So I was hopeing that some dopers are also DJ’s, since I need some advice. All the DJ related sites I’ve found are pretty slow, with not many people posting…
I’m a total newbie to mixing, but thought I might start doing some mixes at home. A friend of mine has some equipment I might buy, and thats where you all come in to the picture.
What do you think of the following equipment, and what would you pay for it? (I realize that depends on where you live, of course, but any help is welcome. I live in Stockholm, Sweden, BTW)
Record players: numark TT2 and TT100. Apparently he has two different players. Is that a problem? They where pretty expensive when he bought them but that was a few years (about 5, I think, not sure) back, is the age a problem?
Mixer: stanton sk 2F. About the same age I think. I imagine a mixer might survive longer that a record player, but as I said, I’m a newbie. Might be wrong.
All in all, I’m very grateful for any help. Please help me come to a decision here. No price has yet been discussed, I thought I’d ask here before I suggested a price.
Oh, and I’ll be mixing DnB, if that matters.
I cannot think of any DJ that I know who does not use Technics MK1200s for turntables…
Make sure you get direct drive turntables…for effects mixing on the fly, most people use the Pioneer DJ products. Numark is probably #2 for turntables.
I wouldn’t spend much if you are just getting into it, just make sure you get direct drive, get a few records, and see if you like it.
you could get a pair of MK1200s and a mixer around here for $600-800
My brother enjoys making DJ mixes and he says that Technics are the gold standard in DJ work. Also, if you do some looking around you can find CD “turntables” as well as ones for dual Ipods. They allow cueing and scratching and all that other stuff too. I’d think that for someone just looking to get into mixing that the ability to use a music source you already have instead of purchasing a bunch of records might be appealing.
On edit…these devices might be considered really lame by traditional standards, but what the heck, if one of those CD mixers was cheap enough even I might enjoy playing around with one.
if he is wanting to spin DnB at live events, he is going to need the flexibility of spinning vinyl and having his hands directly on the source.
the other devices are nice to use as additions to a setup, but he for sure needs 2 direct drive turntables and a mixer to start. I really would find a used effects device as well(a local pawn shop here has a Pioneer DJ EFX500 for $300, and they can be had on Ebay for usually just a little bit more.
The even more expensive effects mixers will allow you to basically make a song unrecognizable on the fly
Yeah, I think I want vinyl, not necessarily because I’ll be playing at any live events, but because it seems like more fun, somehow. Guess I’ll be looking into how much a couple of Technics turntables will cost me then.
Thanks for the advice!
bumping this, just to give you an idea of what you might run into if you are patient-
I got a pair of 1200M3Ds, a Pioneer DJM300 mixer, a set of Stanton carts/needles, and a set of Shure carts/needles, and 85 trance recordsl, for $500 last weekend. Typically you can find a pair of 1200MKIIs for around that, but I found a guy with more money than sense who just wanted to get them out of his way. Just be patient and get good gear, you won’t regret it.
Now I just have to dump all these trance records for electro and breaks.
Thanks for the bump! That sounds like a really good price you got there. I think it’ll be hard to find something quite as cheap where I live though.
I might get me a couple of vestax turntables, if I can find them. About the same price, and according to all sources I’ve seen, they are easily comparable to Technics.