Half hour DJ set- roughly how many songs (newbie)

[chico enrico]

It's interesting that the DJ's who tend to do the long 4 hour or more sets also tend to play the dullest music

there will be DJs who play the dullest music for 4 hours - there will be DJs who play the best music you have ever heard for 4 hours.

there will be DJs who play the dullest music for 30 mins - there will be DJs who play the best music you have ever heard for 30 mins.

unfortunately, the sensation with the latter is like having the best meal you have ever seen put infront of you only to be taken away after one mouthfull.

 

[clandestino]

evidently you have never heard of ron hardy, frankie knuckles, larry levan, kevin saunderson or 1001 other seminal DJs i could mention then? anyway, i'm not arguing as we probably exist in very different orbits when it comes to our ideas of a good clubnight. each to their own n' all that.

just a joke, amigo!

i happen to agree with you, funnily enough. it's much more satisfying for a dj to build a set over a few hours, rather than play a quick hit of dancers in half an hour. i did a guest slot in stockholm a few years back where i did three half hours - there were three djs in the main room and we were rotating half hour slots each. i found it really frustrating because i didn't feel i could go anywhere interesting. you had to kick off your set with the same momentum as the person before, and before you knew it it was all over. you're right - i've never heard of ron hardy or larry levan, but i understand your point because the theory of building a set is the same whether you're a 'party' dj or a 'proper' dj.

but when you're starting out, half hour is perfect. good luck oswald - slay 'em with the hits! and if no one dances, don't beat yourself up about it. just enjoy the songs and have a laugh with it.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

It's also interesting that, without exception, the biggest wankers I encounter via work are always DJs, not proper musicians.

Look mate, you're just playing records, it doesn't fucking matter that your monitor is a bit "toppy", pull your head out your arse and get on with it.


Grrrrrrr.

 

[clandestino]

It should sound great if it's live or on record, surely? The end result is the same - music that people can enjoy listening to or dance to. It's shortchanging the punters if the sound is only good for one and not the other. I don't use monitors because I prefer to hear what everyone else is hearing but it is offputting when the sound isn't quite right - too bassy, too trebley or whatever. And it does affect the night, as people won't be as eager to dance to a song if it sounds a bit odd.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Oh, I'll always make sure that the FOH sound is as good as can be, I just get fucked off with whiny superstar DJ wankers making out they're some sort of musician


Oh, and RED LIGHTS ARE A BAD THING, TURN IT DOWN YOU CLUELESS FUCKING ARSEHOLES.





And.... breathe.

 

[clandestino]

But if it sounds weird to a DJ it is offputting. It's nothing to do with pretending you're a musician. Although why a DJ needs monitors if they're in the same room that they're DJ-ing in is beyond me. As I say, I always turn them off - it's important to be experiencing exactly what everyone else is experiencing.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

But if it sounds weird to a DJ it is offputting. It's nothing to do with pretending you're a musician. Although why a DJ needs monitors if they're in the same room that they're DJ-ing in is beyond me. As I say, I always turn them off - it's important to be experiencing exactly what everyone else is experiencing.

I'll admit that for beatmatching a monitor is pretty much essential, as otherwise all the reflections and delays caused by the sound bouncing round the room can fuck you up a bit...

 

[clandestino]

That makes sense. I just play records so I wouldn't know.

 

[Supine]

Planning a set in advance has the advantage of pracctice and comfort.

It'll rarely workon a dancefloor though. You need enough tunes so that you can pick-up the vibe from the last DJ and take it somewhere. I always have hundreds of tunes on CD so that I can take the vibe in a direction I hadn't predicted at the beginning of the night. Freestyle baby!

 

[chico enrico]

But if it sounds weird to a DJ it is offputting. It's nothing to do with pretending you're a musician. Although why a DJ needs monitors if they're in the same room that they're DJ-ing in is beyond me. As I say, I always turn them off - it's important to be experiencing exactly what everyone else is experiencing.

which would be two records out of synch by about a fraction great enough to sound like two steam trains starting up in the same station.

i think this is because people soak up sound or something but unless you're pretty much djing to mates in your room monitors are essential in any venue. the larger the venue the better monitoring required.

 

[chico enrico]

It's also interesting that, without exception, the biggest wankers I encounter via work are always DJs, not proper musicians.

actually i'd say i have met more msusicians who are WANKERS than djds i'd say are wankers.

Djs invariably just tend to be very dull and lacking social skills. Also lots of the Detroit and Chicago ones are hardcore christians. I always used to find it a bit strange when i'd have Djs over for the club i was doing in the 90s and you'd take them out on the night the night before and they'd start asking you about what church you go to and what time they had to be up the day following Djing to attend a service.

Also, as is often the case with musicians too, sometimes the very biggest ones you ever meet are actually OK as they appear to have , like, transcended being up themselves and have come full circle to being fairly down to earth and just appreciative of the position they are in.

it's the wannabees and folk who turn up at a party/club with a bag of records and try to hassle their way onto the decks who are the biggest cunts.

 

[topaz]

LOL... i was booked to play in germany last year.. i took enough tunes for 4 hrs... at midnight the club looked empty and i was told to play an hour as i'd journeyed all that way.. so i jumped on the decks... half an hour later the club was packed out and i ended up playing for 4 hrs by demand...thankfully i'd had the foresight to take enough tunes, with enough versatility, to do that, ... the promoters refer to that 4 hr set as 'legendary' and i've been back since and done more or less the same thing. .. be prepared djs!

 

[chico enrico]

indeed. anywhere outside Britain playing a set for any less than two hours would just be looked upon with bewilderment and abject confusion.

 

[clandestino]

i think this is because people soak up sound or something but unless you're pretty much djing to mates in your room monitors are essential in any venue. the larger the venue the better monitoring required.

if you're beatmatching, yes. but if you're playing records, there's really no need.