tunic
Hi all,
I played my first live set using Virtual DJ and TCV last night. I only bought decks a few weeks ago (had previously been using basic CDJs alone) and have had very little time to get use to the mechanics of DJing on vinyl. Luckily I remember most of what I needed to know from a Serious How To DJ DVD I watched ages ago.
Anyway, set went well. There were four or so DJs that played throughout the night at a bar called Industry in London. http://www.industryec2.com/.
My experiences: (apart from being very nervous as I'd had limited practice time and also had to play funkier than I'd normally do).....
Firstly, went out and bought the splitter cables so I could wire the decks into the phono line and line in or two of the channels using the switch between the two. Whilst this was an okay idea as we had limited channels as CDJs and decks were already in use, it did mean the gain needed to be adjusted when flipping between normal vinyl and VDJ - a bit of a gotcha on my first mix :oS. Also, I think there started off being a dodgey connection on the decks for normal vinyl but we sorted it ok with no major impact. Note: this was whilst someone else was already DJing on CDJs meaning time and space was short (not to mention didn't want to piss of the current DJ at the time too).
Almost shat myself as I was about try to mix in my first tune and I had no TCV signal. Couldn't work out why I'd need to change anything considering it was a similar setup to at home but Auto-Config then sorted me out a treat
Alas, the only other issues I had really were the pretty poor installation Numark mixer we were using. I made the same mistake as a few people before of starting off using the pan control instead of the bass EQ control as it was below for some reason (and they all looked the same). Still, after a few songs sussed it but it did mean my bass was a little too high for a few mixes.
I did find one of the decks pitch was really difficult to settle down but it just meant I was making a lot of adjustments but managed to keep it together pretty well.
I got some positive feedback, though I know some of the mixing itself (levels mainly) could have been a little better, but there is always room for improvement :o)
I was really nervous because of the unknowns of how VDJ would perform with my laptop setup but it was worked a treat. Got some interest from the other DJs about the laptop - most people impressed. Most others didn't even notice the difference or question it hence didn't get any negative comments about the kit.
What I have concluded however is that it is really a difficult setup to use when playing out on other people's kit because of the live rewiring and it being difficult to test, especially without getting in the way of the current DJ that is playing. I am not sure of the answer to this obviously - other than get there early and leave at the end - something not so easy in a club situation with a number of DJs. Still, I managed it and will be more confident in the setting up in the future.
(the reason I'd had limited practice time in that 3 weeks or so was because most "spare" time has been dedicated to studying for Microsoft developer exam - for tomorrow! Nothing like adding to the stress of it all).
I played my first live set using Virtual DJ and TCV last night. I only bought decks a few weeks ago (had previously been using basic CDJs alone) and have had very little time to get use to the mechanics of DJing on vinyl. Luckily I remember most of what I needed to know from a Serious How To DJ DVD I watched ages ago.
Anyway, set went well. There were four or so DJs that played throughout the night at a bar called Industry in London. http://www.industryec2.com/.
My experiences: (apart from being very nervous as I'd had limited practice time and also had to play funkier than I'd normally do).....
Firstly, went out and bought the splitter cables so I could wire the decks into the phono line and line in or two of the channels using the switch between the two. Whilst this was an okay idea as we had limited channels as CDJs and decks were already in use, it did mean the gain needed to be adjusted when flipping between normal vinyl and VDJ - a bit of a gotcha on my first mix :oS. Also, I think there started off being a dodgey connection on the decks for normal vinyl but we sorted it ok with no major impact. Note: this was whilst someone else was already DJing on CDJs meaning time and space was short (not to mention didn't want to piss of the current DJ at the time too).
Almost shat myself as I was about try to mix in my first tune and I had no TCV signal. Couldn't work out why I'd need to change anything considering it was a similar setup to at home but Auto-Config then sorted me out a treat
Alas, the only other issues I had really were the pretty poor installation Numark mixer we were using. I made the same mistake as a few people before of starting off using the pan control instead of the bass EQ control as it was below for some reason (and they all looked the same). Still, after a few songs sussed it but it did mean my bass was a little too high for a few mixes.
I did find one of the decks pitch was really difficult to settle down but it just meant I was making a lot of adjustments but managed to keep it together pretty well.
I got some positive feedback, though I know some of the mixing itself (levels mainly) could have been a little better, but there is always room for improvement :o)
I was really nervous because of the unknowns of how VDJ would perform with my laptop setup but it was worked a treat. Got some interest from the other DJs about the laptop - most people impressed. Most others didn't even notice the difference or question it hence didn't get any negative comments about the kit.
What I have concluded however is that it is really a difficult setup to use when playing out on other people's kit because of the live rewiring and it being difficult to test, especially without getting in the way of the current DJ that is playing. I am not sure of the answer to this obviously - other than get there early and leave at the end - something not so easy in a club situation with a number of DJs. Still, I managed it and will be more confident in the setting up in the future.
(the reason I'd had limited practice time in that 3 weeks or so was because most "spare" time has been dedicated to studying for Microsoft developer exam - for tomorrow! Nothing like adding to the stress of it all).
Posted Sun 26 Mar 06 @ 8:43 pm
l_rids
Awesome stuff Tunic. It is a bitch when using another setup huh!! The only way I see getting around the whole TCV setup is leaving the Y adaptors permanently in the mixer. That is of course if you play there regularly :)
Otherwise very glad to hear your gig went well!!
Otherwise very glad to hear your gig went well!!
Posted Sun 26 Mar 06 @ 11:02 pm
tunic
....and just got back from my exam - 100%. Get in.
Posted Mon 27 Mar 06 @ 2:04 pm
digijoc-Mele
definately one of the CONS of using TC. That is why I choose to use keyboard shortcuts only... only need an open LINE-IN to fit in easily with the other DJs. I suppose a controller setup would be similar.
Outside of scratch DJs who just simply can't play without scratching, I'll be glad when folks get over this whole image thing of 1 device to mi left and 1 to mi right in order to be considered a DJ.
Outside of scratch DJs who just simply can't play without scratching, I'll be glad when folks get over this whole image thing of 1 device to mi left and 1 to mi right in order to be considered a DJ.
Posted Mon 27 Mar 06 @ 6:12 pm
tunic
True - but it doesn't look quite so good ;o)
To be honest, I think you do need some form of analogue jog device, and something like TCV or XP10 to have the hands on cueing - it is a lot more difficult with just a laptop.
I'd also say there is more chance of you cocking up the playing track (hitting the wrong key etc.) if everything is done on one device. At least with TCV I was (fairly) confident I wasn't going to do anything to the wrong track.
Back to TCV though - I played using "absolute" mode but I notice that setting the needle to the beginning often doesn't actually go back to the first beat. I was often having to use the Ctrl-Left Arrow key to move it back. Is there a way of sorting this? Is smart mode or relative any better?
Posted Mon 27 Mar 06 @ 7:26 pm
l_rids
I don't think its an image thing to want to have controllers instead of keyboard shortcuts. Its exactly that, having more control with what your doing with ease.
Posted Tue 28 Mar 06 @ 12:34 am