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chrix posted:If you can't beatmatch, it's going to be very hard for me to respect you as a DJ, let alone refer to you as a DJ. Leaning on the software (Traktor, Ableton) to do the hard work for you takes the whole idea of being a DJ and throws it in the toilet. At that point, you're a glorified jukebox. Er... I'm not going to argue that DJs shouldn't know how to beatmatch... but you seem to be saying that the main part of being a DJ lies in a semi-antiquated technical skill as opposed to, say... track selection, pacing, and mixing. Which is actually MORE insulting.
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Mar 7, 2011 21:08
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chrix posted:If you can't beatmatch, it's going to be very hard for me to respect you as a DJ, let alone refer to you as a DJ. Leaning on the software (Traktor, Ableton) to do the hard work for you takes the whole idea of being a DJ and throws it in the toilet. At that point, you're a glorified jukebox. This is stupid. DJing is, for the most part, playing dance/club music for drunk people. Nobody on the floor knows or cares how you're playing music, they want to dance and take drugs and hopefully get laid at the end of the night. You're there to play music and as long as the output sounds good then you're doing a good job. If you play for the Real Dudes on the floor who know about DJing then you're doing it wrong, unless you're Qbert or something. I don't care what equipment any DJ uses. I've played with people using every single kind, from controllers to Serato/Traktor to vinyl to Ableton to CDJs and everything in between. You can kill it with any of the above, and you can be terrible with any of the above. Seriously, if you want some laughs go ask any of your non-DJ friends about DJ equipment (club girls are best for this). I asked a friend what she thinks is going on when a DJ has a laptop on stage and she had literally zero clue. Nobody gives a gently caress, use any equipment you want, just play good songs and mix them well and you're cool.
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Mar 7, 2011 21:27
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That Wicked Walrus posted:Seriously, if you want some laughs go ask any of your non-DJ friends about DJ equipment (club girls are best for this). "Press headphone to ear, music comes out".
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Mar 7, 2011 21:35
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That Wicked Walrus posted:This is stupid. So what you're saying is, an ipod and a DJ do the same job, so therefore because the dancefloor is too stupid to realize it, it's all ok. I have a little more respect for the people that listen to my music than to assume they have no idea what I'm doing. Most of them WANT to know what I'm doing and will oftentimes ask me what's going on. This is why my radio show is also broadcast via video because some people are interested in the mechanics behind it. I also never said that Ableton or Traktor is bad and that you have to DJ one certain way to be respected. I said that if you can't beatmatch, you don't really get to call yourself a DJ. I still stand by that. Many of my DJ friends can beatmatch and regularly do, even if they use Ableton for their live performances. My point was that if you can't mix two tracks together without the help of effects or autosyncing, then I don't respect you as a DJ.
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Mar 7, 2011 21:52
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That Wicked Walrus posted:This is stupid. I play drum and bass in the UK, and I can loving tell you, people give a gigantic poo poo about how you're playing. It's part of the appeal. It's FUN to see someone smash it up with a proper hands-on approach, in the same sense that I'd rather see someone do incredible gymnastics than watch an animation do things that are physically impossible (to give a slightly weird example. whatever). Maybe if you play scene-crunk, electro-house and brostep to people in clubs with 'VIP booths' then your post applies. Not at a real dance music event. p.s. I have nothing against laptop DJs. Some of the things people do with Ableton Live are incredible, when they get really stuck in.
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Mar 7, 2011 22:06
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I think what a lot of people miss in this argument is that there's a vibe that's really important, and you're in control of it. That goes beyond making a playlist and just playing songs off of it.
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Mar 7, 2011 22:17
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melee beats posted:I think what a lot of people miss in this argument is that there's a vibe that's really important, and you're in control of it. That goes beyond making a playlist and just playing songs off of it. Right... I'm pretty new to this whole thing but it seems as though what the DJ does is way more in-depth than beatmatching. Most DJs I've met are thrilled about auto beatmatching, because it lets them skip the chore and pay more attention to their real job. Edit: It's like saying you won't respect any secretary that can't write shorthand or something...
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Mar 7, 2011 22:19
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Chitin posted:Right... I'm pretty new to this whole thing but it seems as though what the DJ does is way more in-depth than beatmatching. Most DJs I've met are thrilled about auto beatmatching, because it lets them skip the chore and pay more attention to their real job. Yeah. And please don't take my above comments as me saying that DJing isn't a real art... I've had DJs save my life more than a few times, believe me. I'm just saying that nobody cares if you can beatmatch, and in 2011 why would you need to be able to do that anyway? Of course it's a great thing to know and it'll totally help you in any rhythm-based art (production, DJing with ableton, etc.) but having that as the arbitrary "you're a DJ / you're not a DJ" thing is silly. If that's your opinion, great, but I don't want nublets who are trying to get into this to somehow think that they need to buy CDJs in order to be A Real DJ. To that DnB dude, I saw Frankie Knuckles a couple of weeks ago... he played off of those new CDJs that take memory sticks. He moved very, very little during his 4-hour set... and it was the single best set I've ever experienced, bar none. Nobody cared that he wasn't moving, or that he was playing off CDJs, because he loving destroyed it musically and to me that's all that matters. That Wicked Walrus fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Mar 7, 2011 |
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Mar 7, 2011 22:28
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That Wicked Walrus posted:To that DnB dude, I saw Frankie Knuckles a couple of weeks ago... he played off of those new CDJs that take memory sticks. He moved very, very little during his 4-hour set... and it was the single best set I've ever experienced, bar none. Nobody cared that he wasn't moving, or that he was playing off CDJs, because he loving destroyed it musically and to me that's all that matters. I play off those as it happens. That's still beatmatching and mixing properly with a hands-on approach. Slightly off-topic, but I hate DJs who just stand still with no expression on their face. To all DJs in this thread, PLEASE try to look like you're enjoying it!
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Mar 7, 2011 22:42
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I'm not really sure why manual beatmatching gets you guys off but to each his own, I suppose. Gonna go 'head and quote THE GOD Richie Hawtin here: quote:“People say that beatmatching is the art of DJing, but I’m sorry, beatmatching isn’t really creative, it’s just a skill,” says Richie.
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Mar 7, 2011 22:47
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That Wicked Walrus posted:I'm not really sure why manual beatmatching gets you guys off but to each his own, I suppose. I think you're missing the point that no one is hating on people who do stuff like Richie Hawtin (which is fantastic), but the derision is being aimed at people who do sets that are just 'timing two records together'...except they're getting Ableton/Traktor to do that for them. And they're doing nothing else.
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Mar 7, 2011 23:53
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Like I said, you can be a great DJ on any equipment. Likewise, you can be a poo poo DJ on any equipment.
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Mar 7, 2011 23:59
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i made you guys a picture
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Mar 8, 2011 00:03
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DJ'ing isn't a mechanical thing. It's about music. I respect any DJ who shows love for his genre and is willing to take a risk by being sharp in his track selection, dispite what everyone else is playing. And I strongly disagree with the scheme above. This is only true, when your audience is made up of teenagers of college students. Hell I even know DJ's that put tape over their vinyl labels to prevent anyonegetting to known the title of the track they are playing. I love DJ's who agonize the sh*t out of me by playing all these great tracks that I don't known. Sjoewe fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Mar 8, 2011 |
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Mar 8, 2011 00:23
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melee beats posted:i made you guys a picture 
qirex fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Mar 8, 2011 |
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Mar 8, 2011 00:40
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Melee, I'm not sure what you're trying to do with that. Qirex, yours is missing the "haircut" step.
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Mar 8, 2011 01:05
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qirex posted:Counterpoint: putting this in the OP
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Mar 8, 2011 01:14
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Sjoewe posted:I respect any DJ who shows love for his genre and is willing to take a risk by being sharp in his track selection, dispite what everyone else is playing. And I strongly disagree with the scheme above. This is only true, when your audience is made up of teenagers of college students. This is what is hilarious to me. The only way you can really get away with constantly breaking new stuff and generally playing whatever the gently caress you want is if people are there solely to see you perform and that's what you are known for. Everyone thinks they are this caliber. That's the problem with so many DJs - you aren't a superstar, people aren't there to see how zany "eclectic" you are.
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Mar 8, 2011 01:34
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melee beats posted:This is what is hilarious to me. The only way you can really get away with constantly breaking new stuff and generally playing whatever the gently caress you want is if people are there solely to see you perform and that's what you are known for. Everyone thinks they are this caliber. That's the problem with so many DJs - you aren't a superstar, people aren't there to see how zany "eclectic" you are. You are forgetting the fact that most DJs are poo poo DJs. Some guy I know that just "became" a DJ has a bunch of videos of him "DJing". The videos are just him walking around with a bottle of goose pouring shots into peoples mouths (he has a loving entourage in the dj booth) while a premixed CD turns around on his CDJ and he randomly hits a color effect on the 800, oh yeah and everyone is treating him like hes the poo poo. The club DJ scene has turned into a circus show full of a douchebag clowns like Pauly D and sideshow mask wearing faggots that wanna be the next deadmau5. The fact that a piece of poo poo like Pauly D can get ranked higher on America's best DJ opposed to someone actually talented like DJ Kue is mind boggling. If you're a DJ that wants to have some integrity, your only avenue as of now is small indie shows or music festivals. The online mixshow circuit is one thing, but getting exposure is excruciatingly difficult if you're not hack producer.
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Mar 8, 2011 01:51
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Or you can just focus on your local scene? I know a lot of talented dudes and ladies who play exactly what they want here.
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Mar 8, 2011 01:54
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OG KUSH BLUNTS posted:The club DJ scene has turned into a circus show full of a douchebag clowns like Pauly D and sideshow mask wearing faggots that wanna be the next deadmau5. The fact that a piece of poo poo like Pauly D can get ranked higher on America's best DJ opposed to someone actually talented like DJ Kue is mind boggling. Yeah pretty much this. Its gotten a lot worse since electro kinda flared up, it's turned into this boutique thing. And yeah Kue is legit, we're gonna do some shows as Warehouse pretty soon here
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Mar 8, 2011 01:54
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That Wicked Walrus posted:Or you can just focus on your local scene? I know a lot of talented dudes and ladies who play exactly what they want here. Northern California isn't exactly the easiest place to get showtime around, considering (IMO, not fact based) it probably has the highest concentration of DJs in the United States. I know lots of guys that travel great distances around the bay just to play. The SFPD is infamous for seizing DJs laptops equipment, Oakland is just dangerous, the south bay is quiet. Never been to Sacramento, but maybe its better there.
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Mar 8, 2011 02:10
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I play out in SF and Berkeley at least once a month. What kind of poo poo do you play? That SFPD thing was just at afterhours parties IIRC, I haven't heard about it recently. But yeah gently caress that, the Fire Marshall has been cracking down on other poo poo recently... they really do seem to hate nightlife here. They've been giving venues trouble with capacities recently, which sucks. That Wicked Walrus fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Mar 8, 2011 |
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Mar 8, 2011 02:35
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I have a tech problem, not sure where to go with this. I have turntables and Serato, and a microphone. I run the turntables and mic through a UA-25 midi interface, unplugging and plugging in whichever I'm using at a given time. Except the other day, I had the turntables plugged into the UA-25, which was plugged into the computer, and went to plug in the Serato box, and Audacity gave me an error about USB ports that I can't remember. After that, Audacity wouldn't record anything at all. I ended up reinstalling the UA-25 drivers, which allowed me to record with the mix again, but as soon as I swapped for the turntables on the UA-25, Audacity started saying "there's a problem with the recording device" again. Probably a long shot but this sound familiar to anybody? PS For what it's worth I also have a Wacom pen tablet that can't even turn on when plugged into this computer, but works fine on my laptop. Hope it's not the motherboard I bought less than half a year ago.
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Mar 8, 2011 05:53
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OG KUSH BLUNTS posted:Northern California isn't exactly the easiest place to get showtime around, considering (IMO, not fact based) it probably has the highest concentration of DJs in the United States. I know lots of guys that travel great distances around the bay just to play. The SFPD is infamous for seizing DJs laptops equipment, Oakland is just dangerous, the south bay is quiet. Never been to Sacramento, but maybe its better there. Sacramento isn't so hot - there's a couple of good spots, but for the most part, there's some pretty poorly booked and promoted nights. I haven't been to District 30 yet though, which is supposed to be p sweet.
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Mar 8, 2011 06:56
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melee beats posted:This is what is hilarious to me. The only way you can really get away with constantly breaking new stuff and generally playing whatever the gently caress you want is if people are there solely to see you perform and that's what you are known for. Everyone thinks they are this caliber. That's the problem with so many DJs - you aren't a superstar, people aren't there to see how zany "eclectic" you are. Hilarious even... I find it fascinating to see how you are basically saying that be like everyone else and play the same poo poo as everyone else to stand out from the rest... Yeah, it will get you gigs in the short term, but in the long run you'll just be bumped out again by the next kid, who plays for twenty bucks less and always has a bunch of friends with him that keep the liquor flowing from the bar. I've worked bars and small clubs to earn cash to buy records and equipment with some success for little over three years. I'm glad I'm out now and have the time and space to play what I like and that has earned me far more 'respect' (I rather say goodwill) than all these years behind the decks at bars and fratparties.
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Mar 8, 2011 09:48
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Haledjian posted:I have a tech problem, not sure where to go with this. I have turntables and Serato, and a microphone. I run the turntables and mic through a UA-25 midi interface, unplugging and plugging in whichever I'm using at a given time. Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but why would your turntables be plugged into the UA-25? Turntables and mic should be connected through the serato interface (SL1, SL3, etd), then to your mixer. Your mixer output should plug into your UA-25, which should allow you to record whatever's going through your mixer.
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Mar 8, 2011 14:20
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Yessss, about time we had this discussion again. It's still the best there is, especially because it always ends with one side going "say whatever you want I still think that if you can't (add random variable) you ain't no real DJ" and the other stating "it's all about the music and if I DJ using a lawnmower then who are you to judge me". I'm going to sound like an internet moral knight right now but I think this debate is pointless and does more damage than good. It's all about somehow justifying your own views and methods (of DJ-ing) whilst bashing, either in a nice or a not so nice way, the approach other people go for. Who cares? Who cares what other people use for DJ-ing, who cares if other people do nothing more than download the Beatport Top 10 for whatever genre they like, play it and get gigs in clubs? Who cares if they've never ever touched a 1200 or a CDJ and don't know jack about beatmatching? The audience sure doesn't, that much everyone can agree upon. And neither should anyone else, not even if you're a DJ yourself. Giving a poo poo about what people use to play records (because hey, that's still what we all do) and getting all purist over it just shows insecurity about your own choice of gear/music/venues/whatever. Instead of spending time critizing other DJ's, attacking sync-guys for not being proper DJ's or saying vinyl is outdated and done for, invest that time in a) improving your own skills or b) finding music that not many people play. If you're good enough, you'll get noticed in the end. Nobody is going to book you because you are some kind of gear purist that hates on other DJ's. Rivfader fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Mar 8, 2011 |
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Mar 8, 2011 15:18
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Sjoewe posted:Hilarious even... I think something was lost in translation because I never said that, and that's certainly not how I feel. If that were the case, DJing would be loving boring. I think that new DJs have a tendency to overlook their audience's expectations sometimes, and that goes for the frat party, club, rave, wedding, whatever party you want to talk about. I don't think what I'm saying is elitist or out of line - I've been to plenty of parties where the dancefloor was empty because the DJ wouldn't get a good record in because hey they're the DJ and they can play whatever they want. To me, that's not how it works.
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Mar 8, 2011 16:11
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chrix posted:Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but why would your turntables be plugged into the UA-25? Yeah, that's what I meant. Mixer outs go to the ua25.
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Mar 8, 2011 16:33
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Ah well, In the Nineties everyone wanted to be Kurt Cobain, and now they want to be Deadmau5, guess we should all just hang on for the next hype to catch on and see all the Paulie D's of this world turning to extreme bamboofluting or something.
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Mar 8, 2011 16:48
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Haledjian posted:Yeah, that's what I meant. Mixer outs go to the ua25. So when your UA-25 stops working, do you still hear audio from your master (from the mixer)? If so, this sounds like a problem with the UA-25, moreso since you said that by reinstalling the drivers you were able to get a signal again.
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Mar 8, 2011 17:04
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Best thing to come out of this discussion:qirex posted:Counterpoint: New topic: I want to keep my turntable but want to add a CDJ. I saw a local club that uses a 1200MK5 with a CDJ-900 and it looks like a pretty cool balance of control and loop-geddon, and I'd like to do the same thing but I'm not sure how they get it to work since you can only switch to Phono or Line in the Serato software. How would I go about this? Also would a vinyl and CD be read at the same time by the software?
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Mar 8, 2011 21:59
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Sjoewe posted:Hilarious even... i find it fascinating you think your "keeping it real." i do the same thing as everyone else, but better. and i have long term gigs, and im one of the DJs "you talk to" if your trying to get in on the circuit. and people try to do my gigs for 20 less all the time, but then i ask for 50$ more and keep my job. because im good. ive played for three years as a loving professional, and ive made amazing money and paid my way through college while doing a shitload of drugs and stupid other stuff, and i have top of the line equipment, paid for by DJing. ive seen hundreds of people like you. tell me im a sell out, blah blah, the "scene" loves you and cares about you. BUT BUT BUT I GET TO PLAY WHATEVER I WANT, YOU JUST PLAY RADIO BULLSHIT!! yeah me too, but i play hits, poo poo anyone but stupid broke hippies want to hear(this is a college town...), respect, "goodwill", none of that poo poo is real. if you didnt come back next week, noone would give a gently caress. noone thinks better of you because you play the neatest BP top10 tunes. i think you may be the one that thinks theyre the awesome "real" DJ but really, are probably not, and i thought your posts are cool, but DJs that talk about how they are better than other DJs because of the music they play? completely out of line. if you came and saw me playing at a bar/club i know you would think im a sell out sorry gently caress and you hate this music, BUT drat THE GIRLS ARE HOT!! playing once a month is not "playing gigs", playing once a week is getting alot closer, playing 150-200 shows a year for 3-4 years is being a real DJ. i think that might be something we disagree on. /dj rant, sorry i took this out on you, i run into this all the time, it makes me very angry.
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Mar 8, 2011 22:30
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THAT drat DOG posted:Best thing to come out of this discussion: The SL3/57SL have switchable line/phono per input. That's an expensive solution but it would work. You could also get a phono preamp...the timecode is the exact same whether it's on vinyl or cd.
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Mar 8, 2011 22:50
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Oh. I think there is some serious miscommunication going on. I didn't want to make any statement about my skills, or anything like that. I'm just saying that I rather pursue my own goals in DJ'ing than constantly worry about clubowners and getting 'respect'. The point that I was trying to make was that I used to think that playing out a lot and being liked by everyone was the most important thing to DJ'ing. But I totally lost fun in it, because it was always about what anyone else wanted. I've quit doing that, dove in to the music I love most and spend a lot of time at home behind the decks and at visited lots of parties. Every now and then that gets me a gig and now more than ever I have fun again in Dj'ing. The last thing I want is be an rear end about it.
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Mar 8, 2011 23:02
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I think we can all agree on one thing here
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Mar 8, 2011 23:04
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oredun posted:i find it fascinating you think your "keeping it real." i do the same thing as everyone else, but better. and i have long term gigs, and im one of the DJs "you talk to" if your trying to get in on the circuit. and people try to do my gigs for 20 less all the time, but then i ask for 50$ more and keep my job. Charlie Sheen is a SA poster and a DJ  quote:I play out in SF and Berkeley at least once a month. What kind of poo poo do you play? I can play anything, usually EDM focused though. I've kinda drifted into Dubstep, but personally I think dubstep is really boring to DJ. I like hip hop, but I hate bay area rap (90% of its crap). I haven't DJ'd out close to a year now, I'm just not a fan of the current "Bottle Service" club scene. I've recognized that if I want to do something I like to do I have to go the hybrid producer/dj route which is what I'm working on now. OG KUSH BLUNTS fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Mar 8, 2011 |
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Mar 8, 2011 23:28
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oredun posted:i get lots of gigs and hot college sluts want to suck my dick /dj e-penis go! I know plenty of DJ's like you, even some that are the music directors of my towns best clubs (Brisbane, Australia for reference). They all have the same philosophy that you do. And they have stayed in the same job for 20 years. Sure that might be perceived by some as a 'good' 20 years of getting 3 gigs a weekend, partying it up, getting lots of sluts. But at the end of the day you are still a hack with no personal style and nothing to define you from the rest of the kids. And that is why you will still be playing small shows in your 'college' town for the rest of your career unless you actually stop just taking the easy way out and playing anthems for most of your set. I don't think anyone is proposing that you ONLY play underground tunes no one has ever heard, however equally there really isn't a need to flog anthems the whole night. Once you have those dumb sluts of the dancefloor, most of them will stay there as long as you keep playing good music. Expand your art form, take people on a journey and they might actually remember your name.
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Mar 8, 2011 23:56
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DJ threads are the worst. For recording mixes, if the only line in on my laptop is a minijack microphone input do I need to get an outside USB/firewire sound device? Are a Macbook's line in decent enough to record with? Should I be worried about how CPU intensive recording is with Serato going on the same machine? It's an older 2Ghz Core2 with 2GB RAM Macbook for reference. And are there any tips beyond the first post for configuring Audacity?
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Mar 9, 2011 04:32
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