Dusting off the decks!

5500

I've got a set of 1210's and a set of cdj1000's and a djm800 that have been stuck in a room gathering dust for year's now. 10+ years ago I used to do some mobile work but ended up selling all my sound and lighting as it wasn't being used but recently I've had the chance of some work which I wouldn't mind taking up.

What Im looking for is a few pointers on new equipment, for starters I'd really like to get what I have running along with my laptop and the likes of VDJ as I have a copy of it lodging behind something somewhere.

Am I right in saying I just need an external midi soundcard and the timecode cd's in order to use my djm & cdjs for mixing tracks stored on the laptop? If so what will do the job for me nicely?

Secondly I know the option is there to rent gear but If possible I'd like to buy some audio and lighting to get me up and running so can anyone give pointers on a basic setup that will get me out on the road, say with a budget of 1k for sound and lighting for mobile work in the likes of pubs ect, what options are available to me (second hand doesnt bother me either)

Cheers guys

milltown

Well the good new is that the hardware you have hasn't really aged and is still pretty much industry standard. If it's pubs and parties you'll be doing, I can't see the 1210s leaving the house though, to be honest.

I'm not really qualified to give specifics but, yes you will need a soundcard, something like Native Instruments Traktor Audio 6 or similar. Depending on your version of Virtual DJ you may need an upgrade to use timecode CDs too. Then, once your laptop is up to the job you're ready to play.

Somebody else may give lighting advice here. Otherwise I'd call out to Aquarius or somewhere and get them to put together a package to suit your budget.

5500

Yeah I figured the 1210's probably wouldn't be leaving the house so Im not too worried about them I only really planned on taking out the cdj's running them via the laptop, Im using a fairly new laptop so it should be up to the job from that end.

I remember a maya usb soundcard being mentioned to me before, any idea how it fares against the native instruments unit?

DrGreenthumb

you need a sound card, maya44 seems to be the standard for vdj users, its cheep enough, and for time code go here and download it and burn to cd,

http://www.virtualdj.com/products/timecode/cd.html

connect your cdj's to the inputs on the maya44,

outs of the maya44 to your mixer,

and then rock out

5500

Thanks,that's 1 down!

With lights, should I be bothering getting into dmx controlled units ect or should sound activated do my needs nicely? Ill give aquariuss a look and see if they can come up with a package but being so used to buying online am I right in thinking I can source a better deal from the uk ect? I dont mind stretching the budget if Im limiting myself but at the same time I'd like to keep it within reason

Thanks for the help so far!

DrGreenthumb

can't really comment on DMX or sound activated as I don't really have any experience with them,

as for buying online you'll get a better deal but might get ****ed around, i bought some speakers from HTFR called said they had them ordered and paid only to get a call the next morning to say they didn't have em, had hassle getting my money back too.


aquariuss are sound guys (excuse the pun) you'd probably get a better deal online but if your not saving that much more you cant beat going home with the gear the same day,

electrogrimey

DrGreenthumb wrote: »

you need a sound card, maya44 seems to be the standard for vdj users, its cheep enough, and for time code go here and download it and burn to cd,

http://www.virtualdj.com/products/timecode/cd.html

connect your cdj's to the inputs on the maya44,

outs of the maya44 to your mixer,

and then rock out

This won't work. The Maya44 is just a soundcard, you need a timecode box, like the Serato SL1/SL3 or the Native Instruments Audio 4/6/8 or 10.

There's also cheaper ones made by virtual DJ I think, but I don't know anything about them.

I'd go for this:

http://www.thomann.de/ie/native_instruments_traktor_scratch_duo_2.htm

DrGreenthumb

are you sure they don't work for timecode?

just googled it and found this thread from vdj forums, I think your wrong man

http://it.virtualdj.com/forums/11647/General_Discussion/Timecode_CD___Maya_44_USB_0__signal_.html

DrGreenthumb

but if your gonna buy a sound card and that go balls out and get serato or tracktor