Laptop

[DJ JENX 0]

What do I need to buy in order to get my laptop playing music that I have legally bought from itunes.

 

I add that bit as i cant b e bothered for this "make sure your legal" debate.

 

I have a full dj set up, so how do i get my laptop to my amp?

 

:Thumbup:

[andyw 0]

2 ways

the first is via the headphone socket with a jack to phono lead then a ground loop isolater and then into the mixer

the secound is using an external soundcard via the usb.

Edited February 2, 2009 by andyw

[Slimboy Fat 0]

It depends what you are looking for from your laptop within your DJ set. Do you want to play just the odd track every now and then or are you looking at the laptop being your primary playing device?

 

Whatever happens you will at very least need a lead with a 4mm jack plug on one end and twin phono plugs on the other to run from your laptop to your mixer. If you employ this method you will also need a ground loop isolator in order to eliminate the inevitable background hum. An external sound card is probably the better option as it improves the sound quality and uses USB instead of your headphone socket. I use Soundblaster Live which cost me £25.

 

Software wise, if it's just the odd track every now and then, Winamp will do a job for you and it has even got a VERY basic crossfade function and it's FREE!

 

If it's more than the odd track there are numerous different "professional" mixing software programs you can go for to do the job such as Traktor or OTSAV. It's very much a "suck it and see" scenario where you really need to get down to your local DJ shop and try out the different options to see what suits you most.

 

Finally there's the software controller. Some programs (such as OTSAV) will mix the music for you. It's quite efficient and it's useful for playing background music BUT there's no fun in it so you really want to be able to mix the tracks yourself. Again, there are all sorts of control units out there and you really need to get amongst them and try them out to see which one suits you best.

 

Good luck with your search.

Edited February 2, 2009 by Slimboy Fat

[Pebo 0]

There are a few video's on You tube that explain it simply. Try going on there and searching "laptop dj".

[Dukesy 0]

What do I need to buy in order to get my laptop playing music that I have legally bought from itunes.

 

I add that bit as i cant b e bothered for this "make sure your legal" debate.

 

I have a full dj set up, so how do i get my laptop to my amp?

 

:Thumbup:

Yep.

Also (in basic terms) I've used a gigaport sound card in the past, which is a device that plugs into the USB port of the PC / Laptop. Helps reduce the chances of needing a ground loop isolator, but sometimes it will be required between the mixer and the gigaport.

The igaport device allows you to plug a phono lead straight into your mixers L&R input channel, from the gigaport L&R output.

Being a multi-port device, you can set the software up so that 'virtual' players / decks in your software can have their own channels, so, by example, you can plug from the gigaport into channel 1 & channel 2 on your mixer, allowing channel 1 & channel 2 on your software to play separately. Handy to cue, etc.

 

 

 

[stardust 0]

The Native-Instruments Audio 4 & Audio 8 devices are very good soundcards.

Here

[Cheesey1975 0]

The Native-Instruments Audio 4 & Audio 8 devices are very good soundcards.

Here

 

 

I may have o purchase one of these !!