Todd Oddity
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Todd Oddity
ParticipantEasiest way: Add a laptop and use your system in HID control mode – all of the major softwares have samplers now. If you don’t want to do that and instead want to look at hardware options, the only thing that pops into my head is the RMX-1000. Beyond that I suspect you’d have to look at somehow integrating production style equipment into your setup.
ParticipantGreetings from Ottawa!
Glad to hear the back is healing, bummer about the hernia. But it sounds like you are keeping spirits up and that really does make all the difference with health issues.
As for the gear…
If you like the 3900s better you should absolutely go that route because the rumour you heard is backwards – it’s the 2900s that are strongly suspected of being discontinued while the 3900s continue to receive support (although a possible newer version may be in the pipes). The picture for both should be a little clearer in the coming weeks as we see if the updates to Engine work on both or either of those models.
ParticipantAt the risk of sounding old and cranky…
You rate the energy of your tracks by listening to them! You should be able to tell in 10 seconds of listening if a track is going to rev people up or not. This is THE most fundamental skill of being a dj – more so than mixing or anything else you see on these sites – KNOWING YOUR MUSIC.
Okay, no risk there, I definitely sounded old and cranky. But seriously… Yish.
ParticipantOn many systems the ZeroDB setting seems to be way too high. Open up config, go to options, make sure advanced settings is checked (in the top corner), then in the search type “zerodb”. Once you see the setting, try the -3 or -6 and see if that helps you out (I keep mine at -6).
If you are using a Mixtrack Pro 3 then it already has a sound card – you do not need to purchase another one.
ParticipantNo need to apologize – you aren’t the first person I’ve misunderstood and you certainly won’t be the last! Happens all the time. 🙂
One more wrinkle to add to your thought process on this – if you are seriously looking at renting them out as a source of income, you pretty much need to be looking at 2000s. The reason is simple – that’s what would be on the tech riders of travelling DJs looking to rent out decks. If you’re looking to rent, you’re going to rent the best – not the lower models. So on top of my previous caution about renting out your gear, if you do settle on one of the models you are looking at, you may find there isn’t much of a rental market for them.
Now, with all of that being said, I still stick with what I said originally – XDJ 1000 over the CDJ 850. Better features – more future proof so your investment will last longer. It’s still not really a route I would recommend (I disagree strongly with you that controllers are toys for producers only), but based on what you’re looking at that would be your better investment.
Good luck!
ParticipantAh, gottcha – when you said “This is my first gear im going to buy” it made it sound like you were just starting out. Let’s adjust the line of questioning a tad then…
“Don’t want to be a controller guy anymore”
Can you elaborate on this a little? You didn’t like using software or you weren’t a fan of the controller you were using? I ask because if software is the problem then you are indeed limited in options, but be warned, you are also seriously limiting yourself on future options as well. If you are not a fan of the controllers, maybe you’ve reached the time to look at a better controller. An SX2 or SZ is going to cost you less than a CDJ/mixer combo, and has similar feel to the CDJ line and is RekordBox comatible. The new Denon unit announced today will cost WAY less than a CDJ/mixer combo and can also be used laptop free.“Buying a controller will cost same when i add a mac pro or any other high end laptop”
What are you using now? If it’s working now it should get you through till you can upgrade – and not having to spend everything at once is always a good idea. I would never do general rent on my gear – rental gear gets beaten up and not treated well at all. It’s a sure path to making your fancy new gear old and broken in a hurry.I’m not trying to talk you out of anything, but when you are looking at spending this kind of money you want to think it over very, very carefully.
ParticipantHonestly, rather than the 850s or 1000s and a DJM you would probably do better to look at something like the SX2 or SZ. Similar workflow, and a lot of advantages through extra features via the software. All of these units are high end or pro gear and feature the same levels of quality.
…BUT…
And this is the key thing to consider – all of these would be WAY overboard for someone just starting out. If you’re just getting your feet wet in this whole DJ thing don’t do it by throwing around a bunch of cash — spend wisely and learn the craft first before you start getting into the pro gear. If you know what you’re doing, skills will easily translate between various types of gear. But if you don’t know what you’re doing no amount of money and expensive gear will help.
ParticipantOf those two models, the 1000s will give you a much better feature set to work with. But if you have the budget to buy two of those and a mixer there are *many* far better investments you can make that will give you similar results and leave you with cash to spare.
ParticipantRead around the site a little. You’ll find plenty of advice for helping to pick your first equipment – including many pointing out that if you want to use Traktor you should only use it with NI gear, so from your list the S2 is the only option.
ParticipantYes, you have to be a little careful – unlike a lot of other software, the library on Virtual is actually a full directory listing of your hard drive – so actions can be a little more permanent than you might intend if you start moving things around!
Can I assume you are getting to your music in the library by opening up the “my pc” folder and going from there? That would indeed show you everything.
How I set up my system is I have one master directory called “music” and have that set as a favourite so it shows up in the root listing. Then when you open that all the subfolders are there without having to navigate through the rest of the PCs file system.
Then you can set what directories show up in the root listing and remove anything you don’t want to see or use.
Hope that helps.
ParticipantThere’s your problem – you aren’t routing your sound through the controller. You should have those set to the Numark drivers instead of the Realtek ones.
That should fix you up.
ParticipantYa, I can’t throw a vote behind any Pioneer mixers. I know I’m going against the grain here, but I hate their top of the line stuff so doubt I’d feel much better about anything else they put out. Sloppy gains. Inaccurate VU meters. Short throw upfaders. Stupid placement of the USB input. Hate, hate, hate. Did I mention I’m not a fan? lol Decent effects though. That is their saving grace. There is some link functionality you get having the 1000s paired to a high end Pio mixer though – worth being aware of.
Denon X1600s are a fantastic alternative if you can find one on sale within your budget (I picked up one before Christmas at a hell of a price from a US distributor). The X600 has almost as many features and has the same solid build – so if you can find one that might be a very good fit. They are discontinued so finding one could be the issue.
As your 1000s have soundcards you can look at non-USB mixers. I’ve never seen one in person but I like the look of the Reloop stuff. If you want crazy bang for the buck I know a few people who absolutely swear by the Behringer DDM 4000 (including one guy who installed it at his club and used it as the daily driver there for a number of years. Behringer can be hit or miss with product so you have to be really careful, but this model may be a hit. And it’s cheap. And feature packed.
Ah, I love mixers. They are still one of the components that get me most excited…
ParticipantI hit a similar problem on one of my older laptops I was trying to use for recording, and it was the input jack on the laptop – it was not calibrated as a line-in, just as a mic-in, and therefore any line level inputs sounded like garbage and I was never able to find a workaround using the jack. I picked up a cheap Sound Blaster USB audio card with an RCA input and an RCA output on it and that did the trick.
Audacity shouldn’t be the problem for you – I use it all the time without any issues at all.
ParticipantI actively support adding drops to any mixes that are available publicly as it discourages shady managers from just playing mixes aspiring DJs have dropped off instead of actually hiring someone. I know a few venues that had demo CDs on play on slow nights. Very annoying…
But agree – I find them a little tacky at live shows. But you have to do what you have to do to get your name out.
Participant^ lol – ya, that’s an old bartenders trick to help keep from getting too smashed when everyone wants to do a shot with them. Shooter girls will do that too – keep a few shots on the tray that are just pop.
Problem with that trick as a DJ is it only works if the customer tells the bartender who they are buying the shots for!
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