Bringing own equipment to a gig

[desm0nd]

Hey Guys,

So I recently got into DJing and was offered a decent gig at a club here, but I decided to turn it down because 1. I don't think I am ready yet for it & 2. Because I am unfamiliar with their equipment

I was speaking to one of my DJ buddies and he said I should've just brought my own equipment

I have a Denon MC-6000 that I use and was wondering if it is "ok" to bring your own equipment to gigs & or ask if they mind if I bring my own equipment..

How easy is it to set up my own equipment on their system? Can they easily switch over to the next DJ on the other equipment

[Anomoly]

Hey Guys,

So I recently got into DJing and was offered a decent gig at a club here, but I decided to turn it down because 1. I don't think I am ready yet for it & 2. Because I am unfamiliar with their equipment

I was speaking to one of my DJ buddies and he said I should've just brought my own equipment

I have a Denon MC-6000 that I use and was wondering if it is "ok" to bring your own equipment to gigs & or ask if they mind if I bring my own equipment..

How easy is it to set up my own equipment on their system? Can they easily switch over to the next DJ on the other equipment

One thing you must always remember, it doesn't hurt to ask. You might get a 'no' but who cares, you are in the same spot you were before.

Many Dj's bring their own equipment. It's best if you can set up before the gig, but some Dj's have to set up during the gig, as long as the music keeps playing the people don't usually care. if this is your first time doing that (a live switch) you might want to practice a few times before hand. if you can set up before the gig starts you should be fine. Most places would rather you use your own equipment so that you feel comfortable and have a better set.

If you don't feel your ready - your not ready. But realize that things will never be perfect and you will never really feel 'ready' until you have a couple gigs under your belt.

[DJ ATX]

Never hurts to ask if you can use your own. However, I am a firm believer that a DJ should be able to use any equipment out there to mix. Basics is basics.

You count the same beats and bars as well as beatmatch on a turntable and mixer as you would with a controller. That's basic DJing skills.

Denon MC6000 has up faders and crossfaders. So does any mixer out there.
Denon MC6000 has 3 band EQ. So do most mixers out there.
Denon MC6000 has platter you manipulate. So does a turntable or CDJ
Denon MC6000 has pitch faders. So does a turntable or CDJ
The rest is mixing basics.

Know the basics of mixing and you will be able to utilize anything out there.

[Shishdisma]

The majority of people I see closing doors based on "equipment familiarity" are mostly doing so out of cautiousness then legitimate reasons. Stare at a picture of some CDJ and a DJM on Pioneer's website, they have nice high-res photos of all of them, and skim through the manuals of the equipment in question (also available through the website). Congratulations, if you have hands-on experience with DJing, you're now vastly overqualified and familiar with club equipment.

The concept of "getting familiar with CDJs" is mostly a myth perpetuated by people who get the shakes and break down when they see the screen on a DJM-2000 and don't know what it does. And the stories of people tanking gigs because they didnt know how to cue a track on a CDJ or their waveforms were borked or they couldnt figure out the cueing on a DJM... well... lets just say the error is between the stage and the hardware...

[Mixxed]

The ONLY reason I'd bring my own equipment to a club/gig is:
a) they don't HAVE equipment
b) their equipment sucks, and I at least TRUST my equipment

otherwise, you SHOULD be able to play on the standard stuff... 1200's, or CDJ's... and a mixer. You'd be hard pressed to find a spot that didn't have either of those options...

Some may disagree, but I'll say it... If you're limited to ONLY being able to rely on your controller, you may not be ready to play at a venue... Or, rather, you should at least take the time to LEARN how to play on industry standard equipment.