Mark 25h Introduction and questions

Terry said it all, you came to the right place lol

I was really serious. Even though the course is certainly worth its money, even without it Digital DJ Tips is filled with articles (and -as important- readers comments) about how to find music, how to build and maintain a library/collection and the controller guide is one-of-a-kind and features just about any piece of gear out there.

So, by researching those articles you should be able to get most of your questions answered. I wouldn’t recommend reading the controller guide back-to-back though :-). Perhaps easier to determine what features you are looking for in a controller so you can narrow down your search.

I can safely say that if you find your way around the forum and the main site, you’ll get a pretty good glimpse of what is hot and what is not these days.

There are relatively cheap controllers these days (say 150-300 range) that will give you a good idea of what a controller laptop combination can do. You can try out several software versions (Virtual DJ, Traktor and such) for free for a limited amount of time and/or the controller you buy will come with an LE version of software (you’ll want to upgrade to the full version once you decide to go on with it, but it should be sufficient to help you come to that decision).

At that price point (a single SL1200 cost a LOT more back in the day :-)) you would not really be throwing away much money and still have the real experience. Lots of readers have indicated they started out in their bedroom with controllers like this and didn’t move on til they started playing paid gigs. Other remain in their bedroom with the controller they started with or like it as a hobby enough to upgrade to something more suitable to their (expanded) taste.

Sorry if you felt let down by my comment, hope this one makes up for it some.

Greetinx,
C.

p.s. DJ-ing is all about heart, right!

Hey Mark,

I know for a fact that the recent one or two months featured quite a few articles on library/collection building, buying tracks and such. Go to http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2012/12/online-music-buying-tips/ for a good place to start. Then at the end of the article, right before the comments start, you’ll find tags like buying music, beatport, etx. Click on any of those to take you to related articles.

As far as doing it right, I took the course and learned a few things about DJ-ing in general (and I thought I knew it all :-p) but I learned a lot about digital dj-ing. And I know it helped me make the final transition and to determine what I wanted in a controller. Mind you, I was and still am making (some) money DJ-ing, so my goals for gear might have been set a tad higher for that very reason.

I think you can get your feet wet properly with some of the sub 200 euro controllers featured in the recent NAMM reviews. And see where it takes you from there. If you decide to sell it after a while (because you want to stop or upgrade) I am sure you can still get some money for it. So in the end we are talking maybe a 100 final investment. It sure beats toying around with keyboard shortcuts on your laptop.

Greetinx,
C.

Hey Mark,

Being a bit of a Denon afficionado, I’d like to say check out the MC2000 here http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2012/08/denon-dj-mc2000-released-is-this-the-best-beginner-controller-yet/ and the S2 vs Denon MC3000 comparison here http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2011/11/dj-controller-clinic-traktor-kontrol-s2-vs-denon-dj-mc3000/

Greetinx,
C.