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Thread: Any new trends from a Mobile DJ point of view?

  1. #11
    Member Evolved's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KLH View Post
    What led to this comment was that for the past 2-3 years, I've not seen a mobile DJ perform with CDJs. Sure, CDJs are the club standard, but in the mobile DJ world, they don't seem to be. I mean "standard" - aka "de facto standard" - as in a custom or convention that has achieved a dominant position by public acceptance or market forces.

    For the mobile DJ world, CDJs are more expensive and less flexible than what most mobile DJs need. I suppose that it's for those reasons that controllers seem to be the current de facto standard.

    Feel free to disagree, Evolved. Have you seen more CDJs with mobile DJs?
    I think the word 'standard' is not the best way to put it then. I am in that predicament. I do not want to buy a controller because I'm afraid of it failing or it requiring a laptop or some other extra thing but it seems I may not be able to avoid it. The new Pioneer DDJ controller has one MAJOR issue - no USB stick slot. If it had that - I may get one. I don't want to carry a laptop.
    Pair of Pioneer CDJ-2000 CD Players, Xone:92 Mixer. Pair of RCF-312A Loudspeakers and 1 RCF 4Pro 8003 18" Sub.

  2. #12
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    I am seeing the DJ's in our area focus on their booth and light shows.
    Scrims and cable management is a must for our set ups. If we are outside, I let the client know they won't get pretty, but cables will be hidden and not just hanging around looking messy.
    Trends for music, I would have to agree with a post above, if you can get the wifi login and password from the venue, if they have wifi, that can make the job a lot easier if you don't have a particular song that someone might request. We know most of the venues in our area that don't have wifi and we tell our client that they don't and I refuse to use my phone as a hotspot just to get one or two songs.

    As far as CD's. I use to have a Dual deck CD player in my rack, but removed it at the beginning of the year because I was only playing a CD as I setup equipment. Over the last year I played at the most two songs off a CD that someone pulled out of their car at the last minute.

  3. #13
    Member djeternal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KLH View Post
    It's 2018 and I'm wondering if there are any trends that mobile DJs notice?

    I've noticed that controllers are now the standard - over CDJs and TTs. I've also seen more VJing with monitors as opposed to lights.

    What have you seen?
    I agree with this - I have seen a lot more controllers than CDJs and TTs. Anytime I'm near a DJ booth (at a club or at a gig) I look at the DJs gear. Can't recall the last time I saw a CDJ.

  4. #14
    Member DJ Elevate's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KLH View Post
    What led to this comment was that for the past 2-3 years, I've not seen a mobile DJ perform with CDJs. Sure, CDJs are the club standard, but in the mobile DJ world, they don't seem to be. I mean "standard" - aka "de facto standard" - as in a custom or convention that has achieved a dominant position by public acceptance or market forces.

    For the mobile DJ world, CDJs are more expensive and less flexible than what most mobile DJs need. I suppose that it's for those reasons that controllers seem to be the current de facto standard.

    Feel free to disagree, Evolved. Have you seen more CDJs with mobile DJs?
    No KLH you are correct from my point of view. I see controller setups more than anything else, and frankly, I just got the new Pioneer DDJ-1000 and I've now trashed Traktor completely except for backup. I'm a mobile and club/event DJ so I was very happy to stop managing two different software systems and just standardize on gear that is an easy translation to the club where Pioneer is the standard. Also, the DDJ-1000 absolutely blows everything out of the water in my opinion from a functionality perspective. My XDJ+DJM setup has been sitting in flight cases waiting to be rented ever since. I'd almost prefer to bring in my 1000 to a club if they'd let me over using the standard XDJ/CDJ gear.

    Why the heck would I want to lug around huge heavy players and DJM-2000NXS in flight cases , or turntables, control vinyl, needles, etc. for that matter - and have *less* functionality, when I can just bring my controller and a laptop. I'd go back to using Traktor and my S4 over that.
    Last edited by DJ Elevate; 07-12-2018 at 05:49 PM.

  5. #15
    Back when I was starting out I thought mobile DJs and small venues would deploy a dual-deck CD player, or even one with a built-in mixer.. the problem with controllers is that they require a laptop, CDJs are somewhat expensive but they're real workhorses and easily replaceable. I think at some point when everyone was going DVS the problem was the soundcard but you could always rely on your record collection.

  6. #16
    Member BDC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by efinque View Post
    the problem with controllers is that they require a laptop
    For a mobile DJ, lugging around the least amount of equipment without sacrificing quality for the event is the goal. The audience doesn't care if you brought six 12s or 4 CDJ2000s - they just want to dance. That's your job.
    Having 1 controller eliminates a mixer and two or more pieces of equipment that play media. This is why I got the DENON MCX8000 - no laptop needed.
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  7. #17
    Member Irrational_Fear's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by efinque View Post
    Back when I was starting out I thought mobile DJs and small venues would deploy a dual-deck CD player, or even one with a built-in mixer.. the problem with controllers is that they require a laptop, CDJs are somewhat expensive but they're real workhorses and easily replaceable. I think at some point when everyone was going DVS the problem was the soundcard but you could always rely on your record collection.
    We used CDJs when we first started, but quickly realised it was far easier to run a controller & laptop- which all fits inside a single, compact flightcase with integrated power socket, mic receiver, DMX dongle etc.

    I actually see the laptop as a benefit for mobile DJing. When playing the variety of music required at weddings etc, the laptop beats every CDJ screen hands down for track browsing/searching. I couldn't imagine going back to a laptop-less setup for mobile work now, it would feel like going backwards! Couple this with a high quality tactile DJ controller to operate everything through (and in 2018 there is now an incredible amount of choice), and to me it's the best of both worlds.

    One of the main arguments against using a laptop is the fear of failure/crashing etc. I always say you should treat the DJing laptop like any other piece of your setup- it's a dedicated piece of DJing equipment that only gets used for that purpose. It shouldn't also get used for work, playing games, browsing Facebook etc. Have it configured/locked down for that use only (no auto-update etc) and at that point it becomes no less 'stable' than a CDJ. Yes it might seem crazy paying £500+ for a laptop that you only use for DJing, but you wouldn't try and download dodgy pornography on your £1,500 CDJ so what's the difference. Also, 15 years ago laptops were complex computers and CDJs were simple CD players - these days they are both computers so I think the lines have blurred with regards to reliability- providing of course you use your laptop solely as a DJ tool.

    Clearly you also need a backup option if anything does go wrong, but with the majority of professional-grade controllers also operating as standalone mixers this is easy- and everyone should have contingency plans regardless of setup.

    Ultimately every setup (regardless of the equipment used) will have a point of failure that is more serious than anything else- usually the piece of equipment that outputs the sound to the speakers/amp, i.e. PA mixer, DJ mixer, master controller etc. This is the point where if a failure should occur, cables are likely to need switching around, rather than simply pressing play on another piece of equipment. If a laptop crashing ruins your day to this degree, then your setup is not organised correctly.

    Everyone should use what they are comfortable with though, providing there are provisions for redundancy then it doesn't matter what the setup is.

    Regarding the OP, here in the UK I have not seen a mobile DJ use anything other than a controller since 2013- when I was best man at a wedding where the DJ was in his 60s and had twin CD decks and 4 giant bread-baskets full of CDs!

  8. #18
    Deez Beats! KLH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Irrational_Fear View Post
    I actually see the laptop as a benefit for mobile DJing. When playing the variety of music required at weddings etc, the laptop beats every CDJ screen hands down for track browsing/searching.
    I'm in this boat. I also love that I can take my entire music collection as well without futzing with flash drives.

    I've only had great experiences with my setup (Traktor and S4), so I've not wanted to change. I have the new S4 now, but most controllers basically have the same layout and workflow nowadays. It's the DJ app where most differences are, IMHO.
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    Uplighting, set decorating on stage (scrims etc.).

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