Digital means that for the space and time-challenged DJ, it's now possible to enjoy the hobby while still maintaining a busy family and work life. Pic: HotDJGear.com
This one’s for our readers in their late 20s, 30s and upwards. I’d like you to think back a few years, to a younger you. You’re really into DJing, and are playing out a bit. You’re spending all your spare cash on music. You’re hanging around in your local record store a lot.
You’ve finally got some Technics record decks or some CDJs and a decent mixer at home, and have a whole room set aside for your record boxes, DJ gear and so on. DJing is a big part of your life…
Real life gets in the way…
But things changed. Maybe you got married. You had a kid or two. You got more cash but more responsibility in in your day job. (Or alternatively, you actually got a day job!) All of this means that you just can’t DJ out so often.
Ah, the memories. Did you used to have a room dedicated to your beloved old school set-up?
Plus the spare room is needed for little critters, with your beloved DJ gear taking a back seat.
As time goes on, you gently give up hope of being a big-time DJ. Your gear gets relegated to the attic or cellar. Slowly but surely (and of course with a little sadness) you drift away from DJing.
Does any of this ring true for you? Because I suspect we have more than a handful of readers out there whose personal stories follow pretty much exactly what I’ve just outlined. But of course the story’s not over, far from it…
Last night a (digital) DJ saved my life…
One night, you happen across a website online (hell, it might even have been this one) that covers the new world of digital DJing. Wide-eyed, you gawp at these wonder boxes that seem to be able to do everything your decks (now sold) used to be able to do.
You realise that with the laptop you already own, and with digital copies of your tunes, you’ll soon be able to DJ once again…
Researching “DJ controllers”, you realise that with the laptop you already own, and with digital copies of your tunes, you’ll soon be able to DJ once again (because while your head told you to give it up, it turns out that DJing never left your heart). You can hardly wait to order that first DJ controller…
This time, things turn out very differently for you. You can buy your music online whenever you have 10 minutes spare (no hanging around in record stores); you can use the cloud to share your music across your work, laptop and home computers for tune discovery in headphones at any second you get to yourself; you can even use DJ apps to practise on your iPhone!
Having a mix session at hope no longer needs a whole room; you can whip your controller out of a drawer and large it up in your headphones, even when your other half is watching TV, or when everyone else has gone to bed.
Thanks to digital, you can incorporate DJing back into your life in a way that just wasn’t possible before.
Truth is, thanks to digital, you can start to incorporate DJing back into your life in a way that just wasn’t possible with the old bulky gear / record shop route. How exciting is that?
Before you know it, someone’s offered you a gig. Maybe you grabbed a copy of our How To Digital DJ Fast course to brush up on your skills, or maybe it all came back to you just like riding a bicycle…
Either way, the night of the gig comes around and you’re back there, doing it in front of a crowd. Of course loads has changed, and you’re no longer aspiring to be a globe-trotting superstar (the kids wouldn’t like you being away, after all), but you’ve still got the passion, you’ve still got the musical taste, and this time around, you can enjoy it for what it is – the best hobby in the world.
Is this you? Are you a “DJing dad”? Has digital revitalised your interest in the art of spinning tunes? Or has it happened a little differently in your case? I’d love to hear your story in the comments.
• This post was inspired by Compelled to speak about “over the hill” DJing! from the Digital DJ Tips forum.
Now go to:
Dads Behind the Decks: How to Juggle Kids, Career and DJing
3 New Ways To Listen To Music On iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch
Your Questions: Convince Me To Remain Digital!
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Tags: advantages of digital DJing, djing dads
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This is me to a T, except for the kids, I don’t have kids.
I DJ’ed heavily from 02-07 but I finally got a real, full-time job and a place with my fiancee. At that point digital really hadn’t taken off, especially for a Hard Dance DJ like myself. I couldn’t really find the tracks I needed online and I couldn’t afford to pay $12 a piece for records anymore. It didn’t help that I live in a medium-sized town in America and our scene was almost completely dead.
What gigs there were, were house and techno and no one wanted Hard Dance. I never made a specific decision to quit, but I just lost interest over time.
A couple of years later, I got the itch, looked around and found the emerging controller scene. I tried to get in cheap and tried out a BCD-3000. It was alright, but wasn’t quite there. Once again my excitement faded.
I kept a sideways glance at the market and when I noticed the Mixtrack Pro, I decided to make it a Christmas present to myself. Unfortunately, not long after I got it, I had some personal issues come up and wasn’t able to get into it.
Now, finally, I feel that all of the tools are there. The digital download stores are stocked with great music. I’m looking to upgrade to a better controller. The streaming possibilities are now there to get a real internet fanbase going.
At this point it is too early to see how it will turn out, but at least now I feel like if I really put myself into it, something good could happen. I have not felt that since the scene in my area died 6 years ago.
[ link ]That’s great news. I wouldn’t write off your Mixtrack Pro quite so soon, either – it’s better than the two-belt-drive-and-a-mixer I had for my first five years! I wish you a lot of luck.
[ link ]Totally agree phil, my Mixtrack is a great bit of kit for the price. With a bit of extra midi mapping it can do pretty much everything you need it to do, plus those large jog wheels make it easy to do a bit of scratching if that’s your thing!
[ link ]Interesting article Phil, my story is a little different but moral of the story is the same. Used to DJ out occasionally when i was younger at friends gigs and house parties but never had the cash to buy decent equipment (actually had belt-drive decks which were far from ideal considering i mix hip hop) so never really progressed past being an amateur DJ and eventually stopped buying vinyl and stopped mixing for nearly a decade until i ended up buying a Hercules RMX last year. I had a few 30th parties coming up (including my own) and wanted to do some best of the last 30 years sets. I started putting sets together and realised that i had forgotten how much fun mixing could be!! I have always had a much larger CD / MP3 colletion than vinyl so i realised that digital was perfect for me with looping and effects really improving the quality and vairety of my mixing. Since then, have dumped the RMX and VDJ and moved over to Pioneer DJM-T1 and Traktor Scratch and am absolutely loving it. Done a few parties since returning from my hiatus and am looking into hosting a quarterly night in my area which is prob about the right level of commitment for me now im in my 30s with a full time job but even if i end up doing parties for friends and not playing out reguarly, i’m enjoying my ‘new’ hobby so much it wouldnt even matter and its all thanks to the joys of digital!! I have my eyes on a Kontrol F1 now too to complete my DVS set-up…
[ link ]Thanks to my MacBook and a Numark controller I bought from a friend at work, i got to taste the sweetness that is Djing, ten years after my last gig. Now, i fire up Djay on my iPad whenever possible, at work, at home, and sometimes late at night or in the occasional party at a friends house. Maybe in a few months, I’ll get some more toys and start looking for new gigs, not as a resident Dj, I’m way past that, just a night or two at different clubs, so I don’t get bored. I really love Djing, and I love the fact that every other day, it’s getting more portable. I don’t mind my vinyl loving Dj friends bringing on the hate, if I can get the crowd going, every tool available is welcome.
[ link ]Really dont understand Vinyl DJs hating digital, i’m thinking of getting a twitch at some point to compliment my DVS set up so that i can practice some controllerism too. These people who diss digital should at least try DVS, as far as im concerned thats the best of both worlds, can use old-school (‘hard-earned’) skills accompanied by new-school digital improvements and innovations to take turntablism to a whole new level and make even better music!!
[ link ]Great article Phil, something my DJ partner and I have been discussing a lot recently. Dad House and Mum n’ Bass we call it.
We were DJing vinyl from about 1995, doing free parties in the countryside and various bar and club residencies until 2006 or so, when work/life/apathy seemingly put an end to it all.
I went digital about four years later as I was making a bit of money on the side doing weddings to cover tuition fees for a masters degree. Numark V7s specifically.
Now in 2012, we’ve both got kids, a rediscovered love of house music and a Traktor S2 and F1 each. But most importantly, using some of our old contacts, a radio show on a community dance music station called Kane FM. It’s getting us a few gigs but not so many that family life suffers, but most importantly it’s provided a motivation and an audience. Check us out at http://goo.gl/gJq1u and http://www.facebook.com/houseofdice1 if you please!
[ link ]Great story. “Dad House and Mum n’ Bass” – love it.
[ link ]That should have said http://www.mixcloud.com/houseofdice
[ link ]Thank you please!
Reading this article I started to wonder if you really had studied my life under a microscope for a long time – You are really describing ME! Spot on!
I started DJ’ing in 1985, I worked for local radio-stations and nightclubs in Norway, nearly full time for about 10 years. Then came the wife, the daytime job, the kids, the house, the responsibilities and the usual boring A4 life as an average responsible father of 3.
But the music sort of never left me, so when I by accident stumbled over one of your articles about DJ controllers (The Ultimate Buyers Guide 2012), I was surprised to find that “the future was already here!”.
I am now a very happy owner of a Numark 4Trak, an F1 and a Xone:K2. In addition to a huge PA with double 18″s and 4x2400w in flight rack.
I wasn’t hard to slip-in to the DJ scene again as I already had a name and a DJ-reputation from 17 years back, so now I’m really having the time of my LIFE!! ..and Phil; Thank You! I really owe you one for the article that changed my life!
[ link ]It makes my day to hear such stories. Keep at it, Jan!
[ link ]I beat you by one, Jab. My first paid DJ gig was in the spring of 1984!
And, true to this article, I “retired” until being able to use my laptop became an option in the mid 90s.
[ link ]It is so me too. All but the “now gigging” piece. Just hilarious reading it through. In fact I went from vinyl, took a (long) break and skipped CDs ending up at digital. All the software reviews, on-line radio shows – pre-produced mixes – and then on to reviewing controllers etc. Have my controller now – and no time/space to use it! Am sure a gig is only years away….
[ link ]I’d honestly say digital now has allowed me to stay a DJ even though I feel my “sell by” date has passed. I like how I can neatly put away my control when I’m not using it, but pull it out when I feel like making a new mix to post.
[ link ]This is also me but with out the kids. I started off on CDs with the Vestax cdx15 then moved to the Numark Axis 8 then to Cdj800s when I was actually playing out in bars. Then the real world came in to play. I started a 8 to 430 job, moved in with a girlfriend. Then decided to order some Numark HDXs which just sat as there was no room to keep them set up. Fast forward 7 years and I now have three portable set ups (MacBook with a Mixvibes UMix Pro controller, iPod touch, and an iPhone). Now I always have at least one set up with me ready to go at the drop of a hat. Hell I even spun on the limo bus after my friends wedding. The time to dj has been minimized but now the desire to play has grown as well as the appreciation for all styles of music.
[ link ]That´s pretty much my story too, but like Wunderkind I´m not a dad. I started DJing back in 1985 when me and some friends started a small mobile DJ firm. I was 16 at the time (almost 42 now) and for years before that I was the “record playing guy” at our kids parties.
After playing professionaly for a few years I took a pause (school, grad, the like…). Then I resumed DJing again in 98, but this time I went much farther and in a couple of years I had residencies, radio shows, and played all over the country and abroad too a couple of times, opening for big names and all. Pretty cool, I enjoyed a lot.
I´m now playing again, digitaly with an iPad2 and DJAY and also a few CDs in a case. I still play with vinyl here and there too but the iPad is amazing in so many ways I just have great fun using it. Can´t wait for the new Numark iPad Pro controller and maybe (who knows) a new iOS with dual stereo outputs. Gonna be heaven!
The thing with the iPad is that: a) I can play all the time and anywhere; 2) I have 99% of my music in one place, organized and easy to find; 3) Can play it on the car, home, and still record mixes anywhere.
That makes it perfect for any occasion. It´s always with me and thanks to the portability and versatility I´ve saved a few buddy´s weddings, dull dinners and underground club nights alike with it. Really handy for music lovers and players like me.
I guess if you really love music you can´t completely give up DJing. Ever. I don´t play as much as when I was into it but I still get high and excited when I do. One advantage is that now I´m able to select when, how and what I play.
[ link ]This is definitely me. I walked away 10 years ago from vinyl to start my family. Although the music always tried to pull me back in. I vowed this year to just get back at it now that the kids are a little older and aren’t napping babies. Digital was convenient and reasonably priced. I’m thankful for this site in particular because it helps remind me that I’m not alone.
[ link ]Sounds very familiar Phil!
I started out by accident at age 13, got my own JBL/CerwinVega 2×800 watt sound system at 16 and by the age 20 played on big parties in the local student scene.
But of course its not what I was studing for in the first place, so a few years later I sold everything.. a different live calling. Not a dad though
Some years ago when controllers were upcoming I got myself a Hercules RMX and started to play around with that. Did some small parties but quickly realized it was no longer in my character to be a ‘crowd pleaser’. Nevertheless loved the new way of mixing, not just the ease of the whole thing, but also the new possibilities offered like for example flawless harmonic mixing.
That made me move to the cloud, first Soundcloud, than due to their restrictions, to Mixcloud. For the past two years and 41 cloudcasts I’ve been playing what I feel like playing with an ever growing audience.
It also allowed me to experience more new genres and labels and get to explore them in some interesting collaborations with other online DJ’s.
So yes, as with so many unique possibilities the internet and technology offers, this new digital era has given at least me on old passion back. And on top of that it also allows me to be more free and creative than when playing crowds. The online crowd has a choice to listen to whatever style they please, hence the right crowd will find their way to you! Presuming ofcourse you will leave them enough clues where to find you!
[ link ]I really had this article hit me. I look at this site often but never post, until this article.
I started DJing back in 1978, with old belt drive TT. Playing up and down the east coast, radio, clubs, private party’s etc. And Loved it!! Had all my gear to lug around, records, coffin etc. Moved to cd’s around 1995 / 7-ish. Then the big step to the dream, you know, wife, two boys, white picket fence dog name rover etc. As you said the house got smaller and my sound room became extinct. I did odd gigs\clubs but was more a mobile DJ. Then daytime job, family, and life took over and I dropped it all. 15 yrs later or so, not really keeping up with the scene I was in a bar with a friend and heard this incredible rock mix. I was like “how in the frick can he do that???” walked up to the booth and was in awe that everything had gotten soooooo small, but he was doing everything I could do on my old big rig, and much much more… amazed me. It was like the DJ in me just burst out of my eyes! He had a ssl1 box with some simple controller (cant remember with it was) and cdj’s. That next day I went out not really researching (which would have saved me a lot of money), and got the ssl1 with a Numark total control. and played around with it and loved it. I was hooked again. Now I have audio ten with ndx800′s, a behringer ddm 4000 (that I rarely use)and a denon mc6000 that I use all the time. I use to spend days in the record stores now when I’m at work (Information Technology) I can look, cue, buy listen to all the music that I want.
Sorry to be so long winded but in truth…. digital brought me back to the love and fun of DJin again, and unlike the wife (broke up) I will never give up this again.
[ link ]Obviously sorry to head about your wife, but glad the DJing is still with you!
[ link ]Thanks for the follow up article Phil, İ never realized how many more people were in the same boat when İ initially made that post. Digital DJ technology and digital music itself has basically allowed me too continue with my love of not only djing but continuing to discover and enjoy music in general. After selling my equipment, getting married, moving countries, starting a new life my love of djing took a back seat. I was regularly djing for years and finally giving up was awful. But now its all changed. İm mixing again, discovering great music again allbeit via ‘virtual crate digging’ and now have started a podcast which will lead to playing out again in some local venues. Yes, LAST YEAR A DJ CONTROLLER SAVED MY LİFE!
[ link ]Having a kid did stop me DJing for a few years for sure, but I was using mp3 long before he came along.
Briefly, I was a vinyl DJ from 1991. In 1999 I decided to go for a world trip, and took a large (and extraordinarily heavy) case of records with me. It was worth it because I managed to hook up gigs in more or less every country I visited.
Anyway, I spent 3 months in San Francisco living with my buddy who was working in Silicon Valley. He introduced me to Napster, and I was blown away by the significance of music sharing.
THIS is what brought me to digital. The old ways of a DJ being defined by his records was GONE. Suddently eveyone had a blank canvas. I could have an idea for ANY kind of mix I felt like, and now more or less all the music was available FOR FREE.
I’m not proud of the theft of music that went on back then – I strictly buy all my music nowadays – however the principle remains. It is so easy to buy most tracks you can possibly imagine nowadays, and ONLY the track you want – not the complete album, and all from the comfort of your desk. Game-changing stuff if you are vaguely eclectic.
I worked my ass off in SF for those 3 months, bought a laptop and brought it back to the UK with me. More or less immediately my laptop was deployed in my DJ sets (alongside vinyl) using very basic mp3 mixers (PCDJ for example).
This format remained more or less unchanged until my kid came along in 2006, when admittedly I dropped out of DJing for a few years, or at least gigs were limited to a few a year.
Kicked it all off again with some new software/ hardware when I moved to Austria, about a year ago.
The boy is 6 now, and LOVES DJing. He knows a section of my tunes better than me. Can’t wait to do a father/ son gig some day
So I am a DJ Dad. And having a kid DID kick my DJing on its arse for a few years. And I AM at the stage where the dream of world fame (which was never that big a deal for me tbh) is over, and I just see DJing as a kickarse (and well paid) hobby/ second job.
BUT, it wasn’t digi that brought me back, it was always there waiting for me
G
[ link ]I really like how you decided to buy your music after the initial inspiration. Cool story too btw.
[ link ]The year was 1985! My final year in school. I heard a mixtape recorded on a cassette. Remember TDK and BASF cassette tapes? I was just totally gobsmacked at how smoothly the songs flowed from one to the other, with the DJ every so often saying something on the mic. I just loved it and I so wanted to do the same, but I was just too shy at that time to be in front of a crowd doing that.
[ link ]So I went to University and discovered campus radio. We just had a little room with a mixer and two turntables, a couple of vinyls, but we kind of made it into a radio station for the students, although they could only listen to us via a couple of speakers in the cafeteria and that was it. During my university days I did a few DJ gigs in student hang out places and that is pretty much as far as I got to club DJ-ing. I enjoyed the campus radio so much that I ended up a proffessional radio DJ, which I still am. I also ended working as a television presenter which I lso still do. But “deep deep down inside” I still wanted to do the club DJ thing. The digital era came along and I started with Mixmeister, just made some mixtapes for myself that I mostly listened to in the car on long trips etc. Yes I was a bedroom DJ like so many out there. Then I decided its time to get into the clubs. I took this decision only last year. Bought a Hercules DJ controller with Virtual DJ software, but eventually moved to Traktor with an S4. My first real gig was in February this year, on board a cruise ship. I was so nervous my fingers were trembling like crazy when I opened the faders, but it turned out to be great gig, thanks to you Phil with all the advice here and of course your Learn to DJ Fast Course. Digital DJ-ing has given me another chance at one of the greatest hobbies ever. So much so that Photography which is my other hobby has taken a bit of backseat right now. That is my story guys. BTW I am turning 45 later this year. And NO I do not think I am too old to DJ in clubs…
I DJ’ed for many years but after moving to a new city in 2004 with a very small house scene I continued to do a few little gigs but lost interest (for playing out, not the music). The opportunities were few and the existing DJ’s were well established and I felt on the back foot. In the mean time I started messing around writing music. By the end of 2006 I had quit that too and ended up selling my extensive collection of vinyl. I still went and saw people play the few times a year when someone good came to town but I got pretty out of the loop as I wasn’t buying new music.
In mid 2008 I was at a friends place having a few drinks and saw he was mixing the music he was playing from his desktop PC. I checked it out and it was a copy of Virtual DJ which I sat there, mesmerized, and played with all night. The next day I did a bunch of research and found Traktor and messed around with the demo for a few months. I also started writing music again as my passion had rekindled.
By Jan 2009 I had a VCI-100 and Traktor Pro. The house scene was still small but I contacted some guys who were doing things locally and we agreed to work together, build the scene and get some things happening. Over the next few years I worked my ass off; promoting local gigs, promoting international artists, losing money on gigs, making (tiny amounts of) money on gigs, getting and holding down several residencies, working a 50 hour a week professional job, spending about 20 plus hours a week in the studio, everything I could do to make it all happen.
In 2010 I released my first record. In 2011 I organised a 15 stop national tour and played at the countries biggest NYE festival.
I’m now 31 and live in Berlin, write music everyday, work with some really great labels and play regular gigs in different European cities. I still work my ass off but I do what I love and I no longer work for the man.
Funny how these things happen. I can’t say I’m a fan of Virtual DJ but I certainly owe it a lot for the inspiration it gave me. I have just this year started using vinyl control for Traktor Scratch and a week ago bought my first new vinyl in many years.
[ link ]This is partially true for me. I stopped playing out,after college( played clubs and did radio in Florida), because I moved back home (Chicago). Once back in Chicago, work started getting heavy, then I got married,purchased a house, and moved out to the suburbs.I still hit the clubs for headliners,made mixtapes from time to time, and picked up vinyl every now and then.Around the start of the recession, I found myself out of work, and moved from Chicago, to Minneapolis (wife took a job there). before moving, I did a few parties with a friend who was using serato, and came across traktor scratch pro. At that point, I decided that I was going to pick up TSP and start playing again in Minneapolis. Three and a half years later, I have played just about every club in Minneapolis, I have two podcasts running on podomatic(house xcursion and minnesota house headz), and I am now the co-host of the Funk Yeah!FM show Sundays form 5pm-7pm CST on http://www.chicagohousefm.com.
I have been involved with House since the beginning(102.7FM WMBX was my classroom), and I am very proud of that fact. I just turned 43 last month. Being a DJ is not only for the young people, my experience in the DJ culture has helped me shape my sound and technical skills ( most of the great ones are in their 50′s and 60′s). I don’t use a all in one controller(not really a fan of the sync button), I can play vinyl, CD’s as well as DVS. I learned how to beatmatch by ear, as well as mixing harmonically, skills that many take for granted today. I am looking forward to having children, teaching them about the music and culture. I will continue to play, as long as my legs and ears will allow, or until the wifey puts her foot down (not likely).
[ link ]I am kind-of “allowed” to DJ once every two weeks nowadays, which I think is about fair, as we have kids now and this website, not my DJing, is now my main source of income (I used to earn exclusively from DJing so of course it was my call). That suits me too – I don’t want the touring / stay-up-all-night life any more. At least, most of the time I don’t want it…
[ link ]Yes that is me, except no kids
I had a mobile disco playing CD’s from around ’92 until around ’01 when I moved to a bigger city with no space for gear. So I gave/sold all my gear to my younger brother. He played it for 5 years or so, and sold the stuff that still had value
Around 05 I digitalized most of my cd’s and stored them in the attic, and about 2 year later i stumbled on the world of digital dj’ing. I already had all the (older) music and a laptop, and access to a bands PA, so I bought one of the first Hercules controllers just to try it out.
Less that 3 months later I was playing at my first 30th birthday party, then another one, then weddings, then smaller business parties, Christmas parties and then around the city in cafes and small clubs, while adding and replacing gear
Now at 38 it all just a hobby – but a fun one
Best regards
[ link ]Klaus Mogensen
I’m 32 , Music is my life, and i’m not married, have no kids because i hope to success a day, i think about it very much, but i’m in the case of the dj who plays only in his appartment and it’s the shit, i saw me as a superstar dj, in playing tunes from hip hop to house in the most big club in the club, i’m practicing every day scratch and beatjuggling actually, and i see the years pass and me in my little appartment, having the half with my dj stand, no bedroom, all in the middle, i give to me until 40 to be what i dream to be, but it’s hard, i have a job which not interest me and is boring, but it’s my fate of music passionnate.
[ link ]I’m determinate but it’s really hard when you’re not a celebrity like paris hilton or don’t know the good persons, but i have your website and it is a great help to me to continue to hustle, i hope to success, i can’t fail.
I hope when i will have 40 to not regret all this years even if music is my passion.
Same here. I started in 1986. I had and grew a mobile disco with a friend. I dj’ed for the next 5 years and then sold everything and moved interstate. I had a spot at a local club for next two years using borrowed records.
[ link ]I then stopped for the next 10 years (except I still made mix tapes) due to kids coming along, and then in 98 I found pc’s, mp3′s and ran 2 instances of winamp. I then found pcdj and from there i kinda just played around. In 2006 I discovered USB mixers! I purchased a bcd3000 and haven’t looked back. I now am back mobile djing and at 42 my hobby is a nice little side earner. 8) I have also gone back to school and am on the way to getting a diploma in audio engineering discovering a new love for the live band scene as well. My family love it my firends love it but most of all I love it!
Love that you got into live music in the meantime, as I am a big live music fan too.
[ link ]I used to DJ back in the Disco Days and early house time (yes in the over 30 group.. a lot over 30 lol) at hose parties, friends, schools and the occasional club.
Yes, life, job, kids, divorce, changing continents a few times (I gre up in Europe and am living in Canada now) music was always a factor but one that was in the background.
Then I cam across online radio stations and started looking around and started with VDJ. Just on the laptop to get back into it and started playing some minor online sets after a while but wasn’t real happy.
Started digging around and this was one of the websites that really helped and still helps along with DJTT and Create Digital Music.
Now I have Traktor, an S4, an LPD8, 2 Stanton turntables and a numark mixer and an M64 keystation and a dedicated laptop and hard drive.
I am back to playing small events, no clubs yet but hope that will come and am producing and posting on soundcloud and entering Beatport Challenges.
Without sites like this I would still be longing, instead now it is a major part of my life again even if the day job takes priority.
But I think this is an important article as usually DJ’s are seen as young or.. younger (Top DJ’s have cult status so no one looks at their age). In a small club or event enviroment it is always funny to see the reaction when you say you DJ and people go “sure… ahmmm … the almond brothers?” and you start nailing Techno or House and own productions.
It is not the age its the passion!
Thank You Phil!
[ link ]Another good story, Robert. Keep the faith!
[ link ]Wow Phil, you just told the story of my life! When I read this article I was compelled to tell my story. I’m an old school vinyl DJ who completely bypassed the Cd era (never owned a pair of CD decks) and have embraced the digital era fully! My passion for music began on the streets of the South Bronx (mid to late 70′s), block parties, abandoned building parties, guest spots at a couple of local clubs, right out of the movie “Beat Street” which by the way was filmed in my neighborhood many years later. DJing was very much a big part of my life, it kept me out of trouble while growing up in some of the toughest streets in the U.S. at the time. I grew up just a few blocks away from the infamous 41st Police Precinct, aka Fort Apache! Then, like you said “real life got in the way”. I became a father at a very young age, joined the military to “Escape from New York” and to support my son. During my time in the military, while stationed in Germany, I continued DJing (NCO clubs, Officer’s clubs, Barracks parties), and also held residency in two local German clubs. Then “real life got in the way…again”‘, now married with children, had to put up the turntables for good this time and focus on my family, however, I never lost my passion for the music and continued listening to and buy music. It’s funny when I look back at how I used to listen to tunes on the radio long after I quit Djing and in my mind would think…”hmmm, that song would go good with this one, this song would mix well with that one”, I still do that to this day! Fast forward to today, you asked…Did digital get you back to DJing? ABSOLUTELY! Since I came across this site, I have checked in daily to read reviews, comments, tutorials, I purchased your “How To Digital DJ Fast” video course, downloaded the “Ultimate Buyer’s Guide”. The information that you and your team provide is invaluable!!! I have since got back into the game and loving every minute of it! I put the work in during my vinyl days so transitioning to digital was a “no brainer” for me. Just 4 days ago I did a wedding reception for a friend and “rocked it”. I will also follow this up with an email to Mr. Michael Hughes, the information he provided in his book ”The Complete 21st Century Wedding DJ” was priceless! Oh, and one last thing, next month I’ll be 53 years old!
[ link ]Good story! I maybe should have entitled the article “Did you bypass the CD era?”
[ link ]Yes! I do have kids and yes I do play out but not as much as I’d like to (got a day job!). Suppose I’m a dad dj (yuk!)…
Nice piece all the same.
[ link ]Hmm, This story is pretty much a mirror of my life…. Get out of my head Phil !! ;p
It all really started for me back in ’89 in my last year of school and at that point I was listening to the likes of Erasure and Depeche Mode for my Synth fix. A couple of people were (more or less) responsible for opening my world to different sounds, my sister and a school friend. My sister (being a few years older than me) was already ‘clubbing’ at the time and took me to the Astoria in Leeds where I danced the night away to the trippy beats of acid house. The track of the moment back then was most deffinately ‘Dont Miss The Partyline – Bizz Nizz’ and I distinctly remember the DJ weaving the intro in and out for about an hour before dropping the whole track and seeing the room go nuts. #Qualitydays
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[ link ]My school friend was also playing me the likes of ‘raze – break for love’ ‘Humanoid – stakker humanoid’ and a host of other early house stuff. 1989 was also the year I started ‘college’ and also where I met one of the worlds leading DJ’s of today – Mark Knight (check out my Fb page for an early piccie of me and him with our basketball trophy !). It was on one particular day in our dormitories I was sat ‘mixing’ on my matsui double tape deck ghetto blaster (with detachable speakers!!) when i shouted Mark in to listen to a mix I had come up with, he chuckled and said ‘thats not mixing, you need some Technics decks’. It wasnt until late ’90 that I started hitting the clubs properly and had soon saved up for my first 1210 and a mixer and began to practice (the other deck at the time was some cheapo belt drive thing but it gave me the chance to practice beatmatching on at least 1 deck
My first gig came from the leftfield slightly, my dad came home from work one evening and said a mate of his at work was looking for a new DJ for some regular work. Wow ! All my dreams were coming true. How shocked was I when I rolled up at his house and found out that I’d be doing weddings at a local venue ! (I was still there 3 years later !! and getting paid well for it!). Doing the weddings really helped me out in terms of experience, whilst at the time it didnt seem cool at all, I got a real good grounding in setting up equipment, working an unresponsive crowd, controlling nerves etc. Off the back of doing the weddings I managed to snag some work in a very busy local bar where I could play out my favourite stuff (as long as I didnt go too deep).
A lot of people used to tell me I was really good and that I should go for bigger gigs but I fell into the ‘I’m not ready/worthy’ trap and never really pushed myself (lesson learned now Im nearly 40!). Girlfriend ensued… House …. Kids and as the article mentions I simply drifted away from my love of music and found myself looking at my decks one day and realising I hadnt used them for months. I sold them but had the foresight (at least) to keep hold of my vinyl collection. So now Im full circle, Digital DJ’ing has reignited the spark, the kids are grown up enough and the world is my oyster again. As the saying goes (at least someone once said to me) ‘If you aim for the roof, you’ll probably only get off the floor. But if you aim for the stars…… ‘. This time round I’m aiming for the stars
I’m pushing 50 and started DJing in the late 70s when a classmate built an FM transmitter launching my short lived career in pirate radio.
I was then reasonably active until the mid 80s playing underground disco, boogie, funk, etc but got basically sidetracked when I went to Uni. However, as the 80s progressed I was increasingly aware of the rare groove warehouse scene which was right up my street, although I only really participated as a punter.
But then as house started to take off I recognised something fresh and exciting I had to go out and buy and got back into DJing that way. I stopped buying records maybe 10 years ago but well before then I was forced to stop playing out due to work commitments.
In 2009 we moved out of London and I had to go to bed for a week afterwards suffering physical exhaustion from moving my record collection. I basically can’t do that again, so I decided to digitise the highlights and am now perhaps three quarters done with 220Gb of FLAC files stored in various places.
In parallel I was vaguely aware that controllers were becoming increasingly capable so late last year I saw an Xsession “Pro” going for a song on Amazon and thought why not. That confirmed the potential of the technology, so I bought a Traktor S2 during the recent promotion with the tentative idea of playing out again.
Frankly I have no idea how to use more that a few percent of the software’s features and with failing eyesight in my advanced years I doubt I’ll ever get around to reading the manual properly. However, I have no problem beat mixing or in a pinch hitting the sync button and have certainly got some killer tunes that deserve an airing.
My concern though is that I simply have no clue whatsoever what the scene is out here in the countryside; is that just a poor excuse though?
[ link ]Why not get involved with web radio to build an audience for exactly what floats your boat?
[ link ]Yep, that article pretty much sums me up perfectly (throw in moving my family to Australia as another thing that helped throw me off DJing in my early 30s). AForward wind 10 years and I have my first “proper gig” since I was a young ‘un this coming Friday evening. I’ll be playing to a a few hundred people at an advertising industry event! Not bad for a 40yo who only got back into the scene two years ago on a Vestax SPIN and his Macbook!
[ link ]I was a bit pushed for time this morning so I cut my post tad short.
I would like to finish off by saying that wihout the evolution of the digital era and awesome sites like this one I would probably not even have given DJ’ing another look. Sites such as Digital DJ Tips, I feel, have not only provided me with relevant information on whats available in terms of equipment but I also feel they have given me a head start back into the whole scene.
Please keep up the great work Phil ! I might only drop on to the site every now and again (too much time spent listening to new stuff !) but you can bet when I do check the site there are always quality articles worth reading.
Thanks again !
Oh. Im now the proud owner of a VCI380 and shiny new laptopamabob
[ link ]Thanks for your kind comments. Bet you’re loving the VCI-380!
[ link ]Love it to bits. Still wrapping my head and (now older) fingers around its intricasies(sp) and having bypassed, more or less,the CDJ era Im finding its a perfect fit giving me a feel not too dissimilar from spinning vinyl whilst also having the necessary functions to let me be a lot more creative in the way I play. Yes it’s my first controller but honestly I’m struggling to find fault with it
Must also add huge props to all the guys/gals who contribute to DDT forums too !
[ link ]Digital DJ’ing really helped me hold on to an important part of my life. I got rid of my decks and mixing board (sob), but digital dj’ing threw me a lifeline in the early 2000′s. Using primitive software-only (atomixmp3) mixing set ups kept me in it. When controllers came on to the scene and got to lower in price, I was all over it. Love being able to mix on a whim, and connect with other old fogies who have gotten back in to dj’ing. I turned 40 in May and am more excited about dj’ing and dance music than I was in my early 20′s!!!
[ link ]I tried for 10 years or so to get my gear up to par, and about 3 years ago I found a great deal on a pair of 1200′s and a mixer. I got some monitors and started learning. Then I got engaged… My fiance moved in, money started being saved for the wedding, and space became limited. I determined that I needed to sell my tables for both extra cash and space to help pay for the wedding.
Then, the saddest thing I have ever seen in my life happened. I have a 6 year old daughter. She loves music as much as me. I started to pack up my tables after selling them on eBay and my daughter asked me why. When I explained it, she didn’t throw a fit, she didn’t get mad, but tears started streaming down her face.
She asked me if I would play her a song before I packed them up, and I told her to pick a record. She picked my white lable Skream Remix of In for the kill (she has good taste too), and I put it on for her. As the record played, she laid her her head on the table and watched the record spin with tears continuing to pour out. It was probably the most heartbreaking thing I have ever or will ever see.
Now for the good news! I was able to get so much out of my tables and mixer that I could pay for the remainder of the stuff I needed and pick up a Kontrol s2 and f1. I already had over 1000 mp3 (legal purchased over about a decade) and a decent laptop. I actually played “out” for the first time in May, although it was my own birthday party, and had about 50 or 60 people dancing for 3 hours straight. I have my first club gig in September. The best part is, my little girl is learning too. She knows how to select tracks, count beats, and we are working on phrases. Maybe in the future we will be doing father daughter tag team sets!
Digital really did save my DJ life. I don’t think I could ever give it up, and honestly, I am doing better, have more fun, and ended up with extra money and space to keep the woman happy.
[ link ]Oh, boy! Has it ever! I started out in radio as a progressive rock jock many years ago, as well as Top 40, then dj’d r&b on the 1′s and 2′s for years! I still own about 1400 LPs! My son sent me a Numark MixTrack a while back and I’ve been all over the digital universe since! I’ve done a few small gatherings and now need to focus– as I am ready to step up my game. But all the options made possible due to the digital technology has me reeling with DJ fever extraordinare! (I skipped the CD phase.) And DDJT is my most valuable resource! Now I must choose which audience(s), genre(s), etc. I favor house (electro, soulful & tech), mostly get hired out for r&b (with my mobile equip) and am tentatively set to do chill-out/ambient at a hookah lounge. I started with VDJ but am considering Traktor Pro. It’s time for me to graduate from the MixTrack to a new 4-track controller (another choice). Egad! Has digital got me back into Dj’ing? That’s an understatement! Kids are grown, I can jam in my house at any time, I’m in my ’50s and lovin’ it!
[ link ]Great little write up! You know, you just made me realize I started spinning over 20 years ago and was working in my first nightclub at 16. Take away some time in the Navy and getting the “real” job and poof here you are in your mid 30′s missing it but not wanting to drop a couple grand on 1200′s and a good mixer (because for fun cdj’s aren’t worth it in the cost to fun ratio). Honestly the worst part has ben the demise of the record shop where you could go spend an afternoon checking out the new vinyl and putting together your new “need to buy” stack. Then one day I see the call to vinyl users, yep the NS7. My day job is in technology so I already had a large digital music collection and solid laptops and the feel was remarkably close to what I remembered. I chewed on the idea for months and did my research (that’s the geek in me) and it is safe to say that this site and techtools were the decision makers for me. I have been wanting to say thanks for a while now. Yes the NS7 isn’t truly a mobile gig device but neither were my coffin cases and stacks of milk crates. Much like other posters on here I have never been married or had kids but the day job with the bigger check does tend to appeal to all of us at some point. But now I have actually gone back in public with the gear for some public events and such and I must say how much fun I forgot it was. The biggest advantage is now that if your doing it for fun you never even hear the idiots who complain or whine that they want the top 40 song that has been playing every two hours for the past 6 months. Why don’t you hear them? Simple answer becuase you don’t have to and it is just like when I started mixing all those years ago first at my friend’s house and then my bedroom once I acquired some cheap gear. It’s a blast, it doesn’t take up an entire room in the house, and best of all I can setup run a cable into my amp and be mixing a party at my house in less than 10 minutes. It is more than just the DJ lifestyle, now it is adding the DJ aspect back to my lifestyle.
The face may change but the spirit stays the same.
[ link ]I was still in the USAF when I started DJing in 1975 while stationed at Plattsburgh Air Force Base. While doing night school at SUNY Plattsburgh, I took some college radio courses. A few of the student DJs, including me, were in the ‘disco sucks’ crowd and talked a local bar into letting us play rock on Friday and Saturday nights. For the next 11 years, I did mobile shows where ever I was stationed through 1980. In 1981, while en route to an assignment in Germany, I stopped in to see an old friend from Plattsburgh who was working in NYC. She took me out to a few after-hours rock clubs. What I saw and heard there changed my whole point of view…if anyone here ever attended a night at The Ritz around 1981, you know what I’m talking about. When I arrived in Germany, I upgraded my entire kit, hired a booking agent, and started working the military club circuit in Germany. By the time I ‘retired’ from mobile DJing in March of 1986, I had performed in over 140 of the 247 military clubs in Germany. BTW, it was sorta a forced retirement. I was promoted to Master Sergeant and was told I needed to start acting my age (31) and set a good example instead of living on the road every weekend playing tunes at 3,000 watts…
Fast forward to August 2011. I was talked into DJing a party for a motorcycle club, so I rented a PA and everyone, including me, had a great time. I realized that 1) I could still do this and 2) I still loved it! My wife suggested I put a show together and get back into the business. In May 2012, with my music collection converted to digital, and getting up-to-date with current music, I went out and bought a decent PA system/DJ controller. You gotta love JBL, Crown, and Denon…I was floored by the advances in the technology! I’m currently building the light kit now, learning DMX, and am starting to book shows. FWIW, I’ve done two live shows with the new PA so far with the last one at a large motorcycle event in Ohio about two weeks ago. I was told my sound was louder and cleaner than the bands that were also there…I’m 57 years old and don’t give a damn what the deceased rodent in Toronto thinks…old guys rule! Grandpa rides a Harley and still rocks the house!
[ link ]Hey buddy,
[ link ]I loved your story because it sure took me down memory lane. I started DJing at the age of 30 in 1975. I’m 67 today (10 years older than you) and I’m still doing it. I went through the vinyl, cassette, MD, CD era and now MP3. Us senior fellows can say “Been there, done that” and we still are. We now possess through experience a thing called “wisdom”. I am also a drummer from the 60′s era and I built a recording studio with the proceeds of weekend DJing. Managed to spend 6 years in college and university coming out as an engineer and working professionally for 35 years along with all this. Married with two kids and now grandkids… somehow I kept all ships afloat throughout the entire process.
Remember age is just a number. Keep rockin’ buddy. Cheers! Ron
My story’s different but similar. Started out on University Radio then progressed to Resident DJ in Student Union mid 80′s. Started DJing at Northern Soul night’s (google it) but drifted away late 90′s.
Saw a film called ‘The Boat that Rocked’ that got me back into radio, and seeing how easy, no convenient, Digital DJing was got me back into live DJing.
The Northern Soul scene prides itself in ‘oneupmanship’ with nights being advertised as ‘Vinyl’ but as a Dad and Professional I would rather have a little work and be digital than cart boxes full of records round.
LovIng the website Phil – keep up the good work
[ link ]In my case, digital is what finally ALLOWED me to BEGIN DJing with its cheap price. Whereas with the Pioneer gear I would have to spend north of 5 grand, with Digital I was able to get going for $800 with the S4. Best times
[ link ]Funny we all have stories like this. Not that I stopped listening to the music or was not going out anymore, but I quit dj-ing for 10 years or so. I used to buy vinyl every week, I played with cd’s also, dj’ing several years in the biggest party area of my hometown.
After I started working another job sometimes I still was djing in that party area, but of course not several times a week anymore like befoore. After a while it just stopped, didn’t buy vinyl anymore, …
Until last year when I moved to a new appartment, while they were still working in my new building the first few months I didn’t have any cabletv, internet, … Ok, I have my big dvdcollection, you can meet friends, go to the pub, … But when you work during week you can’t/want do that every evening. So suddenly dj-ing crossed my mind again, but no more vinyl, so I informed myself about digital dj-ing and bought myself a Mixtrack Pro and Traktor Pro. Damn, why didn’t I bought this earlier, this was so much fun again!
And then it went fast. When I finally got internet again after all work was finished in the building I put my sets online, made a Facebookpage, … And after a few months and pretty much response to my sets I was asked to host a weekly online radioshow. Since I still do my other job I said I was interested but wanted to do it together with another friend/dj. So since May we are hosting our own show now where we mix ourselves and every week we have the biggest international guests. Since I have my show I’m asked myself as a guest also on some of the biggest online djradio’s. So like this weekend I was spinning the decks first in my own show, and an hour later I was a guest on an Argentinian radiostation. Already have quite some fanbase on Facebook and Mixcloud, so it’s nice people appreciating what you do. Also some proposals to some gigs again, but still thinking about that one. Don’t know if I want to keep it to the radiostuff, or again go out and play.
So can’t say enough how glad I am I didn’t have cabletv and internet for a few months and bought myself a digital mixer at that time, cuz I’m enjoying myself so much with it.
[ link ]I love this article. At 52, I didn’t get *back* into DJ’ing – I got into something I *should* have been doing for over 30 years. I say ‘should’ not ‘could’ because a girlfriend told me in the late 70′s she came to my place to ‘watch me listening to music’. That enthusiasm, combined with the extensive hanging around in record stores that I’ve done (wherever I’ve been) makes me DJ material, wouldn’t you say?
Anyway, I’m here, loving the music, loving the technology and enjoying myself. Seriously, if I could hook up an iPad 2 to my local club’s PA and if 32 GB of music was enough, I’d dive on Amazon and buy one right now!! Viva digital! If you know how to do that, maybe it’s best not to tell me
[ link ]Digital technology had no impact on my return to DJing. It was the love of underground Deep, Soulful and Tech House music, and my desire to share that music with others that was the determining factor.
Digital technology offered more options to DJ than what was available in the past, when I first started. Ultimately, I opted for a Traktor DVS setup with two Stanton ST-150 turntables,a Denon DN-X1600 mixer, a pair of Novation Dicers and a Pioneer RMX-1000 effect unit.
Another important aspect was the availability to post and stream mixes online, as well as the growth of internet radio. At this stage of my life, I am not primarily interest in playing at clubs or other venues. However, with DJ mix sites such as Mixcloud and Mixlr, I now have options available to create my own podcast series or create my own live mix show. The aforementioned activities are far more attractive to me, and played a major part in me returning to the DJ scene.
[ link ]Wow, so many stories. First of all i would like to give you all KUDOS for keep on spining.
[ link ]Same thing happen to me, dj’d from 1987 to 1992 when the wife & i had our 1st child, I used to have a lot of gigs. I only did mobile so i was prety much busy every Friday & Saturday sometimes even on Sunday’s. my wife didn’t like the idea that as a new dad i should be out djing all weekend long and not seeing my kid (which I love dearly) so i sold my 2 techincs 1200 turntables, my Numark PPD mixer, Peavey speakers and amp. When i sold my dj equipment i felt very sad. because it took me alot of effort & money to get my system (keep in mind that i started djing with 2 JVC $49.00 turntables with no pitch controls that i bought at Circuit City and a Realistic mixer from Radio Shack)because all the money i used to make working and djing i was saving to by my dj gear. not to long ago i started feeling the dj itch again & i had the need to scratch it. a friend of mine downloaded a copy of Virtual DJ on my home PC. after about 1/2 hr of playing with it, i absolutely liked it! wanted to get back in to djing, but did not have the money to go out and buy a new complete system. so i boght my laptop, got a Behringer BCD-3000 and could not get it to work. it was so frustrating. because the program i downloaded was not legit. i was ready to give up, until I came across the VESTAX VCI 300 MKII. I love this thing. i bought a fofin to fit my vestax & the Vestax effects box. starting to do it again. Im very excited.
good luck to all!!!
I was one of those Vinyl DJs who started in the early 80s, sort of skipped the CD age and got back into it with the birth of the DJ controllers and loving it. “Once a DJ….Always a DJ”. by the way Phil….the age chart on your survey does not go high enough…LOL!
[ link ]Ha ha – maybe we’ll have a “silver spinners” article for retiree DJs!
[ link ]