I want to learn to DJ

sam, have you ever done any beat boxing? maybe mixed it with you DJing?

Naw. I used to scratch with some bands, or even just a drummer. That was always the most fun.

I’m still a bit unclear… do you want to deejay, or do you want to produce your own music? 'Cause some of these artists do both.

If you’re into deejaying, then grab some records from these artists and start mixing 'em up. If you’re into producing, grab some of the records these artists sample, and start mixing 'em up.

Have you found a local record shop yet? Determined what your budget is?

When I get into this, I want to write and record my own beats

ya, we have a great record shop in spokane…

but i figure that you got to learn to mix before you learn to do it on your own… but i am leaning more on the side of trying to come up with my own music

Phil, with Jerrick’s amazing recording shtuff, we could all record stuff and you could do digital djing… Maybe?
hmmm…

Check out Soulwax (including 2 many dj’s, soulwax nightversions and radio soulwax), justice, erlend oye, MF doom’s special herbs album, cut chemist, and of course Canada’s own Kid Koala, for more inspiration.

I think the best way to get set up is to just build a record collection, going to clubs and getting to know dj’s who will let you use their set ups. My brother has been doing that for years, some places even let him use their equipment after/before hours.

I have some friends that will do that from time to time when we go to a few clubs. If they know the DJ well enough then they just hop in the booth every now and then.

Damn you brought up a bunch more good points, as usual… Another really good thing is to learn how to buy proper records. There are lots of really good tutorials on youtube on how to shop for records, and any halfway decent shop will have a record player or two for you to sample what you are buying. Nobody likes a scratchy warped sounding record.

I liked Jason’s point about some artists producing as opposed to djing aswell, important to notice the difference and how its done.

Another good DJ as opposed to producer is Ztrip, great mashup artist, good way to see how people mix stuff, without all the fluff that many dj’s these days add on the production end.

+1

I’ve also taken this advice too late.
I have now invested in a pair of Noisebans, especially for bagpipe practise.
They are flat-EQ gain reducers (for want of a better term), so they protect your ears while not filtering out any of the frequencies you need to hear when you’re doing music.

Interesting thread…

I, too was a professional DJ for a number of years (from the 80s to mid 90’s). I worked primarily around the Minneapolis and TC area, but had the chance to do a few gigs in NYC and in LA, as well.

There was no formal training to be had, “just 2 turntables and a microphone,” and I had my own Bozak mixer, preferring the rotary pots to sliders, until I started doing some scratching and remixing, as well.

If you want to do it, you will most likely be best to take an entry level job with a mobile DJ company, doing weddings, etc, until you get more comfortable with the hardware that is out there.

There are some pretty good CD players that you can “scratch” with, still, and looking at what Tiesto or DJ AM or some of the other top tiered DJ’s use, you will find it is not a really complicated setup. It is about familiarity with the music, knowing when to drop mixes…and beats, as Terry mentioned, earlier.

I would recommend 2 places to go to see gear, if you can do it. First is the NAMM show in Anaheim (1/15-1/18) It is the National Association of Music Merchants, and all the manufacturers of lighting and sound equipment are there with all the new products for the retailers to check out. Secondly is the Winter Music Conference (3-24 through 3/28) in Miami WMC All the influential folks in the dance music industry are there.

Lastly, protecting your hearing is supremely important, you can never regain lost hearing…once the damage is done you are fooked! I still work around the concert industry and do not leave home (ever) without hearing protection. I am at shows at least once a week, and would be deaf by now if I wasn’t prepared…AC/DC was the loudest show touring this year, and it was uncomfortable…using high quality protection with a 15-20db flat pad makes a huge difference…and does not distort the sound in any way, just makes it more enjoyable.

If you have any other questions, I can also be helpful regarding mixing (recording) and well, and know a few GREAT programs where you can learn that as well.

Congrats!!!

One of the benefits of practicing mixing is that you really get to know your artists and their styles of music. You’ll hear a lot of the same songs over and over, and you’ll be focusing on their rhythms and arrangements. This should give you loads of ideas for writing your own music.

Unfortunately, there is not a lot of crossover between mixing equipment and recording equipment. You’re not going to mix on a synthesizer, and you can’t produce much with turntables, although the tables will help you if you want to use samples.

So, what equipment are you looking at buying? Where to start?

well have talked with AgentQ, and i am going to start buy buying his equipment. Figure 75$ for even a beginer set up is a good place to go.
but everyone says that the tech1200 are like the best thing since sliced bread. so i am going to start with sams tables and see where i go from there

1200’s are the standard, have been for years…you can buy them used and will need some work. Check The Needle Doctor (google it) and he can get you anything you need for turntables…

the difficulty with turntables is the lack of availability of vinyl…but you can do it if you set your mind to it…a decent mixer with a crossfader and a couple turntables and a headphone will get you mixing in the privacy of your own room in no time, getting your chops…mix to tape or a hard drive to playback the mixes to review it later and critique yourself…

Ear Plugs

Great advice from the guys re: hearing protection.

You might want to look into a filtered, custom molded ear plug such as these if your going to get serious about working in the music industry.

Fitting of these types of plugs is usually done by an audiologist so they will run in the $150 -$200 range.

http://www.earinc.com/p2-specialty-musician.php

Another great option are industrial earplugs which you can get for a couple bucks.
They cut out lots of volume and I havn’t noticed any major sound difference.

Hmmmm… I would have thought, what with the popularity of hip-hop and other such genres, that vinyl would be more common.
But everyone uses digital now… blah.

Your correct. The industrial plugs will protect your ears and they are much more economically priced.

A musician of your talents however owes it to himself to try the filtered plugs. You should notice a vast difference especially if you play with others in a band or concert setting.

haha, I don’t have any money though!!
And I’m fine with the plugs I use. When I do shows, I can hear all my monitor good but it’s not overpowering.
But since I mainly play Jazz, I rarely find the need to even use them. Only when I’m playing funk or blues shows.

so are you guys trying to tell me i should protect my hearing?

:wink:

Not at all. =p

I need to get the special earplugs. The ones I have I think are from a racing brand, so they work really well to cut out dbs, but they also block a lot of frequencies from my amp. I can still play through the songs, but Im pretty much playing deaf at our shows.

Phil, I think youd really like using FL studios. Completely easy to make your own songs within a few mins and have stuff that compares to the top techno songs out today.

If you are going to be an audiophile about this, stick with vinyl, cause their quality is going to be the closest to the master tape/file. The standard in cd is 16bit, 44.1khz, which is actually video standard, and sound got lumped into it, and when compared to 24bit- 192khz, you can really hear the difference.