Vinyl dj'ing a dying art.

Hunter_thatsmyname

Hunter_thatsmyname

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I'm a firm believer in the art form that is vinyl dj'ing but all these people with a version of fruity loops and an itunes playlist thinks there a dj. Anyway if anybody else feels the way I do let me know that we old schooler's have some supporters left!!!
 
I'm with you to an extent on this.

I hate hearing from people who think that just because they have Virtual DJ that they're a "DJ". It just annoys me! Its like hearing from people who own an SLR call themself a "photographer".

I dont believe that anyone who doesnt spin vinyl isnt a real dj though. I believe that you are a DJ if you can master the skills either on CDJ's or vinyl turntables. Those who can master vinyl turntables though i think are the better dj's.

When i say better dj's though im not talking about someone who can just beatmatch on vinyl being better than someone who can rip on CDJ's, im talking about actually mastering it. Mastering meaning i can listen to someone spinning vinyl and go "holy fuck this is amazing."
 
Haha

I always giggle a little big when I see someone starring at the computer screen trying to mix two tracks...

think about the advantage you have over these "djs" though...
Consider the person who learned how to drive a car who's gears changed automatically, can they just hop in a stick-shift and take off?? nooo
But that is not to say that they are a bad driver, is it? Or that the person who drives a stick is better... its all about how you use your equipment and like toa$t pointed out, if you want to be successful in this idustry, talent is only a small percent of the package...
this leads me to consider that some of the software out there is pretty legit.. take Serato for example... carrying around a harddrive is wayy easier than carrying around a crate of records, and some of the fx that software programs offer are a lot of fun to use and incorporate into a live set, and it also give you a little more freedome to "put on a show," and focus on other things like the crowd which so many djs seem to ignore... [slight sarcasm in that last comment]

I personally have more respect for the djs with real talent... and by 'real' talent i mean no software programs, just the 1s and 2s and a pair of headphones!
 
Hawtin just announced the death of the turntable. funny that i saw him a few months back and didn't like his show that much. problem was that he was trying to do too much on-the-fly edits and complex beatmatching that he's lost what imo makes a dj set- the groove.

when you play Vinyl you have to adhere to a more structured set and if done right- it all melts together into this heady composition of dance tracks.

on the other hand i've seen laptop sets that blew me away. it souinds like at times there was a simple bassline from which the dj built upon and just brought in more layers and beat drops that sounded like a 20 minute crescendo that had me lost in dance!
 
toa$t said:
you're a dj if you get gigs. that's it.
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That would be the definition yes.

How this is achieved = irrelevant.

This debate surfaces on every music forum on a semi-regular basis. Yes, I like holding pieces of vinyl. Turntables are pretty. But if the set sounds good it sounds good irrespective of medium.
 
Acid Eiffel said:
Hawtin just announced the death of the turntable. funny that i saw him a few months back and didn't like his show that much. problem was that he was trying to do too much on-the-fly edits and complex beatmatching that he's lost what imo makes a dj set- the groove.

when you play Vinyl you have to adhere to a more structured set and if done right- it all melts together into this heady composition of dance tracks.

on the other hand i've seen laptop sets that blew me away. it souinds like at times there was a simple bassline from which the dj built upon and just brought in more layers and beat drops that sounded like a 20 minute crescendo that had me lost in dance!
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I was also dissapointed the last time I saw him.
 
Hunter_thatsmyname said:
I'm a firm believer in the art form that is vinyl dj'ing but all these people with a version of fruity loops and an itunes playlist thinks there a dj. Anyway if anybody else feels the way I do let me know that we old schooler's have some supporters left!!!
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me too, props to Vinyl djs. ive seen a few djs here and there bust the Vinyls, Macos Barrera is good vinyl Dj.
 
I understand the appeal for DJs of a vinyl only setup....it also has limitations that many people are not willing to submit to anymore.

I think it's funny that people use the same arguments against DJ technology that acoustic musicians used against electronic music only 10 years ago.

There's no real point in being a luddite for scene points.

Any technology can be over-used to the point where it gets in the way of good music (see Serato and Traktor "FX Jockeys"). People who know how to apply good technique can make anything sound good though. Those are the ones with real talent.
 
Seven Deep said:
There's no real point in being a luddite for scene points.
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luddite is a euphemism for people who feel threatened by new technology because they fear they won't be good enough once the bar is raised by noobies who are afforded the ability to dj by easier accessibility to the art, imho.

some people just want to give it a shot for kicks but people who are serious will end up buying analog equipment as well no matter how much software they have.
 
thujone said:
luddite is a euphemism for people who feel threatened by new technology because they fear they won't be good enough once the bar is raised by noobies who are afforded the ability to dj by easier accessibility to the art, imho.
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couldn't have said it better myself. if you think spinning vinyl is harder than spinning on a laptop, try rocking 3 decks and an acapella with a delay and a beatmasher in there. 'noobies' push the envelope by doing things that a vinyl dj can't even dream of. and if you do too much with the digital system and sound like shit like Acid Eiffel is talking about, that's not the fault of the medium. it means you are a shitty dj.

thujone said:
some people just want to give it a shot for kicks but people who are serious will end up buying analog equipment as well no matter how much software they have.
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this is simply not true. in fact, I don't think I know anyone who has started off on a digital system and then gone to turntables. i know tons of people who have gone the other way.

I love all the comments in these threads from people who have never touched a record in their lives (not you thujone, just in general).

pink_strawberry.jpg
 
I think people respect and admire vinyl djing cus its old school, and it does take more skill than usual cd players like the usual Pioneer CDJ1000s.

no ones bashing technology, its always changing and so are instruments, but I think people who stick or also dabble with vinyls other than just sticking to cd players and laptops deserve some props.

I think its an art thing.
 
i dont see a difference between vinyl or cdj.

but i dont like software djing
 
PsyGhost said:
i dont see a difference between vinyl or cdj.

but i dont like software djing
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Why?

The music thats being played goes through the same stupid argument, but in the end, a good track is a good track, no matter if you're running nothing but 30 grand worth of late 70s/early 80s vintage synths or Ableton and a handful of plugins.

Why should the medium it's played back on have any different a standard?
 
toa$t said:
this is simply not true. in fact, I don't think I know anyone who has started off on a digital system and then gone to turntables. i know tons of people who have gone the other way.
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i'm not saying they aspire to quit the software for decks, i'm just saying there will be a need for analog as long as dubplates and rare vinyl exists. now that the economy is bad the record companies are starting to liquidate a fuckload of unreleased, wax-only content that people who only have virtual mixer and a soundcard will completely miss out on
 
fine, but my (not insignificant) experience speaks entirely to the contrary.

where are these record companies releasing these hoardes previously unreleased records, by the way?
 
thujone said:
i'm just saying there will be a need for analog as long as dubplates and rare vinyl exists.
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Limited press stuff only promotes the advantage of using a digital setup since many people will just transfer a rare vinyl to digital to make sure they don't lose the source forever.
 
i think the main difference, at least for me, between someone spinning vinyl vs cd vs software is that from an audience standpoint, a person spinning vinyl has the appearance that they are doing more. they appear to have a more active involvement in their set, where as someone who spins on cd can do a whole set without ever changing a cd. someone with software just looks like they are clicking buttons on a computer. even if what they are doing is very complex, it doesnt appear that way to the audience. its about showmanship. a set can sound amazing on any medium, but if the DJ appears to be doing nothing much besides clicking with a mouse, it IMO, kills the energy in the room. vinyl feels more hands on when mixing, and it is much more entertaining to watch a great dj tear it up on vinyl as opposed to cd or software. just my opinions as a fan and a dj
 
no arguments there. Though anyone using software can easily deck their rig out with some hardware samplers, MIDI controllers, ect and get some of that "moving and shuffling" back.

I remember some live PA acts that had monstrous and complex MIDI setups, with all sorts of impressive gear and cables flying in every directions but they basically just stood behind one large mixer and keyboard controlling everything. In spite of that, I dont think anyone was complaining that the set was any less energetic than someone spinning vinyl.
 
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