There are so many options out there!!! The biggest advice I would give you is to pick what feels right for you, pick something that you are comfortable using and something that you enjoy. People will try and steer you in all sorts of directions, but do your research and pick what is right for you.
You’ll have to make a decision about what software you want to use… the two “major players” are Serato and Traktor. This will ultimately influence which controller you opt for as many of the controllers are geared towards one or the other, unless you want to learn about custom mapping (but thats a whole other post).
Both Traktor and Serato are available as free downloads and so this is something you could perhaps have a look at doing before you go out and start looking/buying.
My other tip would be don’t let someone sell you something you don’t want/dont need… don’t come away with a piece of kit because the shop has got a load of something or other that they need to shift out of the stockroom.
Go to somewhere reputable and have a play with some of the kit and get a feel for what you like. Maybe don’t buy something on your first visit. The best places near to you would probably be in Leeds : Dawsons/BopDJ/Soundbase Megastore.
Can’t comment on the Leeds stores but the staff at Soundbase and Dawsons in Manchester have always been top notch and really helpful. They have great product knowledge, so listen to some of the stuff they are saying. my experience has always been that they will give you something that fits you, rather than what fits their own sales figures!
The only other thing would be once you have it, look after it and it will look after you!
Don’t be sacred of second hand stuff either… My CDJ’s were a bargain I found on Gumtree, as with anything like that, its very much a case of “buyer beware”. Do you research and try and use reputable sites such as Ebay or Amazon so you have some comeback if something does go wrong.
I could spend pages and pages telling you what to look at but I would be here forever!
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