How do I start out as a dj?

Teen Fury said:
Can't u do the same thing as a vinyl turntable with a midi controller?
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Eh not really, well you can to a certain extent. I would say the advantages to records is that you have them on hand and you can do a party without a laptop set up. Or the main reason is if your into scratching and Turntablism then you MUST have them in order to do the things we do. Like I said if you want to learn scratching then you will need Decks. If not in you interests go the cheap route.

Peace
Jester
 
Teen Fury said:
You can scratch with a midi controller tho, right?
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well that's to be determined. Anyone that is into the ART of turntablism will disagree that you can scratch with a midi control. And I too will agree with them. I have been scratching for three years or more and the difference between actual vinyl and midi control is vast. it may not seem so to the untrained hand but to a weathered DJ who knows the feel of a analog vinyl to that of a DVS is a whole different world. You will know if scratching is your thing and if so then you will have to go Vinyl.

For example........ Someone on FP posed a wicked awesome thread with 52 MP3 versions of Scratch records. I have them and I practice scratching everyday. I will scratch with my vinyl for 30 minutes and then try beat juggling and scratching with the DVS ( using any of the 52 mp3 records) the response with the DVS is good, but not anywhere near as good as the analog. I can FEEL the difference and its huge to me. If I had learned to scratch with the DVS system I would only be able to scratch half as good as I can now. There is a Big difference is the bottom line.

So from the Jester if you wanna Scratch and that's your thing GET DECKS ;) otherwise you'll be a hack ;)
:D

Peace
Jester
 
Juusjester said:
well that's to be determined. Anyone that is into the ART of turntablism will disagree that you can scratch with a midi control. And I too will agree with them. I have been scratching for three years or more and the difference between actual vinyl and midi control is vast. it may not seem so to the untrained hand but to a weathered DJ who knows the feel of a analog vinyl to that of a DVS is a whole different world. You will know if scratching is your thing and if so then you will have to go Vinyl.

For example........ Someone on FP posed a wicked awesome thread with 52 MP3 versions of Scratch records. I have them and I practice scratching everyday. I will scratch with my vinyl for 30 minutes and then try beat juggling and scratching with the DVS ( using any of the 52 mp3 records) the response with the DVS is good, but not anywhere near as good as the analog. I can FEEL the difference and its huge to me. If I had learned to scratch with the DVS system I would only be able to scratch half as good as I can now. There is a Big difference is the bottom line.

So from the Jester if you wanna Scratch and that's your thing GET DECKS ;) otherwise you'll be a hack ;)
:D

Peace
Jester
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Appreciate it fam!
 
Juusjester said:
I can FEEL the difference and its huge to me. If I had learned to scratch with the DVS system I would only be able to scratch half as good as I can now. There is a Big difference is the bottom line.

So from the Jester if you wanna Scratch and that's your thing GET DECKS ;) otherwise you'll be a hack ;)
:D

Peace
Jester
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I agree with much of this. The "Feel" of virtual vinyl is indeed different, but a lot of it has to do with the latency on your sound card. I have Traktor Scratch Duo(about $300.00) which comes with it's own specially designed external sound controller and the latency is real low, and to be honest it works for scratching.

I still prefer real vinyl, but the Traktor is absolutely usable.
 
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ladjmojo said:
I agree with much of this. The "Feel" of virtual vinyl is indeed different, but a lot of it has to do with the latency on your sound card. I have Traktor Scratch Duo(about $300.00) which comes with it's own specially designed external sound controller and the latency is real low, and to be honest it works for scratching.

I still prefer real vinyl, but the Traktor is absolutely usable.
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Yep I too have tracktor scratch Duo, I have the audio 4 external controller. Its the second best thing for scratching I will agree.

Works really well for transforming and beat juggling. Problems with the Squiggle and anything that requires speed. I'm sure that one day, and not too far off, there is going to be a ZERO latency controller. And it will inevitably change things, but for now. I'm happy with dusty records ;)


Peace
Jester
 
Yea dude, u definately dont have to buy records. Its an option but its not necessary if you're gonna get serato or trackor because those play mp3s. and along with your turntables, you'll be able to control the music digitally. Plus its more convinient to carry a nice external drive with a good amount of music than it is to carry records around. that era is pretty much over and done with. . .

and to answer you're other question, Virtual Dj is not as good as serato. not even close. It is pgood but here n there it'll give you problems. if you're looking to do this in the long run, i sugggest u invest in serato and those Technique 1200 turntables. hella expensive though, but worth it. . .
 
get a pair of old ass technics,thats what i started off on. you dont even need the 1200's dogg, you dont even know if you want to do anything big yet. just get a cheap pair (make sure they are direct drive, not belt driven) and then go down to your record shop and pick out some records that you like..for beats i usually go to the dollar bins, but for spinning at parties or whatever i just pay regular price for the hot records around here. Then you just practice transitioning between songs, beatmatching, then you get into scratching. One of my boys who is a DJ taught me 10 scratches, and now when i put them together i can do whatever its sick..it took me a few weeks to get okay, then i just practiced every damn day when my boys were around, and they kept telling me im getting better. IF you dont have a friend who is a DJ, look up DJ Angelo tutorials on youtube, that nig ga is nice..

Once your pretty decent and have a few sets thrown together and are confident, you can ask people who need a DJ..i started DJing at frats at my college, and they paid me in handles of ketel one vodka for the first months. Do whatever it takes to get your name out and then take it from there

ayerp
 
its ok, but limiting. crashes far more then the othersin my experience,and when a track is playing if youchange the pitch it can stutter - not good if you're midway through a gig.fine for bedroomDJing, but i would getsome decks if you are looking to be serious... if you dont have the cash for the vinyl option (a little hardocre for someone with no experience whatsoever) i would get some cheap equipment to play/practice with - try Hard To Find Records (google it), they have good package deals. although it may end up costing you a bit more in the longrun when you upgrade your equipment, CD decks are far easier to supply with tunes, and farmore encouraging for people just getting into DJing... i would recommend playing houseparties to begin with. hope that helps! =]
 
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