hi ive been a laptop dj for 3 yrs and now have cdj 1000 mk 3's with djm 800 mixer,
whats the best way to stay ontop of your tunes using cd's and mp3 cd's.
i've started using cdj's 1000's mk 3's with djm 800's to excel my club giggs, i just have them in my "studio at present so dont take them out and probably never will. they're there to just practice on so when i get into the clubs hopefully they're still the industrys standard.

my laptop is ace and done me proud for 3 yrs but ive been in denyal ive been telling myself what you can do on djs you can do on cdjs but you cant and plus i cant turn up for an audition with my laptop under my arm, laptops are fround upon in the dj world like cds were 10 yr ago. it was all vynl vynl vynl until carl cox sarted to use cds then everyone did, so someone phone carl and tell him to use djs at his next gig then we'll be ok with the respect to ha ha.

anyways sorry for ramblin on,

my problem is after being a laptop dj i have no idea whats the best way to do my cd's on mp3 or cd. plus how to keep on top of it all.

on a laptop if i think of a tune i type the artist ot title in,

but with a fancy udg disc case how the hell do i flick through 200 cds, mp3's etc to find the tune i want or the tune someone has asked for,

you can only write so much stuff on a disc in marker pen.

plus even though i have mark 3's am i best burning to wave audio cd disc as some dj's swear not to use mp3 for quality reasons.

i just dont know how dj's do it, find cd load it skip to the track then start to cue it up etc before the track playing finishes.

thanks

First of all, I don't think laptops are "frowned" upon, and alot of top dj's use them, Sasha, Pvd, Digweed etc... Secondly finding music is no different your just burning them to cd. I use audio cds not mp3 discs, and Ive got one of them udg casees. Be shure to make the lables clear on them and put your cds in some kind of order, maybe bpm warm up peek tunes or a-z.

Laptops are frowned upon? Only by dickheads.

If any vinyl-only DJ gives you friction over the medium you use to play your music out on, ask him (if he's so keen on doing it old school) why he's not using a wax cylinder phonograph.

ok cheers guys.

i'm looking at pushing a residency somewhere and would like to use my laptop.

i use a usb ext mixer with my laptop so when i get a residency if the bar/clubs equipment is trash should i just take my laptop and usb mixer so i can plug into they're amp etc.

cheers.

i see a lot of dj's using laptops and just moving the faders with there mouse etc, i cant do this i have to use my ext usb mixer.

and i still have'nt seen a mixer anywhere that has usb options on it.

in fact ive just paid £1000 for a djm mixer and this doesnt have usb options on it.

also if poss whats the best way to do labels for my udg cd wallets.

cheers guys

There are usb send return mixers, and the djm 800 has midi control functions. Also 9 times out of 10 the club equipment is derelict and roting away (missing faders, cdjs that look like they have been dipped in acid)so maybe it is worth bringing your own equipment.. if possible. As for the best way to do labels, well i print them off in BIG letters and stick them to the cds.

quote:

9 times out of 10 the club equipment is derelict

ROFL

yeah thats good, but i heard disc labels can do your gear in, as the disc becomes out of balance and heavy. so can wreck your cdj, so be carefull,

unless you mean you have a realy good label printer like cd's in the muscic stores.

cheers.

what program do you use to print them off do you have to type by hand all the track data in order. or can your program read your play-burn-list etc

cheers.

You can use microsoft word and print them on to sticky lables, or you could buy a cd lable printer.

Get an ultra-fine sharpie marker, those work great on cds. I usually don't even write the tracks on there, just the cd number. I'll do HCD8 (house cd 8) and later in the book is TCD4 (trance cd 4) and an insert with the track listing, artist, and BPM.

For the regular bars I do, the binder has a tracklist from excel. One in artist alphabetical, the other in title alphabetical.

ok cool thanks

sharpie!

yeah, i would not worry about writing alot of track names and such on the actual disc, since the disc will be hidden inside the player when in use. I use the upper part of my cd binder for labels and the lower for the discs. If it's a compilation I made then I will burn a 2nd copy and put that under the label, for times I need to go from a disc to another song on the same disc.