Want to learn to DJ - Absolute beginner - Advice needed!

[meanmrcustard]

Okay, so forgive what will probably be a complete lack of knowledge here, but everyone's gotta start somewhere...right?

I've recently decided I want to learn to DJ, just for fun in my bedroom/maybe at house parties, nothing major, so I don't want to be spending lots of money, at least not at first, as chances are I will be shit.

So, I've been looking at these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hercules-Contro ... rvi_cart_4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NUMARK-MIXTRACK ... rvi_cart_3

The second one has got some decent reviews from what I've seen, but I was wondering if it was really worth double the money of the Hercules. Some tips on what would be most suitable would be appreciated (and any other suggestions if I'm missing out on a gem!).

Is there anything else I'll need to get started? (Bar headphones, which I have).

Thanks in advance!

[clemsonheadies]

Go ahead and get yourself one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Hercules-DJ-47804 ... B0018CEOA6

Comes w/ a built-in sound card, pretty solid design, and you can find mappings online for DJing programs such as Virtual DJ or Traktor. My buddy's got one, and I really like it. Considering picking one up myself!

edit: you really wanna stay away from the really cheap stuff, it's just going to piss you off, and if you end up getting good then you'll be buying something decent anyway! Might as well start off with something halfway good, right?

[Rhodrijen]

I've got a Mixtrack Pro and i love it .

Its bigger than most units, which means theres more room for your hands and the job wheels are amazing, touch sensitive and everything.

i've read quite a few places that its the best controller in the price range.

whatever you do, i would say defintiely get one with a built in soundcard. makes life so much better.

[hudson]

I just bought the Mixtrack. It's definitely awesome and I would recommend it out of those two, but if you can afford something better, do it.

[Crow Steppa]

Being a DJ is an expensive hobby. Make sure you have a stable income before you take anything too seriously. Ableton is a great program when doing live performances and if you want to start producing your own sounds it's a pretty powerful DAW too. The AKAI APC20 is a great controller for that program and it's pretty affordable. If you get some good money though, go with the Traktor Kontrol S4. I just got mine and it is insane. Traktor is the best DJ software imo. Good luck.

[Dreadfunk]

When I started I played on a lot of shitty all in one units, and in the end I wished I had just saved up for Serato and a pair of CDJs/Mixer.

The issue is that if you ever want to play in a club, it's CDJs or Vinyl, cause that's what they have installed there. I find there's rarely room to bring your own gear, and people won't take you seriously if you cart in a Hercules and plop it on top of a CDJ2000 platter cause there's no room in the booth. If you want to use a laptop, you'll be using timecodes on the club's equipment, meaning you need Serato / Traktor.

My 2c is save for a decent set of used CDJs and a mixer, and get a DVS like Serato Scratch or Traktor. Doesn't have to be top notch PIO stuff, but you're gonna want to be used to the whole CDJ/Timecode thing.

[joeflo123]

Got a mixtrack pro also, and ive got to say i was worried about its capabilities but it really is worth the money.
My only issue is the pitch sliders on the side dont respond very well, could just be mine though.
As a result it can be quite hard to mix smoothly whilst changing from one bpm to another.

Probably wouldnt overly reccomend it if your semi pro or anything, but for house partys/small club & pub djs its perfect

[Basic A]

honestly man, for your budget, youd probably be best saving a little more and getting somehting nicer... both of the controllers you posted are going to feel plasticy, like fischer price toys essentially, the latency on the numark's isnt terrible but they still just dont feel right if that makes sense... Remember also that with both of those, you will need an audio interface with at least 2 outputs, so you can 'cue' tracks up, which is going to increase the price you have to pay by 100-150 bucks...

So, for the price of one of the controllers you posted + a decent audio interface... consider instead...

http://www.zzounds.com/item--HERDJCONSOLERMX

Check that out, it would require a bit of saving on your end but, no more then you would spend buying one of the ones you posted and an interface... its got a full metal housing, the knob and fader designs are pulled straight from normal mixers, and, unlike the two you posted, you wont need an external soundcard/audio interface to do your cueing through, it has that built... best of all, its an analogue mixer as well as a midi controller, so if down the road you decide youd like a set of CDJ's / Turntables, it will be easy to expand while still keeping everything in a neat, orderly package 9as compared to having to run a controller + normal mixer, you could have both in one)... it has more knobs and a more flexible layout... last but not least, you wont feel as weird using more traditional mixers in clubs if you ever got booked!

either way, id thoroughly steer clear of Numark. They make awesome CDj's, but every knob/fader on every numark mixer/controller Ive ver owned has broken within a year...

[firestone416]

When I started I played on a lot of shitty all in one units, and in the end I wished I had just saved up for Serato and a pair of CDJs/Mixer.

The issue is that if you ever want to play in a club, it's CDJs or Vinyl, cause that's what they have installed there. I find there's rarely room to bring your own gear, and people won't take you seriously if you cart in a Hercules and plop it on top of a CDJ2000 platter cause there's no room in the booth. If you want to use a laptop, you'll be using timecodes on the club's equipment, meaning you need Serato / Traktor.

My 2c is save for a decent set of used CDJs and a mixer, and get a DVS like Serato Scratch or Traktor. Doesn't have to be top notch PIO stuff, but you're gonna want to be used to the whole CDJ/Timecode thing.

There's nothing wrong with using an RMX at a club, one of the guys that was up before J. Rabbit in Minneapolis did an amazing mix with one.

[Basic A]

Nothing wrong with it at all aside from what he mentioned... its not standard, it puts you in the risky situation of hauling expensive gear to raves vs. a cd wallet full of burnt 320's you can replace in a heartbeat, and half the fun of playing out is because they have really nice CDJ's and decks, so if your practiced up on average grade kit at home and get booked its like an excuse to play with shiny expensive toys all night.

And seriously, you can get a set of cdj's pretty cheap, they are all just play buttons and pitch faders, anything else is luxury, but you can learn the fundamentals on a set of cheap ass numarks or denon's or whatever...

[sixth sense]

pro tip

1 2 3 4

[monte-m]

pro tip

1 2 3 4

LOL for sure...

played out my first ever gig last week with my buddy's RMX, it went really well and i loved it. remapped a few of the controls to suit what i wanted to do, but the one on hercules' site are pretty good out of the box.

so basically, this is another vote for getting an RMX

[clemsonheadies]

That's 3 votes for the RMX! Nice.

So what'd you end up getting?