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- This topic has 54 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated February 12, 2010 at 5:10 pm by boyle_46.
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February 2, 2010 at 6:00 pm #1048664
Easy!
Been mixing on a pair of 1210’s for a few months now and I want so many songs that are MP3 only. There is no way I can play em on vinyl with out having them cut (plus there probably is copyright issues with this)
So I am planning to get some cash together and buy 1 CD deck then add another (depends on work I might get enough overtime to get a pair) what would you guys recommend? £1000 is what I am allowing for a budget (maybe higher though).
Been looking at Pioneer CDJ400, dont seem to bad for cost (£440 each with free postage) if I search around
February 3, 2010 at 12:41 am #1222646id only recommend gettin one cdj if your planning to get another, as it will annoy you not being able to play your shiny new tracks together.
a quick glance at ebay and it looks like you just might be able to get a pair of cdj1000 mk2’s for about a grand if you keep an eye on ebay, they may be a little old but like technics, self servicing isnt meant to be very hard.
my cdj’s can be bought for 500 a pair now new and im happy with them,
February 3, 2010 at 9:30 am #1222662Have you thought about mixing off a lap top ? I have been thinking about cd decks and imo they are already absolete when compared to laptops.
They are still a physical medium just like records, if you want to go digital go all the way digital.
I don’t know that much about it but when you compare what you would get for £1000 in PC equpiment to 1 new CDJ It looks like you get a hell of a lot more for the money with a laptop and a midi controller than just one deck .Im am sure the more tech bods on here would be able to advise you , it’s food for thought though?
February 3, 2010 at 1:31 pm #1222647if you get a laptop setup then MAKE SURE YOU GET A GOOD SOUNDCARD!!! we had some laptop dj’s play on our system at a festival and they expected the sound quality to be good coming from the little jack output on a shitty compaq laptop, and you get a horrible buzz from un shielded powerpacks.
i dont think cdj’s are obsolete at all, specially not as the newer ones have usb inputs and midi outs for your programs. its not hard to burn a cd anyway is it?
February 3, 2010 at 1:47 pm #1222644@Tek Offensive 371204 wrote:
if you get a laptop setup then MAKE SURE YOU GET A GOOD SOUNDCARD!!! we had some laptop dj’s play on our system at a festival and they expected the sound quality to be good coming from the little jack output on a shitty compaq laptop, and you get a horrible buzz from un shielded powerpacks.
you should always use a external soundcard.
The souncard in a laptop is made for VOIP telephone calls (and even then its not ideal) rather than pro-audio. because the electronic components are close together, noise gets into the analogue audio, as the components what make your computer work emit tons of electromagnetic interference at high frequencies.
also lot of laptops have various “strange” ways of deriving an earth/ground signal, often depending on whether or not the laptop PSU has mains earth on it. Some do and some do not.
There are conflicts between law and safety and good audio quality,
The electric mains earth and any earthed components for comms/signalling purposes including audio must be common, otherwise a dangerous voltage could appear on bare metal on faulty equipment, and safety takes priority over audio quality. (This problem has been around since the early 20th century, long before computers and is the cause of many headaches to audio engineers!)
February 3, 2010 at 5:01 pm #1222677surely a laptop and a usb mixer would be better?
February 3, 2010 at 9:15 pm #1222664i still use decks
records
but wanna load up vinyl onto mp3 cos that looks like the way of the futureFebruary 3, 2010 at 10:20 pm #1222656I havent looked into using a laptop to mix, could be something worth looking into. Still prefer the idea of cdjs…
I guess you just wire up a mixer to a laptop to use that to mix then? The only time I have seen it done was when a brazillian fella was mixing using a macbook but didnt look at the set up too much
February 3, 2010 at 10:25 pm #1222683from the point of view of someone who doesnt know what the hell their talking about..
isnt mixing with a laptop one step away from a play list with auto beatmatching?
February 3, 2010 at 11:14 pm #1222645@1984 371242 wrote:
from the point of view of someone who doesnt know what the hell their talking about..
isnt mixing with a laptop one step away from a play list with auto beatmatching?
no. I’ve been experimenting with it myself in the last few weeks as I used to DJ but can’t really justify spending money on decks or vinyl whilst I have access to lots of computer equipment due my job.
its not at all as simple as it looks and requires the same skills as vinyl mixing. there are of course a few advantages such as being able to “see” the changes in the music easier than with vinyl but its not really deskilling the job as much. the auto-beatmatching often doesn’t work “out of the box” as the patterns in beats and what is the snare or bass drum are often picked up differently and offset by a few samples (this is hard to explain in a forum post but if you have mixed before you will understand it).
February 4, 2010 at 12:47 pm #1222659i’ve tryed a few auto beat matching programs just to see them in action and tbh the ones i have tryed don’t work … they thend to get things in time but with a delay on one of the tunes due to the attacks on the kick drums not being the same
February 4, 2010 at 1:30 pm #1222678auto beat matching? that takes all the fun out of it lol. you may aswell be using itunes mixing feature hahahahahaa
February 4, 2010 at 3:37 pm #1222684well that makes sense! damn I need a go at mixing one day then I will understand
February 4, 2010 at 3:58 pm #1222650pioneer cdj1000s are good if you can find them in your budget as they will play mp3s and can be set up to be very similar to vinyl mixing [just can take a while to get it perfect for you]
if you do go for a laptop get a pro audio soundcard and if its not adequately shielded [rigs can generate proper big magnetic fields] then wrap the soundcard and the laptop in aluminium foil to reduce inteference [yes it may look silly but it does work ]
February 4, 2010 at 9:00 pm #1222652If you wanna mix mp3’s and still use your decks i’d suggest serato scratch, IT’s what DJM uses and if you can find one of his mixes you’ll be extremely impressed. If you have a grand get two djm400 they are really good for the price and are more compact than the 700’s and tbh i sometimes prefer mixing on them. I’ve got some axis9’s which are ok for the price but i spent most of my time on the room next door on my mates 700’s which are wicked. But as tek say’s if your getting one cd deck you should get two. It took me ages to give into buying some CD decks, but i’m glad i did cos you can but a new set in minutes and for a very small amount.
February 4, 2010 at 9:08 pm #1222663The scope of your creative mixing will be vastly increased with a lap top, once you have your cues worked out and saved the beatmatching is such a small part of the actuall “mixing ” of the set with regaurds to set programming ,progression , tricks , and fx.
Having seen what can be achived with regards to live re-editing whilst being in the mix on a lap top, “decks” your days are numbered.This I say as a die hard vinly junkie , once I get the cash its a laptop all the way.
February 4, 2010 at 9:28 pm #1222660@Ruff Beat Provider 371334 wrote:
If you wanna mix mp3’s and still use your decks i’d suggest serato scratch, IT’s what DJM uses and if you can find one of his mixes you’ll be extremely impressed. If you have a grand get two djm400 they are really good for the price and are more compact than the 700’s and tbh i sometimes prefer mixing on them. I’ve got some axis9’s which are ok for the price but i spent most of my time on the room next door on my mates 700’s which are wicked. But as tek say’s if your getting one cd deck you should get two. It took me ages to give into buying some CD decks, but i’m glad i did cos you can but a new set in minutes and for a very small amount.
yeah – time coded vinyl look pretty decent if u wanna use mp3’s and do things like beat juggle ect.
February 4, 2010 at 11:37 pm #1222648if i had good decks i’d consider serato or sumat like that but my decks are SHIT!
February 5, 2010 at 12:10 pm #1222667my decks are alright, im considering serato, since i just loving being able to fiddle with the deck..
February 5, 2010 at 12:10 pm #1222666my decks are alright, im considering serato, since i just loving being able to fiddle with the deck..
February 5, 2010 at 2:49 pm #1222631Anonymous
CDJs are brilliant. Get yourself a decent pair and you are guaranteed endless fun.
Can anyone advise a good mixer in the £200 – £400 price range??
i have a behringer djx700 at present but the effects feature (amongst other things) is nearly kaput.February 5, 2010 at 3:05 pm #1222658Dunno if they still sell ’em but get your hands on a couple of Denon dns1000’s, pair for not a penny over 4 ton. The decks are quite cheap but the most important thing being the lazer is actually Sony one of quite a good standard as far as i know – if someone knows different please correct me! Mine got dropped, used for gigs, stuff spilt on them and stayed solid – i sold them for £30 more than i got them a year and a half later.
The stanton C series are good, owned a couple of them which never let me down. Vestax are shit hot, american audio do a cheap pair which i hear are alright but to be honest im now a devout Denon fan. Pioneers … meah … plenty of other stuff out there.
February 5, 2010 at 4:59 pm #1222668dont buy anything american audio
February 5, 2010 at 6:02 pm #1222661Get yourself a decent pair and you are guaranteed endless fun.
February 5, 2010 at 10:09 pm #1222657I like the idea of serato and also the idea of mixing with a laptop but after looking about a bit I deffo will get a pair of decks.
Not sure which ones, just browsing reviews and stuff..
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› Forums › Music › Sound Equipment › CD Decks