originalmadmanjohn
But i am sure im probably not the first person to ask.
So i decided to start a thread and see if anyone has done this and to compare notes along the way. Maybe im already way behind but I couldent find anything with the search engine.
Myself i run a six core monster and my own keyboard commands. I have no use for controllers or scratching as my clientele just is not into that sort of thing.. most of what i do is video dj early in the night and move to conventional dance later. This area of the midwest still has not caught on to dancemix and house and techno, and most ppl want to hear and dance to local radio and VH1 type retro stuff and hip hop.
The other thing I do a lot of is karaoke but not the 8 drunken chicks on a plastic mic thing, i have a following of former theater ppl and musicians and they are about the performance. So im surrounded by Sennheiser microphones, and a lot of DBX and tube type emulators and compressors, with all JBL, EV and Peavey and Bose speakers and Crown amps and Tascam and Mackie mixers. I spend more on mics, and processing than most spend on a whole system. I also run a home studio and do theater work when i can get it. You wont find "typical" karaoke junk here, and we record all our shows and give the people discs of themselves to use as demos and gifts, so the karaoke is very very high end.
My rig will run up to 6 screens and a laptop is not an option as I cannot do the number of screen feeds, and audio lines from a lappy. we have two separate house video feeds that are running different things and all of this runs from the one computer including the dmx lighting. if i could convert the atomix software to touchscreen, it would be an amazing help as i run a 1 man show. the other touchscreen would have to be for the desktop and dmx and recording software as i use two at the operator point.
So if any of you have been using touchscreens and having success with it, i want to hear from you. I will post stuff and add things myself as i venture into this. I see this as the future and i dont need time code, im a musician and have great ears and a natural feel and have collected music all my life. Im not into doing a robot thing, I do em all one song at a time so I also have no use for automix or playlists. It may be a bit harder to some of you, but it also pays my rent and buys my equipment, so I must be doing something right. In 39 years in the business ive virtually never been out of work.
Send your tests and ideas and posts and i will do the same. Thanks all.
So i decided to start a thread and see if anyone has done this and to compare notes along the way. Maybe im already way behind but I couldent find anything with the search engine.
Myself i run a six core monster and my own keyboard commands. I have no use for controllers or scratching as my clientele just is not into that sort of thing.. most of what i do is video dj early in the night and move to conventional dance later. This area of the midwest still has not caught on to dancemix and house and techno, and most ppl want to hear and dance to local radio and VH1 type retro stuff and hip hop.
The other thing I do a lot of is karaoke but not the 8 drunken chicks on a plastic mic thing, i have a following of former theater ppl and musicians and they are about the performance. So im surrounded by Sennheiser microphones, and a lot of DBX and tube type emulators and compressors, with all JBL, EV and Peavey and Bose speakers and Crown amps and Tascam and Mackie mixers. I spend more on mics, and processing than most spend on a whole system. I also run a home studio and do theater work when i can get it. You wont find "typical" karaoke junk here, and we record all our shows and give the people discs of themselves to use as demos and gifts, so the karaoke is very very high end.
My rig will run up to 6 screens and a laptop is not an option as I cannot do the number of screen feeds, and audio lines from a lappy. we have two separate house video feeds that are running different things and all of this runs from the one computer including the dmx lighting. if i could convert the atomix software to touchscreen, it would be an amazing help as i run a 1 man show. the other touchscreen would have to be for the desktop and dmx and recording software as i use two at the operator point.
So if any of you have been using touchscreens and having success with it, i want to hear from you. I will post stuff and add things myself as i venture into this. I see this as the future and i dont need time code, im a musician and have great ears and a natural feel and have collected music all my life. Im not into doing a robot thing, I do em all one song at a time so I also have no use for automix or playlists. It may be a bit harder to some of you, but it also pays my rent and buys my equipment, so I must be doing something right. In 39 years in the business ive virtually never been out of work.
Send your tests and ideas and posts and i will do the same. Thanks all.
Posté Sat 26 Mar 11 @ 4:17 am
synthet1c
this is the most recent topic on available touchscreen skins, http://www.virtualdj.com/forums/145281/VirtualDJ_Skins/_NEW_SKIN__JukeBox.html .It's probably more suited to your needs if you don't need to mix.
There is heaps more in the skins download section and more being made every day, however, they are only for registered pro users, you can get them by entering your serial number on your profile.
There is heaps more in the skins download section and more being made every day, however, they are only for registered pro users, you can get them by entering your serial number on your profile.
Posté Sat 26 Mar 11 @ 5:02 am
originalmadmanjohn
Thanks-- unfortunately, the rig in question i own, but i dont own the software, my club owner does so its not of a lot of use to me at this time. long messy story.
thanks for the link. im building a future rig and thats the new project. gotta get the screens first.
and i mix all the time. i was doing beatmixing in the early 70s on vinyl with cheap turntables long before software so i dont need the software to do it for me, but the visual grid is a fantastic help. im used to doing by ear and speed-- its how i started and i still do it the same way. old habits are hard to break and besides-- the competition is so tough in this area of the midwest there are clubs that will fire you if youhave to rely on the software to do the mix. gotta do em all by hand if you want bigger money.
edit - im running virtual 7 pro with the four player skin - and yes we even mix karaoke here.. theres never a musical gap in anything-- we dont do karaoke the old fashioned way which puts us leaps ahead of the competition. i use four wireless rigs and literally pass the mic to the next singer and run karaoke like a normal dj show, and if the beat is reasonably close, ill beatmix it as well. our customers are used to that here and they love it. the nice thing about that is it gets rid of the silence jitters and drunken ego trips-- you never hear anyones name and people claim its a faster easier smoother way to run it. i started doing this back when vdj 5.2 came out. pluse we get 3 to 4 extra singers an hour this way than anyone doing it the old way. with screens all over the club they can sing from wherever they want, even thier table or at the bar.
the screens id like to use is either the four player skin or the original VDJ skin (5.2)-- i guess ill have to write it myself - ill post as i go.
thanks for the link. im building a future rig and thats the new project. gotta get the screens first.
and i mix all the time. i was doing beatmixing in the early 70s on vinyl with cheap turntables long before software so i dont need the software to do it for me, but the visual grid is a fantastic help. im used to doing by ear and speed-- its how i started and i still do it the same way. old habits are hard to break and besides-- the competition is so tough in this area of the midwest there are clubs that will fire you if youhave to rely on the software to do the mix. gotta do em all by hand if you want bigger money.
edit - im running virtual 7 pro with the four player skin - and yes we even mix karaoke here.. theres never a musical gap in anything-- we dont do karaoke the old fashioned way which puts us leaps ahead of the competition. i use four wireless rigs and literally pass the mic to the next singer and run karaoke like a normal dj show, and if the beat is reasonably close, ill beatmix it as well. our customers are used to that here and they love it. the nice thing about that is it gets rid of the silence jitters and drunken ego trips-- you never hear anyones name and people claim its a faster easier smoother way to run it. i started doing this back when vdj 5.2 came out. pluse we get 3 to 4 extra singers an hour this way than anyone doing it the old way. with screens all over the club they can sing from wherever they want, even thier table or at the bar.
the screens id like to use is either the four player skin or the original VDJ skin (5.2)-- i guess ill have to write it myself - ill post as i go.
Posté Sat 26 Mar 11 @ 5:09 am
originalmadmanjohn
an afterthought as to the early days of beatmix - before the techincs tables with the built in beatcounters and speedchangers, it used to be really easy, ( at least for me im an electrical engineer but i was a teenager then) to build a synchronus motor speed control.. they were prtty goot to about 15 to 20 % but the pitch would change, but disco was hot and thats how we used to make cheaoer direct and belt drive turntables change speed. you could buy em ready made for around 250, which was still chaper than the top of the line quartz servo controlled tables with built in speedchanger and strobe beatmatch.
granted -- my life would be a lot easier if we did do all dancemix, but its a sure bet to empty the club. ppl want to hear the versions they buy or that get played on local radio or on the videos, not the dancemix.. in bigger cities like chicago milwaukee and madison, thats a bit different. you have a larger population to draw from, and you also have stations and stores that support it. but 100 miles away its a whole different world. there is easily 10,000 mobile djs and karaoke operators within a 100 mile radius of me in the 3 big cities. i work clubs all over this area and have 2 edges that keep me working. ive worked every radio station within earshot, including chicago and milwaukee and madison, and 2, i always stay technically cutting edge, even if its on someone elses budget. :)
but to thos of us that rode the rise and fall of disco in the 70's, beatmixing is nothing new, and i can do that on a pair of winamps- by ear. ya just gotta count.
granted -- my life would be a lot easier if we did do all dancemix, but its a sure bet to empty the club. ppl want to hear the versions they buy or that get played on local radio or on the videos, not the dancemix.. in bigger cities like chicago milwaukee and madison, thats a bit different. you have a larger population to draw from, and you also have stations and stores that support it. but 100 miles away its a whole different world. there is easily 10,000 mobile djs and karaoke operators within a 100 mile radius of me in the 3 big cities. i work clubs all over this area and have 2 edges that keep me working. ive worked every radio station within earshot, including chicago and milwaukee and madison, and 2, i always stay technically cutting edge, even if its on someone elses budget. :)
but to thos of us that rode the rise and fall of disco in the 70's, beatmixing is nothing new, and i can do that on a pair of winamps- by ear. ya just gotta count.
Posté Sat 26 Mar 11 @ 5:41 am