Any DJs in the house?

[lifejoy]

I'm a total noob wanting to talk to someone about where the hell to get started :)

I'm trying to cultivate some "retirement activities" so that I don't feel bored out of my skull... and this sounds like something that could eat up a lot of hours! Inspiration: Ruth Flowers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EICvNdKRnE

She was a granny and a dj!!

[basd]

It's surely a fun hobby, but not a financially sound one at all :) Especially not when you're going the vinyl route as I did, though it is the coolest!

I did this when I was in college. Proper equipment is expensive, and you don't want cheap stuff as it will have a negative effect on your experience. Resell value is decent, though (on the hardware, not on the records if they're not rare).

You could try some DJ software first to see whether you like it before investing in hardware. I create some mix CD's using MixMeister Studio once in a while, though this isn't strictly DJ'ing as you don't mix in real time (and beatmatching etc. is done for you).

[NearlyThere]

DJ'd professionally from the age of 16 - 30 (32 now). Paid my way through University without a loan by doing so. It was also how I met my wife, so win all round.

What type of genre are you interested in?

Software and hardware is expensive, so if you can borrow some in the short term, that will give you an idea if you like it or not. I gave up twice in the early days, then it just clicked.

Good luck, DJ'ing is a great hobby

[johnhenry]

I'm not a DJ... but I do have a good story about one.

When my wife and I were planning our wedding reception we hired a DJ that she knew from her work as an event planner.  He was cheap, but not the lowest priced option.  We met him one evening to give him the list of songs we wanted played at certain points and go over all the details.

Some of the songs we wanted were from local/regional bands, so we told him we owned the CDs and could get him copies of whatever he didn't have.  That led to a discussion about how he (and other DJs) licensed/bought the music they play as part of their business.  I came of age with napster and lots of other file sharing apps and I admitted to him that I had used Limewire (a filesharing app) to illegally download some music I had, but wanted to assure him that any music I provided to him was purchased legally.

He tried to assure me of his professional nature by saying, "Oh, I use Limewire too, to get all the music for my business. But I use Limewire Pro because I've got a business.  I've got to get it legally so I don't go to jail or anything."  He thought he legally owned all the music he obtained that way because he paid $20 for a version of the filesharing program that didn't have advertisements!!

[lifejoy]

I'm not a DJ... but I do have a good story about one.

When my wife and I were planning our wedding reception we hired a DJ that she knew from her work as an event planner.  He was cheap, but not the lowest priced option.  We met him one evening to give him the list of songs we wanted played at certain points and go over all the details.

Some of the songs we wanted were from local/regional bands, so we told him we owned the CDs and could get him copies of whatever he didn't have.  That led to a discussion about how he (and other DJs) licensed/bought the music they play as part of their business.  I came of age with napster and lots of other file sharing apps and I admitted to him that I had used Limewire (a filesharing app) to illegally download some music I had, but wanted to assure him that any music I provided to him was purchased legally.

He tried to assure me of his professional nature by saying, "Oh, I use Limewire too, to get all the music for my business. But I use Limewire Pro because I've got a business.  I've got to get it legally so I don't go to jail or anything."  He thought he legally owned all the music he obtained that way because he paid $20 for a version of the filesharing program that didn't have advertisements!!

Eeps!! That is a good story... But mind of freaky! You don't know what you don't know, I guess.

[lifejoy]

My attempt to download a fruitly loops demo has put viruses on the computer... Husband isn't happy but he is calmly fixing the problem :) I'm lucky!

[basd]

Isn't FruityLoops more of a music producer tool than a DJ tool?

[lifejoy]

Isn't FruityLoops more of a music producer tool than a DJ tool?

Yes.