The dj question.......

[Torque]

This is my opinion (as if it matters)

All the new dj technology is cool because "it frees you up to do other things", that all fine and dandy. How come i hear everybody doing the same old sh!t they do on turntables then?

IMO i prefer vinyl precisely for the reason that it is not exact. Final Scratch and whatnot with vinyl controls can do this stuff but the sound is not as bangin to me. With allot of these digital programs where you have everything locked on where it never moves between records you miss a chance to use one of the very subtle tricks that vinyl allows. There is a point when you have a record locked on where you can take one of them and take it slightly out of synch which will make it sound like like you slowed down the mix and turned down the overall volume slightly. On the 16th bar you can nudge that record forward making it sound like you just raised the volume and the speed giving new energy to the dancefloor. Very few djs that i see outside of Detroit really use this tactic which is sad because the sh!t works. A digital dj with the tracks locked on beat with no slide at all totally loses out and would be blown out the water by these guys even if they played the same records.

I'm sorry guys but vinyl is just a better tool for djing. It sounds better, it's more tactile and the hunt for vinyl alone is worth taking up the hobby. I don't want to simulate vinyl, i want to play it.

[patrick bateman]

Detroit DJ's do it better!

[revy]

sigh

http://www.mnml.nl/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=31962

but anyways that trick with pulling a track out of sync is interesting...never seen or heard that before but i could see a subtle effect like that having a good result. but i think the effect could also be emulated in software if you really wanted it to. in ableton you could drag a warp point slightly off.

i'd agree that a lot of (lazy) laptop djs are not pushing the limits of digital hard enough and just end up being boring versions of their vinyl counterparts.

with my own laptop sets i try to forge the sound into unique combinations with multiple layers...i feel i can be much more expressive not being limited to 2 decks and a box of records. i also want everyone to be able to hear the human connection to the software...as we all know it can be auto-piloted...basically i've even given up using headphones so the crowd can get even closer to the experience of exploring whatever has found its way onto my hard drive.

[Atheory]

yes! this topic hasn't been covered enough

[S.D.L]

i'd agree that a lot of (lazy) laptop djs are not pushing the limits of digital hard enough and just end up being boring versions of their vinyl counterparts.

That's about 98% of all laptop dj's.. The other 2% really are trying to be creative, but most of them are just cluttering up loops and efx and think that's the way to go.

Don't know about that trick, but will try it now.

Ow, and yes, real dj's still play vinyl.. Eventually the digital dj's will have an epiphany and they will see that's the right way to go.. I was one of them..

[Steo6884]

Detroit DJ's do it better!

yea!

[Ingemar]

double sigh... if it is fun to play then play it. If its nice to listen to, then listen to it. The only real argument I can find for vinyl is the sound quality, but other than that its entirely up to you how you chose to skin your cat, eh?

[humeka]

IMO i prefer vinyl precisely for the reason that it is not exact.

I remember watching a dvd from jeff mills. I was amazed by his capacity to mix 3 vinyls together. there's this moment when the 3 tracks doesn't completely fit together, it's like floating in time and it creates a kind of tension as you are waiting for the sync... and when it matches, it's just amazing!

this kind of (un)precision is truly artistic.