Part 2, DJing Digitally
So we already talked briefly about the benefits of DJing digitally. First is the actual cost of new music, which is much lower when you purchase digitally, rather than physically, because there is less overhead. Second is portability. I now carry 500+ tracks to every gig I play. I used to carry 2 record crates that combined carried 100 – 120 records. Oh and btw they were a lot heavier.
I’ve also come up against some downsides.
That shiny new Macbook Pro I bought to run Serato Scratch Live on wasn’t exactly cheap. I however, didn’t but it solely for digital DJing, I also bought it make music with so costs should be distributed accordingly. Serato Scratch Live didn’t exactly come free either. Also, the introduction of a computer and software means more avenues for things to potentially go wrong. Knock on wood, I’ve never had a problem w/ software crashing or a hard drive failure, but the potential is there. [On a side note, go with a Mac. OS X is way more stable than windows.] Finally is the set up, which can prove to be quite a pain in the butt. I used to show up to a gig, put a piece of vinyl down on an open turntable, and rock. Now I have to pull the turntable RCAs plug them into the Serato box, power the box, and connect its outputs to the mixer, while dodging the ground wires. Did I mention that I have to do all this while someone else is DJing? Ok so I’ve set up the box, now I have to set up my laptop stand, plug in power, and connect to the box. Then boot up Scratch Live, and verify everything is working accordingly, and if that all goes as planned then I can start. Then after my set is over, I’ve got to tear it all down.
Next time, we’ll get into the reason why I feel it still worth it.
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