start djing on vinyl? or straight to laptop bla bla

wooda916 · Post by **wooda916** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:34 pm

Future Producer wrote:Try:

Numark X2 Hybrid turntable which has a built in CD player. You can mix both CD and vinyl from the same deck and also control your CDs as you would vinyl (you'd want a pair though)

i have these and they are fantastic, best thing ive ever bought...

press · Post by **press** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:41 pm

sapphic_beats wrote:
manray wrote: Most people start DJing for the fun of it. Whether or not you get past your bedroom is irrelevent IMO. What keeps the scene together? It's certainly not laptop DJ's, its guys buying vinyl every week that keep things going and maximum boost for people that do.
no offense, but those of us who actually buy the digital releases and promote this music are doing our part for the scene too. i buy vinyl when i have to, and digital because it's easier to get and cheaper. i kinda resent the implication that because i am not using all vinyl all the time that i have nothing to contribute. thanks bunches.

totally. especially considering mp3s are selling well enough in dubstep to compete with vynil sales and artists are seeing money back on mp3s its just as much a help to the scene as buying any other format imo.

press · Post by **press** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:51 pm

manray wrote:I don't have facts and figures but I'm fairly certain that digital releases account for a very small percentage when it comes to dubstep.

this is not enitrely true.

http://www.juno.co.uk/grime-dubstep/cha ... it_period=

that is the chart for all dubstep/grime sales the last eight weeks all formats.

#1 selling is digital. digital is scattered in and out surprisingly even amongst vynil.

of course this is one site and eight weeks but i think its pretty darn telling and i would bet its similar for most sites selling both vynil and mp3. and for the places that dont sell mp3 im sure the mp3 only places are balancing those out.

so imo these days mp3's are valuble and worthy format.

i can also say in my expeirence as a producer releasing mp3s that mp3s do see a return, i have made a decent and somehwat surprising amount of money off them. im sure vynil would make more but i just wanted to say mp3s sales may surprise alot of people ,the format has come along way in the last few years.

kate_ · Post by **kate_** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 6:46 pm

First off, I have a strong appreciation for mixing vinyl and the higher fidelity it can offer. I buy all Wav files, and never an Mp3 if I can help it and I am more than happy with the quality of sound I get playing out. I still buy vinyl, but I think you can do so much more with a mix when you get all the beatmatching out of the way by warping and playing in Ableton. It's better for the crowd, if you make it so. After playing only records for ten years, I don't feel like I have anything to prove in terms of beatmatching in front of a crowd, I'm more concerned with making the set the best it could be. I think I was convinced by listening to the first few Vaccine mixes and how perfect they are.

kwality · Post by **kwality** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 9:24 am

Cheers for your input Shift - I'm somewhat surprised about mp3's doing so well but I haven't spoke to too many people who are strictly vinyl anymore. I personally love it and buy as much as I can but I don't call myself a dj anymore so I don't have to keep up with all the fresh tracks.

So if digital is doing the business these days, why is the focus so strong on vinyl? Is it just because of the heritage?

blip · Post by **blip** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:40 am

I would never ever ever build a vinyl collection if I started today. I do love it, but like all formats, has advantages and disadvantages. Start with a fresh slate and use and abuse what digital can offer you.

marty · Post by **marty** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:39 am

Kate... wrote:I think I was convinced by listening to the first few Vaccine mixes and how perfect they are.

i thought she has done those mixes on cdjs. i remember i have read this somewhere on this forum...

blip · Post by **blip** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:53 am

kwality wrote:So if digital is doing the business these days, why is the focus so strong on vinyl? Is it just because of the heritage?

Mostly, I guess, but I am happy that the "you are only a dj if you use this kind of plastic media" mentality is less prevalent. The image of the dj on the turntables is strong, though. I am always amazed that people I know who are not really connected to electronic music/djing will always ask me about djing while doing an "air scratch".

kate_ · Post by **kate_** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:06 pm

marty wrote:
Kate... wrote:I think I was convinced by listening to the first few Vaccine mixes and how perfect they are.
i thought she has done those mixes on cdjs. i remember i have read this somewhere on this forum...

You could be right, I can't remember ever reading that they were done on Ableton for sure. I just remember they were digital and I probably assumed they were. That being said, I bet they weren't mp3s at first. Her mixes sure weren't lacking and I never once was like "you know, I wish she was doing this with turntables."

Sharmaji · Post by **Sharmaji** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 5:32 am

of course the other idea would be to get a ton of loops and start 'djing' in ableton as a sort of live-creation thing. I'm really waiting for this to become the defacto thing that people think of when they think "club DJ."

as far as formats go:
vinyl's great. dubplates are awesome. I own far too much vinyl and a healthy # of plates. Travelling with them sucks-- bad needles eat them up, they get dirty, the sleeves rip, and shit WILL skip. Serato is great and functional but takes away from the mystique of awesomeness when playing records (yeah that's right. mystique). And serato's EXTREMELY tempermental.
CDJ's don't skip but it's a very different vibe when playing. some love it, some hate it.. i have to grin and bear it and get up to there where i am with vinyl.

as a label owner-- wait, there's $ in vinyl? not for at least 2/3 of the labels with distro. You do it to break even, and MAYBE have a record sell more than your first pressing. digital distro all but makes labels possible.

the ends justify the means. the ends aren't always the same-- if you're playing DMZ and show up with a bunch of CDR's, that ain't gonna cut it. but if it's any non-dubstep-only party, get in there and play a great set.

kate_ · Post by **kate_** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:35 pm

yeah, I say learn on whatever you can. For me it helped a lot to get really comfortable with vinyl before I felt confident tossing in a laptop as a third deck and then started trying CDJs back and forth with records. It really comes down to being able to deliver on whatever system / circumstances are thrown at you. Make mixes to critique the hell out of before you subject people to the sound of you learning. When you can confidently put out a mix you are proud of and feel like you can do it without a second thought, then hand that mix out and make people book you.

the wiggle baron · Post by **the wiggle baron** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:34 pm

For me, 2 turntables and a CDJ has got me well and truly covered

Vinyl as the mainstay. I love the absoloute control you have over the tunes, giving you the ability to be as precise (or not!) as you can be. Also love the feel of a record, the real sense of owning a tune (dont get that at all when I buy mp3 releases

Youre bank balance gets smaller and you dont get your "new tunes" fix...) Oh, and above all...its bloody fun aye

Then a CDJ is a new addition to me, but one ive been meaning to do for a while. Got myself a cheap piece of crap CDJ, just so I can at least mix with unreleased tunes/ones that I missed on vinyl and the like.

jred · Post by **jred** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:19 pm

serato/cdjs/12s all good, but 12s sound the best

give it time this will change but im 100% convinced that time aint right now , i play out regular like clockwork and hear all 3 formats each time ,12s still sound best hands down , but i cant wait for the day this is blown outa the water, digital is so damned conveniant and direct . for the mean time tho 12s

alan_ · Post by **alan_** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 2:29 pm

I've been going ever more digital over the years. I used to be pretty adamant about only playing vinyl, but then pioneer put out the cdj 800 and 1000. they're soooo easy to play on. I'm still not entirely sold on serato. I've seen so many cases where if the needles aren't perfect, it starts acting up. It's awesome when it works, a total pain when it doesn't.

imo, sound quality is generally thought to be better with vinyl because tunes pressed to vinyl are usually professionally mastered, while a lot of digi releases are mastered by the artist. sure, a vinyl record played on a turntable with a brand new needle has higher resolution and range than any digital release, but that resolution and range is highly degraded within the first several plays.

generally when I go to a gig I carry records, audio cd's, AND a cd-r with mp3's for loading into serato. that way, no matter what formats are provided/working, I'm covered.

Lurka · Post by **Lurka** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:20 pm

The Wiggle Baron wrote:. Got myself a cheap piece of crap CDJ, just so I can at least mix with unreleased tunes/ones that I missed on vinyl and the like.

same but still cut dubplates when i play out as i find mixing on a cdj weird when trying to mix quickly and smoothly, so just for the tunes i cant afford to cut or i dont think would work when played out!

alan_ · Post by **alan_** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:39 pm

one thing I'm waiting for is a cdj or software that recognizes FLAC format.

that would be AWESOME. One thing I've noticed with mp3's is that some 128kbps ones actually sound better than some 320's.

Pallms · Post by **Pallms** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:27 pm

Start DJing on vinyl and STAY on vinyl haha. The interfaces that let you play your MP3s vinyl seem interesting though. I don't actually own one, but it would be nice for the tracks that I can't seem to find on vinyl.

As for digital turntables, I don't like the feel of them.

start djing on vinyl? or straight to laptop bla bla

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