Laptop Dj's Take Note

[eazy 0]

must be just my laptop lol wasnt having a go at pc users as i said i did find it very useful just always had a glitch or too so got excited when a independant controller was available that didnt use windows

 

( altho i had a few teething probs with it too lol ) all sorted now

[Dream Catchers 0]

I think the main thing to remember when using a laptop is don't fill it with junk and unnecessary programmes.

That is the reason I use 3.

 

Jim

[TonyB 0]

I've used a laptop for the past fifteen months without a glitch. I use it for other things too including surfing the internet. It has firewall, antivirius and anti spyware on it as well as image processing programs and (touch wood) hasn't ever locked up or crashed.

[D.X 0]

I'm in the HD2500 gang. Should I give a discount, charge more or charge the same compared to the "Proper" CD DJs

[Award Entertainment 0]

do none of the pc dj's ever have problems with windows ???

Not at all. In fact I don't have a problem with reliability at all. I have up to date WinXP and I have the machine stripped of any surplus software. It's tuned for performance with my audio software.

 

In spite of this, I have another laptop with me at all times, with an exact duplicate music collection and a second legal, licensed version of OtsAV installed. I hot-synch the laptops each week to keep them both up with each other and to ensure that my full music collection is on board.

 

I've never had to switch to my back up laptop.

 

How many DJs carry a complete duplicate CD or vinyl music collection AND backup turntables and CD players to EVERY event? None I'd wager.

[spinner 0]

How many DJs carry a complete duplicate CD or vinyl music collection AND backup turntables and CD players to EVERY event? None I'd wager.

 

I take 500 CDs, a twin CD player and mixer, 2 table-top cd players and a mixer plus a hard drive containing all the tracks and a hard drive controller.

 

Will that do?

 

[Dukesy 0]

The only thing that I don't have for back-up is a back-up wife, but am working on it!

[Award Entertainment 0]

That's not what I meant by backup generally- it's just a lot of gear. Do you keep duplicates of all of your music, along with a separate source on which to play it if your primary source has a failure? I'm talking a calamatous, unrecoverable failure, such as a glass of Chardonnay on your CD players, or a case of your prime music getting stolen, or the back of your vehicle getting a shunt, damaging your CDs or vinyl.

 

I'm anal enough that I keep one laptop in the passenger seat and one in the back of the car. Theoretically the odds of BOTH getting damaged in a crash is pretty slim.

 

 

Anyway, I've veered off topic quite badly here. :otop:

 

I've become an immensely improved entertainer since switching from vinyl to CD to laptop. My clients get a far better service and I have fantastic contingency plans. I'm able to be far more interactive and my music never skips, which is a huge factor here, with most venues build from wood, including the floors.

Edited December 13, 2007 by Award Entertainment

[spinner 0]

That's not what I meant by backup generally- it's just a lot of gear. Do you keep duplicates of all of your music, along with a separate source on which to play it if your primary source has a failure?

 

 

No it isn't "just a lot of gear".

 

As I posted previously - 500 CDs with alternative players in case of player failure.

 

All CDs backed up on a hard drive with a hard drive controller, in case of CD player failure or loss of CDs.

 

Perhaps my post wasn't clear enough.

 

Surely you're familiar with hard drive controllers- Denon, Numark etc.?

Edited December 13, 2007 by spinner

[NRG Roadshow 0]

How many DJs carry a complete duplicate CD or vinyl music collection AND backup turntables and CD players to EVERY event? None I'd wager.

 

I dont carry my complete CD collection but I carry a varied selection of music with me so if needed I can switch to the CD decks if the laptop throws a wobbley........not had to switch over to it yet but Im allways prepared just in case.

I always always always have a cd in deck a with a track cued up so I can switch to cd play at a seconds notice if somthing goes wrong.

 

And as for the other things which have been mentioned.....

 

1) I allways stand up when DJing.

2) I maybe used to look like the guy reading his emails just clicking a mouse around, but now Im on the MP3 controler (Using Traktor 3) I can do a lot more regards mixing and cueing than I used too.

3) The controls on my MP3 Controler (BCD 3000) coupled with Traktor 3 are almost identical to a set of CD decks, so I really dont see how that is vastly different to using CD decks

Although I can see why some members of the public would percieve that as the DJ cheating coz we all know that most programs will beatmatch and mix tracks, I prefer to do the mixing myself though coz I think it sounds better plus its more fun for me.

 

So I think using a laptop makes me more efficient, I can keep my eye on the dancfloor coz Im not scrabbling round in a cd case for a paticular disc and I can also do all my finding tracks, loading them up, cuing them and playing them.

 

 

[shakermaker 0]

I had a comment along those lines last night when a guest at a christmas party at the hotel popped over to ask for a track (Rappers Delight). "Yep, I've got that" I said...He noticed all of my CD's and said "How the hell do you find your stuff? I DJ now and then and I use a laptop which is easier and it means I can sit down all night too"

 

I was amazed!!! I didn't want to get into a deep conversation with him about it so I just said "I use what I am comfortable with" and off he went. I don't know how often he DJ's as he didn't say and I didn't ask to be honest. I get comments every now and then from customers about DJ's they have seen using laptops and most of them are negative. To be fair, I don't really have any thoughts on it all as like I said, I am comfortable with using my CD's but I have also spoken to laptop DJ's who have said in one breath that it is easier and you don't have to take as much gear etc especially boxes of CD's and then in the next breath they have contradicted themselves by saying that they have a back up laptop (on one occasion, one DJ said to me that he actually had 2 backup laptops as he was paranoid about them going wrong!!), and chuck the CD's in the van aswell as CD players should anything go wrong with the laptop!! I find that a huge waste of time and space personally and if I were in the same position and even thought about using the laptop, it would be as back up to my CD's if my other CD players were out already.

 

I know that the laptop debate has gone on for a while and there are pro's and con's as there are with everything so reply isn't wishing to start the whole thing up again. One day I will move on from using my CD players but it won't be to laptop, it will be to the HD controllers. Customers have commented on the laptop DJ's as mentioned already and if you are using laptops, at least look busy if it's possible (and that isn't a dig ok)...What customers or the general public don't realise is that the laptops are playing wav and mp3 files but they still need to be selected and thought out and played in the right order etc...Maybe some of the ones they have experienced have been pre-set playlists and the DJ has scarpered off somewhere..I dunno, I'm just thinking aloud. At least if you have an HD Controller (that does what the laptop does), then there is no laptop on view and it erases that 'image' straight away.

 

That's why I will end up with one of those when the prices come down a bit more.

[Dream Catchers 0]

As far as lugging the CDs and backup decks are concerned for me it isn't actually any extra work, the backup decks and CDs are permanently in the van.

When people look at my setup they also see the a set of twin decks as I have my American DJ decks in the same rack as my mics and amps.

I tend to get comments on how hi-tech my setup is because of the 2 laptops and 1 PC that I use to run the show.

As far as sitting down I wish.

Doing the laser show and DMX lighting along with the music (PCDJ) and karaoke I don't have a minute to myself.

I have just upgraded my laser software and DAC so hopefully once I have mastered the new Pangolin software I will be a little less busy.

 

Now where are them cards :bouncy:

 

Jim

[DJGAVT 0]

I use serato scratch live at all my gigs which i either control using my pioneer cmx3000 cd player with the control cd's or a pair of vinyl decks using the control vinyl.

[D.X 0]

I really don't see why laptops are such an issue. Clients pay us to put a show on for them, quite why they want to be funny about the means we use is beyond me. I don't lecture taxi drivers if their car has an automatic gearbox and accuse him of not "Keeping it real". Some people really have no clue.

 

I use an HD2500 so don't use laptops but wouldn't have a problem if the DJ I booked used one. It's all about the music :rant:

[Dream Catchers 0]

I really don't see why laptops are such an issue. Clients pay us to put a show on for them, quite why they want to be funny about the means we use is beyond me. I don't lecture taxi drivers if their car has an automatic gearbox and accuse him of not "Keeping it real". Some people really have no clue.

 

I use an HD2500 so don't use laptops but wouldn't have a problem if the DJ I booked used one. It's all about the music :rant:

Excellent reply :Thumbup:

 

Jim

[Andy Westcott 0]

But I think the point being missed here is the undeniable link between laptops and cheap, illegally operating 'cowboys'. Like or not, the link exists.

 

I'd like to think that the likes of Richard and a host of other high-end DJs will gradually dispel this idea but it will be slow to happen, so for the moment it's there, and indisputable, and the laptop does seem to be the illegal operator's preferred source of music.

 

I can fully understand why a client may have doubts about someone coming in with a laptop; We know the true situation, but there is a large sector of the public out there who still think a DJ should have 'real' records, of the black variety, and view anyone coming in with a laptop as taking the easy, or illegal option.

 

This isn't my view, but I am convinced it is the view of a lot of the public outside of the business.

[Dream Catchers 0]

But I think the point being missed here is the undeniable link between laptops and cheap, illegally operating 'cowboys'.

The thing is that anybody can download music and burn CDs so the medium is irrelevant, I expect there are as many people using pirate CDs as there are people using illegal downloads.

 

Jim

Edited December 16, 2007 by JimBoylan

[digitaldistortion 0]

I can fully understand why a client may have doubts about someone coming in with a laptop; We know the true situation, but there is a large sector of the public out there who still think a DJ should have 'real' records, of the black variety, and view anyone coming in with a laptop as taking the easy, or illegal option.

 

By your submission, then CD DJs are seen as equal to Laptop DJs and the only 'true' DJs use vinyl???????

[rictic 0]

the vinyl vs cds ddebate rages violently in the northern soul circuit.

true dj's only use vinyl according to the purists.

accordingly more and more people are cutting records from cd's to seem authentic. this is to me cheating.

 

their is a certain of snobbery involved in n. s. circles but thats another thread.

 

i think the public perception of a laptop d.j. is that is easier and anybody can do it.

 

well wake up smell the coffee joe public. i know most people just dont care or arent bothered but the skill is in the music, not the media.

 

i learnt to d.j. with vinyl in the 70's; would i revert to it? not on your nellie bro!!!!!!!!!!!

 

i cant get the variety of sounds i need nor can i carry it all i would be restricted to a small selection of music or just a specific genre set.

cd's carry more tracks in a smaller space lappys and hd controllers carry a lifetimes of collecting in a small box. ergo i am able to construct a varied and eclectic night of music utilising cd's and laptop.

 

whether or not i am successful is not for me to say, but if was restricted to just cd's or vinyl my playlist would be tiny compared to what i have now.

 

i can find a track in seconds as opposed to trawling through stuff, even the more obscure tracks can be located almost instantly if they are tagged and catalogued.

 

i do not mix as a dance d.j would but i try to fade in and out in a fashion that keeps things going.

 

i can do so much more with a laptop than i can with just one single media.

 

and yes i do sometimes load a playlist and do other things. if i need to pee or eat or get a deink etc, or if it is still very quiet i load a list and mix with the punters, have a chat with them find out what they want.

 

i love the digital age, never thought i would as i love the feel of a 7 incher ( no comments here please roflmao).

 

if i am in a wi fi area i can even download a tunr i dont have or a karaoke track for about 90pence.

 

cant do that with records or cd's. ergo i can perform magic in the average punters eyes.

 

i can also accept requests via bluetooth which is becoming more popular people dont have to leave their seat to contact me and its free to do so, not like a text.

when the net generation of music playing media comes along the whole debate will start again.

 

" oh he uses holograms and not the real band, what a cheat"

 

whatever medium we use people will moan, let the music play and speak for itself, the cream always rises to the top.

[spinner 0]

That's not what I meant by backup generally- it's just a lot of gear. .

 

 

How is everything backed up on a hard drive "just a lot of gear"?

 

Don't laptops have hard drives?

[Gary 0]

The thing is that anybody can download music and burn CDs so the medium is irrelevant, I expect there are as many people using pirate CDs as there are people using illegal downloads.

 

Jim

 

I think that the ease and speed of copying a hard drive is part of the reason for the lack of respect which is sometimes attributed to hard drive users. After all, someone going up to a DJ friend and saying "can I copy all your CDs please, so I can be a DJ too..." is letting themselves in for a month of evenings of manually attended CD ripping.

 

Whereas to copy a DJ mates hard drive takes about 2 minutes of setting up the source and destination drives, then no interaction is required during the copy process - just pop back a few hours later for the copied drive.

 

Hard drives, regardless of whether its a professional hard drive controller running them, or merely a domestic laptop have brought good things to the working DJ, but sadly bad things to some of the industrys image.

 

 

 

[TonyB 0]

Frankly I couldn't care less. Clients hire me for my ability to entertain and the service I provide. Most couldn't give a stuff about the equipment I use as long as it is adequate to do the job.

 

Would you expect to pay a carpenter less because he uses an electric saw instead of a hand one or would you be more bothered about his ability to do the job?

[Gary 0]

Would you expect to pay a carpenter less because he uses an electric saw instead of a hand one or would you be more bothered about his ability to do the job?

 

 

What if the local supermarket started selling "Be a carpenter" Kits, and the local newspaper suddenly started advertising 20 new "carpenters" in the area...? Putting 2 and 2 together, some people would, I think, start getting cautious about making a booking.

 

This is where other factors, such as a DJ license, PLI and PAT start performing as credentials for some members of the public. Much in the same way perhaps, that the ownership of a physical music collection of commendable size used to be...

[TonyB 0]

 

What if the local supermarket started selling "Be a carpenter" Kits, and the local newspaper suddenly started advertising 20 new "carpenters" in the area...? Putting 2 and 2 together, some people would, I think, start getting cautious about making a booking.

 

 

Then they are basing their choice on what equipment is being used and not the quality of the craftsman. If you sell what you do by the equipment you use then expect to be compared with people that use similar equipment.

 

A person could buy a "Be a carpenter" kit and be a brilliant craftsman. So sell yourself, what you do and how well you do it not what you use to do it.

 

DJ license, PLI and PAT will not make a bad performance good. PLI and PAT are business requirements and not a measure of how good or professional you are. They are both there for your protection, PLI benefits you if you get sued and PAT is to check the safety of your equipment and for your compliance with HSE regs, both of which most clients don't care about but as a business, you should. Virtually every business has PLI and PAT and I don't know of any other that makes such a big deal of it being a measure of their professionalism or a selling point.

 

Just because a carpenter has the best name branded tools, PLI and all his equipment PAT tested doesn't mean he knows how to build a shed.

 

Can't comment of what effect the "DJ License" will have until there actually is one.

[rictic 0]

the first ever gig i did was with wally in the r.a.f. in the rugby club. we had 2 scabby old record players and a dodgy amp and 2 weirdo old spkrs.

not a proper set up even by early 70's standards.

but we had music, passion and knowledge. from that little gig mighty oaks were grown. paul knows what and who i mean.

 

so it's not the gear really, if it does it's job it's good enough i reckon. i wouldnt use a ferrari to pop to the shops or lug my tools about. but my mondy doea just gr8.

 

the person controls whatever method you use to play music. no matter how epensive or flash or cheap and budget.

 

a good dj could use a cheap third hand rig and outperform a bad dj with the latest dmx's i b m denontechnics sony superdooper pc based hd controller laser show flash harry rig.

 

in the end it always always always boils down to the performer/ dj/karaoke host.

 

experience will always shine through and prevail.

 

example: acoustic set with no amplification at all, just a guitar and plec. yet knofppler or someone would blow your socks off.