Vinyl DJ thinking about "going digital", options?
Discussion
I've been DJ'ing for about 15 years now, have my trusty Technics and a nice Pioneer mixer and several thousand records. I'm interested in seeing what can be done with some of these computer-based DJing systems are like so looking for advice and/or recommendations.
I'm aware of Ableton Live, a friend of mine produces tracks using this and he says you can use it for DJing live but what would I need to get in order to control that and "play tunes"?
I'm also aware of Tracktor, Final Scratch etc. in that I know you get controllers that you connect to the decks and the computer then use special records with timecodes on them but I believe there is a lot more you can do with this. I guess that will need a special mixer and/or control unit?
Any other good systems for this sort of thing? I guess I'd like it to work with my records rather than replace them altogether, maybe be able to mix music in digital format off a laptop, that sort of thing, certainly as a start. The ability to use loops and such like time synced would be nice too.
Where do I start?
I'm aware of Ableton Live, a friend of mine produces tracks using this and he says you can use it for DJing live but what would I need to get in order to control that and "play tunes"?
I'm also aware of Tracktor, Final Scratch etc. in that I know you get controllers that you connect to the decks and the computer then use special records with timecodes on them but I believe there is a lot more you can do with this. I guess that will need a special mixer and/or control unit?
Any other good systems for this sort of thing? I guess I'd like it to work with my records rather than replace them altogether, maybe be able to mix music in digital format off a laptop, that sort of thing, certainly as a start. The ability to use loops and such like time synced would be nice too.
Where do I start?
Forgive me because im no expert and im sure someone will come along with a better idea.
But how about getting Usb turntable so that you can convert your vinyls into MP3 and then using something like Serato/Traktor.
It would take a while to convert them all to MP3's but then you could carry on using your current set up and just add a DVS and you get all the benefits of going digital?
But how about getting Usb turntable so that you can convert your vinyls into MP3 and then using something like Serato/Traktor.
It would take a while to convert them all to MP3's but then you could carry on using your current set up and just add a DVS and you get all the benefits of going digital?
The software beatmatches automatically these days; AIUI you press play and then pretend to twiddle knobs David Guetta style for the next two hours. 
Seriously though, I think Ableton sounds about right for what you want to do.
http://www.djtechtools.com/2010/10/06/why-dj-with-...
Seriously though, I think Ableton sounds about right for what you want to do.
http://www.djtechtools.com/2010/10/06/why-dj-with-...
Thanks Dave, interesting article. I'd be interested to see something similar written from the point of view of the other applications, I'll do some digging.
How would I "play" Ableton in a live environment, say I had a laptop with Live and a bunch of tunes on it - what would I use to control it, surely not a mouse and keyboard? The bit that concerns me slightly is what the article said about Live dictating the tempo of the mix, that would make it difficult to integrate with vinyl surely?
How would I "play" Ableton in a live environment, say I had a laptop with Live and a bunch of tunes on it - what would I use to control it, surely not a mouse and keyboard? The bit that concerns me slightly is what the article said about Live dictating the tempo of the mix, that would make it difficult to integrate with vinyl surely?
8bit said:
Thanks Dave, interesting article. I'd be interested to see something similar written from the point of view of the other applications, I'll do some digging.
How would I "play" Ableton in a live environment, say I had a laptop with Live and a bunch of tunes on it - what would I use to control it, surely not a mouse and keyboard? The bit that concerns me slightly is what the article said about Live dictating the tempo of the mix, that would make it difficult to integrate with vinyl surely?
I'm really no expert on this stuff at all, having DJ'd all of three times in my life. And all of those were indie discos. How would I "play" Ableton in a live environment, say I had a laptop with Live and a bunch of tunes on it - what would I use to control it, surely not a mouse and keyboard? The bit that concerns me slightly is what the article said about Live dictating the tempo of the mix, that would make it difficult to integrate with vinyl surely?
If you want to do some hardcore turntablism it might not be ideal - Ableton needs everything to be in digital form, so working directly with the vinyl in the system would be out, unfortunately.
I guess you'd need to go with some sort of hybrid - laptop connected to one side of a crossfader, and your vinyl setup on the other side. You'd be able to mix the two in a conventional fashion with the important caveat that I don't think Ableton will let you change the speed of the songs on the fly (you fix the tempo of the whole set in advance).
What Ableton does do is allow you to trigger samples, drum loops, and original compositions, all perfectly matched into the mix. That's where the real power is with it.
I've got Serato. I'm coming from a hip hop background and it was at the time as close to no frills djing with real vinyl as you could get. Apart from taking advantage of a few of the upgrades and features such as instant doubles looping and cue points I tend to dj in much the same fashion as I always have. Djing off one deck has made me extremely lazy though.
You're going to need to digitise your collection in one way or another. I if I'm in the mood rip my vinyl using the 57 Rane mixer (built in Serato) and for the most part it sounds fine. I sometimes compress the tracks after just so they match today's "loud" over compressed tunes but that is about it. If I'm in the mood and can be bothered I'll set up Pro Tools and rip that way. But to be honest where possible I've just been buying cheap cds as and when I see them of my collection and digitising that way. Not always possible as some stuff wasd never released on CD but its a darn site quicker.
Once you've digitised everything they tend to be much of a muchness. Traktor have a few more bells and whistles and their controllers are pretty good. Serato at the time was a more robust system but had fewer tricks/gimmicks/features. Both allow a vinyl manipulation via time coded vinyl.
You then get the others which can be djing via the laptop only or using a controller. To be honest I don't know enough about them other than seeing people using them once in a while.
You're going to need to digitise your collection in one way or another. I if I'm in the mood rip my vinyl using the 57 Rane mixer (built in Serato) and for the most part it sounds fine. I sometimes compress the tracks after just so they match today's "loud" over compressed tunes but that is about it. If I'm in the mood and can be bothered I'll set up Pro Tools and rip that way. But to be honest where possible I've just been buying cheap cds as and when I see them of my collection and digitising that way. Not always possible as some stuff wasd never released on CD but its a darn site quicker.
Once you've digitised everything they tend to be much of a muchness. Traktor have a few more bells and whistles and their controllers are pretty good. Serato at the time was a more robust system but had fewer tricks/gimmicks/features. Both allow a vinyl manipulation via time coded vinyl.
You then get the others which can be djing via the laptop only or using a controller. To be honest I don't know enough about them other than seeing people using them once in a while.
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