Any DJs out there?

[S2H]

Right, my mid-life crisis is in full swing.

 

I've got a vast CD collection (but next to no vinyl) and fancy having a bash at a bit of bedroom DJing. I reckon I've got a decent ear for a tune and have always fancied giving it a whirl, so **** it, why not.

 

My question is, what the hell kind of kit would I need to get started? Where best to get decent gear second hand, how much should I be expecting to pay etc etc etc. Aside from the CDs, I really am starting totally from scratch here.

 

We aint talking none of your chart disco bollox here, more your sort of Citrus Club type tunes.

 

Any help or advice from any budding JKB DJs would be much appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

S2H

[conn artist]

djing on records is becoming more and more rare, just see stuff like final scrath, ableton etc. so if you have tons of cds buy the appropriate kit and you can almost get the same results on the up to date cd decks these days. ten years ago cd decks where hopeless now you could probably not tell the diff if you spend enough cash on them. a lot of dj's out there will be using mp3's these days mostly anyway. its like anything the less you spend the worse the result, go to a decent dj store and they will hook you up. you will save yourself a fortune by not having to by everything on records over again. i am sure other people will tell you differant like you cant beat the sound of records etc but it is rubbish. i have hundreds of records wasting away at home and i hardly ever ever touch them anymore.

[Craig R]

Right, my mid-life crisis is in full swing.

 

I've got a vast CD collection (but next to no vinyl) and fancy having a bash at a bit of bedroom DJing. I reckon I've got a decent ear for a tune and have always fancied giving it a whirl, so **** it, why not.

 

My question is, what the hell kind of kit would I need to get started? Where best to get decent gear second hand, how much should I be expecting to pay etc etc etc. Aside from the CDs, I really am starting totally from scratch here.

 

We aint talking none of your chart disco bollox here, more your sort of Citrus Club type tunes.

 

Any help or advice from any budding JKB DJs would be much appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

S2H

 

What type of tunes do they play in the Citrus Club? I always thought it played rock music. There's no point even attempting to mix rock tunes together.

[cosanostra]

I DJ and make tunes.

 

Run a night called Iridium which plays electro, techno, hiphop, acid, jungle, rave, industrial, ebm, grime, dubstep and breakcore. I also play at another night called confusion and play at a bar called the Ivy.

 

I only use vinyl. As far as i'm concerned CDs are useless and a complete waste of time. I don't know anyone who uses CDs and most of my freinds are either into DJing, promoting, producing or clubbing. DJing mp3's is a waste of time as well. I can get very little of the music i want of CD so i wouldn't even bother trying.

 

Final scratch and serato are cool but i still regard that as the same as playing vinyl because to make it sound decent, the DJ still has to have deck, motor and record skills.

[Guest GhostHunter]

I DJ and make tunes.

 

Run a night called Iridium which plays electro, techno, hiphop, acid, jungle, rave, industrial, ebm, grime, dubstep and breakcore. I also play at another night called confusion and play at a bar called the Ivy.

 

I only use vinyl. As far as i'm concerned CDs are useless and a complete waste of time. I don't know anyone who uses CDs and most of my freinds are either into DJing, promoting, producing or clubbing. DJing mp3's is a waste of time as well. I can get very little of the music i want of CD so i wouldn't even bother trying.

 

Final scratch and serato are cool but i still regard that as the same as playing vinyl because to make it sound decent, the DJ still has to have deck, motor and record skills.

 

No Trance ?

 

Call yourself a DJ ?!?!?!

 

Pah...

 

[The Merse]

I DJ and make tunes.

 

Run a night called Iridium which plays electro, techno, hiphop, acid, jungle, rave, industrial, ebm, grime, dubstep and breakcore. I also play at another night called confusion and play at a bar called the Ivy.

 

I only use vinyl. As far as i'm concerned CDs are useless and a complete waste of time. I don't know anyone who uses CDs and most of my freinds are either into DJing, promoting, producing or clubbing. DJing mp3's is a waste of time as well. I can get very little of the music i want of CD so i wouldn't even bother trying.

 

Final scratch and serato are cool but i still regard that as the same as playing vinyl because to make it sound decent, the DJ still has to have deck, motor and record skills.

 

Seriously man, what is the difference between most of the types of music you listed...

[Craig R]

I only use vinyl. As far as i'm concerned CDs are useless and a complete waste of time. I don't know anyone who uses CDs and most of my freinds are either into DJing, promoting, producing or clubbing. DJing mp3's is a waste of time as well. I can get very little of the music i want of CD so i wouldn't even bother trying.

 

That's pretty much the opposite of all the people I know. I used to DJ myself, and most of my friends still do play at various clubs/bars in the city. All of them have moved on to at least using CDs during their sets in addition to vinyl, some of them use CDs only, and some have started using Traktor scratch/ Abelton too (this is what I now use, although I just play for fun in the house these days).

 

Suppose it depends on what you play, but there are plenty of house tunes available on MP3 for you to play off CDs or a laptop. Using vinyl just doesn't make much sense any more when you can download the same tracks for ?1 a time instead of paying about ?7 for a slab of vinyl.

[cosanostra]

That's pretty much the opposite of all the people I know. I used to DJ myself, and most of my friends still do play at various clubs/bars in the city. All of them have moved on to at least using CDs during their sets in addition to vinyl, some of them use CDs only, and some have started using Traktor scratch/ Abelton too (this is what I now use, although I just play for fun in the house these days).

 

Suppose it depends on what you play, but there are plenty of house tunes available on MP3 for you to play off CDs or a laptop. Using vinyl just doesn't make much sense any more when you can download the same tracks for ?1 a time instead of paying about ?7 for a slab of vinyl.

 

I have never even heard of any decent techno DJ playing CDs. I once saw a hiphop DJ play CDs and was pretty impressed but i've seen hundreds of DJs of both genres and never seen any play a techno CDJ set and once play a hiphop set. I don't really have a clue about house music because i avoid it like the plague. I only go to techno, electro or hiphop nights y'see.

 

Maybe the techno and hiphop cultures are completely different to house.

[cosanostra]

Seriously man, what is the difference between most of the types of music you listed...

 

They are all completely different mate.

It would take ages to list each one and point out the differences though.

Try wiki;).

[Craig R]

I have never even heard of any decent techno DJ playing CDs. I once saw a hiphop DJ play CDs and was pretty impressed but i've seen hundreds of DJs of both genres and never seen any play a techno CDJ set and once play a hiphop set. I don't really have a clue about house music because i avoid it like the plague. I only go to techno, electro or hiphop nights y'see.

 

Maybe the techno and hiphop cultures are completely different to house.

 

Wouldn't have thought the techno scene would be that different, seems strange. I keep a wide berth of techno/electro nights so wouldn't have a clue what formats people are using for it, so will take your word for it.

 

Looking on junodownload.com there seems to be a fair amount of techno being released on mp3, is this all just gash + back catalogue stuff?

[cosanostra]

Wouldn't have thought the techno scene would be that different, seems strange. I keep a wide berth of techno/electro nights so wouldn't have a clue what formats people are using for it, so will take your word for it.

 

Looking on junodownload.com there seems to be a fair amount of techno being released on mp3, is this all just gash + back catalogue stuff?

 

Nah, pretty much anything you can get on vinyl, you can download from somewhere. I don't regard DJing mp3s as DJing though. The level of skill is minimal. I want to see scratches, cuts and hands on DJing, beatmixing is primary school stuff that should be a given for anyone who stands up in front of people and plays music, it's what the DJ can do over and above the basics that's where my interest lies.

[Taffin]

I thought electro was a sub genre of house?

[Craig R]

Nah, pretty much anything you can get on vinyl, you can download from somewhere. I don't regard DJing mp3s as DJing though. The level of skill is minimal. I want to see scratches, cuts and hands on DJing, beatmixing is primary school stuff that should be a given for anyone who stands up in front of people and plays music, it's what the DJ can do over and above the basics that's where my interest lies.

 

Yeah I don't care for any of that stuff. I just want to hear good music flowing together nicely in a well structured set without anyone mucking about too much. Excessive scratching and cutting up just gets on my nerves.

[cosanostra]

I thought electro was a sub genre of house?

 

It's not.

 

There is sub-genre of electro house that's the current, fashionable type of house, but that's not electro. It's just a watered down version.

 

Electro came from the early 1980's miami bass, oldskool / drum machine hiphop and German/Dutch pop music like Kraftwerk.

[Carl Weathers]

I have never even heard of any decent techno DJ playing CDs. I once saw a hiphop DJ play CDs and was pretty impressed but i've seen hundreds of DJs of both genres and never seen any play a techno CDJ set and once play a hiphop set. I don't really have a clue about house music because i avoid it like the plague. I only go to techno, electro or hiphop nights y'see.

 

Maybe the techno and hiphop cultures are completely different to house.

 

A majority of the progressive, tech house dj's have moved away from vinyl.

 

We've done this too many times before...

[cosanostra]

Yeah I don't care for any of that stuff. I just want to hear good music flowing together nicely in a well structured set without anyone mucking about too much. Excessive scratching and cutting up just gets on my nerves.

 

My view is, you can get a CD to do that.

 

Why not just set an I-tunes playlist and get some mixing software that mixes the last 30 seconds of each record?

 

To me, that's boring and makes the art of DJing pointless.

[cosanostra]

A majority of the progressive, tech house dj's have moved away from vinyl.

 

We've done this too many times before...

 

We have.

 

Like I said though, prog and tech and subgenres of house and I stay away 99% of house.

 

I really like late 80's and early 90's acid but that's about it.

[Carl Weathers]

Nah, pretty much anything you can get on vinyl, you can download from somewhere. I don't regard DJing mp3s as DJing though. The level of skill is minimal. I want to see scratches, cuts and hands on DJing, beatmixing is primary school stuff that should be a given for anyone who stands up in front of people and plays music, it's what the DJ can do over and above the basics that's where my interest lies.

 

I couldn't disagree more but there you go!

 

[Carl Weathers]

We have.

 

Like I said though, prog and tech and subgenres of house and I stay away 99% of house.

 

I really like late 80's and early 90's acid but that's about it.

 

Have you heard Hardcore Uproar by Together?

 

That's a tune!

 

[The Merse]

We have.

 

Like I said though, prog and tech and subgenres of house and I stay away 99% of house.

 

I really like late 80's and early 90's acid but that's about it.

 

Link me to an "acid" tune, I'm interested to hear that it sounds like...

 

[cosanostra]

Have you heard Hardcore Uproar by Together?

 

That's a tune!

 

 

You're damn right it is.

 

I love oldskool. The wee starwarsy synth line at the start is awesome. Just a brilliant piece of music.

[Craig R]

My view is, you can get a CD to do that.

 

Why not just set an I-tunes playlist and get some mixing software that mixes the last 30 seconds of each record?

 

To me, that's boring and makes the art of DJing pointless.

 

Because some software mixing the last 30 seconds will never sound as good as a human DJ mixing them properly, and a human DJ can adjust the vibe and select different tunes to be according to crowd reaction.

 

"The art of DJing" is the difference in our viewpoints here.

 

To me a DJ is just someone who plays music. The mixing is secondary to the tunes they are playing - I go to a club to hear good music. I don't go to see a DJ fiddling about being self-indulgent instead of letting the tunes play.

[Carl Weathers]

You're damn right it is.

 

I love oldskool. The wee starwarsy synth line at the start is awesome. Just a brilliant piece of music.

 

It's apparently getting re-released. Check out this vid - looks like a proper party and some class hairdoo's!

 

[cosanostra]

Link me to an "acid" tune, I'm interested to hear that it sounds like...

 

 

 

one of my favourites - where is you child by bambam.

 

Acid just refers to the bubbly synth noise that comes in about 1m05seconds and is made by a Roland tb-303 synthesiser.

[Taffin]

It's not.

 

There is sub-genre of electro house that's the current, fashionable type of house, but that's not electro. It's just a watered down version.

 

Electro came from the early 1980's miami bass, oldskool / drum machine hiphop and German/Dutch pop music like Kraftwerk.

 

Cheers for that

[Carl Weathers]

Because some software mixing the last 30 seconds will never sound as good as a human DJ mixing them properly, and a human DJ can adjust the vibe and select different tunes to be according to crowd reaction.

 

"The art of DJing" is the difference in our viewpoints here.

 

To me a DJ is just someone who plays music. The mixing is secondary to the tunes they are playing - I go to a club to hear good music. I don't go to see a DJ fiddling about being self-indulgent instead of letting the tunes play.

 

Same. I look for good music, good mixing. The structure of the set is the most important thing.

[cosanostra]

Because some software mixing the last 30 seconds will never sound as good as a human DJ mixing them properly, and a human DJ can adjust the vibe and select different tunes to be according to crowd reaction.

 

"The art of DJing" is the difference in our viewpoints here.

 

To me a DJ is just someone who plays music. The mixing is secondary to the tunes they are playing - I go to a club to hear good music. I don't go to see a DJ fiddling about being self-indulgent instead of letting the tunes play.

 

For me, it's not just about playing records, it's about taking record A and Record B, tearing them to shreds and making something new. If I want to hear good tunes i can listen to them at home. I want to see someone being creative and original rather than just a human jukebox. The records are like tools to create with rather than just the be all and end all.

[Benny Factor]

I DJ and make tunes.

 

Run a night called Iridium which plays electro, techno, hiphop, acid, jungle, rave, industrial, ebm, grime, dubstep and breakcore. I also play at another night called confusion and play at a bar called the Ivy.

 

I only use vinyl. As far as i'm concerned CDs are useless and a complete waste of time. I don't know anyone who uses CDs and most of my freinds are either into DJing, promoting, producing or clubbing. DJing mp3's is a waste of time as well. I can get very little of the music i want of CD so i wouldn't even bother trying.

 

Final scratch and serato are cool but i still regard that as the same as playing vinyl because to make it sound decent, the DJ still has to have deck, motor and record skills.

 

Amennnnn to breakcore

 

Drum 'n' bass and jungle since the early 90's have never been given the credit they deserve.

[cosanostra]

Amennnnn to breakcore

 

Drum 'n' bass and jungle since the early 90's have never been given the credit they deserve.

 

I like some breakcore, not all though.

 

I like stuff that still has a bit of structure and flow rather than the crazy, breakneck stuff that just sounds like random noise.

[UnworthyPapaLazaru]

gaunny dae wan eh yer mixed genre mixes again big man?

[cosanostra]

gaunny dae wan eh yer mixed genre mixes again big man?

 

Will do.

 

Need to buy a soundcard or borrow the burds laptop some time soon.

[trotter]

I'm with Cosanostra on this one - cd's are cheaper to buy i'll grant you that - but you can't beat just grabbing a big chunk of vinyl and ripping it to bits....

 

Problems with CD Decks - they are (on the whole) a lot more expensive than vinyl decks to get set up with. Will be a lot of money to waste if you decide in a year that you can't be @rsed with it anymore. Much better imo to get a cheaper set of direct drive turntables and spend 50-70 quid on vinyl. At least then you won't be so much out of pocket.

 

And ignore all this bollocks about vinyls getting rarer. Go onto any of the big on-line stores - htfr, junorecords etc, etc and you'll see that they're still being produced by the thousand!! + Vinyl will hold their value for future re-sale: cd's won't.

 

Final bit of this rant - my biggest gripe with CD decks is that there isn't any real skill involved imo - things like the Pioneer CDJ series almost mix for you - isnt anywhere near as satisfying IMO as when you get two tunes banging out in perfect phase... ;)

 

Discuss....

[cosanostra]

I'm with Cosanostra on this one - cd's are cheaper to buy i'll grant you that - but you can't beat just grabbing a big chunk of vinyl and ripping it to bits....

 

Problems with CD Decks - they are (on the whole) a lot more expensive than vinyl decks to get set up with. Will be a lot of money to waste if you decide in a year that you can't be @rsed with it anymore. Much better imo to get a cheaper set of direct drive turntables and spend 50-70 quid on vinyl. At least then you won't be so much out of pocket.

 

And ignore all this bollocks about vinyls getting rarer. Go onto any of the big on-line stores - htfr, junorecords etc, etc and you'll see that they're still being produced by the thousand!! + Vinyl will hold their value for future re-sale: cd's won't.

 

Final bit of this rant - my biggest gripe with CD decks is that there isn't any real skill involved imo - things like the Pioneer CDJ series almost mix for you - isnt anywhere near as satisfying IMO as when you get two tunes banging out in perfect phase... ;)

 

Discuss....

 

High Five!!!!

 

The only benefit i can see to cdjs is if you make your own tunes and want to play one of those in a DJ set then burn it onto a cd. Other than that, they suck ass.

 

I also read not so long ago that electronic music was fastest growing art form on earth. 99% of decent labels are predominantly vinyl (esp in techno/electro/hiphop genres) based so the whole concept of vinyl becoming obselete is just not true.

[trotter]

yeah, or if you get your hands on some unreleased tunage that you want to hammer out to the massives!!

 

I'm def gonna get me a CDJ at some point 'cos I do have masses of mp3s on my computer so it does make sense - but vinyl will always be my main choice!

At last count I was not a kick in the arse of 500 - at average of ?6-7 each thats a nice wee investment I have there - not to mention the classics that are going on ebay for ?20-30!! ;P

 

Agree totally with the decent labels comment cosa... i'm a hard-dance/trancer myself and with a few exceptions who do on-line d/l or cds (Tidy and Armada/ASOT for example) the rest of the main ones are all based on vinyl. When that changes i'll start worrying - but until then i'll stick with my 12" thank you very much!!

[Craig R]

And ignore all this bollocks about vinyls getting rarer. Go onto any of the big on-line stores - htfr, junorecords etc, etc and you'll see that they're still being produced by the thousand!! + Vinyl will hold their value for future re-sale: cd's won't.

 

Final bit of this rant - my biggest gripe with CD decks is that there isn't any real skill involved imo - things like the Pioneer CDJ series almost mix for you - isnt anywhere near as satisfying IMO as when you get two tunes banging out in perfect phase... ;)

 

Discuss....

 

How do Pioneer CDJs 'mix for you'?

[Craig R]

yeah, or if you get your hands on some unreleased tunage that you want to hammer out to the massives!!

 

I'm def gonna get me a CDJ at some point 'cos I do have masses of mp3s on my computer so it does make sense - but vinyl will always be my main choice!

At last count I was not a kick in the arse of 500 - at average of ?6-7 each thats a nice wee investment I have there - not to mention the classics that are going on ebay for ?20-30!! ;P

 

Agree totally with the decent labels comment cosa... i'm a hard-dance/trancer myself and with a few exceptions who do on-line d/l or cds (Tidy and Armada/ASOT for example) the rest of the main ones are all based on vinyl. When that changes i'll start worrying - but until then i'll stick with my 12" thank you very much!!

 

Fancy buying some old trance from around 98-99 on vinyl?

I still have loads of the stuff lying about never to be played again.

[K1874M]

I have never even heard of any decent techno DJ playing CDs. I once saw a hiphop DJ play CDs and was pretty impressed but i've seen hundreds of DJs of both genres and never seen any play a techno CDJ set and once play a hiphop set. I don't really have a clue about house music because i avoid it like the plague. I only go to techno, electro or hiphop nights y'see.

 

Maybe the techno and hiphop cultures are completely different to house.

Dave Clarke played a full set of CD's last year in Edinburgh....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He got ripped apart for it.

Your spot on tho... CD's are whak long live the veneer. If your playing cheese or similar then aye CD's will do just fine.

[cosanostra]

Dave Clarke played a full set of CD's last year in Edinburgh....

 

 

 

He got ripped apart for it.

Your spot on tho... CD's are whak long live the veneer. If your playing cheese or similar then aye CD's will do just fine.

 

This video says it all about Dave Clarke.

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=A2UhC03YWoE

 

What a nobber.

[trotter]

Fancy buying some old trance from around 98-99 on vinyl?

I still have loads of the stuff lying about never to be played again.

 

ooh, stuff to buy....

 

any chance of a listing??

[Boris]

one of my favourites - where is you child by bambam.

 

Acid just refers to the bubbly synth noise that comes in about 1m05seconds and is made by a Roland tb-303 synthesiser.

 

Have it..

 

 

 

Great days to be growing up in...seems such a long time ago

[cosanostra]

Have it..

 

Great days to be growing up in...seems such a long time ago

 

I love acid man but never really liked acid thunder so much. It's ok but i never bought that tune.

 

A couple of my favourite acid tracks here for you. They are a wee bit later and heavier.

 

This one, The Deliverer by Pergon - steady builder, best breakdown ever and then it comes back in like a nucleur explosion or something. If you've not heard this it will blow you away.

 

 

Jeff Mills v Subjects - Dark Matter - The title says it all. Absolutely pounding, hard as nails, early acid/techno crossover. I've only gotten to play it out a few times because it's so damn heavy but as a last few tunes of the night choice, this one is serious brain damage.

[cosanostra]

yeah, or if you get your hands on some unreleased tunage that you want to hammer out to the massives!!

 

I'm def gonna get me a CDJ at some point 'cos I do have masses of mp3s on my computer so it does make sense - but vinyl will always be my main choice!

At last count I was not a kick in the arse of 500 - at average of ?6-7 each thats a nice wee investment I have there - not to mention the classics that are going on ebay for ?20-30!! ;P

 

Agree totally with the decent labels comment cosa... i'm a hard-dance/trancer myself and with a few exceptions who do on-line d/l or cds (Tidy and Armada/ASOT for example) the rest of the main ones are all based on vinyl. When that changes i'll start worrying - but until then i'll stick with my 12" thank you very much!!

 

I've got about 2000 rekkids.

 

Here by my collection...

 

http://www.discogs.com/collection?user=cosanostrakriminal

 

It's about 50% techno/electro, 40%hiphop and 10%jungle/rave/grime/dubstep/breakcore

 

I'm not a big one for trance, house or prog or any of that sort of stuff. I'm also not too sure what hard dance and hardstyle are but i gather they are quite popular in Engerlund. Are they they same as hard house?

[Craig R]

ooh, stuff to buy....

 

any chance of a listing??

 

http://www.discogs.com/mycollection?user=&sort=label&order=asc&page=1&folder_id=1

 

Have more that I never got round to listing, and I sold some a while back but can't remember which ones and never removed them from the list.

[cosanostra]

http://www.discogs.com/mycollection?user=&sort=label&order=asc&page=1&folder_id=1

 

Have more that I never got round to listing, and I sold some a while back but can't remember which ones and never removed them from the list.

 

You have to log yourself out of discogs, go find yourself and click on my collection or the link won't work.

 

I see my collection when i hit that link.

[Boris]

 

This one, The Deliverer by Pergon - steady builder, best breakdown ever and then it comes back in like a nucleur explosion or something. If you've not heard this it will blow you away.

 

Brilliant.

 

Humanoid by Stacker - now there's another blast from the past.

[Craig R]

Cheers, this should be right now:

http://www.discogs.com/collection?user=SpacialGroover

 

Also have a load of prog from 99/00 I don't want should anyone be interested.

Don't have any of those listed though.

[cosanostra]

Brilliant.

 

Humanoid by Stacker - now there's another blast from the past.

 

That keeps getting re-released every few years. Top quality tune.

 

The Pergon track is indeed brilliant. I love getting to play that out.

[cosanostra]

Cheers, this should be right now:

http://www.discogs.com/collection?user=SpacialGroover

 

Also have a load of prog from 99/00 I don't want should anyone be interested.

Don't have any of those listed though.

 

Carl Weathers may be interested, he's a prog fan.

 

I think he may have ditched his decks for CDs though.

[cosanostra]

Cheers, this should be right now:

http://www.discogs.com/collection?user=SpacialGroover

 

Also have a load of prog from 99/00 I don't want should anyone be interested.

Don't have any of those listed though.

 

I've got one record that you have.

 

http://www.discogs.com/release/11699

 

What a brilliant record, so good for mixing as well. Just love putting that bassline over any other record.

[Craig R]

I've got one record that you have.

 

http://www.discogs.com/release/11699

 

What a brilliant record, so good for mixing as well. Just love putting that bassline over any other record.

 

Indeed. Think I actually sold the vinyl (although its possibly still just buried somewhere in my collection and I just can't find it). Have it on MP3 anyway though.