@IdleRich @wektor @thirdform @0bleak and anyone else here who DJs. Is there really a point to the CDJ hegemony? Maybe this has been discussed before but you can’t search ‘cdj’ here… I’d like to play tunes out, and there’s studio space equipped with CDJs I can rent out to practice on, but what’s the point? A friend of mine who’s been playing for the first time recently reports that promoters and even others on the bill scoff at the idea of bringing your laptop/controller/interface setup, claiming CDJs have superior sound output, and that this is how “real DJs” do it, as if CDJs require some kind of extra skill and not simply limited access or tons of disposable income to purchase (a pair with a standard mixer is upwards of $3k USD). Also, that people roll their eyes at using the sync button… on digital equipment… with BPM counters and waveform visualizers… yeah I’m so much more authentic and talented for fiddling with fake pitch sliders that aren’t connected to a motor, let’s throw away precious time that could be spent on crossfader acrobatics and dynamic blends, on emulating the old heads. I also leave my washing machine unplugged as I scrub my laundry inside of it by hand.
What’s the point of all this? Smooth transitions between acts in the booth? Pioneer psyop? Pining for the days of Technics standardization? When seeing the above show, DJ Spinn bypassed the CDJ setup and had a standalone controller of his own, and nobody batted an eye or spent any time fiddling with switching channels, the hand-off was smooth, it was obviously figured out during soundcheck. I’m just curious people’s experience with this and similar DJ politics in general. I’m with Third when it comes to ‘fuck a DJ’ but playing tracks out on equipment you can afford and have practiced on/are familiar with on a big system to even a small gaggle of hungry dancers is really really fun. I’m already up against the Brooklyn Cultural Mafia as it is and then there’s the Resident Advisor Mafia with their gun fingers choreography, shitty club music decorum and gear snobbery?!
