DJ

[yoshi]

Waddup I wanna be a club DJ someday burnin the clubs up wid hip hop and RnB but i don't know how to use DJ equipment. Is there anywehre or anyone who would be willing to mentor me cuz i got the hot tracks for the clubs, jus need to learn the equipment.
thanks

[Danny Au-Yeung]

By the sounds of it you wanta be what these guys call a cd boy! :smt011

My advice by your own equipment and teach yourself!!! Thats what everybody else does!!!

[Guest]

Is it not a known fact that, djs or djs that pair up such as infected mushroom use infact LPs, that electrical piano that I forgot the name, heavy drums and even electrical guitars.
Sure LPs are rather expensive and very hard to find specially in HK, I ve been told most big djs here have to get their stuff shipped in... Sure dont get me wrong with cd collections all going digital.
Personally, I have now got some 15days worth of music that I could somehow burn to cd and start mixing with... but LPs will always be the way to go in the end.
In conclusion, if you are to buy cd decks, buy good quality ones, and there are even ones called scratch that connect directely to the pc... so think about it but odnt be put off thats all...

[ASOT]

First you need to decide what you would prefer to mix with, vinyl, cd or both. If you want vinyl then Technics would be the way to go as even if you get bored and quit after a while you will still be able to sell them off without loosing too much of your money. Cd's, then go for the Pioneer 1000 or MK-2's. And as for a mixer then you will have to research them yourself to see which ones would suit you best. I advise you not to get someone to teach you everything because then you wont have anything style wise to call your own. Best way to learn is to go to forums such as tranceaddict.com and just read through the hundreds of posts which contain advice and tips (sometimes not always so helpful though..)

But if you wanna play in a club someday that you have to be different from the next day in some way, otherwsie you will prolly just be relegated to your bedroom!

[Big_League_Choon]

Learn by watching other DJ's with great turntable skills (turntablists) ... Particularly for HIP HOP, you need to hone on turntable tricks and scratching ... There are also instructional videos on turntable tricks.

Know your equipment inside and out. Learn how to tweak the pitch control, brake and spinning backward for technics.

and practice day and night ...

I think the hardest part of DJing is knowing how to work the crowd. You think you have the greatest choons in the world and you have achieved flawless beatmatching and scratching skills, but when it comes to real DJing in front of people ... it is really different from playing in your own bedroom. You can't have a set program, and you have to improvise and build a program on the spot that would heighten the energy of the crowd. It is really an art that takes time to work on in a club setting.

[Guest]

I find it interesting that no venue that I know of has a "rising stars" event that would be well worth the cash to see new blood into venues and see if there is any rough diamonds out there... Personally, I it is much nicer to target a far smaller niche group since it would be far easier to interact with the smaller crowd at the start of ones life as a dj...

[ASOT]

the only place i can think of that used to do something like that (maybe still does) was chapter 3. Every friday or sat night the lineup would be compirsed of amateur dj's who had either sent the managment a mix or played in front of them at an auditions. Each dj recieved a one hour slot to impress the crowd and those with natural talent were either offered regular time slots or jobs at other clubs.

im pretty sure they still have that goin on, but nvr been to one b4. just read abt it in the newspaper.

But dont focus all you attention opn the effects and tricks just yet. Spend the majori9ty of your time on beatmatching and choosing the right tracks to play after one another, then add in tricks to liven up your set

[Guest]

You mean like throwing LPs into fat chick's mouthes??? :smt003

[Cl8on]

I guess its best to look up for some kinda of DJing 101 online, then get your own shxx and start working at it. U will probably give up after the first week if u r not realli keen about this whole thing. OR.. there is always HKDJS, which for a personal reason, I dont really recommand that option, but I think, not completely sure tho, for hip hop, color production has some course on basic scratching or something along those line.

One more thing tho, just a personal thought, if you start out DJing cuz u want to " be burning the clubs someday" that might not get you very far, it is the interest and passion towards the music you love that really give u the motivation, afterall, you got to love what you do to be good at it, well most of the time.

Have a good one.

[Guest]

One more thing tho, just a personal thought, if you start out DJing cuz u want to " be burning the clubs someday" that might not get you very far, it is the interest and passion towards the music you love that really give u the motivation, afterall, you got to love what you do to be good at it, well most of the time.

Spoken like a true prophet....

[Cl8on]

Just basing on personal experience, but I thank you.

[Guest]

The real problem is everybody wants to start from the top, either a major web-comic artist e.g. www.megatokyo.com or a great dj. (will not provide example since taste varies)
What people dont know is these people that are doing big bucks now have been in the industry for a f***ing long time and they have lost man-hours and a lot of coin from their own pocket...

[Big_League_Choon]

What people dont know is these people that are doing big bucks now have been in the industry for a f***ing long time and they have lost man-hours and a lot of coin from their own pocket...

no pain, no gain ... It's all about determination and hardwork.

I think Cl8on touched on a good point. I think there is going to be one day that a DJ's fame will fade. It is only the love for the music that will keep you going, through good and bad times.

I am just amazed that PvD still playing after so many years, whereas some of the early trance DJs fell out of the scene.

[ASOT]

What people dont know is these people that are doing big bucks now have been in the industry for a f***ing long time and they have lost man-hours and a lot of coin from their own pocket...

no pain, no gain ... It's all about determination and hardwork.

I think Cl8on touched on a good point. I think there is going to be one day that a DJ's fame will fade. It is only the love for the music that will keep you going, through good and bad times.

I am just amazed that PvD still playing after so many years, whereas some of the early trance DJs fell out of the scene.

The reason PVD is still around is becasue he has evolved his sound from pure trance to a bit of techno and anything with a stong bass drive basically. Read an interview of his and he says the same thing. Thats the only reason some dj's can survive for as long as they do. All dj's now are getting critisized for 'not playing thier style' anymore such as AVB, Tiesto, Lisa Lashes (more recntly on this site!!). They understand that they need to involve new sounds into their sets so that people will still pay big bucks to see them.

IMO i don think that they fame dj's have now will fade. With all the new technology coming out these days people will still want to see dj's use them to their highest quality. But back to the original question. Yes you will need to work your ass off to 'make it' someday,. Even though you prolly only have a 2% chance of that actually happening. So think about that before you go and buy anything, but if you satisfied with just playing music for yourself, then go for it

[Big_League_Choon]

Definitely PvD is keen on innovation, which makes him one of my favorites. I think that is one thing that makes electronic music scene is so exciting ... :smt003 To have any kind of staying power these days, DJ's gotta try new styles and new technologie (it is evident from the latest discussion on Sasha's Ableton live mixing).

I am all for innovation and experimentation! :smt020

Anyhow, I guess to be a good DJ these days, one also has to be keen on the latest technologies and open to experimentations.