NietzSKY
Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
NietzSKY
Participantlittle komodo, post: 35935, member: 7211 wrote: First of all: why would a DJ, who has established some kind of career in your city, consider playing out for a cheap price, let alone free? DJing is a tough gig, simply because it requires a lot of work and time (and stress!) to be that extra step better.
Not to be rude or anything but try not to accuse/diss other DJs. These things always backfire sooner or later, and if you’re really keen in bringing back these warehouse raves then ultimately you’re going to need their support and help. They might be in it for the money for various reasons, because they enjoy what they’re playing, are struggling etc.
Apologies if I came off a bit hostile. If your passionate about the idea go for it! These sorts of things require independence, initiative, finding support and so on. Get a second job. Get onto flyers, social media and make sure you find and target the right audience.
I can understand the opinion, though I have a pinch of a different one myself. As I’m working on create rave-themed shows in DC, there’s a difference between DJing as a job and art DJing. DC is overrun with house, and generally you’re not going to be playing hardstyle/ psy trance/ DnB during a house night (or, as is the case in DC, a house week year). While I’m funding 90% of all the gear and doing all booking/promotion, I’m still losing about 400 throwing this show (damn light-setups).
For me, I would rather play a free gig with an audience of 50 where I have full-and-complete artistic liberty, as oppose to playing a paid gig for 200 where I can only play top40 and house. I didn’t enter DJing because it’s notorious for paying well, I became a DJ because I love being behind decks and putting together audible jigsaw puzzles and mathematics. I’m also a bit not right in the head, considering I actually started building my kit during a period of homelessness.
@OP:
Understand, if you truly want to do this, start saving now. Understand, you are going to be taking a huge hit initially getting this thing up-and-running. Understand it is going to be a thankless job, and you are going to have to deal with flaky DJs who, even with sound equip provided, will be expecting bukoo bucks. I was lucky because there are a few others in the DC area who share a passion for music and were willing to play off of commission. Just explain the situation and tell them pay is commission based, and go from there.Get active in your community, and start volunteering at any collective venues/ community centers you can. Do this as a means of making connects, and try to help a struggling center/venue by hosting this show and offering 1/3 off door sales to the place. This may allow you to focus on spending your money on lighting (with venues that have house PAs). Start freejaying/busking around the city, and be so different/loud that people won’t be able to ignore you. Start going to shows/clubs that don’t stick to strictly house, and post up flyers everywhere.
Most entrepreneurs are in the red the first few years of their startup; view this as a very similar thing. However, if you do buy lights/a show worthy PA, it is an investment that will last.
TL/DR: Get ready to get a 2nd job, for you’re going to be bearing the blunt of the expense and be seeing red if you want to do this. Do it anyway.
ParticipantYou could get another Vci100, or just upgrade your controller to the 400 if you’re really feeling VCis. I can’t go back to 2 deck controllers anymore, just seems there is so much more potential with 4. As far as a sample launcher, you have a few options…..
You could go for a maschine/maschine mikro, and integrate that into your kits, or you could get a midi fighter and learn to utilize traktor’s remix decks (or an f1, and this assumes you use traktor), or you could get a launchpad and start integrating ableton into your sets. Hell, you could get a usb synth and map it to shoot samples…….. I personally enjoy the maschine of all the aforementioned options, for velocity sensitive pads allow for finger drumming as well as one-shotting.
ParticipantThink it’s safe to say if you used the same transition throughout your entire mix it would start to feel lifeless.
ParticipantKeep in mind, Phil has a digital dj scratching course in the works…. stay posted.
As far as scratching on controllers, generally I pay attention to what the wave formats look like and try to stick to scratching acapellas/solo instrument parts/ solo bass kicks. Samples are also great, I’ll have a sample loaded on a 3rd deck just to fuck around with when I’m in the mood for some flash.
To begin;
1) Pay attention to the waveform, and try to scratch when there is less going on. The more going on, the more it will sound like tv static.
2) I’m still no turntablist, and haven’t emulated every vinyl sound on digital yet. I use TP2 instead of TSP, I really miss my little pieces of tape on my vinyls. It really helps keep track.
3) Keep the volume of the deck you are scratching on lower than the loaded track deck. Until scratching is second nature, this will help mask mistakes.It does have a slightly different feel, and there is definitely a reason I’m switching to the ns7 II when it’s released. Scratching is still possible on most controllers (though imo vinyl will always be king for scratching), and it is still possible to sound good. When I busk w/ my 4trak people eat it up when I scratch, and I generally use it as a percussion element along with drums for fills/keeping a syncopated beat.
Participant^ Thanks for the info Terry, it makes me feel not so bad about considering leaving Traktor. The f1 is just collecting dust anyway, and I’ve a maschine mikro. Any idea when the controller release will be? I need to start saving now XD
ParticipantThe problem with just mapping is getting tight jogwheel integration. The motorized platters are kinda the big deal with the ns7 models, and I don’t believe there is yet a flawless mapping with the original ns7 that allows for tight jogwheel integration.
Participantwasn’t having the best hair day ever that day, but yup =D
Participantadit, post: 35814, member: 2099 wrote: so you mean EQ-ing is more preferred? why?
Not nec., and there is no* objective standard for mixing. When I mix, I feel EQing might allow you a tighter mix, and make the transition more subtle. I also may only want to kill the low-end of a track, and not touch the middle/high frequencies. Filter transitioning isn’t bad, or even less preferable; I was merely saying it’s great in-a-pinch for you are dealing with 1 knob as opposed to worrying about the balance of 6 and it sounds good. There are songs that I will filter out, and other songs I wish to EQ mix with.
Participant1) Since most cities have noise ordinances, I would recommend using chargable power sources as opposed to gas-powered. 2-3 Schumacher XP-2260 12V X-Line Portable [I][SIZE=12px]Power Unit[/SIZE][/I]will get the job done for about 4.5-6 hours (I’d really recommend 3, when your laptop needs to be charged it starts eating up a lot of juice. 2) The block rocker is chargable, and once it starts to get low on juice I just hook it up to the power supply and go from there. 3) It’s all about the noise ordinance relative to the city you are in. Some cities will require permits, DC has a gray area regarding this issue. I’ve been told both by cops, and am really starting to feel it’s up to the discretion of the cop. Research noise ordinances relative to your city, for the law is not universal in every area. 4) Use discretion on which areas you are setting up in. I would be very hesitant to set up in Anacostia in DC, or certain areas of Baltimore. If I am playing during club hours, I set up in a well-lit, high traffic area. During the day, I usually stick to the art/cultural districts of DC. 5) While I mainly play harder techno/rave music, I do adjust sets accordingly based on how well I believe they will do. Suggestion: Flo Rida has used Levels as a beat, as well as Bingo Player’s Cry(just a little). If I’m in the middle of a hard dance set and I feel I might want to transition to hip hop, I will usually go Organ Donors => Bingo Players (Out of My Mind/Don’t Stop the Party) => Steve Aoki/Kid Cudi Pursuit of Happiness => Flo Rida Cry => from there. When I am trying to transition into something more palatable to the masses, I utilize a lot of remixes that are similar in style to what I am playing, and then bring it into bullshit (Like Hangover, or the Whistle Song, etc.). 6) It’s all about the showmanship. I’ll run out from behind my booth and start dancing with people, I’ll scratch a little, remix/mashup a little, etc. Show people you aren’t a human ipod, and you should do lovely. I’ve always been fond of kids (Have 3 younger siblings that I’ve helped raise) so I’ll usually make a point to dance with kids, and even bring a milk-crate, invite them behind the decks with me, and put my hands over theirs and start scratching/put the headphones on them. Not only do people love this, you could be inspiring a little DJ without even knowing it =D. While that whole ”be yourself” advice is generic as shit and really doesn’t say much, just allow your personality to shine through in your djing out there, and give it a human feel. While a cop might initially come to shut me down, there has to have been at least once instance where I’ve humbled a cop and he’s turned the other cheek. -I wish you the best of luck in the endeavor.
ParticipantThere’s nothing wrong when doing this IMO, and it’s been in my bag of ”oh shit, running low on time and need to transition asap” since I’ve started.
January 25, 2013 at 2:01 am in reply to: Do you remember the first day you had a DJ controller? #35652Participant1/10 on my first day. Took me a little to learn that the highest numbered 4trak drivers weren’t the newest and I didn’t have monitors. Once I began to catch on/learn some basic mapping, it went up to an 8/10.
As far as Carl Cox mixing, I feel I’ve still got a little ways to go.
ParticipantHonestly, you guys should be fine, it seems different enough……..Oh shit is that Netsky’s lawyer at my door? XD j/k
ParticipantIf 1 strobe would work, I’d also like something atmospheric
ParticipantGenerally, people know a limited number of dances, and will (try to) fit the dances they know to certain music. Seeing shuffling/jumpstyle is an obvious one. Seeing running man/ pop lock/ hip-centric dancing usually has me get ready for some flo rida or other bullshit like that. Something with a bounce will usually tell me to head house/prog house. While I’ve never seen a robot in the club, other times I have and they usually get the complextro/dubstep track.
Participantsomething like a reverb + delay while moving the channel fader down or putting a filter on?
-
AuthorPosts