|
What's a decent / inexpensive USB sound card? My soundcard on my PC is shot and that PC is also 11 years old so it's time to get an iMac next month. So for now I'm just on my 13" MBP with no linein. Is something like this Numark dongle alright for short term / emergency use? http://www.amazon.com/Numark-DJ-Multi-Channel-Interface/dp/B000S5Q2EK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312329366&sr=8-1 oredun posted:actually the denon is a much better choice. the xone 62 is an outdated dumb piece of poo poo according to most people that have one/use one. the way its laid out is stupid, and metering is stupid, and CF is stupid, the EQ is stupid, and price is stupid(new, but very fair used), and in my experience they are not what i would call reliable, tho not quite unreliable. maybe a xone 92 beats the denon, but the 62 is seriously old as poo poo and not even in the same league as the new generation of mixers.  The 62 holds up very well - I've had mine 8 years (bought it used) serviced right when I bought it to make sure it was all good (it was) and once to fix some cue lights and just a general once over about a year ago. I've used it at clubs many times and have multiple people use it and never heard a complaint. I'll give you the metering. And aside from a few new features and knobs and sliders (and most likely hardware & firmware), it's almost the same mixer as the 92 and there's no discernible difference. The EQ is awesome and the sound quality is clean and excellent, very similar to Rane's and not muddy like the DJM series (I have not used the 900 or 2000). I'll use my 62 until it catches fire, then maybe I'll upgrade to the 92.
|
#
¿
Aug 3, 2011 00:58
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Jun 2, 2024 07:51 |
|
|
vanilla slimfast posted:I'd go for the NI Audio 2 Can this go from my record out -> Audio 2 -> USB on Mac and record with Audacity? I don't use traktor still on CDJs
|
|
#
¿
Aug 3, 2011 20:02
|
|
|
Firaga posted:A lot of vinyl djs have this sense of entitlement. The bar is seen as so much lower than it was even four to five years ago both monetarily and time wise (there are similar arguments in the photography forum). My first two years I spent probably just over 14k including my decks and mixers. Tell the new ones that that is what they're looking at for cost of admittance over the next couple of years. I don't think half of the newer DJs would be DJing if it that was still the case. Or if it was still months of pouring over distributor lists and spending 2 or 3 nights / days a week in the record store trying to get one of the limited copies that arrived or being forced to buy a 2x12 for just one b-side remix or calling record stores around the country looking for one track then being charged $40 for it after a month long search. No more instant gratification and there could be a huge dropoff. That said, I think that learning to beatmatch with vinyl is still the best way (or with CDJs with the BPM counter covered with electrical tape) - I think it's an extremely valuable way to train your ears (I DJ in my headphones, both tracks in both ears), to really get to know your tracks, to hear all the differences in them and that when mixing you know the split second something isn't right and know which track to fix, in what direction without having to hit the sync key (whatever the gently caress that is - and holy run-on sentence).
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2011 22:03
|
|
|
With all thise talk of Ableton / Traktor / Controllers / etc: What is a decent controller to start out with? I have had Ableton for the last year and a half or so, but never really did anything with it. Right now it feels like just money wasted. So I figure if I had something that I could use in my sets - I just am not sure what.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 17, 2011 21:03
|
|
|
Thoogsby posted:Thanks for this. Can anyone recommend me a good entry level dedicated soundcard? I saw NI and M-Audio mentioned, are there pros and cons between the two or is it all preference? I just got an M-Audio Fast Track II - I'll report on it once I get it set up. On another note, is it just me or is rekordbox probably the worst piece of poo poo music management software out there? It quantizes, but try to organize into playlists and it freezes on me every 3rd track I move AND it makes a loving new copy of it on the same goddamn device 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 18, 2011 22:44
|
|
|
relative_q posted:Personally, as a producer in addition to being a DJ, I'm not a huge fan of the whole controllerism thing, simply because I feel like I spend a shitload of effort writing tracks for the dancefloor and structuring them in ways that are interesting to listen to but still DJ friendly. It may be an ego thing (it almost definitely is) but I feel like some dude just deciding to loop a few bars of my track and layer it with a few bars from some other dudes' tracks is a little disrespectful to the music that you're playing. I normally would agree with you 100%, but with much of today's music there are no "acts" in a track. It's just: Intro Beats, Break, Beats with some synth or Stabs that are on repeat, Longer break, usually with some filter applied at the end, Final Beats into Outro. So someone willing to cut up a track into usable loops has plenty to choose from without fully disrespecting the track. Oftentimes it seems a producer who releases 2 or 3 tracks at the same time probably could have made one really solid track with a better structure. But perhaps they're just not creative enough (or have enough musical knowledge) to actually make anything more than just beats and press a few keyboard keys for a synth or stabs. But I'm not a producer, so I digress. I would add that as a DJ it's hard to find nice full tracks - something I've been spending an inordinate amount of time and money to do. If Juno had Beatport's selection it would be nice to be able to listen to more than just a dedicated 2 minutes of a track (you can skip around the entire track). Something I had hoped beatport was doing with their "full wave view" - which it is, but it tells me nothing of the musical arrangements.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 25, 2011 17:56
|
|
|
Mescal posted:How do you guys know if a gig's money is honest? There's really no way for me to know what 10% of bar actually was, and it would be easy for an employee to cheat on the payout. Unless you know them pretty well, they won't be. If you know roughly how many people are there during the night and the typical habits of the crowd are. Here in Pittsburgh at most of the places I've been pretty good at guessing with: Number of people x $5 (average drink price) x 1.5 drinks / person = average bar sales. Granted it's easier at smaller venues. And at those are the places when we've had to negotiate a percentage.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 25, 2011 23:25
|
|
|
88h88 posted:You've got something quite odd going on there, I loving ADORE Rekordbox as it's so ridiculously easy to use and of course plays very nicely with my CDJs thanks to the BPM analysing it does. It's been behaving more nicely - thanks to some advice from Dopo. It still crashes often and doesn't quantize, but it's playing nicely with playlists. Now I just have to get used to finding things by track name - which I've always been a very visual on a record's label color, etc. or would know the location of what track I wanted in my CDJ book and would then know the position of the track name written on the CD, and get what track number - all without ever remembering the track name. Weird, I know. I did a mix (my first in probably 2 years and first time I've really mixed since Feb/March) last night that I'll post in the Mixes thread, but it was frustrating as hell having to "re-find" the tracks I wanted to play and barely got some of the mixes off. Edit: I really like the playlist history and export of it - makes it easy to get my setlist. Need to write a good regex method though to make it better. geeves fucked around with this message at 15:48 on Aug 26, 2011 |
|
#
¿
Aug 26, 2011 13:59
|
|
|
Irish Thunder posted:Let me know if this is worth it. I'm thinking of getting a pair of technics SZL-1200MK5s for use with the Traktor Kontrol S4. A guy on craigslist is selling the two 1200MK5's with a case for $700. Is this a good deal? Overkill for the application? If you're still playing vinyl - then definitely. If they're in good condition, including cases those things will last you forever.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 27, 2011 23:07
|
|
|
Well, rekordbox was playing nicely. Can anyone explain this (aside from terrible software programming)? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD_upB8Msn0 Yes, the tracks moved to the play list change to other tracks?!
|
|
#
¿
Aug 30, 2011 15:53
|
|
|
88h88 posted:How did you manage to get the collection up on the same page as the playlists? Standard layout keeps them separate and I highlight tracks, right click them either one by one or in groups and then 'add to playlist - whichever playlist'. That's what the tab with the small arrow is for. 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 30, 2011 17:32
|
|
|
88h88 posted:Something very strange is up with your install as it works fine for me. Are you using 1.5 or 1.4.x? I'm on 1.5
|
|
#
¿
Aug 30, 2011 17:42
|
|
|
This may seem like sacrilege: have any of you made the move to DJing weddings? For next year I've gotten 3 serious offers that I'd be a fool to refuse. They are all "house-friendly" but I know there's a shitton of responsibility that comes with it aside from music. (I have nothing against wedding djs, but it's not necessarily what I'd like to be doing even though it would pay 10x more (no hyperbole) than what I could make locally)
|
|
#
¿
Oct 27, 2011 23:51
|
|
|
Many years ago, I used to broadcast live with winamp, shoutcast and that was all I needed. Now it seems things have changed. I'm using a iMac with Lion and Nicecast, Comcast is my ISP and I have a Netgear router (which I've already opened my selected ports). If I connect via Airport or if I'm wired, doesn't matter. When I attempt to connect to my http://ip:port/listen.m3u - nothing can find it. Am I missing something that's glaringly obvious?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2011 01:55
|
|
|
TubeStank posted:How do you guys typically sort your music? I've got 10 BPM increments as one section and genre as another, but it still is a bit hit or miss when doing stuff a bit on the fly. I run a Hercules 4-MX and Virtual DJ 7 Pro, if that helps. Just by Date. I've tried BPM, but it doesn't work for me because I have this odd tendency to only buy stuff in the same range. So unless I'm looking for something specifically, it's all by date.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 24, 2011 01:05
|
|
|
Old Man Pants posted:I would also like to add that first of all, this depends entirely on the equipment you are using. On 1200's you'll be eventually able to get it exactly right. On cdj's not always depending on how long your overlap is. Even the newest CDJ 2000's only go to +/- .02%. If like me you prefer a 2-3 minute overlap you will need to develop an ear for which way you need to adjust +/- depending on if you start to hear a double beat or that shoes in the dryer trainwreck sound. Pretty much this. Eventually once your ears really figure out what's going on you'll figure out a way that works for you to match and adjust the +/- on the slider. While others have no problem with touching the platter, record, tweaking the spindle to speed up or down, I was never a fan of this method. If you were to mistime it, use too much pressure or touch the record (even by accident), you could end up with a weird sound or unintended "squawk". Worse yet, with a loose record that is not snug on the spindle, if you touch it wrong you could throw it off by who knows how many beats. And if you were to do this when the channel is live and everyone else can hear.... I myself ride the pitch (adjusting by over-correcting) and rarely touch the platter and if I do it's only to slow it down the slightest bit while adjusting the pitch. Over-correcting may sound counter-intuitive, but the way the 1200s speed up and down, it is a very smooth and gradual transitions in speed and not instant. So the over-correcting is what actually helps you align the beats without touching anything else. But again, find the way that works best for you. It's more re-wiring your hearing to notice the differences between tracks and tempos and knowing what to adjust than how you adjust it.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 12, 2012 17:38
|
|
|
88h88 posted:So I know trainwrecking is a bad thing but are there any audio examples of particularly lovely mixing? I mean what's the threshold on what's just poor and what's actually "oh gently caress, my ears!"?? I don't think many exist. Or if they do they were released by a DJ who probably has no self-awareness or shame. One of my all time favorite clusterfucks of a set is a Sasha set floating around from the early 90s. I think I still have it, I'll have to check out my backup drives. Three things happen during that set. 1) "DJ Sasha! Nice and easy lemon squeezey" (MC repeats this constantly and pronounces Sasha as Shocksha) 2) The music suddenly stops - Sasha left the booth to go hit on some girls 3) Massive trainwreck. Sasha passed out on the decks. Right after in the dead air you hear MC say: "DJ Shocksha!"
|
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2012 20:32
|
|
|
This will end well:quote:Simon Cowell has announced plans to launch a new talent competition searching for the world's best new DJs.  http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/simon-cowell-to-launch-dj-talent-show-20120125
|
|
#
¿
Jan 25, 2012 20:23
|
|
|
The Dark Wind posted:So uh, is each DJ gonna get like 60 minutes to play? How on earth are they gonna coordinate that? Or are they looking for turntablists and controllerists? I'm guessing it will be more DMC battle-style.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 25, 2012 21:24
|
|
|
qirex posted:I tried the V600s a long time ago and wasn't a huge fan. I ended up buying V700s instead [anyone want to guess what happened to those?]. It looks like V6es and 7506es are trickling back into the retail channel so I might just get a pair of those, maybe another tsunami or Thailand flood distribution problem for Sony? I really liked the 7506s. I've had mine for 12 years before they were so beat up I finally replaced them with the Allen & Heath XD-53s
|
|
#
¿
Mar 16, 2012 20:51
|
|
|
Mister Speaker posted:^ I'd buy that in a heartbeat. Also, Rekordbox. I do, but I just use the line in on my imac. And Rekordbox sucks rear end and crashes constantly.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 26, 2013 21:13
|
|
|
Mister Speaker posted:Yeah, it does. But right now it's the only utility to edit cue and loop data away from my CDJs. It'd be nice if Pioneer tried to keep up with NI and made some sort of app. Like snakeandbake says, I'd be all over an app to allow me to test transitions or even just add cues for either Traktor or the CDJs, provided the library integration is good and it scales down nicely to an iPhone. Right now I'm using DJay to test transitions and writing stuff down - it works, but obviously it's very limited and there's no integration at all. The big problem I have with Rekordbox is that for me (perhaps I'm not using it correctly) it's a 1 device app. I can only use it with one external HD. So if I didn't have 900s or 2000s and needed to use 850s and have two separate external USB keys, Rekordbox would only recognize one of them.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 27, 2013 01:31
|
|
|
Firaga posted:Isn't it more of a pain in the rear end to set up your laptop though? That's probably the biggest reason why I like CDJs over Traktor. For me it has been, so I went back to CDs / USB key. There's now a fuckton of equipment all around the mixer including at least one or two other laptops already setup for later in the night. I once had some kid scream at me because he already had his laptop plugged into the USB ports in the CDJ and I disconnected them to connect mine since I was up for my set. He actually tattled on me to the guys who organized the party.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 3, 2015 18:51
|
|
|
88h88 posted:So after 18 months or so of playing with Serato and still preferring the way Rekordbox works, Pioneer are releasing Rekordbox DJ which is compatible with a bunch of existing controllers including my SX. Noice. Hope it's actually decent! Does rekordbox no longer delete half of your music? Or is that still a bug?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2015 19:40
|
|
|
My line-in is dying on my mac (mixes are recording all crackly, etc.) I will eventually replace it, but is there a better external sound card alternative that could be used as a stop-gap?88h88 posted:Rekordbox is honestly the best piece of track analysis software around, no idea quite what the deal is with Serato or Traktor's algorithms but they're noticeably shittier than Rekordbox. Probably always will be too considering Serato seem to feel that software that kinda works is all good. The latest version of Rekordbox is great. Earlier versions from a few years ago were crap, however, and at one time deleted half my library.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 4, 2016 17:39
|
|
|
mitztronic posted:The sound cards on macs are pretty good. It's probably not too much to take it into an apple store or authorized repair center, depending on how long you plan to keep it before upgrading. Worth the small amount of cash to try it out. Mac is 4 years old plus it's my work's (and they haven't asked for it back yet) Weirdly, I've only recorded on it 7 or 8 times. I have another Mac, but the Wifi on that is busted (I've taken it back twice) that too is 4+ years old so moving it around is a pain. They both still work in other ways and are great.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 6, 2016 02:04
|
|
|
keevo posted:Fuuuck no. I'll regularly see a used pair of 1200s going for $1300. Keep in mind a new 1200 was about $400. Which sucks because I do not know where one of my 1200s is. It's been missing for several years. I just haven't pulled the trigger to get a used one. But depending on the price tag of the new ones coming out I may consider buying one because vanilla slimfast posted:Not gonna lie, that is a drat sexy looking turntable
|
|
#
¿
Jan 6, 2016 02:37
|
|
|
Ocrassus posted:DJs like Laidback Luke take pride in the fact that their sets are not static But that doesn't fix the problem: he's still Laidback Luke.
|
|
#
¿
May 27, 2016 23:27
|
|
|
I remember my friend got a pair of the TTX-1? - the original decks that had the key lock along with the reverse button. I didn't think they key lock sounded good then and I rarely touch it now on the CDJs.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 13, 2016 00:33
|
|
|
revmoo posted:Easy, wait till the A song is in a loud section and scrub the B song into a loud section and then adjust the gain knobs until the level meters are at the same average. Also you probably already know this but it is important that you match levels only with the gain knobs, not the vertical faders. This plus: Queue blend on your mixer and mix in your headphones like god intended. geeves fucked around with this message at 23:03 on Mar 23, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2017 22:59
|
|
|
revmoo posted:Haha gently caress 100% of that It's not for everyone. I had to learn to spin that way due to living in an apartment complex with somewhat thin walls with my roommate at the time. I actually dated my next door neighbor; she saw me with my turntable after a gig and we struck up a conversation - she said, "You were learning? That's why I heard you trainwreck for a month?" 
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2017 03:45
|
|
|
wayfinder posted:I'm not sure you'll get much from practising the same set over and over again, tbh. This. At the same time, I admit to have many couples and tuples of tracks that I use in sequence because 1) They just sound so great together 2) They are ordered to allow me a path to move between genres when necessary 3) When playing live for a couple of hours having 2-3 tracks you're comfortable with (if all else fails) can help ease you into a set. MrSargent posted:I forced myself to go through a 12 track mix without stopping due to fuckups for the first time....I really suck! But the good news is I am really happy with the song selection and most of the planned mixes between tracks. Its just a matter of cleaning them up by practicing that "set" over and over now and getting comfortable with the controls. This poo poo is addictive! Learn to gently caress up and embrace it. Laugh when you do. Because you're going to, I do even 15+ years DJing. Buy any track that sounds interesting. If you only have 8 bars to mix so be it. Learn to use those 8 bars. It might sound more interesting making a quick mix than expertly layering 2 tracks for 2 minutes. geeves fucked around with this message at 01:27 on Mar 27, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Mar 27, 2017 01:11
|
|
|
actionjackson posted:Is there any major differences in the SL types? i.e. MKxxx What slimfast said. Also the latest model changes the pitch slider from analog to digital (but not the sound). I can't recall if this is the MK5 (which I have) or if there is one after it. That's another small difference. actionjackson posted:Yep, got them at 320 CBR, thanks. why did that song slow down or speed up dramatically? Matching 120 and 128 if both tracks are in the same key might interfere with Key Harmony and that's where your ears start to come in.I've never been a fan of Master Tempo or Key Locking - especially on CDJs. I just listen if if the track works. If not, I'll find similar keys that need less adjustment and move from there. Trust your ears. With vinyl, you will definitely have to use your ears. But you will be a better DJ for it! You'll learn to pitch slide to control tempo. It will take some time, but you are really training your ears to hear differently. As for vinyl: Maybe start with quality tracks that exist instead of just going for what's new? Buy some doubles so you can wear them down while adjusting to vinyl from CDJs. Also rip them to digital and analyze them so you have BPM and Key. Prices (except for popular classics) are mostly $2-5 + shipping on Discogs. I focus on finding tracks that I've never been able to find before and they're still very cheap. Plus can't beat the label artwork on some of them if you can find the original pressings.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 22, 2018 01:58
|
|
|
GnarlyCharlie4u posted:I'll admit I'm curious about this new motor, but at the same time I'm so used to the previous models feel that it might not be a good thing. Didn't they update the motor with the MK5 as well? I honestly can't remember but that sounds familiar. (if so, I haven't noticed a difference between the M3D and the MK5
|
|
#
¿
Jan 10, 2019 19:06
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Jun 2, 2024 07:51 |
|
|
C2C - 2.0 posted:A couple of decades ago, I owned 4 1200's, a handful of mixers, and a legit huge collection of vinyl. I ended up getting married & selling all the equipment and bequeathing all of my vinyl to Greenleaf (if you like D&B, you probably know him). Years later, after listening to one too many mixes, I had to scratch the itch again. I miss the days of just the soft red light of the 1200s barely lighting up the corner of the room with the blinking of the master channels. This is like looking at NORAD.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 11, 2019 00:23
|
|