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DDJ, CDJ, or both?

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  • April 23, 2012 at 4:27 am #18995
    Phil Morse
    Keymaster

    Bit confused. Neither of those controllers have CDs!

    What’s the difference between staring at the small screen on the SCS.4DJ and a laptop?

    If you want screen and waveforms, you want digital DJing! How long you stare at it is up to you 🙂

    To your question though, CD DJing by definition is about playing CDs, while some of the top players have waveforms you’d pay ten times what you want to pay for such a CDJ set-up. Unfortunately what you’re asking for in your price range simply doesn’t exist.

    April 23, 2012 at 4:35 am #18999
    Addison “AngEl1c” Giroux
    Participant

    I was also thinking about the numark MIXDECK, forgot to metion that one.

    I have a habit of getting distracted by the Laptop screen, and also always feel cluttered with it on the set. Not really that it poses a big problem, but I am just looking for options.

    CDJ is also an interest as I always like to have a backup in case my laptop were to kick the bucket on stage, and I would just feel more comfortable not relying on a single hard drive. CD’s (and flash drives for that matter) give me physical backup and an easy way to organize a library. CDJ is something that has been appealing to me for a few months now, and not really something that is vital.

    Also, thanks for the site! It helps alot, and is a great resource. Nice to also see that your staff and you care about the community and are quick to reply. Keep up the good work. Your a big inspiration to many Phil!

    final comment, I would love to see/hear you in the mix! Just to see how you do it.

    April 23, 2012 at 1:04 pm #19032
    VinnyBlanc
    Participant

    You can get a pair of CDJ-400s for about $700-750 they have USB inputs and cd drives. They are also native “controllers” for Serato Scratch live so you could play on them and use the software and if you laptop kicks, just switch over to the USB/CD source and keep going.

    However, by the time you pick up two of these a mixer and the serato Rane interface, you might be better off with a Numark Mixdeck (or Mixdeck Quad) which allows you the flexibility to use CD/USB/Software all in one.

    April 23, 2012 at 1:49 pm #19043
    Terry_42
    Keymaster

    Having DJed a long time with CDJs and Vinyl and now going Digital, I have to say: Skip the CDJ.
    Yes some “oldschoolers” might look badly at you or smth, but if you do it right a full set of CDJs etc. will cost you a fortune without having any advantages (I know I will get flamed for this, but I have DJed with CDJs for years and this is my personal opinion).

    If you want to be secure with your digital setup:
    Get a laptop stand that is high enough and stands rock solid. Nothing can be spilled on your gear this way. Get a controller stand if you think they might also wet your controller.
    In case your harddrive goes south just invest in an 80bucks external HD and make that bootable. Any Macbook and most Wintel Books will boot from external drives.
    Here you are with an investment of about 200 bucks your digitaly safe and do not need to invest heavily into CDJs and mixers, plus effects pads etc. etc. etc. Money you can save for a better laptop, better controller or, god forbid, music.

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