I first started djing back when I was about 14 or 15 years old (many, many moons ago). I stopped after I began playing with bands and never quite had the time to get back into it. However a few months ago I started djing small parties, and eventually I got the bug again. A lot has changed since I had my old one & two. Everything from the role a DJ plays to the equipment he/she uses.
Today a DJ needs to be more than just a jukebox. Anyone with a good mp3’s collection can simply connect their laptop to a pair of home stereo speaker and let iTunes do the rest. Today a DJ needs to stand out, both in his/her mixing skills as well as people skills. On this post I’m going to provide a few personal observations and reviews on the equipment side of the spectrum.
There are mainly 3 formats DJ’s are working with today. Vinyl records (yes they still exist), CD’s and MP3. It’s safe to say that djing with vinyl is old school and an art form in itself. A lot of DJ’s still want to have that 1 on 1 feel that you just don’t get with CD’s or MP3. However, I personally hardly see them anymore, especially in the mobile DJ arena. As for club DJ’s, I’ve only seen one guy in my area that still uses vinyl (although I’m sure there are more). Most club DJ’s in Miami are using MP3 and a few that I’ve spoken to that use CD’s are seriously starting to consider moving towards the MP3 format. Let’s face it; it’s so much easier to carry a hard drive with 5000 songs than a whole bunch of CD’s.
So with such a large number of DJ’s using MP3, I decided to take a look at different DJ programs that run MP3’s. This research was not only intended for this blog but also for my own understanding of how I wanted to work. My main objective is getting back into the “mobile” DJ business. Right now I’m not that interested working in clubs. So my final analysis and program of choice is based on what I feel would best suit me.
The first thing I did was to go online and try out a lot of the free programs out there. Most of these will give you a “very”, simple & basic understanding on how to DJ, but if you’re seriously looking to get into this type of work, none of them can be considered professional enough to do the job right. Many in fact, won’t even cut it in a frat party. J Many of these free softwares will not give you the ability to pre-listen to your mix, so you’re at the mercy of hoping the two songs you’re mixing will actually sound good as one cross fades into the other.
Yet as simple as these programs are, they do give a beginner a very basic fundamental idea about Djing, and the best part is; they’re FREE. My #1 choice in this field was Beatport Sync by Native Instruments. I actually used this program at a family BBQ and had a lot of fun with it. It has a sync feature which will sync both decks onto the same BPM(beats per minute). For a free program this little software does boast a very nicely organized library. Another nice feature is the wave file display. You can view the wave file of the song playing as well as the song in cue. You can move the starting point of your song forwards or backwards, and if you grab the wave while it’s playing and throw it back while cross-fading to the next deck, it will give you that backward spinning effect.
However, the thing that made Beatport Sync unusable for me was the fact that it does not have a way to pre-listen to your music. The program only provides a stereo output and is basically just a player with a cross-fade slider. It’s fun but not practical for serious DJ work.
I then decided to look at iPod players like the iDJ and the iDJ2. Both of these hardware systems allows you to leave your laptop at home and simply work off your iPod. If you do decide to go with this type of system, I would strongly recommend the iDJ2 instead of the iDJ as the iDJ2 only requires 1 iPod, and you can also connect other media storage devices like an external drive. The iDJ requires 2 iPods (not very practical especially when they tend to walk away when you’re not looking), it will not accept any other storage media and has a very cheap look and feel to it.
At first glance the iDJ2 seemed like my favorite DJ setup. The idea of having 1 piece of gear that did everything really intrigued me, however once I began reading some user reviews; I quickly had a change of heart. The main thing to remember is that the iDJ2 is a computer with a dj software already installed, and just like regular computers tend to freeze up and leave you hanging, the iDJ2 has a reputation of doing some of the same. One of the most embarrassing things that could happen to a DJ is that his equipment fails and the music stops playing. At $500.00 I wasn’t about to take a chance on a product which seemed to have so many unfavorable reviews.
Next I decided to look into the two programs which most DJ’s here in Miami are using a lot. Traktor Pro and Serato. For those DJ’s that came from either the vinyl or CD based formats, these two programs are a great step up into the MP3 format. They both offer just about everything a professional DJ needs to get the best mixes out to his/her audience. Tracktor even provides 4 virtual decks, which means you can mix 4 songs at the same time.
The only thing is that these programs are not cheap. Serato Live runs you about $525.00, but at that price you also get the Rane audio interface. Traktor Scratch with its own interface runs about $25 more, with their top of the line setup at $599.00. You can however get a special version of these programs bundled with controllers from companies like Numark. The advantage here is that for a fraction of the cost, you get a controller and the software. Keep in mind that the bundled software is not the full version you buy at the higher price, but it will still work very efficiently.
The last setup I looked at was the loop based system like Ableton and Mixmeister Fusion. As a music producer I’m very comfortable working with digital recording programs like Protools and Logic, so when I looked at these two dj programs I quickly felt very much at home. Fortunately I had a demo copy of Ableton that came with my Mbox2 audio interface which I use to record my music, but prior to then I didn’t know that some of the biggest names in the dj business were using it for live shows.
Ableton works very different than any other Dj software. First you’re not working with decks but rather track or cues. You can have an almost unlimited amount of tracks going at the same time. What you do is load your song into a cue that will loop it. You can then load another song to another cue and so on. Because Ableton has a unique real-time feature, your songs will automatically play in sync at the BPM you desire. In other words; you don’t need to worry about beat-matching or trying to get song “A” to play in time with song “B”. Ableton will automatically do this for you.
There is however a long learning curve to get the hang of Ableton, especially if you’ve never worked with software base recording systems. It’s also not cheap. The software alone cost about $500 and it does not come with an interface. I did notice that Akai made a controller for Ableton for $399, but it didn’t include the software.
Mixmeister Fusion is a lot more DJ friendly since it was developed for strictly for dj mixing (unlike Ableton which was designed more for recording). Just like Ableton, Mixmeister takes away the beat-matching process by automatically adjusting the BPM from one song to another as it plays. Mixmeister Fusion also does not work with decks but with tracks (up to 8 at one time).
The most valuable feature in this program is the ability to listen to how your mix will sound before it actually plays. I’m not talking about pre-listening as you do with a regular dj mixer, but actually being able to pick where in the timeline of the song you want to do your cross-fade and listen to how that mix will sound before it happens. All while your audience is still listening to the current song that’s playing. It’s sort of looking into the future of your mix. Totally awesome stuff.
(Important note: The Mixmeister website has 3 different version of Mixmeister. It’s important to read the comparisons between each. Only “Mixmeister Fusion” allows this forward previewing feature.)
Unlike Ableton, Mixmeister Fusion is not as expensive (software runs for $299.00) and it’s fairly easy to learn how to use. Also, Numark has come out with a controller specifically for Mixmeister called “Mixmeister Control”. This hardware comes with a limited copy of Mixmeister Fusion which can be upgraded to the full version for free via their website. You can get the controller with the software bundled together for the same price as the software alone.
Now one thing I have heard from several DJ’s is that folks who use programs like Ableton and Mixmeister are not really djing because you don’t actually beat-match your music. The computer is basically doing this job for you and beat-matching is one (if not the main thing) a DJ needs to know how to do. I understand this concept; however, I also look at all the new possibilities that are now open to a DJ when he/she can concentrate on making a more interesting mix instead of worrying about beat-matching.
While a lot of the season guys & gals agree that this new method of djing is cheating and taking away much of the artistry, a lot of the new up & coming DJ’s disagree. They feel that these programs allow you to build on the artistry by creating new mixes and opening up a whole new window of possibilities.
So what did I finally decide on? Well my ultimate setup will most likely consist of the Mixmeister Control with Fusion, but believe it or not, on my last 2 gigs I used this little small program called Djay by Algoriddim.
It’s been a long time since I dj on a regular schedule, so I needed to get some practice in. What better way than to use a software with all the little intricacies of mixing with turntables but without the crates of vinyl records. The best way to describe Djay is that the creators virtually took two turntables and a mixer and put them into your computer. At $50.00 it’s a great, reliable program that works in either the mobile arena or even the club scene.
If you need to get some practice in beat-matching the old-school way but don’t have the record collection, and don’t want to spend a fortune on a Virtual DJ setup with time code vinyl, Djay is a great program to get.
In the end, I believe it really doesn’t matter what system you use. Your audience could care less if you’re using turntables or a laptop. They just want you to entertain them with an interesting mix.
