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jimi_t2

marcdarwin wrote: »

...I'm in the UCD DJ soc as I thought this may help but has been a complete waste of time as I have never gotten an email from them (I have sent them some emails asking if they are having any meet ups..)

Yeah they're a complete waste of time. They exist only to provide the Ents officer something to fall back on for gigs at the bar. Just ignore them tbh

Can anyone recommend what is the right approach for getting a gig in Dublin ?

Go to nights that interest you. Talk to the promoters. Bring a few CDs. Not a hope in hell you'll get commercial work in Dublin though.

Cianh

Cheers, I was thinking that alright, not a mention of them on here from what I could find.

I'm thinking of getting cdj 850's or 900's What would be a good mixer to go along with them? is a xone 42 overkill (for bedroom use) or what about a second hand djm 600? I dont want to have to upgrade the decks and mixer anytime soon i'd rather buy extras in the future

Its all pending on the credit union first They might just give me a kick up the hole

Leinster7

Hi Cian,

If you're just getting started and not going to support the underground dance music industry by purchasing vinyl then I would take a look at this:

http://pioneerdj.com/index_f.html#/en/products/ddjt1

Seems kinda neat. I've not used one but you should test it out in a store before committing to cdj's.

re: A&H vs Pioneer. For bedroom use the 600 is more then capable for getting started. The same price-point Xones have a slightly crisper sound imo but won't really be noticeable unless you have a very expensive amp and speakers. I also think that for home use the efx on the Pioneers are more fun to play with, experiment and learn. The Xones are more rigid and generally have less efx unless you go for the high-end ones.

Having said all that make sure you have a decent amp and speakers. It will help you alot if you can hear things well and make sure to position things correctly.

I can recommend the smaller 'focal' speakers: http://www.focal.com/

There's no point in spending money on all that decent gear if you don't have decent audio processing! Best buy cheaper mixer/turntables and better amp/speakers if you have to decide on budget. Good luck

Leinster7

jimi_t2 wrote: »

Yeah they're a complete waste of time. They exist only to provide the Ents officer something to fall back on for gigs at the bar. Just ignore them tbh



Go to nights that interest you. Talk to the promoters. Bring a few CDs. Not a hope in hell you'll get commercial work in Dublin though.

Make quality mixes. Get a website up. Get on social networks. Network with your peers and those whom inspire you (but never spam). Be creative ann start your own night and build it up, don't rely on others to do any hard work (ever....cos they won;t).

And...why limit yourself to Dublin? Start throwing raves in the woods, underground car parks, old warehouses, with pre-parties at whatever bar etc..embrace the spirit of the underground

Cianh

Leinster7 wrote: »

Hi Cian,

If you're just getting started and not going to support the underground dance music industry by purchasing vinyl then I would take a look at this:

http://pioneerdj.com/index_f.html#/en/products/ddjt1

Seems kinda neat. I've not used one but you should test it out in a store before committing to cdj's.

re: A&H vs Pioneer. For bedroom use the 600 is more then capable for getting started. The same price-point Xones have a slightly crisper sound imo but won't really be noticeable unless you have a very expensive amp and speakers. I also think that for home use the efx on the Pioneers are more fun to play with, experiment and learn. The Xones are more rigid and generally have less efx unless you go for the high-end ones.

Having said all that make sure you have a decent amp and speakers. It will help you alot if you can hear things well and make sure to position things correctly.

I can recommend the smaller 'focal' speakers: http://www.focal.com/

There's no point in spending money on all that decent gear if you don't have decent audio processing! Best buy cheaper mixer/turntables and better amp/speakers if you have to decide on budget. Good luck

Buying cd's/mp3's still supports the industry does it not? I have 1210's too so I can keep buying vinyl anyway.

Thats the reason i'm leaning towards the new cdj's coz I know I wont get sick of them after two weeks.

The controllers look pretty good but tbh i've always wanted cdj's, I travelled for a year in 2008/2009 and could have asked for plenty of gigs in random towns all over but I didn't have a clue how to use the cdjs, i've been on a mission to get them since.

Cheers for the mixer advice... by all accounts the A&H have superior sound but it will add a nice few euros onto the bill... A second hand djm600 might do the trick untill I win the lotto. The speakers are aniother days work, i've always used my stereo till now!

Are there any shops where you can use the Gear, its a nightmare trying to decide having never touched the things.

THanks
Cian

Leinster7

Always test before you buy. Different gear sounds well...different! and you must decide what you like the most.

Cianh

Do you know where you can test in the Dub area?
CHeers

Leinster7

not sure buddy. Been living in London for the past 6 years but I seem to remember a place on capel street, off bachelor's walk last time I was home

Cianh

Yeah sounds around I think, haven't been near there in ages. Might take a trip in at the weekend.
Cheers mate.

guyanesemafia

hi guys i was looking to get into music production in the drum and bass genre, and was wondering what is the best way to go about it (fl studio,ableton,reason ect) also ive noticed that these are very expensive?

ed warren

guyanesemafia wrote: »

hi guys i was looking to get into music production in the drum and bass genre, and was wondering what is the best way to go about it (fl studio,ableton,reason ect) also ive noticed that these are very expensive?

hi i use reason 4 and have tried the likes of ableton fl studio logic and cubase and few others u could go to the likes of propellerhead or ableton website etc and download trial versions
hope this helps good luck

guyanesemafia

thx bud

Chewabacca

A bit of advice would be very helpful. I'd really like to start producing my own music but just don't know where to start.

I'm completely green in this area so I really need to start from scratch. I was told that I should work with a program like ableton before I buy any equipment. I'd prefer to make every part of the music rather than just mixing too. Has anyone any recommendations on what should be the first steps I take towards doing this?

Any advice is much appreciated.

electrogrimey

Chewabacca wrote: »

A bit of advice would be very helpful. I'd really like to start producing my own music but just don't know where to start.

I'm completely green in this area so I really need to start from scratch. I was told that I should work with a program like ableton before I buy any equipment. I'd prefer to make every part of the music rather than just mixing too. Has anyone any recommendations on what should be the first steps I take towards doing this?

Any advice is much appreciated.

You can make a completely entirely original track in Ableton, it's not just for mixing. If anything, it's more for composition than mixing.

Clanket

Hows it going lads,

I'd love to start mixing again and I want to build up my library of songs, starting with the ones I love from the last decade or so.

I have a couple of questions if anyone can help.

1. Is mp3 quality audio good enough to DJ with?
2. On beatport they give you the option of WAV or MP3. Which do DJ's tend to use?
3. Why are a lot of the tracks on beatport restricted and not available to download?
4. Is Discogs a legitimate site? As in does the money you pay for downloads and vinyl feed back to the artists or is it just people second hand selling vinyl and anyone and everyone selling downloads.

I plan to read this thread from the start over the next while.

Thanks for any help.

Al

Leinster7

1. mp3 is fine unless you are playing in a club. mp3 is a compressed file format and hence there are certain sound frequencies lost compared to a wav file. I prefer to use wav files, especially on bigger systems and mono systems as the wavs are much brighter and fuller sounding.

2. Many use mp3 as they are cheaper but I believe beatport are looking into .flac which is better then mp3. Wav will sound better if you are on a mid-large system in my experience.

3. This is to do with the record company not releasing in specific countries. Read this for more: http://www.residentadvisor.net/news.aspx?id=13612

4. Unsure about Discogs...please let me know? Juno download is good though and they are kinder to small labels and artists than beatport generally.

Clanket

Thanks Leinster. So there's no point building the collection in mp3 format.

Anyone else know about Discogs?

Leinster7

it just depends on how fussy you are about the sound and if you are going to be playing in mid-large clubs. If not, save your money and buy mp3.

Can I suggest you buy a track from beatport in mp3 and wav and play them both out and listen.

...Personally I play a mix of wavs/aiffs and a lot of vinyl (US deep house and disco edits) that are vinyl release only and because I like to play **** that everyone doesn't have...and the sound quality is not as good as digital of course....but then its vinyl and its real

Leinster7

ed warren wrote: »

hi i use reason 4 and have tried the likes of ableton fl studio logic and cubase and few others u could go to the likes of propellerhead or ableton website etc and download trial versions
hope this helps good luck

Although my preference is Logic I would strongly suggest Ableton for getting started. It is very flexible, easy to get into and it has a lot of tricks and nice built in plugins that will do a lot of nice things for you when you're getting started, like building chords and keeping stuff in key etc..Logic is a bit further behind on this front. Also, the sampler is very easy to use and the built in synth 'Operator' is nice and flexible.

However, if you're a capable musician and understand basic musical theory I would suggest considering Logic as it is very powerful and I find it more useful for doing post production things like mixdowns and I am currently learning about mastering with the 'waves plugins'... but the learning curve is a little steeper...I do think Logic represents great value for money, just make sure you have 4gb of ram minimum...I have an 8core mac pro with 16gb ram and I run low on memory on some projects!

ianuss

Leinster7 wrote: »

I play a mix of wavs/aiffs and a lot of vinyl (US deep house and disco edits) that are vinyl release only and because I like to play **** that everyone doesn't have...and the sound quality is not as good as digital of course....but then its vinyl and its real

I'm just off to grab a chair and some snacks for the soon to follow rant from the Vinyl Police.

Clanket

Everything I've read so far about vinyl vs digital indicates that vinyl is superior audio quality than digital. It's one of it's big selling points.

My original question was whether digital music, specifically mp3 was good enough to DJ in a club with. Having read more today, it seems like it is. I'll probably build my collection with a mixture of vinyl, cd's and downloads.

Have to say though I'm a massive fan of vinyl. I also much prefer buying CD's than downloading from Itunes etc. It's something about having something physical, rather than a bunch of 1s and 0s.

But the additional cost of building a vinyl only collection v a digital only collection is huge.

Cianh

While you're on the topic lads, are there any decent shops in Dublin selling vinyl anymore, I haven't bought any in a years now. Last place I was in was on crow st. in Temple bar, not purple moon, across the road from it.

electrogrimey

Cianh wrote: »

While you're on the topic lads, are there any decent shops in Dublin selling vinyl anymore, I haven't bought any in a years now. Last place I was in was on crow st. in Temple bar, not purple moon, across the road from it.

Sounds like All City, and if it wasn't, you should go to All City.

Cianh

Cheers, must head in for a look.
Is it a very small shop on crow st yeah?

Paul1979

Leinster7 wrote: »

it just depends on how fussy you are about the sound and if you are going to be playing in mid-large clubs. If not, save your money and buy mp3.

Can I suggest you buy a track from beatport in mp3 and wav and play them both out and listen.

...Personally I play a mix of wavs/aiffs and a lot of vinyl (US deep house and disco edits) that are vinyl release only and because I like to play **** that everyone doesn't have...and the sound quality is not as good as digital of course....but then its vinyl and its real

a well pressed vinyl in good condition sound better than any WAV

theaaao

Hey guys hope someone can help me with this...

I had VDJ and the hercules DJ control steel and was messing around with them.
But what I'm really interested in getting into is music production. So I was advised to get the Alesis iO2 audio interface to connect my keyboard to my laptop and Cubase LE came free with it.
I was also under the immpression that the iO2 could be used as an external soundcard for the DJ control steel as it doesnt have one built in.
So I was trying to kill two birds with the one stone by using the iO2 as a soundcard and to connect my keyboard to the laptop.
However I'v been at it for hours and I cant seem to get deck A out of my speakers and Deck b cued in my headphones!!

Is it possible with the iO2? There is no headphone jack on the dj controller or any outputs, just the usb connection to the computer.
Thanks in advance!

ED E

The iO2 has two inputs, not two outputs. Its gonna be no use to you.

RastaRed

Howya Lads,

Another annoying newbie question, Ive discovered my love for music again, used to DJ at weddings, 21sts, 30ths etc. Im now doing an intro course in Pulse College for sound and plan to do the part time diploma course there in Oct hopefully. Im also planning to start DJing again, this time digital.
Heres what I have:

Dell Laptop(Full of tunes)
Software:Traktor Pro, Reason 5, Abelton Live 8
M -Audio Oxygen Midi keyboard
CDJs and 4 channel mixer
Amp
2 x 1000w speakers

Couple of questions:
I know i need a usb soundcard, could i use the midi keyboard as a midi controller for Traktor?
Is it possible to mix on laptop with traktor pro using a mouse if i dont have a midi controller?
Could i use the mixer on my old cd decks with traktor?

For the diploma course, I will be using mac and pro tools there so I'll be getting a macbook eventually when i get the money, can anyone recommend a decent priced soundcard that would work with both windows and mac?

Sorry for all the questions, any help is much appreciated

electrogrimey

You'll definitely need something like an Audio 2 DJ, but everything else, yes.

For the CD decks it depends on the decks, but most of those dual units have inputs on the back, so you can normally route traktor through it, just have a look on the lack. If there's a line-in for each channel you're sorted.

You can mix on Traktor with just a mouse, and you can map some things to your laptop keyboard too to make it easier. It's just a bit of a pain, mainly for the knobs and faders.

As for the Oxygen 8:

Leinster7

I can highly recommend the Apogee soundcards. I use the rosetta series in my studio but I have an Apogee One for the road and it sounds great. Powers up my Beyerdynamics very well too. The Duet is good too if you want something for your studio. However if you are going to use Pro Tools, you're probably better off looking at the M-Boxes.