I started DJing when I was 13 on my Dad's belt driven turntable back in the '80s. I had to try and beat match with that thing manually (finger resistance to slow the platter down and spinning the record faster to speed it up) - trying to sustain constant momentum throughout!
Finally, in the '90s I was able to buy two 1200s. Man! What a difference! Around 2005 I bought a dual CD unit - the Denon DN9000. Whoa! Another game-changer! Digital mixing with effects capability with sampling and looping functions meant I didn't have to buy 2 copies of the same song on vinyl!
Blah, blah, blah *got married, had a kid, etc, etc* and I find myself itching to get back on the (jog) wheelz of steel - or whatever material they're made of now.
So late last year I started researching DJ controllers. Early this year I bought the MCX8000. I realize PIONEER is the club standard and holds a massive share of the market with their controllers - but I decided on the Denon. I liked its capability of being a standalone player (no laptop needed) and it was more cost effective than the XDJ-RX2 or the mind-boggling, wallet-depleting DDJ-RZX!
I've been using the MCX8000 (standalone with a flash drive) for a few months now and once again I am amazed at the technological advancement in equipment. Occasionally, I will plug in my laptop and use Serato and revel in all its capabilities.
As a mobile DJ in Toronto in the '90s - I remember lugging crates and crates of records as well as your turntables, mixer, amplifiers, speakers, lights in the dead of winter, risking your beloved vinyl cracking in the freezing cold! Even when I was fortunate enough to score some club gigs, I still had to carry some select vinyl in a record bag.
I am soo envious of today's DJ. While still having to lug (active) speakers and lights to a gig - you can lighten your load with a single controller and have your desired music catalog in your laptop or an external hard drive.
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