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"I want to get into DJing."

I basically want to get into DJing but I don;t know how. I'm thinking of asking my parents and family to forget normal presents and buy me some dacks as a big XMas pressie. but I;m not sure..

Is it difficult? Are there any books/sites I can read up on?

Any one else here DJ / know a 'bedroom-DJ' ?

Thanks a lot,

HHAT

Can't you get 'em on credit?

And then pay monthly or something. That way, you can get all best stuff, at a budget reasonable to you.

I'm putting in a maximum of £350 at most....

I know it's not much...its an XMas present you see. :-D

Ah, all this talk of decks and mixers and stuff gets me in the mood.

Sorely tempted to get my decks out of the loft and practice the old magic.

Can't wait til I have room to get them out again, may not be til april =(

The only one I'd even consider is the KAM direct drive package, but even then, the mixer is a pile of crap.

What is your budget?

Insane Bartender wrote:
> Sure. Dunno how much time I'll get for MSN this week though. Tonight
> I'm down the gym, tomorrow is Champion's League football, thursday is
> gym again, so it might not be til friday that I get any time...

Damn..

I'm off to the US of A on Thursday.. might as well ask you here..

I had a look at that hard to find records site and the amount of choice on that site scares me....

Here are a couple that interested me (as you've worked out, I'm clueless :-P )

http://www.htfr.com/more-info/?catno=MR24444
http://www.htfr.com/more-info/?catno=MR80060
http://www.htfr.com/more-info/?catno=MR34395

Sure. Dunno how much time I'll get for MSN this week though. Tonight I'm down the gym, tomorrow is Champion's League football, thursday is gym again, so it might not be til friday that I get any time...

Thanks IB

next time you're MSN I'll have a chat.. that site you gave me was amazing :-D but there's too much :-P

As long as you haven't blocked me (on MSN) I'll talk to you then..

and again,
thanks

SHEEPY wrote:
> I have limited knowledge but I'm guessing it's pretty easy
>
> Record on... rub a rub rub, scratch scratch...


BWAAHAHAAHAHAHAAAA!!

I used to be a bedroom DJ.

Still have my decks - a pair of Gemini PT2000s, which are rated as highly as the fabled Technics 1210s, but in reality aren't quite as good.

If you want to get yourself a bedroom kit, set yourself a budget no lower than around £600 - more if you need speakers and an amp. Go direct drive rather than belt drive, because I've yet to see a belt drive deck that can actually keep itself at a consistent speed. In fact, for value, the Gemini PTs (i think they have a 3000 series now) are excellent value for money, while the technics are overpriced, and you're just paying for the name.

If you want to splash out on expensive decks, look to the Vestax range, which offers far more quality - and often a host of manic gismos - for your cash.

As for mixers, mine is a gemini again, and it's not anything special. This is something you really should spend good money on, as a good mixer makes all the difference, especially when you're starting out.


I think www.htfr.com is still up, and it's got a decent range of products to look at for an idea of what's out there. They do everything, though not necessarilly at the best price.

As for tips and books and stuff. Books are gay. You can't teach rhythm in a few sheets of paper. I learnt by just trying. It took a few months before I pulled off my first decent mix, so don't be disheartened if you can't mix for sh... in the first few months. It's basically a case of comparing bpms between what is playing and what is about to play, and using the pitch to alter the speeds til they match. That's the first thing to master. If you can at least get beats in time, you can pull something off.

After that, you can get creative. Backspins, scratches, effects, loops, accapellas, anything you like. But give it 6 months before you give it up, at least.

And get a decent sized record collection. If you shop around on the internet, you can probably get a bunch of someone's old records (like mid-nineties or something) about £100 for a hundred records, which gives you plenty of material to work with. Try to buy 2-3 records a week for the first few months to help you expand your collection, and then do what you like. I think HTFR do some package deals, and often sell on second hand record collections, sometimes from famous DJs!

But be warned that bedroom DJing is not the quietest of hobbies, make sure you have appeasable neighbours!

I don't know if their's any books what you can look for; you would have as much knowledge as me in that department.

But if you're serious about doing it, then it can be very expensive. You can pick some mixing decks for quite cheep £££, but as with many things, you get what you pay for, so you're better going for the best.

There are courses you can go to, they teach you all sorts of stuff. Try asking in your local Job Centre.

Oh...and good luck ;)