How to Become a DJ

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As you have probably gathered from the previouus articles using computer dj equipment can be the easiest way to get yourself on the road to becoming a professional DJ. With OtsDj you’ll be able to corelate your entire collection in all the categories you desire and access each and everyone of them as quick as the click of your mouse.              As far as dj equipment software goes you’ll find OtsDj very user friendly, as mentioned it will work very well on both lap top and Desk top Pc’s. In these early stages you will be probably inclined to use a laptop to ‘play’ with your new toy,(you can download a trial version of Ots from their Website and use it free for a Month!), that’s fine but later on I will try and convince you to use a Desk top PC, especially for your gig. Why, well for starters I like working with a 24″ screen, beats the hell out of a struggle with a 17.4″ screen on the best lap tops, more usually 15″ or thereabouts on lesser machines, but believe me there is no substitute! You won’t be able to use all of the facilities that ots Studio will give you until you buy the full version, but you can see how easy it is to rip your CD’s into Ots format,and once that’s done each Mp3 will benefit from the Ots AGC’/Compression engine  etc.

Oh by the way don’t bother trying to download  ‘cracked’ versions of OtsDj!!!! you WILL be disapointed!

If you have managed to get this far and dowloaded some of your CD’s into the Ots Library, you can now load single tracks(From ALL items on the ots menu), onto the PLAYLIST by dragging them to the left, or if you still are looking at the Album category, a whole album can be loaded into the playlist and lined up ready for playing as the album order they were loaded down in. each track will automatically follow the other without any gaps, at the moment I am listening to Eva Cassidy ‘Live at Blues Alley’ magnificent, its playing all the intro’s better than listening to the album on an ‘ordinary’ CD player, and as for quality, well I’ve been around a long time, Ots is just GREAT!

When choosing your free month download go for the silver version, I would’nt get tangled up with the OtsAV version just yet, get your head around the basic Mp3 format operation first. Trust me the Video version will blow your mind, But That’s Later.

Having (or in in the process of) converting your music collection you are already using a computer to do this, maybe the family PC or maybe  dj lap top equipment you’re utilising. If you have been following the previous articles and utilising the information,you’ll be wondering what’s the best way of playing all your mp3’s. Most software will run quite well on nearly all of the current dj lap top  equipment available today. For beginner dj equipment an entry level Lap top can be bought for as little as €350 or thereabouts and will suffice to getting started and answering the quest;-how do i become a dj.         Most on board software for playing mp3’s is adequate, but nowhere near the requirments of pro dj equipment. You will need to decide what software is going to suit you best! I know we have so far discussed converting dj vinyl to mp3’s but many of the pro jocks in heavy clubland will prefer their vinyl for scratching/mixing, this might be the direction you would like to aspire to, but there is software out there to allow you to do all of the above, without carrying all your vinyl around. I have been using Otsdj for a number of years as part of my professional dj equipment, and quite honestly there is nothing that comes close to not only it’s ease of use, but more importantly the almost non existance of failure or malfunction. Due to it’s inherintley low latency factor, there is very little reason for it to let you down on your big night!

Over the next few articles I will explain how easy Otsdj is to use, and why I think it’s the only choice you need to make when it comes to using it as part of your dj music equipment!

When you want to become a dj,you will have to consider using digital dj equipment. You may have been lucky enough to have been left a vinyl record collection from a relative, or maybe even purchased a collection from somewhere,whatever your interest in dj vinyl, you have probably considered if not already started to convert your collection for use on computer dj equipment.

Converting your vinyl collection to mp3 format can be accomplished using many of the sofware ripping programs available today, the most important thing to remember is keeping your collection in a uniform and consistant manner. If I give you a few examples of what I have witnessed in “finished” mp3 downloads, you should get the hang of the proceedings!

bill_wyman-si_si_je suis un_ rock_ Star

Helen_ shapiro_you_don’t_know

presley_elvis_(you’re_the)_devil_ in- disguise_

The above 3 examples are what you may have encountered in your system after ripping from a CD or other download and are presented in alphabetical order as the comuter see’s them, but this is not correct,if you wish to access your collection quickly and easily, without having to wonder did the program put the surname first or did it use the brackets in the Title! And depending on the player software, how is it going to find the mp3 by title(if you can’t remember the artist), if it’s presented with the above 3 examples? This is how they should look, and remember you have to do this manually yourself, the ripper won’t do it for you:-

Alphabeticaly by artist                                                  Alphabetically By Title

Bill Wyman – Si Si Je Suis Un Rock Star                     Si Si je Suis un Rock Star – Bill Wyman

Elvis Presley – You’re the)Devil In Disguise              You Don’t Know – Helen Shapiro

Helen Shapiro – You Don’t Know                              You’re The)Devil in Disguise – Elvis Presley

You will have noticed the alphabetical order has changed as well as ALL the words begin with a capital letter, and I have removed the first bracket from Elvis’s Devil In Disguise track,leaving the bracket in will push the mp3 to the top of the alphabetical listing, if you (can) search your collection by title. If your mp3 collection looks like the first three examples, you have a lot of  tedious work ahead of you, if your just begining to assemble your collection, then follow the example given, it will save you a lot of work and heartache later on!

How to become a mp3 dj using music management software can be a real challenge but not too daunting if you are willing to put alittle time and effort into the operation, not forgetting money, a necesary evil I’m afraid. I won’t dwell on the amplification end at this stage, it is more important to get front of house in order before you venture out into the big wide world of dj entertainment. Karaoke djs have possibly the easiest entry level into the trade but they require more upfront expenditure. If we take a quick look at the two main areas of being a dj, namely a karaoke dj, or dj mobile, and point out the main differences.

The karaoke dj has to spend his money on at least 2 screens, one for the karaoke dj and one for the singers to read the words, on top of this he/she will need at least 3 karaoke microphones, possibly at least one karaoke wireless microphone. Elswhere I have talked about the Shure sm58 microphone, but to get started you might not need to go to this kind of expenditure, but do aim for at least one of these in the long term. As well as all these items you will need a good quality sound mixer, specifically for karaoke as against general sound re-enforcement. Mainly this will be for echo and reverb facilities but also for key change especially if the karaoke dj is not going to use music management software. In this article I will assume you will be heading in the Mp3 direction, if not you will need to consult hardware articles covering manufactured items from the Pioneer or Numark stable, to mention two of many companies who specialise in this type of equipment. Against all this investment, and I haven’t covered amplification, lights etc, the karaoke dj, can expect a relatively easy night of entertainment value  against the effort put in as the singers are the ’stars’ of the nights entertainment, leaving the karaoke dj to organise the order of the nights singers and the overall presentation, making sure the singer can handle the pitch and that the sound results in a good balance between singer and the backing track. It seems a lot of Karaoke djs don’t realise that ‘they’ are the backing band, and as such can make a performance fly or bomb! You will also need to be able to sing well enough to carry the night just in case there is a poor turn out, (bring a friend who can sing if you doubt your own expertise in this area).

The mobile dj or wedding dj, is in a different ball park! OK so he/she won’t need all the visual aspects required by the karaoke dj, but will require a more refined aptitude,(comes with experience), for judging a crowds wants and desires and delivering! The club dj has the advantage of using the club sound system, and can concentrate on his personal attributes of spinning, scratching or whatever you have become good at,(and hopefully get better at it), to further your career. Unfortunately the clubs are well organised in their dj line ups, they have to be, its sink or swim on the crowd attendance, and no matter how good the sound and atmospherics of the club are if the dj or music is wrong, you’ll be out on your ear, thats even assuming you managed to get a spot at the club in the first place! Competition is hot and the pro dj’s are good, thinking you can do better and actually achieving it are two entirely different scenarios.

The mobile dj has a slightly less pressurised existance, but has to get out and get the gigs for themselves.  On top of that he/she has to have their own amplification, speakers, lights and the means of moving all this gear around in a safe environment, as well as being able to carry out minor repairs with a reasonable electronc knowledge to fathom out unforeseen problems, there are many,and they usually occor when you least want or expect them! I f you clicked on the Mp3 link above, the article therein gives an overview of my favourite product for music management software, it appears I had to lay out all of the above without getting to the nitty gritty of the subject article, there is a lot for you to learn, but in the next articles I will concentrate on the hardware/software requirements for you to function competantly as a dj stay tuned.

So you want to become a digital dj using music management software without the heartache of all the vynil djs had to go through? I’ve touched on the Vynil dj scenario from the early 60’s elswhere, so now we’ll move on to the digital world. Surfing the web you will have found numerous sites dedicated to those of you wishing to become a digital dj,but which one to choose? Without the encumbrance of vynil todays dj can chose and play his music with relative ease, it’s the choice of the music that will make you rise above the ‘rest’. My preferred music management software is otsdj,you may have seen it around on the web during one of your searches,in my opinion its one of the best. You can have a brief overview here.

For those of you who have had a quick look at otsdj, you will notice the usual configuration of the twin decks, music library,and playlist. What you may not have noticed is the added attributes of using otsdj to broadcast with through a streaming website. To do this you have to have a compressor on board and a Mike input, all of which otsdj has. Otsdj will play ordinary Mp3’s, but to make use of the on board compressor (also usefull for deejay tool as a mobile dj or whatever) you must first convert your mp3 library into ots files. This might sound a bit daunting or controlling even, but there are very good reasons for it. Firstly the proper use of the compressor is not available to ordinary Mp3’s dowloaded into the Ots Library, and secondly no other mp3 music management software player can play an ots file! An ideal security embellishment.

Converting(ripping)your Mp3 files could’nt be easier than with ots studio. If you have already ripped some of your cd’s down to mp3’s then the software can be asked to ‘find’ mp3’s on your hard drive to convert, and will convert and load them into the ots library quite quickly. If you still have a CD collection to be converted then this too is just as easy. After ots studio has been set up correctly, you load your DVD/CD tray with the CD, ots searches the web for the information about your CD and loads this prior to the actual ripping of the CD.

Once you click OK to commence ripping, all the information about your CD is embedded into the Ots album file you have created, you then save it into your library as an album under any number of caregories you have at your creative disposal, and ‘hey presto’ you have started your collection. All the albums will be properly titled and configured ready for you to add as much information about your CD collection as you have the time for.