Some help please...

[Far Beyond Paul]

Recently i have become quite interested in possibly doing some laptop dj-ing in the future, i'm familiar with some dj software (Notably Virtual dj, Mixmeister Fusion) however i dont have much of a clue when it comes to good reliable (and fairly inexpensive) equipment - and i was wondering if anyone had some good suggestions.

Budget wise i've got about £500 to spend, I've got a Dell laptop with a 1.6ghz dualcore processor with about 2 gb ram, running on vista (eugh) anything else anyone needs to know?
Cheers,
Paul

[Dr_absinthe]

I'd look at upgrading the RAM if you're going to stick with Vista. This is the setup that I use for Slimes (not including laptop!)

Traktor Pro (http://www.decks.co.uk/products/native_instruments/Traktor_Pro)
Native Instruments Audio 4 Dj (http://www.decks.co.uk/products/native_instruments/Audio_4_DJ)
Allen & Heath Xone XD-53 Headphones (http://www.decks.co.uk/products/allen_heath/xd53)

Should be more than enough to get you started. Plus cables etc you'd be looking at around £550-ish

[SP]

Yeah, if you're going to use Vista, more RAM ... better still scrap Vista and install XP ... much better IMHO.



Other than that, you'll need a soundcard with dual outputs, so that you can monitor what you are about to bring into the mix. Doc uses a good one. I use an Echo Indigo DJ ...

http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/loudspeakers/graphics/echo-indigo.jpg

http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/CardBus/IndigoDJ/index.php







... and possibly a controller, although this is not absolutely necessary. Many DJs use short-cuts from the keyboard. Personally, I use this. It's built for Traktor, but it's brilliant ...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3468/3202018586_21d10b000d.jpg

http://www.faderfox.de/html/dj2_product_page.html





Also, it maybe helpful to know that we've already had quite a bit of discussion on DJing from laptops, here ...

http://www.slimelight.net/Sportal/forum/showthread.php?t=2281



;)

[ineversaidthat]

this (http://www.serato.com/scratchlive) is what you want.
it makes traktor look like a child's toy!

[Dr_absinthe]

this (http://www.serato.com/scratchlive) is what you want.
it makes traktor look like a child's toy!

Bearing in mind we're talking about a £500 budget here. £575 for the absolute basic Serato package with a shitty controller and that's before you've even thought about a soundcard or a compatible mixer. Basic setup for that is going to run a minimum of £1000, 15-1800 to get anything even half-decent. Figure in a laptop on top and you might as well just go for a set of CDJ900's... or one and a half 2000's!

Still, it's a nice programme. If I had the money kicking around I would probably get it!

[Far Beyond Paul]

Ahh yes serato...tis rather nice :) but then again i'm not made of money ;) some good suggestions though, cheers people.

[CIW]

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever tried Mixxx (http://www.mixxx.org/) yet, be it on Linux, Mac or Win?

If so, how's it in comparison to all the overpriced software? :)

[ineversaidthat]

Bearing in mind we're talking about a £500 budget here. £575 for the absolute basic Serato package with a shitty controller and that's before you've even thought about a soundcard or a compatible mixer. Basic setup for that is going to run a minimum of £1000, 15-1800 to get anything even half-decent. Figure in a laptop on top and you might as well just go for a set of CDJ900's... or one and a half 2000's!

Still, it's a nice programme. If I had the money kicking around I would probably get it!

pfffft. not every laptop-dj i know has acutally bought a copy of the software they use... i'm sure there's a torrent out there that a resourceful individual could hunt down.

which'd leave the other £500 for hardware

[Dr_absinthe]

True, you could download a copy. Major problem would be the SL control box which can't be bought separately afaik. Renders the software pretty much useless without it!

[ineversaidthat]

True, you could download a copy. Major problem would be the SL control box which can't be bought separately afaik. Renders the software pretty much useless without it!

pffft. your google fu is weak old man

http://www.djdeals.co.uk/prod-downloads/Denon-DNHC1000S-angle.jpg


Denon DNHC1000S - £165.00 (inc. VAT) (http://www.djdeals.co.uk/prod-details.asp?AID=2222)

http://www.djsuperstore.co.uk/pimages/641259.jpg

Stanton SCS3d DaScratch - £ 295.00 (http://www.djsuperstore.co.uk/=froogle/item/digital-dj/641259_1-stanton-scs3d-dascratch)

http://www.dv247.com/assets/products/49344_l.jpg

Denon DNHC4500 USB MIDI Controller & Audio interface - £399.00 (http://www.saveltd.co.uk/denon-dnhc4500-usb-midi-controller--audio-interface-988-p.asp)


http://images.play.com/covers/8779864x.jpg

Rane Serato Scratch DJ Package - £428.99 (http://www.jbsmusic.co.uk/view/1877/)

[SP]

The reason I started using a laptop was that ...

a) I had one with loads of tunes on it (was already using it for Ableton)
b) I was sick of using random rack mount CD players, many of which didn't work properly
c) My CDJs are just too much to carry everywhere
d) I usually find that I am limited for space in DJ booths
e) It makes it easy to carry A LOT of music

... so the laptop just made sense, but I don't want bulky or heavy controllers, hence the Faderfox.

It's all down to your own preference really.

[Far Beyond Paul]

SP that's pretty much the reasons i'm going for. all too often have i seen dj's make a complete arse of themselves with cd decks...i may give the faderfox a look, i'll probably be going with something like doc's setup.

[SP]

SP that's pretty much the reasons i'm going for. all too often have i seen dj's make a complete arse of themselves with cd decks...i may give the faderfox a look, i'll probably be going with something like doc's setup.

He he ... yeah, on one occasion, Flux and I have used decks (Numark I think) that didn't start immediately when you pressed the start button. On another, the pitch kept changing of it's own accord. Not conducive to good mixing!

Doc has a great set-up ... you won't go far wrong with that!