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DJ or not?


snowball

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Guest Elysium

Are you sure it's not so-called "liveacts" confused with DJs? :D

 

Reality is that there's a overflow of artists and mediocre "bedroom spinners" playing as professional "DJs". I got nothing but big respect for DJ's who truely are passionated and skilled (not only technically).

 

Thank god there's still DJs out there who are not over ego artists who think they are the next big thing in the DJ world. Just take a look DJ Magazines Top 100 and see how many artists there that get's "mistaken" for being quality DJs ;)

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Are you sure it's not so-called "liveacts" confused with DJs?  :D

 

Reality is that there's a overflow of artists and mediocre "bedroom spinners" playing as professional "DJs".  I got nothing but big respect for DJ's who truely are passionated and skilled (not only technically).

 

Thank god there's still DJs out there who are not over ego artists who think they are the next big thing in the DJ world. Just take a look DJ Magazines Top 100 and see how many artists there that get's "mistaken" for being quality DJs ;)

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actually its big international names (doesnt mean they are any good for my ears though :P ) that i have seen doing it the most. i dont know if that is supposed to be "live" but it looks pretty much automated and very non live to me! :D

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Guest Elysium

actually its big international names (doesnt mean they are any good for my ears though :P ) that i have seen doing it the most. i dont know if that is supposed to be "live" but it looks pretty much automated and very non live to me! :D

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I guess all this new music technology makes some people lazy :(

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I get to see even more of those sets where the "DJ" pushes play on his laptop and dances in the dj box.  :(

 

can he be considered a DJ anymore?  :huh:

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The definition for DJ is very broad, some djs dont even come in contact with the music they spin but have a radio technician put it on for them (thats the case with some radio djs).

 

I would say, it really depends... if the dj is really just showing up, pressing play, with no intention of doing anything with his persona/skill there other than wave his hands around, stare at people or whatever, then I think its a shitty DJ at best - but still a dj, afterall, he DID press play :-P

 

Be that as it may, I think we must be open to the future - many dj tasks will become automated, and new dj tasks will appear to raise the bar for the DJ performance a notch.

Perhaps Djs wont have to beatmatch tracks anymore for instance, instead, new tasks will become more important. Hard to understand for some of the dinosaurs outthere, but that was what it was like with the introduction of the cd player as well... "What ? You dont have to manually cue and start your records anymore ? WTF !!!".

 

So - For me - What is all down to is "Why is this guy here at all, couldnt he just have sent a recording and thereby saved us the plane ticket ? Afterall, its not even like its his own music he is spinning".

 

There needs to be a function for the DJ, a reason for him to be there, or else it, in truth, he doesnt matter. As a DJ I usually know exactly what music I want to spin at a given party, but Im still there to make modifications to the set as I go along, afterall, not everything can be anticipated - One must allow for the unexpected to be taken into account.

 

So, who are these Djs who just press play on a lap top and do nothing live there at all anymore ? And are you SURE they are not doing anything ?

 

- Krell

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i always play using cds

 

but i've got friends who play via pc program, and i really don't care, because they master it better than i master my decks, and they've got twice the possibilities+ loops, which are damn handy for mixing songs+effects who beat the effects of pioneer's...and so on and on... pc has better possibilities..

 

but prerecord NO!

 

i once prerecorded cause i didn't have any time left and i really felt bad when playing it, felt like a thief, so started spinning 'live' again, which cracked me up :lol:

 

spinning with vinyl is the only way of 'mastering' the dj-essence, since you're in real contact with the material...

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I press play all the time! On my cdj's!

 

On one hand you have the stupid, beatmatch-for-you programs, on the other you have things like this:

Gemini Itrax

 

Imagine, mixing lossless wav files, much higher quality than any cd could ever be! This is the real future, when physical music media are such poorer quality than the digital that no one will want to hear cds any more. I imagine something like a virtual reality setup, with gloves and goggles.

 

But for now GIMME CD! Press play... But do something as well!

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I get to see even more of those sets where the "DJ" pushes play on his laptop and dances in the dj box.  :(

 

can he be considered a DJ anymore?  :huh:

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No a DJ needs discs! Without that he could be playing anything. My mate could make me a mix & could press play at a party, that doesn't make me a DJ

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24 bit 96khz is already better than cd. But imagine the advances in a few years. Look back a few years. :D

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I press play all the time!  On my cdj's! 

 

On one hand you have the stupid, beatmatch-for-you programs, on the other you have things like this:

Gemini Itrax

 

Imagine, mixing lossless wav files, much higher quality than any cd could ever be!  This is the real future, when physical music media are such poorer quality than the digital that no one will want to hear cds any more.  I imagine something like a virtual reality setup, with gloves and goggles. 

 

But for now GIMME CD!  Press play...  But do something as well!

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you have to be joking :ph34r:

 

ipods? :blink::lol:

 

software mixers are good for home and trianing purposes but i would never dare to call myself a dj and bring my laptop at a gig. :ph34r:

 

what do you mean by "Imagine, mixing lossless wav files, much higher quality than any cd could ever be! "??

 

files on a cd are wav's no? :huh:

 

anw,since we are on the subject can anyone reccomend any good mixing software? (ah the irony :P )

 

am trying to get some skills at mixing and i suppose they could help me. i also opened a topic about this on hte music creation forum,if you prefer to answer there! :)

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files on cd are converted from wav files into cda files. THeres always some kind of loss along with any conversion.

 

Yeah the ipod thing is pretty cheesey. Its just an example of how one could mix higher quality files.

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or I could be totally and completely wrong. Please excuse me if this is true. But im pretty sure... I heard somewhere.... CD audio is inferior to the direct output of whatever program the producer used... Kill me if Im stupid.

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files on cd are converted from wav files into cda files.  THeres always some kind of loss along with any conversion. 

 

Yeah the ipod thing is pretty cheesey.  Its just an example of how one could mix higher quality files.

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yes you are right on that.... but is the quality difference really noticable?

 

and that ipod thing is really commercial scum. better find a way to hook up two hardrives to a decent mixer than two ipods to an ipod mixer ;) . LOL :ph34r:

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yes you are right on that.... but is the quality difference really noticable? 

 

and that ipod thing is really commercial scum. better find a way to hook up two hardrives to a decent mixer than two ipods to an ipod mixer ;) . LOL :ph34r:

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Surely the ipod is the deal for wannabe DJs with no records right?

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Yeah, with many modern sound systems, the difference is not noticable, but imagine a few years down the line. Dolby surround 17.1? who knows. 10 years ago if you asked someone about wireless internet on cellphones, no one would understand, but now its common.

 

There are systems, however, that one can hear the difference, if one knows what to listen for. Then again it could just be listening "too hard", if you know what I mean. If you stare at a white wall long enough, you can see whatever you want to see. Although, Im pretty sure some of the liveacts Ive seen, whove had good equipment, make sounds much clearer than djs. I cant tell alone, Id need someone elses opinion, so IDK.

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No a DJ needs discs! Without that he could be playing anything. My mate could make me a mix & could press play at a party, that doesn't make me a DJ

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Why does a DJ need discs ? Isnt it about the music and not the medium ?

 

Anyways, whether you are playing CD Audio from a CD or from a harddrive, it wont matter. Since no matter what medium you use for storage, its still on a DISC (yes, HD = Harddisc).

This is however totally irrelevant to the task of the dj, which is to play a dj set designed and adapted to the event at hand.

 

Did you know, that you can also just record your DJ set to a CD? I mean, I have heard of djs pre-recording a dj set to CD and letting it run from there, while pretending to mix it live. That just makes them shitty djs.

 

So you see, the medium is not what makes the difference, the interaction with music is. Sure, you can record a set to your computer and press play, or you can do the same to a cd - Its not the medium which makes the difference there, but the DJ.

 

Doesnt matter if you are using a computer, cd player, vinyl turntable or whatever - Those are just means to an end, and its the end that counts. The end is "to play a dj set designed and adapted to the event at hand." This task will, in no way, be hampered by the use of software instead of cd players, actually what it will do is give djs more options, as well as impose more demands on their skills to use those options to their fullest effect!

 

Do you also bitch over people using software synths instead of hardware synths ? Come on! When you go under the surface its usually software anyways... no no, lets go back to the analoque sound.. its the only TRUE sound - Bah.

 

Im amazed of how narrowminded some people in this forum are, if it was all up to you we would still be sitting in caves banging rocks together - and really, thats what you guys deserve for such backward thinking :-P

 

Respect from me to all djs out there who dare to try something new, in the face of such prejudice.

 

- Krell

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Why does a DJ need discs ? Isnt it about the music and not the medium ?

 

Anyways, whether you are playing CD Audio from a CD or from a harddrive, it wont matter. Since no matter what medium you use for storage, its still on a DISC (yes, HD = Harddisc).

This is however totally irrelevant to the task of the dj, which is to play a dj set designed and adapted to the event at hand.

 

Did you know, that you can also just record your DJ set to a CD? I mean, I have heard of djs pre-recording a dj set to CD and letting it run from there, while pretending to mix it live. That just makes them shitty djs.

 

So you see, the medium is not what makes the difference, the interaction with music is. Sure, you can record a set to your computer and press play, or you can do the same to a cd - Its not the medium which makes the difference there, but the DJ.

 

Doesnt matter if you are using a computer, cd player, vinyl turntable or whatever - Those are just means to an end, and its the end that counts.  The end is "to play a dj set designed and adapted to the event at hand." This task will, in no way, be hampered by the use of software instead of cd players, actually what it will do is give djs more options, as well as impose more demands on their skills to use those options to their fullest effect!

 

Do you also bitch over people using software synths instead of hardware synths ? Come on! When you go under the surface its usually software anyways... no no, lets go back to the analoque sound.. its the only TRUE sound - Bah.

 

Im amazed of how narrowminded some people in this forum are, if it was all up to you we would still be sitting in caves banging rocks together - and really, thats what you guys deserve for such backward thinking :-P

 

Respect from me to all djs out there who dare to try something new, in the face of such prejudice.

 

- Krell

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well if you intend to mix the tracks,why bother bringing your laptop? because the quality of the tracks is better that way? ha!!! come on,how many dj would bother to do that?

 

they just press play and do some minor adjustments. i even saw the screen of atomic pulse laptop,it was like a pattern sequencer,but i guess instead of patterns they were tracks. ;)

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well if you intend to mix the tracks,why bother bringing your laptop? because the quality of the tracks is better that way? ha!!! come on,how many dj would bother to do that?

 

they just press play and do some minor adjustments. i even saw the screen of atomic pulse laptop,it was like a pattern sequencer,but i guess instead of patterns they were tracks. ;)

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Dont confuse "livesets" with "dj sets", Im not talking about livesets, but dj sets.

 

To answer your question, why bother bringing your laptop ? Well, because it can hold a shitload of music, to be found very quickly. No need to bother with bringing CDs at all, not to speak of vinyl, for which you will almost need an extra groupie just to carry them around.

 

I was not talking about the sound quality either, as a matter of fact Im not all that convinced that the current offerings within djing software have that good sound quality (Im mostly thinking about the EQ there). The sound quality issue was NOT brought up by me, still, its valid - notebooks & professional sound cards yield better audioquality than old cds from cd players... But really, I think CD Audio sounds just fine, and its not "that" important to me compared to the other possibilites.

 

So, why would I bother to bring a notebook, instead of a heavy Cd case, or even worse, a vinyl case weighing a ton? Because its easy, and I can bring far more music with me. Also, because the music is so organized in the notebook, I will not have to look through that many CDs to find the right track.

 

However, those are just "simple" things - and besides, who is to say Im ONLY bringing my notebook ? Perhaps I want to bring external controllers (so I can get the same, or even more, feel for the music than the most expensive CD player controls give me).

 

Other than those "simple" things, there are new options for the DJ, when the interface he uses is a piece of software which is in constant evolution, and not an over priced Pioneer CDJ-1000MK3 cd player unit.

 

Visual Djing interfaces, combined with a skilled dj using loops, effects and hundreds of cuepoints thrown out all over thousands of tracks - Now, thats true djing freedom, and its many more times demanding than just manually beatmixing "track 2 track" on a pair of cd decks - Technicly, I can teach anyone do that convincingly in a matter of weeks at the most!

 

- Krell

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How about HDJ (Hard Disc Jockey)????  :ph34r:

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he he, good one :D!

 

how about this kind of evolution - djs stay home and broadcast their mix from their home/studio to the party :ph34r:

or djs stay home and simply sell their mixes [prerecorded ofcourse, or maybe some special mixes with lots of effects and loops added, thus creating something special for the current event :P] to party organizers which then simply put those purchased mixes into player [pc or whatever] and just let it "spin" :D ?

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he he, good one :D!

 

how about this kind of evolution - djs stay home and broadcast their mix from their home/studio to the party  :ph34r:

or djs stay home and simply sell their mixes [prerecorded ofcourse, or maybe some special mixes with lots of effects and loops added, thus creating something special for the current event :P] to party organizers which then simply put those purchased mixes into player [pc or whatever] and just let it "spin"  :D ?

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Whattabout a shoutcast stream from the party, to the world ? :-)

 

Actually, I wouldnt mind those scenarios you point out... At the very least, why not try it ?

 

A global party, perhaps with 8 djs, spread out over 8 locations. Then, they take their turns presenting their dj sets which are then broadcasted to the other locations in good quality audio. Global vibes, global party, 8 big projections, one from each location. Sounds like an brilliant idea TO TRY OUT to me.

 

Try something new, thats the real psychedelic spirit. Break the norms, break the limits - to boldly go where noone has gone before (or at least you havent) :-)

 

In case that doesnt work out too groovy though, theres nothing standing in the way of using a notebook for djing and even choosing every track then and there. Its just another interface, thats all.

 

For some reason, which I cannot comprehend but choose to describe as "ignorance", some people are locked into the thought that music presentation software is only capable of streaming one long track from start to finish, while its actually not the case... You can make the switch, cd -> notebook, without having to essentially change the way that you dj at all, you can do it ALL manually if thats more groovy to you and the crowd.

 

But ooohhh no, lets give notebook/software djs, who try something new for a change, a bad name because someone saw somebody stream a long audiofile, instead of actually doing anything interactive at all with the party situation. (something cd djs can also do).

 

If thats your logics, then ban Cds as well, and dat tapes - Only vinyl will do, afterall, those you HAVE to MIX! Because its all about the physical task of mixing the music right?, tasks you could almost teach a monkey if you had enough time and bananas :-P

 

- Krell

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