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Rivfader posted:If you're going to go for an SSD definitely buy one yourself and install it, never upgrade with Apple, they unfortunately charge too much. Simply leave the basic 5400 RPM in and switch it out yourself (same goes for a normal 7200 RPM). awesome bit of advice there sir, thanks a lot
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Jun 15, 2011 14:18
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Le0 posted:awesome bit of advice there sir, thanks a lot No problem. One more thing, the harddrives in the current Macbooks (white and Pro) are no longer super-easily user replaceable because of the new uni-body design. In older White macbooks it was a matter of taking the battery out and then simply pulling the harddrive out and sliding a new one back in, alas no longer. However, it's still relatively easy. Watch this video to see how it's done and if that scares you off, you might want to consider paying that extra amount of money after all.
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Jun 15, 2011 14:32
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shyguise posted:Do you guys have any tricks for on the fly turntable isolation? i was playing at a bar and my needle was doing backflips due to a combination of lovely booth construction and people dancing too hard/close. The ghetto way I've done this successfully is with thick rubber bands wrapped around tall ashtrays to make suspension feet for the turntables. It's tricky as gently caress to play on turntables rigged up this way though because they move and bounce a lot Rivfader posted:No problem. One more thing, the harddrives in the current Macbooks (white and Pro) are no longer super-easily user replaceable because of the new uni-body design. In older White macbooks it was a matter of taking the battery out and then simply pulling the harddrive out and sliding a new one back in, alas no longer. ??? I replaced the HDD in my first gen unibody pro 15" very easily. It's right underneath the back cover panel next to the battery. The only thing that sucked was trying to get those loving torx no 6 screws out e: I ran traktor for years on a stock 5400 rpm drive with no issues. Only reason I upgraded recently was because I ran out of space
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Jun 15, 2011 16:24
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vanilla slimfast posted:The ghetto way I've done this successfully is with thick rubber bands wrapped around tall ashtrays to make suspension feet for the turntables. It's tricky as gently caress to play on turntables rigged up this way though because they move and bounce a lot I know.  I said it's still relatively easy (as the video also shows), it's just no longer an instant-switch which it was for the older Macbooks. You need screwdrivers and the willingness to open up your Mac and I can understand if someone feels uncomfortable about doing that. I guess we can all be glad it's nothing compared to the first generation non-unibody Macbook Pro's though, which required taking out the keyboard and about a gazillion screws.I ran Traktor on a 5400 as well and it worked fine, the 7200 RPM just makes a noticeable overall difference.
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Jun 15, 2011 16:41
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Ah gotcha. I never got the chance to attempt it on my older MBP (pre-unibody) as it was stolen out of my house years ago. 7200rpm has definitely made a noticeable improvement for overall system performance (esp with multitasking and cutting down on instances of the "beachball") but traktor has been rock solid both before and after
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Jun 15, 2011 16:49
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Rivfader posted:If you're going to go for an SSD definitely buy one yourself and install it, never upgrade with Apple, they unfortunately charge too much. Simply leave the basic 5400 RPM in and switch it out yourself (same goes for a normal 7200 RPM).
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Jun 15, 2011 19:27
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Splinter posted:Apple's SSD prices are actually pretty reasonable. Upgrading to a 128GB SSD from a low end 15" is $200. That's around how much you'll have to pay to buy a similar sized SSD online. A 3rd party drive might be slightly faster than what Apple gives you, but either will be such an improvement over a mechanical drive that you're not likely to notice the difference. Upgrading through Apple also saves the hassle of installing the drive/osx as soon as it arrives, and Apple will support it if you have any issues with the drive. The SSD upgrade is only ~$100 if you get a high end 15", which is a great deal. I hadn't noticed they dropped the installation price for the 128 GB, used to be higher. You're definitely right $200 is indeed a reasonable price for a SSD. The argument about support from Apple is a good one, but my experience is that going to Apple for service often means handing in your Mac for at least a few days. Personally I'd rather have the warranty from the HDD manufacturer and put in a back-up drive (I have my music Time-Machined onto a USB-laptop drive) while waiting for my replacement to arrive. Also, just to point out to Le0 installing 3rd party hardware does not void your Applecare. The warranty for the drive will simply be taken over by the manufacturer of the new drive. I guess what we're saying is: - If you don't like the idea of fiddling with your Mac in any way; let Apple do it. - If you don't mind the idea of fiddling with your Mac and decide to go for a normal 7200 RPM; buy one for around 50 bucks yourself and install it. This will save you 50 bucks, but will also cost you direct warranty from Apple as it will be taken over by the manufacturer. - Let Apple do your HDD upgrade if you're going for a SSD.
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Jun 15, 2011 20:11
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So I just booked my first live dubstep gig, and first DJing gig in almost a decade. Two sets in the same night (1 hour and 2 hours). I'm nervous as gently caress. Does anyone have any advice or a pep talk for me? I DJ with a laptop and Traktor Kontrol S4 if it matters.
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Jun 15, 2011 21:02
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artard posted:So I just booked my first live dubstep gig, and first DJing gig in almost a decade. Two sets in the same night (1 hour and 2 hours). I'm nervous as gently caress. Does anyone have any advice or a pep talk for me? I DJ with a laptop and Traktor Kontrol S4 if it matters. Drink. If you haven't been to the venue, go there if you can before the show. Show up early, sometimes venues will let you soundcheck before they actually open. Bring everything with you, bring extra RCA cords, a torch, whatever you think you may need. Don't pound back beers before you start, you'll need to piss, it will suck. Look at your crowd, they are all looking at you. Just remember that most of the people there are drunk and there to party, let go a little, relax. Nobody is grading you and if you're confident in your abilities (which I hope you are) you'll do fine. Also congrats!
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Jun 15, 2011 21:32
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artard posted:So I just booked my first live dubstep gig, and first DJing gig in almost a decade. Two sets in the same night (1 hour and 2 hours). I'm nervous as gently caress. Does anyone have any advice or a pep talk for me? I DJ with a laptop and Traktor Kontrol S4 if it matters. Confidence. I hate seeing DJs that look like deer in the headlights and stand completely still without even so much as a headbob. I personally like to interact with the crowd and smile at them or even dance with them. Drink, but not too much. A shot for me and I'm good, gets rid of any nerves you may have.
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Jun 15, 2011 22:26
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I personally try and dance harder than anyone in the crowd. It 'leads' the crowd to dance harder and enjoy your set, and also it helps in just enjoying the music (hell, you're at a club and it is literally playing YOUR FAVOURITE MUSIC, you should be dancing like a maniac) which is really useful in loosening up and relaxing.
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Jun 16, 2011 00:39
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yeah seconding the don't drink too much before a set argument, I was the type of dj that would sometimes get hammered before my drum and bass vinyl set and it wouldn't end well most of the time, making stupid beat matching mistakes and lovely mixes. Drink a little to get the nerve off and go for it ! Also, Macbook Pro 15'' is going to be with me very soon, then to get an S4 I suppose. My bank account will hate me forever, I wish Apple's prices weren't so retardedly high in Switzerland...
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Jun 16, 2011 09:48
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artard posted:So I just booked my first live dubstep gig, and first DJing gig in almost a decade. Two sets in the same night (1 hour and 2 hours). I'm nervous as gently caress. Does anyone have any advice or a pep talk for me? I DJ with a laptop and Traktor Kontrol S4 if it matters. Drink a little, but honestly after a couple of minutes you'll realize it's the same thing you've been doing in your bedroom all along. The only problem I've ever noticed is that sometimes I just get incredibly tired and fatigued, and once you start to run out of songs is when the real problem hits. As long as you have a huge library of songs you like, you should be good. Also, are you opening or doing the main set? Opening is a lot tougher, since you don't get to throw in a bunch of your favorite bangers, so it makes choosing songs a lot more confusing until you get the hang of what you should be playing.
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Jun 16, 2011 09:55
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There is a serious art to being a good opening DJ.
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Jun 16, 2011 16:32
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vanilla slimfast posted:There is a serious art to being a good opening DJ. Agreed. And if you get it, that slot can be one of the most fun sets to play because of the possible range it can go.
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Jun 16, 2011 18:04
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Depends on where and for who you're opening of coarse. Opening is good fun when the room is (slowly) filling up with people and thus allowing you as a DJ to set the tone for the evening. But there are those nights were the place is almost empty right until the first headliner is about to start and all people hear is your last record. Hard to create (and feel) a vibe in an empty room. Then again, I love to DJ and I will do it anywhere they let me. This article describes the art of opening quite good: http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1095 And this checklist by veteran Joel Mull: http://www.beatportal.com/feed/item/dj-tip-how-to-warm-up-a-dancefloor-by-joel-mull/
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Jun 16, 2011 18:56
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DJ Ayres has been doing a series of mixes called Heavy Warmup, music you'd hear early in the night (I think they're meant to be the 11pm - midnight slot but that's NYC where things stay open till 4 on the regular). This one by DJ 7L is blowing my mind: http://soundcloud.com/tandarecords/heavy-warmup-vol-5-dj-7l but they're all great.
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Jun 16, 2011 20:06
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Shameless opening dj plug: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3049995&pagenumber=48#post392673490
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Jun 16, 2011 21:09
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Thanks for the tips everyone! The gig itself is kind of a special case as my buddy runs a non-profit org in Colorado that provides buses to concerts and shows and likes to have live music on the buses. This one specifically is for the bus going from Boulder->Red Rocks for the Bassnectar show on Saturday. I'm kind of debating how high-energy I should make it but I'm guessing people will be getting pretty amped-up preshow so I will be playing more of my "wubwub" tracks for that set and for the return set it will be a lot more low key melodic dubstep. When I start to get overly anxious about it I remind myself it's a really small "venue" and that I will just be doing the same thing I do all the time in the comfort of my own home and feel pretty good about my ability to perform. Anyway, this gig isn't exactly huge but I'm hoping it leads to repeat performances for the Bus2Show people and I have also been networking with a bunch of friends involved in the Whomp Truck and who run a sound camp at Burning Man so I'm hoping to leverage this into bigger gigs in the future
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Jun 16, 2011 23:52
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artard posted:run a sound camp at Burning Man so I'm hoping to leverage this into bigger gigs in the future What camp? Gotta stop by!
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Jun 17, 2011 00:07
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artard posted:Thanks for the tips everyone! The gig itself is kind of a special case as my buddy runs a non-profit org in Colorado that provides buses to concerts and shows and likes to have live music on the buses. This one specifically is for the bus going from Boulder->Red Rocks for the Bassnectar show on Saturday. I'm kind of debating how high-energy I should make it but I'm guessing people will be getting pretty amped-up preshow so I will be playing more of my "wubwub" tracks for that set and for the return set it will be a lot more low key melodic dubstep. When I start to get overly anxious about it I remind myself it's a really small "venue" and that I will just be doing the same thing I do all the time in the comfort of my own home and feel pretty good about my ability to perform. Anyway, this gig isn't exactly huge but I'm hoping it leads to repeat performances for the Bus2Show people and I have also been networking with a bunch of friends involved in the Whomp Truck and who run a sound camp at Burning Man so I'm hoping to leverage this into bigger gigs in the future thats actually an awesome gig
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Jun 17, 2011 03:33
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So where are you actually performing at?
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Jun 17, 2011 03:39
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On the bus While it's driving and in the parking lot before and after the Bassnectar concert.
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Jun 17, 2011 03:42
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Yeah that actually sounds really crazy! I was never a dubstep fan but goddamn the parties are off the wall.
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Jun 17, 2011 04:10
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artard posted:On the bus Nice, that sounds like fun. Won't be at the concert though. Not a Bassnectar fan, and I've got my own gig in Denver that night anyways
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Jun 17, 2011 16:49
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Best advice that I can give is make sure you have your first 3 transitions down pretty solidly. I find that if you can comfortably and effortlessly get through your first 3 songs or so, it takes the jitters away immediately and sets the tone for the rest of your set.
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Jun 17, 2011 23:32
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Ben and Stew posted:wait you live in knoxville? so do i. do i know you? what's you're name irl? you dont know me, im pretty sure i know who you are though. if you go to any of the mainstream(frat) bars/clubs in knox youve seen me DJ. id prefer not to say anymore because i enjoy being an rear end in a top hat on SA. but im not in real life, i swear. edit: this should be enough, tinroof on thursdays is me if ya come sometime ill buy you a drink. ps lots of hot girls. oredun fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Jun 18, 2011 |
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Jun 18, 2011 23:20
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It's 4:30 and I'm still too hyped up to sleep. I just did what felt like my first real rock-the-party kind of DJ gig. This venue in downtown portland called me because their DJ for that night flaked. I hadn't played there before. I rushed out and loaded the gear and records with my collaborator. We started it pretty chillout, doing a half hour apiece. We were both just playing our favorite underground/independent hip-hop tracks without being too ambitious about the technical aspects. I was starting to question myself, since people were coming and going and the crowd wasn't too thick yet. Tonight was the night of the naked bike ride, as well as being part of pride week. So downtown was crazy with energy and full of people. Around 11pm the owner came up to the booth and said "this table of girls came here to dance, do you have and dr dre or snoop dogg?" So I started playing my club rap singles, which I hadn't touched yet. The floor went from half-empty to wild in a second. I did a series of instrumental/acapella overlays with mostly stuff like dr dre, 50 cent, etc, and some indie stuff like atmosphere thrown in. I'm glad I happened to bring some ~130BPM dance records, too. I went into some popular stuff like LCD Soundsystem, daft punk, and such. I was dripping sweat on the mixer for most of this. Wish I hadn't had to concentrate on the mixing so hard right then. At one point I noticed some of the girls had taken their tops off. Plus a guy came up and said he worked for adidas and wanted my card. I said I'd catch up with him but he took off. Before I knew it, it was 1am and about time to relax the mix a little. My buddy took over and gave me a break. He brought it back to hip-hop. I was beat, but it'd still be at least three hours before I got home. The people who work there really liked it and want us back. After drinks and splitting the cut with my friend, I only made 25 bucks. But I had a hell of a lot of fun.
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Jun 19, 2011 12:49
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Mescal posted:It's 4:30 and I'm still too hyped up to sleep. I just did what felt like my first real rock-the-party kind of DJ gig. post of the thread right here. play what you like and nobody gets into it, play what the crowd likes and it goes wild. when an owner says "play this, the girls want to dance" it means noone was likes your music and complaining to the owner about it. which is cool since you fixed it(as in really great, it means youre versatile), but just goes to show people just dont give the slightest poo poo of hearing new music you think is cool. keep up with the charts and keep your ear to the ground on what people like, they dont go to clubs to get "educated" by some pretentious DJ, they go to dance and hear what they know the words too. i would get some more up to date dance tracks if i were you. daft punk and lcd soundsystem are old as poo poo and honestly, they work, but just barely. Also, it sounds like your rap is a lil dated, which is cool for the classics, but the more you play, especially for party type DJing, you need the hottest most up to date tracks(serato really helps compared to real vinyl) that new LMFAO track party rock anthem is probably the biggest banger right now, everyone loves pitbull i want it all too. but good story its always cool to hear success stories!
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Jun 20, 2011 02:05
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oredun posted:post of the thread right here. play what you like and nobody gets into it, play what the crowd likes and it goes wild. Thanks for the response. I want to continue to play my favorite tracks and find my community of people who like the same stuff I do. I'm not interested in being cutting edge and playing the hot new thing that came out yesterday, even though I don't like it. I said that was the owner in my post, but I don't think he was. Thinking about it today, I think he was just a guy who was hanging out at the bar. He just had that demeanor about him like he worked there, even though I hadn't seen him before then. I bet the girls he was hanging out with asked him to request snoop dogg. I think you've misunderstood if you think I'm a pretentious DJ. I'm a beginner to playing at bars/clubs, not a sneering vet. But I do it because I have fun playing the songs I love, which aren't all radio. I understand the balance of pleasing the crowd and the booking guy as well as yourself. But if I start spinning top 40, I'm gonna start to hate playing records.
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Jun 20, 2011 08:16
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Mescal posted:Thanks for the response. I want to continue to play my favorite tracks and find my community of people who like the same stuff I do. I'm not interested in being cutting edge and playing the hot new thing that came out yesterday, even though I don't like it. Or you can just do what I do and be an old school DJ. Somehow people always understand the words "If it exists past 1996 I don't have it", and the people still dance non-stop because nothing sounds dated if it is all dated. Then again, unless you have the venue for it, it may not be the best bet...
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Jun 20, 2011 08:53
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Professorbx posted:Or you can just do what I do and be an old school DJ. Somehow people always understand the words "If it exists past 1996 I don't have it", and the people still dance non-stop because nothing sounds dated if it is all dated. haha yeah. it's portland, so EVERYTHING (not just music) is throwback.
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Jun 20, 2011 09:11
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oredun posted:you dont know me, im pretty sure i know who you are though. if you go to any of the mainstream(frat) bars/clubs in knox youve seen me DJ. id prefer not to say anymore because i enjoy being an rear end in a top hat on SA. but im not in real life, i swear. interesante! yeah when I go out I mainly go to ciderhouse, pilot light, longbranch, and of course headroom (RIP). may stop by tin roof sometime when it's not toooo fratty. i should be playing out a bit more in the fall once school kicks back in.
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Jun 20, 2011 14:45
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Welp, gonna post in this thread I guess... Username: relative_q DJ Name: relative_q Website: http://www.youngrobots.com/ | http://ultrawizardsword.net/ | http://www.discogs.com/artist/Relative+Q Twitter: http://twitter.com/relative_q (I don't really use it though) Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ultrawizardsword Experience: ~16 years as a producer, about half that as a DJ Location: Pittsburgh Genre: Techno, house, IDM, disco, weird poo poo Mixes: http://ultrawizardsword.net/ Additional bio crap: 1/2 of nu-disco act RCMP (new record coming out later this summer on a new sublabel of T&A), proprietor of Young Robots, founder of weekly netradio broadcast/podcast thingy ultrawizardsword.net. ASK me about why starting your own label is a dumb idea unless you're already famous!  edit: Also, if any of you are within reasonable driving distance of Pittsburgh, you should come out to this show: http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?269503 poo poo is gonna be facemelter city.
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Jun 20, 2011 17:35
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RCMP is really sick. Welcome to the thread
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Jun 20, 2011 17:49
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That Wicked Walrus posted:RCMP is really sick. Welcome to the thread Thanks, dude. Did you manage to get a copy of the 12"? If not, I still have a few left taking up space in my apartment if you want one.
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Jun 20, 2011 17:52
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relative_q posted:Additional bio crap: 1/2 of nu-disco act RCMP (new record coming out later this summer on a new sublabel of T&A), proprietor of Young Robots, founder of weekly netradio broadcast/podcast thingy ultrawizardsword.net. T&A as in Tittsworth & Ayres? Also, I know some of the older 412DNB guys (Nick Bulletproof, Jay Alaska, Bagel).
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Jun 20, 2011 18:14
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SUBFRIES posted:T&A as in Tittsworth & Ayres? Yes, that T&A. They're starting a new sublabel to release more disco-oriented stuff, and starting with our new EP and a single by our boy Peter Dragontail that we were going to release on Young Robots. Not sure what it's going to be called yet, but they may just absorb our existing label, branding and all. I don't really know too many of the 412DNB guys except for Cutups, Keebs (nee Absolut), and Ratana. The night they throw is awesome, and they bring in tons of good dnb, but it's on fuckin Wednesday nights, and I'm old and have a real job so I never go. 
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Jun 20, 2011 18:26
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relative_q posted:Yes, that T&A. They're starting a new sublabel to release more disco-oriented stuff, and starting with our new EP and a single by our boy Peter Dragontail that we were going to release on Young Robots. Not sure what it's going to be called yet, but they may just absorb our existing label, branding and all. Cool, I'm friends with Jesse, and you've got (sort of) label mates on SA (Clicks & Whistles, they post in some of these threads). Will be sure to check out the tunes. I've played the Wednesday night party a couple times, but a long time ago, early 2000s. Same deal, f/t job plus taking classes and prefer to just stick near home if/when I play or just go out.
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Jun 20, 2011 19:05
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I picked up a Numark NS6 today. After I played around with it in my friend's office, I was sold on it. I'm going to screw around with it some this week and I have two gigs this weekend, so I'll post my thoughts if anyone is interested.
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Jun 20, 2011 21:08
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