Is It Worth Starting Now

It really depends what you will be doing mostly, the times are changing, and for the club/mobile DJ, it really doesn’t make much sense anymore to lug around crates of vinyl, when all you really need now, are CD’s…or your laptop ( Serrato )

Now, if you are going to be getting into turntablism, there is no substitution, in my mind, for the feel of vinyl. The way you can manipulate vinyl with your hands, is much better than what you can do on a 5 inch plastic deck, where you are very limited.

Although, the technology brought forth by CD decks is pretty amazing, so I wouldn’t count them out completely, even in the turntablist realm, its just that most of the diehards, myself included, feel like a lot of the technology is taking away from the art of things, in the sense that now, you can get the machine to do things you would normally have to do yourself.

Just my .02 cents.

vinyl forever, dude….

The old debate Analog vs digital!
To answer to the original post, is it worth learning to dj with vinyl? is like asking a recording engineer is it worth learning to process sound using reel to reel. It is part of the curriculum in any recording school but not really used in practice except for a few artists like Donald Fagen for example. There will always be those whole truly adhere to the glory days of analog technology and those who embrace the endless possibilities that offer digital technology. Vinyl has not yet reached the obsolete state of reel to reel yet but is fast approaching it. Fewer and fewer clubs actually have turntables in their permanent installations. They store them away and take them out upon special requests from dj’s. Another sign is to look at the leading dj’s in the industry because they are the ones who direct the shifts in the industry. Only a handful still use vinyl like Timo Maas. Economics is the obvious argument why labels bother less and less with vinyl.
With regards to the sound quality argument, there are many ways to emulate the analog sound digitally, also keep in mind that club systems are not hi fidelity systems and that 99% of the clubs out there have sound systems that sound worse that the average home system of the dj’s on this board.
Is it worth learning to dj with vinyl? Sure, but i would not recommend investing in a technology that is fast disappearing. Those vinyl emulation systems are a good compromise, because that’s really what they are: a tool to transition into the digital age.
Also remember that dj’ing is not about the medium but about your talent as music programmer and your musical education. Music is an intangible medium and in a way digital technology is bringing music back to its original form.