| My Advice on DJ-ing Home >> When playing a set... >> Cleaning Vinyl... ________________________________________________________________________________ Turntables Well, my first piece of advice for turntables is: DON'T GET BELT DRIVE TURNTABLES, OR NUMARK! I don't like Numark's older turntables like the TT-1520's and the TT-100's, as they aren't made very well and have week motors. If you are buying your first set of turntables and your low on cash, buy second hand, that can usually be the best way to go. Look in your local paper or advert place ( Adtrader - Loot - Findit ) and have a look on there. It can usually pay off in the long run to get decent turntables first, you could look for some decent 1210's or up market Gemini's. But for a good starter setup I would say get direct drive, with a S-tone arm (which is just the normal bent shape) insted of a straight tone arm which is for scratch mainly. A good thing to do is see how much they are brand new on a DJ stores site ( Sapphires ) and compare with what they are selling for 2nd hand. Basically the more expensive they are, the better they are. If you are fortunately to have a decent amount of cash, then go for Stanton's. They have proved to be a tough and durable turntable in their rise to the top, and aren't as expensive as you may think. It is better to get a decent set of decks for a higher price, than to go for a cheaper pair that will pack up in a couple of months! And trust me, they will! Another decent make of turntable for the novice is Citronics. The high end of the market are the infamous Technics, who only make one style of turntable, the 1200 series. The 1210 is the most popular turntable in the world, which tells you that they are a good turntable to have. They have high torque, strong motors and can be used by any type of DJ. There is also the Vestax turntables, which are a bit more futuristic. They are mainly used for scratching, and for turntablist (hip-hop/rap, drum 'n bass/jungle etc...). Mixers Mixers are the centre of your setup, literally, so you need to make sure it is decent enough to take your decks. Turntables are more complicated mechanically, as they have motors, magnets etc... but mixers are more complicated to work, so don't get nothing too advanced for your capabilities. The best thing to do is to start off with a 2 channel mixer, 1 channel for each turntable, with simple high, mid and low gains. Then when you have improved and need a mixer with more functions, then go for maybe another 2 channel mixer but with more controls, or you could buy a 3 channel mixer, which will give you an extra channel for a Kaoss pad (has different sounds effects on it) or a sampler (records 7-15 seconds of a track) or you could plug in a micro-phone if you want to MC to a track. The options are endless. The best makes of mixers are Vestax, Pioneer, Rane, Allen & Heath, Tascam, Eclar..., and a decent make to start out on would probally the same as decks - Stanton. They are equal in functions, but you could go for a Gemini. Getting a Gig If you want to make it big in the DJ world, you have got to get noticed and start playing at clubes. If you want to get a gig, go into one of your local clubs or bars, and give a mix tape to the manager - only give it to him, so he knows your making an effort, and you know he is getting your tape. If he likes it, he will propally ask you to play for free the 1st and 2nd time, but don't worry, DJing isn't just about the money, be patient, and your time will come! If you want anymore infomation on DJ-ing, just send us an e-mail or add me to your MSN. marc222@hotmail.com |