Whichever the chase, the format of your music greatly relies on your personal preference and gear.

DJs have 3 main choices of formats:

• Vinyl records
• Compact Discs
• Digital Music

I want to dig a little deeper into the later – if don’t have a firm grasp on your music collection, you could be making a huge mistake.

Vinyl records

Vinyl has been around for as long as we can remember. Being the format of choice for DJs of the past (and still to this day), vinyl provides an analog sound neatly packaged on a 7′ or 12′ vinyl disc.

Many DJs prefer to use vinyl because they say it has a ‘warm’ feeling. This is mostly in due part to the analog recording methods – the music will have a much higher low and high end.

But like many things, vinyl is dying out.

One main reason is that digital music has captured the world; there’s not much reason to go visit your local music shop for the average person.

Another reason is the price to press vinyl. Vinyl is a way more expensive than simply recording your song digitally – this means the producers are able to keep more of the profits from sales.

Finally, vinyl is physical so its limitations is soley based on which stores provide it – you can’t download vinyl durr.

Compact Discs (CDs)

CDs saw a rise in popularity during the late 80s and early 90s but like vinyl, they too are dying out.

CD is still a great format for DJs however.

Music on CDs have a much clearer sound and provide a very large range of low and high end sounds.

To get nerdy on ya, CDs generally are encoded at 44Khz. This gives the sound a very strong quality.

One side effect of CDs though is what people dub the ‘loudness war’. Producers and labels will intentionally increase the loudness of tracks because “people like louder music”. All this does is kill the dynamic range of the song.

CDs can also be easily ripped and burned which is why they are still a very popular choice amongst DJs.

Digital music

Ah, the MP3 – I love how a simple file type is bringing down the entire archaic music industry.

Since its inception, MP3s are the easiest of all three formats to find an distribute.

Hell, you’re probably listening to MP3s as you read this post.

However, one overlooked aspect of MP3s are the bitrate in which they are encoded.

Generally speaking, you’ll see these types pop up:

• 192
• 320
• V0
• FLAC

There are still dozens more and can be any range depending on who encoded them.

To put it bluntly, you want FLAC. FLAC is a lossless music format which means it gives you the full dynamic range.

Flac also lets you reencode at lower levels if need be. You can do this with the lower encoded bitrates but when you try to bump them up, the sound will distort.

One drawback of shops that sell MP3s is that they offer a limited range of bitrates.

Sure, 192 may sound great in your bedroom but when you throw it up on very big speakers, the sound is amplified and any imperfections will be obvious.

Aim for the best

To give you the easiest choice, if you’re a DJ that spins vinyl, stick with it – the analog sound is delicious.

If you’re spinning CDs or Digital, try to either buy the original or 320/FLAC. This also goes if you’re ripping and burning the tracks back and forth.

I know it’s a small subject but if you go with a muddy track, it’s only going to get worse when you blare it.

Go with the best right away, it’ll pay off.

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If you don’t know now, DJ headphones are going to become your new best friend. That comforting hug they’ll give you around your head, the warm sensation as music pours from them; gah, it’s almost a fetish.

In this overview of DJ headphones, I want to tell you a few tips and tricks about buying headphones for super cheap, a parts overview and share some video reviews of various headphones.

Basic Rundown Of DJ Headphones

Let’s take a look at the various parts of DJ headphones:

A. Headband

The headband is what goes up and over your head or around your neck if you happen to be wearing them that way. A good pair of DJ headphones will have a headband with additional cushions so the plastic doesn’t rest right on your head.

B. Ear Adjustments

These bits are come and go with various sets of headphones. A lot of lower end models won’t have these and use the headband to help flex. Look for a good pair that gives you the additional adjustment to make sure they’re comfortable.

C. Ear Cushions

Shitty DJ headphones won’t have these and should be avoided like the plague.  When headphones don’t have ear cushions, your going to have a lot of discomfort as they rest on your ears.

D. Speakers

The small headphone speakers are what gives them the sound. Look for a pair which offers a wide dynamic range to make sure you can hear all of your tracks for when you’re EQing.

E. Headphone Cord

This chord often comes in 1/4′ and is very durable. Don’t buy headphones that us the standard 1/8′ because one step on them and *snap*, headphones ruined.

Check out this interesting post about the inner workings of headphones.

The Importance Of Choosing Great Headphones

In a previous post titled ‘How To Choose A Great Pair Of DJ Headphones‘ I give a complete explination of the tips and suggestions of choosing your first pair but for the sake of this post, let’s do a quick rundown.

Qualities of great DJ headphones

When choosing a great pair of DJ headphones you’ll need to look for 3 main qualities:

• Sound quality
• Durability
• Comfortability

The sound quality is the most important aspect of your DJ headphones. If you can’t hear every little detail of your music, you may end up mixing your tracks incorrectly using the EQs. Choosing a pair which offers a wide range of sound will ensure you can hear the lows and highs throughout your tracks.

The durability also plays an important part of choosing headphones. Not only should your headphones be able to withstand the wear and tear of usage, you need to make sure actual speakers can handle the constant abuse of playing loud music.

Finally, you should make sure your headphones are very comfortable. You’ll be wearing your headphones for variable lengths of time which can crunch down on your ears, hurting them over time.

One additional thing to look out for is to make sure your headphones are closed. This means that they completely surround the ears and block outside noise. This isolation is important so you can properly listen to your mixing.

Brands to avoid

Out of all the questions and comments I get from friends looking to buy headphones, there always seems to be a recurring theme: “are skullcandy headphones good for DJing?”

In short: no.

Skullcandy do offer decent quality in some aspects but in terms of using them for DJing, you’ll want to avoid them. Skullcandy generally don’t offer the same sound quality as a proper pair of DJ headphones, this alone is the most important reason not to buy them.

Where To Buy DJ Headphones Online

So you’re ready to buy a pair of DJ headphones yeh? But where the hell can you find them? Well, just short of telling you to Google it (I wouldn’t do that to ya), here are some places where you can buy headphones online.

• Amazon
• DJ Deals
• 123DJ
• ZZounds
• HollywoodDJ

When you shop on any of these sites, be sure to do a bit of competitive pricing. Take advantage of the fact that many of these shops will do a price match so if you enjoy one website, make sure you get the best price you can by telling them about competitors.

How To Buy DJ Headphones For Dirt Cheap (as in 70% off)

Okay, so here’s a secret I’ve been holding off for a while.

A few months back I began researching and sourcing where to buy headphones. At the time I had the great idea of selling headphones online.

After searching for many hours, I found out about Alibaba. Alibaba is a wholesale/business directory which lists many wholesale companies straight from China.

My first searches began for Pioneer HDJ1000’s. At this moment, these headphones retail for $99 on Amazon. Well, if you sign up on Alibaba and send an email or chat with the wholesalers on Alibaba, you can source these headphones for roughly $20!

I did further research and found a lot of companies are selling knockoffs which ruined my idea of selling them. I don’t want to jip people even if they are 100% replicas, it just wouldn’t feel right.

But for you, if you don’t mind taking a chance about if they are real or not, you can get the same headphones for about 70% off.

Helpful DJ Headphone Video Reviews

Final Thoughts

Hopefully this quick overview should get you up to speed about DJ headphones and choosing a pair.

Much like vinyl, headphones really become a fetish. You may end up owning multiple pairs (almost like women with shoes). Some pairs fit certain occasions, you may want a pair just for listening, others for DJing.

If you have anything else to add about DJ headphones, feel free to comment below.

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You’re probably asking: What does a DJ mixer do?

In this post, I’m going to give you a quick overview of the DJ mixer, what it does and how it fits into your equipment.

Previously I gave you the basics of vinyl turntables so now we’re moving onto a breakdown of the mixer.

DJ Mixer Overview

There are many different variations, forms and types of DJ mixers available on the market. You could get lost just trying to choose one for your setup.

Some DJ mixers feature great built in effects, others are more minimal in design but either way, you need one to complete your DJ setup.

Take a look at the basic mixer overview:

This is the Stanton RM-3s mixer. It’s fairly basic but provides you with all the essential controls to mix. There are certainly mixers that are more basic and others that offer twice the features but the RM-3s is a great example to learn what each element does for your DJ mix.

Let’s break down each part:

Disecting The DJ Mixer

The DJ mixer fulfills 3 major tasks:

• Input sound from your turntables
• Allows you to control the mix
• Outputs the sound to your sound system

It’s the piece of DJ equipment which holds it all together. Each element of the mixer controls a different portion of the mix.

Because you’re generally going to be hooking up 2 turntables to your mixer, I’m going to cover just one side of it because the other is the same thing.

Note: On higher end models, you will have additional inputs and controls. These allow you to hook up additional turntables, controllers and effects to play around with.

Here’s a breakdown of a DJ mixer (in our case, the RM-3s):

A. EQ Knobs

The EQ knobs generally give you 4 controls:

• Gain – this is how loud the channel is
• Hi – controls the high frequency instruments such as snares and cymbals
• Mid – controls the middle frequency instruments and most vocals
• Low – controls the kick and bass

When mixing, you will generally twist and turn each of these so each track will transition into another. Without the EQ knobs, your mix will sound muddle and uneven. It will sound like the tunes are clashing.

B. FX Loop

You may be wondering what the hell an FX Loop is?

Well, in short, it helps control external effects you have connected to your mixer.

C. Cue

The cue, on the RM-3s, allows you to switch which channel you’re listening to on your headphones. Because you are cueing up your next track, the switch is aptly named the cue. Flipping it ‘On’ will send the sound to your headphones.

D. X-Fader Reverse

This control isn’t absolutely necessary but it is occasinally handy.

The X-Fader Reverse switches the routing of your turntables so left becomes right and vice versa.

E. Kill Switches

The kill switches are fun little switches that … kill the frequency.

There are generally 3 kill switches

• Low
• Mid
• Hi

Just like the EQs, they will cut out the sound as if you dropped them to zero. This is can add a great effect when you want to drop the bass out and blast it back in or if you’re using it on other parts of the songs.

F. Slider

The most essential part on your mixer is the slider. This element allows you to transition the sound from one track to another, it’s the basis of mixing.

You can also control the mix using the vertical sliders…

G. Vertical Slider

With the horizontal slider, you’re doing a hard mix between track one and two.

With the vertical sliders, you’re controlling the overall volume of each track which allows you to also transition between each tracks with full control.

Instead of cutting over to track 2, you can gently bring in the sound from track 1 by using the vertical slider – it gives you the most amount of control while mixing.

H. Input

The input switch sets the mixer to receive sound from multiple sources.

In terms of the RM-3s, they allow:

• Phono
• Line 1
• Line 2

With these additional lines, you could hook up an extra set of turntables or effects to route sound, giving you more control over you mixing.

I. Mic (Check!)

The microphone knobs and switches are basically the same as the rest of the mixer minus the addition of the microphone jack – an XLR port. This port allows you to hook up a microphone while controlling it using the knobs and switches.

J. Headphone Jack and Controls

The headphone input lets you plug in your headphones. This jack is usually 1/4′.

If you don’t have headphones which have a 1/4′ jack, you can always pick up a 1/4′ to 1/8′ adaptor at RadioShack or online.

Headphones also have a switch which allows you to listen to both tracks at the same time or isolate a track depending on which side it is playing from (in tandem with the cue switch).

K. Master Controls

Okay, so for the last main knobs of the mixer are the:

• Pan
• Level

The pan will make your mix go from left to right, hence why it’s marked with an L (Left) and R (Right). This is great if you want to use it for sweeping effects, pulling the sound from one side to another.

The level is used for the overall sound. The higher your crank it, the louder it’ll get.

L. Sound Meter

The sound meter is a display which shows the sound levels of your tracks.

Be careful because if you start to redline, you can cause damage to your speakers.

Sound Input/Output

In the back of most mixers you’ll have many different ports to input and output sound.

Most mixers use:

• RCA – turntables and controllers
• XLR – microphone
• 1/4′ – speakers or external mixer/sound controllers

Additionally, there are connectors on the back for ground wires from your turntables. The ground wires will eliminate the buzz caused by electricity throughout the turntable – it grounds the wire.

As indicated, the input ports allow you to plug in your turntables and other equipment while the output sends the sound out.

How It All Fits

Once you have your turntables, mixer and speakers. Simply plug the turntables into the mixer using the input ports, route the sound out using the output, make sure all the levels are low when you first boot everything on and then you’re good to go!

Final Thoughts

As I mentioned, not every mixer is going to have the same features.

There are some which costs hundreds (even thousands) of dollars that give you all sorts of great additional effects and controls.

For the beginner DJ, a simple mixer that allows EQ controls, slider and headphone port will do.

All low end models of mixers will come with the basics so you’ll be ready to go once you have everything plugged in. You can expect to buy entry level models for about $100 (or lower if you use eBay).

Always look through the manual and try to give a mixer a test run before you buy it. Make sure it feels right and does what you need it to do – if possible.

So, what kind of mixer do you have?

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A vinyl turntable really doesn’t have many parts to it therefore it’s pretty quick to learn the basics.

In this post, I’ll cover the basics of vinyl turntables and what they do.

Vinyl Turntable Overview

Let’s take a look at the overall picture of a turntable for a moment. Look at the beauty of the design, it’s minimal in nature but packs a powerful punch.

Vinyl turntables haven’t changed much since their original designs. Over the years new features have been added but DJs always come back to the basics. They’re the foundation of every turntable which makes them essential to know.

Take a quick look at what we have here:

Okay, so I’ll try to do my best to break down what each of these numbered elements are and what they do.

A. 7″ Adapter

In the olden days, tracks came on small 7″ records.

Although you won’t be needing this much, this adapter lets you play these records. They use a larger central hole (the size of the adapter).

This just sits right over the nipple (stop giggling) of your turntable’s platter.

B. Speed Guage/Calibration

This piece of the turntable is a small (often) red strobe light which helps to show the patterns on your platter. When your platter spins, a different pattern is shown by the little bumps on the side.

On many turntables, the speed callibrations are:

• +6
• 3.3
• 0
• -3.3

These just tell you how fast your platter is spinning. It will noticeably be different when you switch your turntable from 33rpm to 45rpm.

C. On/Off

This on/off button simply turns the turntable platter…on and off. When you press it on, your platter will begin to spin and likewise, when you press it off, your platter will come to a halt.

D. Platter + Slipmat

Beneath the platter is the motor which will be either belt driven or direct drive. Learn the differences between these two in the Beginner DJ equipment guide.

The platter is (often) an aluminum piece which a connects to the motor (or belt) and allows you to rest the slipmat on top.

E. Speed Controls

Records come in all kinds of various speeds, most often they are 33rpm and 45rpm. This control allows you to switch between the two.

Although almost all of your DJ vinyl will be 33rpm, you’ll still find a couple floating around out there that are 45’s.

F. Cueing Light

This small light is just there to help you see your vinyl.

You’ll be playing in a dark venue, if you don’t have a small flashlight with you, you can use the cueing light to check where your vinyl currently is.

G. Cartridge

The cartridge houses all of the little electrical elements that allow it to pick up sound and transfer it to your mixer and speakers.

Within the cartridge is a stylus that runs along the record to pick up the vibrations in the grooves.

There are plenty of different types of cartridges available on the market so double check to make sure you choose the right one for your turntable.

H. Self Destruct Button

If you’re having a horrible set, train wrecking over and over again, the self destruct button will blast your turntables into oblivion and create a screen of smoke so you can make your exit.

I. Pitch Control

The most important controlling element of your vinyl turntable is the pitch control. This slider allows you to pitch the vinyl up or down which essentially means speed up or down.

Since many tracks aren’t the same speed, you’ll be using the pitch control quite often to match the two tracks you’re beatmatching.

Get used to this.

J. Counterweight / Anti-Skate

On the end of the tonearm is the counterweight and anti-skate.

The counterweight is there to help balance the weight of your turntable so it doesn’t sit harshly on top of your records nor drifts up during play.

The anti-skate (located in the same general area) helps your needle from skipping by applying a minute amount of force. If your needle keeps jumping around, you’ll need to adjust these two to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Miscellaneous

A few things not covered in detail in this post are the dust covers protect your turntable from, wait for it, dust!

There’s also various mechanics under the hood of the turntable but in the spirit of keeping this simple to get you up to speed, we’ll skip that for now.

Time For Hands On

Minds out of the gutter for a second.

After you’ve read through this (congrats btw) you should take a few minutes to really explore each element on your turntable.

You may have a vinyl turntable that has additional parts not covered in this post. Check your documentation or Google it to find out what each of these do.

I know you’re itching to just jump right in and mix with your turntables but even a few minutes to understand your gear better will keep you ahead of the game.

If you want an additional breakdown of the basic parts of a vinyl turntable, check out AudioJunkies Turntable Basics Guide.

Hope this helps.

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Every DJ needs a starting point and that often begins with choosing your first set of equipment. You’re already comfortable with the thought of DJing and you know your tracks, now you’re eager to get right into the mix.

But hold up for a second because if you jump in too quickly, you could end up spending a ton of money on worthless gear.

What is the best DJ equipment?

To begin, I want to empasize there is no best DJ gear, it’s all in your mind.

Allow me to explain: Much like a car, you are show dozens of options. They are always flashy and the salesman leads you to believe you need all of them but in the back of your mind you know something is up.

This is how DJ equipment works. A business is a business, large companies and retailers need to make their bottom line which means they’ll push DJ equipment on you which you don’t really need.

My best advice is to ask a friend or visit your local DJ shop, they usually don’t intend to sway your decision or push you to buy any DJ equipment you don’t need (usually).

Okay so are you ready to jump in and figure out what basic DJ equipment you will need?

At this point you nod and say yes.

A Short History Of DJ Equipment

Back in the old days, DJs were really limited. I mean…really limited. Modern DJs don’t know how well off they are compared to some of the originators but do consider that technology has to change, we all benefit from it.

Early DJ equipment comprised of basic turntables and don’t even think about a mixer because that would take a while to show up. DJs of yesteryear literally would just mix records back to back until Francis Grasso begins the craze that is slip-cueing (which later becomes beatmatching).

Not to bore you entirely about the history, I suggest you go take a look at The History Of DJing I wrote on BoyInABand.com.

So fast forward to today where we have a vast variety of choices when it comes to our DJ equipment.

I know, it’s a bit of a mind boggling experience when you first set out to buy your first DJ setup but stick with me here cause Muxx’ll fix you up.

Basic DJ Equipment: What You’ll Need

Every DJ setup comprises of just a few key elements:

• 2 turntables
• 1 mixer
• 1 pair of headphones
• 2 speakers to listen

Your most important element are your two turntables (and a microphone!). These are what play your music and can be many different formats.

Today, the most common turntable varieties are:

• Vinyl
• CD
• Digital

All 3 of these types have begun to blend with advances in technology. The MP3 you downloaded (ha, I caught you!) can be burned to a CD to play on a pair of CD decks. Likewise, you could just load them into a program and mix them with a digital controller. There is even time-coded vinyl which gives you that vinyl feel but digital music format.

For a beginner DJ, I suggest you scope out sites like:

• Amazon
• MusiciansFriend
• PlanetDJ

These websites have great deals on all kinds of DJ equipment, just be sure to shop around because where one will list a turntable at $500, another may have it at $400.

As far as my opinion goes, the 3 sets of turntables you should keep an eye out for are:

• Technics 1210’s (for vinyl DJs)
• CDJ-800’s or 1000’s (for CD DJs)
• Vestax VCI-300 (for digital DJs)

Expensive? Yes. But like many hobbies or careers, you need to invest in a proper set of turntables so you don’t burn through cheapo sets.

These 3 types of turntables are tried and true but remember that these are my personal opinions, make sure you ask your friends or other DJs before you make a purchase.

Okay, so let’s move onto the mixer.

The mixer is what bridges the sound from both turntables and allows you to hook up your headphones, control the sound and route it to your speakers.

In short, it’s what holds everything together.

The mixer allows you to control the sound however you see fit.

You can craft the music to sound completely different, add cool effects, create a better mix and remix any song you want.

A mixer doesn’t have to be your most expensive piece of basic DJ equipment but you should invest in one that will last you.

I would suggest:

• Pioneer DJM-800 (expensive!)
• Numark DXM09 (affordable)
• Behringer DX626 (basic)

Just make sure the mixer allows you to hook up your equipment, control the sound and has a slider (now that’s basic!).

Next up is my favorite topic of discussion: headphones!

Headphones are like some kind of sacred ritual, you know those movies where some old guy hands a kid the family weapon or something along those lines? That’s what finding a great pair of headphones is like.

Headphones really depend on your own personal preference, you just need to make sure they fit you, give you great sound and are sturdy enough.

I suggest you read through “how to choose a great pair of DJ headphones“, it’s a bit long winded but should get you right up to speed on picking out a great pair.

Lastly, we need to run through speakers.

Speakers make the sound, durr. There are lengthy articles all over the net that will be more than happy to explain to you the full workings of every electrical part of a speaker but we’re running through this quick.

For now, you could use your computer speakers. You may need a cable adapter to hook it up to your mixer but they’re really cheap, you can find them at any store (hint: try Radioshack – they could probably use some business anyway).

If you want to step up and buy a better pair, I suggest grabbing a set by M-Audio, they’re cheap and sound great.

And, if you wanna drop some big money, go check out some DJ/PA speakers but try to stick to brands you know and trust like JBL.

All-In-One Packages: A Quick Look

All in one DJ packages are about as basic as you can get. These “DJ in a box” sets give you turntables, a mixer, headphones and that’s about it – basic.

The main appeal many people have with these are their costs, they’re cheap as hell. For a little over $300, you can begin DJing without that expensive overhead.

If you take a look at this beginner DJ equipment setup by Numark, you can see it gives you what you need. The only problem is these pieces of equipment are a bit cheap and may break easily which is why I suggested the quality equipment above.

Don’t let this deter you however, these packages are fairly decent overall if you don’t want to invest a ton of money up front or you’re not entirely sure if you want to progress pass the bedroom.

Wrap It Up Already! I Thought You Said This Was Short!

Okay okay, sorry for dragging on a bit but I hope you enjoyed this quick run through of the basic DJ equipment you’d need to learn how to DJ.

Take some time to decided if you’re really passionate about DJing, if you didn’t hesitate to say YES! I say go for it and start picking up some gear.

Hope this helped ya.

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These music programs are really cool to play around with. The simple interfaces make it easy for anyone to jump right in and start mixing and making music.

I don’t know about you but when I’m stuck in work or class, I get the itch to spin some music – these programs take care of it.

JamGlue

JamGlue is a music app and website that lets users upload their own music or import them from other websites.

JamGlue allows you to:

• Upload or Record your own tracks
• Create a mix or remix someone else’s
• Share your music with the community or the web

For those out there that haven’t made the investment in DJ gear, JamGlue is a fun alternative. There are plenty of creative people in the community making some really cool mixes.

Flash Turntables

Have you ever wanted to try scratching but didn’t want to wear down your records or CDs?

Turntables.de offers a really fun flash “game” that lets you play around with turntables, a simple loops and a few other effects.

Because this is more of a game, you really don’t get the feel of scratching but it’s still fun to play around with.

There are two versions:

• Old School (Flash 3)
• New School (Flash 4)

The site obviously hasn’t been updated in a long time but I think it’s still worth checking out just to pass some time.

LoopLabs Music Studios

I’ve saved the best for last – you’ll love this one.

LoopLaps is a website/company that makes some very impressive mixing and music production applications that are fully available online – and free!

There are currently 3 applications:

• The Music Studio
• Dubstep Studio
• Electro-House Blender

Each of these follow the same premise: give you a workspace, drag and drop samples and create your own songs and mixes.

These music applications give you a real boost of creativity, especially if you’ve never tried making your own music.

Instead of downloading tons of samples or extensive programs, the applications by LoopLabs let you jump right into the mix and start playing around, making your own music.

This stuff is really fun.

The interface is really slick and gives you a lot of control over your song creation.

Combine this with a really cool community that shares and votes on different submitted mixes and you’ve got a helluva good time.

Just Wastin’ Time

These online music applications can really help you pass some time if you are bored or if you’re getting a creative stint where you don’t feel like mixing on your decks.

The communities are what really makes these applications cool, everyone is fairly helpful and make some really good music for the scope of each.

If you’ve got some time, I suggest starting with LoopLabs, you’ll have a lot of fun.

Have you found any online music applications?

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The problem with this is that I’m running low on new music to listen to in the car. With a total time of about 1 1/2 hours driving in traffic every day, listening to the same DnB set can get a little boring.

So out of the blue, I hopped in the car and ran down to the local Walgreens. Although I was there to pick up smokes and a few mailers to send out some books I sold on Amazon, I found something really badass…

It’s a small FM transmitter for your Ipod or any other MP3 player which has a 1/8′ headphone jack.

I found out I could hook this up to my Blackberry which I had a few dubstep mixes, so I road off blasting Excision.

But then it got me thinking, what if you could combine something like this to create a mobile rave?

Have you ever been at a party where it got shut down way too soon or something went wrong with the equipment?

Just recently I was at a beach party where the generator ran out and everything came down around 3am – it was suppose to go til the early morning! Dammit!

So what happens when the sound goes off? Everyone hops in their cars and starts playing their own music. Well not anymore.

MP3 Controller + Laptop + FM Transmitter = HOLYSHITWIN!

A lot of DJs are using digital controllers as their main interface coupled with their laptops. If you could combine an FM transmitter with this setup, you could use your car audio as the speakers and keep that rave going all night!

So here’s what youd do:

1. Plug in your controller to your computer
2. Attach the FM transmitter to your computer headphone jack
3. Set the sound to route through your internal mixer
4. Tune your radio to the correct channel
5. ???
6. RAVE

This, of course, means that you need to have a system that will handle the music but you can bet your ass there are a few people that will have a system that can handle it.

Also, if you invest a few hundred bucks, you could get your own system.

Killin’ Your Battery

The only problem with the FM transmitter and playing through your car’s system is that it’s going to eat the shit out of the battery.

If you have a proper system hooked up, you probably have a decent amp and an extra battery.

If you don’t, just make sure you keep enough juice in your battery so you can get out of there after the rave is over.

The FM transmitter I bought uses batteries but there are a bunch that you can buy that hook directly up to your cigarette jack, keep it running all night.

Screw The Cops!

Here’s the best thing about running a mobile rave using this setup.

If the cops came to shut you down earlier, they generally want you to pack up all your shit and gtfo. With all of your system now hooked up to be mobile, you don’t have to play entirely to their law about setting up equipment on a beach or other places.

Additionally, if you do get word that cops are coming out to the area, you can pack up and head out before they ever get there. Keep that rave mobile and hop to the next location.

Is That A Good Idea Or What?

I think this could be a really awesome thing to try out. Think about it, you only need a few hundred bucks to invest in a good system for your car and maybe a digital controller.

Most of us have a laptop already and if you don’t you could always borrow one from a friend.

Now combine this with those portable projectors and you’ll have visuals running as well.

That FM transmitter was the best $20 I spent this week, so many good ideas.

FM Transmitters on Amazon

Let me know if you’ve ever tried anything crazy like this, how’d it go and what happened with the cops.

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Using a small pair of headphones you get from Ipods are definitely not what you’ll want to DJ with. In fact, most headphones you’re able to buy at the local stores aren’t all that great.

For DJs, headphones need to be very robust, provide great quality sound and need to be very comfortable, this is why there are headphones made specifically for DJing.

In this post, we’ll look at some of the things you should consider when buying a pair of DJ headphones without burning a hole in your pocket.

A quick overview

DJ headphones are very similar in design to most headphones but they do exhibit a few different features:

• Much more durable
• Higher end audio
• Flexible design
• Comfortability

These features can generally be found in high end audiophile headphones but you would never want to use these for DJing because of the costs and damage you can cause to them from the extreme amounts of sound you’re pumping through ‘em.

So, let’s take a look at some of these features in depth.

Durability

Durability, in relation to DJ headphones, doesn’t simply mean how much you could toss them around and step on them, it also means how durable the components of the headphones and connections used with them.

These additional components, such as the headphone speakers and the headphone chord, need to be very durable because you will find yourself pushing your headphones to extreme sound levels.

When you are pumping massive bass through your headphones, keeping them at such a high level during your mix, will eventually start to destroy the speakers. DJ headphones are designed in a way which allows them to take these high levels of audio for an extended period of time without damaging the components.

The headphone chords on DJ headphones are generally much thicker than generic headphones, usually 1/4′ cabling. If you were to run a standard 1/8′ speaker chord to your mixer, one sharp turn could slap your wire.

Finally, the actual structural durability is also very important. From all the traveling you may be doing, you’ll want a pair of headphones which can take the abuse of being tossed around in your DJ bag or getting dropped in a dark room.

High-End Audio

Many people listen to music through very cheap sound systems because it’s all they can find at retailers. The loudness war has been going for quite some time; the music industry continues to push the loudness of music, destroying its dynamic range.

Because so many headphones on the market are very cheap and the combination of horrid mixing from music labels, they don’t give you a correct representation of the music. These cheap headphones do not offer the same low and high end as many DJ headphones.

DJ headphones should have a large dynamic range (at least 20hz – 20khz) which will allow you to listen to the deep frequencies of bass and the high sounds of snares and other high pitched instruments.

When headphones have this dynamic range you can hear the music how it actually sounds so you can monitor it correctly to build your mix.

Flexibility

One of the main aspects of DJ headphones which most normal headphones lack is flexibility.

You’ve seen it done by every DJ, half of the headphone on, half of it off. The reason why DJs go half and half is so they can listen to the mixing in one ear while monitoring the mix as it sounds over the system.

Good DJ headphones should be flexible so you can bend them around your head without snapping.

Comfortability

When you are mixing for hours on end, you’ll definitely begin to curse yourself for purchasing a cheap pair of headphones.

Comfortable headphones are a must for DJs.

Comfortable headphones should sit on your ears without placing too much pressure to cause discomfort.

DJ headphones are generally closed ear headphones so they wrap completely around your ears. This form will be very comfortable while wearing but will also allow you to block out a lot of sound so you can concentrate on your mixing.

Bonus: Get what sounds right

With all of the above suggestions aside, you should get DJ headphones which fit your personal style and expectations.

You could purchase $300 headphones that have amazing dynamic range but if you have ear damage, it kind of makes that extra money you’ve invested a bit pointless.

Don’t necessarily aim for the cheapest pair but don’t spend an arm and a leg for a pair that is going to break the bank. Visit shops which allow you to wear a pair before hand to get a feel of how you like them before purchasing them.

Hopefully this post has helped you in deciding which type of DJ headphones to pick up. These 4 suggestions will help you save some extra cash so you don’t waste money on sub par headphones. Headphones should feel like an extension of your body, nothing is quite like being wrapped up in your own world while listening to music.

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After running around the thrift stores, checking out the vinyl bins (nothing good) I found myself standing in front of the home items section staring at a door – I knew I could make something.

For under $30 you can build your own DJ stand that is sturdier than hell to absorb all the vibrations and you get from the music and you get to have some fun while you build it.

The materials

For the DJ stand , I used only 2 items:

• A Large, Solid Wood Door (preferably without grooves)
• 8 Cinder Blocks

You may also want to have a few items on hand:

• A screwdriver
• Paint (optional)

Using a door for your DIY DJ stand

When I was standing there, looking at the doors, I knew I needed to build a DJ stand that would be able to hold a lot of equipment (turntables, mixer, speakers and the various drum machines and midi controllers I had laying around).

When you pick out a door, you want to find one that is solid wood. It’s going to be really heavy but you’ll want a solid wood door because of all the vibrations you’ll pick up from your speakers and movement while DJing, these vibrations could skip your tracks.

I bought the door for $10 but I’m sure I could have haggled them to $5. Loading the door in the blazer was the toughest part but I got it in there.

Once you get it home, you’ll need to remove the door knob which is done by unfastening a few screws and popping it out.

At this point you can choose to sand it down or paint it. For mine, it already had a decent paint job on it so I was done with it.

Using cinder blocks for the legs in your DIY DJ stand

Next you want to have something for your door to lay on, I chose cinder blocks.

Cinder blocks are great because you can get them for a little over $1 each at a Home Depot or any other hardware store.

You want your DJ stand to be right around waist level so you aren’t bending over while mixing – it hurts your back. Likewise, you don’t want your stand to sit too high up else you’re going to feel uncomfortable reaching upwards to mix.

I’m a little over 6 feet tall so I grabbed 10 cinder blocks in total.

Build 2 ‘legs’ of cinder blocks stacked on top of each other, 4 blocks per leg. Using 4, it set the height right where I wanted it, waist level.

Putting it all together

Now that you have your cinder block ‘legs’ stacked and ready to go, all you need to do at this point is to throw the door on top.

You may need some help if the door is really large or very heavy so grab a bud and get it up on top of the legs.

Viola! You have yourself a DJ stand for under $30.

Hooking up the little things

After you have your stand set up you may want to add a few other things such as a surge protector strip so you can plug everything into without having to bend over or crawl underneath to hook all the power chords up.

I had an extra surge protector strip sitting around so I bolted it down into the door with a few screws so it didn’t slide around.

Now with a flick of a switch, I can power up everything without messing around with additional wall sockets.

Throw in some monitor speakers

Remember the 2 extra cinder blocks I picked up? They didn’t go to waste. I took one of each and placed them on the end sides of the new DJ stand to set my monitor speakers on top of.

This works wonders because the vibrations from the speakers and distort the sound if they are moving around plus it put them at about chest level.

If you want to blend in the cinder blocks to your new DJ stand just grab a can of spray paint and color up your blocks, done and done.

Okay, yeah I was cheap

But that doesn’t mean that the stand isn’t shit, it’s actually really great. For under $30 you could build your own stand that is 6ft x 4ft wide, think of all the stuff you can set up there.

At the moment I place my vinyl shelf up on top so I don’t have to bend over and hunt for them in crates on my floor.

It doesn’t look like the best thing in the world but the thing is a beast.

So, it’s your choice: pay $150+ for a DJ stand or make your own for under $30. Think about it, $120 that could be going toward new gear or vinyl – that’s good thinking.

Here’s to all my DIY readers out there, cheers!

Have you made any DIY DJ equipment or stands? Post a comment below and share how you did it and what materials you used!

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I don’t recommend taking grandma out to your next rave but there are a few things you can learn from the same gear she used to spin ‘recs.

At some point while DJing you’ll need to invest in a new set of DJ cartridges for your turntable. These cartridges aren’t expensive and are often very easy to find but there are differences in each which you should know about.

Read on…

The anatomy of DJ cartridges

To put it in the most simplest of terms: the cartridge is what transfers the vibrations from the record into sound.

The needle rides between the grooves of a record and vibrates as it passes along the grooves. The needle is housed inside of the cartridge which in turn is screwed onto the tonearm of your turntable.

There are many various companies which make cartridges but don’t worry because modern cartridges will fit into most turntables due to turntable manufacturers standardizing the connections.

Additional info about needles

DJ cartridges (and pretty much every modern cartridge) use two types of needles:

Spherical needles have a rounded tip which allows them to sit in the grooves and skip less compared to elliptical needles. Spherical needles are used by many beginner DJs (since most basic ones are spherical) and turntablists because they won’t slip while they are scratching and spinning. Unfortunately, spherical needles will cause more wear and tear on your vinyl.

Elliptical needles have a finer point (triangular) so it will sit snuggly between the grooves of the record. Although elliptical needles are more prone to skipping, they provide a better sound quality compared to spherical needles. These types of cartridges are great for DJs that won’t be manhandling their records (think: Trance DJs).

Additional info about cartridges

As mentioned above, the majority of cartridges have become universal for most DJ turntables. The cartridges will screw into the tonearm, touching the connectors and viola, you’re set.

There are two types of cartridges to look out for:

• Half-Inch Mount
• P-Mount

Half-Inch mounted cartridges use a separate mounting piece to connect the cartridge to the tonearm. Additionally, these half-inch mounted cartridges require you to connect the wires – you should generally avoid these (plus most pro DJ cartridges don’t use this type).

P-Mount cartridges is similar to half-inch but all of the connectors are housed internally in the cartridge shell. The P-Mount cartridges is what you’ll be using to DJ.

Which types of cartridges to buy and where

Okay, so this gets us to the most important question of the post: what kind of cartridge should I look for?

For those beginner DJs that want a cheap (but good) pair of cartridges, I would recommend to pick up a pair of Shure M25C ($30) or Stanton 500 V.3 ($75/pair).

For DJs that is willing to spend a bit more money for their cartridges at this point or upgrading, I would recommend the Ortofon Concorde Pro Twin Pack ($200), hands down.

Here are a few pointers before choosing a cartridge:

• Will you do more scratching (spherical) or more mixing (elliptical)?
• Don’t buy the cheapest pair – they will break easily and have crap sound quality
• Don’t buy the most expensive pair (when beginning DJing) – you probably don’t need audiophile level sound quality at this point in time.

Don’t neglect your gear

You should try to replace your cartridges over time because they will experience some major wear and tear from DJing.

You should understand that DJing does also wears on your records, you’re placing a metal needle onto a piece of vinyl.

Like most mechanical devices, you should should try to keep a regular schedule of maintenance to make sure everything is running up to speed and doesn’t cause any more damage to the other parts.

Hopefully this post showed you the types of cartridges DJs use and what to look for when buying them.

As a side note: watch out when wearing a loose shirt, it’s really easy to catch the edge of it on your needle – quickly breaking it (I know…it sucks).

Wanna add some insight or advice? Post a comment below and tell me what you think beginner DJs should be looking for in cartridges

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