On Djing...

Btw I think most/all CDJs should be able to play wavs, BUT I did learn a tough lesson recently that the older ones can't play certain bitrates. I had been accidentally bouncing my tracks down to 32-bit wavs and heard from some djs that they wouldn't load, so I had to re-do them all in 24-bit and it worked.

I think it's pretty simple to see what the DJ is playing. They either have a laptop, CDJ's with a USB stick, or they're using vinyl. Typically it isn't a mystery what format the DJ is playing. I'm admitting my opinion isn't rational, but it's my opinion. I'd rather see you pull out the orange sleeve Looking From A Hilltop 12" than scroll down your playlist and select the file for Looking From A Hilltop. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. Fun nights are fun nights and what format the DJ uses is completely irrelevant to the quality of the night. I'm stating, as one person, what my preference is. You can disagree, and I expect nearly everyone to disagree.

yep i thought it was mostly the bitrate that was the issue xp

They either have a laptop, CDJ's with a USB stick, or they're using vinyl.

most club setups have cjds and turntables though so you have to be a real fact-checkin bro and get up to the booth to verify the source of what is playing. even then though, a table could be spinning but you don't know for sure where the sound is coming from! it is actually really hard to know unless you're in the booth looking at the mixer.

It does suck that file management is such a large part of digital djing, but I prefer that to being a vinyl guy with massive shelves and endless boxes at home.

Fwiw I do think mixing on vinyl is cool and very impressive when done well, though!

FYI, the last 20 - 30 times I DJ'd, I mostly used a laptop and Traktor. It's so much easier, more convenient, and at least my mixing is more reliable / skilled when using a controller / files than when I use vinyl. The last 2 shows I played, I actually packed my turntables and brought two record boxes. Nobody gave a shit that I played vinyl. There were no saddos gawking at my RARE VINYLS. It was more effort to pack, setup and unpack when using vinyl. Refiling records after a show sucks. I get it. I'm just saying, for me personally, perfectly beatmatched, in key mixes, running off a laptop or CDJs do nothing for me.

I don't know, it's pretty simple to see if the DJ is using vinyl or not. Maybe the clubs you're visiting obscure the DJ. BTW, i'm not running in to the show and checking to see what the DJ is using. It's usually obvious if it's vinyl or not, and it's almost never vinyl these days. I'm not going to have a bad time if it's CDJs/Laptop. Just stating a preference. Please keep pointing out minor quibbles with my already stated unpopular opinion, however. It's useful.

yawn.

my 2 c

i don't get the "more work is more 'rewarding'" angle. you're playing your favorite songs ffs, act like it! dance around! be a freak! perform a little bit, you're an entertainer not a "beat matcher". if you don't have to scramble for another record to put on, enjoy the music, not your labor, which whether you're mixing vinyl or sync'ed up digital is still one of the most eye-rollingly boring and easy things to do in the world of music creation, one that literally no one gives a shit about except for yourself and other djs.

anyway i think it's fine to have strong opinions about all this it's what makes the world go round

I do get what brotherlovesdub is saying and map is also right: even at home there's a difference in frequency when playing a record on my turntable than playing an MP3. I just feel more involved with the sound.

Really it's down to the kind of night though, eh? Like, I play a lot of Afrobeats, Soca etc and that stuff isn't released on vinyl. But if it were a funk and soul night, it would be a bit disappointing if it were MP3s being mixed digitally. May as well put a Spotify playlist on

i'll confess to generally enjoying vinyl-centric nights vs digital ones but I'm also not going out to dance & sweat to new electronic music for the most part. which is why i think this debate is a lot of times an apples and oranges thing bc theres so many different kinds of parties & DJ nights.

like n.b. i'm old & tired, but i enjoy it when theres nights that are built around "so and so is a big obsessive collector of rare [niche genre] records and these are the gems of their collection", which is different from saddo oohing and aahing over their discogs stats, but will also mean that person will spin a... certainly not "better" but "different" set from someone putting together a set in that genre put together via files exclusively. its not 'realer' or more authentic or whatever, but imho just that both approaches each have their own unique capacities to bring out different eccentricities of the DJ & their selections.

After a show I played recently, there was a dj using Serato with linked video. It was all digital obv, but he was only playing 80s dancehall WITH all the original videos being projected. I was mildly skeptical when he was setting up but it was fun as hell.

I've been using DVS, which is like the worst of both worlds. No vinyl sound but also no automatic syncing. It's fun though. Auto-sync feels a bit like cheating, but if you're using the extra mental space- to add cool effects or mix more tracks at once or something, that's cool!

that sounds fun xp

Would attend

I stopped bringing my laptop to clubs after CDJs began supporting USB drives and got good search/playlist functions, mainly for two reasons: DJ booths can be dangerous places for laptops, and I eventually it felt dorky to stare at my computer during performance. (Serato face is nagl.)

I hate Pioneer more than Apple. Their pricing and model of planned obsolescence is atrocious. The lack of support for FLAC on any but their most expensive decks is indefensible at this point. Their reps on the forums are dickish about requests for it, likening it to a "premium feature" like you'd find in a BMW. Denon CDJs would be a better industry standard, but Pioneer is what we get.

Vinyl is cool, I'd buy more of it if I still had a lucrative job. I wouldn't say it sounds "better," but I appreciate its characterful sound. Counterintuitively, I'd say the best argument for it is one of its limitations: you can't brickwall things to hell on a vinyl pressing. I'll bring a crate to any gig that has working turntables, but that's increasingly rare.

Shit, gigs out are increasingly rare! It's a footloose situation here in Honolulu. Venues limited to 50% capacity and groups must stay at their tables, prohibited from "intermingling." I hope that ends this month when City & County revisits their COVID response plan.

yeah, numbers just had a huge bump here today. that + approaching winter means less activity than usual.

UK is just back to normal. They don't even ask for a Covid passport, nothing. They've given up. Mind you it does mean a return to dancing but hmmm

so clearly at some point I'll have to convert or re-download all the FLACs that I have if I ever want to use a CDJ system. What file format, bitrate, etc. should I use to get the best combination of sound quality, features, versatility? Note that I am using a Windows PC to manage files, so I don't know if that rules out AIFF or not.

you'll need lots of space but aiff imo. it has a header for metadata, wav doesn't. there are easy to use flac converters out there, i use one called fre:ac. most everything will convert to 16 bit 44.1 khz.i.e. cd quality.

you might want to check the official support for flac on pioneer cdjs though? iirc most of the newer ones do support flac. so it might not be a huge issue depending on where you're thinking about playing.

i would only convert if i knew what i wanted to play on didn't support flac, and then only what i wanted to play for the gig if i were in your shoes, but then i always go for the laziest option when it comes to this kind of thing.

I just use 320kps mp3s. :)))

I'll probably wait on converting files until I know I need it, but I'm definitely going to be downloading more stuff and just want to get whatever is most versatile. It doesn't seem like FLAC is there yet.

like n.b. i'm old & tired, but i enjoy it when theres nights that are built around "so and so is a big obsessive collector of rare [niche genre] records and these are the gems of their collection", which is different from saddo oohing and aahing over their discogs stats, but will also mean that person will spin a... certainly not "better" but "different" set from someone putting together a set in that genre put together via files exclusively. its not 'realer' or more authentic or whatever, but imho just that both approaches each have their own unique capacities to bring out different eccentricities of the DJ & their selections.

― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Monday, November 8, 2021 10:13 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I have a friend here who used to a do some nights like this here in Philly and let me tell you, this man's record collection is unbelievable, same with his book collection, but that's because that's what he does for a living.

But if it were a funk and soul night, it would be a bit disappointing if it were MP3s being mixed digitally. May as well put a Spotify playlist on
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Monday, 8 November 2021

No, just run it through tape saturation and a compressor and you've got pseudo-analog emulation and more.

I definitely can play a few different sets, but I haven't gotten many new records in over ten years, so that's a bit of a funny predicament to be in.

UK is just back to normal. They don't even ask for a Covid passport, nothing. They've given up. Mind you it does mean a return to dancing but hmmm

Uh, England, not UK. Covid passports here in Scotland, and Wales. lots of people getting knocked back from clubs here for not having their vaccine passport. but otherwise, back to normal here too.

I'm talking to a bar about doing a night playing private press soft rock and lounge records! Really excited! Has anyone had any luck replacing the Technics 1200 ground wire? I bought my turntables in '95 and they are troopers but the grounds sometimes cause issues.

yes, i have replaced mine just fine (i didn't do it so can't say how to though).

Relevant to the dJ dIsCoUrSe

honestly one of the best dj sets we ever saw was a single deck, no mixing, bit of tension between each tune, felt like an education

— Boomkat.com (@boomkatonline) November 8, 2021

I appreciate that, I am generally in the long fade minimal mix Levan-esque style myself

same. i once saw jah shaka play on a single deck and it was phenomenal. at one point he was in the middle of rolling a massive spliff when the record finished. he paused for a moment and then took the decision that finishing rolling the joint was more pressing than putting the next record on.

see also david mancuso.

I'd like to know what that set was. Used to enjoy the Jamaican elder who would spin reggae 45s in a pub I grew up near. One table and a cheap keyring sound machine which had been amped up somehow so he could press it while changing the record. It was brill

Hah xpost. It wasn't Jah Shaka. I don't think. Maybe?! But this was Hitchin so probably not

oops sorry I meant Mancuso, thank you!

long day at work lol

does anyone else here actually do live FM radio or am I the only one?

Where can we hear your radio show?

www.kwvaradio.org

on now actually, but not live-in-studio cuz COVID

4-6 PM Pacific time

That's us told

What the fuck is so hard bout djing that u guys need to talk abo t it this fucking much

— fka (@angelplaysmusic) November 8, 2021

lol

Is there something I missed? The whole of my Twitter feed seems to be people talking about people who talk about DJing tonight

I used to have a show on KVRX UT's college station with a friend, it was a blast especially with the calls we would get for requests.

really enjoying your show, sleeve. that bitchin bajas was so good and this 'sky ion' track is right up my street. is the rest of the album as good?

yes!! an obscure fave of mine

https://www.discogs.com/release/1416828-Rupert-Randall-Chappelle-Ozone-Music

he was also in a more minimal synth style 80's duo:
https://www.discogs.com/master/1794607-Arthur-Harrison-Rupert-Chappelle-Jobs-For-America

and has a weird Psychodrama connection as well

thanks. new to me - will investigate further.

this Alice Damon too!!

sleeve, I did college and community radio for years. it was my absolute favorite thing to do and i miss it dearly.