if i wanted to start as a dj, what would i need?

[Prokart2000]

hi guys

 

i might become a dj when im older, but what equiptment or software do i need?

i would play at gigs and stuff like that, but i want to make songs to

thanks guys

pro

[Toddwjp]

Talent, experience remixing songs, and then youll have to build a reputation within the community of djs till you et your first gig. its pretty difficult

[Prokart2000]

Talent, experience remixing songs, and then youll have to build a reputation within the community of djs till you et your first gig. its pretty difficult

ok thanks

[Katsu-K1L]

YOU NEED TO DJ SONGS WITH NO HANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Prokart2000]

YOU NEED TO DJ SONGS WITH NO HANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok

[Trik'Stari]

A lot of ganjga an ecstasy to give out for free.

[Prokart2000]

i can do discos and stuff etc, i just want to know the equipment and software side

[Katsu-K1L]

ok

http://youtu.be/eq-Jk3v-m5A?t=1m8s

[Prokart2000]

but seriously now guys

[Lutkeveld]

But now seriously, how serious are you about this? 

[Prokart2000]

But now seriously, how serious are you about this? 

i just want to know what i would need

[Bsmith]

but seriously now guys

 

okey let me make a lil list.

 

1. experience with the software.

2. a trustworthy laptop(macbook prefferd due to software capabilities)

3. experience in mixing songs.

4. decent headphones for mixing($300 range, no beats)

5. comfy/goodlooking headphones when live.

6. a HUGE track libary.(watch out for copyright's and their restrictions diffrentiate for each label)

7. some talent.

8. patience.

9. a mixer or 2.

10. a soundtable wich allowes both mixers, your headphones and your laptop to be connected.

11. the style.

12. knowledge of what kind of music they want.

13. perfect timing when using lights.

14. knowing the diffrence between recording and mixing.

15. contacts.

16. a music style.

17. ways to spread your track without piracy happening to much, but still reaching lot's of people.

 

these points seem to be quite crucial, to me, it might take a while before you get fans, altough with patience you can get quite far.

[Prokart2000]

okey let me make a lil list.

 

1. experience with the software.

2. a trustworthy laptop(macbook prefferd due to software capabilities)

3. experience in mixing songs.

4. decent headphones for mixing($300 range, no beats)

5. comfy/goodlooking headphones when live.

6. a HUGE track libary.(watch out for copyright's and their restrictions diffrentiate for each label)

7. some talent.

8. patience.

9. a mixer or 2.

10. a soundtable wich allowes both mixers, your headphones and your laptop to be connected.

11. the style.

12. knowledge of what kind of music they want.

13. perfect timing when using lights.

14. knowing the diffrence between recording and mixing.

15. contacts.

16. a music style.

17. ways to spread your track without piracy happening to much, but still reaching lot's of people.

 

these points seem to be quite crucial, to me, it might take a while before you get fans, altough with patience you can get quite far.

thanks

[Lutkeveld]

i just want to know what i would need

 

Sounds more like a topic for the sake of talking ;p. 

Hey guys, I might want to be a 'trade X' later, what do I need?

If you are serious, please show some more input yourself

[creatip123]

Sounds more like a topic for the sake of talking ;p. 

Hey guys, I might want to be a 'trade X' later, what do I need?

If you are serious, please show some more input yourself

 

It's okay, for a change of pace

 

 

Let's set aside the song productions first, and take it a step at a time, shall we?

 

Assuming you wanna be a mix DJ, not scratch DJ (mix DJ is where the real money comes in)

 

If you can go to a DJ school or have a DJ teach you, that would be the ideal thing. Things you must learn:

 

- First, you gotta know how to operate the devices. Don't worry about speaker setup, power amplifier, etc. Usually those are taken care of by the soundman of the club/venue. Devices that you'd need to know how to operate are the music player (turntable if you wanna go LP, or CDJ if you wanna go CD/USB), and the DJ mixer. 

 

- Then you gotta learn how to beatmatch the songs using the 'beat' and 'clap', and do it both consistently and as fast as possible. This is like riding a bicycle, can't really be taught, you gotta learn and get it yourself. And none of them 'auto beatmatch' software or mixer feature craps. That's like going to race a car with your driver driving the race car, while you sit at back. Nobody is gonna respect you if you do that.

 

- Learn to beatcount, which is counting the beats on the songs. This is useful to know when the crossfading is gonna start. 

 

- Collect songs. This is where most of your money gonna go. 

 

- Understanding a bit of music and harmonic keys is a huge plus in selecting which song goes with which song

 

- Get a DJ headphone. Contrary to what many people believed, you don't need top of the line, shiny assed DJ headphones. I played on gigs with ~$30 headphones. The headphone must be:

a) got decently tight bass/kicks, and decently clear highs. Doesn't have to be very tight, but moderately tight is a must. Doesn't even have to be good sounding, just as long as it got distinct kicks and highs.  And yeah, no Beats.

 

b ) can go quite loud if needed. Most of the time you won't use it very loud, but there are few moments where you'd need it to be loud.

 

- Learning public speaking, for speaking on the mic is a plus. 

 

- Owning a set of DJ-ing equipment (min. 2x of source player and 1 mixer) will be a plus. People will trust you and more likely give a gig to you if you own a set. But, it's not mandatory at all

 

- Make demo tapes (of you doing a gig), and print business cards. Start spreading the words to anybody and everybody. Who knows, the kid sitting in the corner of the bus you're on is having a party coming and haven't found a DJ yet.  These days, everything is so simple. Just record a gig, and upload it, then spread the URL. Back in the days, it's all in the form of CDs, so you gotta have lots of demo CDs available to spread around. 

 

- For the first times, you might have to do unpaid gigs, just to spread the words. Consider it as an advertising cost.

 

- Be professional in term of your attitude and working habits. Good experiences (by your employer) leads to good words, and of course they lead to more gigs.

 

- Get more connections, like party organizer, etc. They're the people that got lots of gig opportunities.

 

- DJ-ing in the field/real life can't be more different than DJ-ing in your bedroom. There are unexpected problems. You'll learn how to handle it as your experience grows.

 

- If all go well (i.e. you've got a bit of a name yourself), only then consider music production. Making/producing songs is easy. Making/producing good songs, now that's something else. Again, this comes with experience, so you'll know what the market wants, with time. After all, no use busting your ass making tracks that nobody would want to listen anyway. You also gotta learn a bit more about digital audio.