What should I buy to start DJing

[jono]

I recently inherited a few hundred 45's and after years of thinking about it, I've finally decided to buy some tables and a mixer. I have a very basic knowledge of equipment and sort of know what I want in my initial setup but need help with the details.

Tables:

Tech 12s - I'm pretty much set on these because they're the industry standard, are really well made and if I flail on this, I should be able to resell them with ease.

What should I look for MK2? MK3? MK5? Something else? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each and what would be optimal for a beginner?

It's my understanding that it's advised to pick up Tech 12s used because for the most part they'll be in good condition and you can save a good chunk of change for a product that will work like new. Any advice here?

Mixer:

I really don't know what to look for here. I won't be spinning any genre specifically so I don't wanna pigeonhole myself with a mixer geared toward any one genre (is this even possible?). I do want to have the option to scratch though. I'm sure this is doable on any mixer but I know some are better than others.

Two channels should do it for me although I'm an egomaniac so the possibility of hooking a mic into a third channel would be nice. However, I'm pretty sure I won't need a mic in my apartment so again this isn't essential.

Effects are nice but, unless there's something I can't live without, not necessary. I'd like the ability to loop a few bars but I don't know if this is a viable feature on a starter mixer. I've heard I need flanger in order to use it on every track I play, can anyone confirm this? :P

Needles (Catridges?):

I don't even know the right term for these, but I was under the impression that these are genre specific. Again, I plan to play whatever I want and fool around with some scratching.

Other shit to get started:

Anything I should know about slipmats? headshells? other stuff?

I plan to buy this stuff used and use this thread as a guide on what to look for. I'm in no rush to buy but if you or anyone you know is selling a setup that you think would suit me please let me know.

Any other suggestions are welcome.

Thanks

[nabs]

Tech 12 MK2's, mixers are pretty much what u want, STAY AWAY FROM BEHRINGER. Needles, Personally if you can afford ORTOFON's. The will make your 45's sound alive. if ur getting a lower end mixer, the ORTOFON's if a higher end mixer go for WhiteLabels.

[Pennywise]

records?

[Anjew]

the ability to suck up to promoters.

[jono]

Originally Posted by Anjew

the ability to suck up to promoters.

I don't plan on leaving my bedroom for a long time if ever. Once I change my mind though, that's when I learn to kill my gag reflex and start the jaw excercises.

[dj_soo]

if you're going to be doing 45s, highly recommend a set of matsmats or a set of 45 Twister. These make djing with 45s a hundred times easier and also allows you to scratch with them...

Matsmats (designed by our very own Mat the Alien) are available in Boomtown and Beatstreet and are great although heavy use tends to wear em out within 8 months or so. Never tried the Twisters but they look promising...

Mixer wise, there are deifnitely mixer geared more towards mixing and those geared more towards scratching. Granted, you can easily mix cleanly with a scratch mixer, but being able to scratch well on a pure mixing mixer is more challenging...

I'd say get a decent scratch mixer - especially if you'll be playing multiple genres. A lot of the time you'll be cutting more than blending and having a good x-fader is essential.

sooooo... willing to part with any of those 45s? :D

[jono]

Thanks for the help so far, I'm getting a better understanding of this stuff.

Originally Posted by nabs

Tech 12 MK2's, mixers are pretty much what u want, STAY AWAY FROM BEHRINGER. Needles, Personally if you can afford ORTOFON's. The will make your 45's sound alive. if ur getting a lower end mixer, the ORTOFON's if a higher end mixer go for WhiteLabels.

While the ORTOFON's (CAPS!) are more expensive than others the low end ones seem to be around average for needles. Would it be worth it to replace whatever needles I get with the decks (assuming I get some if I'm buying used) with some low end ORTOFON's? Or will any needles do for what I've described I'm doing (ex. different genres, little scratching, playing for massive crowds in a tiny apartment)?

Originally Posted by dj_soo

if you're going to be doing 45s, highly recommend a set of matsmats or a set of 45 Twister. These make djing with 45s a hundred times easier and also allows you to scratch with them...

Matsmats (designed by our very own Mat the Alien) are available in Boomtown and Beatstreet and are great although heavy use tends to wear em out within 8 months or so. Never tried the Twisters but they look promising...

Mixer wise, there are deifnitely mixer geared more towards mixing and those geared more towards scratching. Granted, you can easily mix cleanly with a scratch mixer, but being able to scratch well on a pure mixing mixer is more challenging...

I'd say get a decent scratch mixer - especially if you'll be playing multiple genres. A lot of the time you'll be cutting more than blending and having a good x-fader is essential.

sooooo... willing to part with any of those 45s? :D

Thanks for the suggestion on the Matsmats, it's a plus to be able to support local ingenuity. Any suggestions on a quality beginner's scratch mixer?

Not parting with the 45's yet heh, I just finished carting them here from Ontario. I'll letcha know when I get sick of spinning in 6 months like 90% of DJs though :)

[Moon]

get the m3d's. the stupid click on the mk2s is hella annoying.

vestax mixers are generally more affordable and put out decent quality. stay away from stanton and gemini at all costs. if anything i'd recommend investing good dollar on your mixer. i'd say an 800 minimum on the mixer but $1200 recommended on a brand new one. many people are also selling high end mixers like the pioneer 600 and rane empaths so keep a good lookout for those on ebay. overall if you're willing to put down the cash, go for rane. worth every single penny. their products are QUALITY.

carts go for the shure m447s... affordable and sound as good as the ortofons.

and i highly recommend serato scratch. since you have a pretty extensively large collection of mp3s you'll have unlimited hours of fun playing with familiar tracks. vinyl is dead now. don't waste your money buying $20 records. $2 high quality mp3s are a far more wiser investment. they will always sound clean and don't wear down like vinyl does.

[Gusto]

Originally Posted by jono

I recently inherited a few hundred 45's and after years of thinking about it,

did you think someone to DEATH?

[Wood]

Originally Posted by Moon

vinyl is dead now.

Martin, you know i love you man, but shut the fuck up. Vinyl is far from dead, even if all the pressing plants shut today it would be far from dead. If you don't wanna use it that's fine, but not everyone has to go that route. I couldn't find a fraction of the tunes i play on any mp3 store, even if i wanted to - which i don't.

anyways... as Soo said if you're gonna play the shorties, Mat's Mats are essential. For a good all-around versatile mixer i'd reccommend Rane's Empath. Also, as Moon said, the Shure M44-7 is an excellent choice of cartridge - sounds awesome, tracks great, and a lot more affordable than the Ortofons.

If you're feeling spendy another great thing is an fx unit like Pioneer's EFX series. I just picked up an EFX500 and it's opened up a whole world of possibilities, especially when it comes to transitioning non-DJ-friendly tracks (which is most of what i play these days). I think they run about $5-600 new. Of course to use it your mixer must have fx send & return channels. It works like a charm with the Empath which has wet/dry FX faders for each channel (including the Mic channel).

Good luck & have fun... 45s are addictive so if you need some more, come see me. i have a load of hot shit on 45 for cheap - funk, reggae, rock, soul, classics, whatever. Systems like Serato have awesome capabilities and are revolutionizing the way DJs work, but too many people cheap out & abuse the technology, playing shitty mp3 rips on club soundsystems & stealing musuc to use in their sets. Also, unless you want to be a generic cookie-cutter rave genre DJ, there's still WAY more music available on vinyl, and the standard of quality is much higher as well. Good DJs will use all the tools available to them, so when you hear statements like 'vinyl is dead', don't believe the hype.

[Digital Over]

^ I wanna get one of those EFX models...I saw Adam Sheridan using one two weeks ago, and I was convinced I needed one :)

[dj_soo]

^ getting an EFX module completely re-invigourated DJing for me.

Mixer suggestions:

Empath is a fantastic mixer but it's also $1200 worth of fantastic mixer. Empaths are more of a club/scratch hybird style as well so they're a little more versatile in terms of design (3 channels, plf cuing, fx and headphone eqs). The TM-56 is generally considered the god of all scratch mixers and is pretty much the best scratch mixer you can buy in terms of sound quality, construction, design, etc. The Rane magnetic fader (only in the tm series, not in the Empath) will also save you some money in the long run as it theoretically will last forever (unlike analogue faders).

If you're not ready to drop that amount of cash on a mixer yet here are some other suggestions:

Ecler - these are great mixers with the hak360 approaching the tm56 in terms of quality... the hak is pretty pricey though so if you're looking for a cheaper alternative check you the nuo line of mixers. Talk to Akeel - he's the lower mainland rep for Ecler I think and he might be able to hook you up with a deal. The Eternal fader is pretty much like the Rane magnetic fader but the cheaper line of Nuos require you to purchase it seperately. Only thing that bugs me about these mixers is how the upfader curves are handled...

Vestax - I hate vestax's (with the exception of maybe the 08) but hey, many people swear by them (including guys like Q-bert) so it's defintiely worth a look. For a starter the 05 or the 06 would be the way to go, but i hate the fact that they only have high and mid EQs.

Pioneer - not much in choice of scratch mixers unfortunately - the only available one is the 909 which is $1500 of mixer goodness fully loaded with effects and bells and whistles. If you can track down used 707 - it's basically the 909 without the fx module. Unfortunately, due to slow sales, it was discontinued a little while ago. Great mixer though - it's what I've been using for the last year...

I'd suggest staying away from the Stantons and the Numarks - the price is really attractive but they do tend to fall apart rather easily... Best bet is to go for an Ecler Nuo2 or Nuo3 and if you really want to get into scratching, get an eternal fader.

[G3N3R4L]

Originally Posted by dj_soo;1768926Pioneer - not much in choice of scratch mixers unfortunately - the only available one is the [URL="http://turntablelab.com/dj_equipment/35/21/4206.html"

909[/url] which is $1500 of mixer goodness fully loaded with effects and bells and whistles. .

ill back this up.. i got a 909 and i love it.

just enough extras to keep me busy. great faders .. love it

[Akeel]

as soo said, i'm the rep for ecler (western north america) so if thats the route you wanna go i can get you sorted :)

[jono]

Originally Posted by Moon

get the m3d's. the stupid click on the mk2s is hella annoying.

vestax mixers are generally more affordable and put out decent quality. stay away from stanton and gemini at all costs. if anything i'd recommend investing good dollar on your mixer. i'd say an 800 minimum on the mixer but $1200 recommended on a brand new one. many people are also selling high end mixers like the pioneer 600 and rane empaths so keep a good lookout for those on ebay. overall if you're willing to put down the cash, go for rane. worth every single penny. their products are QUALITY.

carts go for the shure m447s... affordable and sound as good as the ortofons.

and i highly recommend serato scratch. since you have a pretty extensively large collection of mp3s you'll have unlimited hours of fun playing with familiar tracks. vinyl is dead now. don't waste your money buying $20 records. $2 high quality mp3s are a far more wiser investment. they will always sound clean and don't wear down like vinyl does.

Not sure what you mean by the click. Is this when you pass the middle of the pitch control? I have no idea if I'll want that or not but I'll keep it in mind.

Those cartridges seem to be pretty common on tables I've seen advertised, so it seems like the way I'll go.

I'm not convinced on dropping so much on a mixer. I'm beginning here and for now I wanna tinker and get a feel for everything. Something basic and quality should do, I dunno if I can justify spending $800-$1200. But maybe you can convince me otherwise.

I've considered serato but I want to have a good base of vinyl to compliment it. And after getting so excited going through my grandma's records I think I could well get addicted to digging.

Originally Posted by Gusto

did you think someone to DEATH?

Naw, she died of having two aneurisms above her heart. I hear that shit's hereditary and while I'm writing this I'm eating a Fritz Jumbo Poutine. I'm fucked.

Originally Posted by Wood

Martin, you know i love you man, but shut the fuck up. Vinyl is far from dead, even if all the pressing plants shut today it would be far from dead. If you don't wanna use it that's fine, but not everyone has to go that route. I couldn't find a fraction of the tunes i play on any mp3 store, even if i wanted to - which i don't.

anyways... as Soo said if you're gonna play the shorties, Mat's Mats are essential. For a good all-around versatile mixer i'd reccommend Rane's Empath. Also, as Moon said, the Shure M44-7 is an excellent choice of cartridge - sounds awesome, tracks great, and a lot more affordable than the Ortofons.

If you're feeling spendy another great thing is an fx unit like Pioneer's EFX series. I just picked up an EFX500 and it's opened up a whole world of possibilities, especially when it comes to transitioning non-DJ-friendly tracks (which is most of what i play these days). I think they run about $5-600 new. Of course to use it your mixer must have fx send & return channels. It works like a charm with the Empath which has wet/dry FX faders for each channel (including the Mic channel).

Good luck & have fun... 45s are addictive so if you need some more, come see me. i have a load of hot shit on 45 for cheap - funk, reggae, rock, soul, classics, whatever. Systems like Serato have awesome capabilities and are revolutionizing the way DJs work, but too many people cheap out & abuse the technology, playing shitty mp3 rips on club soundsystems & stealing musuc to use in their sets. Also, unless you want to be a generic cookie-cutter rave genre DJ, there's still WAY more music available on vinyl, and the standard of quality is much higher as well. Good DJs will use all the tools available to them, so when you hear statements like 'vinyl is dead', don't believe the hype.

While the EFX module sounds cool but I need to cover the basics before anything like that. And again, cost is an issue. It's also nice to have something to look forward to if my interest does start to dwindle. Even though that may mean a new mixer to hook it up to.

Originally Posted by dj_soo

^ getting an EFX module completely re-invigourated DJing for me.

Mixer suggestions:

Empath is a fantastic mixer but it's also $1200 worth of fantastic mixer. Empaths are more of a club/scratch hybird style as well so they're a little more versatile in terms of design (3 channels, plf cuing, fx and headphone eqs). The TM-56 is generally considered the god of all scratch mixers and is pretty much the best scratch mixer you can buy in terms of sound quality, construction, design, etc. The Rane magnetic fader (only in the tm series, not in the Empath) will also save you some money in the long run as it theoretically will last forever (unlike analogue faders).

If you're not ready to drop that amount of cash on a mixer yet here are some other suggestions:

Ecler - these are great mixers with the hak360 approaching the tm56 in terms of quality... the hak is pretty pricey though so if you're looking for a cheaper alternative check you the nuo line of mixers. Talk to Akeel - he's the lower mainland rep for Ecler I think and he might be able to hook you up with a deal. The Eternal fader is pretty much like the Rane magnetic fader but the cheaper line of Nuos require you to purchase it seperately. Only thing that bugs me about these mixers is how the upfader curves are handled...

Vestax - I hate vestax's (with the exception of maybe the 08) but hey, many people swear by them (including guys like Q-bert) so it's defintiely worth a look. For a starter the 05 or the 06 would be the way to go, but i hate the fact that they only have high and mid EQs.

Pioneer - not much in choice of scratch mixers unfortunately - the only available one is the 909 which is $1500 of mixer goodness fully loaded with effects and bells and whistles. If you can track down used 707 - it's basically the 909 without the fx module. Unfortunately, due to slow sales, it was discontinued a little while ago. Great mixer though - it's what I've been using for the last year...

I'd suggest staying away from the Stantons and the Numarks - the price is really attractive but they do tend to fall apart rather easily... Best bet is to go for an Ecler Nuo2 or Nuo3 and if you really want to get into scratching, get an eternal fader.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm leaning toward Vestax or Ecler. I'll have to figure out what's available and what costs vs. features looks like.

Originally Posted by Akeel

as soo said, i'm the rep for ecler (western north america) so if thats the route you wanna go i can get you sorted :)

Definitely may take you up on this. It may be a while because I want to be sure I'm making the right decision. Any info. you want to give to sway my decision is appreciated though :)

Thanks for all the info. this shit's a little overwhelming and it's great to have some people with a good knowledge base to fall back on.

[omega_image]

under your situation, i'd opt to get used tables and brand spanking new high end mixer.

tables tend not to wear down all that much, and if you can save yourself 2-600+ on tables, throw that $$ into a mixer.

otherwise, you'll be just getting into mixing/scratching and then your fader goes............

[wigglesworth]

you jono, nice to see you're getting into this.

get some cheap techs second hand somewhere.
either locally, or off of ebay.
you can probably get some for $800 or less pretty easily. get tech 12's. doesnt matter what model.

as for the mixer, this is your most important purchase. all the suggestions in this thread are good, but i'd advise against getting an expensive one right off the bat.
when you're just learning you will have no use for the extra functions, and you can always trade up later easily.

i think for you SERATO would be a good investment as well. you have a big mp3 collection, and i think you would have a lot of fun with it.

if you want any dj lessons send me a pm.
i'd be more then happy to help ya.

[jono]

Originally Posted by omega_image

under your situation, i'd opt to get used tables and brand spanking new high end mixer.

tables tend not to wear down all that much, and if you can save yourself 2-600+ on tables, throw that $$ into a mixer.

otherwise, you'll be just getting into mixing/scratching and then your fader goes............

I did a bit of pricing and I think I'm gonna take your advice on getting a new mixer, just not something super high end. I'd like to but I can't break the bank.

Originally Posted by wigglesworth

if you want any dj lessons send me a pm.
i'd be more then happy to help ya.

Once I finish all of my shopping I'll probly be in contact with you!

[Ree Fresh]

Tech 12's hands down. I dont think it really really really matters what kind unless you have a stick up your bum (no ofence martin). I actualy saw a great deal on cv or fnk (think it was skilla) selling two for $1000. And there are lots of deals like that always around.

As for a mixer, it all depends if you want to scratch or not. There are a variety of not so bad mixers out there that are great for the bed room djs. Just take good care of it and it will never go bad.

If your looking for a starter battle mixer, Im actualy selling my Vestex pro 6. Bought it in 2001 (went one year with out use) I believe it was made in Japan when Vestex was the number one made mixer where I think there made in mexico now. Its in perfect condition (not one scratch or paint rubed off) and ironicly ive hardly ever used the hamster or cross fader (I like to mix with the chanels and knobs) So all the gagets a scratch dj would want are pretty much in new order.

Originally Posted by Wood

Martin, you know i love you man, but shut the fuck up. Vinyl is far from dead, even if all the pressing plants shut today it would be far from dead. If you don't wanna use it that's fine, but not everyone has to go that route. I couldn't find a fraction of the tunes i play on any mp3 store, even if i wanted to - which i don't.

When I saw serato come out I thought it was going to die too, but personaly ive still been 50/50 with vinyl and mp3's and it will probly continue to be that way for a while since I still find a large majority of my favortie tracks in the record stores compared to mp3 sites. I still see a lot of DJ's big and small still carrying a hand full of records in their bag along with their cd's and laptops.

[jono]

Originally Posted by R Wellbelove

Tech 12's hands down. I dont think it really really really matters what kind unless you have a stick up your bum (no ofence martin). I actualy saw a great deal on cv or fnk (think it was skilla) selling two for $1000. And there are lots of deals like that always around.

As for a mixer, it all depends if you want to scratch or not. There are a variety of not so bad mixers out there that are great for the bed room djs. Just take good care of it and it will never go bad.

If your looking for a starter battle mixer, Im actualy selling my Vestex pro 6. Bought it in 2001 (went one year with out use) I believe it was made in Japan when Vestex was the number one made mixer where I think there made in mexico now. Its in perfect condition (not one scratch or paint rubed off) and ironicly ive hardly ever used the hamster or cross fader (I like to mix with the chanels and knobs) So all the gagets a scratch dj would want are pretty much in new order.

When I saw serato come out I thought it was going to die too, but personaly ive still been 50/50 with vinyl and mp3's and it will probly continue to be that way for a while since I still find a large majority of my favortie tracks in the record stores compared to mp3 sites. I still see a lot of DJ's big and small still carrying a hand full of records in their bag along with their cd's and laptops.

I actually emailed skilla a few days ago and never got a response. Still keeping my eyes open though.

I'm working on locating the tables right now then going to focus on a mixer. I'm pretty sure I want a brand new mixer but I've had quite a few offers from people selling their mixers so far so I'm keeping an open mind. In any case, thanks for the offer.

[dj_soo]

most important thing about a mixer if you want to scratch is the x-fader - make sure there's a curve adjust and not just some pre-set switches.

I'd suggest either the one of the Nuo's or a mid-range vestax.

Some newer (at least to the DJ market) companies i've heard good things about but haven't tried extensively are Audio Innovate and Urei.