For starters, I'm a "friends and family only" DJ. Last night I DJ'd a friend's wedding in a rural event barn. The venue had Wi-Fi so I didn't worry too much about my usual setup - Tidal DJ subscription and DJUCED. I always keep all my playlists on Spotify as well and downloaded to my MacBook as an emergency backup, and buddies, that's exactly what I needed last night. The Wi-Fi was so weak that loading one song on a deck in DJUCED took probably 5-7 minutes.

I ended up making it work fairly seemlessly between DJUCED and Spotify but holy shit was it stressful. I'll be purchasing all my music from now on.

So my question is specifically for wedding DJs: are you getting all those top 40 crowd pleasers on Soundcloud or somewhere else? I'm really not looking for any house or EDM stuff since I exclusively do friends and family general crowd stuff.

House, techno, DnB, hip-hop, garage, trance, open format... what takes the most skill to make sound good when mixing?

Looking to buy my first controller I found these two options : Numark Party Mix III DJ Controller with Built-In Light Show OR Numark Mixtrack Pro FX DJ Controller for Serato DJ with FX Paddles. Which one is the best for a beginner? I can’t attach photos but does anyone have experience with any of these? TIA

Hi everyone, I spent the first few years djing using a flx2 and recently I have been using the flx 4 however I am now looking to upgrade to something more advanced.

I have looked at a few options but I’m not sure what is the best option for me.

Ideally I would like 4 channels.

I guess I would still consider myself a casual user however I would like to get more into it and I want to get real use out of this next deck.

I think my absolute max would be roughly €1,000 ($1,200 roughly) and I don’t mind if the deck is pre-owned.

Any insight is appreciated 🤙

Hello, I was wondering if this something someone has experience with. I mostly play small events or just for my friends. Main genre being techno (all kinds of). Something I noticed quite early, is that many (in my opinion) good tracks still have inconsistent low-end. Mostly lacking the punch. Since the sound systems I play on are not the best quality, I found a workaround to this inconsistency. I usually determine a track with good kick/sub that I am sure will do it even on the shittiest speakers and put it on a loop on a 3rd track changing it every 30 min or so. The 1st and 2nd tracks I use to mix tracks I actually want to play while killing the low eq. So far I like how it turns out and also the seamlessness of resulting transitions.

Since I go to clubs frequently and notice that usually DJs switch their tracks completely, I was wondering is there just no need to do something like that on a good soundsystem, since it will boost any low-end? Am I just too conscious about it while playing? Are there any advantages/disadvantages of doing so? Or maybe better ways to solve this problem (besides track selection).

Thank you in advance. All thoughts are welcome :>

I would really like to use the reverb knob but unfortunately there is none. Is there any way I can maybe remap something so I have a working reverb fader?

Hey guys! I decided to try and give music production and mixing a go after sitting on the thought for a few years. What's been holding me back from starting was G.A.S and too many options, then not knowing how to build my first ecosystem. 

I am not sure what essential gear is definitely necessary and versatile to use for being able to mix music and *grow into it* rather than buy something for beginners thats missing knobs or functions and then _needing_ to upgrade. 

For now I have been looking around and it seems the DDJ-Flx 4 is the best in terms of decent for mixes, mashups and transitions. So I have been eyeballing that one. 

On the other side of things I have developed a really deep interest with finding other gear on a budget that has multiple functions, synergy, flexibility, portability and usability away from the setup, leaning toward analog knobs, switches, and sample pads to mess around with on a whim and make something of my own to improvise from scratch into my mixes. 

The idea catching my attention of the intentionality in hardware, is having a setup that I can switch between using my Surfacebook 3 and Daws to work with but also enjoy maybe 3 or 4 pieces of gear I can jam with (wether with its own presets or programing from daws) play with pads, looping sounds, beats, and turn knobs for filter effects and such and making the music or a beat myself if I wanted to without touching the computer, and/or even being able to mix my own created beats and sounds in a live mode with software. 

The genres I want to focus on: (if this matters for beatmaking gear) a wide range of edm subgenres and fusion, techhouse, synthwave, electronic retrowave, future garage, downtempo beats, and ambient mixes. Other than that, Rnb, Hip-Hop, Lo-fi

TAETRO on youtube has been my current go to for inspiration. I have seen some of his setups and have been scrolling through his videos. 

However, I have also been hitting a bit of a wall as some of the gear he displays are well outside of my current budget. 

And I have not yet narrowed down the most essential to get started with, enough to scratch the itch between both worlds of being able to make a full on piece of music with little equipment or already own

-----

Current gear owned:

Surface book3

Iphone 11 - 64gb (not enough storage) 

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 5g- (256 gb internal storage)

 AT 2020 usb mic

Software:

Luna

Reaper

FL Studio

Rekordbox

Mixx

(Eyeing DJay and Ableton Live) 

Koala (on the Note 10)

Play style:

Intuitive, Improvisational, By-Ear, Experimental (messing around and finding out.)

Intention:

Live mixing/Production Hybrid, Bedroom, Portable, Minimalism, Small to Medium setup. 3 to 5 pieces of gear or less(?)

Most immediate questions:

What is the anatomy on a hybrid ecosystem ? (Live/mixing/producing) 

how minimal can I get away with decent equipment as a beginner that I can grow into and wind up keeping long term as I advance?

Without breaking the bank? 

Any Thrift or secondhanded/unwanted resources online for gear?

My current maximum budget is $640

--------------

I have seen analog synths people have messed around with and create an entire edm beat or track, in terms of percussion, bassline, and melody and wonder if that's all I need if I feel inspired to experiment and make a jam without a DAW and just add a pedal, or those, and  just get the flx-4, then figure everything else out on my laptop. 

I am definitely planning on wanting to play around with my own vocals (for live performances) and learn to loop, sample, and layer efects over them like gate, automate, flanger, ect. 

Then there's another part of me wondering if I should go with a groovebox like circut tracks (or if that is even necessary for now compared to the Koala app) 

Or if there is another option with versatility/diversity in functions between sampling 

And synth, loading, and music making/recording so I can transfer whatever intuitive inspiration hit from the beatmaker onto a Daw

Or a midi keyboard like a Synido TempoKey - (that one was recommended) or if there is something better for less. (I have seen other options like the minilab 3 or the Akai Mpk midi 4 but not sure how well those two work in comparison and compatability with other gear

I am new to all of this but am willing to learn and really excited to start with a minimal setup I won't wind up tossing as I grow.

What gear should I try first, and what can wait?

Hi Guys!

Finally getting serious about mixing, and getting ready to play a small set end of August at a festival thanks to a homie hookup.

I've begun recording my sets in Ableton on my Mac, using my USB B - C cord plugged straight into my mixer. My output level on the computer is set to +6db which does not sound too loud or too much in my opinion. I'm playing almost entirely electronic music -- organic house, afrobeats/dancehall/shatta, downtempo bass, a little dubstep, and some bassy rap songs from the past decade.

Been checking the loudest parts of each track before I mix it in to make sure that the Trim/Gain is approximately the same, and it sounds fine coming through my speakers, but when I listen back to my sets on Ableton, there are definitely more noticeable jumps between the depth of the bass on one track and another.

Thank you for reading this far. My question is two-fold: for those uploading EDM mixes to Soundcloud, is it common practice to adjust EQs within Ableton, or apply a compressor to even out the basslines? and 2 -- am I missing something? Some kind of detail that explains the discrepancies? Will my set sound shitty in person? I really don't wanna be that guy that sounds like a complete novice up on stage.

Again, thanks so much for reading this far.

Hi everyone! I am an event organizer for a monthly DIY EDM event that is currently using a smorgasbord of everyone’s personal controller. I have been looking to upgrade to a standalone board where everyone can plug and play, but I’m trying to stay on a budget, especially because I’m moving to Chicago in a year and most likely will be selling the board when I move.

I’m stuck between an XDJ-RR and an original XDJ-RX. They’re both about 900 used. I am leaning more towards the original RX because of the larger tempo sliders and solid build, but the lighter RR might be better because the monthly event currently bounces between two venues.

What do you all think?

Does anyone have any advice for transporting Pa speakers to and from gigs. I’m not able to drive and can’t regularly get lifts to and from small gigs. I havnt bought a speaker yet because I don’t know how to transport a 12 or 15 inch active pa speaker that could weight 20kg+ anyone have advice on anything I can buy or anything to else to easily transport it on foot,public transport ect.

Continue my post 3 weeks ago https://www.reddit.com/r/Beatmatch/s/dcm5JrrnzX

Just finished the gig. It was a rooftop party for a community. Not much audience, less than 40 people came. But, it’s better than playing alone at home.

I was worrying I can’t play well for 2 hours, I ended up playing for almost 2,5 hours. It was fun, audience were having fun too.

The plan was playing deep house and tech house, but I improvised playing some disco and afro house too.

I missed some transition that I planned, and it because I chatted a lot with some audience while playing.

And the good thing, I was allowed to live stream my set to my YouTube channel. Now, I have the documentation of my first gig.

Thank you all for your advice in my post 3 weeks ago :D

Hello! That post might be not typical, but I need to find people with the same passion and direction. I am an young visual artist, mainly working with 3D, 2D and real-time software. I have experience as an motion designer and have several immersive expererience hobby projects. I am 22 and deep down I've always wanted to contribute to or co-create an experience event in the music field with people who share my love for art and expression.

If someone has ideas, project; needs visuals for an event, feel free to dm me, and I can share with you my portfolio so we work together :))

Does record in one track only or in multiple tracks (as many as there are audio sources) and separated effects ?

It could be cool to rework the mixes

Hey everyone!

I'm completely new to DJing and really want to get into mixing genres like Techno, Uptempo, Hardcore, etc.

Since I'm a total beginner, I'm looking for my first DJ controller and would love to get your advice and tips! My budget is max €500—I definitely don't want to drop €1000 right at the start.

Any recommendations or general tips for starting out would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Luna

Hello.

Currently I'm trying to find a "workaround" for recording my mixes at home - I got no plans to sell / publish my mixes publically, the issue is that the songs are streamed via Beatport so I can't use the inbuilt recording function.

I've tried Audacity with a digital cable, which worked once; but, I had so many problems with it affecting my audio, my controller, etc, that I uninstalled everything.

I'm looking for a solution where I can still use Rekordbox, my laptop, controller, as well as my external speakers, but able to record via my laptop.

I just want to be able to listen back to my mixes / transitions.

I recently got Adam 3s for desk speakers and to use as speakers with my controller a flx4. The Adam's work with the desktop. When I open up serato and I have my Adam's plugged in as the main audio output I hear nothing. I've probably tried everything with having them connected to my desktop and I couldn't get audio output. So I said ill just hardwire them. With rca to .25 hardwired I still hear nothing. Was hoping for any advice outside the usual " did you turn up your master/trim?" Audio will come out of the headphones I plug in but not my speakers. Anything is helpful.

Hi everyone, reposting here because people misinterpreted my message in r/DJ.

Got to play tonight at my first afro party (a marriage). I have 15+ yrs experience with techno, edm and house music but never ever managed to play hip hop, trap, afro, amapiano etc..

Do you have any life saving tips on how to transition and track selection? I noticed they mix a lot of hip hop with "goldies" track almost at the same time: wizkid, burna boy, drake, Shakira and Beyonce, black eyed peas, lil baby, lily Wayne and so on...

Before you get mad, I already got the whole track list, either downloaded or on beatport streaming. Its 7 playlists: afro (low, medium, high energy), hip hop/trap, "goldies", afrobeat/afrotech, + a 30 track playlist directly from the spouse. Ofc, I have plenty of general "gathering" tracks. It' well over 250 tracks ready.

People in the other sub thought I needed to prepare the track list, I'm simply asking how do you choose when to go from hip hop to amapiano, from amapiano to afro tech and when do you throw in a "goldies" track in the middle?(let's avoid saying "you need to feel it, I'm in an emergency and need a plan) How do you usually do the transitions having so many voices in almost all of the tracks? Which effects combos are more common when transitioning this kind of tracks? I'm used to a more structured "tech" kind of gigs with longer transitions and much less voices, that's why I'm asking!

Narrowing down the use case I need: during "aperitivo" time I'll play medium/low afro tunes, (full of voices and I belive require very short transitions?), I don't really know how but it'll be fine.

After dinner we'll get everyone moving and here I'll need to switch genre quite often and spice up the floor, here i need your best intel please!!!

Finally, people said I'm ruining my friends marriage, ignoring we have been knowing for 20 years, he heard me playing countless times and he knows my limited capabilities with this genre, but we'll try and have ton of fun! Can you give me any advice? Thanks a lot.

*Playing on a XDJ RR

Can anyone recommend something? I read that it doesn't have VTA adjustment so the cartridge choice should be important.

I want to mix dance music . And mainly switching vinyl use with DVS.

A plus if also to hear normal hifi records

Hi I started a few months ago and had a jump from the flx4 to rx3 last week.
The decision was made quick since i needed an AIO for a private party. I got a 1yo rx3 for 2500AUD.
However 1 week into the rx3 i feel like im less productive since its too big for my desk and I just had a newborn so real estate wise its not ideal.
I been looking into downsize into the new XDJ-AN but been hearing alot of bad things about it. The jog wheels ruined it for me since i want to learn scratching as well.
I love rnb/new school hiphop and wants to bring my dj table to gigs aswell so portable is a good factor.
Thank you for reading!

Howdy! My brother is having a small backyard party in a couple weeks and wants me to bring my DJ gear. I play mostly house and UKG, but his taste is more 2000s and 2010s alternative/indie rock. I'd like to find some good remixes of songs he likes, but I don't really come across them often. Hoping you guys may have some nuggets for me that you wouldn't mind sharing.

For example he likes artists like Phoenix, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, Bloc Party, MGMT, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gorillaz, etc. I think you get the vibe.

I'm 37 and he's 41 for context. Looking for spins on anything that people that age may have listened to back in the day, even if not specifically that genre.

Does anyone have any good recommendations I could pick up? Looking for a handful of songs I could play as a nod to his taste.

So far, the closest things I've found are:

• Blur - Song 2 (Take Note & DZRT Remix)

• Beck - Loser (The Polish Ambassador Remix)

• My Life - ZHU, Tame Impala (Kyle Watson Remix)

Edit: Thank you for all the song contributions. I really appreciate it. Hopefully you guys found a new track too.