What gear do I need to start mixing? Noob question

[patto1234]

Ok I have been totally in love with trance music for many years now and have recently gotten a hold of Virtual dj 5 and the mixing bug has bitten. I've decided I wanna start mixing but I have no idea what gear I need. There seems to be so many choices.

I want to mix cd's and/or mp3's. I assume for cd's I will need 2 cd players and a mixer? Is there anything else I need? What is a good/cheap setup. I don't wanna spend alot.
For mp3's I assume I will need a laptop and a mixer. Do I need cd players as well? Anything else?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

[plan-b]

Ok I have been totally in love with trance music for many years now and have recently gotten a hold of Virtual dj 5 and the mixing bug has bitten. I've decided I wanna start mixing but I have no idea what gear I need. There seems to be so many choices.

I want to mix cd's and/or mp3's. I assume for cd's I will need 2 cd players and a mixer? Is there anything else I need? What is a good/cheap setup. I don't wanna spend alot.
For mp3's I assume I will need a laptop and a mixer. Do I need cd players as well? Anything else?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!
OK... decide on whether you wanna do the laptop DJing thing or the CD DJing thing...

I've never really gotten into laptop DJing, but you'll a laptop first, and some software... Virtual DJ'll do the trick, as will other software... best thing to do is to hit up a few demo versions and decide what you like... eventually you might get bored with it and wanna add toys like bigger/better soundcard and other hardware interfaces...

most CDJ's these days play mp3's, but I still prefer to burn them as audio to play out... you'll need two cdj's and a mixer for this...

you'll need headphones and speakers either way

I'm look at something from denon/pioneer for the cdjs, and something from american audio, numark, denon or pioneer for a mixer... keep an eye out in the trading post etc as complete kits pop up from time to time.... I'd suggest heading into a store and trying out a few bits of kit etc... and if possible have a play around... music is an expensive hobby and there's nothing worse than shelving out a couple of grand and discovering it's not for you...

[Bracko]

good and cheap aren't two words you put together.

what's you budget, do you have speakers and headphones already?

[patto1234]

Yeah I think I would be leaning towards cdj rather than laptop. As for good and cheap not going together I understand this. What I meant was I want something that can do the job, thats suitable for a beginner and doesnt cost an arm and a leg. I don't currently have speakers but am really only looking to do this as a "bedroom dj" rather than performing. So speakers don't need to be too crazy. So pretty much all I need is cd players, mixer, speakers and headphones and I should be able to get some decent sounds?? Do most mixers have pc connection capabilities, say for recording mixes etc?

[gamblore]

There is a thread about recording, you don't need 'pc connection capabilities' to record.

There is a thread about the best CDJ to buy as well, browse through them or search it.

There is a thread about headphones.

You should be able to use speakers that you have laying around the house to start off.

And to start, just find a secondhand, 2 channel mixer somewhere. E.g. Buying and Selling forum, eBay, friend, etc.

[Bracko]

CDJ's - $800 - $1200
mixer - $400
speakers $300
headphones - $100-$250

the issue with CDJ's is that you will blame them for not being able to mix if you get true beginner CD players as they have 0.1% pitch increments. the pioneer CDJ 200 is the cheapest unit that has 0.02% pitch increments.

also you have to factor the music that you will, you know.... BUY as well.

forget about recording for the meanwhile, just get a mixer with 2 outputs.

cheapest option that isn't completely shit.
tascam CD-DJ 1 x2 =$800
numark DXM 06 mixer =$400
sennhiser HD215 = $130
behringer 2031A powered monitors = $580

that's list price on everything.

$1910

expect to save possibly 20% on everything if you know how to bargin. do not expect anyone here to do it for you.

it would have saved me 15 min of looking up prices if you HAD JUST GIVEN ME A FUCKING BUDGET like i asked for. there's no use going into DJing if you're a 1st year uni student scrimping and saving for that one last beer on sunday night at the local, or ditto for that last pill at trAnSm1s5i0n~!!@@!!~!~! GrNu!!

[Bill]

i play from a laptop. i use:

traktor 3 US$229
evolution uc-17 midi controller US$79.95
numark dj i/o external soundcard AUS$200
laptop was about AUS$1200
numark phx headphones AUS$170
currently saving for an a&h xone92 mixer AUS$2300

avoid buying cheap shit equipment as it's just that, cheap and shitty.

dj'ing - serious business :rainman:

[SparkyMark]

How does the evolution controller handle? Any good?

[Bill]

yeah, it's good. mapping it out to how i wanted took some time, but was worth the effort. it's got some quirks though. it defaults to double press on the buttons, (two presses for on, two for off), which is useless if you're trying to play. luckily you can give that the arse.

for a starter midi it's certainly worth a look

[defected819]

Alot of the noob threads a very similar. Maybe there needs to be some kinda sticky thread for noobs regarding set ups etc.

[crazy_tripper]

yeah people really need to do about 2 minutes research before posting a thread

[Bill]

why search when you can submit?

[patto1234]

Everytime I type something to search it comes back with nothing. Am i supposed to do something special to get results?

[patto1234]

BTW thanks to all those who have replied and helped me out. It has given me something to work with. And I agree that someone should make a sticky of a thread which outlines the basics for setups for beginners.

[gamblore]

Or a sticky thread for n00bs to tell them to search. At least browse the rest of the page, nearly everything you need is in the first page FFS! :slap:

[plan-b]

Or a sticky thread for n00bs to tell them to search. At least browse the rest of the page, nearly everything you need is in the first page FFS! :slap:
might help if Search was enabled

[crazy_tripper]

as if there aren't at least 5 threads about what gear to buy on the first page of this forum

[patto1234]

as if there aren't at least 5 threads about what gear to buy on the first page of this forum
Um yeah there are if you know about gear already. They were all referring to equipment. I just wanna know what I need to get to set myself up. I wasn't particularly asking for a shopping list of goods. Just some advice as to what to look for, what is good and what isn't.
And the search mechanism isn't working anyway, well at least it hasn't been for me since I've joined so its been impossible to search. Otherwise I would have and saved myself the time and effort of starting a thread.

[Bracko]

www.google.com

[gamblore]

as if there aren't at least 5 threads about what gear to buy on the first page of this forum

Exactly, thank you!

[pomrocks]

and something from american audio,...


oh noes dont do that!

[DJ D one]

Ok I have been totally in love with trance music for many years now and have recently gotten a hold of Virtual dj 5 and the mixing bug has bitten. I've decided I wanna start mixing but I have no idea what gear I need. There seems to be so many choices.

I want to mix cd's and/or mp3's. I assume for cd's I will need 2 cd players and a mixer? Is there anything else I need? What is a good/cheap setup. I don't wanna spend alot.
For mp3's I assume I will need a laptop and a mixer. Do I need cd players as well? Anything else?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Before you can buy anything, you need to work out a budget, think it has been mentionned before...how much are you willing to spend? Then your options will be dictated by what your budget is.

D1

[Bracko]

oh noes dont do that!

I've heard reports their gear is improving.... i'd still never buy it though.