Technology Guides

While many of you looking here on Technology Guides might be used to the usual and typical posts of how to improve the efficiency and performance of your computer, I thought I’d write a post about what digital DJ sets consist of and what all the different components do.

My name is BMO and I’m doing a guest post from Early Mixologists. I am part of a group of DJ’s who have recently been spending quite a while building up our own DJ sets.  If you’re anything like me, you probably have the stereotypical perception of what a DJ set consists of (i.e. turntables, mixer, amplifier, and speakers).  While this is not really incorrect; today there are a wide variety of options for DJ equipment.  In this post I’m going to be talking about all the DJ setups that revolve around the use of a laptop or desktop.

Before I begin talking about the setups I want to explain that in all of these setups the mixer is used as a medium from which DJs will transition from a song on one deck to the song playing on the opposite deck to create a continuous flow of music.  In almost all cases the mixer is from which the main music output is sent to an amplifier or powered speaker.  You can use an amplifier to send amplified signals of music to non-amplified speakers, or you can send non-amplified music signals directly to powered speakers and altogether skip on using an amplifier, but for information on this it is recommended you do some research on the internet.

The Turntable Setup:

2 turntables

1 Mixer

1 USB soundcard

1 Laptop/ Desktop

*headphones recommended.

Turntables are the original DJ music players.  From Grand Wizard Theodore to Grandmaster Flash, turntables are the preferred choice for hip-hop DJs.  They offer a very nice feel since all the buttons and music tables are very large and easy to control.  Using a laptop has even made turntable Djing portable since now music can all be stored on one, instead of having to bring crates upon crates of vinyl just to dig through them to get at the song you want to play.

The turntables can be connected to a USB soundcard such as the Native Instruments Audio 8 DJ, combined with special time coded vinyl and RCA jacks it is possible to manipulate music on your computer as if it was being played directly on your turntable as a vinyl.  Programs that are recommendable for this are: Serato Scratch Live (this is the one that started it all), and Traktor Scratch Pro (My personal favourite).  Just to note, all the equipment needed for this such as the time coded vinyl, soundcard, and cables come packaged together with both of the programs mentioned above.

CDJ Setup:

2 CDJ players

1 Mixer

1 USB soundcard

1 Laptop/ desktop

*headphones recommended.

CDJs are the industry standard now at clubs all around the world.  Preferred by electronic music DJs.  It is basically the same as a turntable setup, but instead of using vinyl, it has the flexibility of using CDs, which can be very useful as, it allows for the use of home burned CDs.  CDJs also offer the flexibility of being able to play digital music from a laptop as if they were CDs.  The setup is almost identical to that of the turntables except the turntables are replaced by CDJs.

Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) Setup:

*1 MIDI controller

1 USB soundcard

1 Laptop/ desktop

*headphones recommended.

*it must be noted that MIDI controllers can range from USB synthesizers to USB saxophones, but for this example I’m talking about USB DJ controller decks.

MIDI interfaces are quickly becoming the most popular DJ setup not only for its portability but also, for large price advantage over the previous two setups mentioned above.  There is nothing more needed apart from a MIDI controller and a USB soundcard.  No need for a mixer as the MIDI controller can act as a mixer and change the equalizer levels internally within the computer, which then transmits the signal through the soundcard out to an amp or speaker.

So Which Setup Should I Get?

It all depends on what type of music you like and what type of budget you have.  If you have the expendable money for a turntable system and you like hip-hop go for it.  Same goes for CDJs and electronic music.  If money is a serious concern, then I would probably opt for the MIDI controller route.  I personally use a MIDI controller and have no complaints.  Many of my friends and colleagues use CDJs and turntables, so it really comes down to your own preferences.

For those of you looking to just get your feet wet with DJing you can download a free mixing program called Mixxx.

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