No Laptops Just Cd's?

[Norfolk DJ 0]

 

Over the past 2 years, I have seen the majority of DJ's switch to laptops for their music.

 

I appreciate the benefits of these and indeed use an Ipod through Aux input frequently.

 

Apart from not having to haul the CD collection around, there really clear benefits.

 

The disadvantages which spring to mind are:

 

Cost of dedicated laptop with sufficient RAM

time to transfer collection to laptop

 

The other main disadvantage is that I regularly have moments where I need to flick through the Cds and look for a track which I have forgotten about. The cover of the CD will usually ring a bell in the back of my mind. With a laptop I would lose that comfort.

 

My question is :

 

Are there other DJ's reluctant to switch and happy carrying on with CDs? & please give me some simple advice on getting started should I wish to go down that route.

 

[YourBigEvent 0]

The first thing you will need is a chishel so that you can out that chip on your shoulders. tongue out icon

[Jimbo55 0]

There is no reason why a CD held as data on pc or laptop can not Jog your memory. You can call up the CD track listing and you can list all of the CD Art and 'paper work' if you so wish along with artist details and history etc.

 

 

Just depends on what software you wish to use.

 

Jim

[wizard 0]

I dont use a laptop but do use one of those cortex thingies........ same thing almost.

 

At present I am still taking my cd's with me .....as you said it is useful flicking thro them for inspiration.......And have to admit I cannot get out of this habit......so I end up flicking thro cd's saying arrrrrhh that will go down well next ... then finding it on the cortex hard drive.... mad or what !!

 

One of these days I will get round to leaving the CD's at home :hurt: .............possibly.

 

I tried a laptop..couldn't get on with it.........no idea why..... just seemed too easy ( no disrespect to those that do). The cortex unit was a nice "half way house" for me.

 

One good plus point for the laptop............. it's great as a backup if CD player fails. which is what I have it for.

 

If you are happy using CD's ...why change ?

[Gary 0]

 

 

 

The advantages of hard drive DJing, but not necessarily laptop or PC DJ'ing are:

 

* Search time for tracks

* carry-in items reduced

 

(this 2nd point however, isn't as clear cut as it seems as many professional DJs still take their entire CD collection to the venue with them, just in case the laptop goes "ports up"...ad since few DJS would risk leaving their music collection in the van, the CDs often still get lugged into the venue, sitting 10ft away from the laptop)

 

The main problem with laptops is that they are only a domestic item, a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none, which just happens to more or less work in a DJ environment. They're not designed for the job.

 

Stories of failures, overheating, hanging, error messgaes and reboots are all common enough - I spoke to several DJs last summer at DJ show north, who were looking for dual CD-decks as either a 100% backup kit, or as a music sourse for 50% of the evening, to give the laptop a chance to cool off. (mind you, we were having a bit of a heatwave, back then).

 

I wouldn't trust a laptop, or ineed anything that has such a huge operating system as Windows, for any live work.

 

I am, however, in the process of privately moving all my vinyl and cd collections to hard drive, ready for use publically (with whatever license is most suitable) when the transfers are complete. This/theses drives wont be for use on a Windows based domestic machine though, they'll be on the Denon DN-HD2500 media controller for DJs.

 

 

[UKHero 0]

Over the past 2 years, I have seen the majority of DJ's switch to laptops for their music.

 

I appreciate the benefits of these and indeed use an Ipod through Aux input frequently.

 

Apart from not having to haul the CD collection around, there really clear benefits.

 

The disadvantages which spring to mind are:

 

Cost of dedicated laptop with sufficient RAM

time to transfer collection to laptop

 

The other main disadvantage is that I regularly have moments where I need to flick through the Cds and look for a track which I have forgotten about. The cover of the CD will usually ring a bell in the back of my mind. With a laptop I would lose that comfort.

 

My question is :

 

Are there other DJ's reluctant to switch and happy carrying on with CDs? & please give me some simple advice on getting started should I wish to go down that route.

 

Well depending on what software you use a good secondhand laptop or even desktop PC can be purchased cheap enough... I started in the 90's with a tower PC 15" monitor keyboard and mouse.... Then moved to a desktop PC with 10" monitor keyboard and mouse.... and now use a laptop.....The first machine was a Pentium 2 233Mhz with just over 500 megs Ram and a 20 gig HD running on windows 95... I used Ots DJ and it has never ever has let me down to this day...

 

I used to get loads of comments from punters about me using a PC it had a wow factor in the mid 90's....

 

The time to transfer your music is a drag and takes a long long time but once done it is fantastic.... And make sure you put them in to catagories ie a 60s folder, dance folder, Chart, Motown, Rock, etc etc

 

A punter comes up and requests a killer tune you never thought of with in 5 seconds in in an available player ready to play... I have had it where it starts as they turn to walk back to the dance floor...

 

On your point about flicking through CDs and it jogging your memorie you can make short playlists in most DJ software packages, i have many little sequences saved that have gone down well on other nights and i can at the click of a button import them in to my list manipulate them and away you go... This is not to say you should set up a playlist at the start of the night but use it as a tool to bring in a set of tunes that you think will go down well... For example some one requests some motown and you play one it goes down a storm you might have saved a set of motown tunes that go together really well you import them and away you go...

 

 

Or you do some live on the fly mixing and the tunes just seem to flow save the tunes in the order you mixed them then you can call up that set again should the need arise... See that laptop and software as the tool it is ment to be you are the creative one the software only does what you tell it.... Some people will warn of glitches and PC crashes... In all the years of PC DJing I have never had a problem keep your machine clean only use it for DJing use purchased software and tunes dont use it to go online use another machine to say purchase music or download software then once it has been virus scanned transfer it to your Disco PC...

 

 

 

 

 

In the bad old days of me using Vinal or CD there has been many a time I had a request and I had the tune but could not remember what album it was on or what box it was in even though my songs were categorised.

 

I used to lug around 10 4 rown sized CD cases and had a massive collection of tunes... Now I have just upgreaded from a 160 gig HD to a 320 gig HD so giving me some extra room for the future and empty or full it weighs the same.....

 

You will encounter a lot of anty laptop DJ comments on this and other sites at the moment.... But things will change as more DJs realise its the way to go for most shows.... How ever Laptop DJing is not suited fully to all styles of DJing just yet and Vinal and CD still very much have there place in the clubs etc.... But the laptop is catching up with programs like traktor or ableton live... There are a few big named well know guys who now only use Laptops for there mixing and scratching etc....

 

Decide what it is you want to do... The style you wish to perform then down load all the demos you can find and play with them read up on them find one right for you.... Ask questions but be warned all DJs who use laptops will love the software they use and tell you theres is the best... Take there advise but you are the one that has teo feel happy with your choice so take your time...Then purchase that software and never look back all you will see is vinal and CD fading into the distance as more and more DJs join the new world of DJing....

 

I hope this has helped you and feel free to ask away we are all here to help

 

 

Happy New Year

 

Nik

 

 

[Norfolk DJ 0]

 

I don't think ADS Entertainments 'chip on your shoulder' quote is adding any value to this query.

 

Most of us who have not ventured into the world of laptop Djing know little about it, and are relying on those who have done it and recommend or others who have stuck to Cds.

 

 

[Andy Westcott 0]

Quote Norfulk DJ:

"Over the past 2 years, I have seen the majority of DJ's switch to laptops for their music."

 

Maybe a slight incorrectitude there??

 

I still use CDs, as I am a creature of habit.

I like the ability to be able to be talking on the mic and with the single press of an easy to reach button, start the music precisely when I want. I must assume using a laptop is much the same, but I just don't feel happy positioning a cursor and clicking a mouse - too fiddly, and needs to be looked at.

 

The idea of being able to cut out all those boxes is attractive in the extreme, but I've messed about at home using Winamp (multiple instances) and just can't really get to grips with the idea. Too old I expect....

 

Disclaimer - I've only ever seen one laptop DJ in action, so don't really know much about this area of the industry, or what features are available within a purpose-designed program.

[Dukesy 0]

My question is :

 

Are there other DJ's reluctant to switch and happy carrying on with CDs? & please give me some simple advice on getting started should I wish to go down that route.

 

You have to appreciate that there are many DJs who would be very happy to embrace laptop / digital hard drive playback devices but refuse to pay the current PPL Digital DJ Licence and forthcoming MCPS Licence fees every year (est £400+) and consequently continue happily to use their present mediums.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[UKHero 0]

You have to appreciate that there are many DJs who would be very happy to embrace laptop / digital hard drive playback devices but refuse to pay the current PPL Digital DJ Licence and forthcoming MCPS Licence fees every year (est £400+) and consequently continue happily to use their present mediums.

 

 

Yes I feel this will be a hinderence to the progression of our industry and just an excuse to charge us more money for what we have already purchased....

 

As I said during our phone conversation this can only surve to benefit the cowboy pirate downloader as he can undercut us even more when we have to pass this added expence onto our customers and they do not have to...

 

 

Nik

 

 

 

I like the ability to be able to be talking on the mic and with the single press of an easy to reach button, start the music precisely when I want. I must assume using a laptop is much the same, but I just don't feel happy positioning a cursor and clicking a mouse - too fiddly, and needs to be looked at. You can press a button with Laptop DJing

 

The idea of being able to cut out all those boxes is attractive in the extreme, but I've messed about at home using Winamp (multiple instances) and just can't really get to grips with the idea. Too old I expect.... Winamp is not the same as a good prog like Traktor or PCDJ or Otsdj..

 

 

Disclaimer - I've only ever seen one laptop DJ in action, so don't really know much about this area of the industry, or what features are available within a purpose-designed program. Download some software have a play..

 

 

Nik

 

[Andy Westcott 0]

Nik - I did try that a while back, but the darned program (I think this was OTS) wouldn't recognise my sound card - kept telling me smugly that I need a soundcard in order to play music - so I gave up at that point.

It isn't some rubbishy soundcard I have either - Yamaha SW1000XG.

 

Another one wouldn't even run on Windows 98, my O/S of choice in all things critical. Seriously!

 

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be happy to look into it further.

[UKHero 0]

Nik - I did try that a while back, but the darned program (I think this was OTS) wouldn't recognise my sound card - kept telling me smugly that I need a soundcard in order to play music - so I gave up at that point.

It isn't some rubbishy soundcard I have either - Yamaha SW1000XG.

 

Another one wouldn't even run on Windows 98, my O/S of choice in all things critical. Seriously!

 

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be happy to look into it further.

 

 

The new ots version seems to preffer xp as they changed the audio format on that version of windows...

 

Have you tried Sam DJ or PCDJ.... What sort of DJ are you do you mix and bpm match or a party jock etc

 

Nik

 

[andyw 0]

we only use cd's at the moment,but 1 of advantages of laptops i can see is the amount of space cd's take up.if you have a big room with plenty of space behind you no problem but over xmas we have had no space behind us and have to put our cd's on a table beside the set up looks untidy and differcult to keep track of all our cd's.a laptop would of been far easier and better in that situation.

[Jimbo55 0]

For a good no frills basic stable program SAM DJ. It does not beat mix but does a damn good job of fading/mixing and you can customize each cue point if you wish. You can do it all manually if you wish, Pitch and tempo etc. I have OTSDJ but still using SAMDJ until I get upto speed with OTSDJ.

 

Both have demo programs.

 

Jim

[Danno13 0]

I'm a digital DJ, but not a laptop Dj. I have a conventional PC system built into my console case, personally i think this is a much better option than a laptop as its easier to upgrade bits and keep it cool.

 

I also use the Numark DMC-1 controller, so its just like using CD decks.. i had to use my laptop (which i carry as backup) at a gig over christmas where i plugged into an installed system and hated using keyboard/mouse instead of the nice DMC controller. So this is another option to look at, to make the transition easier.

[Andy Westcott 0]

Quote UKHero:

"Have you tried Sam DJ or PCDJ.... What sort of DJ are you do you mix and bpm match or a party jock etc"

 

Quick answer - no, I haven't tried these, but will. I'm basically a party jock - my mixing skills are, shall we say, not a major selling point, so I don't require anything too packed with unneeded features.

[EdBray 0]

Quote UKHero:

"Have you tried Sam DJ or PCDJ.... What sort of DJ are you do you mix and bpm match or a party jock etc"

 

Quick answer - no, I haven't tried these, but will. I'm basically a party jock - my mixing skills are, shall we say, not a major selling point, so I don't require anything too packed with unneeded features.

 

Andy,

 

I use Sam DJ, and for the party type DJ it is excellent.

[Andy Westcott 0]

OK Eddie, I'm downloading it as I type....

[C.S 0]

At present i use cds and for me it would be a massive amount of work to transfer over to a laptop . i like to mix using cds/vinyl and i dont have any problem carrying cds around so for me there is no point changing. I might well be wrong but i guess i feel safer and that i have more control using cd players. I also am honest enough to say that it would be very tempting to illegaly install tracks onto a laptop , whereas using cds i know that if i have a visit frm the people upholding copywrite in this country (was checked earlier in 2006) then i can show them that my music is all original and paid or. But this is just what suits me.

Edited January 1, 2007 by C.S

[Andy Westcott 0]

OK, update on SamDJ;

I've given it a bit of a run, and I won't be buying it as it doesn't run properly on my system. The sound was choppy and was doubled up, with bits of the file being played with a half second or so delay making it completely unusable.

 

After checking the DSP settings but MAKING NO CHANGES, suddenly there was no sound output.

Winamp failed to work after this as well.

Uninstalled SamDJ, but still no joy - no sound at all from anywhere.

Restarted computer, still no sound.

In the end I had to remove my sound card from Device Manager, reboot and reinstall the drivers to get sound back.

 

I think a lot of bugs still need to be sorted out with SamDJ before I can consider it, so I'm back to the drawing board!

[Kingy 0]

I am awaiting the Denon unit. At present I am still using CD's and am looking forward to a new medium, but not all the "ripping".

 

I don't know much about the ripping bit and will look for guidance at a later date.

 

I don't think I would go down the laptop route personally, I think I would rather use a tower.

 

I don't see any problem in anyone using CDs or Hardrives. What I do have is a problem with the people who have got all the material I have for peanuts from a car boot sale when I have spent a small fortune on mine, but thats a different point.

 

 

[EdBray 0]

OK, update on SamDJ;

I've given it a bit of a run, and I won't be buying it as it doesn't run properly on my system. The sound was choppy and was doubled up, with bits of the file being played with a half second or so delay making it completely unusable.

 

After checking the DSP settings but MAKING NO CHANGES, suddenly there was no sound output.

Winamp failed to work after this as well.

Uninstalled SamDJ, but still no joy - no sound at all from anywhere.

Restarted computer, still no sound.

In the end I had to remove my sound card from Device Manager, reboot and reinstall the drivers to get sound back.

 

I think a lot of bugs still need to be sorted out with SamDJ before I can consider it, so I'm back to the drawing board!

 

Surprised at that Andy, I have it on my laptop and have never had it crash, I do use an external soundcard though as the one in the laptop does suffer stuts and starts, something to do with the latency settings.

[RichardP 0]

Andy W, out of interest have you experimented with Windows 2000 yet (in my view extremely stable, and in some experts view, devoid of many flaws present in XP though don't ask me what those flaws are :shrug: ) or are there compelling reasons (in a nutshell) to stick with '98? Not intending to open up an OS debate here though, just think that smoother system performance - specifically audio driver operation - can well be achieved in Win2K without having to resort to high-maintenance WinXP.

[UKHero 0]

I use otsdj mainly with no problem also use PCDJ with no problem... Have palyed around with SamDJ Traktor and some of the other packages with no problems.... It would lead me to suggest you have a problem with your machines configeration or maybe most of the software packages are optomised for Win 2000 or beyond....

 

Nik

 

if your Just a straight Party Jock then OTs is the one for you very easy to use and laid out in quite a basic way with the option of basic beatmaching or mixing if required....

 

Nik

 

[DJ Dicky 0]

OK, update on SamDJ;

I've given it a bit of a run, and I won't be buying it as it doesn't run properly on my system. The sound was choppy and was doubled up, with bits of the file being played with a half second or so delay making it completely unusable.

 

After checking the DSP settings but MAKING NO CHANGES, suddenly there was no sound output.

Winamp failed to work after this as well.

Uninstalled SamDJ, but still no joy - no sound at all from anywhere.

Restarted computer, still no sound.

In the end I had to remove my sound card from Device Manager, reboot and reinstall the drivers to get sound back.

 

I think a lot of bugs still need to be sorted out with SamDJ before I can consider it, so I'm back to the drawing board!

 

Andy, have a try with the free version of VisualDiscoMix, I will be suprised if you have any problems and even the free version is good enough to DJ with.

 

http://www.nextec.co.uk/visual_basic.htm

 

Thanks

Dicky