CDJs

Hmmm … deja-vu here. Just answered the same question on TTs in another post and lo-and-behold, same guy :D.

Glad you are serious about acquiring knowledge about DJ-ing, but allow me to be frank here.

As I stated in another reply, there is no such thing as a TRUE DJ. Because there is no objective body that can make that judgement or set the qualifying rules. There are just other people/DJs that have a certain set of standards that THEY think someone else needs to meet in order to be a TRUE DJ in THEIR eyes!

The fact is, if you are not into DJ-ing primarily for YOU, you are in it for the wrong reason, imho.

DJ-ing is not about gear, not about software, not about techniques, it’s about love of music and a desire to do creative things with it. Some folks are perfectly happy to do this for themselves in their bedroom, others are willing to venture out and share their love with people close to them at house parties and such. And some are so driven by a desire to bring happiness and joy to other people through their music and skills that they will go out and pursue a (secondary) career as a DJ playing out for crowds of people they haven’t met previously.

In my very humble opinion THAT is what makes a TRUE DJ.

Whatever means someone uses to achieve these goals, is totally secondary and, quite frankly, irrelevant. What we try to do here at the forum is to provide a place for people to discuss and talk about their hobby, career, passion and share their knowledge about things relevant to others in similar situations. As moderators we try to answer questions in such a way that they are helpful to more people than just the OP. And we do our utmost to refrain from judgement. We will, at times, be very adamant in some of our opinions, but only because we have a myriad of experience. And even then, we welcome alternative views.

So Glenn, it is my belief that your quest should start with asking yourself the following questions: “what is it that I hope to find in being a DJ and DJ-ing” and “what fundamental need/desire/passion do I have that makes me look at DJ-ing as a possible way of fulfilling and expressing that”. Once you answered those questions, you can move on to finding out what path you want to walk, whether it is your goal to share your passion with many people or just be happy doing it for yourself.

Getting a gig at a club, incidental or regular, is not a goal, it’s just one of the stepping stones on the path to your destination. Knowing all equipment every produced and being fluent on them is not a reasonable goal (heck, I have been at it for 38 years next years and I don’t know/master all of it) and it is – more importantly – not an IMPORTANT goal. Actually it shouldn’t be a goal at all.

Once you answered the above questions and decided what path you want to walk, then and only then are you ready to start thinking about the tools you need to walk the path. And it will be based on budget, needs/wants, personal preference. And as you travel down the path, you will change. Things that seemed important to have when you started might turn out to end up unused. Things that you thought weren’t for you might end up at the top of your wishlist for the next upgrade. That is all ok.

As a lady friend of mine said, happiness is not a destination, it’s a journey. If you can enjoy the path while you are travelling it, reaching a goal becomes way less important. And you know what, life has shown time and time again, that those people enjoying their journey more often than not end up achieving their goals, almost effortlessly (in their eyes).

And we are here to help you on your path if you need any knowledge, advice or other kind of assistance as you travel.

Wishing you a beatiful journey.

Very wise writing Chuck, and good timing also, one of my lady friend told me “REAL DJ can play turntable”, i can blow this article all over her face, lol