Quote: (01-09-2013 11:54 AM)damngringo Wrote:
Lukey, the shittiest part of my story that I was dodging any sort of music education when I was a kid. I've picked up some theoretical stuff from guitar (like what chords sound well together, progressions and other basics), but if I just concentrate of mixing a few songs smoothly it may still sound like shit lol. So basically, apart from equipment, where do I start given this information?
At the moment, I was thinking about this thing Numark iDJ Live - it's super cheap, simple and will help to learn the basics with just an iPad. Otherwise, I've been playing around with Mixx, Traktor & similar on my laptop. Ableton & Cubase are awfully complicated so far
Music education isn't a prerequisite. I can't play an instrument, yet I can mix any 2 songs together and tell you if they are in key or not. That just comes from 1000's of hours of practice and playing to myself in my bedroom. Don't stress about that aspect. Just buy some gear to get started and have fun with it.
Cubase is production software, so don't worry about that just yet. The reason why Ableton seems confusing to you at this stage is because you don't understand the theory behind mixing two records. The reason why producers/dj's stand the test of time and are always able to stay current with the latest tech is because they understand the background theory, and each piece of breakthrough technology just builds on the last. Many moons ago Daft Punk used to mix on two turntables and an analogue mixer. Now they rock it in a pyramid in robot suits with Ableton rewired through a pair of old Moogs. Ok, maybe the helmets and pyramid are irrelevant, but my point is they started in the same way everyone else does; mixing two records together. Once you can do this, you can move on to the software and you will find it a lot easier.
Quote: (01-10-2013 05:37 AM)reaper23 Wrote:
i dj'ed professionally through the 90's playing house, acid house, tribal. i literally just put my turntables away a few months ago
lukey - do you play anything from the 90's? any lables that typify your sound?
Acid house is sick. I wish I was around for that wave of music. It must of been a very exciting time to be part of the scene.
These days I love Viva, 8bit, Cadenza, Minus, Get Physical, Diynamic, Vagabondos, Technasia and Soma among a host of others.
Quote: (01-11-2013 07:28 AM)damngringo Wrote:
Also, Ableton or Traktor? Ableton seems difficult and more producer-oriented, though gains popularity as a versatile live-playing tool. Traktor and similar have been around for years and probably is a good traditional way to start.
As per my earlier comments, start mixing CD's or vinyl, then get Traktor. Once you have mastered that, get onto Ableton. It is a very powerful program in the right hands and can be used for both production and mixing. It is basically limitless in its capabilities.
Traktor is simple to use if you understand how to mix records. It is also a great way to be mobile as you only need your laptop and dongle or controller (eg. Traktor S4) without having to lug around a pile of cd's, vinyl etc.