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    How to DJ: The Insider's Guide to Success on the Decks
    How to DJ: The Insider's Guide to Success on the Decks
    How to DJ: The Insider's Guide to Success on the Decks
    Ebook190 pages1 hour

    How to DJ: The Insider's Guide to Success on the Decks

    By Tom Frederikse, Phil Benedictus and Point Blank

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    About this ebook

    How to DJ is the insider's guide to becoming a professional DJ. Written by two industry insiders who DJ and produce hit records throughout the world, this is the concise, how-to sourcebook that comes straight from real DJs and musicians. They explain and demonstrate everything you need to know---from the basics of what DJs do and how they got their careers off of the ground to the worldwide phenomenon of DJ/producers who work with the biggest names in the business and make the music in the charts today.

    -- top advice on how to DJ---from selecting what to spin to getting gigs to keeping your audience dancing

    -- technology made easy---what you need and how to set it up

    -- how the DJ and music business works and how to rise to the top

    -- how to make hit records at home

    -- interviews and tips from celebrity DJs including Tall Paul, Boy George, Tim Westwood, Andy Cato, Mr. C, Andy Wilson, BT, Jeremy Healy, Allister Whitehead, and Sasha.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateJul 16, 2013
    ISBN9781466849365
    How to DJ: The Insider's Guide to Success on the Decks
    Author

    Tom Frederikse

    Tom Frederikse has been a record producer since the birth of DJ culture in 1988. He has worked for artists such as Robbie Williams and Michael Jackson and has worked with many top DJs including Sasha, Allister Whitehead and Joey Negro.

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      Book preview

      How to DJ - Tom Frederikse

      PART ONE

      GEAR & TECHNIQUE

      01

      THE SET UP

      WHAT YOU NEED AND HOW TO PLUG IT IN

      As long as you know what kit you need and how to work it, you don’t really need to understand it. You just have to be able to get the equipment to play your tunes, which, fortunately, is what it is designed to do. Frankly, the most complicated tool a DJ uses is his or her own body.

      And we’re talking about familiar components here, like turntables, which still play records. It’s just that the ones DJs use have a few extra features. OK, so a ‘disco mixer’ is not standard issue with most HiFi systems, but it is basically just a glorified stereo, which happens to be dedicated to mixing different sounds. The sound systems in clubs are bigger, more powerful versions of what you have at home, and while there may be a bit more complicated equipment you, as a DJ, are probably not even allowed to breathe on it; it’s somebody else’s problem.

      So this is the first thing to remember: the machines are on your side. They will do what you tell them.

      THE SOUND SYSTEM

      Figure 1: A classic club sound system demonstrating how the components work together

      Players

      First up, are the bits that actually play the records: turntables, CD players, MP3 players, Minidisc players, DAT players, and whatever else a clubowner might think of. These are the units that actually produce the music (the ‘signal’) that will eventually be amplified over the system.

      Mixers

      The disco mixer serves two purposes: to boost the signal as a ‘pre-amplifier’ and to allow the DJ to blend different music sources. This louder signal is then passed on through to the amplifiers.

      Amplifiers

      These boost the sound. Amps can be any size, from as small as a briefcase to as large as a desk. Some processing (adjusting the quality of the sound) will take place at this stage whether you can see it or not. Occasionally, amplifiers have ‘crossovers’ inside them. A crossover separates the sound into high treble and low bass. Often you will see another small box sitting on top of the amp, usually the crossover. You might also see an overall ‘EQ’ (or equalizer) box sitting on the amp. This also processes the sound to make up for any acoustic problems in the room, and to help the amp seem even better than it is. The amplifier then sends the sound on its way to the speakers.

      Speakers

      These let the sound loose onto the dancefloor. The sound may also be sent from the mixer to a second amplifier and from there to a booth monitor speaker (see Chapter 4).

      TOOLS OF THE TRADE

      This is a brief guide to the kind of gear you can expect to encounter as a working DJ: how to set it up and how to use it. This book can tell you almost everything you need to know, but every piece of kit has its own peculiarities so you still need to read the instruction manuals provided.

      Turntables

      A DJ turntable is similar to a standard home HiFi turntable, but is adapted for club use. There are some specific changes that have been made to make things easier for DJs, but essentially it still plays records, by reading the groove with a tiny diamond (the ‘needle’) and turning the vibration into an electrical signal.

      So what’s the difference between a standard turntable and a DJ turntable? For a start, you need to have a very different needle (or ‘cartridge’) because the stability (or ‘tracking’) needs to be much better – the needle must stick to the groove at all times. Domestic HiFi systems are all about the best possible sound and the kind of cartridge that delivers the best sound is very delicate, performing best with low weighting on the arm. It wouldn’t last two seconds in a club. So for DJ turntables, you need a needle that is tough enough to survive scratch DJs, won’t jump when faced with a floor full of pogoing nutters, but still delivers sound faithfully.

      This is the first major difference: the DJ cartridge and tone-arm are designed as much with practicality as high fidelity in mind and to this end there has been a recent trend amongst manufacturers to go with a straight tone-arm, to further aid tracking.

      Then there’s the whole issue of the speed of the records (tempo). A HiFi turntable is designed to play at precisely 33 or 45 rpm, but a DJ turntable has a ‘varispeed’ (pitch) controller allowing the DJ to slow down or speed up the tune very precisely. The classic DJ turntables, the Technics SL 1200 and 1210, allow you to speed up or slow down the record by up to eight per cent, while newer models might go up to 30% either way. Whatever the percentage, it’s there to help the DJ beat mix, passing seamlessly from one record to the next. If you are buying a DJ turntable, make sure that the varispeed controller is quick and precise.

      The motor on a DJ turntable should also be strong. It must be able to withstand heavy use at the hands of DJs. It should be unruffled by heavy vibrations. And the motor has to start up and play the record at the right speed at the touch of a button.

      Pick up any DJ turntable and you’ll see that it’s a pretty hefty piece of gear. If you think about clubs, the people who go there and what they get up to, this feature shouldn’t be a surprise. One aspect that does vary from one DJ deck to the next is the weight of the disc that the records rest on (the ‘platter’) which does affect the DJ. You need a lighter touch with a lighter platter, logically enough.

      Cartridges

      You can spend a small fortune on cartridges and the more pricey ones do, on the whole, perform a bit better. If you have the decks set up right, however, unless you are planning to go scratch crazy, you won’t really notice a vast difference. The expensive ones might last a bit longer and skip a bit less, but just because a cartridge looks flash it doesn’t mean it’s going to sound any

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