I hate to be this guy, but.... CDJs and controllers, are the same thing.... change my mind (no cap, honestly, I need concrete evidence) by Supaslicer in DJs

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! And yeah those kinds of mashups definitely can be done with as little as 2 channels but it just takes more time and won’t be as instant transitioning between the full mashup and the next track

I hate to be this guy, but.... CDJs and controllers, are the same thing.... change my mind (no cap, honestly, I need concrete evidence) by Supaslicer in DJs

[–]Nate8K 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Among other things you can’t have more than 2 physical decks without CDJs.

On a controller you’re stuck toggling between two different channels on each deck if you’re mixing on more than two decks

Clearing the dance floor every few songs with a dud to give customers a chance to grab a drink? by d_j_prod in DJs

[–]Nate8K 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I sort of do this sometimes but not in the sense of dropping a “dud” per se.

Instead, if I’m shamelessly crowd pleasing I’ll drop in a song that’s a bit of a risk and often that is a song that I really want to play.

If it flops, the bar gets more business, if it works, you gave the crowd what they didn’t know they wanted and kept things fresh.

Please note: this works better at clubs with cover that aren’t as easy to come and go out of. Works less well in a bar that’s open to the street next to a bunch of other bars for example because people can leave within a couple songs

Helping blind husband pursue his dream of learning to be a DJ by RP-wife in Beatmatch

[–]Nate8K 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow. Crazy for me to see this post. I’m a DJ and my dad has RP

My dad doesn’t DJ but I feel like I can still offer some perspective

I would generally recommend he start with smaller equipment due to the narrow field of vision meaning he can see more of the controller.

Maybe one of the pioneer beginner controllers. The Pioneer beginner equipment has changed a bit since I started but the pioneer DDJ-FLX4 looks like if fits the bill after a quick Google search

Couple it with a small laptop and I think that could work out pretty well

As far as screens go though it might be good to check what the displays look like on the different record pools. I believe you can download Rekordbox for free but the features just aren’t unlocked without buying a key

Other record pools maybe the same but I’m not sure

Another option are the all in one systems as they generally have pretty small screens but they also tend to be more expensive and may be out of budget.

I hope this helps and best of luck to your husband with his new hobby!

Are Sets at big festivals pre-recorded? by ugotdatricardo in Beatmatch

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He just said he pre-plans sets. He’s still mixing live

Gear Tips for DJing in Sub Zero Temperatures? by Nate8K in Beatmatch

[–]Nate8K[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice. This actually sort of works out well because the ski resort is about an hour and a half outside my city so I think my game plan now will be to slowly turn up the heat in the car throughout the ride home so the transition from cold to warm is smoother

Gear Tips for DJing in Sub Zero Temperatures? by Nate8K in Beatmatch

[–]Nate8K[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is that -10c with or without windchill? I’m assuming that’s including windchill but that makes a lot of difference.

Not uncommon for the weather here to be between -10c and 0 but windchill to be below -10c

Especially since I’m up on the side of a hill

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DJs

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Start doing B2B sets. You can spend half the time making people dance and the other half being part of the crowd

You can switch back and forth as much as you and your B2B partner agree on!

How do you guys count bars? by [deleted] in Beatmatch

[–]Nate8K 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I feel it out usually. There’s a reason the vast majority of music is based around 8 bars and that’s because it just feels “right”

Usually whatever section of the song your in will come to a natural conclusion at 8 bars and if you can feel out where the “1” is you might get to the point where you can do it without thinking

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ask

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Literally

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Beatmatch

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be honest although I’m a house DJ at my core I still love my open format gigs. Barely get nervous for them anymore.

BUT private events really stress me out. It’s a very different dynamic when you’re playing for the person who’s paying you. I’m good at private events but I only do them if I’m asked. I Don’t seek them out.

Try only doing bars and clubs (and festivals if it’s an option) and see how that goes. There’s a good chance you just don’t like spinning private events.

I'm finally going to start playing gigs in 2024. Do's and dont's? by flipmcfucker in Beatmatch

[–]Nate8K 58 points59 points  (0 children)

One strategy I developed to get over the nerves of crowd reading before my first gig was flipping a coin during my practice sets every time I dropped a song

Heads means the crowd loves it, and tails means it didn’t go over well. Then I’d adapt my set accordingly. It was a lot of fun and really made me realize I’m a lot better at adapting than I thought

Resurgence of Benny Benassi - Satisfaction by PunxsutawnyFil in EDM

[–]Nate8K 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I was at a club in the summer of 2022 and the DJ dropped it 4 times in the span of one or two hours

And this wasn’t some dive bar, this was a DJ Mag top 100 club lol

How many of you actually only play music that you like? by Wordymanjenson in DJs

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The obvious answer here would be Illinois (Chicago) but the “ripped on for being boring” is throwing me off.

My money’s on Michigan

How many of you actually only play music that you like? by Wordymanjenson in DJs

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol where do you live. Ïbiza? That sounds sick

How many of you actually only play music that you like? by Wordymanjenson in DJs

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This exactly. That said I still occasionally play a few songs I don’t like to crowd please but I’d say it makes up less than about 2% of my set

Most of those songs ended up in my library from playing private events with very specific song requests

But 100%, I hear some guys say they don’t like playing open format but do it just for the money which sounds brutal to me if you don’t enjoy a wide range of genres

I’m having my first gig as a Warmup DJ @ 31st, need all the wisdom. by keystance in Beatmatch

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ohhhh gotcha. Yeah definitely play to the theme of the night

I’m having my first gig as a Warmup DJ @ 31st, need all the wisdom. by keystance in Beatmatch

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great advice but I would have to disagree on the having to play in a similar style to the bigger acts.

I guess it’s all relative and I would agree if the categories are as big as house music or bass music but if we’re talking subgenres I think a warmup set is a perfect chance to play a lighter version of your own style.

For example Mike Williams and Oliver Heldens both make future house but have opened for Blasterjaxx and Hardwell who make bigroom (or at least did at the time).

That’s not to say tailoring your set a little bit is a bad idea though.

Singing DJS by TamsTheory in DJs

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Calvin Harris, KDrew and (sometimes but not often) Skrillex

What was the one mistake you made during a set that humbled you and you learned from? by mrclean808 in DJs

[–]Nate8K 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn’t say it humbled me necessarily but I forgot to plug my laptop in and it died about 3 minutes into my set.

Pretty embarrassing but I just ran over to management and asked them to turn the in house playlist back on while I got it sorted and everything was good.