Is any1 here a " DJ " ?

[eatgel]

Guys I want to be a dj and travel around the world and meets lot of hot girls and have friends all over the world! jk I just want to dj since Im going to hawaii next year. Btw anybody know how the nightlife in hawaii is?

 

[Dedication]

Do you know what a Don Juan is? He is not just a person who has alot of friends and can game alot of hot babes. That would just be a pick-up artist.

 

[KarmaSutra]

We're all striving to be students of the human condition. We're not goddamned abbreviations.

 

[eatgel]

ha! you guys got it wrong... Idc what a don juan is what i meant was a DISC JOCKEY! LOL ! I already got enough girls and enough confidence and got a good life going for me... I just wanted to know if anybody here is a DJ - Disc Jockey!

 

[KarmaSutra]

Perhaps you should have explained yourself more thoroughly, turd.

Don't be a lazy c0ck and use abbreviations when you can easily type it out, ie- idc.

Fvcking women speak in abbreviations when they're texting their girlfriends.

Kwim?

 

[oakraiderz2]

Perhaps you should have explained yourself more thoroughly, turd.

Don't be a lazy c0ck and use abbreviations when you can easily type it out, ie- idc.

Fvcking women speak in abbreviations when they're texting their girlfriends.

Kwim?

He cant help it, too blazed.

 

[mpimpin]

I'm a mobile DJ. Have been for years. I helped another guy on this forum out awhile back. If you have any questions or need some advice feel free to PM me.

A couple quickies

It's expensive to get into if your planning on becoming a Mobile DJ (traveling wherever doing anytype of event)

Even if your a resident DJ at a club you'd probably want to have your own CD's and CD players/Laptop/Software/MP3's etc.

The best thing to do for anyone wanting to become a DJ is to lend yourself out to a DJ and do B!tch work and learn from them.

If your a Mobile DJ which I am and know the most about your not just a DJ you are a Business man and your operating a business. So make sure you present yourself that way and have everything legal and licensed.

Good Luck and PM if any of you have any ?s

 

[Deep Dish]

IDeep Dish I believe is a DJ... or at least he uses the name of a local DJ... might not be the same person though.

Correct. I'm neither Dubfire nor Sharam. I picked this SoSuave name eons before getting into DJing when I was just an enthusiastic club kib. It was listening to their 1998 BBC Radio One Essential Mix a week before going to their concert six years ago which introduced me to progressive house and changed the course of my life. Plus, it's just a really cool name. I now regret choosing the name for a couple of reasons but whatever, I have to stick with it (except I may start posting my mixes under a new name). Coincidentally, I'm trying to figure out a DJ nickname for my real life persona and was just thinking about it moments ago.

Fuzzx:
I see alot of people use their laptops and software for that type of thing though.... but I like to have the controls right in front of me and when it comes to DJing, half the battle is about presentation. A DJ could in theory (many do) just sit infront of an audience and push play on winamp but where's the entertainment in that?

I totally agree with you that there's no fun not having any controls. Presentation is important and you can't do nearly as much with just a computer keyboard and mouse. Try playing two or three tracks at once and mixing by EQ while looping tracks—you just can't do it all simultaneously. Being a human Winamp or iTunes is just being a glorified jukebox and misses out on the ethos and art of DJing—which, contrary to conventional wisdom of non-DJs, does absolutely exist—but there is a workaround.

I'm like Sasha. I play off my iMac but use a MIDI control surface. Specifically, I use Ableton Live ($500), a Novation Remote Zero SL control surface ($300), a TASCAM US-144 audio/MIDI interface ($125), and some M-audio BX5a deluxe studio reference monitors ($300). (I'm also getting into production work and have Propellerhead Reason 4 ($400, but I got mine for free) and a 61-key Yamaha keyboard ($100). Every DJ I know agrees that learning how to create songs enhances learning of mixing songs together.)

Ultimately, and what most ordinary people fail to understand, there is nearly as much or as much art in playing other people's music as creating music itself. There is nothing which can ever take away the human element of selecting the best songs and playing them in the right order, the right timing, the right way, and nothing compares with the magic of the sounds of one song weaving an intricate dance with the sounds of the next songs and reach the pinnacles of the sublime. That is what separates Sasha, John Digweed, Nick Warren, and Danny Howells from your typical faceless local DJs, the difference between getting paid $200 and $20,000 for a night.

We are magicians and DJing is no parlor trick.

 

[eatgel]

KarmaSutra stfu! your awefully mean for a 35 year old. People fukk up even djs do.

 

[eatgel]

Oh thank all you guys for the responses, I just got me a cdj1000 and a djm400. Whats funny is that I don't even know how to use it. Right now what im doing is watching clips online and that helps out a lot. Btw there is a forum especially for djs for all you dj's out there! DJ-Disk JOckey not as in fukkin don juan this time.... karma sutra

 

[fresh_to_death]

Guys I want to be a dj and travel around the world and meets lot of hot girls and have friends all over the world! jk I just want to dj since Im going to hawaii next year. Btw anybody know how the nightlife in hawaii is?

DJing isn't that expensive for beginners these days. I'm guessing you want to just be a run of the mill mix DJ, so you can get away with some low/mid range gear to see if DJing is for you. If you want to be a turntablist/battle DJ it's going to be pretty expensive right from the start.

If you just want to mix I wouldn't even **** with records, just get some cheap ass CD turntables, cheap mixer and some headphones to get started. No need to waste time and lots of money buying vinyl if you find out that DJing isn't for you.

Cheapo turntable brands: Anything that isn't Vestax, Pioneer, Technics, or Denon

Cheapo mixer brands: Anything that isn't Vestax, Pioneer, Xone, Rane, or Allen & Heath

Headphones: You'll have more wiggle room here. Lots of good brands.

If you want a super cheapo option, you can buy a DJ program and then buy a USB controlled DJ interface to mix mp3s on your computer.



Grasshopper, it takes practice, practice, practice.

 

[mpimpin]

Some good sites are DJ forums and startprodj.com

The latter is more of a professional business mobile DJ approach.

 

[Deep Dish]

Vinyl has lost its relevance in todays' evolution of technology. I am either friends with or share a mutual friend with probably every DJ in Orlando's house/techno scene. Many have vinyl turntables in their homes, relics of the past, but I don't know a soul who plays out with turntables. It's all CDJs. Turntables will always be fun and produce good times if you already have turntables, but no longer is there any real need to have them. The whole debate about vinyl having a warmer sound than MP3s is resolved with the lossless audio compression FLAC format, and frankly I personally can't hear the difference. Like a DJ buddy once told me, "Have you ever seen a group of girls in the club say 'I need more information'?"

 

[cedd]

you have to know that for 1 DJ who travels all around the world and gets paid like a rockstar there is hundreds of other ones who play in small clubs, never move and unfortunately need to get a second job for paying the rent...

Besides, depending of the style of music you play, you can have a really hard time finding good, serious and well paid contracts.

I have been a freelance DJ for 10 years in Europe and there is a really cruel competition in this business. And even though everybody "loves" - and is friend with - everybody in front of the cameras, every miller draws water to his own mill.

cheers

 

[Wiesman44]

KarmaSutra stfu! your awefully mean for a 35 year old. People fukk up even djs do.

Eatgle, what're, u like 10 years old ?? Grow up

 

[e-lie]

Hi

I know a guy here in south beach who went from 800.00 a day to having a residency at one of the hottest clubs around

 

[Señor Fingers]

I have been DJing for over ten years. I've traveled all over the globe and had many crazy adventures - the kicker here is that NONE of that was my intent when I started.

Call me a purist, but I think that in order to really go anywhere with any art form, it has to mean something to you. I have always had a love affair with music, and started collecting records in my late teens. A close friend of mine bought a pair of technics and I started to play around. For about 2 years I was a bedroom DJ, and quickly fueled my vinyl addiction more than ever.

A lot of "DJ"s do not move past this incubation phase, and will only go as far as playing records for a few friends at a time. Me? I decided to start playing out when I got bored by the local DJs, convinced I could do better I started passing out mix CDs and business cards to my favorite bars and lounges. Sure enough it paid off and I had a few weekly gigs much quicker than I had bargained for.

Now mind you:

Fame, girls and money were the last things on my mind (used to play for 40 bucks a night) - my mission was simply to support and promote great music while making people dance like maniacs. In this sense I was successful, but I had to sacrifice a lot to get anywhere.

See, DJs nowadays are a dime a dozen and are usually treated as such. The few who make it out of their bedrooms tend to go running back because the gratification/respect is not immediate. You gotta pay your dues!

If this is something you want to do, make sure that you have good reasons to cling to when things don't go well. Its naive to expect instant fortune in this fickle industry. You would be wise to have a good plan B - a steady source of income before you decide to become a pro DJ. Only VERY few of us can live off this gig.

Also, make DAMN sure that your skills are sharp. Practice as much as possible and ALWAYS work to expand your musical repertoire.

The key to greatness on the decks is threefold

1. Selection: You have to really love what you are playing and have an intimate knowledge of your own records. This is why DJs are tune junkies, there is a certain eergy you put into a set when you have some new tunes that you personally are dying to hear on a decent soundsystem. Variety is also key - too much of the same will bore a crowd, so it pays to have songs with different energy levels to compliment the vibe of the evening. Which brings us to

2. Crowd vibing: The best DJs are masters at reading body language and social dynamics. Anyone can play music for themselves - it takes experience and observation to really size a crowd up and decide what they need to hear. Example: If its opening hour and there are not people on the floor, you dont play your high energy, peak hour joints - its crucial to get them warmed up first. Its your responsibility to take the crowd up or down as you see fit.

3. Technique / Musical sensibility: Nothing is worse than a DJ who trainwrecks. For the love of GOD, practice, practice and practice some more until you can at least beatlock properly. Once you get there you can start doing fancy sh!t with EQs, effects, etc.

LOL, this got a lot longer than I intended. If you have any questions or doubts, PM me.

Vinyl has lost its relevance in todays' evolution of technology. I am either friends with or share a mutual friend with probably every DJ in Orlando's house/techno scene. Many have vinyl turntables in their homes, relics of the past, but I don't know a soul who plays out with turntables.

^^ This is true for the most part. However I will say that most places I play at provide both Turntables and CDJ, so I usually end up mixing both. Maybe thats just the case here in Europe, mileage may vary in the States.

Personally I love wax too much to let it die, but I can understand why its not as popular, just do the math. You can buy a stack of CDs and fill em up wth downloaded MP3's for the same price of one LP these days, kind of a no brainer.

My method is usually to test out new tunes on CD, the best performers end up getting added to my vinyl stack. This way only my strongest tunes are on glorious vinyl and the investment required to try new sh!t out is much smaller.

Either way, if you are serious about playing anywhere, you better make sure your CDJ skills are up to snuff, cause turntables are quickly going the way of the dodo.

 

[macallik]

i started practicing DJing midway through last year. The best advice I can give you is to be patient. Beatmatching does NOT come overnight and you WILL sound like sh!t for a while until things eventually start falling into place. Play your fav. music and just enjoy the skills you slowly pick up and you won't even notice how quickly you become better