DJ Vintage
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DJ Vintage
ModeratorLOL … my “other” nickname (which I actually got being a DJ in the Middle East) was MadnessV … LOL
ModeratorOhhhh ..:(
ModeratorOf course, I totally forgot Sennheiser makes cheap ones too 😀
ModeratorHAHA! I KNEW IT !@
ModeratorUhm … I think they are talking about “normal” guys, Terry …
ModeratorJeez .. the things you learn here 🙂
ModeratorThe stuff is so highly personal, what works for me might not work for you and vice versa. What one person considers comfortable the other gets frustrated with. So yeah, bit of a pain if you have to travel, but in my opinion with stuff like this no substitute for just sticking it on your head physically.
Even if they are cheap, finding out you threw away 30-50 bucks on something that wasn’t as good/comfortable/useful as you’d hoped from the spec’s and the picture …
Greetinx and good luck!
C.ModeratorYou are welcome.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorCheap headphones are not my thing, but there is a zillion options in the low-end range (say 20-50 euro). I would opt for a budget model from a main brand (akg, reloop, numark, sony, maybe stanton), read the reviews (Phil has done quite a few on the blog) and pick one. I buy headphones that I know I will wear a lot (comfort) and that need to sound very good (sound quality) and that need to be able to withstand the rigors of the road (build quality), finally I prefer if all the bits and piece can be swapped in case of defects (don’t want to throw away my cans if a cable goes bad or the ear padding gets ripped on one side).
So, I ended up with Sennheiser HD25-IIs, at 250 euro hardly kind of cheap. But I have had them for 4 years of intensive use and they’ll serve me another 16 at least. Just a personal choice.
Don’t expect miracles from the low-end stuff, make sure they appeal to your taste (image) and are somewhat comfortable. As a DJ you’ll be wearing them around your neck most of the time, so make sure they are comfortable there as well as on your ear. The fact that when you use them it will often be on just one ear means lots of cans fail because they have a tendency to sit too crooked and/or slide off of your head. Swivel earcups that move out of the way make life a lot easier. Also if they rotate 180 degrees (if only on one side), so you can hold the headband in your hand and press the cup to your ear for a quick listen.
Hope that helps.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorI won’t pretend to be able to tell you how to do your job. DJ-ing is a personal thing at the end of the day and a set that works for me might not work for you and the other way around. Give 10 djs the same 2 hours worth of music and you get 10 different 2 hour sets and that is not taking into account the audience.
The only tip I want to give you here, is that people have asked you to play based on what you did in the past. I am not saying don’t ever change, but make sure you change very gradually. If they liked your genre-by-genre approach and suddenly you are doing something completely different for 2 hours, that might not sit well.
Maybe define a little 10-minute period (when they are good and warmed-up, say after the first 50 mins) where you can do a mini-set in a more eclectic manner. Watch very carefully how the crowd reacts and be ready to resume your “normal” way of playing as soon as you detect unhappiness. If it DOES work out and they seem to like your new approach too, have a second 10-15 minute mini-set ready for a bit later.
So your 2 hour stint could be built up something like this:
- 0-50 mins – Warming the crowd, setting the mood, picking up the tempo and energy in your normal way.
- 50-60 mins – Do mini-set “new style”. Monitor crowd. Bad reception = cut mini-set short and back to normal asap.
- 60-90 mins – Normal programming. Have the floor jumping.
- 90-100/105 mins – If first mini-set was a succes, run second mini-set (just continue normal is it wasn’t succesful). Again be ready to change back to normal if the crowd doesn’t react well.
- 100/105-120 mins – End with the last 15-20 mins in your normal fashion. Play a strong end shot and go out with a bang. They remember you by the way you left them. Don’t experiment with your “closing statement”.
Hope that helps.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorHi,
Will get back to you soonest, but can tell you that in order to use the 4-deck option, you have to set Traktor to Internal, Denon to PC Mix and all the matrix inputs to midi.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorHey Rudderz,
Those that invent hot new things are the ones that ignore the “rulez” and try what shouldn’t be tried. So go for it.
I guess it is just that we all know it has been tried and tried and tried and in all those years nobody got it to work.
By all means give it your best shot and convince us it can be done and your name will be hallowed forever in DJ circles.
Or we’ll all be giving you the “told ya so” look 🙂
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorDenon has been around for ever (longer than Pioneer in the booth I’d say) and has pioneered (pun intended) quite a few DJ inventions back in the day. Their gear is without fail rock solid (check the MC3000/6000 controllers, built like a tank) and built to last. They are just not the marketing people that the folks at Pioneer are, they are DJ gear heads :-).
I mean the CDJ2000Nexus are really nice players, but the price just doesn’t warrant it for me. And the few extra things you get (the display/menu is better and I wouldn’t mind a needle drop strip on the 2900s – those are the two main differences in my opinion) just don’t make up for that.
I find the jogwheels on the Denon are actually nicer than the CDJ ones, but that is a personal taste. I know the way Denon contructed them (wheels attached straight to the controlling electronics) compared to the Pioneer way (with plastic cogs and axles) is, at least in theory, less prone to wear and defects and should be more direct in response.
Much has been said about the Engine/Rekordbox difference, so I’ll let that tiger sleep. Again, like DJ software, you pick one and go with it. Moving to/from another platform will always require either specialized tools and or extra effort by you.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorIf you read all the online reviews on the 2900s (including Phil’s) you’ll see that one of the things they all comment on is how “workflow-compatible” they are with a CDJ900/2000 setup. If you can use the 2900s, then you can use the CDJs no problem.
I’d say a 5- to 10-minute learning curve first time your are on the CDJs, tops.
And for the mixer, only the FX channel requires a bit of a change obviously. Other than that it is primarily a 4-channel mixer. Gain, filters, crossfaders, EQ, mic, headphone cue, the usual.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorColtrane09, post: 41791, member: 2800 wrote: BTW, what do you have your Master Volume on the controller set on? And do you keep the faders on “0”? Lastly, what is your Main Volume set to in Traktor? Does it matter what the setting is if you’re controlling everything on the controller?
My master volume is hardly ever past halfway on the controller. I try to keep my channel faders at 0 most of the time, giving me a bit of playroom when required (emphasising a certain sound by just making it a tad louder for example).
It matters in that if the setting is for external (Traktor) INT MIX (Denon), the Denon is actually doing the work (you get sound back from Traktor through USB and that get’s summed to the main channel on the Denon. The on-screen knob will follow the movement of the master volume knob, but just for optical feedback.
The other way around, thus internal (Traktor) PC MIX (Denon) setting, all the mixing actually get’s done in the PC/Laptop and only the main and cue outputs get routed back to the Denon. When you move the knob on the controller for master volume, it actually controls the master volume in the software.
Hope I got it right now 🙂
I’ll try to check on the 4-deck setup in the next couple of days.
Greetinx,
C. -
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