930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: root on June 22, 2005, 11:05:00 am
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Hello All,
Anyone out there know of a good freeware download to use to DJ with my OS X Powerbook?
Thanks!
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well i can't make any specific recommendations, it really is more which sw works best for you... a couple of starting points.
http://www.nativeinstruments.de/index.php?id=traktorplayer_us (http://www.nativeinstruments.de/index.php?id=traktorplayer_us)
http://www.sonophile.com/ (http://www.sonophile.com/)
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I thought you needed turntables to be a DJ? ;)
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stumbled across this thread on engadget, haven't waded all the way through yet, but looks like a good overview
http://ask.engadget.com/entry/1234000577045447/ (http://ask.engadget.com/entry/1234000577045447/)
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vinyl purists,
what's your take on this? does this make you angry? i'm curious... does using a laptop make one any less of a dj(lj?)?
or as long as the song selection is good and the house is proverbially "rocked"...it doesn't matter?
if you walk into a bar and dude at the booth is pushing buttons on his G4 iBook... do they get automatic "inferior dj" status in your eyes?
(root, hope you don't mind me hijacking your post for a bit)
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I thought this was going to be one of Rhett's masturbation topics....."laptop DJ'ing!"
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Originally posted by SalParadise:
vinyl purists,
what's your take on this? does this make you angry? i'm curious... does using a laptop make one any less of a dj(lj?)?
or as long as the song selection is good and the house is proverbially "rocked"...it doesn't matter?
Bob Mould DJs on his Mac. Though he also messes with the songs, "DJ-iffying" them in advance....
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Originally posted by SalParadise:
vinyl purists,
what's your take on this? does this make you angry? i'm curious... does using a laptop make one any less of a dj(lj?)?
or as long as the song selection is good and the house is proverbially "rocked"...it doesn't matter?
if you walk into a bar and dude at the booth is pushing buttons on his G4 iBook... do they get automatic "inferior dj" status in your eyes?
(root, hope you don't mind me hijacking your post for a bit)
Well I'm considering buying a laptop to DJ with in order to carry around less CDs. It would be nice to create a core library on a laptop thast always ready to go.
If the DJ is creating the right flow it should not matter if he's pushing buttons on the CD player, Laptop, etc. Besides some vinyl DJs are using the Final Scratch product on thier turntables in order to control digital files stored on a laptop.
It's really only bogus if you are faking it with a premixed cdr
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Originally posted by root:
Hello All,
Anyone out there know of a good freeware download to use to DJ with my OS X Powerbook?
Thanks!
No Mac suggestions but I'm curious: are you looking to be a "laptop" musician type DJ or a Davis DJ, or something in between?
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
Originally posted by SalParadise:
vinyl purists,
what's your take on this? does this make you angry? i'm curious... does using a laptop make one any less of a dj(lj?)?
or as long as the song selection is good and the house is proverbially "rocked"...it doesn't matter?
if you walk into a bar and dude at the booth is pushing buttons on his G4 iBook... do they get automatic "inferior dj" status in your eyes?
(root, hope you don't mind me hijacking your post for a bit)
Well I'm considering buying a laptop to DJ with in order to carry around less CDs. It would be nice to create a core library on a laptop thast always ready to go.
If the DJ is creating the right flow it should not matter if he's pushing buttons on the CD player, Laptop, etc. Besides some vinyl DJs are using the Final Scratch product on thier turntables in order to control digital files stored on a laptop.
It's really only bogus if you are faking it with a premixed cdr [/b]
i agree. there's no stopping technology. even dj jazzy jeff made the switch to Final Scratch a while ago. supposedly vinyl will no longer be made after 2009.
i did have one incident (with modern, in g'town) where the guy heard a mix i made, told me he wanted to book me....and then changed his mind when he found out i was blending CDs.
people play premixed cdrs??
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I been a professional Progressive / Tech house DJ for over 10 years (just ask Sonicteam, he was @ my first gig and one of the last). Over time I have gotten tired of typical dance music and have gotten really into indie rock and stuff like that. I was interested in doing patries lately, but more like shows with bands and such. So it's much easier to DJ indie rock and the like with a laptop as opposed to CD mixers or hunting down expensive vinyl.
When I was DJing house and techno I was a vinyl purist in the highest regard! But there is not much beat matching when spinning indie rock, so why bother! (and LP pressings blow for the most part).
dig?
;)
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i can vouch for root! he's djed around the world too!! and he knows Scott Henry :)
well, I agree, I could be construed as a vinyl guy myself, but its damn expensive and if you can use computers to manipulate music in a cool way, then its a DJ nonetheless.
besides, by 1997 or so, most of the DJs spinning at clubs and raves were simply beat matching records and i dont see much difference between beat matching records or CDs.
was i really at your first gig? shit! when was that?
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Originally posted by root:
I been a professional Progressive / Tech house DJ for over 10 years (just ask Sonicteam, he was @ my first gig and one of the last). Over time I have gotten tired of typical dance music and have gotten really into indie rock and stuff like that. I was interested in doing patries lately, but more like shows with bands and such. So it's much easier to DJ indie rock and the like with a laptop as opposed to CD mixers or hunting down expensive vinyl.
When I was DJing house and techno I was a vinyl purist in the highest regard! But there is not much beat matching when spinning indie rock, so why bother! (and LP pressings blow for the most part).
dig?
;)
nice...an open-minded vinyl purist. warms my heart.
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5th Dimension 1994 (westminny!) hahaha...
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Originally posted by root:
5th Dimension 1994 (westminny!) hahaha...
HOLY CRAP!! hahaha, thats crazy. i do remember that. i think i have a flyer for it actually. maybe.
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interesting that you abandoning your vinyl... with the arrival back on the scene of Kraftwerk and growing popularity of LCD Soundsystem, i've been tempted to blow the dust of my collection of non white label Detroit Techno 12"s.
and i've heard rumours of djs faking it to CDRs...
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
i've been tempted to blow the dust of my collection of non white label Detroit Techno 12"s.
cause you wanna make something real?
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
interesting that you abandoning your vinyl... with the arrival back on the scene of Kraftwerk and growing popularity of LCD Soundsystem, i've been tempted to blow the dust of my collection of non white label Detroit Techno 12"s.
and i've heard rumours of djs faking it to CDRs...
Thats the thing, i have never been a fan of Kraftwerk, although i respect thier pioneering and the new stuff like LCD dosent do it for me either... the wheel keeps being re-invented :confused:
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Originally posted by sonickteam4:
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
i've been tempted to blow the dust of my collection of non white label Detroit Techno 12"s.
cause you wanna make something real? [/b]
he wants to make a Yaz record.
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as long as you can play a selection of music thats suitable and enjoyable for the setting, then you're a good DJ in my book.
whether its scratching and cutting up some vinyl, just beat matching techno 12"s or picking out a handy selection of songs in between bands at a concert.
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I've done some DJing using my laptop w/ MixMaster Pro but primarily at home, while in the clubs, I spin CDs. Advantage to laptop vs CD is no worries of skipping or lockups that can happen with CDJ decks.
With electronic music, there are more and more laptop bands coming out. Personally, I'm not interested in seeing a one-man show with his face buried in his screen and turning a few knobs on the mixer. Sure there's programs out there like Abelton Live which are killer for on the fly remixing/editting, but seeing these type of artist does not excite me.
MindCage
Mindless Faith (http://www.mindlessfaith.com)
Deep6 Productions (http://www.deep6.com)
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call me ignorant if you like, because I am
but what is a cd dj with a planned setlist, who is just playing indie rock songs that dont need any fancy beat matching, really doing that will make a difference to the listener over just playing a cdr of the same setlist?
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Originally posted by general grievous:
call me ignorant if you like, because I am
but what is a cd dj with a planned setlist, who is just playing indie rock songs that dont need any fancy beat matching, really doing that will make a difference to the listener over just playing a cdr of the same setlist?
nothing. but it'd be nice if the person playing the music played to the actual crowd at the bar/club/whatever instead of playing to the preconceived idea of the crowd in their head when they're recording that CDR at home.
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Originally posted by SalParadise:
Originally posted by general grievous:
call me ignorant if you like, because I am
but what is a cd dj with a planned setlist, who is just playing indie rock songs that dont need any fancy beat matching, really doing that will make a difference to the listener over just playing a cdr of the same setlist?
nothing. but it'd be nice if the person playing the music played to the actual crowd at the bar/club/whatever instead of playing to the preconceived idea of the crowd in their head when they're recording that CDR at home. [/b]
Is this the 21st century indie version of John Henry vs the steam-powered hammer?
I think a spin-off is in order!
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I dont know, but somehow, this is all Fatboy Slim's fault. I dont know how, but he must be behind this madness!
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sometimes i doubt your commitment to sparkle motion!
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I've tried pretty much all of the freeware stuff for OSX and they all blow. You 'll need a pretty fast powerbook to use the free version of traktor too. but if you're serious about it, you'll need to spend the money and pay. otherwise use iTunes like I do :)
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As a DJ w/over 25 yrs experience, I say, if you say yr a DJ, yr a DJ!!
Yeah, I started playing vinyl, because there weren't any CDs yet. So what? I never learned to beatmix, because I was too lazy or something. Yeah, I primarily play indie rock kinda stuff, but even when I spin go-go or hippity hop, I just go from one track to the next.
If a DJ wants to prepare a mix prior to a gig, I can see how you might consider that cheating. I would definitely prefer to hear a DJ mix the tunes and sounds that strike his/her fancy on the spot, instead of stuff they decided prior to the gig, might work, at certain parts of the event.
In DJing indie rock, or any other form of music where yr not beatmixing, what the DJ is adding, aside from mixing good songs together, is getting the songs to overlap in a way that might be interesting to the audience. If the last :20 of one song sound good over the first :20 of the next song, that's what yr getting from a good DJ.
As I see it, if yr bringing some creativity to bear, that makes what yr doing an art, or at least a craft. If yr just playing a playlist, and not mixing the tunes in any creative way, I guess I might question any artisitic claims on yr part.
When I'm DJing, I frequently decide only what album (CD or LP, it's an album) I'm playing next. I'll audition tracks on the disk, to decide which one seems like it'll go best w/the tune currently playing, and play that track.
On software, what I want is DJ software that will allow me to audition the END of the song currently playing, as well as the beginning of any song I might want to play next, to see where might be the exact best spot to start the next track, so they overlap the best.
Please keep in mind when I use the term "best," I'm being completely subjective, and it's what I think is best for this particular time and place. i might think another song or a different amount of overlap is "perfect" on another occaision.
I am a DJ, I am what I play. I speak with my hands, and when you let me loose in a forum, I speak too much.
I'm out!
Tommy B
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Originally posted by DJ Tommy B:
On software, what I want is DJ software that will allow me to audition the END of the song currently playing, as well as the beginning of any song I might want to play next, to see where might be the exact best spot to start the next track, so they overlap the best.
In order to be able to hear a seperate track on a Laptop requires a second soundcard, most high end DJ software has the capability of supporting two soundcards. And seeing as most builtin soundcards in laptops are crap, one needs to spend the money on an upgrade anyways. Will post links to such cards tomorrow....
For a DJ providing Ear Candy a preplanned playlist works for me, DJing for people out having fun requires choosing stuff on the fly to keep the party going...