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	.: So… You want to be a DJ?

Since then, DJ’s have all but inherited the earth, with turntables outselling guitars making them the number one bought instrument for budding musicians the world over. Not only is it popular, but offers the promise of fame, cash and psycho fans!

Becoming a DJ these days is diverse as becoming a musician. You firstly have the choice of music styles you want to play, then you have to decide how to play it. Vinyl, cd’s, MP3? Then if that’s not enough you need to work out which environment you are going to play in.

Aarrgggghh, where do I begin? Is there an answer? Of course there is, but the first thing to do is relax and remember to always have fun as a DJ, wherever you decide to take it. Here is a place to at least start. The following is a basic checklist of things to ask yourself before spending loads of cash and time on a direction that may not be right for you.

What do I want to do as a DJ?
You really need to ask yourself this very early on in the scheme of things. It is also a great way for many young aspiring DJ’s to start thinking about their goals, whether they be simply to have fun, right up to positioning yourself as an International DJ superstar. There are many stages in-between these two options and are as varied as is music itself. There are mobile DJ’s who play at mainly birthday’s, weddings and corporate gigs. Mobile DJ’s can expect to earn between $100-$350 for a nights work depending on the job and your employer. If you choose to run your own mobile dj business you can, by purchasing or hiring the necessary gear and earn between $250-$1000 a night. Club DJ’s in Australia generally play either a commercial style, one step up from playing at a mobile gig, or their one particular style they are “known” for. Club DJ’s generally earn anywhere between $40 - $500 per hours, but remember that DJ work is like acting, there can be loads of work or none, so every cent you earn needs to be saved for more tunes and rent like the rest of the working world.

You may want to scratch and be a trick DJ, you may want to just learn to play at home and entertain your friends or you may wish to dj with a band. Whatever your goals are, think this question through as this helps sort out what kind of equipment you need to buy, how you promote yourself and what kind of work you will strive for.

What kind of equipment can I use to perform as a dj?
Once you decide what kind of a DJ you would like to become, the next thing to work out is how you are going to perform. The three main forms of DJ audio equipment that are currently used are turntables, cd’s and computer based MP3 programs either with or without a control interface. If you are going to work in a nightclub, then your best bet is to look into both Vinyl and CD units as these are standard in any DJ console. Infact, turntables in clubs will 99.9% of the time be Technics (in fact in 9 years of Djing I have only ever seen one club without them!) Choosing between Vinyl and cd is a personal choice. Vinyl will generally come out with mixes earlier than on CD, because records are pressed for DJ’s but will cost you on average 2-3 times the amount of a CD single.
An even cheaper option for your music collection is that of MP3. You can store everything on a laptop and take that to work, plugging straight into a DJ mixer! Use software such as Traktor by Native Instruments to play and organise your tunes or you can buy a hybrid system that runs off both a software based interface alongside a physical control surface to control start/stop/pitch control and so on. The main MP3 systems available at the moment are courtesy of Final Scratch, Traktor and PCDJ.

How do I work out which brand equipment to use?
I say brand instead of individual products as being loyal to a brand has great advantages. CD players and other digital instruments have not only audio inputs but control outputs meaning you can control start/stop and BPM from other units or mixers. Other advantages include buying your setup as a whole package to get a good discount.

In 1976, Technics set themselves up as the ‘Godfather’ of the DJ world. They were the first to create and paten a direct drive turntable that was seriously unbeaten in its whole patened life! The SL1200 direct drive turntable has pitch control of + and – 8%. Simple perfection but due to the lack of change in regards to updating the 1200 beyond the mk3 and their SH DJ 1200 Mixer during this time has left a gaping hole in the market allowing many other companies to also take their place in DJ consoles everywhere.

Pioneer’s current range of digital products include the CDJ800/1000 which are digital cd turntables which were the first on the market by about a year and is now the international DJ standard for touring artists. The CDJ1000 mk2, released just last week (12/6/03) is their latest toy to be upgraded so look out for them in the coming weeks. The Pioneer CDJ, EFX and DJM products are perfect for the club DJ and high end mobile DJ’s. It is sexy and works with relative simplicity. The Pioneer range is mid to high end price range and worth every cent. Pioneer also have a turntable in the making with awesome high torque and battle setup.Pioneer linking the CDJ units to the mixer for fader start controlling, then by the introduction of their EFX500, an effects unit that plugs perfectly into the send/return section.

Denon’s cd players have been industry standard in licensed venues around the world since 1993 when they released the DN-2000F. Denon’s new CD unit, the DN-S5000 that has a motorised platter, samplers and a whole heap more that interacts with your mixer and other players. This is by far the most intensely versatile unit, boasting 2 outputs for duel playback and scratch modes. Denon don’t make anything in halves and the workings of this new machine are amazing and the variable parameters and memory make this the most comprehensive box on the block.... But it aint cheap. RRP is $1999 and considering the demand I would not expect to see it being sold too much cheaper. Its all top of the range quality materials in a box that is for very technical or band dj’s. Denon have a few mixers to choose from such as the DN-X400 for those after a 19” rackmount with 4 channels or for something with a bit more grunt, check out the DN-X800.

Numark also have a new range of digital products available for the modern mobile and trick DJ’s. Numark for years has been known as a cheap dj brand that was reasonable quality. Not any more, their new range of 2 channel mixers are fully digital, with digital faders and digital curve options on the crossfader that will truely blow you away. Numark has digitised their mixers (DXM series), Axis cd players and also TTX1 turntable, which is a really good lookin’ high torque deck with a digital interface giving you the pitch % amount. The Axis 9 has just been released and is truely a mobile jock’s dream. It contains a tonne of onboard efx that you can use simultaneously as well as a MIDI interface that allows you to control and sync bpm rates. Onboard you will also find 2 seamless loop controllers, scratching and reverse play. These are now in the country and I believe they can be found for around $1500 and maybe even less... Let me know what you find it for!

These are just some examples of what some of the top companies have available at the moment, but there are equally as good products from companies such as Vestax, Shure, Stanton, Omnitronic, Gemini with a range of uses for a wide range of DJ’s. Unfortunatly their ain’t enough space to go through them all because of word limit, but hey if you want to talk about other options, email me!

What Next?
Ahhh. where to start... Where to start? Like everything in life, starting out as a DJ is the hardest part. You need to get some skills, you need to find work and you need to get exposure. Get on your computer and check out all the websites from the different manufacturing companies so you can get an idea of gear takes your fancy may be interested in. There are places like DMC in Prahran that run great DJ courses for beginners and Wet Music also have one running at Revolver Music School around the corner. If you find you are getting confused and you would like to ask a DJ related question, or if you would like info on one on one DJ lessons from 12am, feel free to email me at andre@12am.com.au or check out my website at www.12am.com.au that is packed with DJ resources, profiles, charts and a monthly digital musician newsletter for the DJ’s in all of us!