Not inside or outside the house smart guy, inside or outside the computer! If the right controller was out there, would you like it to control all the functions inside the software including mixing? Or, would you prefer to mix on a real mixer and use all the functions of devices like the VCI-100 for other purposes?
This is the first of many posts that will go into all aspects of djing. Techniques, theories and applications that will take you from your first mix to playing in front of thousands. They are grouped according to what might interest you:
dj 101: just getting started
dj 202: starting to get the hang of things here
dj 303: yeah, I built my own mixer from car parts, it was easy.
As a result of our videos a ton of people seem to be very interested in the VCI-100 but remain confused about how it works. Every day I get more emails asking “Do I need a sound card, if so how does that work?” Dont fret, here at Dj Tech Tools we have the answers for you. Just check out this Sound Cards 101 video courtesy of Ean Golden.
If you want to be taken seriously as a dj. Don’t make your marketing platform the fact that you play digitally. Digital, analogue, hi 8 tape - Its all just music. The question is; what are you doing to contribute to the quality of the game and the quality of other peoples musical experience. Thats what sets apart the ground breaking cats.
Rewind 4 years. Cue up the grey album. People are over the stale music industry and a bunch of crazy kids like CRFTP and BOOTIE and GO-Home Productions start to make some strange blends of classic songs. Its cool, fresh and different, people dig it. Fast forward to the end of the tape. Endless supply of genre band wagon jumping new comers marketing themselves as “mash up” djs. They give the whole concept a well deserved bad name and mash-ups become a dirty word.
Do you want that to happen to digital djs? Careful folks, its already happening as some big name djs are lining up to bash digital djs (dont worry- its just a big publicity stunt without any credibility) but even if its all smoke and mirrors public opinion can be a fickle girl friend. So go out and represent our craft well, advertise your art- not the medium.
Do you dj in clubs or bars? No matter how cool or underground you may be, eventually your going to run into a common bar dwelling species formally known as:
“homus- bacheloreticus-drunk-as-hellitus”.
Yes, lets face it, they exist and they get wicked drunk. So next time a bachelorette leans over your dj booth, long island ice tea in hand, and tries to verbalize a request for that one “birthday song about 55 cents”. Dont freak out about your 2 thousand dollar laptop investment drowning in cheep alcohol. Get pro-active and protect that $#%@! Slap a plastic key guard on there so the liquid cant get into the keys (the one really vulnerable part) Here is one for the PC type laptops and here is one made for a Mac.
Want to kill two birds with one stone? Here is a plastic key guard with the Serato hot keys printed on it!
If you dont use Serato, bust out the permanent markers and make your own!
Waking up after a long gig you find a tiny mosquito has taken up residence in your ear. You can try to get it out, but no amount of prying will shake free this annoyance. The unfortunate fact is, you never will because the high-pitched hum doesn’t actually exist. It’s a very cruel trick your damaged ear hairs are playing on your mind. For most people who experience this disturbing reality, it dissipates after a day, but an unlucky few are left with it for life. For a dramatic and comedic version of this all-too-common tale, check out the movie It’s All Gone Pete Tong
(cheeky cockney slang for “it’s all gone wrong”). It’s what happens when a famous Ibiza club DJ gets tinnitus and eventually goes deaf from extreme noise levels. Hollywood exaggerations? Well, the average DJ booth is usually around 110 dB. According to industry standards, you should not be exposed to that level of noise for more than 30 minutes at a time before permanent damage can begin to take hold. Got your attention? Well, enough of the gloom and doom. Here is the good news: There is a simple way you can not only save your ears but also significantly clean up your mixes at the same time. All you need to do is let go of those clunky DJ headphones and try out in-ear monitoring.
At the end of the day, no matter what any company tries to sell you, the songs you play make or break the dancefloor. All the cool tricks in the world don’t matter if you can’t get great songs. So where can you get those hot new tracks every week? Where can you get the special DJ remixes and dance tracks that keep your inspiration fresh and the crowds begging for more? Well, those remain the burning questions in this new era of DJing. The market is certainly growing, as new sites seem to pop up every day offering MP3 sales. There are more excellent shops than I have space to include, but here are a few that really stand out with great tunes and easy-to-use interfaces. Continue reading ‘“Where to Buy Digital Dance Tracks”’
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