Sign In:     

Forum: General Discussion

Topic: Why a controller..? - Page: 4

This part of topic is old and might contain outdated or incorrect information

Ummm no, by looking the part I don't mean "spiked hair, ed hardy D-bag gear, and a jersey shore reject on my arm while i fist-pump?"... I mean looking like you're doing something other than checking email, not how you dress. Point and Click DJs and real DJs will never see eye to eye I guess.
 
chucknorrisyouwimps wrote :
there's kinda a scale or spectrum of controllers and there users ......

the point and clickers .....you don't wanna hang with them .....total posers

next there are the wannabe's , with there cheap and medium priced controllers and well, they

still don't quite get it ......you could probably pretend to know some of them and it wouldn't be

that bad .....

next are the turntablists and expensive controllers ..... this elite class has climbed the mountain, and

sometimes they cast a downward glance our way ......


I knew it, I'm a wannabe. Been claiming that for a while but my very gracious friends say other-wise.
Thanks for your wise input. ; )
 
Nope they won't (I side with Diz ) so we should have a mod just lock this up already............
 
On the plus side I recently went to the BPM show and it was nice to see how many young men there were all embracing technology and seemingly getting their wallets out not scared to invest in controllers and equipment.

I think this point and click thing was a generational thing and it has been and gone, this new gen are really good and have a lot of imagination. At the show I could feel I am getting a little bit left behind by these noobs which would usually bother me but actually looking at it in a different way it's great to see.
 
It's not the gear, it's the music. You don't have to beat match it, you don't have to have 1200's or a Mac. Play the right songs at the right time and you will burn the place down. People don't care what the DJ is doing as long as good music keeps playing. Except here in Little Rock where every 3rd person is a DJ and watches you like a hawk.
That being said, I prefer a controller to mouse and keyboard. But that is due to my laziness.
 
wild i was just trying to be an equal opportunity insulter.....

i wish i had an audience of 1000 every week ...

and T.D. i would be a wannabe also ....according to my

highly judgmental scale.......

except i'm not a radio guy like you , so i would be what, a more

worser wannabe......?

i hope i made the whole comparison thing seem as preposterous

as i think it is ......
 
i think wild and TD probably have it tough considering the locales .....

Texas, Arkansas .....?

are you behind full length floor to ceiling chain link fence ??

you know, so the bottles of PBR are busting against that , and not your head ....?
 
i'm pleased to say it's been more civil than expected

it would be nice if posters gave more details on what they do with there controllers

or posted links to demos (diy or otherwise) ......
 
i've already posted enough pics here and vids on youtube to show what a poor little point n click can do. and the best absolute best example of what can be done with a controller can be seen by looking up DJ Larry D's vids on youtube.
 
What I found interesting about this is that the OP didn't even care. His mind was set from the get go.
 
danielsr2006 wrote :
What I found interesting about this is that the OP didn't even care. His mind was set from the get go.


Hi, me again, the aforemention OP (Original Poster..?)

Doesn't matter what I say now, because you've all already made your minds up that I'm a hobbyist who lacks the passion, the verve, the 'want'. Believe what you will, I don't care what you think of me, or my setup, or my musical taste - I'm a happy little lamb, having a whale of time, doing my thing.

Having downloaded the VDJ demo (almost by accident, as my initial comments way, way back on page one noted), I thoroughly loved it, and what it could do, so much so, I spent the £90odd on the Basic version,and having scoured the manual and forums to see it could be plugged into a mixer via a external surround card, I invested myself another £100 on top for the mixer, soundcard, and associated cabling. It was a bugger to set up, but now it is, I'm that happy little lamb again. I learned to beatmatch on my freinds 1210s and precious vinyl collection. I was sooo tempted into getting the Mixtrack Pro, really I was, because I thought I'd quickly outgrown my mixer, and the controller could make it a bit more like that - and who doesn't want upgrades?!

Should the whole mixing thing get noticed by someone on Facebook, or Soundcloud, or wherever, and it explode into a cascade of fireworks, nightclubs, groupies, parties, private jets and chauffeurs, then yes, perhaps I'll upgrade. If I ever favour another style of music to mix over Hard House from yesteryear, then yes, perhaps I'll upgrade. But, even non-professionally, I'm not sure that many weddings or school disco's have a call much for banging, angry, noisy, dirty Hard House...

Until then, I'll just be one man and his mouse, mixing smoothly from one banging track to the next, on that side of 150bpm, wowing my mates who don't know any better, and anyone else who cares to listen, with my laptop, my mixer, and overall, my creativity and ear for the records.

Thanks again all, for your take on the 'Controller vs PnC' debate - lets call this one done now. We've heard both sides, and quite obviously, both sneer, and look down our noses at the other. Nuff said.

And now, danielsr2006, NOW my mind is made up. Just like yours obviously has been all along...
 
Use what makes you comfortable.

I have been a Pro (making money) DJ for about 24 years. I started on Turntables. When I went digital with a laptop, I used VDJ with a Mya 44usb and a mouse.

I was ROCKING clubs!!! It looked kinda weird but it's what I had and how I was able to get it done. The controllers that are out today just simply did not exist when I started with VDJ.

I tried to use VDJ with timecode but it was not good enough to use professionally at that time. (Sorry VDJ, just being honest).

I tried a hercules controller but I HATED it!!! Back to mouse dj'ing for me. When the hercules RMX came out, I tried it again but it still sucked for me so i returned it. Once again, back to the mouse.

Numark NS7 came out and I have not looked back. I have the NS6 and I love that too.

I am a Hip Hop DJ and I do scratch from time to time. I missed my tables but did not miss record crates!

Controllers have come a Looooooong way and I think you may grow to want one when you are ready to do a little more than you can do with just a mouse.

Good luck to you.
 
kradcliffe wrote :
I used nothing but a mouse and keyboard when I started with a laptop in 1999 (PCDJ Red) and then with BPM Studio for quite a while until I could afford their RCP controller.

Once I got the controller it definitely made a difference. That was followed by the DN-HC4500 with VDJ and now the DN-MC6000.

I couldn't go back the way now!

Keith


I'm wondering whether I should get a controller and found this thread interesting, (and entertaining). Though I'm a 'point and dick' DJ, I mostly use key shortcuts. Start & stop 4 decks, select video 1,2,3 & 4, audio fade decks, video fade decks, audio fader centred, 0% & 100%, toggle full page browser, pitch bend + and - on decks, select audio, video and scratch view, nudge wave left and right, and of course set and access cues are all done with mapped keys.
So my question is, am I really a 'point and click DJ? No, sorry, that's not my question at all.
Can I map lots of buttons/keys/functions to a controller like the MC6000, or would I have to use some kind of compromise?
 
Alleyoop wrote :
I mostly use key shortcuts.



I've just started getting the hang of VDJScript, programming my keyboard to adjust the pitch by an infinitesimal amount to be able to play back to back with a vinyl DJ friend of mine - the on-screen pitch sliders were sometimes not delicate enough to match his records perfectly. Now I've done this (I use Shift+Up and down, and Ctrl+Shift+Up and Down), its made my mind up - no controller for me. In my mind, digital button presses will always allow for a level of precision analog bits and pieces will never offer.

I'm not poo-pooing controllers, despite what previous posts may suggest, however, the above posts would suggest its more about the customers getting VFM, and you looking like a DJ is apparently half the deal.

I quote the font of all knowledge that is Wikipedia:

"A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" (sometimes spelled "disk", although this is now uncommon) referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium."

Surely, if you can do your thing on a laptop alone, then a controller is merely an accessory - think steering wheels for your Playstation videogames - that help you do your thing. But, going back to the videogame analogy, the joypad will always offer better, tighter control than the steering wheel and pedals ever did, but the accessories might make it 'feel' a bit more real...

Good luck with decision...
 
Your getting totally confused here.

There are many different types of DJ out there, all offering different levels of service, some get paid more than others.

If you just want simple music playback then headphone socket and automix playlist and just stand there and take requests.

If you want to better yourself step up and invest and learn your tools, its that simple.
 
Charlie Wilson wrote :
If you want to better yourself step up and invest and learn your tools, its that simple.


So to be a better driver, for example, we would need a bigger, faster, more expensive car..? The fundamentals of driving, say, a little 1.1 hatchback are exactly the same as, I dunno, a 300brake Subaru Impreza. Both start, go, stop, and park in exactly the same way, just one does it more expensively. (Only, I'd be more upset crashing the Subaru!!)

Much the same as mixing.

One man, his laptop and his mixer, and a hard drive full of tunes is all you need to rock a party...

Talent and awareness makes you the better driver, same as talent and awareness makes you better the DJ. Simple. VDJ is simply the chassis which supports many different engine sizes. And thank goodness for that...
 
Can we just stop kicking the dead horse already??

If you push buttons, keep pushin
If you spin wax, keep spinning
If you use a controller, control on

WHO CARES WHAT YOU USE!! Sure Ill look at you funny but if you rock the joint I could give a shit less..........
 
Real DJs only mix on one of these
 
Why a controller,

Cause you can do awesome ish like this,



After he showed that talkbox it was all over for me, love it!!
 
Don't think you could do this with a keyboard, maybe but I doubt it'll sound anywhere near as good,



Oh and lets not forget, you cant scratch with a keyboard either.......
 
82%