Laptop Disco's

[DJ Pop Rocket]

Yes I know more questions. :p

I have a spare laptop in my house which rarely gets used and I know you can use laptops in a Mobile Disco set up. But what will be involved if I say wanted to use my laptop with my set up ?

I know I will need a Digital DJ License, but are there any other things I need to have or pay for so I can use my laptop ? Also how much does all the licensing etc normally come to ?

I know about SAM DJ but are there any other similar programs that people use ? Also exactly what can I put onto my laptop ? Can I just rip my CD's onto it or can I download music from programs such as Itunes to use ?

Also does the Laptop just need to connect to an amplifier ? Or are there any other things I would need to use ?

Also one last question, has anyone who uses a laptop ever had it crash ? Sounds like a weird question but windows computers/laptops can crash and I was just wondering if anyone has experienced such a thing.

Hopefully this will be the last of my list of questions for a while now. :p

[soundtracker]

You know its cheating don't you?

[DJ Pop Rocket]

You know its cheating don't you?

Nope....

Ive just seen a few DJ's use laptops and thought I would question about it. My laptop is just gathering dust at the moment and thought I could put it to better use.

[soundtracker]

Lucky I told you then!

[Shaun]

Lol Soundtracker :D

Pop...don't listen to him. Laptop DJ'ing is the future!!!. So they tell me anyway...I'm still lugging cases of cd's to each gig :)

[soundtracker]

Aah they said that about Garlic Bread!

[Shaun]

Aah they said that about Garlic Bread!

And deep fried mars bars in batter!!!.


------------------------------------------

Pop, I'm sure our members that use laptops will be along soon to answer your queries. :)

[colinm345]

Yes I know more questions. :p

I have a spare laptop in my house which rarely gets used and I know you can use laptops in a Mobile Disco set up. But what will be involved if I say wanted to use my laptop with my set up ?

I know I will need a Digital DJ License, but are there any other things I need to have or pay for so I can use my laptop ? Also how much does all the licensing etc normally come to ?

I know about SAM DJ but are there any other similar programs that people use ? Also exactly what can I put onto my laptop ? Can I just rip my CD's onto it or can I download music from programs such as Itunes to use ?

Also does the Laptop just need to connect to an amplifier ? Or are there any other things I would need to use ?

Also one last question, has anyone who uses a laptop ever had it crash ? Sounds like a weird question but windows computers/laptops can crash and I was just wondering if anyone has experienced such a thing.

Hopefully this will be the last of my list of questions for a while now. :p

Ok

As well as our CDs we use one a lot its a top of the range Sony Vaio 1.7m with 1 gig of ram

We run Traktor DJ Studio 2.6 on it

You will need a good sound card on it such as a Maya44 or a Gigaport

We download and pay for songs from Woolies and Tescos

Provided you strip the comp down for minimum use it should not crash

Hope this helps a little:teeth:

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Have a looky here (http://www.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/forums/article.php?a=29) for software and here (http://www.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/forums/article.php?a=59) for hardware.

[DJ Pop Rocket]

Have a looky here (http://www.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/forums/article.php?a=29) for software and here (http://www.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/forums/article.php?a=59) for hardware.

Thank you very much for the links and thanks colinm345 for the information.

[colinm345]

Thank you very much for the links and thanks colinm345 for the information.

You are very welcome I have put a link for you in the Traders area:teeth:

But you will have 2 scroll down the page a little

[Corabar Steve]

Hold off on the licence until these fine folks (http://www.djlicence.org.uk/index.html) have sorted the mess out.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

these fine folks (http://www.djlicence.org.uk/index.html)
:teeth: :teeth: :teeth:

[soundscapes]

Yup, they never check or enforce the current licenses ne way, makes me wonder y i paid for mine. Im in the process of weaning myself off cds at the mo but had my first pc crash on sunday. im running bpm studio.

[alexperrins]

I was thinking about the whole laptop thing as well, I just use mine for my search database but a potential crash was one of the big things that put me off, I can never trust them - I seemed to be PC jinxed! :)

[Rattz]

I've been running a laptop only setup two years now and have never had a problem with it. I did buy a brand new laptop and have never used it for anything else but djing, and with the thousands of songs i have on an external hdd i wouldn't change back, cos there is NO WAY i'm goning back to luggin boxes of cd's around lol.

just waiting for a decent setup for my mobile phone to connect to the internet as i'm playing to download (iTunes, Wollies, Tescos, etc) songs that i don't have that people have requested. but can't afford a decent mobile phone at the mo lol

[Corabar Entertainment]

Rattz - once you've properly looked into the mobile phone / laptop link for internet access, would you post up details (what, who how, cost, etc)? I for one would find it useful.

[Rattz]

i was actually looking into getting a pda and using that as they seem to have a better grasp of internet protocols, plus most of them use Opera browser.

but from what i know (and its not a lot believe me lol)

mobile/PDA -> laptop - safest route is via the usb cable

cost - depends on your service provider for the mobile/PDA, usually standard gprs charges

how - just use your phone like a modem - connect to the net, download, transfer to laptop

this is really simplified i know but thats the jist of what i've been told.

[Corabar Entertainment]

Hmmm - so you don't actually know too much more than me at the moment by the sound of it! :omg: :teeth: ..... If you do look into it properly and fully, post up details and save me the job! THANKS :rose:

[Rattz]

will do Ang

[Corabar Entertainment]

:kiss:

[DMX Will]

Rattz - once you've properly looked into the mobile phone / laptop link for internet access, would you post up details (what, who how, cost, etc)? I for one would find it useful.

Is this the vodaphone thing, with direct plug in PCMIA card for a laptop? Looked at that a while ago, seem to remember £50 being in the equation somewhere.

[Have a disco]

MAY I remind thateven the best of us whom are members of NADJ are still using Hardrives for Laptops so NO one is perfect yet

[Corabar Steve]

:confused: :confused: :confused:

[Have a disco]

Yes I have information you dont and thats the way it stays

thery are with the LWP that all I can say

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

What are you on about Badger?

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

MAY I remind thateven the best of us whom are members of NADJ are still using Hardrives for Laptops so NO one is perfect yet

This doesn't make any sense?

Explain please.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Yes I have information you dont and thats the way it stays

thery are with the LWP that all I can say

So, whatever you are talking about....that would narrow it down to 5 people including me, so what are you talking about?

[Corabar Entertainment]

Could we possibly have some posts in intelligilbe English, please..... no-one's got the foggiest idea what you are talking about or who or what you are replying to. :confused:

[Rattz]

Well that completely lost me, doh!!!

[Corabar Steve]

Well that completely lost me, doh!!!
You're not alone

[Rattz]

i've also been looking in this...

Xenyx 1832fx USB (http://www.behringer.com/1832FX/index.cfm?lang=ENG)

comes with an external sound card that just plugs reet into your usb port, nice!!

theres a couple more on the market but i likes me old 1832fx pro and this seems a great upgrade for the next rig.

[DJ Pop Rocket]

Has anyone here ever used a desktop PC instead of a laptop ?

Also do you just connect the Computer/Laptop to the amplifier and then it should work ?......Or are there any other pieces of equipment that I would need..?

Do Desktop PC's normally have powerful enough Sound Cards/Disk Space so that they dont need updating as much ?

Also when it comes to using a microphone do you connect it to the amplifier or do you use a smaller mic that fits into the computer mic input.

Are there any down sides to using a laptop/pc that I should know about ? Any known problems or faults etc.

Thanks......

[colinm345]

Rattz - once you've properly looked into the mobile phone / laptop link for internet access, would you post up details (what, who how, cost, etc)? I for one would find it useful.

This will do it 4U as it includes that facility as part of its package

http://global.mobileaction.com/solution/solution_oem.jsp:teeth:

[colinm345]

i've also been looking in this...

Xenyx 1832fx USB (http://www.behringer.com/1832FX/index.cfm?lang=ENG)

comes with an external sound card that just plugs reet into your usb port, nice!!

theres a couple more on the market but i likes me old 1832fx pro and this seems a great upgrade for the next rig.

Now that looks interesting especialy with the ASIO drivers:teeth:

[leighinstoke]

Also do you just connect the Computer/Laptop to the amplifier and then it should work ?......Or are there any other pieces of equipment that I would need..?

Do Desktop PC's normally have powerful enough Sound Cards/Disk Space so that they dont need updating as much ?

Also when it comes to using a microphone do you connect it to the amplifier or do you use a smaller mic that fits into the computer mic input.


Seeing no-one has answered your questions;

You wouldn't really connect the PC directly to the amp - you would use your mixer and connect it to a free channel or channels depending on your soundcard along with your CD players, mic, etc. I suppose you could use just the PC soundcard but it's a 'fiddly' way of doing things. Also a Behringer mixer with 2 mic inputs and 4 line inputs costs under £60 depending on the model.

As for 'powerful enough soundcards' - you want more 'quality' than 'power' - all output at roughly the same 'line' level of 1volt - so spend some money on quality - the Soundblaster Live! are often the base level - I use the external USB which costs £40 and works perfectly.

(Only thing to consider are some 'ground-loop isolators' to minimize any noise that can occur when the PC is connected to the mixer - Maplin do 'Shark' ones for about £20 each and they work ok.)

Again - with hard-drives - go for as big as you can and have a backup 'clone' of your main one, so, if you have problems, you can swap easily. A lot of us seem to use external USB ones.

Regarding updating your PC - this depends on your software - for the past 3 years, Ive used PCDJ Red on a Pentium 3/750Mhz laptop with 256Mb RAM, 10 Gb built in and 2 x 200Gb external hard drives via a PCMCIA USB2 adaptor. Nothing fancy, very late 1990s - but - for DJing it works flawlessly and has never (I think) crashed on me and I use the keyboard without the external controller - no plans to update it yet due to the stability.

Only other thing worth investing in - some kind of 'rack' for your PC if you choose a desktop one - or if you go for a laptop - some from of case rather than the laptop bag - I use a Maplin 'turntable carrycase' - lined with foam you can cut out - does a fine job of looking after something you will rely on.

Hope this helps.

Leigh.....

[colinm345]

I answered this earlier when he was asking about laptops :teeth:

[Corabar Steve]

This will do it 4U as it includes that facility as part of its package

http://global.mobileaction.com/solution/solution_oem.jsp:teeth:
Which product Colin? The link you posted goes to a home page

[alexperrins]

That'll be another 5p! :) Only joking!

[Corabar Steve]

That'll be another 5p! :) Only joking!
What? In the Meter? :)

[colinm345]

Which product Colin? The link you posted goes to a home page

Hi Steve

Have a look under handset manager:teeth:

[Corabar Steve]

Ta! :)

[colinm345]

Ta! :)

U R welcome this may help further http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/

[CRAZY K]

Colin, have a good one tomorrow night :teeth:

CRAZY K

[colinm345]

Colin, have a good one tomorrow night :teeth:

CRAZY K

Thanks Alan:teeth: :teeth: :teeth: :teeth:

[BeerFunk]

Seeing no-one has answered your questions;

You wouldn't really connect the PC directly to the amp - you would use your mixer and connect it to a free channel or channels depending on your soundcard along with your CD players, mic, etc. I suppose you could use just the PC soundcard but it's a 'fiddly' way of doing things. Also a Behringer mixer with 2 mic inputs and 4 line inputs costs under £60 depending on the model.

As for 'powerful enough soundcards' - you want more 'quality' than 'power' - all output at roughly the same 'line' level of 1volt - so spend some money on quality - the Soundblaster Live! are often the base level - I use the external USB which costs £40 and works perfectly.

(Only thing to consider are some 'ground-loop isolators' to minimize any noise that can occur when the PC is connected to the mixer - Maplin do 'Shark' ones for about £20 each and they work ok.)

Again - with hard-drives - go for as big as you can and have a backup 'clone' of your main one, so, if you have problems, you can swap easily. A lot of us seem to use external USB ones.

Regarding updating your PC - this depends on your software - for the past 3 years, Ive used PCDJ Red on a Pentium 3/750Mhz laptop with 256Mb RAM, 10 Gb built in and 2 x 200Gb external hard drives via a PCMCIA USB2 adaptor. Nothing fancy, very late 1990s - but - for DJing it works flawlessly and has never (I think) crashed on me and I use the keyboard without the external controller - no plans to update it yet due to the stability.

Only other thing worth investing in - some kind of 'rack' for your PC if you choose a desktop one - or if you go for a laptop - some from of case rather than the laptop bag - I use a Maplin 'turntable carrycase' - lined with foam you can cut out - does a fine job of looking after something you will rely on.

Hope this helps.

Leigh.....

Good advice there, I'll add a couple of points if I may?? :)

I have built a rackmount PC DJ setup, which I have only used in practice, but it is there in an emergency ;)
I have a bit of experience in which components to use etc

OK, first of all, whatever components you can get in a laptop - you can always get better for a desktop/rackmount PC. No-one uses laptops in a music production studio - it's all expensive rackmount equipment. However, in the case of a soundcard - yes, a Soundblaster is more than enough :thumbs_up

Personally, I have a dis-trust of USB devices, and only use them when I have to. I have a couple of hard drives inside, one of which can be swapped without opening the case (although it is still plugged into the IDE port on the motherboard, so this will require a restart). I also have 2 Soundblaster cards, hooked up to a channel each on the mixer.

I would also say that a hard drive failure is almost never heard of these days, so to be honest I wouldn't worry too much about having a complete backup for everything. I'm not saying don't use one, it's a sensible idea, but you're car/van is more likely to break down on the way to a gig than that happening :)

Saying that, I am basing that on having a well-built system with good quality components.

Also, just to re-enforce what Leigh said - make sure to keep all your MP3 tracks on a seperate drive/partition from your system drive/partition. This should keep things running more smoothly, and in the afore-mentioned possibility of a disaster (in the form of a crash) - your MP3s should still be safe.

[Corabar Entertainment]

Thanks for the links, Colin. :)

I am getting a little bit confused as to exactly what would be required (and before anyone says it - yes, I know a computer and a mobile phone!), but obviously you can't just connect any mobile phone to a PC or laptop and dial up your ISP!! I had a quick look at the first link and they seem mainly to be talking about dowloading info to your mobile and vice versa, rather than using your mobile for general internet connectivity (ie replacing the land line connection you usually have with broadband or dial up)

Any chance you could explain things in word of 1 syllable for the uninitiated? :teeth: :teeth:

- What type of phone would you need to be able to use it to connect your PC/laptop to the internet?
- Is there any other hardware that would be required?
- Do you need additional software on your PC/laptop?
- Do all ISPs support it, or can you only use certain ones? (I read somewhere that this was the case, but I don't know if that information was out of date)
- What sort of connection speeds can you get?
- Any and all information gratefully received! :teeth: :teeth: :teeth:

[Danno13]

Not sure if its been mentioned already but make sure you rip your cds in the best format possible. If you can afford a big enough hard drive then use WAV (or if not, 320k mp3 comes pretty close) else you'll be kicking yourself years down the line when you have to re-rip everything allover again.

[colinm345]

All you will need is this as it has the facility to use a Blue Tooth modem embedded in its software

Connect to the Internet any time with Handset Manager. Simple click access to make connections to the Internet. http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/

Browse the full Internet.
Retrieve your e-mail from POP3, IMAP4 and web based accounts.
Connection manager helps manage multiple connections

You will find that all ISps should support it

You will also need a Blue Tooth equiped phone

If your phone is not Blue Tooth you will need to buy a mobile data suite that connects via a USB lead

Hope this helps:teeth:

[BeerFunk]

My friend uses his mobile as a modem, fairly easy to do. Obviously you need a USB data cable to connect the phone to the PC, and the software he got free with the phone.

The only problem is, depending on your service provider etc, bandwidth might be a problem. In the case of my friend, he can't really download anything as it will cost him a fortune. He has a connection speed of 115kbps though, so technically could download a MB in under a minute and a half (although it never seems to work out that way :))

[Corabar Entertainment]

Thanks! :teeth:

[colinm345]

My friend uses his mobile as a modem, fairly easy to do. Obviously you need a USB data cable to connect the phone to the PC, and the software he got free with the phone.

The only problem is, depending on your service provider etc, bandwidth might be a problem. In the case of my friend, he can't really download anything as it will cost him a fortune. He has a connection speed of 115kbps though, so technically could download a MB in under a minute and a half (although it never seems to work out that way :))

You are right it can be expensive

You dont need a USB cable if your phone is Blue Tooth but,sometimes a USB or even an Infra Red connection kit can be a little more stable:teeth:

[leighinstoke]

Not sure if its been mentioned already but make sure you rip your cds in the best format possible. If you can afford a big enough hard drive then use WAV (or if not, 320k mp3 comes pretty close) else you'll be kicking yourself years down the line when you have to re-rip everything allover again.

Mine are pretty much all around 192k and I've not noticed any difference at all.

[Corabar Steve]

I think it might be an idea to start another thread on the mobile as modem question as it's beginning to get confusing with 2 conversatins going on at once.

[Corabar Entertainment]

:embarasse Sorry - my fault :embarasse

[colinm345]

Mine are pretty much all around 192k and I've not noticed any difference at all.

Seconded:teeth: :teeth: :teeth: :teeth:

[colinm345]

:embarasse Sorry - my fault :embarasse


:teeth: :teeth: :teeth: :teeth:

[Danno13]

Theres a subtle difference between wav/ 192 mp3 with my carlsbro actives, but not enough to be worried about.

However, since buying some better cabs (Martin Audio).. you really can tell the difference, just between 192 and 320 mp3s!

I don't want to dig up this as a seperate debate, all i was advising is that it would make sense to rip at the highest quality you can, since hard drives are so cheap. Plus, ripping at WAV is alot quicker!

[DJ Pop Rocket]

http://www.djstore.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.pl?&item=numdxm01usb

I just found this while browsing around and its a mixer with 2 built in sound cards. Would something like this be ideal for using with a PC ? Would the sound cards on this mixer be enough ?

So by connecting my pc to say this mixer via a USB cable it should work fine ? Any sound or music from the computer will be played through onto my main speakers (after going via the mixer and amp of course)....?

Im yet to make a post yet without questions...:p

[Danno13]

Yep, that mixer would be fine.

But i'd recomend the 19" equivelant - http://www.thomann.de/gb/numark_cm200_usb.htm

This is the one i use. It has more channels and fits in standard rack cases withough the need for rack ears. Only a little bit more expensive too. Forgot to mention, although i've never owned a MAYA card.. i have it on good authority from someone who's used both that they're equally as good.

[alexperrins]

The mixer is a modification an older mixer with pretty much the same specs but with the USB and sound cards. I haven't had any experience with it since it's been modified to a digital version so I'll let somebody else answer that one (though it looks like it'll do the job) but I had the older version a while back and it was a great mixer, very reliable - though not my favourite to use.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Yep, that mixer would be fine.

But i'd recomend the 19" equivelant - http://www.thomann.de/gb/numark_cm200_usb.htm

This is the one i use. It has more channels and fits in standard rack cases withough the need for rack ears. Only a little bit more expensive too. Forgot to mention, although i've never owned a MAYA card.. i have it on good authority from someone who's used both that they're equally as good.

I've got a collegue who bought one of these and has yet to configure it with PCDJVRM and no-one has been able to help, so make sure the software will work with it.

[Danno13]

Ahh yes, you need software that works with two independant soundcards..as they both show up seperatley and not as one like many multi-channel cards do. I seem to remember Traktor not being able to use two cards.. although they could have changed this in later versions.

[DJ Pop Rocket]

Does anyone know what software works with 2 independent sound cards ? I was planning to use SAM DJ as I have experience using it but its no good if its not compatible with 2 sound cards.

Also is configuring pretty simple to do ? Im never good with complicated things...

[colinm345]

Does anyone know what software works with 2 independent sound cards ? I was planning to use SAM DJ as I have experience using it but its no good if its not compatible with 2 sound cards.

Also is configuring pretty simple to do ? Im never good with complicated things...

Later versions of Sam should be but 2 b safe check on thier website

http://www.spacialaudio.com/

[Rattz]

I have to admit that the new usb mixers are great but at the mo i'm using the following setup and it works brilliant:

Behringer EURORACK UB1832FX-PRO (http://www.behringer.com/UB1832FX/index.cfm?lang=ENG)
Tascam US-122 Audio/Midi Interface (http://www.tascam.com/Products/US-122.html)

and i can play and record off the mixer to a high quality