A question for you SA dj's

Hey guys,

I’m just about to get into dj’ing to compliment the production aspect of my music addiction. (Its about time to ge some gratification for all the hard work I’ve put into production).

I’m just wondering what advantage CDJ’s have over something like the Native Instruments Traktor S4?

I hear a lot of dj’s saying they love the cdj’s and never want to switch to “computer” dj’ing. Is this cause there’s problems with the s4? Do the cdj’s have an advantage in some way? Or are they just worried about getting booze all over there beatiful, shiny-new mac book pro’s?

Any advice would be helpful seeing as I plan on starting to dj when the christmas break hits :slight_smile:

S4 is a great bit of kit and mixing is easy, just hit sync but you need to wire them and find somewhere for them to sit in the DJ booth when you play out and if your laptop crashes you will never get booked again.

CDJs are in every bar and club, already cabled in for you, and they never crash. You do have to learn to mix with them unless you use Traktor Scratch (which is a very popular option with DJs in Europe).

IMO if you want to became a Pro Dj. you might need to adapt or learn how to Beat Match CD Djs because some promoters might want you to Dj on them . for many reasons.





.

Valence do you have a gig already lined up around Christmas, or are you just wanting to get into the dj side of music then?  Because it will take some time to get comfortable with beat matching unless you have a computer program doing it for you.

Also, just a tip, record all of your mixes and listen to them back so you can hear how they sound and how well your improving.  This really helped me when I was learning.  :slight_smile:

I started with vinyl though and then progressed to cdjs.  I have never used software to mix.

[quote]alinenunez (30/11/2011)[hr]IMO if you want to became a Pro Dj. you might need to adapt or learn how to Beat Match CD Djs because some promoters might want you to Dj on them . for many reasons.


.[/quote]

I think this is sound advice.

TBH if you use something like traktor or ableton i dont even consider you a real dj. Everyone can hit a sync button, just get two cheap desks and learn to do it the good old fashion way.

To answer your question, I don’t have a gig lined up, I just plan on starting during the christmas break as I want to start getting some gigs next summer.

I guess the whole not crashing part is an added benefit. And you dont have to use the sync button… you can beat match manually for all you anti-cheating, ‘classic’ dj’s out there.

The thing is the s4 has a dedicated soundcard, so all it would take a gig with cdj’s would be to hook up the s4 to the mixer then turn on my laptop… I have no experience so I can’t say for sure, but I’m pretty sure that eliminates the whole “you HAVE to use cdj’s at this club cause they dont have an s4… blah blah” lol

I’m just arguing this because I want to see from user opinion which one is preferred. Also, the price on 2 cdj’s and a mixer is MUCH steeper than the s4 :stuck_out_tongue:

Well my opinion, first learnd djing on tt’s or cdj’s.

I started with vinyl, then cd players, then finnaly my cdj’s , then my macbook with djm and x1 control —> boring as hell, then the pio ddj to get again a bit the real cdj feeling!:slight_smile:

Its important to have dj skillz whats important beatmatching/to know how to eq/use effects building up and down etcetera:)

It will take some time man, iam doing it for 7 years and still learn and improving!

Oh and sync dj’s are lame:D

I’m getting the vibe that its some kind of unwritten rule in the dj world that if you buy a system with sync you might as well hand in your nads, cause you’re not a man anymore :wink:

[quote]FlyingYeti (30/11/2011)[hr]I’m getting the vibe that its some kind of unwritten rule in the dj world that if you buy a system with sync you might as well hand in your nads, cause you’re not a man anymore ;)[/quote]

That would be a correct assumption   :smiley:

[quote]JayD3 (30/11/2011)[hr][quote]FlyingYeti (30/11/2011)[hr]I’m getting the vibe that its some kind of unwritten rule in the dj world that if you buy a system with sync you might as well hand in your nads, cause you’re not a man anymore ;)[/quote]



That would be a correct assumption :D[/quote]





LOL



I bet in 5 - 10 years cdj’s will be defunct

[quote]FlyingYeti (30/11/2011)[hr]

The thing is the s4 has a dedicated soundcard, so all it would take a gig with cdj’s would be to hook up the s4 to the mixer then turn on my laptop… I have no experience so I can’t say for sure, but I’m pretty sure that eliminates the whole “you HAVE to use cdj’s at this club cause they dont have an s4… blah blah” lol[/quote]

Yeah, just turn up at the club and connect the cables to the back of the mixer without unplugging his cables,then find somewhere to plug in your laptop, find somewhere for it to sit and somewhere for the S4 to sit.

All of this in a dark nightclub, without easy access to the back of the mixer or power sockets whilst the DJ before you is playing using the mixer you are ***ing around with. LOL - what could be easier?

Good point Ant. That would be where my lack of experiene comes into play :stuck_out_tongue:

I’ll start looking into some cdj’s, and recommendations in terms of cdj’s and mixers?

[quote]slender (30/11/2011)[hr][quote]JayD3 (30/11/2011)[hr][quote]FlyingYeti (30/11/2011)[hr]I’m getting the vibe that its some kind of unwritten rule in the dj world that if you buy a system with sync you might as well hand in your nads, cause you’re not a man anymore ;)[/quote]

That would be a correct assumption :D[/quote]


LOL

I bet in 5 - 10 years cdj’s will be defunct[/quote]

:w00t:  Hand in your nads for saying that    :hehe:

[quote]JayD3 (30/11/2011)[hr][quote]slender (30/11/2011)[hr][quote]JayD3 (30/11/2011)[hr][quote]FlyingYeti (30/11/2011)[hr]I’m getting the vibe that its some kind of unwritten rule in the dj world that if you buy a system with sync you might as well hand in your nads, cause you’re not a man anymore ;)[/quote]



That would be a correct assumption :D[/quote]





LOL



I bet in 5 - 10 years cdj’s will be defunct[/quote]



:w00t: Hand in your nads for saying that :hehe:[/quote]



They were taken off me years ago :frowning:

[quote]slender (30/11/2011)[hr]

I bet in 5 - 10 years cdj’s will be defunct[/quote]

Maybe, but they will be replaced by another closed system, just like CDJs without the CD player, that the industry can standardise on.

Lioke the CDJ900 / 2000 without the CD drive.

[quote]slender (30/11/2011)[hr][quote]JayD3 (30/11/2011)[hr][quote]slender (30/11/2011)[hr][quote]JayD3 (30/11/2011)[hr][quote]FlyingYeti (30/11/2011)[hr]I’m getting the vibe that its some kind of unwritten rule in the dj world that if you buy a system with sync you might as well hand in your nads, cause you’re not a man anymore ;)[/quote]

That would be a correct assumption :D[/quote]


LOL

I bet in 5 - 10 years cdj’s will be defunct[/quote]

:w00t: Hand in your nads for saying that :hehe:[/quote]

They were taken off me years ago :([/quote]

I just felt like adding to the ridiculous amount of nested quotes :smiley:

Yes whaha lol!:stuck_out_tongue:

But Its also boring! I dont use sync on my ddj( only seldom when i want to do something with a cool loop)

I dj’d one time on a gig with my ddj, last time also:D i like it more with cd’s much more easy and not walking trough the crowd with a to big bag

I do agree with the consensus - but a couple of decent cdjs are just so way out of my budget

I agree with slender. Hence why I am leaning towards the s4 which is half the price :stuck_out_tongue: