[makavelicss]

hey.. Im looking to start DJ'ing hip hop and rap music.. Thing is I dont know where to start by the fact I dont know what decks to get, what to buy with it, how to do ANYTHING with the music on the decks.. HOpe some of ya'll guys can help!

[funkmaster]

man, you're going to need to be a bit more specific.

a couple o' questions . . .

how much do you want to spend on your gear?

do you have any audio gear already? (amp, speakers, headphones . . .)

do you want to mix with vinyl or cds?

do you have any friends that are djs?

whereabouts do you live? (ie. are you close to somewhere you can buy vinyl, or meet up with other djs?)

what kind of music do you want to be mixing?

do you want to scratch?

answer the above and I can probably give you sopme tips.

[makavelicss]

I dont know how much im willing to spend.. Not lots as im just a beginner obv..

I have speakers and headphones.

CD's are easier to get hold of than vynls. Is it possible to mix with CD's?

No friends that are DJ's or anything which is why I ask u guys ^^

Im near places where I can buy vinyls but like i said CD's would be better.

I might be able to hook up with another DJ or two.

I'd like to mix rap/hip hop music. (Oldschool like wu-tang, mainstream such as luda, t.i. and lyrical shit - Some Krunk also.

I'd like to learn to scratch too but obviously learn the basics of mixing first

Hope this helps you to help me.

[AlphaTrion]

"Old School Like wu-tang"

hearing that makes me feel old.

[makavelicss]

Help?

[funkmaster]

Ok.

If you want to play hip hop and learn to scratch you are probably going to want to buy real turntables.

In order to scratch records, you will need some tables with a fair bit of torque (that is the power with which the platter turns) I would reccommed that you buy a second hand pair of technics 1200's or something of equal quality.

DO NOT BE FOOLED! if you buy cheaper/lower quality turntables, 1 of 2 things will happen. Either you will decide to stay with djing, and you will outgrow your cheapo turntables really fast (forget getting much back selling them - cheap turntables aren't worth squat second hand), or you will decide djing is not for you, and you will still get squat for them when you try to sell them.

So - get some second hand technics 1200s or similar - even if you have to buy one at a time.

You can scratch with some of the higher end CD decks - check out the pioneer 800 or 1000 CDJs or the numark cdx/hdx - but they are pretty expensive. In any case I would say that scratching feels somewhat "artificial" with CDJs - they are emulating what a truntable actually does.

I suggest that you go into a dj store and play around with a bunch of different gear and find out what works for you.

Next - you will need a mixer. If you are just beginning, you do not need to buy a very expensive mixer - a Behringer or low-end Numark will do the job just fine. If buying a second hand mixer, just make sure none of the channels "bleed" (that is there is no audilbe channel 1 when the fader is all on channel 2 or vice versa).

As far as music is concerned - yeah CDs are easier to find than records (and cheaper) - but you can get the best of both worlds with SERATO.

Basically serato is a program and interface that lets you play mp3s from your computer through your traditional turntables and mixer - any good dj store should have serato set up in the store for you to check out.

Hope all of this helps - write back with any other questions.

Main thing is that you remember - djing is just like playing a musical instrument - you will need to practice A LOT before you get to be any good at it - just enjoy it and have fun.

[dj.remikkusu]

Originally Posted by AlphaTrion

"Old School Like wu-tang"

hearing that makes me feel old.

haha word.

d(-_-)b