Get two direct-drive turntables. Any basic DJ set-up must involve two record players for you to simultaneously play one song while beat-matching another, cross-fading, scratching, and doing all the little tricks that make DJ-ing an art. Without simultaneous turntables, it's hard to pull off on vinyl, beat matching etc. Good turntables are the single most important place to spend your money. A good starter turntable is the Audio Technica 1240, which is somewhat cheaper than AT's high-end models, but is still high quality. It also features USB inputs to allow for digital-analog interface. It's a good professional record player for the beginner.
It's important that you do not get a belt-drive turntable for DJing. While perfectly useful for listening to vinyl at your house, belt-driven turntables feature a separate motor that drives a rubber belt, which is used to spin the plate and the record. This means you can't scratch or pause the record player while you're spinning. Direct-drive motors are directly attached to the plate, making them ideal for DJs.
Get an appropriate pre-amp for your turntable, if necessary. Depending on your record player, you might need a pre-amp to boost sound. Some record players have built-in pre-amps that make external varieties somewhat obsolete, but it's best to be sure. When you purchase your turntables, make sure to find out whether or not you'll need a preamp to go with them. Pre-amps can run anywhere from $50-500, and while it's nowhere near the most essential item in your set-up, a good pre-amp has everything to do with the quality of the sound you're going to get. Without good quality sound, nobody is going to dance to your killer sets. Keep that in mind when you're buying your gear.
Get the necessary vinyl hardware. Since a record player is essentially a needle scratching into vinyl grooves to create sound, there are a lot of little things that'll help to optimize the sound quality and the durability of your set-up. There's a lot to balance all at once.
You'll need things like: record cleaning fluid and a vinyl brush
extra styluses and cartridges
an anti-static slip-mat for the turntable
RCA cables
an outlet power strip
a great pair of headphones
Get a mixer. An entry-level mixer, like a Vestax
would be appropriate to connect your two turntables and shift between
them. This is an important piece of a DJ's gear. When you see someone
spinning records and performing that distinctive flip-switch during the
scratches, that's on the mixer. You can fade between your two channels,
adjust the volume, and make other necessary adjustments. Most of the
tricks of the trade are found here.
Consider getting your own PA speakers. If you want to
be truly independent--a traveling party machine--you'll also need to
invest in your own speakers to play your music through. A good pair of
Mackies or Behringers can cost anywhere from $100 to well in excess of
that. Think about the size of the rooms you'll be playing and the kind
of sound you'll have to compete with, and invest in a good but moderate
variety of speaker.
- If you're trying to get into DJing at a venue or other place with a house PA, then you could hold off on getting speakers, which can be expensive, but if you're going to play parties, you'll need to provide your own speakers. Don't risk playing through a crappy home entertainment sound system. Get some high quality speakers you know your careful playlists will sound great through.
Consider investing in a DJ starter pack. Audio
Technica and other brands will often compile starter packs, that provide
you will a relatively cheap pair of turntables, a mixer, and the other
necessary equipment to get started DJing, at less than the cost of
purchasing everything separately. In general, the quality is at the low
end of the spectrum, but that's what makes it perfect for the beginner:
you don't know the difference yet.
- These packages usually run about $1200, and are a great option if you're not a big audiophile with lots of opinions about what kind of gear you want to learn on.
Start collecting a sizable amount of vinyl records.
Essential to the vinyl DJ's set-up is his collection of tasty and
obscure vinyl records that'll get crowds moving. Start hitting up places
where you can buy vinyl cheaply and reliably, and start learning to
look for deep-cuts and grooves that nobody's heard before, as well as
the latest in electronic and dance music.
Hit up the regular used record stores, but don't neglect thrift
stores, flea markets, and yard sales for the best deals. Libraries
regularly are still liquidating their old stock and have basements full
of vinyl waiting to be plucked on the cheap.
Thai psychedelic funk? Mexican psych rock? The great vinyl is out there
waiting to be discovered by DJs like you. Start learning to recognize
labels that you respect and who reliably put out good vinyl, even if
you've never heard it. When you see anything on that label for a good
price, snatch it up.
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