Intermediate controller help

Lol, that seems to be the million dollar question 🙂 with, I think, over 160 controllers in last years DDJT roundup there are many many personal favorites out there. And really the choice mostly boils down to what features you’d like to have in a controller and what kind of money yoy are willing to spend. I would start writing down your feature wish list,then set your features in an order based upon importance, high to low. Now you can start looking at controllers in you price range and see how many features they have from your list. Pretty soon you’ll be left with a nice little shortlist and you can make your final pick.

As far as speakers go, I have said many times on the forum that I would not recommend studio monitor type speakers, especially if you plan to go out and do home parties and/or could use a monitor/booth speaker while on gigs. If you get a set of small (8 or 10 inch) active P.A. Speakers, you can use them @ home practicing, at small parties as your main PA or as your booth speaker(s).

I am sure there will be lots of people advising you to get some kind of studio monitors. Again, choice is up to you. What will you be doing with them, what features do they need to do that job well and how much can you spend.

Good luck and I hope you won’t suffer too much selection stress:-p.

Greetinx,
C.

Hey Terry,

Point well made on the monitors. I know the definitions are becoming blurred, but I guess I am old skool, if you make your own tunes/remixes, you are producing, not DJ-ing. And for production you would be better off using studio monitors. Totally in agreement with you there. And the Rokits ARE very good for the money (even if they are not Adams, or Focals or …).

As far as the PA bit is concerned. I am not advising people to get a PA. But if you get a set of 8″ ABS, active PA speakers they CAN serve multiple purposes (like taking them to the home of a friend for his birtday party -unpaid, so hiring a PA is not an option or overkill in a 12 sq meter living room), as opposed to studio monitors which can only be used in a fixed setup (and frankly I don’t like to use my rokits when practicing stuff like beatmatching or doing the scratching course for any length of time).

Being a mobile DJ and most of my gigs being in rooms without fixed PAs, I have one PA set (Mackie HD series with 2x 12″ speakers and 1x 18″sub) which is ok to lug around, makes me decent money (it was paid for in the first year, the rest is profit) and is suitable for up to about 250 people without being too bulky for 60 people events (I just leave my sub at home in the latter case). Anything bigger (or live sound) I go out and rent as well. Clearly this set sits in storage waiting for the next performance and I don’t use it at home while practising.

I wish I could share your unshakeable beliefs in the quality of sound gear in clubs. Assuming your are right, I think a lot of us (especially in the starting days) will be playing gigs in “not a club”-places. Here in Holland for example we have loads of, for lack of a better word, “dance bars”. Not a real club in the traditional disco/dance sense. More a bar with some space for people to dance and some not too sophisticated lighting. I can tell you that the equipment they have is not always new, well maintained or even professional.

The last place I went (was doing someone a favor) had 2 Citronics CD players (no USB or anything) and a no-name mixer. It was all setup in a VERY tight space and nothing was properly built-in. Cables all over the place, it was a mess. And definitely no monitor speaker. Can’t tell you how happy I was having my NPM100 in the car :).

I love professional places and have been to many a one, but unfortunately you usually don’t start playing gigs in such places but a long way further down the ladder.

Greetinx,
C.

+1 for the terminal mix