DJ Vintage

Skip the Hercules and the Gemini. If you don’t know if you need 4 channels, you don’t need them.
If you go the Traktor route, the only serious option I’d entertain is the S2 or something with some of the modular NI gear. Currently I wouldn’t feel comfortable advising anything but NI gear with Traktor.

Our current shortlist for non-Traktor starter controllers looks something like this:
Pioneer DDJ-SB2
Pioneer DDJ-RB (RekordBox only)
Numark Mixtrack Pro 3 (or even the 2)
Numark Mixtrack Platinum (bit more expensive than the Pro-series, but still affordable)
Denon MC2000 (while not the most recent release on the market, it is still both technically and in build-quality one of the best around)
Reloop Beatmix 2 (both the original and the mk2)

Don’t be afraid to buy used gear. Starter controllers have often spent their entire lives in bedrooms or other practice rooms. Not much, if any, time on the road. And as you will use it a year or so before knowing what it is you want to upgrade too, it is a serious option.

There are some good articles on the main site about building a following and getting gigs. There have been plenty of posts on the forums about the same subject. So I would suggest using the search function on both places and see what’s been said on the topic.

Welcome to the forums. Hope you’ll find what you are looking for here!

Howdy and welcome to the forums. Enjoy your time here!

Budapest, as in Sziget Festival?

There is lots of kit out there. I just got my Denon MCX8000, which is just about the ultimate controller for at least mobile DJs. I would not touch the XDJ-RX for that purpose. I do still own my DDJ-RX which has done it’s job admirably, but was never 100% my choice (got it in a gear swap).

At the end of the day the only person who can determine what is right for you is you.

We advocate getting your (desired/intended) workflow clear first, which is seems you have done to some extent already. Next comes software. It needs to match your workflow (like the loop thing, although I am not quite sure what it is you mean there) as closely as possible. 100% match is pretty much utopia. Then budget (to prevent from being blown away by lights, knobs and faders and perhaps brand while not really being able to afford it). Finally shortlisting 2 or 3 controllers that fit workflow, software and budget and trying to get some hands-on time with them.

On a general note I can say that you might be reading too much into the whole RekordBox and club gear thing. “Traditional” gear is moving out of the booth, to be replaced by the expectation that more and more DJs bring in their own gear/controller. Picking software and hardware because you may end up in a club somewhere … I would stick with making my choices based on what is important to me, not what others may or may not do/have.

Also, many software let’s you use the CDJs in either midi or HID mode with it, giving you all you need in the booth. All you do is bring a laptop stand, your laptop and a few cables and you are off to the races. This is by no means an exclusive feature of RekordBox DJ.

Just my 2 cents as usual.

Frankly, you want studio headphones to be as neutral as possible. The Sennheiser HD25s have long been the industry standard in studio and live music environments and have found their way into many DJ booth as well in the over 25 years that this one is on the market. It’s on-ear though, so not suitable for you.

It really depends on your purpose as well. Producing, DJ practice, studio (mixing/mastering), all different sets of criteria.