DJing nowadays

[T_macabre]

Everytime i do a booking i'll moan about a backache from carrying vinyl
Then i'll do it all again the next week


vinyl FTW

[ShutThatShitDown]

As said, if they are using the djing software to increase the amounts of tunes / complexity of the mixing then I'm all for it..

Vinyl still though

[DonLuigi]

Been collecting vinyl for years now but never had the urge to actually start mixing (was on the emcee flex back innna the day and mainly copped vinyl for instrumentals etc).... anyways i've just had the realisation that nothing gives me more pleasure than playin people music that i love and gauging their reactions.

So then came to the crossroads... what set up should i invest in ? A lot of mates suggested i purchase CDJ's, others said midi controllers are the future but FUCK THAT. Now have Technics 1210's and a Technics mixer that my mate kindly donated. Gonna defo cop Serato asap and continue investing in that boodiful wax which imo just can't be beaten

[frebentos]

I decided to sell my tables and just use a analog Mixer and midi to mix up to 4 tracks .

In all of this, the art of doing it has been largely replaced by technology...

[Basic A]

I got told the other day 'with ableton its easier to judt beatmatch everything before I go to the club'....

I think a little piece of me died inside there...

Ive always been digital, I once rigged a pair of walkmans up and hacked the motors with a dimmer switch, but, for the most part, Ive came up ina world of serato and cdjs. But, regardless, we still were using our ears to match. I feel like that should be a requirement to call yourself a dj. Match a damn track.

I myself use a set of CDJs, and then 2 players, a drum sequencer, and an effects rack on my laptop. But, with pride I say, thats all by my ears and the pitch faders.

Makes me sick though becuase with 4 total track players, a drummachine/synth rack, and a VST effects rack, there is essentially nthing ableton kids can do that I cant... aside from skint on beatmatching.

Its wrong.

I can understnad producers using ableotn n the like as a means of playing there own tunes because they cant mix... but see too many kids hitting sync button on professional dubs and then doing simpler mix ins n outs then I do... If your not a DJ, dont pretend to be one. If your a producer playing your productions, cool, you dont have to be able to match those...

But fact is, there is no call for prepreparing your whole mix in ableton, saving the project, wlaking into the club and essentially jus laying effects and a few loops into a mixtape. Thats shameful. Becuase alot of people, can do that with thier ears and gritted teeth alone.

[bolsty]

Now have Technics 1210's and a Technics mixer that my mate kindly donated.

donated?

[lowpass]

yeah man I definitely use serato because I can play tunes that I don't necessarily want to pay 5 pounds for, as well as tunes that just haven't been pressed... but it's still all about the pitch control on technics. that's what dj'ing is, to me.

Think maybe that's why I like vinyl, means I will only spin stuff I am willing to pay that much money for.

It's very easy to go onto beatport and pick up 10 tunes for a tenner, but when you have to think that 20 pounds will get you maybe 3 songs, really makes you take the time to listen and think about what your filling your bag up with

[dj_donga]

yeah man I definitely use serato because I can play tunes that I don't necessarily want to pay 5 pounds for, as well as tunes that just haven't been pressed... but it's still all about the pitch control on technics. that's what dj'ing is, to me.

Think maybe that's why I like vinyl, means I will only spin stuff I am willing to pay that much money for.

It's very easy to go onto beatport and pick up 10 tunes for a tenner, but when you have to think that 20 pounds will get you maybe 3 songs, really makes you take the time to listen and think about what your filling your bag up with

i hear that lowpass
i was talking to a girl last night who i'm sure would admit barely spent anytime thinking about djing issues before
and she said 'surely if you play vinyl it acts as a filter as you're not gonna spend 6 or 7 quid on a shit tune'
i played out last fri at superdubpressure and room 2 was not particularly busy but i had a group of guys standing right round the booth watching what i was doing for virtually the entire set. i dont like looking at the back of a laptop screen as i've no idea if the dj is using an auto-beatmatch function and if you aint beat matching live then it's no longer true djing. yet more physical stuff being replaced by virtual

[geistgurn]

I guess its just contributing factors like money or format availability. Its good to have a bit of both.
I personally use vinyl but i would love serato/torque to get the best of both worlds.

Beat matching isn't the easiest thing in the world but people shouldn't be discredited for synchronizing if they make up for it with layered blends. If people are going to utilize newer technology then they should use it to its full potential, its never about a VDJ mix of youtube rips.

[_boring]

i dont like having the computer involved so i like cdjs better.

auto-sync will NEVER be accurate to ear IMO.

even on cdjs, the control you get over your beatmatching is KEY.

its nice to hear a dj go off time and within one bar correct the mistake.

theres just not enough control/movement with any form of autosync,

it just doesnt sound the same as an actual dj riding the pitch.

cdjs for lyfe brah!

being a performing musician means KEEPING TIME, so if you arent keeping time, you just kinda look like a monkey turning knobs trying to look like you are doing something more important than fucking with levels

DJ'n is all about control over the crowd, so with an ableton set, you do technically have the potential for more control because u can select different drum patterns, melodies etc. and really play to the crowd.

but mixing TRACKS on abelton (or traktor, or decadance etc) with a midi controller should be left to the radio, not the club.

[dj_donga]

I guess its just contributing factors like money or format availability. Its good to have a bit of both.
I personally use vinyl but i would love serato/torque to get the best of both worlds.

Beat matching isn't the easiest thing in the world but people shouldn't be discredited for synchronizing if they make up for it with layered blends. If people are going to utilize newer technology then they should use it to its full potential, its never about a VDJ mix of youtube rips.

that's a totally reasonable outlook
as a vinyl dj i can get a bit defensive!!

[NattyWallo]

(gotta get this rant out of my system and hear your opinions on this)
I can do more mixing on a little 60 dollar piece of plastic than a nice set of tables... its kind of depressing

.

I am like you I started with the crates and heavy bags, trolleys weighing up to 50kilos of plastic and cardboard boxes. For what?
Technology helps creativity, playing today I can focus on what almost must be #1 - the music.

[dj_donga]

you know i'm a bit bored of reading people saying how vinyl's heavy
of course it is and it can be a drag
but y'know can we man up a bit?
i've been carrying vinyl around like a donkey for years - so what?
it sounds good!

[herbalicious]

i played out last fri at superdubpressure and room 2 was not particularly busy but i had a group of guys standing right round the booth watching what i was doing for virtually the entire set.

You smashed it too! I was waiting for a little Heard...but, alas it never came. haha

Selection was spot on my man.

[babylonburn]

Cant we just do some kind of meta thread where the SAME thing that keeps coming up just gets put in one place?

(also see Mt Eden, Borgore and Brostep threads)

[frebentos]

man up

[bolsty]

It's very easy to go onto beatport and pick up 10 tunes for a tenner, but when you have to think that 20 pounds will get you maybe 3 songs, really makes you take the time to listen and think about what your filling your bag up with

sig worthy

[wilf]

As a self-confessed Traktor DJ, I'd like to throw my two pennies in..
Obviously I would prefer it if I was able to mix perfectly with vinyl. I don't think anyone could say they would rather be a master of Traktor than a master of vinyl, simply because the latter is a much, much, much harder art to learn and perfect, and hence is infinitely more rewarding. But... and here comes the problem. Learning to mix vinyl is just no longer attractive. Why bother learning to beatmatch etc. when you can just concentrate on making amazing mixes? The way I see it, what is the point in being a vinyl DJ if a lot of your mixes might not work, your beatmatching is often quite wonky (it is very easy to tell when a vinyl dj is only a fraction out; with autosync and all that shit you can easily put the effort in to make sure they are exactly in time) when you can get a program to do that for you and hence you can concentrate of the important things about djing... song selection, good mixing, using phases and playing to the crowd. Unless you are a world class vinyl DJ, the crowd are going to prefer to hear perfect beatmatching with an insane mix than dodgy beatmatching. The majority probably won't care what you were using, they're unlikely to say "his mixing wasn't great, but at least he was using vinyl". Fair play to all the vinyl djs out there though... i have immense respect for you for learning and perservering with the art, and you will forever be a better technical dj than I. But, when it comes to playing out, its not technicality that counts. And thats where I think you have to give some leeway to digital Djs.

[ras-claat]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJeBzm3eknE

all about the dj... his vinyl sets are übersick and so are his live sets!
doesn't matter what you use! It's about skills and knowing your tunes!

a shitty dj will f*ck up even with sync button

Just look at this IPad video... thousands of Dollars of equipment and she doesn't even know what she's doing

[_boring]

im sorry wilf but that is just a FAIL mentality. fairplay if u use traktor WHILE learning to beatmatch, but u should at least still be trying to one day be a real dj. it took me a year or so but IMO you need to be a real dj! if there is no one else playing dubstep out in your area and you want to get shit going immediately, then whatever, but to not even attempt to learn how DJ (ie use the pitch) then you are selling everything short.