Who here made the switch from vinyl? Gear advice needed
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Who here made the switch from vinyl? Gear advice needed Posted on: 26.03.2011 by Rosita Mosby Hi all,I'm a former dj who's been out of the scene for the past 5 years. I started djing in the 90s on 1200s, did my rounds at the clubs for about 10 years. When the whole dvs revolution started to take place, I thought it was amazing and got myself Final Scratch. This thing was a evening mare filled with bugs and I immediately sold it. I was traumatized enough to refuse to make the switch. (At the time I was also anti-cd, lol.) Couple years later I did try Serato, which did seem a lot more reliable but found myself having trouble adjusting. Then between work and grad school I decided to focus on other things. Now I'm looking to get back into djing and have found myself in a whole new world of tech. I feel like a dinosaur in this digital dj world. Last week I found out that Technics stopped making 12s and I had to stop and believe about that for a minute. Well we all have to adapt and I believe if I want to get back in, I'm going to need to accept that it's just not feasible to lug crates of records around anymore. (Nevermind I can't even buy vinyl because all the stores closed down!) So anyway, here are the options I'm looking at: 1) Denon X1600- run Traktor with my 1200s ($1k) 2) Pioneer DJM-800 with Traktor Skratch ($1k used + $~600 for TSPRO) 3) Traktor S4 ($1k) 4) Full Pio setup to spin CDs(DJM and some CDJS) $3k+ What I'm looking for right now is something to play with while I get comfortable again. If things go well, I'm going to want to get back in the club scene so most important is that whatever I'm practicing on will let me immediately feel comfortable in a club. I live in NYC where there's a lot of tiny cramped inhumane dj booths. I doubt it's possible to bring an S4 to the club, which has me worried of practicing on one of those. At the same time, I believe my fear of going DVS 5 years ago kinda left me in the dust, and if the world is going the way of the controller, I'm believeing maybe I should just suck it up and make the switch now. So after all my rambling, my question is for those of you who have made the transition from actual vinyl, what do you believe my best option is? | |
| Karma Lucha 27.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by nuport
Also: I don't like to 'hold back' as you say and cover for a company that screwed me over with crappy quality hardware just because I'm posting in an S4 community section. I'll tell it like it is. |
| Rosita Mosby 26.03.2011 | Hi all, I'm a former dj who's been out of the scene for the past 5 years. I started djing in the 90s on 1200s, did my rounds at the clubs for about 10 years. When the whole dvs revolution started to take place, I thought it was amazing and got myself Final Scratch. This thing was a evening mare filled with bugs and I immediately sold it. I was traumatized enough to refuse to make the switch. (At the time I was also anti-cd, lol.) Couple years later I did try Serato, which did seem a lot more reliable but found myself having trouble adjusting. Then between work and grad school I decided to focus on other things. Now I'm looking to get back into djing and have found myself in a whole new world of tech. I feel like a dinosaur in this digital dj world. Last week I found out that Technics stopped making 12s and I had to stop and believe about that for a minute. Well we all have to adapt and I believe if I want to get back in, I'm going to need to accept that it's just not feasible to lug crates of records around anymore. (Nevermind I can't even buy vinyl because all the stores closed down!) So anyway, here are the options I'm looking at: 1) Denon X1600- run Traktor with my 1200s ($1k) 2) Pioneer DJM-800 with Traktor Skratch ($1k used + $~600 for TSPRO) 3) Traktor S4 ($1k) 4) Full Pio setup to spin CDs(DJM and some CDJS) $3k+ What I'm looking for right now is something to play with while I get comfortable again. If things go well, I'm going to want to get back in the club scene so most important is that whatever I'm practicing on will let me immediately feel comfortable in a club. I live in NYC where there's a lot of tiny cramped inhumane dj booths. I doubt it's possible to bring an S4 to the club, which has me worried of practicing on one of those. At the same time, I believe my fear of going DVS 5 years ago kinda left me in the dust, and if the world is going the way of the controller, I'm believeing maybe I should just suck it up and make the switch now. So after all my rambling, my question is for those of you who have made the transition from actual vinyl, what do you believe my best option is? |
| Yee Bedilion 04.04.2011 | I use Traktor Scratch and X1. I have a pair of CDJ 800's and a denon mixer to practice on. Once those behringer nox mixers are released I'm probably going to get the 606 so I can have 4 channels to practice on and add another x1 and give up the timecodes. I look at it as portability. The great thing about Audio 8DJ+ Kontrol X1 is I only need to plug in my laptop. I need 2 usb and 2 RCAs to make the switch into a cdj setup(2 deck mixing). It also really easy to switch over just gotta keep your ins and outs straight. I take 2 extra usbs and 2 extra RCA's for backup. Also need to add a couple XLR adaptors from 1/4" and RCA to the first aid kit. If you had an s4 you would need to plug that in too. I also take a decent power bar with me as well. If your planning on playing in a club setting I believe this a good choice assuming there will be partial mixer setups available to you or you already have access to them. Good luck with the decision making its bitter sweet. |
| Art Beatz 02.04.2011 | The s4 is the best controller on the market, but if you want space, the closest controller to a cdj feel would be the pioneer ddj-t1 It might be the best for you I would not get rid ofc my deck setup at home The pioneer though sucks for portability... |
| Karolis Petrauskas 02.04.2011 | I'd say go the s4 route. Me and my buddies all started on vinyl about 20 years ago. The S4 makes suing interesting and fun again. The learning curve isn't too deep and it really feels like vinyl. The only thing you'll miss is putting the needle on the record and that initial crackle. The S4 sure beats buying new cartridges and the occasional scratched record that would render you favorite vinyl useless. |
| Rosita Mosby 31.03.2011 | Lol ill never sell my 12s! In fact I'm believeing of buying a couple brand news ones and sock them away. Ha |
| Nisha Latkowski 29.03.2011 | and if you do decide the sell the 12s..hit me up. |
| Nisha Latkowski 29.03.2011 | DVS all the way. Get a copy of Traktor Scratch Pro and a used Audio 8,..if you like it then pick up some Pioneer cdjs are your golden. You cant get any better jog wheels then the Pioneer cdjs...industry standard. |
| Larhonda Veuleman 28.03.2011 | Something like an Audio 8/10 DJ, an X1 and beatgrids. It will fit into any DJ booth, and if you want you can plug the house CDJs (or turntables, if they actually have them) into your Audio 8/10 and add DVS to your setup. This is both flexible (you can DJ on a two-channel mixer with no CDJs), but you can expand to 4 deck DVS if the venue has the right gear. (That said, the S4 is a thing of beauty. I have both X1 and S4, and I choose which to use based on the gig and the venue: e.g. if I know they have a gorgeous Xone 92 or are cramped on space I will use the X1) ((And there's nothing especially cool about DVS. It's just useful because CDJs make OK controllers and they're already installed in the venue: making your personal setup lighter-weight) |
| Karma Lucha 27.03.2011 | A MIDI controller / sound card hybrid is the future proof option. There arnt really many to choose from but atleast with A&H or Pioneer you are gaurenteed to get high quality parts. Who cares if it wont do everything you want it to do straight out of the box... Its midi, thats the whole point. You make it do what you want it to do |
| Rosita Mosby 27.03.2011 | Yeah I'm really having a tough time deciding... I'm getting pulled in so many different directions for different reasons... |
| Karma Lucha 27.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by nuport
Also: I don't like to 'hold back' as you say and cover for a company that screwed me over with crappy quality hardware just because I'm posting in an S4 community section. I'll tell it like it is. |
| Rosita Mosby 27.03.2011 | Yes, Being that I am posting in the S4 community I've been holding back specific negative comments regarding the S4. =P But recently I went to guitar center to play with all the controllers and I did feel like the S4 felt like a toy. So what do you believe? Maybe the A&H DX? 4d? Ive also been believeing about a standard mixer with 2 X1s |
| Karma Lucha 27.03.2011 | I went from Technics to CDJ's to MIDI all within 5 years. Midi is definitely the way to go and the S4 is an amazingly advanced piece of mixing hardware that works well, however I would not recommend it to any dj new or old, after owning one since the release date. It is the most delicate piece of hardware I've ever owned and has already broken in a couple of ways. NI is no Pioneer but neither are their prices. You don't necessarily get what you pay for, I could pick my Hercules 4-Mx up and smack someone across the face with it, plug it back in and keep mixing, I definitely cant say the same about the S4. Edit: If I was going to suggest anything, It'd definitely be an all in one MIDI solution like the S4. Not a 'missing link' technology like the Audio 4/6/8/10. |
| Teresia Janusch 27.03.2011 | my dilemma with the dvs thing, although because i have cdjs to its not much of a big deal, but hardly any venues here still have 1210's , purely cdjs, so i end up just using the time code cds most of the time |
| Kesha Orde 27.03.2011 | Hi nuport, I appreciate your dilemma! I also started out on 1200s and have just sold them to buy an S4. I made the transition slowly by first trying the Traktor demo to see if the software appealed, then adding an Audio 2 DJ soundcard and then an X1 and upgrading to Pro from LE. I've done this because I love the software and it really suits my style of mixing, but also because the bar I play at every week doesn't have its own decks so I need something I can carry on the bus/taxi. I've never got into scratching, so haven't ever needed what the DVS setup offers, I find it more fun mixing with sync on and concentrating on tune selection and having fun with looping and FX, but this might not be your style of mixing. I would recommend trying the demo if you haven't already, just to see if the way Traktor works appeals to you. If it does and you dont scratch/need DVS, I would go have a play on the S4. I did a few weeks back and have now ordered one. In regards to the booth situation, you'll have to go with your instincts on that, the S4 is quite big, but you could always take a stand, or find a way of putting it on top of the turntables. Hope this helps, I've probably rambled a bit... |
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