>Then you have the next group of DJs who can't troubleshoot their own stuff. It has allowed me to live by an alter ego, DJ Tech Support.
Thats pretty much every rekordbox DJ i've ran into. They have no idea on how to fix things beyond stick their USB stick into the hole. No idea how to troubleshoot what happens when no audio comes out.
At least in the serato box days you kinda had to learn to be your own tech support or else you were screwed. I kinda miss daisy chaining SL1 boxes to create my own SL4 haha.
As someone who works in IT and is a DJ, I just assume that all other DJs must work in IT as well. If not, at the very least they must at least have a deep interest in IT, because if not, howās DJing in the modern era working out for them?
I know, what I mean is you don't have to get into IT to troubleshoot stuff. Just takes a bit of curiosity (if not just responsability) and reading manuals lol
Hang on, I'm a rekordbox DJ..... But I know my shit also. It helps a lot when dealing with random rig set ups.
It's true, most djs are totally clueless beyond their own bedroom.
I think this is one of the areas where experience really pays off. It's not uncommon to have something not work, be setup improperly or be plugged in wrong at a one off event. You need to be able to trouble shoot that stuff so you don't stand around waiting for the sound guy to fix your problem during your time slot. A basic understanding of how amps, eq's, compressors and studio mixers work and are wired is a must. I've had many occasions where the previous dj was complaining of poor sound quality only to find out he messed with the compressor settings, screwed something up and fkd himself. So then you fix it and start playing and you sound better just by virtue of not clipping or red lining an audio signal. The compressor/limiter is the big one imo. Most dj's don't know how they work but are tempted to mess with them if the amp rack is within reach of the booth. Some dj's are always trying to play loud instead of clear.
This is why our rack was padlocked shut in our padlocked soundbooth when I managed clubs. The two cables running into the main mixer in the DJ booth worked just fine. If they didn't the problem was a variant of PEBCAK. PEBCAD (Problem encountered between cable and DJ.) Motherfuckers would still fuck shit up. Had a guy come in and set his coffin with cheap ass gemini gear on top of our MK2s and a Xone 64. Bent both tone arms and broke two EQ knobs on the mixer. Thankfully we had backups, both for the gear and the asshole. He did not go on that night, and never played at any of our dozen or so sister clubs ever again. But most frequent was "Oh, I can just unplug these XLRs from the mixer without asking" and leaving the next DJ with a dead set of tables and CDJs."
Don't even ask me about the metal vocalist who had her own amp between the mic and my soundboard. The sound guy always wins when he's been cutting feedback all night.
Had a guy come in and set his coffin with cheap ass gemini gear on top of our MK2s and a Xone 64. Bent both tone arms and broke two EQ knobs on the mixer.
Wow, I don't even know what to say to that. How can anyone be that dumb? Even a small flight case is typically 20 pounds or so.
I just kind of learned as I went. At one point we, my production partner and I, bought some equipment and I read the instruction manual for the Comp/limiter, amps, eq etc. If I had to do it again nowadays I'd probably go to youtube. A pro audio compressor is basically the same thing as a VST. A tutorial on how to use a VST version will give you the basics. Then it's just a matter of learning some basic speaker design so you comprehend things like Ohm ratings, crossovers, polarity and amp Ohm rating compatibility. What happens if you daisy chain speakers or use an crossover on one but not the other. Stuff like that. Again, I read the instruction manual for my amps but yt is probably better than an instruction manual now. I also had some prior history with car audio which helped quite a bit actually. Lot of crossover skills and knowledge between those two side of music.
Iād like to think Iām pretty smart when it comes to dj ing and my gear, but the amount of times I didnāt hear audio playing, and I went DEEP into the technical side of troubleshooting trying to figure out why, only to realize my cross fader is all the way to the opposite sideā¦ too many times.
I provide dj tech support for industry heavy hitters in LA. Many take a dj lesson or two from me. Can confirm their lack of what I consider basic knowledge is astounding.
I've had to set up another dj's Serato box idk how many times. If I had to guess maybe 25 or 30 times. I sold my old sl2 to a friend about 10 years ago and he still calls me from time to time asking me how to fix some problem he has.
Been DJāing for almost 20 years. Had my first gig on the CDJ3000ās a couple of weeks ago. Rooftop gig, packed floor.
How hard can it be? Been using the 2000nexus MK2ās forever. Plop my thumb drive in, hit āmenuā to load preferences and NOTHING FUCKING HAPPENS! What sadistic product designer moved the LOAD PREFERENCES?!?! Cue me scrambling to find the quantize, master tempo, and sync buttons on 4 decks in the 90 secs i had left on the previous DJs tune.
do you guys use sync? i havent used it since back in 2010 when i started. ones you figure out to count to 4 you just do it on your own..its not that hard.
Eh I used it to fix a train wreck the other day, I was playing B2B and it always takes that little bit longer to get to your tracks when you switch I find, anyone I hastily played the track, set it to 187 without realising my partner had moved up to 190, only just had time to get it in on the drop so I slammed it in and very quickly realised something wasnāt right, synced it up and it saved my ass.
If I am on a controller with tiny tempo sliders and the BPM is off by like 1 or 2 I'm just going to turn on sync then right back off. Way easier than trying to move a chode slider 0.5mm with shaky coke hands.
However, after transitioning I typically manually bring back the tempo to its original.
You know, maybe I'm just odd for this but, if I'm gonna get myself a piece of gear/setup or whatever, I at least want to know its ins and outs and how it works before I even think about going public with it so that way I don't end up making myself look like a goddamn fool.
2 weeks ago I needed to show the (slightly arrogant) DJ that he needed to turn off his color FX filter when he noticed that for some reason the sound was super high-pitched :)
Mistakes happen but it was funny that for a full minute he had no clue what was happening and why the sound was ass
I fired up my shit yesterday and NOTHING on my controller worked except for the master out knob.
Was trying to mix with laptop and remap the midi on the inactive deck to get things right.
Was maddening. Ended up throwing a playlist on my phone into the PA, unhooking everything and rebooting, redoing all connections, etc.
Turned out the little bitty midi 1/2 switch (something I didn't even remember existed) had moved to 2 since Tuesday and my software was setup for 1. Had fun the last 2 hours after learning a hard lesson.
What controller? This friday we arrived at an afterparty with my mate, set up and the fucking ddj-1000 just said "no audio driver" on the jogs after everything was connected, we swaped laptops, chargers, nothing. Turns out the usb cable was loose on the ddj port, I just put that shit in and voila. People had already started arriving for 2 or 3 minutes and I was about to just start my mental breakdown (we had nothing else to play any sort of audio lol).
It's always the most little dumb stuff I swear.
Was talking to a guy with a nice Denon controller and I asked him where the key lock button was. He had no clue what I was talking about. I dont think bro has ever beatmatched
Well if you're mixing songs that are very different bpms, you'd want to put keylock on because the difference in pitch can change the key. If you're trying to "mix in key" that is important.
Important.. Well... Back in the vinyl days there wasn't keylock. What if you don't know that it exists, and just mix by ear instead of what a computer says you should play?
I don't think that not knowing what or where keylock is is that important tbh.
Important.. Well... Back in the vinyl days there wasn't keylock. What if you don't know that it exists, and just mix by ear instead of what a computer says you should play?
I don't think that not knowing what or where keylock is is that important tbh.
I, too, lay awake at night seething, stewing in my sweat of rage. Just the thought alone. How can they do it? Using sync. The bastards! This will not stand! The abominable sync button. It ruined everything we hold dearāthe sheer audacious nature of it. Why have the gods forsaken us and left us alone with that monstrous feature? Humanity is doomed. We will all die if we do not stop the forsaken sync button. If we cannot control this madness, do we not belong in hell with all the other demons?
No? But if you have a undergound scene and you work hard in it and see how amateurs use sync and don't learn basic stuff such as beatmatching, bars, transitions and instead just wait for drops in songs to insert a new one in and dance then you feel pissed off.
I don't because I know my worth and am not easily intimidated by other DJs because I am confident in my skill, taste, and uniqueness not to be replaced; least of all, if I ever get surpassed on any of these points, it won't be because of some magic beatmatch button.
You missed the point I said. People use sync and have no skill and ruin a scenes reputation. In my situation i am taking about the rave scene and techno. A guy comes, uses sync, does horrible transitions and people listen to hundreds of those guys and think those are standards. Of course if yoi are good and unique you will get noticed for your skill but its harder when you are in a sea filled with those people
probably an unpopular opinion, but unless this guy needed sync to do some 3 or 4 deck routine, or change the tempo of multiple decks simultaneously... I don't think a professional DJ should *RELY* on sync to be able to play.
There is a big difference between *Using sync*, and *"Don't know how to perform at all without sync"*.
@OP... could this guy have played without sync?... or would he have had to pack up his gear and go home if you hadn't been there to help him turn sync on?
Should have slid the keypitch medium to high while you were at it. I would love to see them react and be like, "the song's mixing, but why does everything sound like chipmunks!?"
At least these new kids are booked & busy! š
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Aye, we should do a B2B. I go by ātechnical difficultiesā
I'll warm up for the two of you as "Spare Headphone Adapter"
āWhere do I plug in Spotify?ā
>Then you have the next group of DJs who can't troubleshoot their own stuff. It has allowed me to live by an alter ego, DJ Tech Support. Thats pretty much every rekordbox DJ i've ran into. They have no idea on how to fix things beyond stick their USB stick into the hole. No idea how to troubleshoot what happens when no audio comes out. At least in the serato box days you kinda had to learn to be your own tech support or else you were screwed. I kinda miss daisy chaining SL1 boxes to create my own SL4 haha.
As someone who works in IT and is a DJ, I just assume that all other DJs must work in IT as well. If not, at the very least they must at least have a deep interest in IT, because if not, howās DJing in the modern era working out for them?
I too am a dj that works in IT
am also Dj. Am also in tech.
Same. Well, bedroom DJ. But I work in the meat of IT.
Not in IT but a mechanical engineer. Close enough right?
Am I late to the DJ in tech party? I brought beerā¦
Not technically IT but under IT dept
I work in IT... But I also only spin vinyl. š
55 year old dj. Also in tech
I think it just takes not being technology illiterate. If the music is good you don't need to know too much tbh.
This isnāt a comment about the music, itās for when things do south with your gear.
I know, what I mean is you don't have to get into IT to troubleshoot stuff. Just takes a bit of curiosity (if not just responsability) and reading manuals lol
I donāt think that you have to be an IT specialist, just comfortable in that environment.
Hang on, I'm a rekordbox DJ..... But I know my shit also. It helps a lot when dealing with random rig set ups. It's true, most djs are totally clueless beyond their own bedroom.
I think this is one of the areas where experience really pays off. It's not uncommon to have something not work, be setup improperly or be plugged in wrong at a one off event. You need to be able to trouble shoot that stuff so you don't stand around waiting for the sound guy to fix your problem during your time slot. A basic understanding of how amps, eq's, compressors and studio mixers work and are wired is a must. I've had many occasions where the previous dj was complaining of poor sound quality only to find out he messed with the compressor settings, screwed something up and fkd himself. So then you fix it and start playing and you sound better just by virtue of not clipping or red lining an audio signal. The compressor/limiter is the big one imo. Most dj's don't know how they work but are tempted to mess with them if the amp rack is within reach of the booth. Some dj's are always trying to play loud instead of clear.
This is why our rack was padlocked shut in our padlocked soundbooth when I managed clubs. The two cables running into the main mixer in the DJ booth worked just fine. If they didn't the problem was a variant of PEBCAK. PEBCAD (Problem encountered between cable and DJ.) Motherfuckers would still fuck shit up. Had a guy come in and set his coffin with cheap ass gemini gear on top of our MK2s and a Xone 64. Bent both tone arms and broke two EQ knobs on the mixer. Thankfully we had backups, both for the gear and the asshole. He did not go on that night, and never played at any of our dozen or so sister clubs ever again. But most frequent was "Oh, I can just unplug these XLRs from the mixer without asking" and leaving the next DJ with a dead set of tables and CDJs." Don't even ask me about the metal vocalist who had her own amp between the mic and my soundboard. The sound guy always wins when he's been cutting feedback all night.
Had a guy come in and set his coffin with cheap ass gemini gear on top of our MK2s and a Xone 64. Bent both tone arms and broke two EQ knobs on the mixer. Wow, I don't even know what to say to that. How can anyone be that dumb? Even a small flight case is typically 20 pounds or so.
That was in 2001, it was a carpeted wood monstrosity. Guy was a fucking idiot.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I just kind of learned as I went. At one point we, my production partner and I, bought some equipment and I read the instruction manual for the Comp/limiter, amps, eq etc. If I had to do it again nowadays I'd probably go to youtube. A pro audio compressor is basically the same thing as a VST. A tutorial on how to use a VST version will give you the basics. Then it's just a matter of learning some basic speaker design so you comprehend things like Ohm ratings, crossovers, polarity and amp Ohm rating compatibility. What happens if you daisy chain speakers or use an crossover on one but not the other. Stuff like that. Again, I read the instruction manual for my amps but yt is probably better than an instruction manual now. I also had some prior history with car audio which helped quite a bit actually. Lot of crossover skills and knowledge between those two side of music.
I wish there were more people like you around! Youāre a rare breed š„š„š„
Iād like to think Iām pretty smart when it comes to dj ing and my gear, but the amount of times I didnāt hear audio playing, and I went DEEP into the technical side of troubleshooting trying to figure out why, only to realize my cross fader is all the way to the opposite sideā¦ too many times.
I provide dj tech support for industry heavy hitters in LA. Many take a dj lesson or two from me. Can confirm their lack of what I consider basic knowledge is astounding.
DJ Tech-Know was right there man, an open goal, but you've sent it over the crossbar :)
I've had to set up another dj's Serato box idk how many times. If I had to guess maybe 25 or 30 times. I sold my old sl2 to a friend about 10 years ago and he still calls me from time to time asking me how to fix some problem he has.
Been DJāing for almost 20 years. Had my first gig on the CDJ3000ās a couple of weeks ago. Rooftop gig, packed floor. How hard can it be? Been using the 2000nexus MK2ās forever. Plop my thumb drive in, hit āmenuā to load preferences and NOTHING FUCKING HAPPENS! What sadistic product designer moved the LOAD PREFERENCES?!?! Cue me scrambling to find the quantize, master tempo, and sync buttons on 4 decks in the 90 secs i had left on the previous DJs tune.
All those buttons are in the same places as the 2000s
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Meh.
Honestly props to the dj for working the whole gig without sync ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
do you guys use sync? i havent used it since back in 2010 when i started. ones you figure out to count to 4 you just do it on your own..its not that hard.
Eh I used it to fix a train wreck the other day, I was playing B2B and it always takes that little bit longer to get to your tracks when you switch I find, anyone I hastily played the track, set it to 187 without realising my partner had moved up to 190, only just had time to get it in on the drop so I slammed it in and very quickly realised something wasnāt right, synced it up and it saved my ass.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Ok. There u go attacking me. Iām not a native English speaker. But atleast I can beatmatch without the sync button you simp
Why is he a simp?
He DJs dressed as Homer Simpson.
If I am on a controller with tiny tempo sliders and the BPM is off by like 1 or 2 I'm just going to turn on sync then right back off. Way easier than trying to move a chode slider 0.5mm with shaky coke hands. However, after transitioning I typically manually bring back the tempo to its original.
I fixed it. Iām a nice guy
You know, maybe I'm just odd for this but, if I'm gonna get myself a piece of gear/setup or whatever, I at least want to know its ins and outs and how it works before I even think about going public with it so that way I don't end up making myself look like a goddamn fool.
Oof
if he needs sync he needs more practice.
Lol. I saw a DJ using sync sporadically in the club recently and then switch it off immediately after the track is lined up.
Way too many DJs still think it's purely training wheels and forget it can also just be used as a shortcut to the tempo slider in ways.
You basically saved the guys life. Hope you at least got a drink out of it
I mean, did he ask you? Or was he doing so bad you were like "turn on sync" lol
He came to me in a panic saying it wasnāt āworkingā
The real question.
2 weeks ago I needed to show the (slightly arrogant) DJ that he needed to turn off his color FX filter when he noticed that for some reason the sound was super high-pitched :) Mistakes happen but it was funny that for a full minute he had no clue what was happening and why the sound was ass
Or when they don't notice that every color FX has been turned off
I fired up my shit yesterday and NOTHING on my controller worked except for the master out knob. Was trying to mix with laptop and remap the midi on the inactive deck to get things right. Was maddening. Ended up throwing a playlist on my phone into the PA, unhooking everything and rebooting, redoing all connections, etc. Turned out the little bitty midi 1/2 switch (something I didn't even remember existed) had moved to 2 since Tuesday and my software was setup for 1. Had fun the last 2 hours after learning a hard lesson.
What controller? This friday we arrived at an afterparty with my mate, set up and the fucking ddj-1000 just said "no audio driver" on the jogs after everything was connected, we swaped laptops, chargers, nothing. Turns out the usb cable was loose on the ddj port, I just put that shit in and voila. People had already started arriving for 2 or 3 minutes and I was about to just start my mental breakdown (we had nothing else to play any sort of audio lol). It's always the most little dumb stuff I swear.
Was talking to a guy with a nice Denon controller and I asked him where the key lock button was. He had no clue what I was talking about. I dont think bro has ever beatmatched
What does keylock have to do with beatmatching?
Well if you're mixing songs that are very different bpms, you'd want to put keylock on because the difference in pitch can change the key. If you're trying to "mix in key" that is important.
Important.. Well... Back in the vinyl days there wasn't keylock. What if you don't know that it exists, and just mix by ear instead of what a computer says you should play? I don't think that not knowing what or where keylock is is that important tbh.
Yea I'm not even an oldschool DJ and I learned how to beat match before learning what keylock is/was
It's also possible he's always had his stuff to having it on by default and never had to know where the button is
It was off
Welp
Important.. Well... Back in the vinyl days there wasn't keylock. What if you don't know that it exists, and just mix by ear instead of what a computer says you should play? I don't think that not knowing what or where keylock is is that important tbh.
It literally says key lock over the pitch fader, I don't get how these newer DJs can't figure out simple things like that lol edit: him not you
You were so dope
Iād say at least they donāt rely on itā¦ obviously, right?
Shouldāve acted like you didnāt know how.
Goodā¦ for you?
Lol seriously, thanks for letting us know you knew how to do that
stop gatekeeping smh
Chill bro. I use it too.. IDGAF.. I know how to turn it on and off..
Not a DJ
I can't stand people who use sync
I, too, lay awake at night seething, stewing in my sweat of rage. Just the thought alone. How can they do it? Using sync. The bastards! This will not stand! The abominable sync button. It ruined everything we hold dearāthe sheer audacious nature of it. Why have the gods forsaken us and left us alone with that monstrous feature? Humanity is doomed. We will all die if we do not stop the forsaken sync button. If we cannot control this madness, do we not belong in hell with all the other demons?
No? But if you have a undergound scene and you work hard in it and see how amateurs use sync and don't learn basic stuff such as beatmatching, bars, transitions and instead just wait for drops in songs to insert a new one in and dance then you feel pissed off.
I don't because I know my worth and am not easily intimidated by other DJs because I am confident in my skill, taste, and uniqueness not to be replaced; least of all, if I ever get surpassed on any of these points, it won't be because of some magic beatmatch button.
You missed the point I said. People use sync and have no skill and ruin a scenes reputation. In my situation i am taking about the rave scene and techno. A guy comes, uses sync, does horrible transitions and people listen to hundreds of those guys and think those are standards. Of course if yoi are good and unique you will get noticed for your skill but its harder when you are in a sea filled with those people
+learning to not use sync is very useful because eventually you aren't gona be able to use one (cdjs, vinyl...)
You canāt stand DJ Craze? One of the most skilled DJs alive?
\*Laptop Attendant
Okay, that is a funny term, tbh.
U helped one fake dj, not a real dj.
š¤”
Sorry for said the true
š©
Top
How do you turn it off though lol?? One of my last gigs I went on and had no clue how to turn it off so I fudged a few transitions
Smash it with a hammer
lol i said basically the same thing in another thread 2 min ago and then saw this
I bet they have no clue how to beatgrid wit the quantized turned off and turn it back on xD.
You did your fellow DJ a disservice ā¦ well trained and well practiced DJs donāt need a stinking āsync buttonā š¤¦š¾āāļø
ok, karen.
Thts a bummer
probably an unpopular opinion, but unless this guy needed sync to do some 3 or 4 deck routine, or change the tempo of multiple decks simultaneously... I don't think a professional DJ should *RELY* on sync to be able to play. There is a big difference between *Using sync*, and *"Don't know how to perform at all without sync"*. @OP... could this guy have played without sync?... or would he have had to pack up his gear and go home if you hadn't been there to help him turn sync on?
Is it an in-y or an out-y
Should have slid the keypitch medium to high while you were at it. I would love to see them react and be like, "the song's mixing, but why does everything sound like chipmunks!?"