Most of us start DJing on a laptop or a phone. At some point, the bug bites and we find ourselves splashing out on professional decks by companies like Pioneer and Denon. A big shift happens at this point. We go from a large-ish screen to a smaller one, relying more on our ears to make decisions. So if you’re still using a laptop to DJ, here are a few things to consider.
You’re limited by your choice of DJ gear
Not limited in a bad way. It’s just that a laptop chip can only process so much audio at one time. Laptops weren’t designed specifically for DJing, but a DDJ1000 is. You can quickly experience audio dropouts and other problems if you’re running heavy effects and background processes on your laptop while DJing.
DJ decks are expensive
You could easily afford a decent model car for the price of some newer model DJ decks. The price line keeps rising, and the second hand market goes out of fashion pretty quickly. Especially with software lock-in, which requires constant updating. It’s an investment, for sure. If you’re serious about a career in DJing, don’t forget to learn a few things from the pros first in this DJ Careers Course.
MIDI controllers are the middle ground for DJs
Mobile and wedding DJs seldom get any extra applause for having the best gear. For those types of gigs, it’s just about the pop songs you select (and to be honest, it’s a no-brainer). For your artist brand-building gigs, however, people notice the gear you use. Use controller decks but bring one or two extra MIDI controllers to your next gig. You can use a Launchpad for a million different things, from triggering samples to controlling sequencers.
The sky’s the limit with MIDI controller DJing. There are some really interesting custom setups out there, and we’d encourage you to go beyond a standard laptop and controller setup. Hardware is king. Everyone loves to see a sampler, sequencer or drum machine in action. Pick some tunes, get hyped and bring that floor alive!