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Best DJ record decks for a beginner?

re djing and cheap decks.

IMO any dj who can't play on cheap decks is a shit dj.

I've played and beat matched on the shittest set ups known to man, learning on a pair of belt drives, playing out on loads of well dodgy set ups at house parties etc.

if you're mainly going to be playing at house parties, then you're much better getting used to playing on shit set ups than starting with technics then getting phased by being asked to play on a shit set up the first house party you play.

worst set up I ever played on was one shit belt drive technics copy with pitch control, and one deck with no pitch control at all... I did an 8 hour set coz every other dj who came up to blag a set bottled it when I showed them the set up and told them if they played they had to beat match.;)


this also helps when it comes to playing clubs where some fuckers spilled beer on the pitch control or somthing... it's no use throwing a strop and storming out of the dj booth, you've just got to get on with it and keep the party going with the equipment you've got.
 
free spirit said:
this also helps when it comes to playing clubs where some fuckers spilled beer on the pitch control or somthing... it's no use throwing a strop and storming out of the dj booth, you've just got to get on with it and keep the party going with the equipment you've got.
Click to expand...
Yep. Learning the basics from the ground up and getting a real understanding of what's involved on the way is always better than just starting at the top and finding yourself helpless when faced with lesser gear (and unless you're an A list celeb DJ, you'll definitely be playing with shit gear when you play out sooner or later).

All IMO, of course.
 
I can remember people being asked to DJ on a portable CD player and a home CD player at the early Ritzy Offlines. In fact, we had to do that at a Dogstar gig too.

Mind you, I drew the line when the Ritzy said that all they had was a single carousel CD player and nothing else!
 
I bought some numark decks to start off with. I was shit though and basically just played about on them and used them for parties. I was never going to play out and on a budget they were fine! There's so much to learn and if you find it hard or just want to mess about on them it's best to start off small, I think. You can always upgrade, like you say!
 
beatmatching on shit decks is easy enough (although not as easy as on technics, granted)... but if you want to do anything fancy like scratching, spinbacks & the like, you need to spend cash...
 
For cheap quality decks get the KAM DDX 3000 from DJ superstore I bought a package with everything for GBP 350 (ish)

I brought my first SL1200's in 1991 I up graded to black 1210's in 1993 and sold them 1999.

A year after I sold my 1210's I really regreted it but could never justify spending GBP1,500 on a new set up so I went without untill 2004. In 2004 I finally had enough did loads of research and decided to buy a pair of KAM DDX3000's.

I have to say the DDX3000 are great, I can do everything I could do on my 1210's and even have +10 -10 to play with, and a reverse button. I came into some cash last year and thought about getting another pair of 1210's but in the end blew the lot on tunes. 1210's are sexy and yes they are the most robust and best looking decks but they are not the be all and end all.

The only thing I would say is if you buy a package like the one I did it is worth up-grading the mixer and carts. Having said that I brought a new mixer and fancy carts but decided to go with what came with the package for the first 6 months and had no problems.

Mixing records is all about time and patients not having the best equipment.

Having been in the mix for 17 years I can honestly say it is only in the last year I have got to the stage where I can pick out any two random records from my collection and beat mix them perfectly every time. And the reason is it is the first time I have had a dedicated music room at home where I can just go and practise every night. I practise every day for at least half an hour. And behold at last I can mix Gypsy Wowan with Octave one !

You can also scratch and do spin backs on the DDX3000. I am still to shy to scratch live, but one day.

Only down side to DDX3000's I got booked to play at one of my brothers parties last month .As it was my first ever gig in Auckland I spent two weeks getting together a killer set from Disco to hip hop to detroit techno. Had everything planned to perfection. Got to the venue and it suddenly dawned on me they were using 1210's +8 and -8 only. I had worked my whole set out at home based around having +10 and -10. I was able to change a few things around so all was good, but there you go even the old 1210's have some draw backs.
 
zeedoodles said:
For cheap quality decks get the KAM DDX 3000 from DJ superstore I bought a package with everything for GBP 350 (ish)

I brought my first SL1200's in 1991 I up graded to black 1210's in 1993 and sold them 1999.

A year after I sold my 1210's I really regreted it but could never justify spending GBP1,500 on a new set up so I went without untill 2004. In 2004 I finally had enough did loads of research and decided to buy a pair of KAM DDX3000's.

I have to say the DDX3000 are great, I can do everything I could do on my 1210's and even have +10 -10 to play with, and a reverse button. I came into some cash last year and thought about getting another pair of 1210's but in the end blew the lot on tunes. 1210's are sexy and yes they are the most robust and best looking decks but they are not the be all and end all.

The only thing I would say is if you buy a package like the one I did it is worth up-grading the mixer and carts. Having said that I brought a new mixer and fancy carts but decided to go with what came with the package for the first 6 months and had no problems.

Mixing records is all about time and patients not having the best equipment.

Having been in the mix for 17 years I can honestly say it is only in the last year I have got to the stage where I can pick out any two random records from my collection and beat mix them perfectly every time. And the reason is it is the first time I have had a dedicated music room at home where I can just go and practise every night. I practise every day for at least half an hour. And behold at last I can mix Gypsy Wowan with Octave one !

You can also scratch and do spin backs on the DDX3000. I am still to shy to scratch live, but one day.

Only down side to DDX3000's I got booked to play at one of my brothers parties last month .As it was my first ever gig in Auckland I spent two weeks getting together a killer set from Disco to hip hop to detroit techno. Had everything planned to perfection. Got to the venue and it suddenly dawned on me they were using 1210's +8 and -8 only. I had worked my whole set out at home based around having +10 and -10. I was able to change a few things around so all was good, but there you go even the old 1210's have some draw backs.
Click to expand...

Lots of info, thanks for taking the time to share it mate :)
 
No problems dude.

Main thing is just enjoy whatever you buy and don't take the whole mixing thing too seriously or you will get board. Unless your a natural (I only know about 3) it will take ages, just enjoy the ride.:)
 
Well, now I finally have everything set up thought I'd report back what I ended up with:

2 x Numark TT1650s
Numark DM1001X mixer
Headphones, mic, 20 vinyl
£82 off ebay

Cambridge Audio Azur 340A
Mordaunt-short Avant 900i, + speaker cable
£320 Richer Sounds

I'm extremely pleased with the setup. The sound quality is excellent, bass isn't quite the level you'd get with floor standers but it's plenty for my flat. The decks are all in working order, direct drive pushes hard enough, mixer has just the level of controls I need as a beginner. One thing I'm looking at upgrading are the headphones, but I'm very, very happy with everything and could stick with this for a long while.

So, while I could have waited till Xmas to have enough cash for Technics, I think I've got a pretty good bargain off ebay that's exactly what I wanted. Highly recommend the decks to anyone else looking at starting out DJing.

Now, back to the vinyl :cool::)
 
sounds goood! have fun, enjoy and may the beat always be coming when you expect it ;):D:cool:

peace dj :)
 
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