying, “see? SEE?!”.
