DJ Mark Moore

The Black Rag, post: 37569, member: 7330 wrote: Well true,i have to say though i like my Mixtrack,granted i use a DJ|iO interface so there’s no need to take the things out it just lets the music play and rent the interface out to the next DJ.It’s wierd i guess it depends on the area plus the music and venue.Though i am a mobile guy so i usualy run my own setup everywhere.

I run a mobile set up for my Friday residency. They have on JBL speaker I plug into mounted to the wall, but I use another out to hook up to one of my speakers and use my second speaker as a booth monitor. I make it 3 times louder than the DJ on Saturday does, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Most places around here though only need me to bring a system that can plug into XLR outs. I could get away with a controller (and some RCA to XLR convertors)… while it requires so much extra work carrying, setting up, and the whole more parts = more things that can go wrong, I love the scracth live / vinyl emulation. It’s the best of both worlds. Only thing I’d ever trade it in for would be something with moving platters like the NS7.

The Black Rag, post: 37500, member: 7330 wrote: I disagree on this about the Mixtrack with you Mark.I’ve done about 15 parties and 6 live performances with just a Numark Mixtrack and a Numark DJ|iO,ofcourse with a decent set of speakers and my headphones,the thing can cut it in most places and for most things if you use it right with the right mapping.Playing out live doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money.If you project enough confidence people will ignore the fact that you’re not using the most expensive gear or ”lesser” gear,which i honestly do not think the mixtrack is.I adore my Mixtrack[MK I] and would rather spin my tunes with it then a pro pioneer setup.And i’ve done gigs at a local club including a live mix night in front of 200+ people all on my Mixtrack.Standards aare standards but they don’t mean you have to comply to them constantly.The standard in my town is CDJ 900s,i don’t use then,infact i don’t even like pioneer gear,too flashy for my taste.I do however agree with Mark here that you do have to figure out what you’re planning on doing with your self.

I’m not gonna rip on the mixtrack or controllers in general b/c this is definitely a controllerism based forum, but the standard where I’m from is Technic 1200s and a Rane 57 mixer. Guys that bring controllers into the club tend to not get invited back. Anyone that wants to break into the game on the local level here needs to be able to use turntables. Not necessarily be able to scratch like a pro, but it definitely is a skill set folks look for around here.

My post was more along the lines of don’t necessarily go out and buy something that you will outgrow in 6 months. I always compare it to guitars. You can go get a cheap electric guitar for $100, or you can save and spend your money on something that will last you a little bit longer. Doesn’t need to be a $2000 American made Fender, but often times beginner music products are nothing more than toys.

Alas, I run a DJ business, and I’m in the business of making money. If your just looking to have some fun and do some house parties a mixtrack will work just fine.

I’m an American DJ who plays a top 40 night weekly at the same bar. I do a lot of intro / outro mixing, and when I mess up and start the track too late, I get left with a gap of space where there are no lyrics. That gap is awkward. I was taught by my mentor (who had to save my butt a few times with his mic skills) that I use that intro / outro time to get on the mic and hype up my crowd. I’m not the best at it, but I’m also not on stage in front of 30k people. I do birthday shoutouts and tell people I take requests.

Do as many gigs as you can get especially if you are doing parties on campus and campus events. Find top 40 and hip hop songs that have been remixed with EDM songs. Mashups / bootlegs, ect which ten just to be EDM tracks that sample lyrics or melodies from the radio hits. Spin those instead of just the radio versions. Many people won’t be able to notice a difference if you aren’t going wild playing really heavy EDM style songs. Then when you have them hooked and dancing to your top 40 remixes drop in something they don’t know and see how they react to it.

Depending on your crowd they may go wild for it.

Check out 3lau or r3hab (top 40 remixes), and wick-it the instigator (more trap / southern rap remixes) and go from there.

Good luck.

I use some loops during hip-hop songs that do not have a strong intro, but have an instrumental break halfway through the song. I’ll loop that, then mix that in with the previous song, then mix in the beginning of the track of my song that is being looped.

I also use loops to keep the energy going for a song I know does not have a strong beginning. (I judge this using waveforms), or I can create somewhat of a mashup by messing with the levels and having the vox of track A play over the looped instrumental of track B.

I think loop rolls are becoming a bit cliche, but they work. I personally have been experimenting a lot with running two loops at once, just for a cool effect. I’ll set track A to loop at 8 beats, and track B to loop at 4. This can create some cool effects to mix in while you are blending songs.

Fairly new DJ myself, but what I have learned is part of being a great DJ is being able to read the crowd and play tracks that they will respond to.

My biggest fear in recording a premade track would be the crowd not responding to it as they would switching to a different genre or losing the ability to drop in something with a catchy hook to bring them back in.

Outside of that quite a few DJs I know have mixes made that they play early in the night as the room fills up.

I think the type of gear is going to varry from city to city. In Cincinnati Ohio most clubs in town that supply gear for DJs have a set of technics and a mixer and that’s all the provide outside of speakers. DJs are expected to bring head shells, needles, slip mats, and their control Vinyls… Most, in not all of the professional DJs are running on scratch live and it’s just expected that new DJs will accommodate that… Especially since it makes switching DJs in and out that much easier.

I think that new DJs need to physically go visit the places they are playing too see what they need to bring to be successful.

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