2009 was a hell of a year for the digital dj world. We saw a lot of great announcements but not that many great products. There were a bevy of releases and offerings that didn’t quite live up to their expected promise or just flat failed completely. So to wrap up the year, we would like to share a short list of some more notable failures and a few dj technologies that did hit their mark.
Continue reading Epic Dj Fails of 2009 (and some good stuff too)
Archive for December, 2009
Epic Dj Fails of 2009 (and some good stuff too)
Protect your Assets- Dj Insurance
-Will Freeman
Picture this: Your playing at a local club when everything starts to go very wrong. A patron trips over a loose speaker cable knocking over the entire speaker cabinet that injures several people in its fall. Adding to the melee, those same speakers knock over several tables with candles on them and now the place is on fire. Your gear is destroyed, the club is destroyed, people are injured and your not getting paid. What now? Well under normal circumstances you would be screwed. However if you had dj insurance many of these problems would be covered and you would still be in business. Today we take closer look at insurance policies for djs that will protect your investments from extreme scenarios like the one above to the more common place dj mishaps.
DJ Essentials- Gig Bag Check List
You hit the street, passed out your demos, talked to everyone you know and now its finally paid off with a few gigs. Most djs spend so much time preparing music, hunting down shows and promoting that when it finally comes time to prepare for a gig- they leave out some very important items. Each show is not only an opportunity to play your favorite songs and rock the crowd but the very best opportunity to get more gigs and build your career. To help you out we have created this important list of items every dj should have in his gig bag to make each gig a smooth one and create opportunities for future shows.
Holiday DIY Tricks -Sound Responsive Lights
There are two materials everyone has handy during the next few weeks, christmas lights and lots of music. So why not make them work together in time? In this article we are going to show you a few ways to turn any string you have laying around into a sound responsive light show that stays in time with all of your holiday parties. Cant afford a custom dj light show in the club? This sub $30 hack will create the same results for next to nothing.
Continue reading Holiday DIY Tricks -Sound Responsive Lights
Block Rockin Beats Routine- Samples + Tutorial
NI recently posted some excellent controllerism videos including the one above which features Dj Rafik combining cue point juggles with scratching in a remix routine of Chemical Brother’s “Block Rockin Beats”. For its execution and style alone, the video is worth a view but we want to take it a step further by showing you how to perform the routine yourself and provide the original MP3′s for Traktor Pro.
Continue reading Block Rockin Beats Routine- Samples + Tutorial
Playable Holiday Songs and New Year’s Tools
The DJ TechTools staff spent most of the day cracking up over terrible christmas covers and collecting our favorite holiday songs that might be useful over the coming weeks. We found some good Christmas remixes, holiday covers, classic favorites and even a few New Years tools that will help you make the countdown smooth and easy. Download them all after the break.
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The DJ Headphone Round-Up
DJ headphones: It doesn’t matter if you are mashing VCI buttons, flippin’ CDs or spinning vinyl — we all need them. A few months ago, I wrote an article about my quest for good headphones. The response was overwhelming, and shortly thereafter Ean called me up and said “Mike, how would you like to do a full-on headphone review?” Naturally, I jumped at the offer and we requested the most talked about pairs. If you’re in the market for a new set of cans this season, you’ll want to hear what we thought of the best offerings from Allen & Heath, Pioneer, Ultrasone and Shure.
Solid “Gold” State Hard Drives
There might not be an occupation in the world better suited to showcase the newest incarnations of Solid State Drives than DJing. Performing with a laptop is comparable to putting your gear into a rugby match- anything goes and it’s best to prepare for the worst. Not only are you blocking drunken requests while crossfading, but bass from the speakers is constantly threatening to send your hard drive into a panicked seizure. In these messy environments we find ourselves playing, Solid State Drives make a lot of sense, but are they ready for prime time djing? Lets take a look.
DJ History: The drums that last forever
Little did G.C. Coleman know that his 5-second drum solo was going to spawn and influence multiple genres of music over the following forty years. In this first edition of DJ History, we are going to roll back the clock, open up DJ class and explore the mysteries of the Amen break, which has became a pivotal part of the dance music landscape.
Midi Fighter DIY Now Available
The much awaited Midi-Fighter project has officially kicked off, and it’s first incarnation — the DIY kit — is up for sale in the DJ TechTools webstore. This first production run of Black PCBs and clear acrylic layers look amazing and can be easily configured into any color scheme you want. More info, videos and photos after the break.
Digital Vs. Analog Mixing. Which is Better?
There has been a great debate taking place in forums around the digital DJ web. What is the best way to mix songs while DJing: externally on an analog mixer or inside your DJ software? Many DJs — myself included — have always assumed that mixing on an analog hardware mixer is the best option if you have the choice. To put that subjective assumption to the test, DJ TechTools interviewed numerous experts in the industry, including audio engineers, software developers and mixer manufacturers to get down to the bottom of this important question.
Continue reading Digital Vs. Analog Mixing. Which is Better?
Self-Promotion for the Working DJ
By DJ John Thomas
While I’ve made mistakes in promoting, I would like to share a few guidelines and tips that I have found tremendously helpful in promoting myself as a DJ and producer over the last five years in the hope that they should help you prevent the same mistakes.
Moving from Chicago, I was ill-prepared for Austin’s virtually non-existent electronic scene as Chicago’s well-groomed and stable scene had accustomed me to the comfort of abundant gigs and the freedom to focus on musical ability.
Though I knew promotion was an essential marketing tool, like many musicians, I cringed at the very word. I wanted publicity, but my idealism and ignorance persuaded me that musical talent alone would birth my career. This belief was irrefutably untrue. Apply the following suggestions to your own particular situation and you should see results like I did.
