Search for some info on Djing on the net........ I found most of my stuff there. Download some videos of Pro DJs doing their stuff and learn a few moves..... finally, get a couple of books and instructional tapes on DJing...... I didn't take any course or anything, but I managed to get along fine.

If you're paying for a teacher...... you can get a medium budget DJ setup already..... get some friends who HAS proper skills and his own gear. If you don't, mix around in clubs and stuff and try to be an apprentice. A DJ course in KL costs about RM2900 for a few months. My entire setup costs about RM1500. Think about that.

But there's really 2 schools of DJing... the Club DJ, and the Hip-Hop DJ....

Dance DJs have an excellent ear for timing, intonations and most of all, taste. They can mix and blend one music to another perfectly, matches the beats perfectly and able to jump from one song to another without the audience knowing.

Hip-Hop DJs..... all technical skills. Scratching, cross-fader thumping, whikedy-whacking their way through records like no-one's business and be a total bad-ass doing it at the same time. Needs to know how to manipulate the song and pull out every trick in the book.

Any type of Dj needs to KNOW both schools of DJing, but PERFORM to their best interest. I went for a DJ Jazzy Jeff concert and MAN, his beat-matching skills is AMAZING and I went to see this club DJ pull offsome WHACK moves on the turntables.....

Know what kind of DJ you want to be, then do some of your own research first like I said. Then, get a budget down. Remember, your equiptment isn't going to be cheap if you want a reliable one. Whatever you do.... DON'T BUY A BELT-DRIVE TURNTABLE. Get a direct drive one. You'll thank me later. A decent setup costs about RM2000, including a good mixer, 2 turntables, a decent headphone, and good speakers. Don't use your PC speakers unless they are really high-end. Also, you have to invest in good wires, cartradges and don't forget..... the records! Building a good collection is expensive. Record shops in KL are selling about 80 bucks a record.... not sure where to find in Melaka though. My advice? Try to get a DJ starter kit. I'm using the Numark Battle Pack. I probably would want to change the mixer, but other then that, it's a bargain for about RM 1500. I already have Alesis speakers so, no need for new speakers on my end.

Not sure what else to say man..... if you have the cash, of course you can go for the dual Technics 1200s, a Rane Mixer, Technics headphones, and a pair of Alesis speakers... *drool*

Not a prob. Taking time to learn DJing is a loooong hard road. Even if you have a teacher... you're still going to have to learn alot on your own. No real short cut man..... sorry you have to hear that.... but that's the truth

Get a budget down and see what you can work with. A full DJ setup can be costly and is a real investment.... decide if DJing is REALLY for you and give it a go

Turntables are using Vinyl Records.
CD Players are..... well.... CD players.

Since you want to be a hip-hop DJ, you gotta go with Vinyl. In order to manipulate the sounds that you want (ie. scratching and stuff like that), there's no better way then on Vinyl Records. Sure, there are newer CD players that can scratch (like the higher end Numarks) but those costs about 4K for EACH player. The lower end models (like the Pioneers) so called "scratch-mode" just doesn't cut it if you're a heavy-duty scratcher.

I'm not saying that you CAN'T use a CD player to scratch... but for your budget, you best stick to Vinyl and build a good record collection. Like I said, go for a Numark or Stanton starter pack and get a decent pair of speakers... it SHOULD be around the 2000 mark, brand new. With the rest of the cash, invest in some books and start your record collection. Call up Sinamex (+603 2142 5657) and check if they have any Starter Packs for sale.

Becareful on second-hand stuff though. Make sure you get a Motor-Drive turntable and check the condition BEFORE you buy. Make sure you get new heads and cartradges and slip mats if you're buying second hand. If you see a Belt-Drive turntable on the market..... don't do it. It's just not worth the headache.

This post has been edited by blacktrix: Nov 3 2005, 02:26 AM

Ummm..... Bass guitars require an amplifier. A DJ setup requires just speakers.... what are the diff???

Ah.

Amplifiers "amplifies" the sound from the instrument. ie: something to jack into. A speaker? Well speakers just project the sound from a source..... ie: an output.....

Anybody else can help me out??

Kunamiya sent me this through PM... thought I might share it with everyone as well:



DZ1200 is a digital turntable..... meaning, it is a CD player but with the ability to "scratch" the Discs via a disc platter at the top. I tried it when it first came out in the US, and it's a very good piece of equiptment. the sound quality is good, and the disc manipulation is almost as good as a vinyl. But it comes with a VERY hefty price tag. US$ 1200 for a single unit. If you're using two, that comes to US$ 2400, that comes to almost RM 9000!!! And that's not including the mixer, the headphones and speakers. Sure, you might save on your record collection, but there are other ways to overcome that. More on that later.

But if you're a beginner, I STRONGLY recommend learning using Vinyl. Any good DJ should start off with the knowledge of Vinyl before they proceed to anything else. It's the basic foundation of DJing really. If you're a Party DJ that just wants to mix songs, use a Laptop with some DJ software like PCDJ or Traktor. But if you're a dance club DJ, almost always you have to use the equiptment that the club provides, and they are usually Vinyl turntables...... mostly likely Technics MK2-1200. They will have CD players, most likely Pioneer DJ CD players like the CDJ-1000.

If you want to use Vinyl and use your existing collection, I would recommend using either Stanton's Final Scratch 2.0 or PCDJ Scratch. They are both special vinyl discs that you connect (via the mixer) to your laptop, which will play back Mp3s that are stored on your computer. More info about Final Scratch 2.0 here: http://www.stantondj.com/v2/fs/index.asp and PCDJ Scratch here: www.pcdj.com/Products/Scratch.asp

In fact, I'm saving up for Final Scratch 2.0 at this very moment. It's a big investment (costs about RM 2000, or US$ 500), but I will save a boat load on my record collection AND have the luxury of using vinyl at the same time.

Oh yeah. Forgot. I run mine through a mixer.

Don't think you can ever replicate the feel of Vinyl "virtually"..... sure... there is Virtual Turntables or Traktor...... But you really can't "scratch" well on a mouse and keyboard....

DJ beginner? 2 turntables and a mixer.
That's the basic. Read the previous post on what you should get.

Drum looping machines, Samplers, Keyboards (or controllers) are more for the "musician" DJ.... ie. creating their own songs via digital instruments.

Stop watching those Linkin Park videos and start watching DJ Jazzy Jeff!

Actually, I'm using the Numark Battle Pack!!!
Like I said, bought it for RM1500!!!

Final Scratch is a great tool if you want to save on your record collection, but I strongly suggest getting a How-To DJ book that comes with 2 vinyls to practise.

If not, go to a record shop (there's a couple behind Bukit Bintang, behind Lot 10) and get a "Breaks" Vinyl and ask if they have any vinyl's with special FX or speeches.... you really have to ask around. It's going to set you back about RM80 bucks a Vinyl, so be prepared to spend cash.

Another option besides the Final Scratch is the PCDJ scratch. All it comes with is the software and 2 special vinyls. The rest, you have to use a PC soundcard that has 2 input/output or use 2 sound cards. For example, use the built in soundcard on your motherboard + a PCI Soundblaster card. The PCDJ Scratch will set you back about 1500, compared to the Final Scratch that costs 2500. But I find Final Scratch more repliable, stable and also it comes with the ScratchAmp, which means you just hook it up via Firewire or USB2.0. No soundcard configurations whatsoever.

Bought it from Sinamax

Ok.... you need to disc so you can continuously play your music throughout your set. Like I said, for club DJs, one disc will be playing while the other disc is being cued up. When the DJ manages to match the beats of both songs (By listening through the headphones on the Cued disc, which of course must be muted through the main output), the DJ uses the crossfader on the mixer to "fade" between the two songs, creating an almost seemless music track. The DJ then replaces the disc that WAS playing with another Cued disc and repeats the process.

A Hip-Hop DJ might work in a couple of ways. IF they are using 2 of the same disc, they would again play and cue one. They will usually cue a solo or space between which is what we call a "break". Normally, I like to cue up drum breaks during a song. Sometimes it lasts only a few seconds, so what you do is you cue up the exact same place on the other disc and quickly switch to the other track, rewind the FIRST disc back to the start, crossfade BACK to the first, rewind the SECOND disc back, crossfade again..... you get what I mean??

And of course, there's the scratching method. What I'll do, is I'll play a beat (can be a full song or just part of it) and I'll cue up a Sound FX track, maybe a line of dialog or a certain note and will manipulate the disc to keep repeating the track over and over again; ie. scratching. The crossfader is used to cut out the "backscratch" sound (The reveral sound the vinyl makes when you pull the record back), so it sounds like a quick cut of that sound FX.

Will post up a sample next day of some simple scratch techniques.

Um, The more songs you have in your collection, the longer you can play before the crowd turns on you!!!

There's a Sinamex in Star Hill plaza... it's the 2nd floor from the top I think.

The very FANCY shopping mall. The one where only really rich people shop.... because it has like Dunhill, Prada, Louis Vuton and all that designer crap. Technically, turntables are expensive too!!! So feel lucky to be part of it!

Not say near, not say far...
You gotta walk abit to get to star hill, but it still is within the area

Those are the stylus (ie: The needle) that is alreayd pre-mounted onto the heads of your tone-arm. That way, you don't have to install it yourself and configurate it. It's already done out of the box.

I haven't read much reviews about the DJ Lab, but Stanton has a reputation of providing top-notch products at resonable price.
The T-60 Turntables are quite good though...
I'm not too keen on the "pop" styling of their new turntables, but whatever floats your boat man.

Find out the price first. It's quite hard to get Stanton products in KL. Trust me. I tried. Sinamex offered last time, but they didn't have the ones I wanted. I had to go down to Singapore to check out Stantons..... and even that have to pay the import duty tax.

What player and mixer? Model names please

Ok.... time to put my Elite tag to use.....

If you're not sure what turntables and mixer you are getting, it's best if you go to some of the DJ Products website (Numark, Technics, Stanton and Vestex are the big 4) and check out what they are offering..... take note of the one you like and find a distributor in Malaysia and get a price quote from them.

I can't help you if all you know is "made in china".... And for 3k a player you get get 2 Technics 1200 (the de-facto standard for any vinyl DJ) and a Rane mixer (Rane's are rediculously expensive but awsome built, quality and features. DJ Hahn of Linkin Park uses Ranes and Technics BTW) for about 10k also.

Check back some of the earlier posts about the budget packages that you can get. Again, Numark and Stanton makes some great starter packs costing about 2500 with the 2 turntables, mixer, headphones, cartradges, slip mats.... everything you really need (except for the speakers).

Yes. Call up Sinamex (I posted the number on a previous post) and ask them if they still sell the Numark battle pak or a Stanton scratch pak. If not, ask what kind of DJ packs they offer.

Well, that's the number they gave me. Will double check back for you guys again.

And the vinyls, if you go behind Lot 10, there are 2 shops selling records. One is for DJs (like club mix and hip-hop), the other selling second hand old records.