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CDJ for beginner ?
Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:48 pm
by djk
hello friends, im gonna start djing but would it be wiser to start on vinyl first then onto cdj, i have around 400 pound to get gear with, but im unsure whether to go for actual vinyl turntables or the cdjs
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 12:00 am
by lonecurrent
iunno. it's hard to say today. dubstep is really digital these days.
if you buy vinyl, you'll be limited. i visited some steppers for a sesh the other day and i was the only one that brought vinyl.
pioneer cdj200 are a great buy. you can always get a table or two later if you want, and you can cut cds right away from forum dubs or $1 tunes vs tables where you still need carts, and need to start collecting 15 dollar tunes.
cdjs are cheaper too. can get a cdj200 used for 250 bucks.
if you get tables, you can always grab serato or torque to integrate digital. torque is very inexpensive as well and is not a bad option.
if you buy tables, you may become a vinyl purist and never integrate cdjs (trust - it happens) but if you buy cdjs, you will likely buy a record here and there to play out and it will be a happy world with a marriage of formats.
if you buy cdjs you will be gangsta hardcore because you'll be playing dubs so fresh no one has ever heard of then (particularly if you start to make relations with producers), where as if you're playing vinyl, you'll still be playing the tunes you bought last year because it costs too much to constantly replace your crate.
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 1:22 am
by flippo
could spend fuck all on one of these, and download a naughty version of tractor. Learn to mix riding the pitch slider (or the nudge buttons feel pretty similar to denons for small jumps) Cheapest way to get stuck in to learning. I don't own CDJ's but it only takes 30 seconds to get used to the jog wheel in a club, and then it's pretty much the same as using tractor with midi control.
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 1:28 am
by futures_untold
defo buy cd decks, as pointed out above, their cheaper and you'll be able to play fresher tunes..!
I had a set of Denons which I really enjoyed using. Took them to a few clubs too..
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 6:21 pm
by djk
sick thanks, guys cannot wai to get stuck in
ill porbs end up with some cdj 200s now : - )
when i burn the cds from songs that ive bought are regular cds good to use, i know ive gotta stick with like 320s n stuff
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:54 pm
by boyd
Out of interest, how many major dubstep dj's don't use vinyl? Don't mean to start a debate on the subject, just wondering if most/all stick to vinyl or not.
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:57 pm
by drifterman_
boyd wrote:Out of interest, how many major dubstep dj's don't use vinyl? Don't mean to start a debate on the subject, just wondering if most/all stick to vinyl or not.
None. Because if you aren't a vinyl DJ you're parring yourself.
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:24 pm
by djk
parring?
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:15 pm
by swomp
Vinyl is just sexier.
I would never switch to CD decks, I am thinking however, of getting Traktor scratch or something similar to cut down on the ridiculous amount I spend on vinyl.
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:25 pm
by lonecurrent
over here the big guys use cds or both because they're dropping dubs they made 2 hours ago, or just recieved from huge producers.
The vibe in dubstep is not the same as dnb. vinyl purism is dead imo.
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:34 pm
by badger
drifterman_ wrote:boyd wrote:Out of interest, how many major dubstep dj's don't use vinyl? Don't mean to start a debate on the subject, just wondering if most/all stick to vinyl or not.
None. Because if you aren't a vinyl DJ you're parring yourself.
i'm sorry but wtf are you talking about? that's nonsense
the vast majority of dubstep DJs use vinyl, a lot complement this with CDJs too but it's definitely a minority that use digital or solely CDJs
LoneCurrent wrote:iunno. it's hard to say today. dubstep is really digital these days.
if you buy vinyl, you'll be limited.
this is nonsense too. the vast majority of releases are on vinyl, with a lot of these being vinyl exclusive. of course there's dubs from producers that you won't be able to get anywhere else, or at least not without a (long) wait. vinyl
is limiting though and this is why i'm thinking of getting a CDJ myself. the sound quality with both CDs and mp3s is vastly inferior to vinyl though and this is the main reason most big DJs use vinyl. the amount of compression required to fit music on CDs or mp3s means that the sound quality is a lot poorer and this is particularly noticable on big systems
and yeah vinyl most definitely is sexier

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:55 pm
by djk
all these different paths are confusing me hahah
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:53 pm
by drifterman_
badger wrote:drifterman_ wrote:boyd wrote:Out of interest, how many major dubstep dj's don't use vinyl? Don't mean to start a debate on the subject, just wondering if most/all stick to vinyl or not.
None. Because if you aren't a vinyl DJ you're parring yourself.
i'm sorry but wtf are you talking about? that's nonsense
the vast majority of dubstep DJs use vinyl, a lot complement this with CDJs too but it's definitely a minority that use digital or solely CDJs
made yourself look like some idiot out here. read his post again, pay careful attention to the word "don't".
i don't know what raves you've been going to, but when I go FWD or DMZ I rarely see a CD if at all.
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 11:20 pm
by badger
drifterman_ wrote:badger wrote:drifterman_ wrote:boyd wrote:Out of interest, how many major dubstep dj's don't use vinyl? Don't mean to start a debate on the subject, just wondering if most/all stick to vinyl or not.
None. Because if you aren't a vinyl DJ you're parring yourself.
i'm sorry but wtf are you talking about? that's nonsense
the vast majority of dubstep DJs use vinyl, a lot complement this with CDJs too but it's definitely a minority that use digital or solely CDJs
made yourself look like some idiot out here. read his post again, pay careful attention to the word "don't".
i don't know what raves you've been going to, but when I go FWD or DMZ I rarely see a CD if at all.
i quite often make myself look like an idiot

i don't really see how i have here though.... i did read the don't part which is why i answered that most do...
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 11:21 pm
by boyd
badger wrote:drifterman_ wrote:boyd wrote:Out of interest, how many major dubstep dj's don't use vinyl? Don't mean to start a debate on the subject, just wondering if most/all stick to vinyl or not.
None. Because if you aren't a vinyl DJ you're parring yourself.
i'm sorry but wtf are you talking about? that's nonsense
the vast majority of dubstep DJs use vinyl, a lot complement this with CDJs too but it's definitely a minority that use digital or solely CDJs
LoneCurrent wrote:iunno. it's hard to say today. dubstep is really digital these days.
if you buy vinyl, you'll be limited.
this is nonsense too. the vast majority of releases are on vinyl, with a lot of these being vinyl exclusive. of course there's dubs from producers that you won't be able to get anywhere else, or at least not without a (long) wait. vinyl
is limiting though and this is why i'm thinking of getting a CDJ myself. the sound quality with both CDs and mp3s is vastly inferior to vinyl though and this is the main reason most big DJs use vinyl. the amount of compression required to fit music on CDs or mp3s means that the sound quality is a lot poorer and this is particularly noticable on big systems
and yeah vinyl most definitely is sexier

Cheers for that explanation badger

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 11:31 pm
by badger
no problem
here's one of the few exceptions btw. magneticman (benga/artwork/skream) looking particularly geeky

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 12:58 pm
by djk
yeh i saw these guys in manchester
so seriously i should start with vinyl really?
Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:26 pm
by futures_untold
Unless your made of money, and ready to shell out for all that dope vinyl, buy cd decks... Even your nan has cd's worth playing I bet!
Furthermore, vinyl is heavy to carry around between sets!
Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:30 pm
by badger
DJK wrote:yeh i saw these guys in manchester
so seriously i should start with vinyl really?
it's entirely up to you. there's advantages with all the formats so make an informed decision. almost all clubs are going to have vinyl decks, some may have CDJs too
vinyl sounds much much better and has far more durability. CDs scratch and become unplayable whereas a scratched record is still usually fine... mp3s corrupt; hard drives fail
particularly in dubstep vinyl releases are the mainstay but digital releases are beggining to catch up. and with digital/CDs you can play lots of unreleased tunes without the costliness of cutting dubplates. also with digital mixing on computers your options are almost limitless. far more songs to play, you can produce over the top of them, create loops etc. use reason and so on
i'm a vinyl man personally but looking seriouslessly into expanding into either CDs or something like serato because there's so many great tunes that i'll never be able to play
it also depends what you're planning to do with mixing. if you're just wanting to have fun at home then there's something to be said for getting cheaper equipment such as mp3 mixing software of CDJs rather than costly technics decks (i really wouln't bother with any of kind of vinyl decks). aside from the initial start up costs they cost of keeping up with vinyl releases is astronomical
best piece of advice i can give is do a bit more research and decide what's best for you. everyone's different

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 4:56 pm
by djk
I just wanna be able to explore music a bit more and just get good enough to play it out for fun, i like the sound of cdjs for the ways you can edit music and do on the spot remixes but i agree with the point made about vinyl decks being the best sound quality which is what its all about.
Also it seems that I would be better learning to mix using records, the whole walk before you run thing, but i wanna be able to add cue points etc to make mixes a bit more interesting when i get good enough but i dont wanna have to shell out another 500 pounds
I suppose hds can fail but record crates can be robbed, and im guessing its a lot harder to replace a crate of records