Scott O'Toole
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April 27, 2017 at 3:10 pm in reply to: macbook pro 13 or 15 (retina, non retina) for DJing? #2553001
Scott O’Toole
ParticipantI would say save a bit more and go for the 15 inch. I’ve got the 13 at the minute and when I upgrade I will be going for the 15 inch so things aren’t quite so cramped on screen. Another thing to consider in my opinion would be one of the newer stand alone controllers. You could sell your current one to help fund it and you’ll probably end up with change left over.
Maybe also consider going second hand on the macbook, I’ve seen loads in local shops with a decent amount marked down. I think Macbook’s being made of metal and easy to reset to factory settings make them pretty safe bets to buy second hand but don’t know 100 percent if thats the case, just a gut feeling.
Scott.
ParticipantThanks I thought I was nearly there but just wondered if I was missing something obvious! I’ll have to report back if I try it 🙂 that sounds awesome! I play in bands and stuff as well and I’m always thinking about how small a rig I could take and still make it work.
Scott
ParticipantI’ve got an SB2 which I love, I personally prefer the feel of the mixtracks jog wheels and it has a longer pitch control (the SB2 is really short and gets on my nerves sometimes). So I’d vote for the mixtrack Pro 3 with the SB2 being a close second.
Scott 🙂
ParticipantI’ve got the SB2 and I rate it pretty highly, you’re right about the pitch controls though they’re really short so small movements equates to a big difference in BPM which can be a little annoying. I started on a cdj set up though so I’m used to just matching the BPM’s first and then nudging to bring in time, I only really use the pitch controls if the software analyses the BPM’s wrong (which happens quite a lot to be fair). One thing I’d say though is I’ve only been DJing for a few months and I’m itching for something bigger and better so might be worth seeing if you can have a go on someone else’s a few times and see whether you’re gonna stick to it, if you are it might be worth saving up and getting something you won’t grow out of too quickly!
Scott 🙂
ParticipantThanks for the reply!
I think I’m going to focus on growing my collection for a while! gonna upgrade to full Serato soon, didn’t see the point so far but looping seems more difficult on intro (no beat gridding and I don’t think you can save any, might be wrong though). Thanks I do try to think about how everything fits together I think it’s important.
Cheers
Scott 🙂
ParticipantHey Titan!
Sorry for the late reply and thanks for the advice it’ll be good to refer back to it in future. I’m starting to get used to it, it’s just annoying having files I won’t use in there. I am using iTunes exclusively at the minute which I think is where some of the issues are coming from as you say they like to keep you fenced in and I can’t seem to remove files without removing them from my whole library. I’ve started to realise now though it’s not the best place for finding DJ friendly versions of tunes (learnt this the hard way by buying a load of radio edits of house tunes and wondering why I was struggling to mix them!) I think I’m going to re-evaluate once I upgrade to the full serato DJ and get through the Masterclass I’ve just signed up for!
Cheers
Scott.
ParticipantHey mate,
A few things I would say is make sure it has at least 4gb Ram to run your Djing software correctly and efficiently, mores great if you can get it but from what I know 4 does the job. As far as screen size is concerned I’d say the bigger the better really, I’ve got a 13inch macbook pro and it feels really small once Serato is loaded up, the resolution seems terrible as well even on the retina display model I have (that might be something I can change in the software though not sure I’ve just downloaded it).
I’m by no means an expert but I think something with a decent screen (15″ ish) and around 4GB RAM should be enough to be getting on with. The only other suggestion I’d give is try and keep it optimised for Djing, even if its just for tidiness. I use my Mac for college work, recording etc etc and finding everything I need when I need it can be a pain thankfully though with it being a Mac it doesn’t effect performance, I’d imagine lower end latops might start to struggle with too much software and memory taken up!
Hope this helps
Scott.
ParticipantHey James I recently bought an SB2 from Maplin as it’s the only store that stocks DJ controllers where I live. It cost me 189.99 with student discount and I’m loving it so far. More than enough to get started with for a first controller, I figured I’ll start at the bottom end and work my way up once I actually know what sort of DJ I want to be and what other features I need (screens, jogwheels with lights etc). The SB2 works with Serato Intro which is a free download and I’m guessing is similar to other free software in that it has limited features, what it does have is more than enough to be getting on with though.
As far as laptops are concerned you want something that has a decent amount of RAM I’ve got a Mac as I’m a music student but I appreciate they are crazy expensive, somebody else may be able to put you onto something cheaper that will do just as good a job! I know vaguely that some laptops can have their RAM upgraded later so this might be an option as you can upgrade when you have the money but still get started relatively soon.
I’m certainly not an expert but hopefully that will help to some extent!
Cheers
Scott
ParticipantCheers Deathy hopefully I’ll be posting a lot around here 🙂 had a longer mess around today really enjoying it! got loads of stuff on with university fast approaching but gonna do little and often, thinking about saving for the how to digital dj fast course but don’t know how much it’ll help with me already knowing some basics from taking a few lessons, still with a money back guarantee you can’t go wrong!
Cheers
Scott
ParticipantIt will not happen again scouts honour! Thanks for that I hadn’t came across it yet so I’ll be doing some research 🙂 yeah it seemed a great piece of kit I think it was just because it was sat next to the SZ which I agree is crazy expensive and too big for most purposes. Hopefully sometime in the next month I’ll be starting a new thread after having bought something!! So much choice.
Cheers
Scott.
ParticipantHey guys sorry to bump this thread but I thought it’d be better than starting a new one to update and maybe ask another question or two! So I had decided on getting the Pioneer ddj SX2 to continue learning on, the reviews seemed great and the fact it allows DVS integration would mean my turntables wouldn’t have to go completely to waste. I was in Manchester for my university interview yesterday and managed to find a shop that had a lot of controllers to check out and I ended up spending some time on the ddj sx2’s big brother the SZ, as it was plugged in whilst the Sx2 was not and it blew me away! That thing is an incredible piece kit, however the problem is after playing it the SX2 just doesn’t appeal to me anymore it just looked a bit cheap in comparison (which I know is crazy as it still costs the best part of £700-£800) the shop is crafty I’ll give them that.
Anyway to try and cut a long story short I’ve recently came across the Akai Pro Amx and read some good stuff about it and I’m very tempted to get one of them to complete my DVS set up (and it means I can practice mixes on the go which is pretty cool!) and then maybe get something like the Numark NV or Denon MC4000 which combined would still cost me a few hundred less than the SX2! I only really wanted it for the jog wheel displays and DVS compatibility but I feel like one of the other smaller controllers might be better for taking out and playing on whilst I’m at university anyway.
Sorry for the wall of text but if anyone has any advice its greatly received!
Scott 🙂
ParticipantAs someone with a 13inch MacBook I will definitely throw my 2 pence in a say get a 15inch one instead!! I’ve been regretting it ever since, 🙂 Amazing computers though can’t see myself ever not having one now!
Cheers
Scott
ParticipantThanks that clears up some things! I think I’m just gonna test it out with whatever controller I get and see what it can do, I hear Traktor can be confusing for a beginner so it might all make more sense in a few months 🙂
Scott.
ParticipantI know its not strictly related to sound quality but I’ve found since starting my DJ journey (granted only a couple of months ago!) that by paying for tracks you actually end up with tracks you really love that you will actually use! I use spotify mostly anyway for home listening and never really downloaded anything unless it was unavailable elsewhere, I limit myself to 5 new songs a week and I’m hoping it will mean I’ll build up a collection of music I know really well and ultimately love playing out with. I don’t think you’d get that by just ripping everything, you’re quality control would just be turned off as you’re not paying for it.
Scott 🙂
ParticipantHey guys thanks for taking the time to reply all opinions are massively welcome and sorry for opening this can of worms again! I think to be honest I’ve already made the decision in my head to switch to using a controller, especially now as I didn’t realise the maintenance costs of turntables would be so much! I got all that stuff so cheaply it doesn’t really matter if I just stick in storage (I got 2 direct drive turntables, A Numark sound card a copy of traktor and 2 control vinyls for about 200 quid). I’m thinking for the price of a half decent mixer and some needles I can buy a more than good enough controller, seems like a no brainer I suppose! especially as I’m moving to a small flat soon for university so I’m not going to have much room for a turntable set up. I think I’ll just keep them to make some youtube videos in future for promotion or something!
Cheers,
Scott 🙂
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