New to DJing or production? Need help or advice? Post here

Maserati23

Ok Lads I am Fifty..... I have prused the threads here and I am still lost.

I understand technology has passed me out, but I have most of the equipment for the last 3 months and have never used it publically. I have been offered 2 gigs a week in my local establishments but I am afraid I will make a mess of it.

Dont get me wrong I have the bottle, just a bit naive in terms of technology:mad:.

I was Joint DJ of the year with Garett O Callaghan in 1982......So I am good at waffling. Also I need the money badly.

I hope you can reply in lay terms to my questions, I really would appreciate your help.

I purchased a newmark mixer (4 channell) with combined twin cd decks, speakers, a monitor for karaoeke a 1000 watt amp, and all the usual stuff including a separate direct live recording machine.

I also purchased the laptop software and 30.000 songs and karaoke music on a separate hard disc.

The chap who sold me the stuff told me to use Nordbeat software for mp3's , which only plays one song at a time. If required I can switch to Karaoeke by using winanp? This is all very confusing to me, even when practising on the rig. My output to the amp comes from my "headphone" socket on the mixer!!

I dont think that is the proper way of setting it up but the chap who sold me the gear says thats the way he was using it.

What I really would like would be able to que up 2 songs at a time (not one) and also switch to Karaoeke when required with ease. And lastly I would like a True sound pumping out from the speakers.

The gigs I have are in the 30 to 60 age group so I will not require much intricate mixing or using jog wheels etc.

I really would appreciate your help with the above so I can go out a make a few bob without worrying that I cant master the tech stuff.


Thanking you for reading my post anyhow.

I was well known in the 80's media wise, so its a big come down for me to have to nearly beg for help, but to be honest sitting here is not paying the bills.

Cheers:P:cool:

electrogrimey

Maserati23 wrote: »

The chap who sold me the stuff told me to use Nordbeat software for mp3's , which only plays one song at a time. If required I can switch to Karaoeke by using winanp? This is all very confusing to me, even when practising on the rig. My output to the amp comes from my "headphone" socket on the mixer!!

Do you mean to use this software for playing non-kareoke songs? Why not just use the CD decks and only use the software for karaoke?

I don't know much about karaoke, but to me it sounds like what you need to do is put the CD decks through 2 channels on the mixer, and then get an audio interface like the NI Audio 2 DJ so you can take 2 channels out of the laptop for kareoke and put them through channels 3+4 of the mixer. Then you take the master RCA output from the back of the mixer to the amp.

I've no idea about kareoke software, maybe they don't need 2 channels, in which case you could just get a 3.5mm line-in to RCA cable and take it from your line-out on your laptop to a channel on the mixer.

ED E

Agree with above.

On the headphone jack thing, thats wrong. From what I know the impedances/voltages on line out and monitor are different, and thats gonna destroy the volume controls on your mixer as the monitor has one master volume, while normally you have the two sliders for volume. You should be using line out from the mixer to the amp. I'll do a rough sketch of the connections now, but if you could post the make/model of all your different bits and pieces it would help us to help you.

If you use PCDJVJ on your computer(not to dear I think) you can select karaoke mode and use two "decks", but without a controller you would be fading from song to song with a mouse/trackpad.

ED E

MS Paint....what can I say, no corel on this PC.

electrogrimey

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

If you use PCDJVJ on your computer(not to dear I think) you can select karaoke mode and use two "decks", but without a controller you would be fading from song to song with a mouse/trackpad.

If this was a problem you could get something really simple like a Korg NanoKontrol and map it to whatever controls you needed.

Maserati23

Appreciate all your answers, but I am a little bit confused. I will post all of my equipment later, maybe you will get a better idea.

Thanks

44thservice

alryt lads iv a few quetions iv been around dj's for to long and i would like to start my self im just confused on where to start and which software would be the easy'st to start off with ??one of my favorite dj's uses the evoulution uc33e(he uses it live and aswell as a mixer but doesnt use the cdj's) ??thats a controller i know that but will it work with the likes of sratch and traktor pro??would it do what the likes of a neumark stealth/omni control would do? jus plug in and play ?? i dont have alot of money at the moment so im lookin for reasonable gear and i cnt afford decks and a mixer so im looking to go from my macbook pro
cheers lads

hans aus dtschl

44th, you seem reasonably aware of what's out there right now:

A few things to think about:

Some "controllers" have a sound card incorporated. Others just control.

If you were to get a copy of ableton live lite (often comes free with controllers), you could use your computer's internal soundcard and control that software even just using the mouse.

The uc33e will work with traktor pro etc, and anything with midi-mapping ability.

Don't get too hung up on which controllers to buy: you wont notice much difference as a beginner. Once you get into it a bit, you can upgrade pretty cheaply.
I'd spend more time worrying about which software you'd like to use, and what soundcard you'd like to have. These two you'll find use for, on into the future, if they're good at the start.

And don't completely discount decks, when you have money in the future. There are many benefits's to having hardware setups, still. Might not be your bag, but it's worth having a go, to see.

dj dan cork

Hey folks, i am looking to set up my own mobile dj business so currently in the process of downloading a load of tracks as well as the cds i already have. Just a question. Will most cd decks play mp3's on a cd-r?

Thanks in advance

dan

electrogrimey

dj dan cork wrote: »

Hey folks, i am looking to set up my own mobile dj business so currently in the process of downloading a load of tracks as well as the cds i already have. Just a question. Will most cd decks play mp3's on a cd-r?

Thanks in advance

dan

It depends on the decks. Look up the specs of any decks before you buy them to make sure they do. The higher end ones should all play them though.

es-cee

does any1 know of any good dance music production courses goin on in dublin, around the city centre area if possible, but thats flexible?
i recently got fl studio 9 and im hooked on it, but lack the nessessary skills 2 make full use of the programme. a mate of mine suggested that i just persevere with it and ill get the hang of it eventually, but what i really want is 2 get full workin knowledge of studio production if its possible (i.e. instruments, mixing desks etc.) im a massive dance music fan, and im in2 nearly every style under the sun, especially oldskool house, trance, techno, hardcore, jungle, acid 2 name a few but also in2 newer styles aswell. any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance, es-cee.:)

Lisa8786

Hi everyone
I wanna try structure a set and I'm not having any luck arranging a playlist. I moved all the files around in the folder i had them stored in today and when i turned my computer back on the order was totally gone. I was ragin. I just want to organise all the tracks in the order i want to play them in. How do i do that? cheers

electrogrimey

Lisa8786 wrote: »

Hi everyone
I wanna try structure a set and I'm not having any luck arranging a playlist. I moved all the files around in the folder i had them stored in today and when i turned my computer back on the order was totally gone. I was ragin. I just want to organise all the tracks in the order i want to play them in. How do i do that? cheers

What program are you using to organise them, and what are you using to play them?

Lisa8786

I just basically had them saved in my documents-my music and i was rearranging them in that. Using virtual dj to play them

electrogrimey

Lisa8786 wrote: »

I just basically had them saved in my documents-my music and i was rearranging them in that. Using virtual dj to play them

IIRC, you can create playlists in iTunes, and see them in Virtual DJ, in the browser. Try that, or just a simple piece of paper, that what all the best DJs for the last 20 years used!

Lisa8786

electrogrimey wrote: »

IIRC, you can create playlists in iTunes, and see them in Virtual DJ, in the browser. Try that, or just a simple piece of paper, that what all the best DJs for the last 20 years used![/QUOTE

lol good ol paper. can't go wrong with it...ok cheers for the advice. il try it out. if it fails i'l just go with the old skool method thanx

Maserati23

Hi guys, I was a radio DJ 100 years ago or so:D.

Now I have no choice to go back into it, of course I used vinyl way back when, and now its all digital and pc's etc.

I have been offered a gig 2 days a week in a local pub of mine in Dublin 1.

I am expected to supply all oldie type songs from sixties to the 90's, plus a few chart songs (which I havent got a clue about) chart hits that is. Also some karaoeke.

Anyway to cut to the chase I bought bits and pieces from adverts and done deal etc.

My set up comprises of a PC. approx 22.000 mp3's on hard disk which include Karaoke.

A dennon cdm24 cd setup with 4 channel mixer.

Omintronix 2222 500 rms speakers.

1000 watt hollywood amp.

Yep , most of the stuff is old an very heavy, but the owner of the pub will let me leave the heavy gear on site.

The chap I got the hard drive off, supplied me with software to actually play the gig with, which is a little bit confusing to me, he told me to use Nordbeat Jukebox for Mp3's and winamp for Karaoke.

Its not easy switching from Karaoke to Mp3 and back again as required as he also told me to have windows media player in the background , while switching between both!!

I now need lights and looks like I need a cdj system.

Any Ideas, that would be cost effective?

Its strictly a Pub Gig I will be doing so I dont need any special mixing effects so to speak.


Any Ideas on my next move. I appreciate any replies as I am starting on Saturday coming 27/02/10.

Is there some other software which would be more effective which can cope with cdg's and mp3's on the one system??


Thanks in advance.

Again, I appreciate any replies asap.

electrogrimey

Will your CD player play mp3s? Seems to make the most sense to me to use the decks to play all your music, and only use the PC for kareoke. Put the PC through the third channel on the mixer, and then you can switch between them easily.

RMD

Is there any DJ forums specially created for Ireland? Anywhere I can find some good second hand deals on 2 Cd players / Mixer just to get started and get a feel for it.

If there's nothing second hand going, what do you guys think about either of these set-ups to begin.
http://www.thedjshop.co.uk/packages/gemini-cdj-203s-and-424x.html
or
http://www.thedjshop.co.uk/packages/gemini-203s-and-numark-x1-usb.html

Both have Gemeni 203's, just different mixers.

electrogrimey

RMD wrote: »

Is there any DJ forums specially created for Ireland? Anywhere I can find some good second hand deals on 2 Cd players / Mixer just to get started and get a feel for it.

If there's nothing second hand going, what do you guys think about either of these set-ups to begin.
http://www.thedjshop.co.uk/packages/gemini-cdj-203s-and-424x.html
or
http://www.thedjshop.co.uk/packages/gemini-203s-and-numark-x1-usb.html

Both have Gemeni 203's, just different mixers.

Don't know much about those CD decks, but they look perfect for learning, so I'd say go for it. Maybe you could get a pair of them, and then get a 4 channel mixer from ads, there's a few on there now. That'd just mean you wouldn't have to upgrade your mixer as quickly.

electrogrimey

I'm looking for an analog sampler at the moment, but know nothing about them. After doing a bit of research, it looks like I need an analog version of an AKAI MPD 26 with added built-in effects. I want to run it completely separate to my Traktor set-up, going through a separate channel on the mixer, and not bring run by software, but by analog samples stored on the machine.

Any suggestions?

RMD

electrogrimey wrote: »

Don't know much about those CD decks, but they look perfect for learning, so I'd say go for it. Maybe you could get a pair of them, and then get a 4 channel mixer from ads, there's a few on there now. That'd just mean you wouldn't have to upgrade your mixer as quickly.

Ye, I was looking at getting 2 good quality cd players and a 4 chan mixer as well as I could hook up my laptop to it at the same time, problem is everything even second hand seems to be out of my price range as it seems to be pretty much all Pioneer CDJ-1000s and the DJM-800 combos. The ones within my price bracket, are obvious scams.

hans aus dtschl

electrogrimey wrote: »

I'm looking for an analog sampler at the moment, but know nothing about them. After doing a bit of research, it looks like I need an analog version of an AKAI MPD 26 with added built-in effects. I want to run it completely separate to my Traktor set-up, going through a separate channel on the mixer, and not bring run by software, but by analog samples stored on the machine.

Any suggestions?

An MPC?

an analog version of the MPD is....the original.....which was...the MPC?
Am I missing something here?
Also check out the korg electribe sampler, and the old zoom samplers. Nice small ones.

MPC is king of sampling for me though. Just so intuitive.

jtsuited

electrogrimey wrote: »

I'm looking for an analog sampler at the moment, but know nothing about them. After doing a bit of research, it looks like I need an analog version of an AKAI MPD 26 with added built-in effects. I want to run it completely separate to my Traktor set-up, going through a separate channel on the mixer, and not bring run by software, but by analog samples stored on the machine.

Any suggestions?

ok not to sound harsh but first thing you should do is learn what analog means. hardware samplers are not analog. unless it's a mellotron (which trust me is not what you're looking for).

electrogrimey

jtsuited wrote: »

ok not to sound harsh but first thing you should do is learn what analog means. hardware samplers are not analog. unless it's a mellotron (which trust me is not what you're looking for).

Well I mean analog in the sense that it's not just a MIDI controller, I realise it's not exactly what it means though.

jtsuited

electrogrimey wrote: »

Well I mean analog in the sense that it's not just a MIDI controller, I realise it's not exactly what it means though.

it's not anything like what the word analog means to be fair.

electrogrimey

jtsuited wrote: »

it's not anything like what the word analog means to be fair.

Ok true, what I meant is, I suppose, hardware, as opposed to software.

clayton1

electrogrimey wrote: »

Will your CD player play mp3s? Seems to make the most sense to me to use the decks to play all your music, and only use the PC for kareoke. Put the PC through the third channel on the mixer, and then you can switch between them easily.

this is what i use lads, and it's a gift - it really is... the only thing is, it takes you ages to rip all of your cd's on to the external HD.

http://www.getinthemix.co.uk/images/uploaded/hdc1000.jpg

chappy_chap

HFXOC wrote: »

Need a bit of advice lads- nephew into mixes etc and was hoping to get him some equip - twin cd and mixer- any advice

cheers

i got a numark icdmix2 it has two cd decks and a mixer its all buildt into one and you can get it for a good price

www.decks.co.uk thats the web site and they deliver with in 12 hours....

Lisa8786

Hey everyone,
I recently played at a birthday and had a major technical blip as every so often the music would stop for about 2 seconds. I know it was to do with the soundcard. Is it faulty or what's the story? Thanks.