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ynohtna posted:Run, don't walk, to your local stores (or Amazon) and get several sets of Etymotic ER20 ear plugs right now. These are great my friends and I all own a pair. They reduce sound level without drowning anything out so it still sounds great and you can have conversations with people. They are cheap, come with a carrying case, and will prevent your ears from getting damaged. Cheap as hell too.
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Mar 16, 2012 22:42
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My favourite part about people hating on controllers is finding out that their favourite DJs all use Traktor or Ableton.
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Apr 3, 2012 02:39
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OG KUSH BLUNTS posted:This isn't creepy at all or anything. I was just talking in general, I hear this argument at least once a night when I go out. And why would that be creepy? You're a DJ your name is everywhere anyway. You don't have to give the guy your home address. Edit: Sneak oh it all makes sense this argument is just as stupid as him calling SHM out on twitter. Firaga fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Apr 3, 2012 |
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Apr 3, 2012 02:58
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oredun posted:i dont understand it either, i mean, beatmatching is not really the hard part about DJing. Listen man, your giant video game controllers are breaking my tonearms when you set them down on my tables. How would you learn how to pitch bend if you never use the pitch since you have sync on????
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Apr 18, 2012 20:38
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oredun posted:Here is the mother loving SECRET: the "underground" is a loving joke. Its nothing but scenester loving idiots and cling ons. Theres no money and no good consistent gigs, everyone with money is a drug dealer in some capacity. Its propped up with drug money directly or indirectly, and everyone involved is a half wit. Here is the secret ladies and gentlemen. Just to add my own 2cents, knowing all of that, I still push "underground" jams. I don't deal drugs, therefore its mostly money out of my pocket going into this. Throwing parties is like pulling teeth, and at some point if you wanna make it big you gotta join the circle jerk or get used to maybe making some cash once in a while but its mostly you and your friends for a while. Also echoing the retard statement, most people you'll be working with aren't some sort of entrepreneurial geniuses with a love for music, it's mostly 30 year old dudes who live with 3 other room mates who have an extensive list of friends and access to a booking agent. Oh and those resident DJs/promoters at your favourite club who all play tech house? They are all car salesmen during the day. All of them. Also pro tip: handing out drink tickets to your friends means no bar sales. Your friends are probably likely to buy the most alcohol especially if its someones birthday. Don't be an rear end in a top hat but give out 10 drink tickets thats a lot of money that you don't get at the end of the night. Firaga fucked around with this message at 09:27 on Apr 27, 2012 |
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Apr 27, 2012 09:19
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Are Pioneer still the only company that makes CDjs worth a poo poo? I'm in the market but I have a budget so I guess I'd be looking at Pioneer 350/400's or if I can find a really great deal on some 800s. Is there anything else I should be looking at or is that pretty much it?
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May 9, 2012 01:28
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Mr. BT posted:So I've made a ton of mixes at home using my APC40 and Ableton. But from what I've read in this thread, if I want to play parties, etc., Ableton might not be the best tool for that. No way a lot of the worlds biggest DJs use an APC40 and Ableton. Just be courteous when you're setting up since you'll have to plug everything in so give yourself time and watch the DJ so you don't reach over him while hes mixing. Don't leave your poo poo on the equipment, like, don't prop your soundcard on the turntable toner arm or whatever. Learn how to use a real mixer so you can adjust and test volume and levels and plug stuff in quick. You can also help plug stuff back in after youre done, and you won't accidentally unplug the CDj or something or mess up your wiring and have dead air while you figure out why its not playing. Don't get into arguments with people about whats better, its pointless. Ignore people that tell you otherwise. Personally, I'm switching over from Traktor to just CDs right now because quite frankly I hate carrying my laptop+midi controller around and setting it up when I can just put a CD/USB key in and play. I can also play back to back with my friends more easily. Also I play a lot of underground parties so the booth is like a table or something and I've got tons of hosed up people around me hugging the booth who can easily spill something all over my poo poo. I'd say thats the only argument is setup time and space. Personally I don't mind burning CDs some people hate it YMMV. Ableton and the APC40 are great for live DJing. Always carry extra cables with you, extra RCA cables especially. Firaga fucked around with this message at 05:09 on May 9, 2012 |
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May 9, 2012 05:00
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Mr. BT posted:I guess the difference would be that my favorite DJs are people like BT and Adam Freeland, who can pretty much pre-program their sets and go. It's harder to just drop in new tunes on the fly using Ableton. Do I just not give a gently caress and hit them with whatever I want them to hear? As in, I'm not a jukebox so don't ask? I'm not too familiar with how Ableton works, but you basically pre warp all your tracks, categorize and organize them and just fire them off as clips. You don't put together the whole set and just hit play. I mean you're not supposed to be a juke box, unless you're talking about playing top40 clubs where people will want requests then I guess its easier to use Traktor or Serato
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May 9, 2012 05:33
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Mister Speaker posted:Whoa! I've got my first real gig. Turns out several of my buddies who promote shows here in Toronto actually know one another (not that big of a surprise but still, small world). I'll be playing at Nocturne tomorrow night. Not expecting a big crowd given the holiday weekend but I'm pretty stoked/nervous. The promoter told me "the less top40, the better" and I smiled. Hey congrats! My friends are actually on the bill with you tonight! I play Nocturne once in a while, I've known the guys who work there and throw these parties for a long time. Toronto's scene is indeed very tight knit, but these guys are legit. Nocturne is also great because even if you don't get too many people out you're still playing on a club sound system with lasers and lights and beer and poo poo. Also you can get away with playing almost whatever you want. I usually play the side room and I bump everything from berlin techno to UK garage to deep house. I wanted to come out but I'm on a party diet until I move July 1st. Have fun 
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May 23, 2012 01:20
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Start selling your lovely top40 sets, pitch it as some sort of sex advice.
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Jun 11, 2012 22:23
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Buying a new Xone 42 next week and I can't be more excited. I'm still going to be using Traktor but I'm switching over from an S4 and the first thing I'm going to do is crank that filter. Eventually I want a pair of CDJs but at this point I might as well save up a bit more. As much as I love Traktor, something about doing most of my gigs with just a CD wallet, 2 USB keys, and my headphones, really appeals to me.
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Sep 9, 2012 10:02
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88h88 posted:I have a similar 'what software?' question but with added fun of owning a set of vinyl decks already so the requirement of an interface. What's the difference between something like Serato Scratch, Traktor and the few other (and cheaper) options on the market? How much of the cost is the old 'industry standard' bullshit? Serato used to be the no bullshit vinyl software, basically just an MP3 library with waveforms. Traktor has caught up though and a lot of DJs are playing vinyl with Traktor now. You need a fairly good computer to run Traktor as it has a lot of bells and whistles while Serato is lighter on the CPU. Traktor has very good loop controls, queue point management, effects, auto sync, among other things. Although if you want to comfortably control all of the features you want a midi controller to go along with your set up... Do you plan on playing out? What do people in your city use? If you're throwing a night with somebody it's much easier to share the hardware than to gently caress with setting up between sets. Some bigger venues have Serato boxes (the proprietary soundcards) in the booth making life easier. Do you want to produce? Like I mentioned earlier Serato uses proprietary hardware but with Traktor you can use basically any soundcard which you can also use for other controllers and software like Ableton, Maschine, etc. Like with any DJ gear, I strongly advice to try stuff out and see what you like, what fits your style, what's in your price range, etc. Firaga fucked around with this message at 08:14 on Nov 1, 2012 |
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Nov 1, 2012 08:09
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oredun posted:DJ mixers tend to be absolute pieces of unreliable poo poo until you spend around $500 new or used. Depends where you live. If you're in a big enough city you can get a used DJM 400/350 for less than that. And I guess a Xone 32, but I'm not a fan of that model. I'd budget around $500 though, if you take your time you can find a used Xone 42 or a DJM 600. If you're in a smaller city you're looking at much more brand new and I wouldn't bother with some brand new piece of poo poo.
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Nov 22, 2012 06:11
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I always forget about Rane! I like the Xone 42 because it has 3 channels and a dedicated filter compared to the DJMs in that price range. A+H has since updated it, I'm not sure how the older version was. In regards to the 32, the gain knobs are on the back next to the connections, and the filter is bound to the crossfader rather than a knob. If you're OK with that it's priced very well. DJM 250 has the colour knobs (dedicated filters) which you can only otherwise get in the 800+. Firaga fucked around with this message at 09:18 on Nov 23, 2012 |
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Nov 23, 2012 09:15
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Anyone have any experience with the NI Z2? I'm just curious. I imagine the control with Traktor is great but how are the EQs? How does it compare to other 2 channel mixers+controller setups? I'm looking for both professional/experienced DJ and newbie opinions!
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Jan 5, 2013 08:46
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I remember watching someone talk to a big record store owner and he was saying that if anything CDs are going to be the dead format because DJs and collectors buy vinyl, while everyone else just buys data. Also the oldest store for electronic records in this city also sells gear and merch and just recently opened a school similar to dubspot in new york. I don't think it will go anywhere, if anything it will probably get bigger. Especially in electronic music. Record shops just need to change up their business model a little bit. I personally love having records, even if I don't take them with me to gigs. Its something tangible, something I can share and hold on to for a while. People think its cool, my DJ friends are I swap and gush over each other's collections. It's fun.
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Mar 13, 2013 18:43
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I guess this goes in here. Justice's live setup. 3(4?) DJM-800's? Really? Am I just missing something or what. http://www.djtechtools.com/2013/03/26/video-behind-justices-live-shows/
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Mar 27, 2013 05:56
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I have a love hate relationship with time code I think... had a pair of tables once where the ground was just two frayed and torn apart wires and I had to splice them together but I guess this is more of an issue where the club doesn't take good care of them. My friend just got his tables a few months ago and they are already detecting the time code wrong, the pitch creeps for no reason so I'm nudging CONSTANTLY, almost unplayable.
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May 17, 2013 05:56
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mitztronic posted:Did he get them new? I'm assuming he knows how to balance a turntable needle correctly to not damage the vinyl, so it sounds like he should definitely call in and get a warranty replacement He got them used but he did his research and everything checked out. Carts and needles were brand new and he got them cleaned and balanced by a professional. Bad luck I guess.
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May 17, 2013 18:11
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Got a chance to play around with a DB:2 a little, also talked to a rep. Looks like a great mixer and the price is very reasonable at $1500. If anyone has questions I can chime in, I spent a good half hour asking questions and the rep answered all of them pretty well. If you're in the market for a new mixer I really really suggest looking at the DB2 before deciding on the 92 or the nexus 900.
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May 30, 2013 16:42
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Been toying with the idea of using just 1 X1 and a sound card, with custom mappings to make it a mixer. Map one of the dials to work as a rotary for the volume. This way you can practice at home (or if you travel) with a very minimal setup. But when you go to the club just switch the bindings over to normal X1 functions and plug into the house mixer. Also very cheap. Its a little much for somebody who is just starting out but if any experienced/serious djs are looking for a smaller and cheaper solution this seems like it wouldn't be a bad idea.
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Jul 11, 2013 19:01
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I went and got myself a Xone: DB2 and I couldn't be happier. It sounds so clean I don't feel like I'm fighting with my mix to sound the way I want. Only real issue I have is the filter mode is kind of useless to me since I can't use the input matrix to map it channel specific like you can on the DB4. Which means I'll never really use it since I don't want to be practising all of my mixes on a feature that only my mixer has. Hoping they update that in the next firmware. Otherwise its a fantastic mixer, I really can't get over how clean it sounds. The filters and effects are night and day compared to Traktor's and after spending years mixing on Traktor's internal mixer I am questioning how I went this long before switching over. I wish there was some more feedback on the internet because it's going to take forever to learn all the effects. Not that I'm complaining.
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Oct 28, 2013 23:46
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I'm assuming you're playing a pretty long set, so make sure you pace your tracks and don't blow all of your good poo poo right at the start. Is there a dance floor? If there is don't panic if its not packed early on. I see a lot of new DJs freak out and drop big tracks or go hard because its 10:30 and nobody is dancing. Also you might cut songs short or completely out of your playlist depending on the vibe so make sure you have more than enough tracks to fit the time you need to play. Otherwise have fun! Personally I prefer mixed drinks over beer because I don't have to use the bathroom as much..
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Dec 5, 2013 03:52
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Lock posted:Threw this out in the laptop thread, but figued you guys could help with what kinda specs to look for. Are you using the laptop for anything else? You don't need something with 16 gigs of ram and a crazy video card to run any of this stuff. 8 gigs and at least an I5 will do you well. Also 500+ gig HDD for all of your music. If you are gaming just get what you need for that, it will be more than enough to handle music software. As for brand, last I checked ASUS makes really solid laptops. That being said, if its going to be strictly a music laptop I would just get a Mac, people are recommending them for a good reason. Regardless though if you keep that poo poo clean and don't install absolutely everything on it you should theoretically be OK. Although I've seen windows crash/have issues with controllers way too many times for me to ever consider using a pc live.
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Sep 20, 2014 01:10
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aeglus posted:Get a cheap refurbished 2010 MacBook and swap in a couple 4 gb memory sticks. Use this only for DJing. Use the money you saved to build a desktop for gaming and music production. This is exactly what I did, grabbed one for $500 and its just a dedicated DJ/music library laptop and I've brought it with me on various trips, humid poorly ventilated basement gigs, clubs, countless afterparties and I've never had problems. Just replace the battery because if someone trips the cord it will shut down the whole thing. My desktop is a windows computer with dedicated graphics and a monster of a processor I use for Ableton and gaming. Although with the amount of DJs that produce on trains, airplanes, and hotel rooms the new Macbooks can handle music production just fine. Whatever personal issue people have with Macs you can't argue those things are stable as hell. edit: if you get an older Mac be prepared to upgrade the OS so you can install the latest version of Traktor. The old Macs come with snow leopard Im pretty sure. liquorlanche posted:One thing I've been meaning to ask is does anyone here play music directly off an external hard drive? I've seen it done so often and always wondered why the gently caress anyone would do that. It really seems on par with having a can of gas, in the trunk of your car, with a hose running from the can to the hole you use to fill the tank. I keep my library on an external but there isn't a chance in hell I'd consider not transferring it over to my computer, before mounting it on a deck. Hence, the massive hard drive. I have my whole library on my HDD but I always keep USB keys backed up and usually bring a hub with me for impromptu back to backs, and I've never had any issue loading new keys mid set. Don't really understand the need to carry a whole external but a couple of keys as backup/to play on others computers/CDjs makes perfect sense to me. Firaga fucked around with this message at 19:00 on Sep 20, 2014 |
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Sep 20, 2014 18:55
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Speaking of touch strips, anyone else have problems with the strips on the X1 Mk2? I just nudge tracks with a button on my normal X1 but the MK2 just seems gimmicky as hell and not very accurate.
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Sep 23, 2014 19:40
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Mario Incandenza posted:
What the hell is the point of this? For that price get a used mixer and an X1 or F1. These controllers don't sound that great and honestly if you're gonna be playing out that thing is going to be a massive pain in the rear end. Instead of hauling crates of vinyl, new generations of djs are going to be lugging around these massive controllers that do a lovely job at imitating stuff that is already given to us at venues. Same with those ridiculous DJM/CDJ looking Pioneer controllers. I started with a VCI-100 and moved to an S4 then got a real mixer. Its a great learning tool and an all in one but at this price point I wonder who its being marketed to. Also I guarantee most of the people who buy this ESPECIALLY new djs aren't going to use half the features. At least I used the S4's jogs to learn how to beat match.
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Oct 15, 2014 01:54
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revmoo posted:Guess not then, ooookay. You want advice on portability but want to carry an LCD monitor and a desktop around? Have you seen what a DJ booth looks like? Only reason why everyone is being sarcastic is because what you're trying to do is ridiculous. If you want to buy a nice monitor for your computer at home I don't think this is the right thread. If you want a portable digital setup get a laptop... think of it as another piece of gear, use it only for Traktor if you really have this phobia of them. Please don't try and bring your whole computer to a gig. Otherwise have you thought about using CDjs? I used to rack up parking tickets by parking in front of the venue and going over my time just for bringing my old controller and laptop to places. Carrying a monitor, a tower, a controller, audio card, cords, etc is going to get really old really fast. That's if you can even fit in the booth of whatever bar you're playing at. Have you considered how long it will take you to set everything up and plug in and that there might be other DJs playing before and after you? How about instead of calling this idea stupid, we call it unprofessional. Does that make more sense?
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Dec 23, 2014 22:25
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If you want a laptop-less controller that has tiny little screens with wave forms on it why not just use CDJs? You don't even have to bring them with you!
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Jan 25, 2015 01:08
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Poizen Jam posted:Is there a particular reason I shouldn't use lossless Vinyl rips of songs from my TTX instead of purely digital files? I like the warmth it adds. You mean mp3s? No reason other than size. Lots of DJs rip their own vinyl.
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Mar 2, 2015 22:59
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Poizen Jam posted:Well, instead of the digitally downloaded copies is what I mean. Most vinyl these days comes with a digital download for 320kbps mp3s I'm finding, but I kind of like the tone of my manual vinyl rips, even in MP3 form. Yeah, its your choice. Nobody will know the difference when you're playing but if it sounds better to you then do that. Just make sure its a proper rip and not clipping or really quiet. I've been given some lovely vinyl rips that sound like low bitrate mp3s where I've had to crank the gain up to +8 DB just to get it to meter properly but it still sounded washed out and killed the next mix. People will argue mp3 vs wav/lossless forever but if you're playing on some ancient Vestax and a pair of Yorkville stacks at a bar it doesn't matter either way.
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Mar 4, 2015 19:52
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liquorlanche posted:Anyone using an X1 as a standalone DJ controller? If so, how do you crossfade and beat match? The default X1 mapping has a nudge option which is shift>beat left or right. If your stuff is somewhat on a grid this works but platters are way better for straight up beat matching. As for the x-fader I always keep that off so no comment there. The X1 as a standalone works if you just want something to practice with between using a real mixer at venues or a friends house or whatever but there are better similar sized and priced controllers out there to use standalone.
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Mar 16, 2015 20:48
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New NI Traktor controller, the Kontrol D2. It's the deck controls of the S8 minus the mixer. I like the larger pads but I don't think it will replace my X1 unless it can play tracks without a laptop (which I doubt). http://www.djtechtools.com/2015/03/26/new-traktor-kontrol-deck-controller-spotted-at-wmc/
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Mar 27, 2015 04:46
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Poizen Jam posted:I would actually love to have a couple small screens that I could rig up to my Pioneer DDJ. Anything that makes me spend more time on the decks and less time looking at the computer is a good thing. Yeah totally, I mean CDJs have little screens for basic waveforms and track information. But I have a feeling that a cheaper controller alternative to CDJs that plays music without a laptop will never be a thing because Pioneer has that market cornered. I doubt NI would undercut Pioneer like that. They set the price a long time ago for a dedicated USB track reader/player and the industry respects that. People have no problem shelling out for CDJs if they have the money because they accept their value. Also I guess NI doesn't owe us anything and would just mark up their controller to CDJ prices anyway. Firaga fucked around with this message at 06:20 on Mar 29, 2015 |
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Mar 29, 2015 06:18
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I was talking about detached midi controllers to use with dedicated mixers, not all in one controllers. So as if you could plug in a USB into an X1 or the new D2. Although it's pretty cool that there is an all in one that doesn't need a laptop. Didn't know that, might save a lot of smaller venues some money and maybe they will replace their old lovely equipment!!
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Mar 29, 2015 08:47
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Anybody else own a Xone DB2 here? I got one pretty much brand new at a nice discount about a year and a half ago and I've been very happy with it for the most part. It sounds super clean and the FX panel has been clutch for warming up external synths and has seen some use in mixes as well. The effects sit pretty will with the mix and in my opinion don't sound as jarring as the Traktor or DJM FX. That being said I have three major complaints if anyone is considering buying one, and these might break the deal for some people. First one is the half-assed filters. They are not bad, I will use them over internal Traktor filters any day, but with no resonance control and being generally kind of quiet its really disappointing considering its an A+H mixer which is known for their legendary filters. I mix with filters a lot, it's basically a 4th EQ for me so this is a huge deal. A+H kept saying there will be full support for these mixers and there will be updates with new features and effects, etc. The last firmware update was something like 2 years ago and added cascading FX (something I've used once) along with some other misc stuff but that's about it. So like a lot of other DB2 owners I held on hoping they will patch in a filter FX with controllable parameters but nothing so far. If you go over to the A+H forums you'll see this is the feature everybody wants but A+H hasn't mentioned anything about new firmware in a long time so I've basically given up. You can switch the EQs over to a full pass filter mode like the VCFs on the other Xone models, but I see almost no use for this other than novelty because of the way its set up. Besides the rotary and standard EQ mode sound really good and I'd rather use those. Second complaint is the VU meters on the channels. They are half the size of normal ones and are basically useless. I meter using the master by switching over to the channel VU on the master every time I cue which was the default anyway. I don't have any problems with my mixes but it just seems kind of like a weird oversight. Third is their lovely drivers. I use an external card for easier gigging but a friend of mine has been struggling with their drivers since day 1. I'm pretty sure that their mavericks drivers never left beta before the new version of OSX came out. All in all if you can get one for sub 1k its an amazing alternative to pioneer mixers if you're looking for a 4 channel 3 band mixer. And as much as I'm not a huge fan of the filters, having the two is key for me rather than the single VCF that the 42 or the 23 has. I don't regret buying it all but I just wanted to rant a bit. Firaga fucked around with this message at 00:24 on Apr 2, 2015 |
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Apr 1, 2015 17:48
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Old Man Pants posted:I do not, but I have a friend who is sponsored by A&H, and have payed extensively on his. I agree on the LED's, but get to digging through your on screen options. There are like a million of them and one is a filter adjust. Are you talking about changing the EQ band into a filter? That would work if I could assign it to an unused channel then use it to control the decks that are running but it changes all 4 bands. As far as I know there is no way to change the resonance on the designated filters in the FX unit.
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Apr 2, 2015 02:57
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I actually wouldn't mind looking into something for video with Traktor, just for messing around in my apartment.
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Apr 23, 2015 17:43
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Saucy Slit posted:Anyone here ever play on a Traktor Kontrol X1 mk2? It seems people have griped the buttons/hardware go awry after a few months of use. I'm looking for a very small set up (Kontrol X1, 13" Laptop). I don't care about FX, price or any special add ons, my mix style is track to track blending, straight forward. Simply wondering if the X1 is worth trying by others' experience. I know you have to purchase software separately which sucks, but is also fine. I've been using the mk1 for years and my best friend uses the mk2. I'm not really sure what you are asking? It's a pretty standard controller to use with an external mixer which you don't seem to want (correct me if I'm wrong), the build quality is fantastic. I think what you're looking for is the Kontrol Z1 which is basically a tiny little 2 channel midi mixer with no dedicated FX knobs or any of the extra beatgrid and pitch bend hotkeys of the X1.
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Apr 30, 2015 18:24
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Saucy Slit posted:Was wondering if the buttons or rather the physical components of the Kontrol X1 mk1/mk2 has ever gone crappy. (like pop off ...or break and the like). NI's hardware and software is great. I've been using Traktor for years and never had issues with it, and I personally don't know anybody who uses a different DVS anymore. The X1 is the most common controller you see with a dedicated club mixer. Sometimes you'll see the A+H K2 or something like that but mostly the X1. I beat the crap out of my MK1 (lots of really long sets in really humid venues) and it works the same as the day I got it.
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Apr 30, 2015 21:25
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