Help I have never used cdjs

This topic has 14 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 5 months ago by Ruben daCosta.

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October 24, 2013 at 2:58 am #1015158

Lamid45G
Participant

Just one question,

Do you know how to MANUALLY beatmatch ?

October 24, 2013 at 10:26 am #1015178

Terry_42
Keymaster

Ask if you can simply hook up your controller and laptop?

If you know how to manually beatmatch you will be fine.

Download the free rekordbox software from Pioneer here:

http://www.pioneer.eu/uk/products/44/216/2183/rekordbox/page.html

Prepare your songs in rekordbox and then export them to a USB stick.

Make at least one copy of that USB stick in case something happens and possibly burn a mp3 CD too.

Get in the club early before it opens and have a go at the CDJs.

Stay calm.

Ask what CDJ models they have and look at them on the Pioneer page or read the manual. Same with the Mixer.

Stay calm.

Using CDJs is basically the same as a controller.

October 24, 2013 at 2:29 pm #1015193

ACRES
Participant

I do know how to manually beatmatch but I have never got used to the layout and it looks pretty simple

October 24, 2013 at 2:39 pm #1015194

mauritsrotte@gmail.com
Participant

This might also help. At least if the club has cdj 2000 Nexus players.

The first link are the official training video’s from Pioneer. The second link is a detailed walk through of the 2000 Nexus player

But I also think you should ask if you could use your own controller. You can connect it to one of the up fader inputs on the club it’s mixer. If that’s not possible then go read the manual and watch some tutorials. And don’t be afraid to ask for some help from an other DJ or the sound guy. There is no shame in that. Also the 2000 nexus has a sync feature. That might come in handy if your in trouble. ( this will only work if you have analysed your tracks in rekordbox )

But be confident in your own skill. You did get that gig. And that is for a reason. Because they like you as a DJ. Good Luck, you can do it!

Please let me know how it all went down.

October 24, 2013 at 4:26 pm #1015197

Harold Tan
Participant

If you have never used CDJ’s before, then don’t use them. Bring your own laptop and controller. Ask the technical people for help in connecting your gear to their PA / equipment. You just gotta be there early. As in before it opens.

Your gig is on Friday. That’s tomorrow! And if you’ve never used CDJ’s before, a live gig is not the place and time to start learning.

Good luck and good vibes to ya

October 24, 2013 at 5:17 pm #1015198

ACRES
Participant

Cheers for the help guys unfortunately the club say I cannot use my own controller as the club say I cant but I will watch those videos!!!

October 24, 2013 at 8:06 pm #1015204

Alex Moschopoulos
Participant

CDJ is a bigger version of a platter on most midi controls. You press on the top and you can scratch…on the side and you can bend the pitch.

Think of it that way and you’ll be fine. You can manually beatmatch so you should be solid.

October 25, 2013 at 3:24 am #1015240

Lamid45G
Participant

Wont be to fun if you found out on the gig day that the club had only CDJ 100 <.<

Altough I must SAY, the “JET” FX wass da bomb !!!

October 25, 2013 at 11:05 am #1015259

Terry_42
Keymaster

Well if it is “real” club gear they should have at least 800s… and hopefully 1k or 2ks.

I mean I live in the province and quite small town and all the main clubs already have Nexus gear and the smaller ones 1ks.

October 25, 2013 at 11:09 am #1015262

mauritsrotte@gmail.com
Participant

Ha Ha,

I remember that one. My stepbrother had those. He did ( well still does ) something with light and sound. I borrowed 2 of does from him to learn how to mix with cd’s.

I could’t stop playing with those jog FX. I thought that was so much fun. You didn’t had that on vinyl and my Gemini 626 mixer.

October 25, 2013 at 7:02 pm #1015303

Coltrane09
Participant

I don’t know about the timing of you landing the gig to learning that you will have to use CDJs, but I hope you’ve learned a valuable lesson here, Chacres.

I hope you were able to get to a pro audio store and play around with the model of the CDJ the club has, or at least burned the midnight oil studying Youtube videos about the players.

Good luck. Please return and let us know how the gig went.

October 26, 2013 at 7:42 pm #1015340

ACRES
Participant

Hi guy I learnt a very valuable lesson last night, don’t get me wrong I loved every minute of it, but lets just say the set did not run as smoothly as it could of if I had used my controller. It turns out I was even struggling to cue my track and I missed various points where I was meant to mix due to the fact I was struggling to cue the other deck. Another issue was that I was given no practice time which sucked. All in all I got a great buzz from playing however I need to devote time to learning the cdj system before next playing at a club!!!

October 28, 2013 at 2:22 am #1015377

Lamid45G
Participant

Good to hear it turned out not too bad for you,

Regarding the cue thing, most of the EDM tunes, when u load em up on the CDJ it will automatically cue the first beat, so when u hit Play it should start-up the first kick of the song (DUG/BOOM/whataver)

October 30, 2013 at 10:11 am #1015583

Ruben daCosta
Participant

Sorry for not replying earlier, I’ve just read this thread today, but I hope this will help in the future…

A friend of mine owns a Pioneer 850 set, two CDJ’s and the DJM and I own a S4. Sometimes we trow parties at some of our friends place and we usually use his gear. At the beginning I also weren’t very comfortable with CDJ’s, my solution was to connect a USB cable to one CDJ and another cable to the DJM, using the CDJ as a MIDI controller for the Traktor decks (there is a mapping with a manual guide at the Pioneer website, and if you have experience in mapping you could create your own) and running the Traktor channels through the DJM soundcard.

But of course, this will only serve you if you’re allowed to use a laptop.
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