D-Jam
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D-Jam
ParticipantTry that…look at NY rave message boards. I know they have to exist. Get to know the scene outside of the scene. I know if I wanted to know about the rave scene I’d look for “Midwest ravers” on Google. You also might want to just see what’s going on in NYC. Promoters and DJs who share your tastes.
Just feel around…social media…message boards…etc. Find those few like-minded folks. From there, either throw events or move around or even try other things like online shows or producing.
I’m working on a series on how to throw and promote an event. Been busy, but giving Phil part 1 this week. Stay tuned for it.
August 24, 2011 at 9:26 pm in reply to: Does the Laptop really make a difference on sound quality? #1001491ParticipantMC6, post: 6131 wrote: D-Jam, I’m not really up to date with the functions of a soundcard. Haven’t even had the chance to read over all the articles on it as I’ve been really busy recently, which is the reason i’m only getting back to this thread now. I’m guessing that it has one connection which is USB to plug into the laptop and the little box has a headphone jack to plug in the RCA cable like we would normally do? Sorry if that isn’t explained very well lol! Would it take over the sound and make it sound a lot better, yes?
OK, here’s the easy lesson.
Back when most people used desktop computers, they would buy a video game like Doom or Unreal Tournament. They would see things run sluggish on their computers and at times the textures and shadows not showing up well.
Suddenly the person goes out and buys a nice Nvidia Video Card and puts it in…now the game plays phenomenally and the graphics look beyond belief.
WHY? Imagine your computer is a car with one driver, and this driver has to navigate, put music on the stereo, and take photos of the streets. How good and efficient could he do? Probably bad. Now put in a second person doing a chunk of his work. Suddenly things run better.
Sound cards and video cards do the same thing. They have memory and processors that do the work for the computer, so your main computer processor doesn’t have to do it. So in the case of your sound card, the main processor doesn’t have to handle sound because your Audio 4 or Connectiv or whatever you use is handling it.
NOW…if you want better quality you still need performance out of the computer. That means a processor that isn’t the “minimum requirements” and your ram maxed out. You also want to tweak your OS so you don’t have issues like USB ports shutting off and all those unnecessary processes running in the background as Smittten pointed out in that one article.
I also would tell you that a DJ-level soundcard would give you the added channels you need. So you could have multi-channel output if you can set it, and the output to headphones. I personally think the M-Audio Connectiv I use is low-end compared to the NI soundcards, but it does a lot for the money, so I imagine better ones would rock even more.
DON’T – use your headphone port on the laptop as an external out. Basic rule.
ParticipantWindows…Mac….just use what works for you.
I own an iPhone…just bought an Android tablet…and I mainly use Windows PCs.
Who cares about brands? Just use what works for you. In a few years we’ll hear about Macs selling like hotcakes, then back to Windows, then Mac, and so forth. Maybe a third player will jump in and suddenly they’ll be the cat’s meow.
ParticipantLMAO…I’ve done stupid mistakes like that!
ParticipantBack in the day there was some sense of community. Rave culture was and always is a very communal thinking. Modern club culture though has become narcissistic and all about “me me me me me”.
Sorry you had that experience Howitzer.
ParticipantThis is maybe when you should find like-minded people and make your own night happen at a small spot.
There has to at least be ravers in your neck of the woods. Every small town and city has them.
ParticipantNo….I’m usually tired and want to sleep.
I wind myself down with symphony music in the car.
I did have one guy who went to the WMC one year, and on the last night he went to see Tiesto, then immediately caught a plane home and went to work. It was a bit of a shock to his system to go from massive Tiesto event to working in the office.
ParticipantI’ve used a 500 GB WD drive as well as a small Maxtor laptop external HD.
Just go for a quality company like WD, Seagate, etc.
ParticipantI miss Big Beat. I know music snobs hated on it, but I liked how you could get average people into it, and it wasn’t cheesey in my book.
ParticipantFor me, I’ll often times have a problem hit me early in a set. It could be a bad blend, or some piece of gear messed up, or even DVS problems (in the past when they were not as refined). I’ll tell you I’d let it get to me and make me nervous as hell. It was a lot for me to take a deep breath, maybe do a shot, and just keep going.
Crowds are very forgiving, and I’m happy they are. You sound like shit the whole set and they’ll notice. You mess up once and they usually overlook it.
Worst time was when the guy before me kept playing with the EQs as he finished his set…and left them all turned down on the channel. I got on and thought the mixer was busted and kept looking for what was wrong. That really pissed me off. I’ll usually notify the next guy if I did something like that or turn the EQs back up so he doens’t get a surprise.
Still…I remember going into that set feeling nervous. Took a lot for me to calm down.
ParticipantI agree on both points.
I still tell anyone who buys a laptop from Best Buy to buy the extended warranty. I had Toshiba laptops that worked beautifully, but the power cables were not well made. Went though four of them at one point, each replaced with the Best Buy Service Plan. Totally paid for itself at that point.
Good mentality on just keep playing. Most crowds aren’t as savvy on it all as DJs are.
ParticipantEmma Partnow, post: 6003 wrote: That is Incredulous my Friend :eek:;
I will Definitely Take Your Word for it (and Believe You Completely);
But I Find It Impossible to Watch the Video Again :(;I won’t deny his talent as a producer, and I’m sure he can DJ very well.
I just think if someone is going to pay me thousands to perform…then I’d perform. It’s one thing to do the pyro show and have a mix ready-made, or even some wild edit mix to toss on as an intro…but another to just mime the normal set. He should know DJs will see this and call him out on it.
Plus when you take shortcuts like that, you get sloppy. Suddenly one day he’ll want to play normally and have trouble because he’s been slacking too much.
Getting into that level of this industry means you’re better than the rest. To simply make it more about who has more money to use in marketing is what drives many out of EDM and such. It’s what makes many look down on it because the talent aspect has been removed.
ParticipantI’ve seen both ends of that.
I liked when guys like Andy Moy or Oscar MacMillion of Gramaphone would show me new tunes. They would be excited about it all and even after a while understood my tastes. So I’d get “Alex, check out #4 on my wall”
I think that’s why I like the blogs now. It reminds me of that.
ParticipantI’d point out 3:30 in that video and ask him how he psychically mixed in One More Time with his back turned.
August 18, 2011 at 6:09 pm in reply to: How to proceed to sell your own CD mixed compilation ? #5985ParticipantI wouldn’t bother with CDs. Most of it all is digital now.
Also, it’s hard to push a mix compilation if you’re not a big name. Many run out to buy something like Vonyc Sessions because it’s a big name DJ and most likely loads of tracks no one’s heard.
If you produce, then many will make mixes mainly containing their stuff and stuff from their label as a means to promote their stuff.
If you’re just a DJ, and you really want to sell CDs, then the legal way is to pick out tunes you want to use, contact their labels and find out how you can get permission. Be careful if you think you can use someone’s free remix off Soundcloud. Maybe he can’t sell that track because he used someone else’s work, but the same goes for you if you put out a CD for sale containing that track. “Dave’s Bedroom Remix” of a Beyonce track is still a Beyonce track…and she can sue you.
You have to be careful too. If you’re a “no name” the labels just might tell you “no” and forbid you to use their stuff under any circumstance. They see you then as a small player and thus not worth their time.
The illegal way is just to make them, press them, and sell them in local privately-owned stores that sell them. I don’t see any of those exist anymore since everyone downloads now.
Personally, just make demos. If you want to sell stuff, then produce music and sell it. Start a label, get a bunch of guys on Beatport under your label, then put out a mix compilation with stuff from the label.
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