Hi,
my name is Flo, I'm from Germany (I say this because not all gear that you talk about might be available to me and vice versa) and for the last 10 years I've been (mostly bedroom-)mixing with two turntables and a Pioneer DJM 300.
This is my status quo:
- My turntables are junk, but buying new ones I like will cost me more than any digital gear I've seen.
- I won't start an international DJ career at 33 - meaning, my mixes will stay in my bedroom and the occasional house party.
- Hence I spent way too much money on records - I would like to reduce costs for a track from 8-12 EUR currently (for a 12") to 1.00 - 1.49 EUR. (That's my main motivation to go digital).
- I loooove mixing and recording those mixes.
- I have a Mac.
- I don't have any digital soundcard so far.
- I could spend 500 - 700 EUR for gear
.
This is what I would like to end up with:
- Digital DJ Controller with good haptics (I believe I like rubberized jog dials more than shiny plastic ones)
- I would like to use my old turntables in order to utilize my 5000+ record collection.
- I would like to do a decent recording of my mixes but I won't get into studio production or anything like it.
- I would like to learn and use effects on my mixes.
- I love knobs more than sliders - faders with a knob would be great (instead of line faders) but is not a must (I actually never saw them on a digital DJ controller).
- I have no use for a cross fader (I always mix with the line faders since it gives me more travel for a smoother mix). So a cross fader is not a must (but I guess they all come with it...)
So here are my questions:
- Any recommendations on gear besides the obvious VCI-100 and VCI-300?
- In order to use my turntables - do I need a controller that supports it (= has 2 line-ins) or could I connect them to a digital sound card and use the controller to mix? e.g. If I bought a VCI-100 and an external soundcard - can I still use my turntables as well?
- Has anyone actually used - over a substantive period of time - Reloop Equipment? They have a DIgital Jockey 2 Master Edition coming out that can be used as a standalone mixer as well - is that what I'm looking for?
Thanks for any hints or recommendations.
Cheers,
innersoul
