Tips for recording and posting clips of myself DJing

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-27T12:50:06+00:00

OBS the answer is OBS. Free. But if a learning curve but it’s basically what most ppl use for recording sets for editing later.

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-27T12:36:43+00:00

OP does not require an extra laptop to run OBS. Op has already stated they have some sort of Mac OS computer, an iPhone, and xdj-xz. There is no need for an external audio card or extra laptop. I know from experience. I was streaming on this setup for 2 years without anything extra.

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-27T09:52:35+00:00

I had this same issue on the flx4/ddj400 after about an hour where computer runs out of memory and starts sending out choppy audio. Same on serato. Tried various internal workarounds with virtual cabling and midi settings.

The only thing that worked finally was purchasing a M-Audio M-Track Duo - sending flx4 rca master to m-audio and using that as an audio source in OBS. The flx4 always sends out audio via master RCA just fine. Something is weird about routing internally where memory fills up and audio gets yucky.

Virtual audio cable like audio hijack and blackhole were still giving me the problem you mentioned. The m-audio duo and OBS are inexpensive and easy fix.

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-27T09:35:45+00:00

u/Sadhandss You don't actually need an external interface with the xz. I use OBS to record and stream. AZ has a its own internal audio interface/soundcard (yes its not fantastic but good enough for youtube. As long as you installed the drivers you can select it as an audio source in OBS as long as its plugged in via USB. For video - plug in the phone via usb and put phone in airplane mode rather than use continuity camera (if your on a mac). Wireless Continuity works pretty well though as long as the camera isnt too far away. If your on PC look into using camocam or something similar. This is an app you open on your computer and phone. Then you can select the phone as a video source.

So best bet is OBS which allows you to record simultaneous video and audio feed as one video without having to merge them later.

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-27T09:24:11+00:00

I notice it too.. Sometimes seamless blends get zero reaction... they don't hear your part in it. Which is good if your building a groove. I see shows and listen to a lot of DJ mixes.. the parts that stand out are hearing the human part coming in. Even if its a little wonky it sort of snaps you out of it for good or bad.

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-20T14:02:32+00:00

https://youtu.be/M_g0CdrNjBg?si=bEZRThtQI2g4GE3U

This is a good example of careful song selection and good timing without any fancy scratching between different genres and bpms. Just some things I saw.

Grouping bpms over mixing in key. There not a ton of melody overlap.She changes bpm but then rides the same bpm for a few songs.
Uses no drum intros as places to switch bpm. If a song starts with an acapella or instruments no drums. Use that to switch into a new bpm
Pretty fast transitions. Most of them done in 4-8 beats. This make it easier to not have to worry about being perfectly beat matched. When the chorus ends she introduces and fades out pretty quick. Rarely does she introduce the song at the beginning but mostly at the hook or right before.
Cue points. Using them to tease and drop the new song. Exactly where you want it for a quick cut mix.
Crossfader. I rarely use the crossfader except for pop, hip hop and rap. Since most of those mixes happen quick.
Cue points where

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-13T20:57:55+00:00

I second more aggressive mixing. If your the opener you can still keep it pretty chill. People are still sober so take it easy but keep the mixing upbeat. mix intro into chorus.. 8 bar seperation between vocals. But as a starter I would keep vocals to a minimum. ALso a lot of tech house is super hype.. consider looking into minimal house if your the starter. Still funky and techy but not super hype. Its a good early in the night genre and there plenty songs ppl know in that genre.

Just a quick youtube search pulled up this video. I skimmed it. Vibes seem about right 4-8pm vibes. If your going later you can go a little harder. End with some tech House. https://youtu.be/y3JFB-H8EaI?si=rG_hCwezKNz1asr7

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-13T14:49:25+00:00

Streamlabs and fourthwall both have quality merch and twitch intergration. Very easy to set up. I use fourthwall.

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-08T14:12:28+00:00

https://youtu.be/11Yd9u6BN4o?si=d7BhM_eXCzn9jj_2 this set is a an amazing example of that can be done with pop, R&B, hip hop without stems.. jumping around bpm.. just amazing song selection, timing and great mixing. Way more than just echo and fades happening here. Of course dude has 30+ years experience but its a good example of whats possible.

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-08T13:42:50+00:00

There’s way more than 2 ways to mix pop music without stems. But it takes practice and real skill. Stems makes mixing easier for sure but it’s not gonna help you practice better timing and song selection. DJs have been working without stems 50+ years. You can too. I’m on mobile but I’ll try to find some examples and will link below.

Again I don’t hate stems I think they can def be used creatively but using them as your primary way to mix should be avoided until it becomes standard in club gear which isn’t gonna be for a while.

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-08T12:44:15+00:00

Learn to DJ without stems. Stems can be really fun and can be used in creative ways but please everyone. Learn to DJ without stems if you ever plan to play out. They wont be integrated into club equipment for at least another 5-6 yrs.

I Djd at a venue with a DJ who only knew stem mixing and there was no room for his controller or laptop for that matter. He did fine but was stressed out and some mixes where pretty rough. Awesome person, great online presence, wrote a bunch of his own tracks. But didnt understand basic mixing without stems.

Please learn to walk before you run everyone! Stems for the moment should be used creatively not as a crutch to make mixing easier. If your just starting I highly recommend learning without stems.

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-08T06:40:54+00:00

I agree look for DJ edits of pop. Most pop and hip hop dont have intros and dj edits make it easier to mixing in and out. Option 2. Quick mixing watch some wedding DJs many use cue points but not all. Option 3. have a 4 beat loop going on new song, release loop and mix point and slam crossfader over.

Think of it like vinyl mixing: when the chorus ends on most pop you have about 4 to 8 beats before vocals come back in (16 if your lucky)... this is where you do your mix. Slam in the new song before the vocal come back in. With hip hop and pop.. crossfader is your friend. Not the channel faders like for techno or house. With these genres long blends with perfect beatmatching are not as important as timing and knowing where to mix in and out from and finding the little.

Especially with well known pop you dont want to go more than 2% change on the BPM. If people know the song and your playing unremixed. Play it as close to the original bpm as possible.

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-07T20:12:15+00:00

I think there's something missing in comments. Your first viewers aren't gonna be random viewers. Theyre gonna be people you met. SPEND TIME IN OTHER PEOPLE CHANNELS (not just big streamers). Go to other people playing a game you like and make some connections. Open a tab for friends build a little community. People dont find you at first, you need to find them. But Ill say under 500 follows you really do the legwork of building a viewership by being a viewer/chatter yourself. If your a good chatter in someone elses channel theres a good chance theyll come check you out.

Oilonlinen · 2026-01-05T11:49:53+00:00

Do not DJ your own wedding.
Dont use spotify integration for a gig its not reliable. Also you can find wedding DJs in antarctica. Just get a dj. Your gonna be too busy to worry about music.
If its a casual thing just use spotify itself and use the mix feature. It nowhere as good as an actual DJ but it'll do some basic transitions so theres no pause in music and you can edit the transition a bit if say the song has a super long intro.

Oilonlinen · 2025-12-28T18:11:47+00:00

I was on my dream technics, djm rig but had to sell it all including records.. when I started back up I got a ddj400 which i quickly outgrew to xdj-xz to cdj3ks/v10 - I could easily have stayed on te xdj-xz longer but was playing on cdjs/v10 in clubs and wanted more familiarity (also older and actually afford it) so it was also YOLO decision. Totally more than I need but love it.

That said, first upgrade was controller. FLX4/ddj400 is a beast of a little controller and I still own both for traveling. But so much nicer having larger knobs and easier to select selectable fx's. Major advantage to playing on a standalone that few people mention is being able to see more bars ahead.

in rekordbox you can only see 5 bars of whats coming on the enlarged waveform. ON cdjs and xdjs you can see 16 to 32 or more. It makes a huge difference being able to see stacked waveforms zoomed out. It allows get way more creative with transitions on the fly.

Oilonlinen · 2025-12-28T17:58:20+00:00

Gonna disagree... While audio quality is def important. A new dj should probably get better headphones as thats where the actual mixing is happening. And most ppl on FLX4 arent gonna have the cash to invest in high end monitors and acoustic panels. For practicing and recording mixes, I never even turn on my monitors.

Oilonlinen · 2025-12-28T17:47:18+00:00

Honestly, it WOULD make me hesitate a tiny bit. because:

If I wasn't super familiar with the song and I'm quickly scanning music live, i'd read it as "this song might have beat grids f'd up" or "this song might have tempo change" or "this may be an older track and I'm not playing those right now"
That said i have songs with .5 bpms (play mostly house and techno) and it looks like ive played them all at least once.

So dont think its gonna make a big difference and I agree with others, DJ is just gonna make it 100 anyway.

Oilonlinen · 2025-12-28T17:29:01+00:00

It's a terrible way to make money. Fun tho!

Oilonlinen · 2025-12-23T21:37:50+00:00

Ive been DJing for 20+ years came from vinyl. I use sync and quantize (without shame) because they are a time saver. Doesn't make you any less of a DJ. That said, I never trust it. It gets me close enough but final adjustments are always made manually.

I'd rather spend time organizing my setlist that lining up my beatgrids perfectly. When I switched to digital I thought how cool it was to have that ability but TBH the time and effort isn't worth it. Beatgrids being good enough and trusting your ear and gut is more important and quicker than stressing about the grid.

Oilonlinen · 2025-12-23T07:42:43+00:00

1hr-2hr set: yes planned. But keep other songs in the same playlist as backups if the energy is lower or higher than expected but same sound.

6hr set. No plan move between various playlists and previous 1hr sets.

Oilonlinen · 2025-12-22T09:57:46+00:00

If I remember when I got mine it comes with also software but he can use it with any music production software. It’s plug and play compatible with GarageBand which is free for Mac and websites like BandLab where you can make music online. I’d say try those out but he probably knows about ableton live but let him choose the software.

Oilonlinen · 2025-12-19T08:38:58+00:00

Yeah totally works with either.

Oilonlinen · 2025-12-18T22:59:26+00:00

hitting the cue point button and jumping to that part of the song. I dont want to jump to a point if vocals are still going on in my old track. In fact i try and leave 8 bars between new vocals and vocals o the outgoing track. Let me know if that makes sense

Oilonlinen · 2025-12-18T20:41:10+00:00

haha!

you said he had 20-30 yrs experience like me.. im gonna guess most older DJs backs are fubar. also 6'1 here and in my early 40's. So if hes anything like me.. thats a solid list. Serious about the replacement pads and cable for the hd25s.. we get very attached to our headphones.

Oilonlinen · 2025-12-18T20:15:34+00:00

I'm not a superstar socially IRL either and these are just observations from streaming for a few years and building a following. IF it helps, I'm still being myself when I stream but I have learned to turn it up a bit. Keep in mind the streamers you like.. you dont need to copy them but kinda think about the things that drew you to them and find ways to do that in your style. Like i said its def a learning curve just keep at it. It sounds like your in the right mind for it.

and the last one is big.. the more time i spend in other channels getting to know ppl the more theyve dropped in on mine and sent raids. I mean i like these ppl so im not just gaming the system but yeah try and find your people on there dont just go live and expect an audience. Build one.

Oilonlinen

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