How to be a Disc Jockey

How to beatmatch using Virtual DJ

2011-10-08T02:51:00.000-07:00

Numark NS7 Controller with Virtual DJ 7.01

2011-10-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

DNS_Summer Remix 2011

2011-09-26T02:32:00.001-07:00

DNS Summer Remix 2011 by DJ_DNS

2011-01-08T04:38:00.000-08:00

Skytec Active Sub-woofer 15Inch 500W

2010-12-27T23:41:00.000-08:00

How to replace a Turntable Phone Head Cartridge

2010-12-11T23:49:00.000-08:00

It’s All About Your Audience

Are you playing for swing dancers or snotty 16-year-old punks? Do you have roots in hip-hop but your crowd is begging for dance rock? Is some guy in a cowboy hat sucking down a Pabst Blue Ribbon giving you an evil eye because you’re playing Eminem? Does the girl with the pierced eyelids truly appreciate the Mozart you’re bustin out? (Can she even see?) This might seem far-fetched but you’ll run into similar situations at many mobile parties. The key to success as a mobile or club DJ is timing combined with effective and relevant music

programming. You’ve got to know your audience and what they’ll respond to. Hopefully, you’ll have a clue before you get tossed into the situation, but you’ll often walk in blind. Even the best prepared mobile DJ's with all of their forms and music lists submitted before the affair can run into unexpected surprises that find them unprepared.

I had that experience at a wedding reception. I wasn’t aware that the bride’s mother had filled out the song request sheet in advance because the bride assured me that she and her fiancé worked on it together. Obviously, mom’s tastes were a little different than her daughter’s. I was prepared for this big elegant affair with lots of disco and traditional dance rock. The bride and groom had recently come back from an early honeymoon cruise to the islands where all they danced to was reggae, and naturally, they wanted major reggae at their wedding reception. The problem was that no one told me this, so I was short on reggae that day. Fortunately, I brought my cell phone and arranged to have someone bring my reggae collection to the affair.

I constantly had to remind myself that I was buying this music specifically for DJ use. I didn’t necessarily like the songs I bought, but I knew that a majority of my mobile and club customers would respond to it. Unless you’re becoming a DJ as a hobby and just making mix CDs or tapes for your friends, it’s important to remember that you’re usually not playing for yourself. You’ll need to open your mind play a lot of music you’ll probably hate.

Most situations a beginner DJ will face involve familiar music rather than non-familiar music. Mobile DJ's and mainstream club DJ's are limited to playing music everyone already knows. Big city club audiences tend to be trendier, always looking for the next big thing. So big city club DJ's can get away with breaking new records no one has ever heard. Fortunately, this is a good thing for new DJ's. You’ll have the luxury of time to learn the classics you’ll need to learn before you’ll get a job at the big city club. By that time, you’ll have a large knowledge of music, and a better sense of which new or non-familiar records will generate a positive response.

Dedicated to Michael Jackson - Hold my Hand (DNS Remix)

2010-12-10T15:05:00.001-08:00

2010-12-08T21:38:00.000-08:00

Important things to keep in mind when you’re learning to mix?

Knowing your levels, and learning how to separate your ears is fundamental. But the most crucial thing is knowing your mp3's or records. Find out the BPM of all of your records, so you know the tempos when you’re starting out.The next step is balancing your headphone and your monitor levels. You don’t want your headphone mix to be too loud to the point where you can’t hear your monitor mix, and vice versa Downbeat. If you know where the downbeat is,

then you start listening for the snare, and matching the snare up to the other one. If you know the snares of both records, it helps you distinguish between them. In

many environments, and especially in your headphones, it’s easier to hear the snare than the kick.

A lot of times, the bass frequencies are so low that they all blend together. That’s why I think most people mix off the snare.

The hardest part is being able to distinguish the two records when you are slowly blending them in. I call that “separating your ears.”

2010-12-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

Skytec Pro1000Watts (DJ Amplifier)

2 x 500 W RMS at 4 Ohms (equivalent 2 x 800 W Max at 4 Ohm or 2 x 500 W Max at 8 Ohm)
Stable, transport friendly steel housing
Suitable for rack installation

High quality amplifier with incredible sound. Robust steel construction. Ideal for PA, monitoring or home use.
Skytec 's PRO-1000 gives you the extra power you need with exceptional bass.
All sound components are co-ordinated carefully and captivate their longevity. The modern MOSFET transistors and extra large power transformers give great sound and dynamics. The high build quality makes it the ideal amplifier for tours and gigging. For use on stages, for DJs, monitoring, parties and conferences.

Highlights:

2 x 500 W RMS at 4 Ohms (equivalent 2 x 800 W Max at 4 Ohm or 2 x 500 W Max at 8 Ohm)

Stable, transport friendly steel housing

Suitable for rack installation

Features:

Inputs: 6.3 mm Jack and RCA

Outputs: SpeakOn PA adaptor cable or normal speaker cables (c-clamps)

Separate volume controls for left and right channels

Rear located high performance fan

Front controls

Impedance: 4 ohms

Frequency range: 20-20.000Hz

Distortion factor: < 0.3%

Signal-to-noise ratio: 80dB

Power level LED display

Included:

Device

User friendly instructions

Please note this item requires an EU to UK power adaptor. We will include one free of charge in your delivery.

Dimensions:

48 x 27 x 14.5 cm

Weight: 15kg

stable of 19” (49 cm) /3HE (height units)

Note: The power specifications for this amplifier have been taken directly from the instruction manual which have been provided directly from our manufacturers. If you find a contradicting specification printed on the box, please know that this is not correct. We have confirmed this with our manufacturers.

Chris Brown - Yeah 3x (DNS_Remix)

2010-12-01T00:34:00.001-08:00

Chris Brown - 3x Yeah (DNS Remix) by DJ_DNS

DJ_DNS (Booty_Xmas_Remix _2010) Vol1 Mixtape

2010-11-30T00:35:00.000-08:00

DNS Booty Remix by DJ_DNS

Sherwood Dek-7U Turntables

2010-10-24T23:40:00.000-07:00

Sherwood DEK-7U Turntables

I recently purchased 2xSherwood Dek-7U Turntables from JBHIFI at $250 (US $188.36) however I am pretty happy the way it's going for a price like this, it has a direct to USB slot, so you can record your vinyls to your USB flash stick, it has solid built-in platter pitch control & belt drive, these turntables are more for the novice-intermediate user then the advanced, however I have had it for 6 months now, and have had no problems with it, except a worn stylus, I recommended it to anyone buying it, as starting off, the only disadvantages was that it to took a bit of time assembling.

2010-10-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

Need a Disc Jockey for your Functions?

There are a few important factors, you need to consider when hiring a Disc Jockey.

What style of music does the Disc Jockey play?

you would want the Disc Jockey to play to your style of music or close to it, however you are paying him for his services.

Availability you need know when he is available?

You need to know when he is available, in case he double books or he is a no shower (you can get a contract signed with him)

Cost of Service, this is usually the hourly rate he charges?

A few things a Disc Jockey will charge you on is service, equipment & travel.

Equipment?

You need to know what equipment he uses, in case he shows up with just a Laptop and speakers, also

does he/she have backup equipment?, last thing you want is your day to be ruined when something goes wrong

with the speakers blowing or amplifier not working.

2010-10-24T02:29:00.000-07:00

DJ IO Audio Interface

This was one of my first equipment I purchased as I started djing, I had it connected to my laptop using a USB cable, from there I had the 2 main RCA cables plugged from DJIO output to the mixer, and then to the main output amplifier line-in, I then loaded the software on my mac and rebooted, then you know I was up and running in no time - this highly recommend for mac book pros as it has it own driver CD software it comes with.

2010-10-14T01:06:00.000-07:00

Peavey SP 4G Double 15 Inch Speakers

Here are two of the speakers that I use for my gigs, it is very loud, and probably louder then the JBLRX25 that I have used before.

Speaker Sets, 2x2-15" Peavey SP 4G

Power Handling:

Full Range:

600 W continuous (49.0 V RMS)
1,200 W program
2,400 W peak

Bi-amp Low:
700 W continuous (52.9 V RMS)
1,400 W program
2,800 W peak

Bi-amp High:
400 W continuous (17.9 V RMS)
800 W program

2010-10-13T02:02:00.000-07:00

How to use MP3 Quality Modifier

MP3 Quality modifier is a free easy tool you can use to modify the sound quality of your MP3 so you can play on your gigs, I have used it on a lot of MP3 which it sounds crystal clear when playing.

Add the files to the file list below

Then convert the MP3 to whatever Frequency, Rate, or Mode you want then click on Process, it's easy as that, once that is done you will need to find the output folder that had converted the newly created MP3.

2010-10-12T03:03:00.000-07:00

Skytec Active Subwoofer 15Inch

I have just recently bought myself this Subwoofer costing me $450NZ ($337 US), and it sounds great for medium to big parties of (50-200 people), I have connected my sub to my EQ 31band Behringer Ultragraph pro and have made small adjustments through them, my advice for listening to good bassy sound quality is not to turn up the bass frequency or volume on the sub-woofer, but to make all the tuning and tweaking bit by bit on your equalizer so that you can hear that crystal clear sound on both your speakers and Sub.

A 15" bass-reflex sub woofer fitted with a built-in 200W RMS amplifier.

Skytec now presents the 15 inch powered sub-woofer. With tough yet light weight wooden cabinet with hi grade black splatter finish. Powered speakers or any other application that needs a a lot more rumble. Overall an excellent and proven reliable product.

* Full plug & play

* Bass Reflex

* Shock-resistant wooden cabinet

* Amplifier module fitted

* Recessed handles

* Pro black splatter finish

* Adjustable low pass frequency

* Master volume control

* Phase switch

Specifications:

* Subwoofer

* Driver: 38cm (15")

* Output power:200W RMS

* Peak power:800W

* Frequency response 38Hz-400Hz

* THD less than 0.1%

* Connector XLR in and Out

* Power supply:240 Vac/50Hz

* Dimensions:620 x 480 x 540 mm

* Weight 30.6kg

2010-03-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

How to configure your Hercules RMX Console through Virtual DJ

Once you have installed the drivers for the Hercules RMX console onto your PC/laptop, you will need to configure it through virtual DJ. (you will need to install Virtual DJ if you haven't done so)

Step1: Double click on Virtual DJ icon on your desktop or find it in All Programs.

Step 2: Go to the Config menu at the top of Virtual DJ next to the minimize icon

Step 3: Change your settings as below

Step 4: That's it your ready to use your Hercules RMX Console through Virtual DJ.

2010-03-14T01:20:00.000-08:00

How to install your PC to a Hercules RMX Console.

This Tutorial is to show you how to setup your Hercules RMX Console Laptop/PC, you need to do the following things to make it work.

Firstly connect the USB cable from the RMX to a spare USB port on the Laptop/PC, you should see the lights power up from the RMX Console, Once you have connected it, secondly install the drivers that came with the RMX (CD ROM), you may need to download the recent version from here, during the installation process it may ask you to insert the USB cable if you haven't already done so, once the installation is completed which usually takes 5-10min, you will need to configure it through Virtual DJ to make it work, I will show you that in my next tutorial, "How to configure your Hercules RMX through Virtual DJ".

2010-03-11T01:17:00.000-08:00

Ground Loop Isolator

Finally after installing the Virtual DJ program on my Apple macbook, I have found the sound quality to be much better then that of my HP Pavilion dv6-1103AX Laptop, which produced a very low noise and buzzing/crackling sound from my mixer/amp.

To get rid of this buzzing sound, I had to buy something called a ground loop isolator to eliminate this sound, I had purchased this for $25each from an electronic store, this device will need to go to each channel of your mixer (Channel 1 & Channel 2) connected through to your RCA cables and into your amplifier, this will eliminate that buzzing sound through the speakers.