Benefits of PC DJ?

[franczola]

Thinking of converting to PC DJ but what are the benefits over CD's?

Is it just the fact that all the tracks are saved, and easier to find on a PC hard drive instead of carrying cases of CD's?

Are there any other benefits, to make a DJ's job easier of using a PC DJ program?

Thanks,
Franc'

[Dragonfly]

i have made a playlist of xmas music for things like meals and the like with pcdj you can use automix to take off the dead air at the end of tracks to create a more continuous feel to the music with out the gap you get on cds ...

although im sure if you have relay start you could do this with cds?

and finding a track is much easier with a pc with any software i sometimes change my mind about a track with 20 secs left on the other ..... now you cant do that with cds

[flatliners]

i use virtual dj because you can carry all your music on a hard drive put it into playlists and on virtual you can change the skins os if you want your screen to look like a pair of cdjs then you can

[Dragonfly]

i use virtual dj because you can carry all your music on a hard drive put it into playlists and on virtual you can change the skins os if you want your screen to look like a pair of cdjs then you can


which you also can on pcdj. :D

[franczola]

Ok thanks,

So using PC software, you can make playlists of tracks to automatically play in a specified order, with seamless mixes between each. As dragonfly suggests, good for background music? This could be handy.

So what do I need?..

1) PC/Laptop
2) Virtual DJ software of some description (Can you advise on a best?)
3) Virtual DJ Controller of some description (Can you advise on a best?)

Will my active speakers plug directly into my PC/controller or do I need another piece of hardware?

Anything else I need to get started?

Thanks,
Franc'

[Dragonfly]

i dont use a dac controller just mouse etc .... an external soundcard such as maya44 is advantageous , back up hard drive.

you can plug from the headphone socket into your mixer but this to me sounded absolutely dreadful so i go phono to phono from the maya44 to the mixer.

the maya soundcard just plugs into your usb port ... personally id invest in a powered usb hub as well.

[Starlight]

Hi there, Russ.

Why dont you go for the Denon HD2500 which is a professional twin CD player? It features an internal 40 gig hard drive. You can also connect an external hard disc to store more songs.

Mendoza.

[franczola]

Yeah maybe?

Thanks for all your help.

[Starlight]

Best to demo 1 first, see if you like it and take it from there ;)

Mendoza.

[franczola]

Another thought...

Will using PC DJ software allow me to download tracks if I havent got a particular request thats asked for at a gig?

(assuming that the venue has wireless broadband I guess?)

Thanks,
Franc'

[Sapphire Disco]

Another thought...

Will using PC DJ software allow me to download tracks if I havent got a particular request thats asked for at a gig?

(assuming that the venue has wireless broadband I guess?)

Thanks,
Franc'

If you can get on line yes , go for it you won't look back but keep your CDs & deck as back up.

[franczola]

Ok,

Yes. The Numark Total control package looks appealling?
Maybe after X mas?.

http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/sc/servlet/Info?Track=TCDJINABOX


Thanks for all your help, have a good one!

Franc'

[BeerFunk]

Another thought...

Will using PC DJ software allow me to download tracks if I havent got a particular request thats asked for at a gig?

(assuming that the venue has wireless broadband I guess?)

Thanks,
Franc'
Using your mobile phone to connect via GPS is another possibility, but the bandwidth is very limited.

[rob1963]

Using your mobile phone to connect via GPS is another possibility, but the bandwidth is very limited.

Personally, I couldn't be bothered messing about downloading requests on site.

You only need a library of about 5,000 songs in order to have 90% of all requests.

That's good enough for me!

[Vectis]

I've only done it once, and to be honest I NEVER EVER EVER connect my audio performance laptop to ANY network; in fact all the network cards and lots of other stuff is disabled anyway.

On the one occasion I did it I was booked for a general party; turns out when I got there it was a secret wedding - the B+G didn't want all the fuss of a big wedding so got their friends together for an evening bash on the pretence it was an 80's night party. They didn't even tell ME it was a wedding, and despite carrying 60,000+ songs I didn't have their first dance!! :Embarassed: Luckily I'd left the WLAN enabled on my lighting control laptop so got busy downloading :Rock on:

[CRAZY K]

I've only done it once, and to be honest I NEVER EVER EVER connect my audio performance laptop to ANY network; in fact all the network cards and lots of other stuff is disabled anyway.

On the one occasion I did it I was booked for a general party; turns out when I got there it was a secret wedding - the B+G didn't want all the fuss of a big wedding so got their friends together for an evening bash on the pretence it was an 80's night party. They didn't even tell ME it was a wedding, and despite carrying 60,000+ songs I didn't have their first dance!! :Embarassed: Luckily I'd left the WLAN enabled on my lighting control laptop so got busy downloading :Rock on:

Good story BUT the first dance was??

CRAZY K

[franczola]

If I were to convert to PC, is there an easy way to download multiple tracks onto a hard drive in one go?
I mean, say for £50, download a bundle of most popular DJ tracks in one go, instead of downloading individual tracks or compiliation albums at a time.

Im anticipating many hours downloading all my cds otherwise!

Thanks,
Franc'

[Dragonfly]

If I were to convert to PC, is there an easy way to download multiple tracks onto a hard drive in one go?
I mean, say for £50, download a bundle of most popular DJ tracks in one go, instead of downloading individual tracks or compiliation albums at a time.

Im anticipating many hours downloading all my cds otherwise!

Thanks,
Franc'

it took me 4 months to get it right :D :D :D

as far as im aware the arduous task of ripping cds is a one at a time job and sadly very slow.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Why dont you go for the Denon HD2500 which is a professional twin CD player?


It's a hard disc player/media reader. There aren't any CDs involved unless you buy the draws separately.


Best to demo 1 first, see if you like it and take it from there ;)



Best to get correct information first. :rolleyes: :p


Will using PC DJ software allow me to download tracks if I havent got a particular request thats asked for at a gig?




Virtual DJ does this with Napster, but I wouldn't recommend doing it on the fly unless you have another playout system to use.

[Silver]

I would suggest the first thing you need to do is try out all available software packages. For four years I used Traktor and I couldn't fault it. However a few months ago I looked at Ots Av, thought it looked good, tried it and subsequently bought it. I've also got a licensed version of Mixmeister.

It all hinges around what type of dj you are and the music you play. If you are at the sharp end of mixing, scratching and using effects I would say you wouldn't go far wrong with Traktor.

Mixmeister is great at mixing (you'd never believe it with a name like that would you!). Extremely simple to use, you just point it in the direction of your mp3's, it loads them into your library and away you go. It's got one great unique search function, it can find tracks similar to the one you are playing. Right click on the track select the 'find similar track' and there they are, sorted.

However if you are looking at showing videos and using karaoke then Ots Av could be the beast. The big problem with Ots is that it's very time consuming preparing your tracks, but the rewards are well worth it. The way it can mix tracks with such variable bpm's simply amazes me, it mixes tracks effortlessly that are 20 bpm's out. Once you've set your tracks they are set for life and you can in theory mix anything with anything.

I play predominately oldies, disco, reggae, funky, 80's and limited r and b, Shakira, Beyonce, Timberland etc. Ots really works well for me.

Go try them all, they've all got free demo's available. I go out to gigs with 2 licensed versions of Ots, 2 of Traktor and 2 of Mixmeister. One on working lap top and back up versions on my back up lap top.

I would use them in this order...

1. Ots
2. Mixmeister
3. Traktor.

There you go and sorry but I've never used PC DJ.

[scoopd]

Well I have to say that I've used PCDJ for a while now and found that I couldn't rely on it at all.I have used OTS for around 7 months and had no problems.I cannot see one benefit of PCDJ over OTS if reliability is your 1st concern.
There's nothing worse than doing a gig and having application errors!

[Silver]

Well I have to say that I've used PCDJ for a while now and found that I couldn't rely on it at all.I have used OTS for around 7 months and had no problems.I cannot see one benefit of PCDJ over OTS if reliability is your 1st concern.
There's nothing worse than doing a gig and having application errors!

Spot on there, I didn't mention reliability but from what I've heard Ots is the number one for stability, Traktor never let me down though.

[franczola]

Thanks again.

I'll mainly be using software for mobile use, (party, 70's, 80's chart etc)

Didn't realize there were so many sofware packages available!

Here's another question though...
I dont understand why an external controller, (ie Numark total control) is available. Isnt PC software controllable with a conventional mouse?

The Mixmeister software certainly looks fantastic though. Seen a couple of demos online, it looks so easy to use!?
Is it really just a case of dragging over tracks you wish to play and letting the software beat mix and play the tracks in the specified order?
Price for the express version is good too!

Thanks,
Franc'

[Silver]

Is it really just a case of dragging over tracks you wish to play and letting the software beat mix and play the tracks in the specified order?


Thanks,
Franc'

Yes it is, it's probably the easiest beat mixing software available.

[franczola]

Thanks,

What about the external controller?
Is it required if you want to connect headphones and a mic?

Franc'

[Silver]

Thanks,

What about the external controller?
Is it required if you want to connect headphones and a mic?

Franc'
I don't have to use an external controller for what I do but I do use one of these http://www.absolutemusic.co.uk/shop/view_product.php?product=maufirewireaudiophile&searchlink=yes&search=M%20AUDIO&page=2for my mic, if you go for Ots then you plug your headphones into headphone jack on your lap top.

[thex-faders]

If you want a basic collection of DJ songs from Novelty songs to your typical party tracks and dance numbers then start collecting the Mastermix Classic Cuts collection. Designed for DJ Promotional use it started way back in the 1960's [I think] and has tracks up and to the 90's!!!

Then all you need to do is get the recent tracks which wouldn't take long at all really. The NOW albums are very useful also.

In terms of PCDJ we use it and find it a very stable application but as with all programs if it doesnt like a certain file type or theres a litte glitch from a download then the program will crash.

Hope you all had a good christmas.

[djsteve10]

Yeah mastermix classic cuts is good,
I just bought Mastermix Professioanl Edition as a back up, £230 ... 30 discs enough to get you through the night if you ever had a pc crash. Also a good collection to start you off music wise.

[Vectis]

as with all programs if it doesnt like a certain file type or theres a litte glitch from a download then the program will crash.


I'm an OTS user and this doesn't happen - OTS will try to index any file prior to use and if it doesn't like it, it rejects it and won't even attempt to play it live.

3 years in and not one single crash or freeze using various OTS applications.

[thex-faders]

That sounds like a good idea with indexing the file and not playing it if it doesnt like it! Might have to get OTS and try it out.

Thanks for the info Vectis

All have a good christmas I hope?

Tom

[jamesh]

Thanks again.

I'll mainly be using software for mobile use, (party, 70's, 80's chart etc)

Didn't realize there were so many sofware packages available!

Here's another question though...
I dont understand why an external controller, (ie Numark total control) is available. Isnt PC software controllable with a conventional mouse?

Thanks,
Franc'

To answer the question about external controllers... Yes it is possible to just use any of the software with a keyboard and mouse but an external controller makes operating the software easier and can bridge the gap between CD operation and going onto a computer based system as most of the controllers are set up and layed out just like a standard CD controller...

Personally i've been using computer based software for quite a few years now... I prefer it as it's less to carry around as i can carry many more thousand tracks around with me unlike CD's and when i think of a track it's a case of just typing in the name of the song or artist (or part of either) and it will show up in the record case.... It also means if i decide with 10 seconds left i want a different track i can type it in hit load and play the other track which isn't really possible with a CD.

For most of the years i've been using computer playout i used PCDJ Red 5.2 as that was the most stable version of PCDJ (even though they had newer versions such as FX on the market) but when i started to move into more karaoke and Video Djing i had to look elsewhere for a more stable, reliable product... After looking at most of them i found i liked Virtual DJ the best as for stability (compared to most others) and cost together it couldn't be beaten for the features that were available... That was was back in Version 3 and now it's up to version 5.0.6 with the release of 5.1 and more new features just around the corner... I had looked at OTS as well as that was the other main contender when i was looking for something to cover music, video and karaoke but for the cost difference and the fact that there is no external controller available to use with OTS i couldn't justify it as Virtual DJ had the same features plus additional support for most external controllers and near enough reliability but cost quite a bit less (although haven't looked at the prices since they launched OTS AV)... and to be fair virtual DJ must be doing something right as Numark Cue and PCDJ VJ are re-branded versions of virtual dj... so i'm sure had the software have been pants, buggy and unreliable both big named companies would have invested in creating their own rather than re-branding an existing software.

I think pretty much there are many arguments for and against the different software and the question of which software is best will be one that can never be answered.....and let's face it no software (or hardware come to think of it) is 100% reliable as there they all have their limitations, quirks and different variables involved... The only thing you can do really is download all the software you are interested in and have a good play and test with them... Then you can be sure you are investing in the software that best suits your needs.

[franczola]

Thanks for this.

Ive been tempted by Mixmeister I think.
The online tutorials are very good, and I like the simplicity of the screen layout, verses the other software that look quite crowded and busy. I intend to use it with a conventional mouse (less equipment, and cheaper!)

Just need to look into a new laptop that I'll use for it now, and start the long task of downloading all my cd's!

Thanks again for all your help.
Franc'