What DJ Controller?

[Disastrous]

FWIW, I have a Pro Tools based studio setup and do a bit of post-production/composing here and there but I've been pissing about with Algoriddim's 'DJay' software on the Mac and it's quite a good laugh.

I'd quite like to get a controller for it but no next to sod all about DJaying and am torn between wanting to get something decent and knowing that this will be little more than a toy I play with now and then (I don't entertain any ambitions of superstardeejaystardom).

So what to get? The obvious choice is Vestax Spin which is built for it, but I quite fancy something a bit smaller that will fit in a laptop bag.

So,

Compact
Built in Soundcard (so I can cue mix without the faff of a billion cables and things plugged in)
Something I can scratch on? (I mean, not really, but it's quite funny!)
Cheap (as it's really really really just a toy for me!)

Any ideas or recommendations?

There's a wee micro thing for about £50 which would be perfect but it needs external soundcard for cue mixing.

[Disastrous]

No laptop deejays here?

>bump<

[MitchT]

I'm about to get into laptop DJing - just bought Traktor Pro 2 and about to upgrade my MacBook Pro from Leopard to Snow Leopard (which is required to run Traktor Pro 2), but it's too early for me to start advising on controllers. I'm toying with the idea of approaching control from a completely different angle and using an Akai APC40.

[StevieBee]

I DJ - but of the mobile, pub, hall, party variety rather than the Ibiza type!

I use DJay on a Mac and works perfectly for what I need - has never missed a beat. There are compatible controllers but all feel very flimsy. My man at the DJ Shop tells me that if you want to go that route, far better to buy a complete software/controller package, of which there are many out there.

[Disastrous]

So do you just use the keyboard/trackpad to control everything?

It seems ok, in fairness, but I can't help but feel that something a bit more tactile would give more options.

Presumably some of the better pioneer (or similar) units plus be made to work?

Maybe I need to try some...

[Djdan]

I am a club dj. Use virtual dj, cos its simple! Controller wise, its very much dependant on budget. Pioneers are nice bits of kit, but personally i love the feel of cdjs and all the little controllers are too light on the touch. Timecode etc is also an option. Personally i mix cds and records when i need to mix and use the computer with the mouse for everything else.

[StevieBee]

Disastrous said:

So do you just use the keyboard/trackpad to control everything?

Yep.

Have a Twin deck CD player too.

I do know what you mean about 'feeling' like you should be using something else. The thing with the keyboard and track pad, when I'm playing at event, I'm aware that it 'looks' like I'm not really doing anything - which on the rare occasions when I've been at events when nothing will get them dancing, is true (hit automix, then catch up on a a bit of day-job work!!)

Personally, I work on the basis that DJaying (in terms of what I do) is about the quality of the audio and the quality of the music, in equal measure, followed by lights and then me. Fancy kit is all well and good but it wont turn a bad DJ into a good one. For a very long time, I used two HiFi CD players and cheap mixer from Maplins. Worked brilliantly.

[Disastrous]

Good knowlegde - cheers guys.

I suppose the muso in me want to be able to 'play' it like an instrument, and certainly, I think there's some about the tactility of a surface.

That said, I struggle to see what can't be done on the laptop...The only thing that seems to be a bit of a pest is fine beat matching and using your hands to slightly speed up/slow down a turntable. Just doesn't seem as intuitive with a cursor, somehow. Have you found a way round that or is it just practice?

[Djdan]

Sync buttons will get it close enough with a bit of pitch bend, its impossible to get it accurate enough without expensive faders. If you want to mix properly nothing comes close to pioneer CDJs, mine are now 7 year old and still going strong.

[Squirrelofwoe]

Djdan said:

Sync buttons will get it close enough with a bit of pitch bend, its impossible to get it accurate enough without expensive faders. If you want to mix properly nothing comes close to pioneer CDJs, mine are now 7 year old and still going strong.

I would be inclined to agree on this- I have a setup with CDJs, Vinyl, & mixer as well as a cheapy midi controller, and the midi controller faders/pitch sliders can tend to be a bit 'wobbly' at times- whether this is latency, age (it is quite old), or just product quality I don't know, but at any rate it's not something I experience on my more traditional setup where there is no software involved.

Obviously if it's just going to be a toy then I would imagine you wouldn't even notice this so don't let this worry you too much. (And lets be honest at sub £200 you arn't going to be getting the level of feel you get with a £3,000 CDJ & mixer setup!) For some really good info on controllers check out Digital DJ Tips website- they released a free pdf file a little while ago with a breakdown & comparison of the best DJ controllers at every price range- well worth a look.

My experience with laptop DJing is otherwise pretty minimal so ill leave it to someone else, but if you ever need any advice regarding CD/usb decks then feel free to shout!

(OT)Oh and Djdan- I do love the Pioneer CDJs but bloody hell are they over-priced!! I was lucky enough to get a great deal on my Pioneers when I got my last setup which took the edge off of it somewhat, but even so I recently traded them in for a pair of Denon's brand new SC2900 CD decks (which at around £799 per deck are noticably cheaper) and I have to say they are better than my Pioneer decks in every aspect except possibly the display.

I take it at 7 years old yours are the CDJ1000s? They are built like absolute tanks and it's a shame the new Pioneer stuff doesn'thave that same feel.

I'd still have a pair of CDJ2000 nexus however if someone else was paying!

Edited by Squirrelofwoe on Tuesday 4th December 10:09

[Disastrous]

Useful and great link to the guide - massively helpful!

Been reading this morning and I reckon £150 for the Numark Mixtrack Pro seems like a bargain. Audio Interface built in and enough control for it to feel 'musical' by all acccounts, as well as being a bit more flexible than the Vestax Spin, should I ever venture beyond DJay and into Traktor or so...

[Squirrelofwoe]

Disastrous said:

Useful and great link to the guide - massively helpful!

Been reading this morning and I reckon £150 for the Numark Mixtrack Pro seems like a bargain. Audio Interface built in and enough control for it to feel 'musical' by all acccounts, as well as being a bit more flexible than the Vestax Spin, should I ever venture beyond DJay and into Traktor or so...

I was intending to mention the Mixtrack Pro in my previous post but somehow forgot! By all accounts it's pretty unbeatable at the price.

[paulmon]

I've been using Virtual DJ for the last couple of weeks and its really intuitive to use. They do a freebie so you can get feel for the software but you'll need to spend £70 to get the version that you will need.

P

[Djdan]

Squirrelofwoe said:

I would be inclined to agree on this- I have a setup with CDJs, Vinyl, & mixer as well as a cheapy midi controller, and the midi controller faders/pitch sliders can tend to be a bit 'wobbly' at times- whether this is latency, age (it is quite old), or just product quality I don't know, but at any rate it's not something I experience on my more traditional setup where there is no software involved.

Obviously if it's just going to be a toy then I would imagine you wouldn't even notice this so don't let this worry you too much. (And lets be honest at sub £200 you arn't going to be getting the level of feel you get with a £3,000 CDJ & mixer setup!) For some really good info on controllers check out Digital DJ Tips website- they released a free pdf file a little while ago with a breakdown & comparison of the best DJ controllers at every price range- well worth a look.

My experience with laptop DJing is otherwise pretty minimal so ill leave it to someone else, but if you ever need any advice regarding CD/usb decks then feel free to shout!

(OT)Oh and Djdan- I do love the Pioneer CDJs but bloody hell are they over-priced!! I was lucky enough to get a great deal on my Pioneers when I got my last setup which took the edge off of it somewhat, but even so I recently traded them in for a pair of Denon's brand new SC2900 CD decks (which at around £799 per deck are noticably cheaper) and I have to say they are better than my Pioneer decks in every aspect except possibly the display.

I take it at 7 years old yours are the CDJ1000s? They are built like absolute tanks and it's a shame the new Pioneer stuff doesn'thave that same feel.

I'd still have a pair of CDJ2000 nexus however if someone else was paying!

Edited by Squirrelofwoe on Tuesday 4th December 10:09

Sure are cdj1000 mk2s got a djm800 the day it came out too thats nearly 6 years old. Used every weekend since pretty much. Id get 2000s if i felt it gave me a massive change in what i run just now but it doesnt. The 1210 m5gs are still my fav tho!

[Matt_N]

For the money you can't really beat the Mix Track Pro.

If it were me, I'd up the budget a bit and get a Vestax VCI-300, should've come down a bit now the 380 is out. Lovely design, good HMI, good reliable software, will sync beats perfectly too.

The Traktor S2 is good too, have used its bigger brother the S4 on a number of occassions and it's a good bit of kit with lots of features.

[Squirrelofwoe]

Djdan said:

The 1210 m5gs are still my fav tho!

Lucky sod!!

For my vinyl usage I am still rocking an old Gemini SA600mk2- cost me all of about £170 brand new about 11 years ago but it was Direct Drive and looks exactly like a 1210 which was all I cared about back then!

Though my mate does often leave his Vestax PDX2000 mk2s setup at my house due to space- those are absolute torque monsters and probably the best turntables I've used but I do prefer the old-school look of the Technics!

[Djdan]

Squirrelofwoe said:

Lucky sod!!

For my vinyl usage I am still rocking an old Gemini SA600mk2- cost me all of about £170 brand new about 11 years ago but it was Direct Drive and looks exactly like a 1210 which was all I cared about back then!

Though my mate does often leave his Vestax PDX2000 mk2s setup at my house due to space- those are absolute torque monsters and probably the best turntables I've used but I do prefer the old-school look of the Technics!

I was running that complete set up when i was 19, it was the bees knees back then! Now i waste all my money on cars!

[Djdan]

Heres a little virtual dj mix i made with no fancy controllers one night at work when there wasnt much requests coming in. If anyone wants to download it to drive to feel free, very commercial.
https://soundcloud.com/daniel-cameron-4/01-dans-mi...

[zb]

Don't buy an M-Audio Xponent.

M-Audio (or Avid or whatever the hell they're called these days), randomly, charge for software "upgrades" of Torq. I was one of the 1st to buy it when it was released and was in effect a beta tester for the s, they set a completely random date that anyone who purchased Xponent after this date got the 1.5 upgrade gratis, I was one of those who didn't (I had already registered my purchase date, so no way round it).

Well M-Audio/Avid, paybacks a bh as I tell everyone to avoid such a 2-bit, low-rent P.O.S company like yours. s.