Upcoming DJ: Where do I start

Ok, Im 17 and I've been really interesting in DJ'ing. This summer, I have tons of free time so I'd figure I would try and get started now. I'd figure I would try DJ'ing small parties and shit, but I don't know where to start.

My main questions are

What kind of turntables/setup/speakers should I be purchasing?
-I've seen some nice deals on amazon but im unsure if i should buy from there
Is a Macbook necessary?
-for the professional parties i've been to, most of the Dj's use macbook in conjuction with their turntable
How can i quickly become aware of the muisc people want at parties?
-Wouldn't want to look dumb at parties when people ask me for songs and I dont have it
How would I get my name out there to be booked?
What techniques/skills are necessary to properly dj?
Any other tips?

Sorry for all the questions, but I know there are people on the forums with the knowledge to help me. Thank you in advance.

please please please whatever you do get on some real turntables

any more help?

what people want= billboard charts. popular current music is usualy wt they wnt

What kind of turntables/setup/speakers should I be purchasing?

if its just a beginner setup you dont need to go and buy industry standard decks and mixer. depending on what kinda music you'll be mixing or if you'll want to be scratching.
best just goto your local audio store and tell them youre a beginner and you have a budget of "X" amount

Is a Macbook necessary?
dont bother with a mac book. play vinyl you'll get more respect.

How can i quickly become aware of the muisc people want at parties?
play tunes you like, pick up as many of the latest tunes and promos you can.

How would I get my name out there to be booked?

record some demos, send them to promoters. use myspace

What techniques/skills are necessary to properly dj?

practice makes perfect!

If I were you, I'd try to hook up with some other DJs in your area just to get a feel for DJing parties before you start investing in equipment. That would be the smartest thing to do. If that's not really an option you need to figure out what you want to do. Do you want to spin records-if you do you're gonna have to build your record collection with the current suff. That will take time plus money. As for laptops. This is fairly new to DJing. A program called serato which all the DJs seem to be using now is an MP3 file system where you have two digital records which control the music from your laptop. That's what you're seeing. That's also an option but you'de also have to invest in the program, a laptop, and DJ equipment. That could be expensive.

Skills: All you really need to rock a party is to know how to blend music smoothly. Or just look and sound like you know what you're doing. This is where tempo and learning how to cound BPMS comes in handy. Or you can get those wack wicked mix records with extra long introsto sound liek a pro.

Now back to the equipment. If you want to be simple and just rock small parties get good turntables, I.E. Technic 1200s. You can get a decent mixer for around 200 bucks. You really don't need to be to fancy there if you're just starting out.

Speakers: It all depends. Small parties don't require much. You can get a set of 15" powered moniters/speakers and plug your mixer outputs straight into those and you'll be good. Avaoid spending tons of money on a huge sound system if you're just starting out cause who knows, you may find out that you don't really like DJing.

Music: that's pretty easy. Depending on what kind of parties and crowds you're gonna spin for, or want to spin for people are gonna want to hear familiar music. Hits! Nothing but Hits! So all you need to do is tune into your favorite clear channel run radio station and clone their playlist. Also check MTV for all your hit needs. Simple for the simple mnded crowd.

That's really it. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

First off all I didnt read the other comments so If something has already been stated than apologies...


My main questions are

What kind of turntables/setup/speakers should I be purchasing?
This depends what you are looking to get into.

If you are wanting to get into house parties and school dances and such things and your just starting than I wouldnt reccomend turntables unless you have your heart set on it.

I have turntables and I love them but to drag them and all my records to gigs is caveman-ish in nature. Technology progresses for a reason.
www.pssl.com Check out CD turntables. Look into Denon S1000s, American Audio CDi500 and some others for starters...
With those you have more options than a table and easier learning curve.

Pssl is good deals, Amazon is fine as well, research what you are going to buy and post it here before you make a final decision.
Is a Macbook necessary?
Not at all. I would wait to see if Im interest in DJing before I made that decision.

How can i quickly become aware of the muisc people want at parties?
You should start listening to whatever genre you plan to DJ right now. If you want to do Hip Hop you should know the ins and out of every radio song out. You can get into a pool that will provide you with the top tracks and remixes as well. Check out X-Mix on google.
How would I get my name out there to be booked?
Promotion promotion promotion. Start out local school parties and such have your parents spread your name and youll be making money in no time. They will be bad backyard gigs but youll learn your skills and make money at the same time
What techniques/skills are necessary to properly dj?
A lot of things you learn as you go. Download some mixes off of the internet and watch how they transition between tracks. Track selection and mixing are all thats necessary. Both have to be learned.

Any other tips?
Your at the wrong place for this.
www.djforums.com
Is an amazing amazing place to learn and have your questions answered.

Good Luck is a great profession or hobby..

Vinyl costs a fortune. If you are buying it for yourself thats great, but if you are planning on pleasing others (ie, playing stupid shit like 50 cent and mims) do yourself a favor and get a CD deck or a Serato/Final Scratch type setup.

I know a lot of ppl that run the standard Technics 1200x2 setup with a CDJ1000 or wahtever on the side...they can just burn whatever is hot that week in the pop world on to a cd or two, then they are always current. Save the vinyl purchases for stuff YOU want.

Just one approach.

side question: what if I already have a laptop, and would rather get into things starting with serato, is it feasible to get started with say $500 and be decent enough?

^ serato alone cost about $530

It'd be good to DJ at local partys and events and try to get some exposure and try to better your skills

First bit of advice. Check out www.DjForums.com or the "DJ" section at www.futureproducers.com to hook up with local DJ's, etc.

What kind of turntables/setup/speakers should I be purchasing?
When starting out, make sure you dont fall victim to "Dj in a box" set ups. What you want to do is invest money in a good set of "Direct Drive Turntables". Avoid Belt Drive turntables completley.
When it comes to good Direct Drives the industry standard is Technics 1200s.
However its not necessary. Vestax and Numark also make very high-end turntables that are priced considerably cheaper than 1200s.
SPEAKERS For home use, get whatever works for your living enviornment. Its only you hearing it so it doesnt really matter. For house parties your going to need to get a good set of non-powered speakers as well as a pre-amp. This can run you some major cash.
However for nighclubs and clubs in general, you never bring your own soundsystem. You dont bring your own turntables and mixer either for that matter.
Mixer Get a good 2-4 channel mixer. Ask for advice at djforums.com, the guys there will know the latest stuff and give you some advice according to your price range.
Cartridges Shure M44-7s are the standard. However they are not necessary. Starting out with good cartridges is ideal, even if you fuck the needles up, you will only have to replace the styli which is the needle itself and which is relativley cheap.

-I've seen some nice deals on amazon but im unsure if i should buy from there
Not sure what kind of deals your talking about. But if its like a DJ in a box thing, where its like a pre assembled package with tables, mixer, headphones then I would def. PASS.
Even if you cant afford to purchase everything at once, make sure you get good equipment from the get-go.
Even if your starting out with 1 turntable and a mixer, you can always connect a cd player to LINE 2 and practice your fading and scratching while saving up for Table number 2.


Is a Macbook necessary?
No not necessary, but it def would help in the longrun.
Since Mac's hardly ever crash, these are ideal if you are going to use Final Scratch / Serato, etc.
You dont want your shitty dell to crash on you in a middle of a set.
Vinyl is great, and there are die-hard vinyl dj's out there, but its just not practical anymore.
Before serato, I would have to lug crates of records to parties.
But now I just take about 40 records and my powermac.
You can do so much more with a part vinyl part mp3 / serato set-up.


How can i quickly become aware of the muisc people want at parties?
Party music is tricky. The demographic and type of party will determine your set. Its always good to have current radio hits as well as old school classicss. You want upbeat music to get people dancing and then down-tempo to slow the pace down.

-Wouldn't want to look dumb at parties when people ask me for songs and I dont have it
It happens. Although with serato it could make things much easier. Lets say someone has an ipod with a song they want to be played. YOu can import it, and then drag it to your set.

How would I get my name out there to be booked?
often local record stores may find you work. Also make business cards ( Free at vistaprint.com, tell family and friends your dj'ing, get yourself in the yellow pages, etc. )

What techniques/skills are necessary to properly dj?
You need to know how to mix properly. That is the most important. Matching the Beats per minute between 2 songs so they flow into eachother sounding as 1 song. Scratching is great, but you dont scratch at parties. no one really wants to hear scratching for the most part. This isnt the DMC.
Also building a good set is ideal. Knowing the types of songs that flow into eachother, and creating mixes and fades that are unique, fresh and new.
Any other tips?
good luck, and stick with it. Dj'ing might look easy, but for some the learning curve is quite big. Just keep practicing in your bedroom until those mixes sounds fluent. Record yourself. Post it on music forums for freedback from other dj's. Buy DJ qberts scatch dvd volume 1 to learn scatching. Watch videos online to learn the basics of mixing.
Other good websites:
www.turntablelab.com
www.DjDeals.com
www.123dj.com
And if you need any other help / advice feel free to contact me
[email]dj.analog@gmail.com[/email]

A lot of good advice has been posted. If you get serious I have some technics 1200 mkV's that I might be selling in the near future. Just something to keep in mind.