Software DJ's- Real DJ's or 12 year olds with toys?

[Archon]

so, i searched the forum but didnt find this age old "mac vs pc" type debate. are people who use controllers like the everpopular toy the numark mixtrack real DJ's? i personally believe that's a slippery slope. i think someone who downloaded virtual DJ and makes mixes with that is not a real DJ. having software makes you as much of a DJ as playing Need for Speed makes you a street racer. i think computer DJing isn't NEARLY as hard as DJing with even CDJs. and i think that anyone who uses a controller and software is still a DJ, but not a true DJ. I think most DJ's that dont use controllers agree with me. now, is software DJing a bad thing? no not at all. but you dont get mad DJ AM respect for mixing well while staring at a waveform and hitting a sync button.
discuss..

-Archon

[Raindance Rob]

no its defo not real DJing & its whats killing vinyl for example. anyone & their cat can mix using software iv tried it & CDJs & imo both are far too easy & take away any skill thats involved, imo vinyl FTW & fook the rest

[Rick_N]

I would vote no, but it is a slippery slope. Even tho Im kind of a vinyl purist. I only use dvs for tracks that arent being released on vinyl anymore or that I cant get easily. I wish some big name artists would put vinyl only tracks out there again. Maybe it would help vinyl have a comeback. Who knows but we all know this thread is gonna become a bunch of bikkering pretty soon lol.

[silentsounds]

Elitist attitudes FTL

[Raindance Rob]

I would vote no, but it is a slippery slope. Even tho Im kind of a vinyl purist. I only use dvs for tracks that arent being released on vinyl anymore or that I cant get easily. I wish some big name artists would put vinyl only tracks out there again. Maybe it would help vinyl have a comeback. Who knows but we all know this thread is gonna become a bunch of bikkering pretty soon lol.

i suppose iv been lucky in that way as most of the tunes i wanted that werent on vinyl, a mate had produced & he gave me permission to get em pressed on dubplate. it wasnt cheap to get em done but was defo worth it

[silentsounds]

no its defo not real DJing & its whats killing vinyl for example. anyone & their cat can mix using software iv tried it & CDJs & imo both are far too easy & take away any skill thats involved, imo vinyl FTW & fook the rest

AFAIK, DJing is the art of mixing two tracks seamlessly. Why does it matter what medium you use?

[Raindance Rob]

so theres an art to pressing sync with a mouse then for example ? nowt you or anyone else ever says will make me think that thats part of the art of DJing

[DJNR]

Oh man, this topic was huge in DJF 1.0

This is a really hard topic to discuss, only because the definition for many people in terms of what a "DJ" is has changed over the years. Back when I first started DJing, I used to think the exact same way you do. I believed that people who used controllers weren't "real" DJs for many reasons I won't discuss. As I progressed more through my DJ career I realized one thing: a DJ is someone who can make people dance. I don't know if you have ever read the book Last Night a DJ saved my Life, but in the first opening pages they explain how even the earliest of tribal singers could be considered DJs because they replicated songs that were popular at the time and made people dance. How this goal is achieved honestly doesn't matter in my opinion.

Now, how SKILLED a DJ is can certainly be based on what gear they own and how they use it. Sure, the person using the Mixtrack + Sync might not be as talented as the guy who dedicates themselves to turntablism, and that would result in them not being taken seriously. Similarly, the way that you use the software can dictate the way you are viewed in terms of skill. For example, if you use Traktor just for the sync function to get two beats matched, where the hell is the skill? However, if you are someone like DJ Shiftee who is a turntablist but also uses several controllers to use Traktor to it's fullest extent, you really open the doors to the next level of DJing.

In your post you jump around with your problems with software and to controllers; which one is it? One or the other, or both?


TL;DR - DJing is making people dance and sharing music with others. The skill of the DJ varies on your own integrity when using the gear provided.

[silentsounds]

so theres an art to pressing sync with a mouse then for example ? nowt you or anyone else ever says will make me think that thats part of the art of DJing

That's not what I said. I said mixing two tracks seamlessly is the ultimate goal. The medium you use shouldn't be that much of an issue.

[DJNR]

no its defo not real DJing & its whats killing vinyl for example. anyone & their cat can mix using software iv tried it & CDJs & imo both are far too easy & take away any skill thats involved, imo vinyl FTW & fook the rest

What's killing vinyl is it's own impracticality when compared to the production and distribution methods of other mediums...