Question for you DJ's/bedroom DJ's....

OllieNotts

OllieNotts

Well-Known Member
Are you still spinning vinyl be it in your spare time or in the clubs?
I want to buy some decks now and my mate has told me to forget vinyl as a lot of music isnt being produced on it anymore due to "digital record labels" and thinks I will become fustrated at not being able to get some music I really want. He had CDJ's untill earlier this year when he sold them and bought a controller for his laptop but I would prefer a proper set up when I take the plunge.
I have signed up to a DJ course at my college(free one for 4 weeks) so I can have a go before I buy as I may not even like it.
Lastly where do you get the music from be it vinyl or download? I normally download most music from soundcloud these days as there is sooo much of it but I would love to be able to mix the stuff myself :D I know of beatport but that is about it, my favourite music is techno and tech house. Maybe house at a push and some garage classics for old times sake :lol:
 
ideally you would want to learn to mix on turntables aor at least cdjs first, but to be honest mate just go for a midi controller in this day and age.

i started off with vinyl, then added cds, then sold the vinyl due to the price of buying tracks. eventually i sold my cds aswell. But im so glad i learned to mix properly (without the sync button!!)

Tell me your budget and il recomend a few products.

And theres loads of digitial download sites besides beatport, i personally find beatpor a bit hard to use i like djdownload.com
 
If you do decide to get some vinyl I'd recommend buying tunes off discogs.com. Full of people who know their stuff and never had a problem.

Shame it has gone the way of CD's and laptops etc it just doesnt feel the same any more.
 
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You cant beat the feeling of having vinyl in your hands when you DJ....its part of the whole experience for me.

I do use laptop(for convenience of not having to carry around heavy cd cases) but I dont like it...... so most times I burn tracks and playlists I need onto CD and use cdj's and a mixer.

Plus playing CD's, changing them around and lining them up keeps me busy and moving with the crowd when I DJ. Also keeps people away from annoying you to play some cheesy track......
 
I've collected records for a while and have just bought another Technics 1210 which means I am starting out mixing.

Have no intention of playing "out" at all so it suits me fine, especially as 99% of the music I want is on vinyl. In fact it works the other way for me - as I have no need to be "current" and adore/discover loads of older tunes all the time, I can find them more easily on vinyl!

It is expensive but it's more of a hobby and wanting to have a physical record which is perfect sound quality.

Agreed about discogs too, bought loads of second-hand stuff and it's all been in pretty good condition!
 
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Cheers!
I dont have a budget yet, gonna get on this course which starts in begining of nov I think and then see what happens. I dont wanna spend £500 on some used technics and a mixer and not use them or be moaning because I cant hold of records I want. I like watching DJ's use proper records it looks so much better then a laptop :roll: I doubt very much I will ever be good enough or lucky enough to play some pumping techno to a bouncing crowd in euphoria :lol: Would be nice though hehe
CDJ's are quite expensive initially but tracks are so cheap it wouldnt take long to get going, but the money I save could buy loads of records..... I guess I dont know what I want but thanks for the feedback :D
 
OlskiNotts said:
I guess I dont know what I want but thanks for the feedback :D
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Vinyl wouldn't be so bad if, like you say, you don't ever see yourself playing a club. I guess everyone says that, but you can worry about it further down the line. It's 100% worth learning to beat match without a BPM counter / sync though.

Remember too, it's the quality of the records not the quantity ;)
 
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Boon said:
Vinyl wouldn't be so bad if, like you say, you don't ever see yourself playing a club. I guess everyone says that, but you can worry about it further down the line. It's 100% worth learning to beat match without a BPM counter / sync though.

Remember too, it's the quality of the records not the quantity ;)
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Cheers, think I'd like to learn on vinyl as it's the original way. As far as music goes I have no idea other then listening to the likes of Väth, lorber, hawtin etc(cocoon dj's) and I love many others to but don't know too many of the 'tunes' where/how do I get that knowledge? Must admit I'm a tad(lots) jealous of the itk folk on here with track ids your knowledge is amazing 8) I guess it's a compliment to the hard work you guys have put in over time I know it's not something you learn over night but I would like to start :)
Thanks again, defo decided to learn on vinyl(I think :D) and then 'progress' the natural way and at the same time try to expand my knowledge on music especially non commercial.

As an after thought, excuse me as I'm sitting outside the local in the sun and the beer 'may have gone to ones head' :lol:
 
you could buy a digital vinyl software, such as serato, or one the cheapest one seems to be intimidation touch, which has good reviews. You would need to buy turntables and a digital mixer aswell, but you dont have to buy technics, although they would be best.

If you are not familiar with the way serato etc work, in short, You have two timecoded vinyl that you use in exactly the same way as normal vinyl except you are controlling and manipulating mp3 via dj software (such as Traktor). The benifits are the vinyl feel but the use of mp3s.

to repeat what others have said, nothing beats the feel of mixing vinyl, but in this modern age i just couldnt recomend a starting out dj to buy vinyl turntables. Very few of the top djs are still playing vinyl, and its probly only because they are in a position finacially etc to buy them.
 
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If I were you i'd get some form of CD/mp3 decks. plenty of cheap second hand ones going around these days and you'll save so much money on time on finding the music that you want.

You'll find alot of songs these days won't be made on vinyl anymore. I tried starting on on my mates vinyl years back and did enjoy it but i certainly have alot more fun having a bigger range of tracks to be able to pick from .
 
I think I have a pair decks you could have kicking around in storage somewhere. I learned to mix on turntables but never tried the digital thing - really want to do it, actually.

"Back in the day" we used to have private house parties all the time and bring our white labels along to open decks sessions. Else it would only be raves - the clubs playing stuff we liked were few and far between, money was tight etc etc.

Playing vinyl is great but storing it if you start moving around is a nightmare. A couple of years ago it nearly broke my heart when the market for 89-2000 era stuff virtually dried up and with a gun to my head / on account of the logistics of carting a collection in to London or Birmingham to realize very little I gave about 1,500 vinyl singles to a friend of a friend (never heard from again). They had cost me nearly £10,000.

I will probably get a converter, move the rest of my stuff onto mp3 then get rid of the remainder of the vinyl. Sadly it's a fact that vinyl warps in the heat, doesn't take kindly to carton-storage and takes up a h**l of a lot of space. Reluctantly, I reckon it's time to start "letting go" :( .. but :twisted:8) there's a modern alternative with a world of wonderful new music to explore ! You can rip most of the old stuff quite easily with the right software ??
 
Fook me I am confused now :lol: Totally get the vinyl thing, good as it "was" we have moved on. My laptop is defo not up to any kind of mixing with traktor although it looks wicked it just doesnt seem like its what I want. Hope that makes sense?
I was worried I would by second hand CD's on ebay or preloved and they'd be crap as I dont know owt about em :D At least I'd get a sort of feel for the decks, but then as I am going to college soonish to have a bah on theirs I suppose I will make my own mind up, I just find it is good reading what you guys who know what you are on about giving advice first. I know you arent all gonna agree but its good to hear plus and minus from both sides. :)
Edit....Kim......£10,000??? You mad **** :lol:
 
It used to be £6.99 for a 12" UK single / £12.99 for an import .. sometimes £20-£30 for a white label/promo. Didn't take long to rack up £10,000 !!

At least now you can listen to the mixes and only buy the remix you want, not a pack of 8 on a double-12" in order to get one track !

You can see why we had no money left to go out with and wound up drinking homebrew and making friends with botanists who knew their way around a mushroom patch :lol: !!!!!!
 
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