DJ Vintage

Totally (and I do mean totally) depending on the night in question. I’ll talk most at weddings, but none of those are ever the same either.

It’ll usually include some kind of welcome and introduction of myself. If at all possible I will use something relevant that just happened or is about to happen to hook on too and with humor if I can manage it.

Other than that I really have no script for it. A bit like my gigs, never pre-planned. Premeditated at best 😀

There seems to be a perception that these controller units are just for beginners/entry level DJ’s, the pros use freestanding CDJs and mixer?

You won’t find many people here supporting THAT notion. Most of us at the very least accept that you can do more with even an entry level controller/laptop combo than you can with two media-players and a mixer. Some are more outspoken and consider a CDJ/DJM combo to be past technology 😀

That’s about audiophiles that (claim to) hear the difference between two different brand resistors in their 20.000 euro a piece mono-block amps.

Us “normal” folks won’t really connect that way.

As I said earlier, if your entire chain is under your control and all your components are excellent quality, then I do believe cable can make a difference. Much more so in analogue than in digital though.

An electric signal is no more than electrons running through a conducting material (let’s say copper). Like water, the thicker the pipe the easier the water flows. If you use a small pipe and increase the amount of water that needs to pass through the pipe, you might start incurring some turbulence in the pipe and you will increase the amount of resistance of the pipe, so the smooth flow might get (partially or intermittently) broken. And the pipe will have a maximum throughput, more than that you can not get through the pipe in any fixed period of time.

Same goes for digital cables. As Paul explained, there is an increasing amount of data (electronic packets = electronic signals) that has to pass through the cable. If the copper is really thin (the core of a cable) then you will get the “turbulence” and added resistance causing dropouts and such. Due to the nature of digital communication, there is a “fail-safe” system in place. As mentioned by Paul, these are checksum packets. At the end of the line, the receiving end checks if all the expected “bits” arrived and if not, it can – to a degree – repair the packet. To an extent as I said. If the damage to the main packet is too extensive, it can’t be repaired, or if the amount of repair work that needs to be done exceeds the capacity of the receiving device to do the actual repairs. At this point you will experience audible problems.

While audio requirements may have gone up, it is mostly in the video world where this is an issue. Going from full HD to Ultra HD increases an already hefty data stream by a factor of 4! So suddenly you need to get 4 times as much water through your pipe. You can see how a pipe that could handle 2 times full hd would still only manage half of UHD!

I tend to agree with Paul that for short distance, distortion-free environment, audio purpose regular USB cables are fine. The amount of data isn’t all that big (compared to video), the receiving end usually more than capable of repairing whatever packet might get lost.

Physical damage to the core (a fracture!) is more likely to cause problems than the actual thickness of the core.
That said, a thicker core is sturdier, will fracture less easily. Thicker cables usually have thicker braiding which protects the core even more. The cable is less prone to damage during heavy use or when getting stuck under the lid of a DJ coffin for example. Better connectors are usually used. All in all better physical characteristics.

This is why we advice you to get thicker, stronger cables (usb, audio, whatever), to prevent from being at a gig and finding your thin as a hair usb cable from your phone charger has broken somehow since the previous gig. But don’t go for the marketing mumbo-jumbo. The fact that the core is thicker will help prevent some lost packets, but it will not sound beter imho.

Summarizing: the physical damage resistance from a cable is a more important aspect (for DJ’s) than it’s electrical qualities. That said, the electrical qualities will usually be better in stronger cable as part of that strength comes from using thicker materials (including core and shielding). Look for pro-grade cables (like professionals in the field use) not for audiophile-grade cables. It will get you good, solid cables without breaking the bank. No need for gold connectors, but for example on an XLR cable a Neutrik connector is physically better (long term) than many other brands. And therefor (and this is the main reason pro’s choice certain gear) more dependable!

To demonstrate this to yourself, see if you can get close to setups at festivals and events or at least to the sound engineers booth (those guys usually respond well to kind requests in my opinion) and have a look at the cables. No braided, multi-colored, gold-plated cables in sight. But no flimsy cables either.

44.1KHz is CD-standard. 44.8KHz is something I never heard of. I am gonna assume you mean 48KHz. This is not an audio standard. It is actually used for sound on DVD’s (well sound ment to accompany video material). So it makes me wonder where you got your music from. If you ripped yourself, you have chosen the wrong format. If you bought tracks from proper music outlets, they should all be 44.1KHz (unless you are buying from artists directly in which case they can = sometimes = be in other formats like 24-bit 96KHz for example).

Actually, since most sound cards (being made for audio) are 44.1KHz, some quality might get lost in the “translation”.

So, to hold this against Denon/Engine isn’t fair :-).

My suggestion would be to REACQUIRE your tracks in the proper 16-bit/44.1KHz format. Even if you convert your current 48KHz tracks, you will lose quality.

The MC8000 is indeed a Serato controller with Engine backup, but you can easily play a standalone session if circumstances dictate (something as simple as having to do a quick one hour thing somewhere without going through the hassle of setting up laptop and such. just slap the 8000 on a table, drop in your stick and off you go).

As a mobile DJ, I find the mic implementation (even if it’s seperate from the channel faders like on the SX) way less thought out than Denon (as always). I am used to setting my mic to the proper level and leaving it there, only hitting the on/off button to activate. Having to move your mic level knob every time leads to unwanted fluctuations in the level and on occasion feedback. Also having talk-over quickly available with a quick button is a bonus, as opposed to a small sliding switch. Then there is EQ. While the Pioneer has mic EQ, it’s for both mics at the same time. The whole idea about EQ on a mic is that you can set it to enhance audibility. And my voice is distinctly different from guests for example. Having separate EQ for both mics is therefor a very big plus. As is having a separate echo for the mic channels. Finally the placement of the mic controls at the top of the unit instead of next to the fader bank is not something I like. Us mobile jocks tend to use the mic quite extensively (for ourselves and for guest mics) and good control is paramount and a make-or-break feature for me. And one that Denon always seems to have done better than Pioneer in my very humble opinion.

The MC8000 featuring 8 high quality performance pads is pretty much in line with current demands as well, as is witnessed by even most entry level controllers embedding this feature.

The last thing that would put me off the XDJ-RX is two-channel operation. I usually have a desire to be able to hook up other things (like a guest bringing some things on a phone or the sound of a beamer/laptop). And while you can switch between deck and line, I strongly prefer having a separate and dedicated fader for those kinds of inputs, so I have both decks available at all times without having to throw switches (or forgetting to switch them back!).

The choices available today are actually pretty mind-boggling at all budget levels. So there is something there for pretty much everybody.

Any chance you can throw Win7 on it for this one gig? So you have time to sort it out later? You could even do that by making your laptop dual-boot so you don’t have to undo your current setup.

While I didn’t dig deep into your fixtures, some general tips on setting up lighting:

1) Have a good combination of washes (broad beam) and spots (narrow beam)
2) Have some good moving lights (moving heads for example)
3) Have some static light, uplighting your own background and walls for example. Colors can be fixed or slowly changing. If they change, make sure it’s coordinated, having each wall change color independently is usually not the nicest effect.
4) Light both downwards (onto the crowd/floor) and upwards. With no obtrusions between light and ceiling the effect can usually be rather big.
5) Last but certainly not least: get a HAZER (not smoke!). This will disperse a permanent very fine mist that you can’t really see with the naked eye (as opposed to smoke), but they small floating drops will light up in the beams of your fixtures, so you get the “rays in the sky” effect. This is by far the best way to ensure maximum effectiveness with your lighting setup.

You could go and rent a hazer for an afternoon (probably get a really good deal from a rental company as weekdays daytime stuff usually sits in the warehouse anyway). Go to some dark hall and set up your lights. Set up a small camera or your use your phone. Run a bit of lights and record it. Then run the hazer for 15-20 minutes and do the same thing. You will immediately notice the profound difference.

Good hazers are not cheap, they are far more expensive than smokers. But where smoke is just an effect of it’s own right (and personally I think cold ice is way more fun and better accepted and longer lasting), a hazer is invisible on it’s own, but it really makes all your other lighting effects shine.

Hope that helps some and my 3 cents as usual.

I guess it’s random glitches as we (moderators) hardly ever experience this, nor do many others.

We have seen some other weird glitches very occasionally. I obviously post a lot and, while annoying, the frequency is so low I usually don’t even bother reporting it. It is also usually not reproducible, which would make troubleshooting the issue very hard.

But keep reporting odd behavior please.

LOL. It wasn’t much of a post and the answer was pretty much which I gave you this time.

Unless head-honchos Phil and/or Steve show up and comment on it, we are all in the dark 😀