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#Post#: 902--------------------------------------------------
DJs and electtronic music buffs: mixers etc
By: dirtyvest Date: June 5, 2019, 10:26 am
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On topic but slightly off... my son (13) has picked Music for
his GCSE. He can't sing, can't play an instrument, nothing so I
had no idea WTF he was up. Turns out he can do 'electronic'
music. Computer based, DJing etc.
I need to get him a mixer/DJ thing to use via his laptop... like
those Numark things etc. No idea what would be up to the job.
Sensible price for a teenager who may well only see this a
shortcut to passing with a practical rather than sitting a 2hr
exam LOL
#Post#: 944--------------------------------------------------
Re: DJs and electtronic music buffs: mixers etc
By: H0M3R Date: June 6, 2019, 3:22 am
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First of all, your son has made an excellent decision!
Electronic music is the best lol.
You may know I'm well into my music and clubbing, however I am
not a dj, so I'm not an expert by any means. But I could give
you some advice, based on some of my own basic knowledge and
also using the power of google.
There are 2 ways he could do this:
1 - DJing - as it has always been, mixing one track into the
next. It used to be with 2 record players and a mixer, then it
progressed onto 2 cd players (called cdj's) and a mixer, now it
is usually done by using a laptop with all the mp3's stored on,
a separate mixing unit that you plug into the laptop, and some
software to provide the GUI and to make it work. You can get
'all-in-one' units as well which will be 2 cdj's and a mixer,
which can also be plugged into a laptop to use mp3's
A 'mixer' is now often called a 'controller' in this new digital
age. They can vary in price from budget first timers at around
£50 (like this one
HTML https://www.amazon.co.uk/Numark-Portable-Controller-Serato-Interface/dp/B074D5NXT7/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Numark%2BDJ2GO2&qid=1559805591&s=gateway&sr=8-3&th=1)<br
/>to some high end one costing silly money which you don't need
to
worry about.
Serato is just one example of a controller software, which is
free for the Lite version which is all he would need to start
with. Alternatives are Traktor, Virtual DJ and Mixxx (which is
free by the look of it)
The cost will go up with music purchases, he will need a
selection of tracks to play with, and he will bound to get bored
of using the sames tracks over and over. Beatport and traxsource
are the main sites. He should be able to use whatever tracks
he's already downloaded off Itunes as well.
You could download tracks for free from a dodgy service, which I
don't think is a good option anymore, poor quality audio files
are not good to mix with, plus you risk downloading malware etc
as well. Saying that, after looking at the Serato website you
can stream the tracks from soundcloud but that requires a
monthly subscription.
2 - Production - making music using software. Quite a few to
choose from, FL Studio, Ableton Live, Logic Pro being the big
players. They could do free versions, I'm not sure though so
worth looking into. They tend to be upgrade-able by paying for
'addons' so extra sounds, beats, effects etc...
If he wants to produce then it will always be better to learn
how to dj first, knowing how to mix a track and understanding
the timing of beats will be essential to learning how to make
music.
Second hand would be a good option, you could get him a really
good controller on ebay or FB marketplace for half the price, as
bedroom dj's often upgrade to higher end equipment.
He will also need some decent headphones (DJ specific
preferably), some speakers (he will need to be able to listen to
the track he's currently playing on the speakers, while using
his headphones to bring in the next track) and some space to put
all his kit on!
He's probably already got a preferred music choice, but I would
suggest house. Every DJ starts with house lol, the BPM isn't too
fast and there are many sub genres for him delve into once he
gets a taste for it.
If he makes it big I want free tickets to any of his gigs,
including the afterparties where all the women are at lol.
#Post#: 1005--------------------------------------------------
Re: DJs and electtronic music buffs: mixers etc
By: dirtyvest Date: June 6, 2019, 10:06 am
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Nice one, mate, cheers for that. Being a teenage I'm sure he'll
want something better than the cheapest but that's a solid
starting point.... might do for a 'getting off report' treat
then come september I can upgrade it as an early xmas present
etc.
He has a laptop and a half decent stereo that he could connect
everything too, so hopefully just the controller and some decent
headphones should see him alright
#Post#: 1089--------------------------------------------------
Re: DJs and electtronic music buffs: mixers etc
By: H0M3R Date: June 6, 2019, 4:42 pm
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No probs dude. If you look at the next model up on amazon which
is around £150 that would be loads better, the Newmark Mix Track
Pro I think it is. If you can get one of them second hand he’ll
be good for a few years.
Might be better to play it safe though first and get the cheaper
one, with the promise to upgrade at a later date.
#Post#: 1179--------------------------------------------------
Re: DJs and electtronic music buffs: mixers etc
By: dirtyvest Date: June 7, 2019, 11:50 am
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Cheers, bud, I think when he first started showing signs of
interest last year those where the exact ones I was looking in
to. Good to know I was on the right track
#Post#: 1820--------------------------------------------------
Re: DJs and electtronic music buffs: mixers etc
By: Mr. Poopybutthole Date: June 19, 2019, 9:14 am
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Worth considering the cost of buying music if you want to start
him DJing, gets expensive. If you have a Spotify account you can
use that with Algoriddim's DJay software which will obv save a
fortune.
Their software works natively with the Pioneer DDJ-200 too which
is pretty much the best entry level controller you can buy right
now.
#Post#: 1827--------------------------------------------------
Re: DJs and electtronic music buffs: mixers etc
By: dirtyvest Date: June 19, 2019, 10:23 am
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Cheers, mate, I've come across the odd pioneer one in my ebay
searching. It's not so much something to get him in to, it's
just nice he has voluntarily found an interest, but this is for
his GCSE as he has chosen music but cannot sing a note or play
an instrument so electronic music is his chosen format
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