Digital Djing LapTop vs Cd Decks?

[newjack]

i was sure i posted this question before, but i can't find it now. Was it deleted?

anyhow

Laptop and controller vs Cd Decks. Whats better. what do u like and give a reason

are cd players better with hands on fast mixing and tricks?

do laptops with music folders easier cause of track location and more creative cause you can see the tracks down the list quicker than in a folder?

thanks

iam wanting to buy a new system come xmas time

[echosystm]

use both, see what you like better...
no other way to know ;)

just for the record...
Vinyl = most fun, least you can "do"
CDs = less fun, can do a bit more
Laptops = fucking boring, it's like checking your email, but you can do heaps of tricks.

[hpstekno]

there is a new forum for DJ related stuff please don't post DJ stuff in MP&T

thread moved

[DJ D one]

This has been discussed before indeed.
It is just skills lost to creativity...before to be a great warrior you had to be skilled with the sword...today just push a button and you blow away half of the fucking planet (including yourself)...there is nothing wrong with laptop djing so long whenever you are comfronted to some decks you know how to use them...today every man and his F laptop is a deejay...yeah right...

DJD1

[DJSketch]

a combination of them both works well, if you want to do production, get a laptop, if you simply want to play otehr peoples tunes grab some cdj's or wax

[hoppuspears]

OK.. Buy cd dj's i bought a bcd2000 it was awsome to learn on. But trust me you can use this for live work. Computers are way to unstable to risk. somtimes my bcd2000 crashes windows and restarts the whole computers. Im now looking to get some decks!

[Neo_]

Meh... what a load of codswallop

So what about the hundreds of live acts and DJ's around the globe that use laptops??

You just haven't setup your laptop/ computers properly and ensured they are stable.
CD players can crap out as well. Then what do you do??

Theres plenty of things you can do to make a computer stable, but at the same time and this applies to all electrical equipment... Sometimes shit just breaks...
Its how you handle these situations that shows skill.

I also disagree with the fact that as you progress up the technology food chain as it were, that you are losing skills. If anything you are learning more about the music that your playing as opposed to clinging onto a technique that i am sure you could get a chimp to perform...

I mean really beat matching is the easiest thing about djing, there is no great skill to it and nor is it a black art. If you were committed i am sure you could be proficient in it within a week.

The thing about DJing is its the tunes you play and how you put it all together musically that matters. Whether its via a set of Turntables, CD players or a laptop and controller set up.
Thats the only thing that matters.

I personally started with CD players, then moved to vinyl and now am back to CD's and considering taking the plunge into a fully digital setup. I dare say that by the end of the year i will be fully digital with a few exceptions where its just not practical.

[hoppuspears]

http://2mix.co.uk/shop2mix/images/icdx_large.jpg

I reckon the would be good best of both worlds.
Usb and ipod connectons

[DJ D one]

Since the dawn of time skills have been lost to technology and that is not a myth.
Man do with his hands
Man fed up
Man build machine to do for him the easy way
Son of a man comes along
Son of a man learn how to use machine
Son of a man has no fucking clue how to do by hand
So is the son of the son.

Beat matching is not black art and so is flying a 747, the key to that is dedication and the will to learn from bottom to top...

No doubt you can put a great night with a laptop, I am just a bit doubtfull you will impress club owner if you show up with your laptop and say you are a DJ...in 20 years may be...right now tell me the place and I'll will go there straight away...my 2 cents...

The truth of the matter is I see people Djing with laptop only (Not talking about those who use it with time coded vinyls/cds) and I am far from being impress, now you show me a guy with a turntable or Cd player doing cool stuff and I appreciate. I know that being into it makes me far more critical...but there is a simplicity in laptop djing I just cannot digest right now...surely the creativity can be amazing but the skills are simply what is more exiting personally.

DJD1

DJD1

[DJ D one]

Forgot to say, my CD players performed right out of the box with no problem...I have a BCD so I undertand how it goes with PC, surely making it stable involves reading forums for hours downloading patch etc, to this day after testing on 3 PC the shit is totally unreliable...waste of time...ok might be that particular product...but I have to say when it comes to reliability and djing I trust my cd player more than my PC...


DJD1

[Neo_]

Cd players are about as interesting as a laptop to watch...

Show me someone who can use a laptop and get around it by very rarely touching it and cutting up loop and dropping new loops... shows a shit load more of this so called performance.

I reckon someone who is doing that is moving around a whole lot more than someone using cd players.

The only thing lost in this instance is contact with the medium.

[pfalzon]

Just wave your hands in the air and shout some crap line at the croud every 5 minutes and you will be sweet.

[DJSketch]

UNstable is just a metter of how you set it up.

I've never had a problem if i have prepared correctly, only when i have rushed things,
tonight i'm playing at breaking point, using

Hardware

Laptop, Sony Vaio Dualcore 2.10 - 2Gig Ram
25 key Midi Controller
6 string elec guitar
Boss Distortion Pedals
Final Scratch 2 + timecode vinyl's or cd's
Sampson cardiod stage mic
3630 dual compressor
------
Software

Traktor 2.63
Ableton live
Vsti host (FL6)



Ableton runs effects for the guitar and post compressed mic along with triggering samples,
VST host is linked to controller keyboard for live synth work
Traktor and timecodes run the basetrack for live, or tracks for Dj set

[DSILVR]

Since the dawn of time skills have been lost to technology and that is not a myth.
Man do with his hands
Man fed up
Man build machine to do for him the easy way
Son of a man comes along
Son of a man learn how to use machine
Son of a man has no fucking clue how to do by hand
So is the son of the son.

Beat matching is not black art and so is flying a 747, the key to that is dedication and the will to learn from bottom to top...

No doubt you can put a great night with a laptop, I am just a bit doubtfull you will impress club owner if you show up with your laptop and say you are a DJ...in 20 years may be...right now tell me the place and I'll will go there straight away...my 2 cents...

The truth of the matter is I see people Djing with laptop only (Not talking about those who use it with time coded vinyls/cds) and I am far from being impress, now you show me a guy with a turntable or Cd player doing cool stuff and I appreciate. I know that being into it makes me far more critical...but there is a simplicity in laptop djing I just cannot digest right now...surely the creativity can be amazing but the skills are simply what is more exiting personally.

DJD1

DJD1

I agree with that Neo said about beatmatching, there is WAY more to DJing than beatmatching.

DJ D One I have no fucken idea what you are on about mate. Technology has progressed yes but it has NOT made DJing easyer. In my opinion Laptop DJing can blur the line between artist and DJ, creating stuff on my fly and incorporating it into a set is wicked!

The reason a club owner will perhaps not be as happy with a DJ and a laptop as a DJ with CDJs/Wax is because it is not as "accapeted" as CDJs and Wax. As soon as people see a laptop they instantly turn away and and don't see you as a DJ.

Lately i have been fooling around on ableton and the potential is has is AMAZING

Oh and you still have to wrap? or warp? in ableton (which word is it?) Thats hard enough

[Neo_]

Warp.

If you don't know how the tunes work, then this is something you will never grasp.
Its still beatmatching just prepared before you go out. IMO i would rather listen to a dj that could make something truely musical and have a nice flow and structure to it as opposed to watching some twat on stage carrying on like he's david lee roth. Or gods give to DJing cos he can beatmatch...

[DSILVR]

^^ Tiesto?:lol:

[Andrew Wowk]

God this old boy's club idea of vinyl somehow being more worthy for DJing is fucking lame.

If you use your chosen medium well, you're a good DJ. A turntablist in my opinion is no better than someone like Richie Hawtin who uses Ableton like an absolute beast, layering 8 or 9 loops at a time to create a coherent, unique experience every single time he plays. Amazing DJ in my opinion.

On topic though...I have CDJ-1000s, and as much as I like them I'm starting to think Ableton or Traktor is the way of the future. It's so liberating not having to bother beatmatching so you can then focus on lots other cool, creative things (looping, layering, 3/4/5 "deck" mixing, effects) and create some really awesome on the fly remixes.

Fuck this elitist "vinyl only because using a laptop is easy" attitude. Get yourself a copy of Ableton, and if you can use it like: Alex Smoke, Richie Hawtin, Dylan Rhymes, Nathan Fake, Ricardo Villalobos, Nic Fanciulli or James Zabiela in a week spending an hour a day on it, then you've got a right to be up yourself and look down on laptop DJs. Odds on it takes thousands of hours of practice to get to that level of understanding and knowledge of that program.

[DJSketch]

I still beatmatch entirely although i use a laptop, its exactly the same when using timecodes. be it CD or wax

but then i have the immense flexibility of being able to drop live loops and samples, basslines or leads over the top (or instead of) the tracks, or loop and fuck with the track itself, glitch it up and twist it till its unrecognizable!
( i dont use the internal mixer, i still route out to the club's mixer)

Give me that anyday over playing 2 records end to end to end to end to end, and so on, i got bored of that and stopped DJing a long time ago until i started doing the digital sets.


( you cant ever remove the fact that motion = attention, so MOVE around, use cdj's and vinyls as well, you should be able to use all mediums at your disposal)

thats not including the live stuff

[DJ D one]

I agree with that Neo said about beatmatching, there is WAY more to DJing than beatmatching.

DJ D One I have no fucken idea what you are on about mate. Technology has progressed yes but it has NOT made DJing easyer. In my opinion Laptop DJing can blur the line between artist and DJ, creating stuff on my fly and incorporating it into a set is wicked!

The reason a club owner will perhaps not be as happy with a DJ and a laptop as a DJ with CDJs/Wax is because it is not as "accapeted" as CDJs and Wax. As soon as people see a laptop they instantly turn away and and don't see you as a DJ.

Lately i have been fooling around on ableton and the potential is has is AMAZING

Oh and you still have to wrap? or warp? in ableton (which word is it?) Thats hard enough

I said I was a real prostitute when it comes to mixers, but thanks DSILVVR, you are a real friend.

PC djing: load and push buttons everything is synchronized for god sake even a monkey could DJ nowadays...prostituting producer's track with other producers samples...well if this is the future then let it be....make my life easier...

DJD1

[Commando Sting]

some people like chocolate ice cream
others like vanilla

i like cookies and cream.

[Andrew Wowk]

^^ It's attitudes like your's that bemuse me, DJ D One. Go try Ableton and tell me it's easy to be an amazing, INTERESTING DJ with it after jumping straight on it

[big eddie]

God this old boy's club idea of vinyl somehow being more worthy for DJing is fucking lame.

If you use your chosen medium well, you're a good DJ. A turntablist in my opinion is no better than someone like Richie Hawtin who uses Ableton like an absolute beast, layering 8 or 9 loops at a time to create a coherent, unique experience every single time he plays. Amazing DJ in my opinion.

On topic though...I have CDJ-1000s, and as much as I like them I'm starting to think Ableton or Traktor is the way of the future. It's so liberating not having to bother beatmatching so you can then focus on lots other cool, creative things (looping, layering, 3/4/5 "deck" mixing, effects) and create some really awesome on the fly remixes.

Fuck this elitist "vinyl only because using a laptop is easy" attitude. Get yourself a copy of Ableton, and if you can use it like: Alex Smoke, Richie Hawtin, Dylan Rhymes, Nathan Fake, Ricardo Villalobos, Nic Fanciulli or James Zabiela in a week spending an hour a day on it, then you've got a right to be up yourself and look down on laptop DJs. Odds on it takes thousands of hours of practice to get to that level of understanding and knowledge of that program.

Most people who whinge about people using laptops are generally fairly generic houce/electro djs whom if you removed the beat matching of the songs, would not have a whole lot else going on.

[DSILVR]

I said I was a real prostitute when it comes to mixers, but thanks DSILVVR, you are a real friend.

PC djing: load and push buttons everything is synchronized for god sake even a monkey could DJ nowadays...prostituting producer's track with other producers samples...well if this is the future then let it be....make my life easier...

DJD1

mate i won't argue with you i am not gonna do that i am a good kid and i respect your opinion each to there own. Hahaha the prostitute thingy ahaha i soo had to quote that no hard feelings? let me know if you want it gone ill get rid of it. ;D

[DSILVR]

DJSketch when you use the clubs mixer. How does that work? Is audio sent to each channel and you control it with the club mixers EQs? What about when you want to drop a sample and all other channels in the mixer are being used but you want to adjust the trebel or bass on the sample?

Sorry for the noob question. I am hell interested in this program and if i could afford it i would buy a whole set up.

[DJ D one]

mate i won't argue with you i am not gonna do that i am a good kid and i respect your opinion each to there own. Hahaha the prostitute thingy ahaha i soo had to quote that no hard feelings? let me know if you want it gone ill get rid of it. ;D

If I remember right, I already had discussed this PC djing subject with probably Neo, if I remember his words were he would fight this to the end of the world or something very similar...

Now if i remember right I never said PC djimg was not valid, just saying some skills are lost to creativity...now may be I am wrong and some skills are lost ot other "skills".

Certainly I will never say there is no future in PC djing, that would be a mistake...and i would certainly not venture in saying I will never be a PC dj...although I already tried...may be for now I am not using the right products...

At the end of the day there is much more to pushing buttons, wether CD TT or PC but as things are right at the moment you need certain skills to be accepted on the scene.

Yes big time DJ use PC, but you know as well as me they for most master the other formats as well...and that is how they got there at the first place. Things will change surely but for now it is how it is.

DSILVR, you know you are taking this line out of context, you know where you got it, can you leave it where it was, like I said when it comes to mixers I would love to try a few and that is why I am saying what I am saying, but I swear to you, if you can spot me on that corner in King Cross and then show me your dick then you can use that line...lo no hard feeling or hard something else...

DJD1

[Neo_]

You still dont get it do you?

Thats fine cos one day you will get it and then you will be all " now i know what these guys are talking about!!!"

[DJSketch]

DJSketch when you use the clubs mixer. How does that work? Is audio sent to each channel and you control it with the club mixers EQs? What about when you want to drop a sample and all other channels in the mixer are being used but you want to adjust the trebel or bass on the sample?

Sorry for the noob question. I am hell interested in this program and if i could afford it i would buy a whole set up.


Hey mate,

thats pretty much spot on,

I route one "i deck" to each mixer channel on the line input.

Most club mixers have at least 4 channels, all with line/line or line/phono switches, making 8 inputs.

I run the decks and or cdj's through the lappy, leaving inputs free on the mixer then send my outputs to individual channels (depending on how many outputs i want to use) i usually have "iDeck" A and B routed to two channels on the mixer controlled by timecodes. ( and usually assigned to X and Y on the fader.

The sample channels A (ableton/guitar) and B(vst host being controlled by a 25 key controller) are running to another channel letting me control eq on them seperately to the decks.

Giving me between 2 and 4 independent channels on the club mixer that act entirely normally. and if i want to play an old record( or going back to back with someone), lol. i just flick it to route back into the appropriate channel on the mixer.

Have a listen to Rhythim trippin this weekend if you're in perth, i;m goin back to back with Jazza.

[Bill]

i'm playing a set this month using traktor 3, 2 midis and the house mixer. as far as i know i'll be the first in perth to do it. it's taken a fuckload of hard work to get to this point, and i'm still not done.

anyone who wants to tell me i'm somehow not as good as the other three guys on the bill just because i'm using a laptop can suck my balls.

[DJSketch]

i'm playing a set this month using traktor 3, 2 midis and the house mixer. as far as i know i'll be the first in perth to do it. it's taken a fuckload of hard work to get to this point, and i'm still not done.

anyone who wants to tell me i'm somehow not as good as the other three guys on the bill just because i'm using a laptop can suck my balls.

niceone, where at? what style do you play?
will come check it out perhaps man.

def not the first in Perth tho lol,
There are a few crew around using traktor now, with controllers or final scratch 2

SerialATA do it every 2nd wed at Breaking point, next gigs are Down at blender on Fri the 15th, up at Bass Assault on June 30, Battle of the beats on July 13th and a few other gigs around the place.

though we use lots of other crap too as in the list i posted before.

Hardware

Laptop, Sony Vaio Dualcore 2.10 - 2Gig Ram
25 key Midi Controller
6 string elec guitar
Boss Distortion Pedals
Final Scratch 2 + timecode vinyl's or cd's
Sampson cardiod stage mic
3630 dual compressor
------
Software

Traktor 2.63 or 3
Ableton live
Vsti host (FL6)

[Bill]

i'm playing minimal x-posure at the velvet lounge on june 30. it'll be fucked up mnml (by fucked up, i mean me)

[DJSketch]

oh niceone!

its crap that its on the same night as bassassault!, i'll probably be heading down to see bock,farq and the boys anyway but i wont be able to stay long.

i'll keep an eye out for ya

[DSILVR]

holy shit heat night club! A friend of mine is playing down there i think. His name is Andy, his DJ name is Randomosity (dunno if i spelt it right) he plays hardcore and Drum and Bass you know him Sketch?

[DJ D one]

You still dont get it do you?

Thats fine cos one day you will get it and then you will be all " now i know what these guys are talking about!!!"

Point taken, maybe if I care to give it a try I might (or I will) see things differently.
For now my laptop sucks so I may need to get a laptop dedicated for it if I want to give it a try.
It would be goold to know if amongst deejays that use PCs there is a prefered laptop brand and configuration that perform better...

And thanks for expressing your opinion without the need to actually insult ne unlike some other guy...

DJD1

[Andrew Wowk]

^^ You haven't even tried it before?!

How can you base your opinion on anything without actually trying it?

I used to think Ableton was a cop-out too. Then I spent 2 hours on it at a friend's place and had the most fun I've had mixing in years. Try it before you come across as ignorant because your comments are based on nothing, lord knows I wish I had.

PS who insulted you? I don't see anybody directly insulting you...

[Bracko]

OK.. Buy cd dj's i bought a bcd2000 it was awsome to learn on. But trust me you can use this for live work. Computers are way to unstable to risk. somtimes my bcd2000 crashes windows and restarts the whole computers. Im now looking to get some decks!

thats what happens when you buy half arsed consumer products.

pro gear or GTFO

[Neo_]

^^^

There isn't anything wrong with them as a controller at all.
Everyone knows that behringer make cheap stuff, but their BCR/ BCF and the BCD are awesome value for money.

Use them as a controller, forget about their software.

[DJ D one]

^^ You haven't even tried it before?!

How can you base your opinion on anything without actually trying it?

I used to think Ableton was a cop-out too. Then I spent 2 hours on it at a friend's place and had the most fun I've had mixing in years. Try it before you come across as ignorant because your comments are based on nothing, lord knows I wish I had.

PS who insulted you? I don't see anybody directly insulting you...

Buddy I tried computer mixing back in 02 and it was not that great, then I got that BCD and is not that great either...the all setup might have not been setup correctly and most definitely perhaps not using the right software and PC. So my comment are based on that.
Are you a clairvoyant!!!

D1

[electroanarchy]

Isn't embracing new technology what electronic music is all about? Pushing the boundaries of creativity?

While I may only be a CD / Vinyl DJ, I can certainly see the enormous potential of laptops.

A good friend of mine has been doing some amazing things in Ableton Live simply using a controller and his Nord Lead 2.

Time and money allowing, I would love to learn more about laptop mixing / creation.

[SoulWhiteMan]

^^ You haven't even tried it before?!

How can you base your opinion on anything without actually trying it?

I used to think Ableton was a cop-out too. Then I spent 2 hours on it at a friend's place and had the most fun I've had mixing in years. Try it before you come across as ignorant because your comments are based on nothing, lord knows I wish I had.

PS who insulted you? I don't see anybody directly insulting you...

i know what you're saying, the antagonism came from most people watching "standard" shitty house/electro mixing in clubs, end to end. The feeling became "ableton is for lazy coonts who can't be bothered pushing some buttons on decks"

Zabiela, Mangan , Coldcut, people who push its capabilities produce great music, and I'm all for it being just a "djin" tool if used for shit OTHER THAN JUST MIXING.

Also, most of psy trance is replicated on laptops and performed that way and inspirational artists like OTT and Sphongle use laptops only pretty much.....

you mean to tell me you're going to be out in the bush as one with the movement of the trees and suddenly poo-poo the music because of a computer? maens?

[Andrew Wowk]

Buddy I tried computer mixing back in 02 and it was not that great, then I got that BCD and is not that great either...the all setup might have not been setup correctly and most definitely perhaps not using the right software and PC. So my comment are based on that.
Are you a clairvoyant!!!

D1

Forgive me for thinking you hadn't given you said this...

Point taken, maybe if I care to give it a try I might (or I will) see things differently.


:rainman:

[Neo_]

Now i am all confused :lol:

[andreas]

My biggest problem is that with the rise in popularity in programs such as Ableton comes
with the consequential increase in fcking ppl who just want to be a dj so they can be up there
in front of their mates and scoring chicks. (Until recently I didnt think these people existed
but alas I have proven myself wrong)

I think that Ableton (& like programs) are fantastic creative tools for people who love their
music and take the time to learn about what they are doing. In the wrong hands however???

For instance (based on someone I know) if Wowk where to put in the same effort into Ableton
as he does into his current DJing I am sure his show would be nothing short of spectacular,
loops, samples effects, mash ups etc. (PROPS I know but well deserved)

Let me just preface my rant with the information that I am currently looking at getting traktor
and burning all of my vinyl to computer to do away with the hassle and open up a heap
of new creative opportunities.. (flame away)

[DJ D one]

^^Man...In the sense where I should try Ableton Live...sorry for the confusion!!!

[archietech]

i think that the to the OP's question isn't really valid and would argue that the two identified forms of disc jockeying aren't mutually exclusive; ie, you don't have to do one or the other...

i use:

final scratch 2 (on decks and cdjs)
3 decks
2 cdjs
trigger finger
49 key midi keyboard
pc computey machine
g3 apple loltop
traktor 3 + ableton + reason + absynth

i find that for me it's totally swings and roundabouts; each time i muck around i'll be using different combos of the stuff i have. sometimes i won't use decks / cdjs, sometimes i won't use the computer and associated things, sometimes midi + cdjs etc etc etc until sometimes i have everything going which is pretty nutty. at the moment i seem to be spending a lot of time mucking around with making drums in reason while playing and then sorta transferring the music source onto the putey etc. quite a lot of possibilities! each to their own.

[Bill]

traktor 3 + ableton + reason + absynth


http://www.clemsontalk.com/gallery/files/1/4/7/7/fappery.gif

[blop]

laptop djing is fucking easy,
my friend whos never touched a mixing program mastered laptop djing in about 2 hours.
whoever says it hard to be creative on a laptop,
creativity is the easiest on a laptop.

[DJ D one]

i was sure i posted this question before, but i can't find it now. Was it deleted?

anyhow

Laptop and controller vs Cd Decks. Whats better. what do u like and give a reason

are cd players better with hands on fast mixing and tricks?

do laptops with music folders easier cause of track location and more creative cause you can see the tracks down the list quicker than in a folder?

thanks

iam wanting to buy a new system come xmas time

As you can see it is quiet a debate, but for simplicity get some CD players...the reason being it is less complicated to get started. PC djing is interesting but I think it does take more patience to go over the right components to get, to set it up correctly. Soon or later you will definitely have more interest in all type of djing gears, and you learn as you go...surely if you think djing with a PC can be less expensive because you already have a laptop or PC well you quickly find out that this is not the case specially if you want to get some serious gear.

D1

[DSILVR]

ahhahahahahhahahahah ^^ at my quote u funny prick lol

[newjack]

As you can see it is quiet a debate, but for simplicity get some CD players...the reason being it is less complicated to get started. PC djing is interesting but I think it does take more patience to go over the right components to get, to set it up correctly. Soon or later you will definitely have more interest in all type of djing gears, and you learn as you go...surely if you think djing with a PC can be less expensive because you already have a laptop or PC well you quickly find out that this is not the case specially if you want to get some serious gear.

D1


i may have posted the wording wrongly, iam not new to the game at all, i had cd player for 8 years all up. i got a DJM600 8 years ago and have turntables also. but after having used cd player but simple ones i was thinking it may pay of to look into the future and see what others are using these days. ive had 18mths off collecting and last 2 weeks back to reading charts and release sheets for hours on end like tha old days.

ive used the cdj800's i think they were and had good fun on them, but iam not cashed up and not for a long time now... Now that i can't mix and want to make some new sample demo's was thinkin bout an option for the short term also

if ya wanna check out me music taste and history its all on me dj site.

iam into

House, funky breaks, funky house, commerical everything, NO ELECTRO WHAT SO EVER< RnB Hip Hop. History with Happy HardCore, NRG, Techno, Trance, all kinds of dance.

if you like Artist info a few years back i spent weeks on a Detailed site of Artists just so new kids could learn from it. I spose when i came on here and asked a question i copped shit being a Top40 Dj. then i decided to create the links pages for Artists and Dance Music INfo

thanks for your advice also but

[Dj Hempenhymer]

I doubt this is enough to join the "heated Debate" but...

I jumped on a Pc-Dj with minimal skills as a dj and threw something down right there and then, easy as pie, no skill needed. everything matched up perfect sounded great.

I have a set of turntables right next to me at this moment and still to this day cant "throw down" what i did in the whole time i was sitting behind that pc screen. Now im either a shit dj with no learning skills or it just shows how "easy" it has become. im far to stubborn to sell off my gear and go the CDJ/PC-DJ route, because i feel there is alot more to Learn AND appriciate being behind a set of turntables. Im sure you can all beg to differ also....

Whats next, is the "dj" going to walk up on stage insert a premixed cd press the play button and then go sit by the bar for the next hour untill the next so called "dj" plays. :stroke:

[Andrew Wowk]

^^ If all you did was blend one track in to another, yeah PC DJing is easy.

But if you use Ableton/Traktor whatever to just blend one track in to the next, you're a fucking hack at DJing.

I think people don't realise that "laptop" DJing isn't the same as playing records.

[Dj Hempenhymer]

I guess your right andrew wowk i should see a pro in action behind a laptop set up and then see how all goes, the idea seems so cheesy to me but im sure i can find some appriciation in it

[DJ D one]

i may have posted the wording wrongly, iam not new to the game at all, i had cd player for 8 years all up. i got a DJM600 8 years ago and have turntables also. but after having used cd player but simple ones i was thinking it may pay of to look into the future and see what others are using these days. ive had 18mths off collecting and last 2 weeks back to reading charts and release sheets for hours on end like tha old days.

ive used the cdj800's i think they were and had good fun on them, but iam not cashed up and not for a long time now... Now that i can't mix and want to make some new sample demo's was thinkin bout an option for the short term also

if ya wanna check out me music taste and history its all on me dj site.

iam into

House, funky breaks, funky house, commerical everything, NO ELECTRO WHAT SO EVER< RnB Hip Hop. History with Happy HardCore, NRG, Techno, Trance, all kinds of dance.

if you like Artist info a few years back i spent weeks on a Detailed site of Artists just so new kids could learn from it. I spose when i came on here and asked a question i copped shit being a Top40 Dj. then i decided to create the links pages for Artists and Dance Music INfo

thanks for your advice also but

That put the subject in a different perspective, but the truth is wether you go with TT with CD with PC, it all come at a cost and PC isn't necessarly the cheapest option, specially if you want to get a new laptop that can handle it.

I never was too Electro, but the kind of energy it gets out grew in me lately.

D1

PS: Travis no hard feeling, but one thing I learnt in life, is not to do to others what you don't want others to do to you...so thanks to have been reasonable. We might not always agree but there is no need to play politician's game.

[bootytronic]

^^ If all you did was blend one track in to another, yeah PC DJing is easy.

But if you use Ableton/Traktor whatever to just blend one track in to the next, you're a fucking hack at DJing.

Man this kind of attitude I hear from new djs all the time and it's just plain wrong. DJing is simply about playing tunes and telling a story with it. All that epeleptic knob twiddling, reworking tracks on the fly, laying 100 samples over each other ... well it might give a bit of personality to the storyteller I suppose but realistically I put it on par with waving your hands in the air or dancing behind the decks (I'm not against any of these things, nor am I condemning as hacks people that do them). Way I see it, if you don't like the way your tracks sound to begin with then spend some time in the lab giving them your personal touch before you take them out.

The worst bit is that somehow this conception that this is what djing is about has infected clubbing punters as well.

[bootytronic]

Back to the original question. I can def see the benefit in having lots and lots of tunes at your disposal when you play out. It's just that in it's current incarnation laptop djing is making the whole thing more complex not less complex. And I'm not comfortable with this just yet,

[Laptopexcursion]

^^

I think people don't realise that "laptop" DJing isn't the same as playing records.


And there seems to not be an understanding of the difference between using a virtual dj etc etc laptop mixing program, and using a laptop with FS/serato.

[saad]

At home, its more fun to DJ using vinyl and CDs etc, its easier to pretend you have a crowd :) Genrally, you'll be sitting down at home, with Ableton, but standing with decks, as your computer is on a desk, maybe thats wy?

And I dont know why, but whenever I pull off a mix that just works soooooo well, it makes me smile. I do the same in Ableton, it dont make me smile.

Ableotn is mad,, DJing with it can be good fun, but thing is, the crowd dont give a shit or appreciate you creativeness. So it back to just playing awesome records, with straight mixing.

[Bracko]

Back to the original question. I can def see the benefit in having lots and lots of tunes at your disposal when you play out. It's just that in it's current incarnation laptop djing is making the whole thing more complex not less complex. And I'm not comfortable with this just yet,

cheese played by an awesome DJ is still a world better than awesome tracks played by a hack.

its not what tracks you have, but how you don't massacre them ;)

[Commando Sting]

pffttt

all laptop djs are hacks

[beatfreakn]

Its a simple as each form of djing has its own skills and techniques. Whatever your choice is for you to start cutting shit will most likely take you a lot of dedicated hours of pratice and what not.

Respect other peoples way of getting there music across to you. They are both completely different ways of playing and each has there own techniques and tricks. Each has there own equally hard things to learn and overcome. Regardless to become really good in these ways you must have put in some time... so kudos to that.

If your making the music flow and makin me dance then i dont give a shitay what your playing on.

[akashanelson]

^^here, here Marty! Well put... I agree 100%, I don't give a stuff what you use, as long as you do it well and it stimulates me!


p.s. and for those of you who think ableton is cheating or... it is as simple as plug and play... then you aint used it!! I've been trying to incorporate it in both my sets as well as production and I haven't even chipped the surface of this beast!!


Go on then... try to use all this coherently in a live set

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2174/thespacestationii2.jpg

[chico_brisbane]

Sweet setup man

[Dj Hempenhymer]

fukn nice gear man!! lol damn..

[Spectrum]

cheese played by an awesome DJ is still a world better than awesome tracks played by a hack.

its not what tracks you have, but how you don't massacre them ;)


Those awesome tracks would have to be pretty hacked for me to :bow: down to an awesome DJ playing cheese.

Not sure how "awesome DJ" and "cheese" go together in the first place.

On second thougts, I can imagain some pretty hacked up once-was-awesome tunage. :(

[Spectrum]

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2174/thespacestationii2.jpg

Looks 'sif those 1200s are gettin' dusty again, Al. ;D

[Ralph Wiggum]

Fuck me there's some jaded cunts in here.

I do a lot of laptop sets out and about and the comments I get back from the club owners, promoters and groovers are nothing but complimentary. I haven't really got a clue on how to beat match properly but have hired some cdj's to learn the basics so I can incorporate my laptop and cdjs at the same time. Now that's exciting!

For those who have said that I am cheating to my face and I shouldn't be allowed to play, amazingly you are the ones that aren't getting any gigs anywhere as you are jaded shit cunt's.

Come and hear/see me play and then make your opinion, but be constructive with your criticism, not just, "fkn cheater" and I will happily take that on board :)

[Andrew Wowk]

Werd you Melbourne cunt.

[Ralph Wiggum]

:thumb:


When are you coming to Melbourne town??

[newjack]

Fuck me there's some jaded ****s in here.

I do a lot of laptop sets out and about and the comments I get back from the club owners, promoters and groovers are nothing but complimentary. I haven't really got a clue on how to beat match properly but have hired some cdj's to learn the basics so I can incorporate my laptop and cdjs at the same time. Now that's exciting!

For those who have said that I am cheating to my face and I shouldn't be allowed to play, amazingly you are the ones that aren't getting any gigs anywhere as you are jaded shit ****'s.

Come and hear/see me play and then make your opinion, but be constructive with your criticism, not just, "fkn cheater" and I will happily take that on board :)


its almost the same thing going back 3-5 years ago when everyone said there was no talent in cd djing. Now everyone is doing it. There is way more to djing than just mixing or what you mix with

so many people don't understand this and the young kid who thinks he is king shit cause he can beatmix perfectly but has nobody dancing in front of him or people having fun cause he is eating out his own ass as someone once told me

i have to check out this program soon, thinkin off getting a new laptop and mp3 mixer and selling my club mixer but keep 1 turntable just for the fun of it. Theres no fun in being broke all the time but

[akashanelson]

Looks 'sif those 1200s are gettin' dusty again, Al. ;D

lol! it's danger of drowning in the lake that appeared in my house due to all the freakin rain atm!!!

[timmyb]

You all need to see Surkin use Ableton. The guy is a freak. Even Wowk wrote the young lad some praise in his welove review.

I like the idea of laptops. I think if you know your tunes inside out, can unleash your creative flair through the program and know how to structure a set and genuinely love what you do then you deserve recognition for using Ableton. Give credit where it is due.

When you eventually become good enough to use a lappy in a club what would you need. Besides the obvious laptop, and Ableton. What soundcard and mixers would you need? If anything else?

[saad]

depends how you operate. If you want to use the house mixer to mix with, somehting like an Ultra Lite is great for its 8 outs, so thats 4 stereo stracks, then u can actually mix and eq with the club mixer, as well as use its effect.

If you want to mix in the box, then somethign like a M audio audiphole fireqire is fine, as u just need a separate headphone out to monitor and cue with (although u dont really need to cue per se, if u know ur tunes perfect. Max Graham doesnt use headphones wiht Ableton). Then a MIDI controller, like the BCF or BCR, or the Evolution UC 33e, and your set.

[Commando Sting]

the problem is not enough clubs factor in a laptop

takes a fair whack of mucking around to get set up

[nicnac]

that depends on your set up