Over To You: “I Want To Go Digital But Can’t Ditch The Decks!”

Digital DJ Tips reader James writes: “I am struggling to let go of my blessed Technics 1210s and switch to a fully digital set-up. I’ve had the decks for 25 years and they’ve been there for me through thick and thin. I’m a bedroom DJ who enjoys putting together b-boy type mixes with a touch of scratching. Over the years my record collection has expanded to include funk, drum & bass, big beat, and downtempo breaks. Some years ago I played out at a couple of bars and for a while in the early noughties I put on a few club nights for friends. Since then I’ve got married and had children but thankfully never had the need to ‘sell up’.

“My difficulty is that while the digital set-up appears to offer me so much more scope to be creative, it would be at the cost of losing the decks. My friend is an established house DJ who uses Traktor S4 which I’ve had a quick play with but my gut tells me Serato’s better for the music that I play. I love the look of the Numark NV but… I’d lose the decks! I dare say that this is a common situation for DJs of my age (43). I’d be grateful for any advice you could give to help me settle on a decision.”

Digital DJ Tips says:

You could keep your decks and existing mixer and buy a Serato SL2 box to use DVS, or even cheaper, go for the new Akai Pro AMX as your mixer which has Serato DVS built in (you just need to shell out an extra $99 for a DVS licence). Add the Akai Pro AFX for FX, loops, cues and so on and you’ll have a great system that’s a hybrid digital/analogue, meaning you can play your old vinyl too.

However, this is only one way forward and I’m sure we have many readers who’ve grappled with the same issue, so I’m gonna throw this one open.

So, over to you. What’s the best way forward for a vinyl DJ who wants to go digital but in his heart can’t bear to “ditch the decks”? Please share your thoughts in the comments!