SOME GUIDE INTO DJ-ING (BY THADDEUS)

Newbies (who are you calling newbie eh? I'm one myself XD) there are 3 options into getting into djing. Which all three of them differentiate themselves via what media they use to play back pre-recorded clips. Before we digress further, we should understand that the term dj = disc jokey which means anyone whom is able to sequence the flow of songs for other people other than themselves. Which happens to be my recognition point of being a dj. Which means that you can even use a vcd player, tapes, or any other media to play pre-recorded music to your audience, may it be the one friend you have in your room with you. That would essentially qualify you as a dj as well.

But then what really makes those club dj's and those promotional "IMAGES" portrayal dj's different than an "average joe" dj manning some i-pod for friends? I guess that would be having the ability to manipulate further than the programming of songs in some certain sequence. With beatmixing being the primary set of skills a dj use, so that in order not to stop or disrupt the flow of energy when playing music for the audience. But then again coming from feedback of other dj's, it might not be only factor which helps as a catalyst for non disruption of energy flow. Then again "energy flow" is a subjective measure and phrase that cannot be measured by any means of conventional units. What are the other common set of skills then? That might include the skill of beat-juggling, scratching, phasing, key-mixing and many more.

THE 3 MEDIAS

1)Vinyl

This would require a DIRECT DRIVE turntable and decent torque to keep the platter spinning while manipulation is done. This is also would be the most "traditional" media that dj's would dj on. This might look like the most simplest media which a dj can manipulate pre-recorded music on (needle on platter + spinning of platter), but there are some skill sets that a dj might be able to perform using a turntable and not with any other media. Which would be scratching, drumming, beat-juggling and etc. The amount of tourque might be a subjective issue as some dj's prefer a whole lot more like 5kg's or some would be just satisfied by 1.2kg's or torque. Do note that in this category, this format would be the preferable format of turntablist. Which a turntablist is essential what I would identify to as a performer that does heavy manipulation of vinyls for about 6mins for the purposes in a competition. That includes scratching, juggling, drumming and many more. Things that you might also want to look out for when choosing to dj in this category would be the wow and flutter, which basically means the percentage deviation of platter rotations which can can be influential to the speed the song is being played. Why is this important? Suppose that your turntable drifts by 1mm per revolution, that would mean within a couple more of revolutions the turntable would be completely out of sync with the other song when in a mix. This would cause "train-wrecks" in mixes. So when choosing a turntable, make sure that the wow and flutter is low enough.
2)CD's

This is a media primarily used in the 199X - PRESENT. Due to the limitation that a the vinyls faces like the lack of proper mastering, the fidelity and the resolution of music quality, space and many more, dj's have switched from the traditional format of djing with vinyls to djing with cd's. With cd's there are some manipulations that a dj can do which a traditional turntable is not able to do. which is in terms of the areas in looping, cue points storage, effects and many more. Then also, some might argue that the abilities of analogue turntable cannot be emulated on cdj's (a professional dj cd deck), which this again is based on the personnel preference of the dj. Another important note when choosing this cd player is to make sure that the cd player is able to start and stop immediately. Why is that important? Although 2 songs may be in perfect speed, matching them up with a lagged response cd deck would be a nightmare because if both tracks do not align themselves on bars and phrase it would still be a train wreck.


3)Digital Media (mp3, wav, aac and whatever else donkey format you have)

Although when I say MP3, one might argue that the burning of CD's in MP3 format would make that applicable in this sub heading as well. Well the differentiating point when I say this would be the chosen method of manipulation. With the earlier ones, a vinyl would be played on a turntable, a cd would be played on a cd deck and a mp3 file would in this case be played on the computer. Well there are plenty of softwares that enables a user to manipulate pre-recorded songs on a computer, one can use a mouse and a keyboard to get the job done or opt for some midi controller which acts as a control for the software. One way to put this into perspective is by the use of a dance mat to play DDR or a steering wheel + pedals to play a racing game. Midi controllers are just like the designated game controllers which helps you manipulate the game better. You still will be able to grand turismo with your normal controller but its better to use a steering wheel. But then again, whatever that suits you.
[part 1]

Just a conversation I had with public holiday, which I think might be beneficial to you guys.

Note: TRS = tip ring sleeve. A sort of 1/4" jack with 2 plastic rings to separate 3 connection points. (something that looks like your headphone jack)
TS = Tip sleeve. A sort of 1/4" jack with 1 plastic ring to separate 2 connection points. (guitar jack)
XLR = The microphone sort of connector with 3 terminals.



Why is a balanced signal called a balanced signal? - The simple answer is because a balanced signal has a grounding terminal.

An unbalance signal is a signal with a +ve and a -ve to complete the circuit.

If both balance and unbalance signals can conduct sound, why use a balanced signal? - A balance signal has a ground which catches interference from the surrounding, and grounds it. That way interference will not distort the original signal which is passing through. Interference are such as ground loops or more commonly encountered are any oscillating pulse signal which such as your AC hum which produce a hum at 60hz as it sweeps through the node to the anti-node. These are the signals that will be pickup up by conventional wires more easily as opposed to balance cables, and it will modulate with your original signal to induce a hum in your signals. Therefor balanced signals are required when running long distances.

Note: TRS running a stereo signal is not considered balanced. Likewise a xlr running stereo signal is not considered balanced.