Why would I go digital?

Firstly, digital DJ’ing is the future. The music industry knows it and the manufacturers certainly know it. MP3’s are cheaper and easier to buy than vinyl or CD’s thus saving space and storage at home. This is also beneficial when you have to carry a heavy box of vinyl or bag’s of CD’s to gigs. Searching for certain tracks becomes a breeze mid set instead of digging through your box of records or hunting through the labels on the CD’s in the dark. More creativity is also added to the equation with the option to use synchronised looping, multiple cue points, samples, key control and FX. All you need to add is an open mind.

On the assumption that you – the reader, has even little knowledge of how to DJ, being able to mix or even what a DJ is about, we will guide you through the whole idea, the process and the technology available to making that step into the world of a digital DJ.

Throughout this guide you will find certain product recommendations which are selected from honest hands on experience or professional interest and popularity. Please do take into account there are more solutions out there and listed on our website.

Required – What is needed to be a digital DJ?

• Laptop/Computer (At least a dual core with 1GB Memory + a large HD)
• Audio Interface (Low Latency USB or Firewire External Soundcard) – [Buy Here]
• Speakers / PA System / Club System – [Buy Here]
• Software (DJ Mixing Software) – [Buy Here]
• Controller (Midi or DVS) – [Buy Here]
• Headphones – [Buy Here]
• Lots of digital music (MP3’s)
• Patience, skill & the will to learn

Options – What would be suitable for me?

There are a few different options available to DJ’s for the jump into the digital generation.

DVS (Digital Vinyl System)…[more here]
For:

• Traditional Vinyl or CD DJ’s who own a set of turntables or CD decks and a mixer.
• Scratch DJ’s
• Professional Club DJ’s

The use of special timecoded vinyls or CD’s with your own CD Decks or Turntables to ‘control’ the decks within the software on a laptop/computer. Using a normal club DJ setup with 2 cd/vinyl turntables and an external mixer to mix and play your mp3 collection from a computer or laptop by adding an interface, some software and timecoded cd’s or vinyls.

Recommended: Traktor Scratch, Serato Scratch Live, M-Audio Torq,

Midi DJ Controllers …[more here]

For:

• DJ’s who can’t afford or do not own a full set of traditional DJ equipment such as turntables or CD Decks and a mixer.
• Do not have the space
• Bedroom DJ’s starting out

If you don’t own a DJ setup or any equipment at all, you can purchase specially built controllers which look and act like a normal DJ mixer plus CD deck controls with jog wheels. These come with or without a built in audio interface depending on what you require (you may already have an interface). Most connect via USB and can be mapped to whatever controls you require within the software via midi assignments.

Recommended: Numark NS7, Vestax VCI-300, M-Audio Torq Xponent, Numark Omni Control

New Media Systems…[more here]

For:

• Mobile DJ’s
• Bar/Cafe Installation
• Bedroom DJ’s
• Small Party’s

Built like an all-in-one pair of CD decks and mixer unit, these systems offer playback from CD’s or DVD’s, reading MP3’s, WAV, AAC, plus some come with iPod connections, Hard disk or USB Stick connectivity too.

Recommended: Numark iDJ2, Numark DDS80, Numark HDMix

Conversion
Check out our guide on how to digitally convert your vinyl collection to MP3 format for use within your DJ sets.

Music
There are hundreds of online stores to purchase your tracks from such as Beatport.com (integrated with NI Traktor Software). All you have to do is Google search. But do beware that ‘ripping’ your own CD’s or vinyl to play out in a public performance is illegal and will require a licence such as the ProDub licence.

Tips

1. Buy legal music (in either .WAV format for full high quality or at least 320kbps MP3 especially if your playing out in a live situation)
2. Don’t use USB hubs to connect your usb controllers and especially your interface. If you do, make sure you use POWERED hubs.
3. Disable Virus/Spyware Scanners
4. Disable WiFi/Bluetooth
5. Turn off spotlight and airport on an Apple Mac
6. Check your interface control panel to reduce time delay with the ASIO latency – setting it as low as you can without any crashes or audio jitters. Usually a value of around 8ms to 11ms is a safe average but people are known to have gone down to around 3ms.
7. Always carry a selection of backup audio CD’s specially prepared for your gig just incase your laptop crashes or fails in any way. That way you can have a CD cue’d up ready to go within a CD deck not routed through your digital system and then reboot your machine and away you go again back into the mix.
8. Buy high quality USB, Audio Cables and Power supply’s to eliminate ground loop hum through your system.
9. Purchase a public performance licence for playing out your digital collection live.
10. Always find out as much as you can about the venue your playing at as soon as you are booked to play there. Things such as:

• Do they have Turntables and/or CD Decks I can use within my DVS.
• Are the cables and mixer easily accessible to connect my DVS system
• Are there enough power sockets?
• Is there enough space to fit my laptop, interface and controller in the DJ booth?
• Am I allowed to install my digital gear into the venue setup or will there be an engineer required?
• What connections/cables will be needed to setup my interface/controller into the venues PA system?