Buying Equipment to be a DJ

  • Thread starter Thread starter tone_aot
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tone_aot

tone_aot

Owner of ToneJonez.com
I was just sitting here browsing the net tryin to discover some ideas for making extra money. I ran across this link that said make money being a mobile dj. Didn't really sink in at the moment but i started thinkging. If i became a dj, i could make extra money and promote my groups album at the same time. Plus, i'll learn a new musical talent and have fun doing it. I'm all excited about it now and i really wanna get things jumpin off. I wanna purchase a basic setup so that i can practice and get my skillz up. I already know how scatches and breaks and all that dj stuff should sound i just gotta really take time to achieve what i already hear in my head. What is a good basic setup that i can buy to get things jumpin off? I really don't have a set budget and i'll probably be buying it one piece at a time. I also would like to know how to transfer my music to vinyl or should i just go with a digital cd setup. I'm exited yall. Help me out.
 
My best friend once had the Numark set...he didn't have any complaints about it. Sounded good for a first set up while learning skills. My knowledge on tables is extremely limited, but from what I'm guessing its looking like you're in the $300 range for a starter setup.

Let's see what others who have more experience and do's/don'ts than I do say. We're here to help.

Fiev.
 
Thanks for your input man. I've heard that Numarks are really good. Anybody else got any ideas?
 
if you plan on mixing/scratching vinyl is heavy to carry + scratching created sub 20hz frequencies that tear up speakers pretty good if your not careful. I would look into pioneer cdj100s tabletop cd players. They are simply the best. You can do every thing you need to on those+ more. + get a good mixer to go between them rane/vestax/allen&heath
 
Can you still scratch on those cd turntables(this might be a dumn question so cut me some slack)?
 
most definitely. plus the looping is unreal + beat matching, etc. + they are built real well.
 
Yo Tone...

The tools of the trade in "pro" scratch/mixing are supposed to be (Keep in mind that I read this. I am too poor to validate it.. :()

2 Technics 1200 Turntables
They have different mk models.. Not sure of the difference between them

1 mixer
There are battle and I believe it's called "club" mixers.. Vestax, I hear, is common in this bracket.

2 cartridges
The "classic" choice is Shure M447. If you see a Shure M447-H, that means it comes with its own Technics headshell (probably pretty handy)...



1 coffin
I believe this is the name for the box/table that the DJ's be using for gigs

1 amp (more than likely I'm wrong with this one)
Crown is a good brand for this, I hear...

1 pair headphones
You could prolly get by with some "studio" headphones. They DO make DJ headphones, though..

Cords/etc... An obvious one...

PA System..
I'm thinking these are pretty expensive.. Only brand that comes to mind is Peavey... Don't know if that would be appropriate, or not...

Vinyl...
Depending on who you entertain, you'll be required to keep up with the latest trends... Other people wanna hear 2pac on a Public Enemy beat.. Or GOD FORBID, Disco!?!? Then again, house is a lot more disco based, than Hip Hop...

Hope I covered some things..

Can't seem to get to it, at the moment, but check out FutureProducers.com's forum for some DJ-specific info...

Good luck

Oh yeah.. There's also cd tables... That's beyond my scope of knowledge... I will say that if you use them AND 1200s.. Plan on getting a 4channel mixer (Which is the "club" type, I think)....
 
Tone.. That's not to say you can't get by with another setup... Maybe Dock Jones could help.. I think he would know a lot about it....
 
thanks peritus. I'd like to eventually get the digital cd turntables, but i wanna start with the real turntables so that i can master the real before i go to the easier method. I know they probably got it set where you can't really get off time with the digital tables. I want the straight up raw and hard to learn turntables.
 
tone_aot said:
thanks peritus. I'd like to eventually get the digital cd turntables, but i wanna start with the real turntables so that i can master the real before i go to the easier method. I know they probably got it set where you can't really get off time with the digital tables. I want the straight up raw and hard to learn turntables.
Click to expand...

I'll be doing it the same way.. When I get the cash up... Great minds think alike..
 
As far as the sl1200 they are on the mK 5 by now. yes that is traditional. but I thought your purpose was to make $$. 1200 are heavy. vinyl is heavy and $$ you cant download vinyl for $1.00 a song. PA system I won't go there cause I have too much to tell you (EAW,JBL,EV,Yorkville,Bag end, Bose,Wharfedale,Martin,ISP,Yamaha,turbosound, etc etc etc.) cartridges depend on taste. ortofon,shure,stanton so on. believe me if you are doing it for money you will find a cdj100 in every club now.
 
petermiller said:
As far as the sl1200 they are on the mK 5 by now. yes that is traditional. but I thought your purpose was to make $$. 1200 are heavy. vinyl is heavy and $$ you cant download vinyl for $1.00 a song. PA system I won't go there cause I have too much to tell you (EAW,JBL,EV,Yorkville,Bag end, Bose,Wharfedale,Martin,ISP,Yamaha,turbosound, etc etc etc.) cartridges depend on taste. ortofon,shure,stanton so on. believe me if you are doing it for money you will find a cdj100 in every club now.
Click to expand...

^ You da man
 
Oh. I wasn't saying i was going to actually use the old turntables to make the money. I just wanted to use those to up my skillz while i'm savin for the cd turntables. I was just gonna hook up two regular old record players and play around with them. I plan to save up for the cd turntables since i now know that you can scratch on them. I'm currently tryin to land a new job so i'll have cash to buy this stuff. Aiming for Bridgestone/Firestone Production Plant. I finished phase one testing. Waiting for phase two. I also applied for SCANA. I would get paid $14 an hour to call people and tell them to pay their electric bill! Kinda leaning towards SCANA.
 
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