I was DJing in a Nighclub last night and a young guy came up and asked me what Dj Gear I was playing on. I showed him…. The Pioneer CDJ 1000s (dj cd players), the Pioneer DJM 600 and traktor DJ software.

If you want to learn about DJ Gear, Mixing & Beatmatching or Playing Gigs, sign up for free DJ Lesson Videos by clicking HERE right now!

I asked him why he was curious about my gear and he said that it is because he is Learning To DJ and he had just bought his DJ equipment.

Naturally I asked what he bought and he told me the Pioneer DJM 800 dj mixer and the Pioneer CDJ 1000 dj cd players.

He said “I just started to learn to dj last week… “. I nearly fell out of the DJ booth and this is not the first time this has happened.

The reason why I almost had a Dj heart attack is because his dj equipment is worth over $5000 USD (…if he got a good deal). There is no reason to spend anything close to this when you are starting out.

If you are just beginning to DJ and have decided to buy gear, for the next few weeks or months (depending on how dedicated you are) you will be learning the basics of DJing. Cueing, throwing, beatmatching, blending, cutting, EQing, Dropping etc. All of these skills can be learned on a $100 mixer and two $200 dj cd players just as easily as on the $5000 setup that this young guy just bought.

No wait scratch that… You can learn the basics even FASTER on simple dj equipment as mentioned above ($100 mixer) because there are less extra features to learn. If you spend all of your time figuring out how to use effects and loops and other advanced features that come on a $5000 mixer, you won’t learn to mix as quickly as if you just focused on the basics first.

So here is what I recommend…

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I just found this post on one of my favorite blogs, Beatportal.

Richie Hawtin explains how he is able to mix off of two labtops and one mixer with two different programs.

If you want to learn about digital DJing, dj gear, mixing, beatmatching, playing gigs or anything else, sign up for free DJ Lesson Videos by clicking HERE right now!

All I can say is that he is one intense DJ. I want to Learn To Dj like him!

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Richie Hawtin’s DJ setup

Richie Hawtin is known for his love of new technology and currently employs a rather complicated setup to DJ with.

Anyone who has recently stood beside Richie in the DJ booth will no doubt have been scratching their heads because alongside an Allen & Heath Xone:92 mixer.

He also has two Allen & Heath Xone 92 mixer:1D controllers and two laptops running.

“You know I’m one of Richie’s closest friends and I’ve known him for years, but even I have absolutely no clue what he’s doing in the DJ booth,” says Jon Gaiser, one of Minus’ biggest artists.

Richie explains to Beatportal exactly what the hell he’s doing behind the laptops.
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If you have a friend thats a doctor, you might introduce him as Doctor so and so.
If you have a friend that is a lawyer, you might introduce him as so and so the lawyer.

People like to know what each other does for work.

Accordingly, I get introduced as Sean, “the DJ”.

If you would like to be able to tell people that you’re a DJ, sign up for free DJ Lesson Videos by clicking HERE right now!

This is usually great! A lot of times people want to know more. Others say that they have heard of me or seen me play before. There is a third group of people that don’t care, which I respect….

There is also a group of people that seem to always want to pull me into an argument about weather or not DJing requires any musical talent. I have learned over time to deflect these sorts of questions but the argument from my new “friend” usually is that DJing on turntables and a mixer takes way less musical skill than playing the guitar, the bass guitar or whatever ‘skill full’ instrument tickles their fancy…
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