Been bedroom Djing for about 5 years on and off, played a few records in bars here and there (usually cutting in on my mates' sets when drunk) but tomorrow I'm playing out in a club/bar by myself - sh!t
The owner of the bar tells me has just bought some CDJ1000's. Now, i'm no stranger to CD decks, but never played on the 1000s or 800s come to think of it.
All you regular Djs out there, have you any tips on the decks and just playing out in general.
I'd like to say I don't get phased very easily, so a missed beat here or there won't be enough to make me run home crying, but you know...just thought i'd ask!
Thanks.
Get there early. Bloody Early.
Have your first 3 records lined up in your head before you leave the house. Practice this mix over and over and over again.
If you have to mix in at the end of the next record, get in there with the headphones on as soon as you possibly can (to give yo longer to get used to the adjustment). Make sure your first records quite long too.
With the CDJ's, press the button to the top right of the wheel (if necessary, it's just really a switch) so that it says CDJ mode (i.e. NOT Vinyl mode. It' smore than likely your current decks will be more like the cdj mode, even though pretty much everyone prefers vinyl mode. If you're not used to vinyl mode, it might confuse you)
Re: Mixers, you should be fine. The only thing that gets me when I play out, is that if your used to controlling the mix between the actual mixer output and the selected channel (i.e. the master/cue knob on a pioneer mixer), then some of them don't have this facility, and it's just a case of all (cue's) channels or nothing.
Oh, and IMO never give ANYONE the idea it's your first time! This is important for the confidence. Whilst it's probably preferable to act all shy and defensive, punters and dj's and the ilk might see this as a weakness. Fair enough ask for advice from the DJ you're following on from if "you haven't used that particular equipment before", but try and keep it to a minimum.
Oh, and most importantly RELAX! Art the end of the day look at it this way: MILLIONS of people do this kind of thing (playing out) and I dare say the balance of numbers means that you aren't even
close to being at the bottom end of this spectrum. EVERYONE feels (or felt) like you do now, it's natural, just be confident that within 3 records time (JUST like everyone else) you'll be at one with the music just as if you're round your pals house, only this time you'll have loads of guys appreciating you and telling you how great you are!
Enjoy!
