Laptop, software, USB Soundcard, etc...

[PropellerHeadCase]

I know this is done in one form or another quite a bit, but as I'm now looking very seriously at this exact aspect of DJing (buying in the next week or so) I thought I'd get an update on what people were using, how they were finding it, and any tips...

So...

Laptop (basic specs), with which software, into which soundcard?

Any problems?

I'm aso particularly interested to know who mixes with their software and outputs to a pre-amp and who outputs to a mixer and mixes the "old-fashioned" way?

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Genuine offer Al - when you arrive in Bath and settle, come up for a couple of hours and I can show you round PCDJ, VJ and VDJ. You can also see the Denon HD2500 and HC4500 and the American DJ SDJ1, as well as hear the soundcards on the midi controllers and the Maya EX and Echo DJ PCMCIA card.

[Tom]

I think thats a very good offer. That way you get to see some of whats on the market and make your mind from there.

I reakon what you may go for though.

[jamesh]

yep great offer there from Daz - one you'd be mad to miss!!!!

Personally i use a OODJ as the main playout system with VDJ and a Dac3 as the choice for disco gigs and OTS AV for Radio roadshows and things like that...

The reason i use 2 different software applications is that with discos i prefer the hands on external controller approach where i can beatmix some songs in / fade others so i use VDJ with a Dac3... Where as on things like roadshows where a quick playlist is really needed with idents and things and the music isn't really the main focus i find OTS AV better as it can't be controlled by an external controller but it's playlist and scheduling is the best on the market so far.

Connection wise i go from the OODJ via 2 of the Outputs and then go into 2 channels of my mixer.. with the left deck being channel 1 and the right deck channel 2 (i've even got the sampler set to channel 3 but dont really use it.

With OTS AV i do the same but channel one is the main out and channel 2 is the Cue.... giving a little control over if i need to cue a track before hearing it live...

[PropellerHeadCase]

Thanks, Darren, I would like to take you up on that offer but it will come down to available time to take it up in the next fortnight. I need to have the play-out part of my rig sorted in that period as I should be taking up a residency shortly thereafter.

I have in fact settled in and am posting from a blinding 6mbps ADSL

Was aiming for nearer to Bath but have ended up just slightly west of Trowbridge in a wee village called Steeple Ashton. Basically we had to take what was in our price range and that was available for viewing in the two days that we were in the area (and that was available for almost immediate tenancy). So Bath is a leisurely half hour drive away and Bristol (where my residency will be *fingers crossed*) is another half hour beyond that. This of course does mean that I am half an hour closer to Reading

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Cool. PM answered.

By the way, carry on with suggestions everyone else - there are lots of other playback systems and software that I haven't used!

[BeerFunk]

The only reasons I can think of are DMX and karaoke... but could someone please explain to me why you would use a laptop over a HD playout system?

[Dragonfly]

The only reasons I can think of are DMX and karaoke... but could someone please explain to me why you would use a laptop over a HD playout system?

my laptop plus maya sounded better than my cortex and had a bigger screen to look at plus more toys to play with on the software

[Danno13]

The only reasons I can think of are DMX and karaoke... but could someone please explain to me why you would use a laptop over a HD playout system?

Lots of reasons... laptops/PCs are more "tried and tested" than Hard Drive players, which are a essentially quite a new product.

Like Dave, I prefer to have the large screen to see lots more tracks at once and even run other applications, try batch tag renaming on a Cortex!

Plus, there's the upgradability and increased configurability of a PC.. can't exactly stick more Ram in a HD2500 now, can you?

[Tom]

my laptop plus maya sounded better than my cortex and had a bigger screen to look at plus more toys to play with on the software

Maby this would be good for you Dragonfly??? Link


Have you had a look in localish dj shops in your area??? Maby have a look in there and see whats avaliable plus you can have a play as well.



As for Dan, no you can't upgrade anything on the Denon HD apart from new software updates but then again has anyone's Denon actually crashed at all? Mine hasn't and I dont think it will anyway.