beginner dj decks?

[millzy]

Alreyt i'm just startin out dj'in n i have £200 2 spend on sum decks i kno that ppl wil say save up n buy technics but i want sumfin cheapish 2 learn on then upgrade. I'm looking for sumfin in a package with decks mixer leads ect wot decks would u reccomend and wher can i purchase sum from. I was thinkin of goin richer sounds in prestwich does n e 1 kno if they stock alot of decks. Thanx 4 n e help .. millzy

 

[Zoneraver]

Hmm

To begin DJing i was always told to learn on the most basic of decks


Just direct drive with quick pitch up and down buttons to save that dreaded gallop of beats

NEVER GET BELT DRIVE DECKS

mind you i was quite good on mine when i was 17 lol..but my first 2nd hand 1200 technics were a god send


after you have mastered that you could go for the decks with the speciality freehand mastering so you can manually match the beat without even using the pitch slider

To begin with i reckon any mixer is fine..but dont spend too much if you wanna upgrade

Its just basically seeing what you can get at the time


the main rule always buy direct drive

Alan

 

[sirius]

You know, I had some 'starter' decks and have moved on to 'midrange' decks and havent used technics yet in all this time.

I had belt drives, and I found them not too bad and quite good for that 'shmmmmmnnn' slowdown when you hit the stop button! which was all the rage round my area in 92/93, however I must agree that direct drives feel better and even keep time better, due to the mechanics I suppose. Once you mix very well on beltdrives you ace on direct, but why waste money buying more decks later when you can get directs first time.......

The only thing I wanna point out if your gonna get sommet else than technics (and this goes for the mixer too) the fekking pitch control potentiometer (slider) or potentiometer on the mixer (xfader) always wear out real quick if your always whippin speeds up and down (as you inevetably do when learning).

Make sure they are easy to replace, spares are relatively cheap and readily available cos they probably wont be covered on the warranty. Technics (so I understand) last for friggin years and are rock steady, this may not be the case on cheaper decks or mixers thats all. Mine lasted about 8 months on my first Soundlabs, and then the replacements lasted about 12 months then they changed the spec of the slider to a longer one and spares were harder to get.

Anyway, good luck. You get far more for your money these days, even some the cheap end mixers have good functions and often kill switches and all that malarkey these days. I mean, even Argos and some CashGenerator's are selling 'DJ Decks', but you wanna get some proper brand ones really, and Im a bit out of touch to whats available lately.

Anyway, Im no 'deck genious' so see what others reckon innit. Thats just my spin on things.


siz ya,

Sirius.

 

[lizer]

I got my decks from cash converters.
Paid 110 for a pair of kam bdx280 and bought a synergy t1000 for 40 quid in there as well.

As far as belt drive decks go they aint to bad but the pitch does slip a hell of a lot illl have it perfect matching for about 2 mins in headfones but when it comes to mixing it they sometimes go up and down a number almost.
And decent scratching is a no no(unless u put a huge blob of blu tack on the head)

Ive used technics b 4 and i rekon its much harder to mix on the beltdrive shit ones,they will stand u in good stead for uture upgrades.

Reason i didnt save more is cos i wanted to see if i would still be into it after a 6 year layoff from them,i do use them but not as much as i thought i would ,and that is with about 1500 records that my brother had just sitting in me mums house doing feck all.

If u are gonna get belt drive ones tho dont touch the likes of the limit ones they are v poor indeed.

 

[Jonno]

My first decks were belt drive. One was a Sony one that I found under the stairs of a student gaff my brother was living in. The pitch control was a knob at the front. The second was a JVC that I managed to barter down to £20 from a second hand shop. The pitch control on that was a dial on the top. The mixer I got was a £49 Realistic job from Tandy (who were really the only people selling mixers back then). The thing is they were absolutely fine for learning how to beat match, and that's the important thing. It's no use spending loads of money on top decks until you learn the basics.

As a side note I nicked my first 1210's from my University student union. Which was no mean feat because the bastards weigh a ton and it was during the day an all. The 1210's I've got now I got off a mate who had a "break in" where he happened to have all my records in his house, which turned out to be his records if you follow me. He gave us the brand new 1210's he'd claimed for my trouble (and a Intimidation - Dom II mixer an all - whatever happened to Intimidation?). So all in I've only ever paid £20 for 3 sets of decks - not bad eh.

 

[GRIMMY]

If you're on a budget of £200 and want direct drive, you'll have to keep on saving if you want brand new ones.

In my experience, the Citronic PD-2 direct drive is very sturdy and has great performance for what they're worth. They're just what you need before making the transition to Technics with all the sliders and power switches etc. in the right place. These'll set you back about £199 each max.

Another one to try is the Numark TT 200 direct drives. Very modern and sturdy. They look great and perform well. Only problem is the platter which is just a little too smooth and doesn't create much friction when slowing down the platter. These'll set you back around £229.

If you get belt drives, I recommend Citronic RT1 or Numark TT1600

Hope this helps!