FOR SALE: 2009 MacBook Pro + Uberstand + NI AUDIO 4
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Re: Selling all my Gear (MacBook Pro, APC40, NI Audio 4, etc.)
and you could have just quoted my whole statement.
DOWNLOAD A DEMO AND TEST IT. IT COSTS NOTHING.
he should have tried other, free options before just throwing all away and buying all new.
makes sense to me. maybe not to you. so, if you have enough money to just throw out and buy all sort of things, do so. i prefer to just look for alternatives and try out what i might like.
i was able to get a friend to contact a big dj in switzerland who had final scratch back in it's days to bring it to me to test. everyone knows someone after that, i bought it.
maybe, just maybe, cdjs are the way to go for him. but actually buying it? not really. there, i would (and everyone else would) first estimate if it's really worth it. most djs i know haven't bought cdjs for themselves. as they can try and learn in some nearby club or at a friend.
DOWNLOAD A DEMO AND TEST IT. IT COSTS NOTHING.
he should have tried other, free options before just throwing all away and buying all new.
makes sense to me. maybe not to you. so, if you have enough money to just throw out and buy all sort of things, do so. i prefer to just look for alternatives and try out what i might like.
i was able to get a friend to contact a big dj in switzerland who had final scratch back in it's days to bring it to me to test. everyone knows someone after that, i bought it.
maybe, just maybe, cdjs are the way to go for him. but actually buying it? not really. there, i would (and everyone else would) first estimate if it's really worth it. most djs i know haven't bought cdjs for themselves. as they can try and learn in some nearby club or at a friend.
http://davepermen.net my tiny webpage, including link to bandcamp.
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Re: Selling all my Gear (MacBook Pro, APC40, NI Audio 4, etc.)
hey Nick what is it about the digital aproach that is a turn off for you? maybee youve got a valuable insite to share.cenik11 wrote:It wasn't an impulse buy at all, really. I researched for a long time before I decided on this gear. Plus, it's not like I'm new to Ableton Live. I was using it for two years before I decided to make it my performance tool as well. Also, I was on a different but similar digital setup before the Mac.citizenchris099 wrote:lol talk about impulse buy. thats a kind of dream set up for lots of people and he doesn't want it....guess it takes all kinds.silveriofunk wrote:you bought all that to START djing?????
I've come to realize, though, that the digital approach just isn't for me.
Re: Selling all my Gear (MacBook Pro, APC40, NI Audio 4, etc.)
Thanks for all the replies guys! I appreciate all the insight.
The key issue for me is not whether another digital tool, e.g. Traktor, is a better fit for performing. I have little doubt that I would prefer to play with Traktor over Live if I gave the former a chance. That's irrelevant at the moment because my main concern centres on playing with a laptop. As I've said, I do not want to have to lug around tons of gear with me every time I play. Doing so means not being able to play on-the-fly if given the chance (e.g. if I'm at a club and another DJ doesn't show), trying to squeeze all my gear into booths that tend to already be over-packed, worrying about my gear getting lost/damaged/stolen, tearing down my setup while another DJ is starting his/her set, worrying about crashes/audio drop-outs, etc. I want to be able to bring a book of CDs and a pair of cans with me and start playing-period.
Then there's the other issue of feeling like I'm 'cheating' when I'm performing. IMO, unless one is playing a live set (literally building songs as one goes), one can go from deck a to deck b and play with the same effects over and over again only so many times before one gets bored.
Cheers
The key issue for me is not whether another digital tool, e.g. Traktor, is a better fit for performing. I have little doubt that I would prefer to play with Traktor over Live if I gave the former a chance. That's irrelevant at the moment because my main concern centres on playing with a laptop. As I've said, I do not want to have to lug around tons of gear with me every time I play. Doing so means not being able to play on-the-fly if given the chance (e.g. if I'm at a club and another DJ doesn't show), trying to squeeze all my gear into booths that tend to already be over-packed, worrying about my gear getting lost/damaged/stolen, tearing down my setup while another DJ is starting his/her set, worrying about crashes/audio drop-outs, etc. I want to be able to bring a book of CDs and a pair of cans with me and start playing-period.
Then there's the other issue of feeling like I'm 'cheating' when I'm performing. IMO, unless one is playing a live set (literally building songs as one goes), one can go from deck a to deck b and play with the same effects over and over again only so many times before one gets bored.
Cheers
Re: Selling all my Gear (MacBook Pro, APC40, NI Audio 4, etc.)
I find odd that now a days a venue doesn't have an area or stand in the booth for a laptop, even the small venues. A laptop is just as easy to carry as a bunch of CDs and you get to have your whole collection with you. My main concern with laptops is security.
It's probably a good idea to have at least a basic knowledge of computer based DJ programs. We're probably not too far off from the standard becoming just bringing an external drive with your music collection on it and that's it.
It's probably a good idea to have at least a basic knowledge of computer based DJ programs. We're probably not too far off from the standard becoming just bringing an external drive with your music collection on it and that's it.
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Re: Selling all my Gear (MacBook Pro, APC40, NI Audio 4, etc.)
beats me wrote:We're probably not too far off from the standard becoming just bringing an external drive with your music collection on it and that's it.
Re: FOR SALE: 2009 MacBook Pro + Uberstand + NI AUDIO 4
APC40 is no longer available.
Re: FOR SALE: 2009 MacBook Pro + Uberstand + NI AUDIO 4
I understand where you're coming from with the whole "getting bored going from track A to track B and using the same effects"... but how is it different when using cdjs? if anything, it can get boring faster and more often with cdjs.
Let me give you my situation, which is the exact opposite. I began djing with cdj's and a mixer. At first I'd get frustrated learning on my own, but then I started having a lot of fun mixing my favorite music. I wasn't just going outro to intro for every song either (shame on the people that do..). Anyway, after a while i got kinda bored. I found myself beatmatching and cueing a song with a bit too much time left over, so i wasn't really doing much (no i wouldn't play a song for 5min and just wait for my cue). so i bought an efx 1000 because i thought sampling with the echo effect + all the effects you can do would fill up that spare time. Well i realized it did keep me busy but then i start to use effects too much and repeat the same effects i like..
So in the end, I'm still just going from track A to track B with the same effects just like you were on your computer. You may think i just lack creativity or something, but the truth is that you're basically doing the same thing because you are DJING in both situations, and DJING is all about going from track A to track B in your own creative way, while giving the audience a good show to remember. I think you should go for the decks and try something new; it's great to see dj's trying new styles and finding their own. However I don't think you should get rid of ableton. I think we can all agree ableton allows you to do a lot of stuff you can't do on the decks, so instead of replacing, just add the decks to your set. It even says on the ableton website "add it to your setup as a 3rd deck).
Side note: ableton, or any other dj software, is not cheating. Cheating is deceiving. If you have a pre-recorded 2 hour set, and just play it on ableton and pretend you're doing something with your controllers, THAT'S cheating. You are deceiving (cheating) the audience into thinking you are playing something live for them, which is what they payed for, but not what you're doing. Using auto beatmatching isn't cheating. Most people at clubs are not dj's, and they pay to have a good experience. A good experience includes good music, good company, good drinks (if at a club), good sound system, good flirting, etc. Beatmatching is just a requirement to djing, just like burning your cd's or plugging your chords... do people care how you plug in your chords or how you burn your cds? no... plus, beatmatching doesn't take more than 10-15 seconds for a club dj, so who cares how your songs get beatmatched?
If beatmatching makes you feel more of a dj, then by all means keep beatmatching yourself. This will make you feel better when djing and you'll give off a good, confident vibe. If you don't care about beatmatching and it's actually a hastle to you, then get a software to beatmatch it for you and focus your attention and creativity on the rest of your set. Calling each other cheaters won't get you guys anywhere.. Enjoy what you do
Let me give you my situation, which is the exact opposite. I began djing with cdj's and a mixer. At first I'd get frustrated learning on my own, but then I started having a lot of fun mixing my favorite music. I wasn't just going outro to intro for every song either (shame on the people that do..). Anyway, after a while i got kinda bored. I found myself beatmatching and cueing a song with a bit too much time left over, so i wasn't really doing much (no i wouldn't play a song for 5min and just wait for my cue). so i bought an efx 1000 because i thought sampling with the echo effect + all the effects you can do would fill up that spare time. Well i realized it did keep me busy but then i start to use effects too much and repeat the same effects i like..
So in the end, I'm still just going from track A to track B with the same effects just like you were on your computer. You may think i just lack creativity or something, but the truth is that you're basically doing the same thing because you are DJING in both situations, and DJING is all about going from track A to track B in your own creative way, while giving the audience a good show to remember. I think you should go for the decks and try something new; it's great to see dj's trying new styles and finding their own. However I don't think you should get rid of ableton. I think we can all agree ableton allows you to do a lot of stuff you can't do on the decks, so instead of replacing, just add the decks to your set. It even says on the ableton website "add it to your setup as a 3rd deck).
Side note: ableton, or any other dj software, is not cheating. Cheating is deceiving. If you have a pre-recorded 2 hour set, and just play it on ableton and pretend you're doing something with your controllers, THAT'S cheating. You are deceiving (cheating) the audience into thinking you are playing something live for them, which is what they payed for, but not what you're doing. Using auto beatmatching isn't cheating. Most people at clubs are not dj's, and they pay to have a good experience. A good experience includes good music, good company, good drinks (if at a club), good sound system, good flirting, etc. Beatmatching is just a requirement to djing, just like burning your cd's or plugging your chords... do people care how you plug in your chords or how you burn your cds? no... plus, beatmatching doesn't take more than 10-15 seconds for a club dj, so who cares how your songs get beatmatched?
If beatmatching makes you feel more of a dj, then by all means keep beatmatching yourself. This will make you feel better when djing and you'll give off a good, confident vibe. If you don't care about beatmatching and it's actually a hastle to you, then get a software to beatmatch it for you and focus your attention and creativity on the rest of your set. Calling each other cheaters won't get you guys anywhere.. Enjoy what you do