Is it worth it to me…to get turntables?? help

Well this question has been asked time and time again. it’s down to you.

You will get Vinyl purists telling you it’s the way to go. But they forget that now a days buying a record with one track and a few remixes on it, is (unfortunately) a false economy.

And as i’d imagine you’re within the younger spectrum of this forum, having oodles of money at your disposal to buy copious amounts of vinyl isn’t something you have or will have for a while.

Obviously there’s things like serato and final scratch which use timecoded vinyl records to give you the control of a vinyl tuntable but with your collection of MP3’s from your computer. Many people go down this route and if you can bother taking a laptop or desktop to venues (if this is what you’re aiming at doing in the future) and spending 20 mins setting it all up every time, then go for it.

The other option is to get CDJ’s but then it kinda throws out your using Virtual DJ anyway.

I’d probably upgrade my djing software…have you thought of traktor DJ? or indeed PCDJ. I have limited knowledge of them and i’m sure other people will testify to their good and bad points.

Anyway, my personal opinion is getting turntables and forking loads out on vinyl for the sake of "the art" is nonsense…."the art" has evlolved and people need to get wise or get left behind. Obviously if you want to learn how to scratch and understand the fundamentals of beatmatching, you will get a solid and undestructable foundation to your djing no matter the format.

The Serato/Final Scratch option is definately a good one but if you’re looking to do the club circuit once you get good enough…this is going to be something you’ll have to sacrifice upon.

Also, get "How To DJ (Properly)" i like to call it my own personal bible as it covers everything you’d possibly want to know and has a lot of really helpful website links.

I’ve actually used virtual dj as it comes and with the timecoded vinyls and to tell you the truth .. its a hudred times better. if you plan to be a bedrrom dj forever then i wouldnt recommend getting the tables but if you ever plan on going out and doing parties then go for it. I personally didnt like the vinyls…. to me serato has a much better feel, but virtual dj is def a start. oh and if all you’re ever going to do is use instrumentals and acapellas.. try acid. combined with other programs.. acid is a magic maker…….

If you are serious and want to learn all the basic principles of djing and take yourself to another level then forget computer software that does it for you. You should either by yourself a set ot turn tables or cdjs and a mixer. Up to you how serious you are

Real djs play vinyl, does my head in when people call themselves djs when they have never even mixed on a pair of turntables!!!

Yes the times have changed and in most scenes vinyl is dieing out and yes technology is moving forward all the time BUT the real art of dj-ing comes from the turntables!!!

Well said!

We’ve actually recieved dozens of inqiries at PWMN about vinyl. Unfortunately, only one of our artists actually recorded on vinyl and his batch of inventory was sold out in less than a month. If all our artists cut vinyl versions, I could afford a new porsche every other month.

But … that’s off-topic and to get back on topic, I just want to ditto your comment that a good dj works for the crowd and its their opinion that determines how successful you are at being a dj.

Ego is a killer in any artform, djing is not immune to that rule.

Back when I was DJing three or four nights a week, up to 8 hours a set (none of this turn up, play 10 records, trouser the cash and scarper for me), vinyl was the main option, many clubs didn’t have CDJs, if you were lucky they had a standard CD player. I used the original version of Final Scratch with a laptop (the laptop paid for itself with the volume of records I didn’t have to buy), and the number of people who didn’t believe I was actually DJing was phenomenal. At that time, however, all a DJ was expected to do was beatmatch, perhaps with the occasional bit of scratching.

Nowadays, with software such as Ableton auto-beatmatching, DJs turning up with a laptop (and perhaps an external controller) is perfectly acceptible. However, simply mixing one tune into the next is no longer considered a challenge – the traditional basic skill of the DJ has been superseded. If I go to a club and the DJ is using software, I expect live edits, looping and other wizardry that’s not possible with two turntables and a mixer.

i think it depends your style to djing i preferably like vynyl because i like the feeling and i can scratch it at anytime and the sound quality to me is good

Vinyl is good but as said before, its your choice. I personally use a mixer an equalizer and a a dual-cd player which works perfectly for me.

Many Dj’s now use their computers but if you don’t have a backup and your hardware fails during a gig.

well.. lets just say you won’t be the most popular guy in the room.

TDWIGG wrote:

As much as I love tables I would have to say No… The technogology is going forward. If you are just starting go with whats hot now. This too will be gone one day to something else….. Tell you what Put a couple of bricks in a few crates and carry them around for a few weeks……. Then ask yourself again.

Bricks…love it…LMAO..that’s what bouncers are for!

Look, everyone like to dj their own way. One way is not better than the other. No matter what you use, turntables, CDs, or a computer, are you getting the job done? I once new a guy who beat mixed cassettes! And he rocked the crowd. He had some European decks with pitch control.