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Thread: New to DJ'ing, looking for help/advice/etc

  1. #1

    New to DJ'ing, looking for help/advice/etc

    20+ years playing live music (guitar/vocals) and still play acoustic shows locally in Central Texas but I've DJ'd 2 proms, a couple of awards dinners, and a handful of weddings and maybe turning it into something permanent - sooooo, I'm trying to figure what I can do to up my game.

    I currently run Mixxx 2.0 in AutoDJ mode (don't laugh, it works) as I just need to play songs back to back and the autofade works like a charm (usually). I run Mixxx on my Dell laptop and have a Peavey USB to XLR adapter so the main audio is routed via USB in Mixxx. Those XLR (L/R) outputs go into my Behringer XR18 mixer and I have a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet running the X-Air mixing app. I run all my vocal mics and anything else through that mixer. I don't have any kind of controller for DJ'ing - just the interface for Mixxx on the PC. I would like to learn about cueing so I can have the next track ready at whatever point I want it to start (some tracks have intros I may want to skip, etc) - how can I do this?? Can I use the headphone output on the laptop since I'm using USB for the main? Can I use Bluetooth? Do I need something external? But remember I already have an external USB to XLR adapter, sooo....

    I don't know if I'm looking to get into any kind of real DJ stuff, just mainly "MC'ing" events and playing music like I'm doing now, so I don't feel the need for turntables or beat-matching or sampling or whatever else. I have powered subs and speakers. I'm looking at the Gigbar2 to get my lights started, but after that I'd like to look into upping my lightshow game, too. I think I can figure that part out, there are lots of options out there. I'm a bit familiar with DMX as I've used it sparingly in the past with my band's light controller. I have a fairly clean setup now - rack to side of covered table and laptops on table (will post pics next time I'm all set up) but looking to make it nicer - think I'll get a tabletop facade for now and do something better later. Looking forward to some great info here at djforums and some nice conversation. Hope everyone has a great day!!!

  2. #2
    Member DJ Elevate's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by joelrwood74 View Post
    20+ years playing live music (guitar/vocals) and still play acoustic shows locally in Central Texas but I've DJ'd 2 proms, a couple of awards dinners, and a handful of weddings and maybe turning it into something permanent - sooooo, I'm trying to figure what I can do to up my game.

    I currently run Mixxx 2.0 in AutoDJ mode (don't laugh, it works) as I just need to play songs back to back and the autofade works like a charm (usually). I run Mixxx on my Dell laptop and have a Peavey USB to XLR adapter so the main audio is routed via USB in Mixxx. Those XLR (L/R) outputs go into my Behringer XR18 mixer and I have a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet running the X-Air mixing app. I run all my vocal mics and anything else through that mixer. I don't have any kind of controller for DJ'ing - just the interface for Mixxx on the PC. I would like to learn about cueing so I can have the next track ready at whatever point I want it to start (some tracks have intros I may want to skip, etc) - how can I do this?? Can I use the headphone output on the laptop since I'm using USB for the main? Can I use Bluetooth? Do I need something external? But remember I already have an external USB to XLR adapter, sooo....

    I don't know if I'm looking to get into any kind of real DJ stuff, just mainly "MC'ing" events and playing music like I'm doing now, so I don't feel the need for turntables or beat-matching or sampling or whatever else. I have powered subs and speakers. I'm looking at the Gigbar2 to get my lights started, but after that I'd like to look into upping my lightshow game, too. I think I can figure that part out, there are lots of options out there. I'm a bit familiar with DMX as I've used it sparingly in the past with my band's light controller. I have a fairly clean setup now - rack to side of covered table and laptops on table (will post pics next time I'm all set up) but looking to make it nicer - think I'll get a tabletop facade for now and do something better later. Looking forward to some great info here at djforums and some nice conversation. Hope everyone has a great day!!!
    1. Check out digitaldjtips.com
    2. Gigbar 2 is a great investment - I have two of them now.
    3. It's great that you already have MC skills

  3. #3
    Deez Beats! KLH's Avatar
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    Welcome to DJF, joelrwood74!

    The DJing world is wide enough that you can concentrate on whatever you like - mixing, MCing, light-shows, video shows, or just being a jukebox. The only thing that matters is entertaining the crowd that you were hired to entertain. Do that and you'll be successful.

    That being said, it sounds like you want to fill in the "show" part of the presentation with the GigBar 2. I must admit, I've been looking at adding basic lighting and think that the GigBar 2 (actually 2 of them and a fogger/hazer) might meet my needs. The only complaints that I've read are that you can get a better performing setup for about the same spend new... at the expense of convenience. I'm not willing to sacrifice convenience, so the GigBar 2 seems to be all I need.

    Let us know what you think of the GigBar 2. Feel free to post your setup or pics from your gigs too!
    -KLH
    Visit DJF's Beginner's MEGA thread and drop by my Facebook Fan Page.
    I've read the books like How to DJ right... to learn about... beatmatching, phrasing w/e , Speed Test Scrabble Word Finder Solitaire but when I go to mix...

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