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Welcome to the wonderful world of mixing. The first thing you're going to need is gear. Absolutely essential are 2 good direct-drive turntables (direct drive is essential, belt-drive won't have nearly the torque you need). The industry standard is the Technics SL-1200 (the MK2 is the normal baseline model, the MK5G is an updated version with selectable +/- 8/16 % pitch adjust and updated styling). Some other acceptable models (which are themselves heavily influence by the 1200) are the Stanton ST-100 and STR8-100, the NuMark TT1600 and TTX series.

Now, I know you're saying "Turntables? Vinyl?!! Are these the dark ages here?" Well, the fact is that most dance music is released primarily to vinyl, for DJs just like you. The good thing is that, since LPs are an analog technology, incremental improvements in quality are possible without breaking compatibility. In fact, record mastering is an art which has advanced considerably even after the invention of the CD, and well-taken-care-of LPs played back with professional-quality cartridges blow the sound quality of CDs away. Believe it.

Speaking of cartridges, that brings us to the next set of kit. There are a wide range of pickup cartridges, ranging from $20 entry-level models to the superior Ortofon Concorde at over $100. Honestly, get the Concordes. The cartridge itself is extremely high quality and delivers amazing sound quality without distortion, and the actual needle tips are replaceable (for much less that the cost of new cartridges), and can even be swapped out with different styli for different purposes (ultra high-fidelity vs. scratching, etc.).

The next piece of gear is the mixer. Here's another area where there is a vast range in price. The extremely expensive models feature loads of inputs, multi-band equalizers, full banks of filters, several effects loops (and possibly some integrated effects), quadraphonic mixing, optical faders, and maybe even full-digital mixing. The truth is, you probably don't need all those feature while you're starting out. The important features you want are a seperate 3-band EQ on EACH CHANNEL, nice smooth (and user-servicable) faders, and maybe an adjustable curve on the cross-fader. I use a Stanton mixer with these features, and an optical scratch fader, and it set me back only about $250 new.

Now, I know I said earlier that Vinyl is the DJ's medium of choice. That has been the case for several decades, but to be perfectly honest, there ARE some viable alternatives now. Stanton's Final Scratch system is a pretty amazing box that plugs into your existing DJ setup and your PC, and allows the playback of MP3s which are controlled by real, physical specially-encoded Vinyl. There is a slight latency involved with playback of the special discs, which is fine for mixing and even light scratching, but more complex scratches aren't really possible. Even then, the system is truly amazing, and it hooks in with the excellent digital DJ software package Traktor from Native Instruments.

CD turntables are also a major new technology. This field was pioneered by Pioneer with their CDJ-1000. The first model featured a large mechanical jog wheel that can be used to manipulate CD tracks like Vinyl (the platter doesn't spin on its own however, so it is slightly more limited than Vinyl). Since the introduction of this product, Technics and NuMark have both introduced their own CD turntables with full 12" platters that actually rotate. If you must use CDs, there are some good options out there (be aware that they are very expensive, however).

OK, by now, you're presumably kitted out and you've bought a couple dozen records that you like. Now, h

I wouldn't be surprised if this thing does some sneaky quantising behind the scenes to make mixing easier for the average punter.

The accepted wisdom is that it takes about nine months to learn the basics of mixing vinyl, and I would imagine even longer for CDs or mp3s as you don't have the record grooves to give you cues as to track structure.

Learning to beatmix can be frustrating, and doesn't sit well with the pick-up-and-play ethos of console gaming. So my guess is that the Sony thingo does some spectrum analysis on the two sound files and nudges the beats into synch to make it easier. (Some CD players already do this, and some can even mix the tracks themselves in a rudimentary fashion... have a look at the Pioneer CMX-5000).

Have a listen.

This THING is enough to get any geek laid!!..

Just imagine walking in to a Club with this. Even if you have hardly an inch on your face with out a pimple, you will still get laid...

the nice thing is to be able to go home and just screw around with my decks for an hour or so to kill some time. Much more fun and interactive than putting a CD in the player and staring at the wall.

Alternatively, take out a loan and buy some Pioneer CDJ-1000s.

Turntablists will always need vinyl. But other types of DJ (house and techno especially, those that often don't use turntable tricks) may be moving to CD with the advent of better interfaces.

Plus, let's hear some scratching on those CDs... ;-)

I suggest you watch this video. Make sure you look for the guy that did his set upside down hanging from the ceiling!

All of the above have problems though for any DJ who plays house, pop, any form of techno/dnb/IDM/trance etc. I'd say my experience here in Toronto is that a small minority of DJ's use CD decks like the pioneer CDJ-1000. Those who do complain about their inability to get new records. You have to understand that in dance music most remixes come on vinyl and the underground releases "white labels" which often contain tracks with uncleared samples or bootleg remixes. The sorta stuff trendy clubbers and raves go nuts for.

Absolutely 0 (zero) scratch artists use digital machines. Their haptic interfaces aren't nearly as robust as vinyl. The basis of urban/electronic music is sampling. The catalog of vinyl records out there is huge and most of all they're cheap! To this day most hip-hop is produce like so: Sample a record into an Akai MPC, re-arrange and have an MC rap on top of it. Sure you could get your hot James Brown beat on a CD in some greatest hits or remastered disc but this is music from the ghetto. "Real" hip-hoppers are poor and even when they make their millions and are dripping with ice and fat chains they still use records. Vinyl is cultural. All of these new digital products definitely have their creative niches though. Ming & Fs use CDJ-1000's exclusively so they don't have to get acetate pressings of their records while they do extensive touring. Lots of people use traktor and final scratch to play their own new material that they aren't yet ready to commit to a a short run of records.

I guess my point is that even though CD/MP3/OGG/Whatever units are more economically and technologically advanced vinyl is cultural. An analogy would be between a string section in an orchestra and some of the more advanced MIDI keyboards we have today. To the untrained ear a synthesized string pad sounds the same as a performed one. But classical music is an instituition. There are professionals who've trained for decades to play their instruments. Telling them to replace their Strad with a Korg Trinton keyboard would be laughable. DJ's are no different, scratching and mixing is no less challenging. I have the unique position of being both a classical viola player AND somebody who likes to play a few records. I dunno what DJ Scene you're from but here in Toronto which is home of a very vibrant urban/electronic/dance music scene a large majority of DJs use vinyl.

I would be surprised if the DJ industry continues to use vinyl 10 years from now. Over a year ago, Pioneer released the first CD turntable that behaves like a record player:

Pioneer CDJ-1000

Right now the only limiting factor is the cost ($1300), but that will come down in time.

I own both a Technics 1200, and a CDJ-1000. While the CDJ has a different feel than the Technics, it allows me to do more when performing. I'm willing to bet more will jump on this once a CDJ-1000, or equivalent, reaches the cost of professional turntables (around $400).

Actually recent CD decks give you extremely precise control. You mention time. My Pioneer cd player allows me to start within 0.01 ms, plus, speed the cd up/down +/- 100% while keeping the pitch locked. A Technics SL1200 can't do that.

The only reason that vinyl is still alive is because most dance/underground/techno is released on vinyl FIRST. That's why.

Vinyl still has a massive hold on the DJ industry, but it's slipping... Just my 0.02.

"When I was younger I felt like there was a talent to it because they were spinning records backwards and forwards and really cutting it in and overlapping songs," Parrish says. "It doesn't take much talent to be a DJ anymore. You just have to have a good flow of songs."

Basically what Parrish is saying here is: I wanted to be talented DJ but I couldn't. So I decided that there's no talent to being a DJ.

What Parrish is describing (slecting a playlist) is, as mentioned in the article, something any moron can do. The only problem is the fact that this isn't DJing. Picking a playlist is only the start of what a good DJ does. The DJ then has to mix them together in a way that sounds natural and unforced, that takes more than just matching the beats up, it's also good to make sure that the sections are matched (sections being the 32 or 64 beat repetitions in music). If they really know what they are doing then they can start to think about key mixing (ie. keeping the songs you are mixing together in the same key), a difficult trick when altering the speed of the record will put into a different key.

Then there is the fact that REAL DJs can have at least two tracks going at the same time, without making it sound awful. They don't just use this to mix from one track to another. They can also use this to add an element of one track into another, without leaving the original track.

DJs can also use their mixer to make a track sound very different to what's on the vinyl. Using EQs the DJ can emphasize or reduce the Bass Midrange and Treble, effectively cutting instruments out or bringing them to the fore. Some mixers like the Pioneer DJM-600 allow the DJ to also add effects like Echo, Flange, or Reverb. It's even got a mini-sampler built in, allowing the DJ to grab a section of a track and create something new with it. Well, partially new anyhow.

In short, if you don't think there's any artistry or talent required to be a DJ, then you simply don't understand what it is that DJs can do. I haven't even begun to cover the fact that a DJ is also required to understand, respond to, and influence the vibe of an evening.

I also haven't mentioned the idiocy of using MP3s over a commercial grade sound system. Let's just say that the ear can detect lots of frequencies and lots of frequency ranges. When speakers have the ability to playback all those frequencies clearly the ear can easily hear the difference between analogue/44.1kHz/MP3.

Conclusion: this "DJ" is an idiot and I won't be going to BQE bar for the music anytime soon. (The fact that I'm on the other side of the world is worth considering too...)

http://www.pioneerprodj.com/products/cdj1000/cdj10 00.mv - The Pioner CDJ-1000

A very nice machine, to put it lightly.

That's the insightful comment I've read all day. All EEs should start submitting their projects to Slashdot! Tomorrow on Slashdot: John Doe creates a blinking LED, story at 11!

American DJ has had a comparible product for a while--it uses an actual turntable... but if you're going to do anything remotely serious... nothing beats a Pioneer CDJ-1000! Sure, it doesn't actually rotate, and whiners can complain all they want, but you get superior control. This thing can even wash the dishes with a simple mod!

Actually, Final Scratch is Linux-based. The install CD comes with a bare-bones linux distro and partitioning utils to get you started. Alternately, you can just put the final scratch software on any laptop that already has linux installed. Oh, and you still need a good set of direct-drive tables to use it effectively (1200's or something comparable, i.e. Vestax PDX-2000's, Stanton STR8-100's, etc.).

I should also note that the Pioneer CDJ-1000 has beaten this home-brew to the punch. It has pitch-adjust and a substantial jog-wheel that is actually adequate for scratching. DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist have been using CDJ-1000s in their live shows for some time, now.

The CDJ-1000 has the benefit of almost zero latency and no skipping. On the other hand, you can drop-cue in final scratch, and its "record box" categorization system is very convenient (and 3 ms of latency is not too bad). You can also plug your final scratch system into pretty much any club setup. Lugging around CDJ-1000's is not so easy.

... based entirely in Linux, because as it says on Stanton's website, Windows is "not a stable enough environment"

I've played with Final Scratch, Ritchie Hawtin had a hand in it, and it is, without a word of a doubt, incredible. But if you really want to go pure digital, check out the Pioneer CDJ-1000, allows you to save wave data off a CD, store it to an SD card, scratch, cue, add effects, everything. Check it out here

I've never seen a DJ that plays MP3s, and I'd laugh at one that did. Real DJs use vinyl and, to a lesser extent, CD.

What on earth can you do as an MP3 DJ? Attempt to poorly beatmatch?

At least you can scratch CDs now.

- A.P.

Pioneer sells equipment for DJs that can do real-time "scratching" with CDs. The "turntables" are pressure-sensitive, so you can even slow the track down by gently pressing on them. My roommate has a pair of these and they're really fun.

See Pioneer's page for the CDJ-1000 for marketing.

So here's why club DJs prefer vinyl. It actually has nothing to do with sound quality. Until recently, vinyl turntables offered the following three advantages:

1. Groove contrast
2. Needle dropping
3. Scratch cueing

Groove contrast is where you can visually locate a dance song's "breakdown" just by looking at the grooves. Very useful, and was impossible with CD or tape.

Needle dropping provides the DJ with quick random access to any part of the song. Until recently, no CD or tape player offered this feature.

Scratch cueing is where the DJ scratches the first beat of a musical phrase in time with the song that's currently playing (the outgoing song), then lets the record play when the outgoing song reaches the first beat of a phrase. Ta-daaa, the songs are in phase/sync. Until recently, no CD or tape player offered this.

Those three features are vital to club DJing ("beat mixing"). So there really was no choice, DJs had to use vinyl.

Recent pro DJ CD players like Pioneer's CDJ-1000 do a great job of emulating those features in software (in fact, Pioneer calls the CDJ-1000's scratch technology "vinyl emulation").

FinalScratch takes this a step further, though. The DJ can continue to use the tried-and-true vinyl turntables they've gotten used to over the years. That's a huge plus.

So is FinalScratch a perfect replacement? Well, I don't think so. You can't look at the record itself to see the groove contrast, you must look at the computer screen. And mechanical failures during a performance tend to be easier to fix than having software freak out on you -- I'd argue that there's less that can go wrong, but that point's debateable.

But FinalScratch is great technology, and it is going to change the way club DJs perform.

- Shawn Dodd