Good DJ Mixer to Use at Home

[SP_MCKXZ]

I'm having a hard time trying to find a good entry-level bedroom DJ Mixer and I'm hoping some of you people could help me out with this. I also want to let you all know that I'm kind of a newbie at DJing (since I have no equipment), but I also been practicing a lot on Virtual DJ so that pretty much helped me learn the basic so far and now I realized that mixing without the proper equipment is starting to hurt my creativity by a whole amount.

So with all of that aside, I need a mixer that would help me be able to play all sorts of genre because I really want to get into Turntablism, while being able to play other genres like, Drum and Bass, Jungle, Dubstep and House (including the sub-genres as well), the reason I'm including all of those genres is because I don't want to solely limit myself to play one genre, and I feel like variety is something important as a DJ. Some of you might have different opinions about this, which is fine since I understand where some of you are coming from all of this, but feel free to let me know what you all think about this.

Also, I'm pretty new here so I hope this is the right place to ask these questions.

 

[Leniz]

I own the Pioneer DDJ-RB. Really good thing on a budget!

 

[johneysvk]

one thing you need to realize is that equipment is not genre-specific, the part about sub-genres made me lol
there is no such thing as a dnb mixer or a house mixer etc.

also

mixer = a device that sums and blends incoming audio - you need some audio sources such as Turntables or CDJs

controller = device that is used to control a software on your PC/Laptop/Tablet/Kitchen Appliance in order to play back and manipulate audio. DDJ-RB is a controller.

Then there's also all in one devices - think a mixer with cdjs in one unit or controller without a laptop.

It's a matter of finding which way you prefer and of course your budget

Mixer + Turntables/CDJs - Best option when it comes to actually DJing and being in touch with the music. As a plus it's modular which is better for upgrading things over time (say you want a new mixer, but you want to keep your turntables) and for redundancy when something stops working
Also usually the most expensive route.

Controller - Usually the cheapest way (given you have a suitable laptop already). However with the software giving you a lot of help (BPM displays, sync, grids, overlaid waveforms etc.) it's easy to rely on your eyes instead of ears which is really a bad thing for a DJ. Also controllers are usually a compromise - things are packed more tightly together and don't feel as good as 'real' gear unless you're buying a really high-end controller, by which point you might get a mixer+turntable/cdj setup anyway.
One more thing to remember is that computer crashes are a thing.

All-in-one - Eliminating the computer which is a good thing, but still not quite the real thing. Think this might be a good option for a bedroom DJ, haven't had much experience with these aside from an old Pioneer XDJ-R1 (which had half of the buttons on one deck not working - good example of why modular setup is better in some cases).


How much are you looking to spend?

I would personally advise mixer + CDJs/Turntables, you don't have to buy the top models brand new, there's usually deals floating around for second hand gear.
I started on 2 CDJ100s and Numark mixer which cost about 250 euros in total (split with a mate), and don't regret it all, glad we didn't go for a controller back then. Really helped me develop my mixing

btw if you're serious about turntablism you'll need a direct drive Turntable and a mixer with a good crossfader and solid build overall. Also a DVS system unless you want to keep on buying and trashing vinyl

 

[Tundra]

I started off on a controller and it is not the one had it for about 6 months then sold it for a q lol, only good controllers I have used are the high end ones like NI traktor control s4 and if your getting one of those you may as well get a CDJ or vinyl set up IMO because if you want to start playing out, plugging in all that computer shit can be a right ball ache and if you already know how to mix on vinyl/CDJ's you can just use the setup there rather than lugging your laptop around with the controller (although carrying around vinyls is a fucking ball ache as wel hahal, but I think its worth it cause it feels a lot better mixing like that)

When I started mixing properly I had 2 stanton T62's and a numark M2 mixer but the only thing you have to think if you wanna go down the vinyl route is buying tunes is fucking expensive (I have spent £1000's on vinyls since I started in 2012, its as addictive as crack once you start haha)

pioneers CDJ's are always solid if your looking to go down that route, every model I have tried works nicely whereas if you go for one of the cheaper brands the jog wheel can be too sensitive/ not sensitive enough and it can fuck up when you try to go in scratch mode

if you do want to do multigenre sets one thing to think about is the pitch range you need on the turntables if you want to speed up or slow down tunes ridiculously usually they are +/- 8% or +/-10% but you can get CDJ's/turntables where you can change the pitch range (my pioneers plx 1000's have 8%, 16% and 50%) and if you want to say mix a dubstep tune into dnb you have the pitch range so you can do that, since I have got my pioneers I have been trying to get down multi genre sets (warning you now it is hard as fuck haha)

I get all my dj equipment from here


https://www.djkit.com/

interest free finance is available so if you wanna get a decent bit of kit and don't have a few grand knocking about, that's the best way to do it

have fun man and when you get some mixes recorded posting them in the members mixes section will help you a lot, generally if you listen to other peoples mixes and give constructive criticism in that section people will do the same for your mix (that helped me a lot starting out) and don't worry if the mix you record is not 100% perfect, it very rarely will be, best to just showcase your actual ability then the feedback will be more useful (also you are your own worst critic, every mix I record I always hear a fuck up somewhere, cause you recorded it you know when you fucked up lol)

Have fun mate welcome to the forum!

 

[SP_MCKXZ]

I wasn't expecting anyone else to reply after Newcaise's post, maybe I was being bit impatient and worried about the thread becoming dead after that. Anyway, I really appreciate everyone's post and thanks for the welcome @Dannyboy93 ! I've learned quite a lot from reading your post and the previous one too. I also agree with you on the multi-genre part and maybe I need to keep exploring more music and find out which genre I truly love, like what gets my head bobbing or something like that, lol.

 

[Tundra]

I wasn't expecting anyone else to reply after Newcaise's post, maybe I was being bit impatient and worried about the thread becoming dead after that. Anyway, I really appreciate everyone's post and thanks for the welcome @Dannyboy93 ! I've learned quite a lot from reading your post and the previous one too. I also agree with you on the multi-genre part and maybe I need to keep exploring more music and find out which genre I truly love, like what gets my head bobbing or something like that, lol.

no worries mate, by all means go for multi genre sets but would personally get beat matching and tune selection in one genre locked down first before moving on, I mixed only dnb for years until I mastered that and only recently been going for multi genre sets, but then maybe if I started doing that then I would be smashing them out now? lol, its all about having fun man just do what you enjoy is the main thing