Becoming a part-time DJ?

StephenInsane

I was thinking I'd like to look into doing a bit of DJing on the side in medium sized bars etc. I have quite an impressive MP3 collection on my harddrive. Are there DJs that work by playing MP3s off their computer, or would I have to burn the stuff to CD? And what equipment/software would I need to purchase?

Zascar

Most bars and clubs have Pioneer CDJ's but afaik the only ones that play mp3's are the CDJ-800mk2's and the 1000MK3's. I'd say the majority of bars have the older mk1 or mk2 1000's which don't support mp3

I'd say its best to burn to normal cd's and hvae them well organised. mp3's tkae longer to load the waveform as well, although I'd love a set of mk3's with the folder browsing feature. You could potnetially just bring two identical cd's play for hours and hours without changing...

StephenInsane

I thought most bars and clubs had the DJ bring his own equipment?

What I was really trying to ask is, could I just use Virtual DJ on my computer and DJ my MP3 collection that way, or is that unacceptable? Do I have to burn all my MP3s to Cd format.

Jocksy

Stephen,
I did some djing like you said on a laptop with Traktor. It was a bit of hassle doing gigs in someplaces as they wereent really setup to accept a laptop. If you had a venue you knew week in week out then its cool. If you are doing it yourself ie bringing your own gear then it shouldnt be a problem. Also expect the odd idiot telling you that the sound isn't as good out of a laptop.

Bradidup

The only thing to worry about in some more well known bars & night clubs is that they can sometimes send in inspectors from music associations such as Imro to check if the music being played is genuine.

Helix

Bradidup wrote:

The only thing to worry about in some more well known bars & night clubs is that they can sometimes send in inspectors from music associations such as Imro to check if the music being played is genuine.

how can they prove youre not playing legit backups of music you own tho

Lenny

you could arrange to bring in your genuine disc's the following day.. ?

Bradidup

Helix wrote:

how can they prove youre not playing legit backups of music you own tho

Technically they can ask you to produce the origionals, you are allowed copy on to a sourse such as a laptop or blank cd thats if you have the original copy, But the way things are changing with legal downloading I dont know how they can police it. I know in Holland all laptops used by DJs in clubs, pubs & coffee shops must registered with a license sticker and theres up to a e10,000 fine. I have used laptops for a number of years and will always carry hard original copies and a cd player incase of a hdd crash, it has happened and can be embarrising.

Helix

Bradidup wrote:

Technically they can ask you to produce the origionals, you are allowed copy on to a sourse such as a laptop or blank cd thats if you have the original copy,.

"i bought them all but the originals of these ones here were stolen from me and i didnt bother reporting it"

prove otherwise

eoinaldhino

well why do they care if your playing downloded mp3..
it is nuthin 2 them... i know it is ilegal and all but
we are gettin free music.. there gettin a dj
and the only person losin out is the man upstairs and he already has enough money

Seanie M

have used laptops for a number of years and will always carry hard original copies and a cd player incase of a hdd crash, it has happened and can be embarrising.

That's my main gripe about "DJ's" that use lappies - there is not that much skill involved, yet everything to loose if something goes wrong. It is lazy, and I think berates the job. In my opinion, proper 1-on-1 decks (be it record, tape, or CD) is the only way to be a "disc jockey", otherwise, I'd just call you a jock-strap.

Now that CD player technology has moved on to be able to play MP3 discs (and even CD-RW ones at that), coupled with a good mixer with its sound effects and samples banks and so on, there should be no need to use a laptop with MP3's and using some piece of software on it to match the BPM's for you automatically (leaving out the Pioneer CMX-3/5000 player here!). More can go wrong with a laptop, and it is not "work" for the money being dished out for it.

I'll only bring my laptop to record my gigs.

Seanie.

eoinaldhino

if your really into it get a set of denon dn3500 (suposadly there better than pioneers)

Zascar

Seanie M wrote:

That's my main gripe about "DJ's" that use lappies - there is not that much skill involved, y

I don't want to go miles off topic so I've made my reply into a new thread