DJ setups/Mixer porn/New toys thread...

303abuser

Unbroken1 Yeah fair enough, just another option to throw money down the pit lol. I still really want a zen delay too.

303abuser

Since I mentioned money pits, I shouldn’t have watched this.

xs2man

Unbroken1 Oooooft. That looks sweet. I like the automatic BPM detection too. That was one of the tricky parts I found with the H9 Max. Sounded great for sure. But was a complex beast, and could never get it dialled in just right.

Also looking forward to reviews.

Millsy

Got myself a second hand Denon sc live 4 this weekend. Things have moved a lot since my previous traktor days it would seem. Linked it to SoundCloud so far and impressed I have immediate access to my playlists etc but cue points on first beats are hit and miss and I have no idea what I’m doing….yet. It’s the perfect unit to just noodle on immediately and the built in speakers are surprisingly punchy. Does anyone use Denon engine DJ want to give me a few starters for ten?

Millsy

One major thing I need to understand is how I can get back to first beat as hitting cue seems to mark a cue point wherever you are in the track which is not what I want to do at all.

Along_the_Wire

Millsy on Pioneer, if the track is paused and you hit cue, it marks your cue point there. It snaps back to that cue point if you hit cue whilst the track is playing

Dan

Millsy Ask Strudders…

Unbroken1

Along_the_Wire on Pioneer, if the track is paused and you hit cue, it marks your cue point there. It snaps back to that cue point if you hit cue whilst the track is playing

…yeah, try this. Cue manually with the platter then hit cue, see if it works then.

Have you analysed all your tracks in Engine? The default cue point should be set there I imagine

Millsy

Unbroken1 I’ve only tried SoundCloud so far. Need to get an SSD, format it to exFAT and then sort my music collection out. I reckon engine will analyse those tracks with no problem, it’s probably a streaming service thing. I’m also hoping the metadata on the tracks from traktor will carry across but that might be wishful thinking. The thought of having to beatgrid stuff manually again with all my cue points etc gives me chills.

NasserAlazzawi

On Denon / pioneer you can edit the grids either on the software or on the deck.

When you first import a new track in future you should ideally do some / all of these things if you want to be organised

Rate the Rating out of 5. For energy (1 star being a Beatless intro, 5 stars razing the roof / peak energy)
Put it in the playlist(s) which apply. Name the playlists whatever works for your brain - there are no right answers
Write any comments for the keywords that would help you find this in a search later (imagining at some point you have over 5000 tracks). On pioneer instead of writing it you can use TAGS on rekordbox and press FILTER on CDJs to tick which tags you want to see. Again name these whatever works for your brain but try to stick to the same 5 or 10 ish words. Ie. Some of mine are Peak. Intelligent intro. Ethereal. Tribal Percussion. Sentimental. Anthemic. Closing.
Edit the beat grid either in Engine, or rekordbox.
If you miss step 4 you can do this on the equipment. I’m sure Denon had a physical button for Beat Grid that you used either with the scrolling menu knob to move the grid, or with the jogwheel itself
Remember if you edit something on a drive later, to re sync it to your engine / rekordbox so all of your improvements are stored and not overwritten
Drop hot cue B on the first main part where it peaks (So when DJing and listening in headphones looking for next track you can tell in 2 seconds whether this will be right vibe / direction / whether the key clashes or works well). Use A hot cue in rare cases for “actual first beat” if beats do not appear for a long time.

Hope some of that helps.

Millsy

NasserAlazzawi brilliant tips mate, thank you. I’ll do all that. Yeah denon has a manual grid edit with anchor points in engine from the unit itself which is really handy as I can use the jogs instead of having to point and click on a laptop.

Wasily

Has anyone on here had any experience using an Akai MPC One? If so, any cop?

https://www.thediscdjstore.com/akai-mpc-one-mk2.html?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjws-S-BhD2ARIsALssG0YiyiMXPbFbtBh9Fvq1xmfm06AB71VrNYNF_f_6993MtX7-vKtmmFwaAiIpEALw_wcB

Amps

Wasily Noice DAW style screen, pity about the size of the thing. I’ve had a fair bit of experience with the Pioneer DJS-1000, and that is tons of fun. I like big buttons and I cannot lie!

Unbroken1

Wasily …unique workflow with MPC’s and those that love ’em really love ’em. Not so much house/techno-types, always seem to have been more associated with hip hop/R&B. Famous for their ‘swing’ that is replicated in loads of DAW’s that have various MPC-based swing settings.

This is the latest one and I’ve no doubt will be brilliant… guess it really depends if you wanna go all-in on learning it properly. My issue with kit like this is, for me it would never fully replace my DAW, so I’d rather spend my time going much deeper on that than stopping to learn something new.

Amps

Unbroken1 I never really thought of it for the studio, very much a ‘live’ thing imo, or for in the mix.

Wasily

Unbroken1 Thanks Damo. That’s a really useful perspective 👍. I was also thinking of it being used more like @Amps has suggested given its size.

303abuser

Wasily Like Damo said, they’ve been a staple in hip hop production forever. I guess they make it really easy to chop and rearrange samples. J Dilla was a notable example if you’re looking for particular wizardry.

mono-stereo

The problem with these things is you really need to dedicate time learning the workflow, which is often compromised by a limited amount of buttons resulting in features being hidden under sub menus/shift buttons.

Time is better spent just learning your chosen DAW which exposes the same stuff with a mouse and keyboard and more screen real estate.

Millsy

First impressions of Engine DJ desktop have been less than positive. Traktor is far more intuitive to use in nearly every aspect. Even the waveforms are a step back from traktor imho. I’ll keep persevering as it’s learning a new software, but stuff like not being able to immediately change the genre/title of a track with a simple double click. Wtf? I want to try stems out too but the basics so far have put me off even trying. The sc live 4 controller is great though, shame about the software.

Along_the_Wire

Picked up some CDJ3000s and a DJM900 from a mate this morning for the gig on Saturday - fuck me, that’s a nice bit of kit. What a joy to play in they are.

mjh

I’ve been looking at buying a XZ controller. Currently fighting the urge to max out a CC on these, instead.

Unbroken1

Along_the_Wire …nice, even better with a proper mixer 😉

Amps

Along_the_Wire CDJ3000

Lovely arent they.

Along_the_Wire

mjh I wouldn’t - I like the kit, but look at the AZ - the sound is vastly different with the DJM900 versus the XZ would be my main issue. Assuming the soundcard in the AZ is solid

« Previous Page Next Page »