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Which laptop DJ software to use???


jgthatsme

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I'm a musician first and a DJ a very, very, very distant second. My band primarily does weddings, corporate events, etc. with an occasional club date. I've been using a laptop computer in conjunction with Apple's iTunes player for cocktail/dinner music, break music, or for some dance/party music if the client wishes to extend the event with just DJ music. I also have a DJ style CD player (Stanton C.500) which I carry with me but rarely use.

 

I have DJ'd a few events and got by just fine using the items noted above, but they were low-key, low-pressure events such as a picnic, sweet 16 birthday party, 50th wedding anniversary, etc. I am now getting calls to do some Holiday parties and other larger events as a DJ. I know I need something better than iTunes and a portable CD player, but I'm not sure what to use.

 

I want to primarily use my laptop. I do not want to be hauling around CDs. I have absolutely no interest in working in any club as a DJ. I am strictly interested in private events such as weddings, corporate events, birthday/anniversary parties, etc. Beat matching isn't critical, but I would do some of it. I'm computer literate but I'm just not sure what is a good quality program.

 

I don't really have a budget meaning I can afford to make whatever investment is needed. I just need to be pointed in the right direction. What would you guys/gals recommend for a laptop based DJ? Someone suggested PCDJ but I don't know if this is quality software or junk. Would it be better to bag the laptop altogether and go with a controller into which I could just plug an external harddrive?

 

Thanks in advance for you help and suggestions.

 

By the way, I have all the PA gear, mics, lighting, etc. one could need, so I don't need any help in that area.:thu:

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I guess that I'm in a pretty similar situation to you...... a musician first and DJ second....... I swear by J River's Media Center and have been using it for the last 9 years or so for all my wedding/party/etc stuff. It hasn't got the hardcore DJ stuff like scratching, effects and so on but I don't use or ever see the need for me to use that kind of stuff.

 

I go straight from my laptop into a sound module (Lexicon Lambda USB) and then into my powered mixer (Yammy EMX512)...... simple, clean, great sound.... I can, of course handle multiple mics and 99% of other requirements that get thrown at me.......

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I'm also a musician first and a DJ second. I own Live and never use it to DJ. Nobody wants to see you up there choosing clips with the pointer. There are plenty of DJ performance software choices out there like Traktor, Serato, etc. Test a bunch and pick the one you vibe with the most.

 

I use Traktor Scratch Duo with a pair of Tech 12's and a DJM-700. That way, there's no need for CDJ's, You can drop some real vinyl if you want to, and the crowd sees you busy entertaining. Not playing with a laptop.

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I'm also a musician who recently turned DJ. I like Traktor because of the way it visually grids linear tracks into measures. That looks familiar to me as a musician. From there I can easily do things like start a track on the chorus and do basic remixes on the fly in Traktor.

 

This may be possible with other software too. I really haven't explored all the options. But I haven't felt the need to.

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wow, i just found this thread. i think i may have posted my question in the wrong section. This is very close to what i am looking for also. here is the question i posted:

 

 

DJ / Karaoke Setup using powered mixer and laptop - HELP NEEDED

 

Hello all!

First off, thanks so much to all posters on this site. it has been a wealth of knowledge on so many topics for so many years. Also, i must mention that i am not much of a techy gear kind of guy but will not shy away from researching and learning as much as possible.

 

I am looking for sugesstions/recommendations for dj and karaoke software and setup which will utilize my current equipment if possible.

 

I have been running a 3 man acoustic rock band with a very simple setup for several years. We use a Yamaha 8-Channel Powered Mixer with 2 speakers, 2 monitors and sometimes add powered subs when playing with drums. For events that require music between sets i have just used a laptop(using MediaMonkey) or iphone, plugged from the headphone jack into the mixers "aux in". There have been issues with channels missing from certain songs sometimes but none of us have been able to figure out if its a matter of the adapters from headphone to line in or a cable issue.

 

so, all that said, here are my goals:

 

1. Dj SETUP:

- Best options for software (PC only)

- Best hardware solutions from PC to Mixer (cables, converters, input, etc.)

-

2. Karaoke SETUP:

- Best options for software (PC only)

- Best hardware solutions from PC to Mixer (cables, converters, input, etc.)

- Best options for video setup (just use a decent sized spare monitor?)

 

Thanks in advance for any help, links, suggestions, recommendations,

 

BC

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Like most of you here so far, I'm a musician first and a DJ second. I've always had the sound to do it (4x4719/4x4732 JBL) and started off with a pair off cd deck and a pair of turntables. I soon fugured out that 95% of the DJ gigs I was doing didn't require vinyl although it was great for showing off. I got a Virtual DJ-Pro and loaded everything I had onto a pair of hard drives (one for redundancy) and loaded several sets of DJ tools type compilations on to the laptops hard drive. I've almost always got that laptop close by and can do most gigs with it alone. I would highly recommend spending the money on the actual down load as it allows free updates and access to forums and first hand customer service. A friend pirated his and he's now working with some antiquated version with no support. As mentioned above it will also allow you mix simple video and (my fav) add titles to your video. This is a separate output, not a clone of your control screen. I've operated with that for several years and recently purchased a Hercules RMX for more control and a seperate set of sound cards for master and cue to phones. I would also recommend shutting down a bunch of unessesary stuff in your msconfig files, if you're confortable messing around there, and freeing up some resources to make it operate better.

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