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I take it that your unaware of how epic a failure the Pioneer CDJ 3000 is with the plastic jog wheel spindles. The thermal throttling that you are referring to is a 2019 Mac book specific issue and a cooling pad will take the edge off. I use a Lenovo IBM that I have modded by using a swap disc and every time I boot up go into task Manager and close all the unnecessary programs and .exe files . I use Mixxx and Map all the functions to a custom built Midi controller based on an Ardunio board. Easier and far more reliable other than that I run Ubuntu Studio and Reaper DAW
@@JohannesNielsen what's wrong with the cdj-3000 jog wheels? everyone I have used in the last couple years have worked perfectly. the 4 we have at my work has never had a problem. also the Intel 10th gen cpu's were notorious for excessive heat. thermal throttling is a thing. doesn't matter what computer you're using if it gets too hot it will slow itself down on purpose. cooling fans are not capable of providing deep cooling of the CPU in laptops.. they're simply meant to help with air flow. which will improve the efficiency of the laptops active cooling system.. but they themselves don't lower temperatures.. great that you have Ubuntu on your laptop. Linux used to suck for audio.. still sucks for audio professionals because it still cannot run Pro Tools. not sure what point you're trying to make by just ranting about your own personal computer specs.. doesn't change the fact that your computer will throttle if it gets too hot.. like being outside in the direct sun at a festival. it's called physics man.
Not sure. :/ Might stand for cookin dem jams. Like, you remove the plastic wheel from the top of that scary black kitchen appliance, stick a jar in it, and press the "Play/Pause" button. Jam has never tasted better. Technology has come so far.
backline tech here: this is the actual reason. i've done countless festivals with DJs and i've seen their tech rider every time. 95% use 2 and the other 2 are there for any support acts, plus they're already wired up just in case a cdj goes out and they need a backup.
As a new DJ and long time festival goer, my mind was BLOWN by all the information you just provided. Especially the concept of interpolation. Great great great super high quality content bro 😍
As a DnB DJ 3 or more is basically essential to my mixing. Double drops are pretty common and then having your next song queued up too requires at least 3
This is very true. I'm totally getting to the limit because I only had money for 2 Players and 1 Mixer. DnB Sets get waaay more dynamic with 3-4 decks.
In Techno, dubstep and Drum & Bass DJ culture (im sure other genres as well) its normal people have 2 or 3 tracks playing at the same time. Bass from one track, tops from another then a third one coming in for the transition for example is very common. 3 Decks with 1 for backup is a must.
When I first started in 2003, it wasn’t long before I was on 2 turntables, 2 CDJs and my laptop when I did a Women’s music festival for 4 years. Now, I still have 3 CDJs, 1 Controller and 2 Turntables in 2021. It’s not only more fun, it’s just more accessible for creativity when you approach DJing as a musician, like how I tend to do. Great video! Thank you!
Another reason I noticed for having four decks in a festival rig is deck orientation. Some DJs like having the mixer [💽🎛💽] in the middle, [🎛💽💽] on the left, [💽💽🎛] or the right. Having four decks split by a mixer in the middle [💽💽🎛💽💽] means that you have all three orientations available with zero re-arranging/cabling. (And of course the ability to do more complex mixing)
@@the1version422 i imagine this could be the case when you wanna scratch with your strong hand.. and a song is already playing on the same side. Disable the crossfader for the playing song and scratch in on the next deck..
Watch the first or second DMC world Championship that Qbert won. He picked up the left Turntable and moved it to the far right in the middle of his set lol. Also there are festivals with 2 compete 4 deck set ups at each stage. I started seeing it way more often after Skrillex b2b 12th planet @ ultra 2012. They killed the mixer at like 45min into the set, Sonny (skrillex) started getting everyone to chant "mixer, mixer"
@@the1version422 tbh i thought it was weird at first too until i played somewhere where they had 3 cdjs and i caught myself only using the side that had 2 of the 3 cdjs cause it was a lot less moving around and turning my head if i didn't have the mixer in the middle and i'm lowkey thinking of using that setup if i ever upgrade from an all in one to seperate mixer and decks
@@chordandjocks He means he'll have 2 decks playing simultaneously (two drops playing at once) and then uses the 3rd deck to transition into a new song.
Just because it was repeated many times, I need to step in and clarify that "audio upscaling" is not a thing. What the CDJ does is internally process your audio at 96khz 32-bit float. This is great in a DAW like Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic where you're mixing anywhere from 8 to 100+ tracks with dozens of sensitive FX like compression and reverb, each one introducing a tiny bit of noise that adds up. But here, the CDJ is only playing one track with time-stretch & pitch-shift, so any perceived improvement will be extremely subtle. Worse still, once the audio leaves your CDJ, it either goes out the RCAs with 115db SNR (roughly 19 bits), or the digital coax output (20 bits). This is the same output as the CDJ-1000 from over 20 years ago. There are many reasons to like the CDJ-3000, but "upscaling" is not one of them.
Yeah, that "upscaling" thing is clearly just marketing bullshit. And a lot people are falling for this. Upsampling is still very real. This is required to perform non-lineair operations without introducing aliasing. The amount of fx is not really relevant. With lineair operations, upsampling doesn't add any benefit. Usually upsampling will be 2, 4 or even more times the samplerate. So, a 44.1kHz source is likely to be oversampled to 88.1kHz.
Propery designed audio-hardware has been transparent, meaning all distortions are well below hearing thresholds, for over two decades now. 19 bits or 115db SNR is plenty, even 16bits is more than enough, same goes for sampling rates at or above 44.1 kHz.
I've been DJing for almost 30 years and have played at festivals. Spot on, and I learned some additional reasons of the 4 deck setup and really interesting information as to why festivals nowadays will probably always lean towards the industry standard CDJ3000s and DJM if not for consistency for artists for production and sound quality.
@@lilaclazaI used to. But I've started playing more Bass House, Drum and Bass,Indie Dance and Melodic House. Not all on the same set lol but I had been making tech house and I'm trying to step away from that. Therefore I would like to start remixing and creating bass house and Indie Dance.
Yes, I remember what Armin taught me and yes 2 CDJ for back up, but great in depth knowledge, it’s amazing how technology has changed in DJ world 🌎 it’s incredible, I just upgraded to DDJ 400 it’s amazing bit of kit
You're a good explainer. I don't dance, go to clubs, or listen to EDM, but I've seen Krafty Kuts with multiple CDJs, was only mildly curious, but your videos are so damned interesting, I ended up sitting around for 20 minutes listening to you talk about it anyway.
Coming from the early days of dance music. The 3 turntable was also and mainly used for acapellas and sound effects records overlaying to what you were playing or as a filler between mixes.
Thank you for the explanation. I never understood why using a big and expensive CDJ (two, actually) just to play wav files. Now I unterstand that's all about quality and reliability. Thanks!
Back when I used virtual DJ, I would use 4 decks to make crazy mashups or essentially use a DVS like a DAW. It was really fun and you can still do it with any 4+ deck system
great video! both educational and enjoyable! production quality is on point, presentation skills there, your hand motions and clear speech and writing really help! thank you for the work you have clearly put into your craft :)
Thanks man for this! I was always curious to why that was the standard set up for festivals. And I saw you gave James Hype a s/o. He def gets busy with all four decks!
well done, coming from a skratch head, finally understand. earned this sub. wow, always wondered about what the club/ dj scene is in the midwest, especially coming from the bay (daly city/ peninsula area - the mecca of skratching)
What you need to understand, is that a star DJ (Let's say Carl Cox) has a very specific set-up with special routings. They even have tour manager hooking up their set-up before. It's not like they will wait for the other DJ to let one CDJ available at the end of the set and plug their USB key at the last minute. A guy like Sasha will have RMX 1000s at the end of every single CDJs, some CDJs will be routed to a laptop, some not. They will not take the chance that the DJ before change stuff, switch channels, leave an FX or a cross fader on and try to figure out what is going on.... I, for instance, will use one channel specifically for browsing tracks. So sometimes you will see the set-up of one DJ and the other will play on another set-up.
I use a 4 deck setup primarily for adding effects and making better transitions, but I also some times get 4 songs rolling together but more of a rare thing.
Great educational video. I guess I should start learning CDJs. Been using 1200s since I started DJing. And yes, please let us know how to grab an XMG in the States. Thanks for the info. Cheers.
Recently started playing with 4 decks and it's a game changer, if for no other reason than being able to load up several tracks ahead so you're not frantically searching later on. But god it's really fun to be able to always have two tracks playing
Nah I have worked backlining and am an audio operator by profession. It really comes down to it being way easier to just have the same gear for everyone. It keeps rental company's from having to stock 50 different controllers. Everybody can use cdjs. And some djs specify 3 or 4 cdjs in their rider so the table they get has probably already 4 decks on them, so why remove one or two? Vinyl can be a mess on huge sound systems if they are not setup perfectly. Having showcontrol mode can be a huge sweat saver sometimes. Audio quality is not really a problem as long as we get digital signal that hasn't been converted to often, is less then at least 48khz or comes from an mp3.
For me, it’s all about preparation. Similar to the days of turntables. Getting a third deck cued and beat matched whilst mixing the second deck with the first is invaluable, especially if the track on your second deck bombs and you want to mix out pretty fast!
From a technical point of view to make it really simple, 2 cdjs are used as 'MAIN' and the are two as a 'BACKUP, in same case a there are Djs that use 1 cdj to play acapella ora sound effect sometimes :) . Love your videos man!
Yeah about the 5th reason, it is quite nice to rotate between the 3 decks. So while I already have loaded up the second song (or when I have 2 already playing together), I can work on the third searching for tracks or lining it up. It just helps compress time. The pacing can be a lot tighter too. Or if you want to keep one track on loop w a constant beat while you mix in and out of 2 decks it helps with the flow. You can also lay an acapella and have that continue while you rip through the track underneath. I currently like to work with 3. 4 I think is overkill. Personally if it’s impromptu I only need 3. Only time one can engage with 4 is if it is planned ahead.
Great video 👍👍👍👍 People tend to jump to conclusions when they see certain things that they aren’t used to seeing. Like you mentioned the RCA cables not hooked up. As a spectator how does one know if HID mode or the Digital connections are being used? Honestly sets can be prerecorded, rehearsed, etc. I imagine top performers have a physical or mental playlist to put on a stellar show. Thanks again 👍
Modular dj setups are modular for a reason. The reason why almost nobody uses laptops or controlers at festivals, and why modular units are used is very simple. It all comes down to repeatable performance and efficiency. Repeatable performance, muscle memory ect. - where you as a DJ turn up anywhere and you know exactly how everything is laid out, where it all is, and what your options are during your performance, or if something goes wrong. Efficiency - if your laptop dies, or a part of your cheap all in one dies, your set is over, unless you have an entire 2nd system configured as a tracking backup. With modular setup, a cdj or even a mixer can be compelty removed and replaced without any interuption to the set. With big fees being paid to draw big crowds to make big money to cover big costs, any down time has a huge effect on promoters. If one act is delayed by a few minuets, this has a knock on effect down the entire timetable, which effects every dj on a bill after the initial incident. Festivals have hard licencing deadlines on when music must stop being broadcast, so time over-runs are huge contractual issues. A full modular kit provides redundancy, a standard platform, options to troubleshoot, and caters for multiple djs at the same time if needed. Additional players can be used to run intros, allow incoming tour managers to load their artists music prior to start, and via prolink, can be remote started from FOH so the intro can begin before the DJ is on-stage. The addition of 2 more prolink devices allow csjs to be physically located at the foh, and the ability for one cdj to track another one, so that the audio has redundant backup. If there is an issue, audio can be switched instantly to the tracking unit, so nobody will even know that something has gone wrong. Prolink features are fully accessible from foh, allowing crew to reset mixer controls, pitch controls or any other features remotely, so their artist doesn't walk up and start their show with some filter accidently left on. Its also possible to automate a set by scripting control commands, which make repeating complicated technical operations not even possible by humans to be done remotely if needed. Controlers and laptops are toys for people who want to get into djing at a sub-professional level, where they might need huge music libraries to cater for hours of all kinds of music.
Regarding the fail-safe reasons, James Hype would need more than 4 decks because he is actually using all 4 decks to have a (for him) normal performance. Secondly, they always have one mixer. What would happen if that fails?
I guess they have backup mixers, but it is reeeeally uncommmon for the mixers to fail since they are much simpler devices than the cdjs. Even after years of use it's mostly just some gain knob or fader that fails and you can just use a different channel if that happens.
How things change man... biggest rave in history - Castlemorton, 1992... 3 x 1210's and DJs playing all manner of non-standardised vinyl, from test pressings to dubplates.
In Australia if it reaches 35 degrees ambient temperature on the stage the gig is cancelled. As it would be a breach of the Work Health and Safety Act of 2011. I studied Diploma of Electronic Music Production, Diploma of Music Business and Diploma of Event management Music industry strand and I am a St John's Ambulance volunteer and there is no way that I would perform in that heat. I was staffing at Woodford Folk Festival on the Queensland Sunshine Coast and the 1st aid tent was full to the brim with Heatstroke victims. The Festivals that your referring to will have to be re scheduled
When running Prime/Nexus players into a DJM, you should be using the SPDIFs 1) It simplifies the single path and removes unnecessary steps of conversion. Since the format is already digital, it makes absolutely NO sense to convert the audio signal to analog as it leaves the players than back to digital as it enters the mixer. 2) Unlike analog mixers that rounds off the sound and give a pleasing "crunch" when the RCA inputs are driven into the red, digital clipping sounds yucky and horrible. By bypassing the analog line inputs, you can (though you shouldn't) crank the input gains well into the red and the sound will not clip and distort. 3) It keeps the entire analog RCA bus as a free patching zone for other DJ's using the same mixer who may need them to connect other hardware like controllers, synths, drum machines, turntables etc.
Just a tip. You should try editing more silence out in between clips. There is too much of a pause between your video clips. Good video but as a viewer that bothered me. The pro advice is that the two vocals should almost overlap. Cheers!
because you brought digital dj tips, phill when talking about the merge effects on the flx6 said that at 4 min and 51 sec says "the truth is that ITS ALL pre recored in the studo" and its ok because i dont know about you but if you were playing tomorrowland with millions of ppl watching (just on youtube) i would also prerecord it
For top tier events/bookings it’s because of DJ Riders, each booking agent will send through artist requests including some or all of the following… Tech Rider. Inc CDJ’s, Turntables, Mixers and other hardware the artist needs for their performance. This is often of critical importance for headline DJs and they will potentially refuse to perform if this rider is not met. Also a Hospitality Rider and potentially a Security Rider. So the set up will be such to accommodate the maximum number of performers. Sometimes a number of separate setups will be on stage if other artists have bespoke setups with additional hardware that cannot be grouped in one setup. 🎵🔥🎧
and that's why i love dnb the mixing/beat matching is standard and 4 decks setup is also pretty standard there are some 2 deck djs but ya the thing is we like the search the next song also because most dnb tracks aren't that long and in my latested track there are 2 combos that make use off 3 tracks and the thing you said about laptops, just use a beefy cpu and only use that laptop for music the chances of falling and thermaltrottle is so low nowadays but i get your point that a cdj setup is safer
Another reason and probably one of the most popular reasons why DJ's request three or four decks this simply because those djs are technically skilled. They don't have to have Roger Sanchez or James Hype type of skill but many DJs that have a very creative mind use 3 or 4 decks to enhance their sets by doing edits and remixes live on the fly. And for the grand majority of the DJ's that do that it's not meant for the crowd to notice it's simply to enhance the tracks that they are already playing by layering different beats over breaks or looping intros and outros throughout the song that's being played. All the reasons you gave are valid but I think the main reason is for those djs that are technically skilled and more creative. Obviously I'm referring to House and Techno DJ's. Top 40 DJs don't need 3 or 4 decks. I've seen many just use one.
I have another reason ! :) on festivals just before the end of the set the next dj comes up on the stage and uses one or more of the extra cdj to load his first track so he can start his set quicker
A few points... As a festival/venue/touring sound engineer, technical production manager, and DJ tech, with almost 30 years past DJ experience, the biggest reason is...probably booking agents because 90% of DJs do not use them. Many agencies now spec cdj3k's even though the artist is not comfortable using them yet. They are also slightly more prone to technical issues due to complexity. If we want to talk about redundancy, many artists don't bother having a 2nd USB source as back up. Always have one, and always plug it in. An ethernet switch might lose power, or cat 5 cable might become dislodged...anything like that, you never know! Always cover your ass. On the 4 x CDJ thing, they will probably use 2, and like having an extra cdj as a comfort blanket, due to a past bad experience when they played at a poorly supplied event on badly maintained equipment. Some might use 3. A rare few may use 4 if mixing stems or similar deconstructed material. 75% of acts that spec turntables will not use them because of the costs and risks of flying with vinyl. If a festival stage manager let's you play in the rain, get off the stage...fk that. High quality sound is rarely found in a digital mixer. (V10 is ok though, for the pioneer fans, but expensive) No. The sound engineer cannot "fix" the sound if you are blowing the sh*t out of the mixer. That's why every manufacturer puts green, amber (mostly) and red lights on it. That is YOUR responsibility. They can turn your distorted mess down, for the sake of the system and the crowd, or turn you off, but one cannot polish a turd. Finally, many DJ's are embarrassed to be seen with a laptop on stage, and they are definitely a weak link in the chain adding unnecessary complexity, exposing you to added failure modes, and if it's a failure with a Mac, you may as well pack up and go home, because you won't be playing tonight or getting paid...in fact if I had one piece of advice for laptop DJs/live performers, it would be to NOT trust a Mac for performance, because it will be a guaranteed showstopper when it goes down. However, that does not mean the processing within a CDJ is superior to that within a well specced and configured laptop/soundcard. Keep it clean, green and clean xxx
"many DJ's are embarrassed to be seen with a laptop on stage" Ego is a fuck in DJ's life, I see. I'm on my first year as a DJ, and my opinion about using a Laptop x CDJ, or about using or not Sync is... Well, if it sounds goods, it's good. Anything else is just a tool to please the crowd.
And the point of redundancy is some crap in this Video as well as the "good Quality at loud Volume" If you run through 1 Mixer you basically are as bad as just having 2 Players. The same thing with the output of the DJ Booth. You can easily get the same Quality with a decent player and a USB Audio Interface. You're just outputing a Line Level Signal. Without any power behind it. The Front of House controls your volume anyways. No matter how hard you push you mixer. Oh and the Temperature thing? Well CDJs ambient Temperature is set so high, because the surface of them will heat up to those temperatures. And they have to sustain that without active ventilation. Your Laptop will just power through that.
Reason 1: If one of the cdj dies, u can immediately use the other one Reason 2: Cos u r the Roger Sanchez Reason 3: It's looking good and cool Reason 4: Fetish Reason: 5: Timecode
@@dorsetengineering I understand, I'm definitely getting into the digital realm Which to me is super easy and actually is cheating when it comes to DJ'ING. But, I'm still keeping my technique 1210s for life. The techniques just don't break - Just your back!!
The answer is simple, if one cdj fails, you need to have another ready to plug in any of your extra USB drives... That's the real reason, all the clubs and festivals I play at (or used to before the pandemic) have 3/4 decks. Now some djs like to use a third one with loops, etc, or mix a third track, but it's not really a thing a lot of people like to do.
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You got me there, I was about to snap! lol
most pro DJ's pre remix their sets and play from tracks only making it look like they are dj' live less mistakes
I take it that your unaware of how epic a failure the Pioneer CDJ 3000 is with the plastic jog wheel spindles. The thermal throttling that you are referring to is a 2019 Mac book specific issue and a cooling pad will take the edge off. I use a Lenovo IBM that I have modded by using a swap disc and every time I boot up go into task Manager and close all the unnecessary programs and .exe files . I use Mixxx and Map all the functions to a custom built Midi controller based on an Ardunio board. Easier and far more reliable other than that I run Ubuntu Studio and Reaper DAW
@@JohannesNielsen what's wrong with the cdj-3000 jog wheels? everyone I have used in the last couple years have worked perfectly. the 4 we have at my work has never had a problem.
also the Intel 10th gen cpu's were notorious for excessive heat. thermal throttling is a thing. doesn't matter what computer you're using if it gets too hot it will slow itself down on purpose. cooling fans are not capable of providing deep cooling of the CPU in laptops.. they're simply meant to help with air flow. which will improve the efficiency of the laptops active cooling system.. but they themselves don't lower temperatures..
great that you have Ubuntu on your laptop. Linux used to suck for audio.. still sucks for audio professionals because it still cannot run Pro Tools.
not sure what point you're trying to make by just ranting about your own personal computer specs.. doesn't change the fact that your computer will throttle if it gets too hot.. like being outside in the direct sun at a festival. it's called physics man.
whats a CDJ??
Not sure. :/ Might stand for cookin dem jams. Like, you remove the plastic wheel from the top of that scary black kitchen appliance, stick a jar in it, and press the "Play/Pause" button. Jam has never tasted better.
Technology has come so far.
What's an all vinyl mix
Who is Afrojack?
@@burgerstorm1091 WHO?
ratio
Since Noone is touching them, they are the cleanest place to rack some lines.
😆🔥🤘
Hahaha but a groupies cleavage in the back room is much more fun...!! Lollll
Fuck yea
Whew
Pretty much. I can think of maybe 3-4 djs offhand that are not turntablists that can successfully and consistently use 3. 4 is just dumb shit
Also, the subsequent DJ can use the extra CDJs to transition in while the current artist is finishing without dropping the sound.
Very true
backline tech here: this is the actual reason. i've done countless festivals with DJs and i've seen their tech rider every time. 95% use 2 and the other 2 are there for any support acts, plus they're already wired up just in case a cdj goes out and they need a backup.
That's bollocks! The previous dj will only be playing one tune so you use the other deck!
lol you only need one to transition
@Mick Barnes you only need one extra to start over, and the 4th is a backup. Just the way it is.
As a new DJ and long time festival goer, my mind was BLOWN by all the information you just provided. Especially the concept of interpolation. Great great great super high quality content bro 😍
Glad to help!
As a DnB DJ 3 or more is basically essential to my mixing. Double drops are pretty common and then having your next song queued up too requires at least 3
This is very true. I'm totally getting to the limit because I only had money for 2 Players and 1 Mixer. DnB Sets get waaay more dynamic with 3-4 decks.
gotta avoid them long intros
Very true, dnb is a bit of a special case. Some dnb djs use a 3rd cdj for drum loops to fade in and out of
was just going to say this 👍🏼 dnb needs 3-4, using 2 is boring !
exactly
As a DJ preparing to make the jump to CDJs; I couldn't have asked for a better explanation. Thank You so much.
Glad it was helpful!
In Techno, dubstep and Drum & Bass DJ culture (im sure other genres as well) its normal people have 2 or 3 tracks playing at the same time. Bass from one track, tops from another then a third one coming in for the transition for example is very common. 3 Decks with 1 for backup is a must.
Back in the jump up days one deck strictly for Wu tang and PE samples lol
Deep Chicago soulful house like I play I have vocals, speeches, and hand drum tops and percussion breaks and glitches going all set long
yeah, i quite often play like this
When I first started in 2003, it wasn’t long before I was on 2 turntables, 2 CDJs and my laptop when I did a Women’s music festival for 4 years. Now, I still have 3 CDJs, 1 Controller and 2 Turntables in 2021. It’s not only more fun, it’s just more accessible for creativity when you approach DJing as a musician, like how I tend to do. Great video! Thank you!
You are awesome
Another reason I noticed for having four decks in a festival rig is deck orientation. Some DJs like having the mixer
[💽🎛💽] in the middle,
[🎛💽💽] on the left,
[💽💽🎛] or the right.
Having four decks split by a mixer in the middle [💽💽🎛💽💽] means that you have all three orientations available with zero re-arranging/cabling. (And of course the ability to do more complex mixing)
What DJ (that actually mixes) puts the mixer on the side?
@@the1version422 some people are not ambidextrous and can only control a faders with their left hand and a platter with their right.
@@the1version422 i imagine this could be the case when you wanna scratch with your strong hand.. and a song is already playing on the same side. Disable the crossfader for the playing song and scratch in on the next deck..
Watch the first or second DMC world Championship that Qbert won. He picked up the left Turntable and moved it to the far right in the middle of his set lol.
Also there are festivals with 2 compete 4 deck set ups at each stage. I started seeing it way more often after Skrillex b2b 12th planet @ ultra 2012. They killed the mixer at like 45min into the set, Sonny (skrillex) started getting everyone to chant "mixer, mixer"
@@the1version422 tbh i thought it was weird at first too until i played somewhere where they had 3 cdjs and i caught myself only using the side that had 2 of the 3 cdjs cause it was a lot less moving around and turning my head if i didn't have the mixer in the middle and i'm lowkey thinking of using that setup if i ever upgrade from an all in one to seperate mixer and decks
I need at least 3 when mixing. I like to have two tracks double dropped and a third one ready to play the next song to transition.
This
So you basically use two just in case one fails? Trying to understand this!
@@chordandjocks He means he'll have 2 decks playing simultaneously (two drops playing at once) and then uses the 3rd deck to transition into a new song.
@@chordandjocks There are often times I have 3 tracks going at once. Or having two tracks together and getting the next one ready.
I remember watching Armin Van Buuren's video a long time ago and was like, "THAT'S WHY!!"
I remember watching Armin Van Buuren's long time ago ... that's it. I hate COVID...
Just because it was repeated many times, I need to step in and clarify that "audio upscaling" is not a thing. What the CDJ does is internally process your audio at 96khz 32-bit float. This is great in a DAW like Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic where you're mixing anywhere from 8 to 100+ tracks with dozens of sensitive FX like compression and reverb, each one introducing a tiny bit of noise that adds up. But here, the CDJ is only playing one track with time-stretch & pitch-shift, so any perceived improvement will be extremely subtle. Worse still, once the audio leaves your CDJ, it either goes out the RCAs with 115db SNR (roughly 19 bits), or the digital coax output (20 bits). This is the same output as the CDJ-1000 from over 20 years ago.
There are many reasons to like the CDJ-3000, but "upscaling" is not one of them.
Yeah, that "upscaling" thing is clearly just marketing bullshit. And a lot people are falling for this.
Upsampling is still very real. This is required to perform non-lineair operations without introducing aliasing. The amount of fx is not really relevant. With lineair operations, upsampling doesn't add any benefit. Usually upsampling will be 2, 4 or even more times the samplerate. So, a 44.1kHz source is likely to be oversampled to 88.1kHz.
The CDJ 3000 has reliability issues the jog wheel spindles are plastic and often fail
What about using a optic fibre line out. I used to dub from a Sony CD player to a Sony Mini Disc using an optic fibre cable
Bill Lambert, exactly!
Propery designed audio-hardware has been transparent, meaning all distortions are well below hearing thresholds, for over two decades now. 19 bits or 115db SNR is plenty, even 16bits is more than enough, same goes for sampling rates at or above 44.1 kHz.
One to play their prerecorded mix, three to look cool
In quite a few cases, very true
Real
I play in a Club and I use 3 CDJs , totally love that set-up... helps to trow some tricks or just be really prepared for something big
something ive always been wondering man, thanks for this
No prob!
I've been DJing for almost 30 years and have played at festivals. Spot on, and I learned some additional reasons of the 4 deck setup and really interesting information as to why festivals nowadays will probably always lean towards the industry standard CDJ3000s and DJM if not for consistency for artists for production and sound quality.
Hey I'm a producer and I'm thinking of getting into djing
Do you often dj tracks you've made?
@@lilaclazaI used to. But I've started playing more Bass House, Drum and Bass,Indie Dance and Melodic House. Not all on the same set lol but I had been making tech house and I'm trying to step away from that. Therefore I would like to start remixing and creating bass house and Indie Dance.
@@EricBishard ah alright, thank you for the input!
You're actually the first person on the internet I've seen using the Samson Q9U. This was unintentionally helpful with setting up effects.
I love using the Q9U for setups where I just want to plug in USB direct. But I will say I prefer my SM7B over all, which I now use more often.
love watching your vids man ! honestly rewatch most of them from time to time , the "its all pre-recorded" joke gets me everytime xD haha
Thank you for including celsius in this and I guess all upcoming videos from now on! Much appreciated.
Jeff Mills and Andy C are the guys who use the full set up to its potential.
There’s others of course. But those two just work it so well.
This is literally everything. Thank you dearly for making this video. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you for answering a question I have been asking for many years!
Yes, I remember what Armin taught me and yes 2 CDJ for back up, but great in depth knowledge, it’s amazing how technology has changed in DJ world 🌎 it’s incredible, I just upgraded to DDJ 400 it’s amazing bit of kit
You're a good explainer. I don't dance, go to clubs, or listen to EDM, but I've seen Krafty Kuts with multiple CDJs, was only mildly curious, but your videos are so damned interesting, I ended up sitting around for 20 minutes listening to you talk about it anyway.
loved the info on the old disco setup i always wondered why ministry had it like that lol
damnit....this man made so many great points within 8 minutes, I now want to buy some cdjs. lmao
Same
Coming from the early days of dance music. The 3 turntable was also and mainly used for acapellas and sound effects records overlaying to what you were playing or as a filler between mixes.
Wow this is an epic explanation of the value of CDJ’s. Thanks for this explanation!
Thank you for the explanation. I never understood why using a big and expensive CDJ (two, actually) just to play wav files. Now I unterstand that's all about quality and reliability. Thanks!
You bet!
Loved that u brought picture of James Hype when you talked about creativity, perfect exsample :)
He’s dope!
@@priyonjoni he really is! - and so are you!👍🏻 you inspired me to put some time into scratching, like really learning it🙏🏼🙏🏼👏🏻
Back when I used virtual DJ, I would use 4 decks to make crazy mashups or essentially use a DVS like a DAW. It was really fun and you can still do it with any 4+ deck system
great video! both educational and enjoyable! production quality is on point, presentation skills there, your hand motions and clear speech and writing really help! thank you for the work you have clearly put into your craft :)
Nice information that turned into a documentary. You should do another historical video about hip hop and early electronic music both.
As a dubstep dj, we throw triples and quads in too... So having 4 cdjs is always alot of fun...
Two reasons. 1. redundancy 2. flexibility.
Thanks man for this! I was always curious to why that was the standard set up for festivals. And I saw you gave James Hype a s/o. He def gets busy with all four decks!
main reason is that looks professional and people watch this amazing setup and think that dj is really good because he has a lot of plates
well done, coming from a skratch head, finally understand. earned this sub. wow, always wondered about what the club/ dj scene is in the midwest, especially coming from the bay (daly city/ peninsula area - the mecca of skratching)
Great video! I've been spinning for over a decade and I learned a lot! Very useful vid!
Great info. You really got a deep understanding of DJing. I just play music. But great info to keep in my back pocket.
What you need to understand, is that a star DJ (Let's say Carl Cox) has a very specific set-up with special routings. They even have tour manager hooking up their set-up before. It's not like they will wait for the other DJ to let one CDJ available at the end of the set and plug their USB key at the last minute. A guy like Sasha will have RMX 1000s at the end of every single CDJs, some CDJs will be routed to a laptop, some not. They will not take the chance that the DJ before change stuff, switch channels, leave an FX or a cross fader on and try to figure out what is going on.... I, for instance, will use one channel specifically for browsing tracks. So sometimes you will see the set-up of one DJ and the other will play on another set-up.
I use a 4 deck setup primarily for adding effects and making better transitions, but I also some times get 4 songs rolling together but more of a rare thing.
Great educational video. I guess I should start learning CDJs. Been using 1200s since I started DJing. And yes, please let us know how to grab an XMG in the States. Thanks for the info. Cheers.
Recently started playing with 4 decks and it's a game changer, if for no other reason than being able to load up several tracks ahead so you're not frantically searching later on. But god it's really fun to be able to always have two tracks playing
Nah I have worked backlining and am an audio operator by profession.
It really comes down to it being way easier to just have the same gear for everyone. It keeps rental company's from having to stock 50 different controllers. Everybody can use cdjs.
And some djs specify 3 or 4 cdjs in their rider so the table they get has probably already 4 decks on them, so why remove one or two?
Vinyl can be a mess on huge sound systems if they are not setup perfectly.
Having showcontrol mode can be a huge sweat saver sometimes.
Audio quality is not really a problem as long as we get digital signal that hasn't been converted to often, is less then at least 48khz or comes from an mp3.
Love the knowledge. So badass the ravine spin back riser made it to ddjt labs. Heck yea
Referring to this video I did send email. Thanks for sharing . Regards from The Netherlands !
For me, it’s all about preparation. Similar to the days of turntables. Getting a third deck cued and beat matched whilst mixing the second deck with the first is invaluable, especially if the track on your second deck bombs and you want to mix out pretty fast!
What if i told you i never work out a tracklist and just have fun.
@@Tobiemoss what if I told you, nobody cares.
I live in South Africa and would be interested and purchasing One Of those laptops tested in the desert.Thanks for always bringing great content.
From a technical point of view to make it really simple, 2 cdjs are used as 'MAIN' and the are two as a 'BACKUP, in same case a there are Djs that use 1 cdj to play acapella ora sound effect sometimes :) .
Love your videos man!
I prefer 3 decks. If Im riding a mix on 2, the dj after me can insert drive and cue up on the 3rd. Thanks for all this info. Great video.
In drum & bass it’s common practice. You have someone like AMC turn up, the expectation is that he has at least 4 cdjs.
I really love your all videos Sir,i have lot of knowledge through your videos,thank you
The two additional CDJs are use for back up
The James Hype shoutout. 🥳🥳
Yeah about the 5th reason, it is quite nice to rotate between the 3 decks. So while I already have loaded up the second song (or when I have 2 already playing together), I can work on the third searching for tracks or lining it up. It just helps compress time. The pacing can be a lot tighter too. Or if you want to keep one track on loop w a constant beat while you mix in and out of 2 decks it helps with the flow. You can also lay an acapella and have that continue while you rip through the track underneath.
I currently like to work with 3. 4 I think is overkill. Personally if it’s impromptu I only need 3. Only time one can engage with 4 is if it is planned ahead.
Great video 👍👍👍👍 People tend to jump to conclusions when they see certain things that they aren’t used to seeing. Like you mentioned the RCA cables not hooked up. As a spectator how does one know if HID mode or the Digital connections are being used?
Honestly sets can be prerecorded, rehearsed, etc. I imagine top performers have a physical or mental playlist to put on a stellar show.
Thanks again 👍
Loving the content!
very informative DJ history lesson, thanks!
Super cool and informative Video. Thanks!
Great video! Thank you!
Modular dj setups are modular for a reason. The reason why almost nobody uses laptops or controlers at festivals, and why modular units are used is very simple. It all comes down to repeatable performance and efficiency.
Repeatable performance, muscle memory ect. - where you as a DJ turn up anywhere and you know exactly how everything is laid out, where it all is, and what your options are during your performance, or if something goes wrong.
Efficiency - if your laptop dies, or a part of your cheap all in one dies, your set is over, unless you have an entire 2nd system configured as a tracking backup.
With modular setup, a cdj or even a mixer can be compelty removed and replaced without any interuption to the set.
With big fees being paid to draw big crowds to make big money to cover big costs, any down time has a huge effect on promoters. If one act is delayed by a few minuets, this has a knock on effect down the entire timetable, which effects every dj on a bill after the initial incident. Festivals have hard licencing deadlines on when music must stop being broadcast, so time over-runs are huge contractual issues.
A full modular kit provides redundancy, a standard platform, options to troubleshoot, and caters for multiple djs at the same time if needed. Additional players can be used to run intros, allow incoming tour managers to load their artists music prior to start, and via prolink, can be remote started from FOH so the intro can begin before the DJ is on-stage.
The addition of 2 more prolink devices allow csjs to be physically located at the foh, and the ability for one cdj to track another one, so that the audio has redundant backup. If there is an issue, audio can be switched instantly to the tracking unit, so nobody will even know that something has gone wrong.
Prolink features are fully accessible from foh, allowing crew to reset mixer controls, pitch controls or any other features remotely, so their artist doesn't walk up and start their show with some filter accidently left on.
Its also possible to automate a set by scripting control commands, which make repeating complicated technical operations not even possible by humans to be done remotely if needed.
Controlers and laptops are toys for people who want to get into djing at a sub-professional level, where they might need huge music libraries to cater for hours of all kinds of music.
It seems your laptop didn't like the mean things you said about it and decided to turn your spell check off.
@@turbo4899 nah i deliberalty don use it to annnoi peepel liyke yoo ;)
Not annoyed. Didn't even read your comment to be honest. I just saw he posted your comment on the community tab and I said what popped into my head
Lol I’m shure djs like ‘tale of us’ using laptops with Traktor and an extra controllers because they are ‘sub-professional’ lol lol 😂… Moron
So much work on this video 🔥🔥🔥 Love it 🔥🔥
I used to DJ from a laptop for years. In hindsight I felt very disconnected from the crowd. I much prefer just using a USB or Vinyl.
Thank you so much for this important message PRI YON JONI ❤
You are doing a great job!
Regarding the fail-safe reasons, James Hype would need more than 4 decks because he is actually using all 4 decks to have a (for him) normal performance. Secondly, they always have one mixer. What would happen if that fails?
I guess they have backup mixers, but it is reeeeally uncommmon for the mixers to fail since they are much simpler devices than the cdjs. Even after years of use it's mostly just some gain knob or fader that fails and you can just use a different channel if that happens.
Please tell us more about the XMG laptop. Thanks.
Video coming soon
How things change man... biggest rave in history - Castlemorton, 1992... 3 x 1210's and DJs playing all manner of non-standardised vinyl, from test pressings to dubplates.
I've been wanting an XMG for a while now, please share how to get one in the states.
Did you find out? He really just left us hanging
Video coming soon
@@lbynum91 video was posted yesterday. Check it out!
Thanks for the great insights!!!
Great perspective. Thank you.
Awesome video!
In Australia if it reaches 35 degrees ambient temperature on the stage the gig is cancelled. As it would be a breach of the Work Health and Safety Act of 2011. I studied Diploma of Electronic Music Production, Diploma of Music Business and Diploma of Event management Music industry strand and I am a St John's Ambulance volunteer and there is no way that I would perform in that heat. I was staffing at Woodford Folk Festival on the Queensland Sunshine Coast and the 1st aid tent was full to the brim with Heatstroke victims. The Festivals that your referring to will have to be re scheduled
When running Prime/Nexus players into a DJM, you should be using the SPDIFs
1) It simplifies the single path and removes unnecessary steps of conversion. Since the format is already digital, it makes absolutely NO sense to convert the audio signal to analog as it leaves the players than back to digital as it enters the mixer.
2) Unlike analog mixers that rounds off the sound and give a pleasing "crunch" when the RCA inputs are driven into the red, digital clipping sounds yucky and horrible. By bypassing the analog line inputs, you can (though you shouldn't) crank the input gains well into the red and the sound will not clip and distort.
3) It keeps the entire analog RCA bus as a free patching zone for other DJ's using the same mixer who may need them to connect other hardware like controllers, synths, drum machines, turntables etc.
i like the sound of clipping the pioneer mixer. It's louder :)
Just a tip. You should try editing more silence out in between clips. There is too much of a pause between your video clips. Good video but as a viewer that bothered me. The pro advice is that the two vocals should almost overlap. Cheers!
Brilliant work 👍👍
Excellent video, I learned alot, thanks
because you brought digital dj tips, phill when talking about the merge effects on the flx6 said that at 4 min and 51 sec says "the truth is that ITS ALL pre recored in the studo" and its ok because i dont know about you but if you were playing tomorrowland with millions of ppl watching (just on youtube) i would also prerecord it
I just learned more in this 8 minutes than I have in the last 16 years
For top tier events/bookings it’s because of DJ Riders, each booking agent will send through artist requests including some or all of the following…
Tech Rider.
Inc CDJ’s, Turntables, Mixers and other hardware the artist needs for their performance. This is often of critical importance for headline DJs and they will potentially refuse to perform if this rider is not met.
Also a Hospitality Rider and potentially a Security Rider. So the set up will be such to accommodate the maximum number of performers. Sometimes a number of separate setups will be on stage if other artists have bespoke setups with additional hardware that cannot be grouped in one setup. 🎵🔥🎧
Great insight here !!!💯💯💯 thx dude!!! 👊🏾🙌🏽😎
Thank you so much for this information. You rock bro
well, i thought most of DJs use free CDJ to charge their phone.
Is this a CDJ ad? 😀
Seriously though - great vid! 👌
and that's why i love dnb the mixing/beat matching is standard and 4 decks setup is also pretty standard there are some 2 deck djs but ya the thing is we like the search the next song also because most dnb tracks aren't that long and in my latested track there are 2 combos that make use off 3 tracks and the thing you said about laptops, just use a beefy cpu and only use that laptop for music the chances of falling and thermaltrottle is so low nowadays but i get your point that a cdj setup is safer
Another reason and probably one of the most popular reasons why DJ's request three or four decks this simply because those djs are technically skilled. They don't have to have Roger Sanchez or James Hype type of skill but many DJs that have a very creative mind use 3 or 4 decks to enhance their sets by doing edits and remixes live on the fly. And for the grand majority of the DJ's that do that it's not meant for the crowd to notice it's simply to enhance the tracks that they are already playing by layering different beats over breaks or looping intros and outros throughout the song that's being played.
All the reasons you gave are valid but I think the main reason is for those djs that are technically skilled and more creative.
Obviously I'm referring to House and Techno DJ's. Top 40 DJs don't need 3 or 4 decks. I've seen many just use one.
I need 3 for sure. Keep the blends going as a techno head or mixing dnb
I have another reason ! :) on festivals just before the end of the set the next dj comes up on the stage and uses one or more of the extra cdj to load his first track so he can start his set quicker
Don't forget The 3 Deck Wizard, Carl Cox.
That’s right!
So informative thank you! Also where can we buy that laptop?
A few points...
As a festival/venue/touring sound engineer, technical production manager, and DJ tech, with almost 30 years past DJ experience, the biggest reason is...probably booking agents because 90% of DJs do not use them.
Many agencies now spec cdj3k's even though the artist is not comfortable using them yet. They are also slightly more prone to technical issues due to complexity.
If we want to talk about redundancy, many artists don't bother having a 2nd USB source as back up. Always have one, and always plug it in. An ethernet switch might lose power, or cat 5 cable might become dislodged...anything like that, you never know! Always cover your ass.
On the 4 x CDJ thing, they will probably use 2, and like having an extra cdj as a comfort blanket, due to a past bad experience when they played at a poorly supplied event on badly maintained equipment.
Some might use 3.
A rare few may use 4 if mixing stems or similar deconstructed material.
75% of acts that spec turntables will not use them because of the costs and risks of flying with vinyl.
If a festival stage manager let's you play in the rain, get off the stage...fk that.
High quality sound is rarely found in a digital mixer. (V10 is ok though, for the pioneer fans, but expensive)
No. The sound engineer cannot "fix" the sound if you are blowing the sh*t out of the mixer. That's why every manufacturer puts green, amber (mostly) and red lights on it. That is YOUR responsibility. They can turn your distorted mess down, for the sake of the system and the crowd, or turn you off, but one cannot polish a turd.
Finally, many DJ's are embarrassed to be seen with a laptop on stage, and they are definitely a weak link in the chain adding unnecessary complexity, exposing you to added failure modes, and if it's a failure with a Mac, you may as well pack up and go home, because you won't be playing tonight or getting paid...in fact if I had one piece of advice for laptop DJs/live performers, it would be to NOT trust a Mac for performance, because it will be a guaranteed showstopper when it goes down. However, that does not mean the processing within a CDJ is superior to that within a well specced and configured laptop/soundcard.
Keep it clean, green and clean xxx
"many DJ's are embarrassed to be seen with a laptop on stage"
Ego is a fuck in DJ's life, I see.
I'm on my first year as a DJ, and my opinion about using a Laptop x CDJ, or about using or not Sync is... Well, if it sounds goods, it's good. Anything else is just a tool to please the crowd.
And the point of redundancy is some crap in this Video as well as the "good Quality at loud Volume"
If you run through 1 Mixer you basically are as bad as just having 2 Players.
The same thing with the output of the DJ Booth. You can easily get the same Quality with a decent player and a USB Audio Interface.
You're just outputing a Line Level Signal. Without any power behind it. The Front of House controls your volume anyways.
No matter how hard you push you mixer.
Oh and the Temperature thing?
Well CDJs ambient Temperature is set so high, because the surface of them will heat up to those temperatures. And they have to sustain that without active ventilation. Your Laptop will just power through that.
Great Video! Nuf said
I play triple decks standard mainly to speed up my work load for double dropping tunes even triple drops. flexibility is key to a good set up
Reason 1: If one of the cdj dies, u can immediately use the other one
Reason 2: Cos u r the Roger Sanchez
Reason 3: It's looking good and cool
Reason 4: Fetish
Reason: 5: Timecode
Me: Looks at my 20yr old 1210s and feels old...
Me too!
@@THEJUUICE I'm slowly embracing the whole digital scene, but it's a slow process... My back thanks me though :)
@@dorsetengineering I understand, I'm definitely getting into the digital realm Which to me is super easy and actually is cheating when it comes to DJ'ING. But, I'm still keeping my technique 1210s for life. The techniques just don't break - Just your back!!
The answer is simple, if one cdj fails, you need to have another ready to plug in any of your extra USB drives... That's the real reason, all the clubs and festivals I play at (or used to before the pandemic) have 3/4 decks. Now some djs like to use a third one with loops, etc, or mix a third track, but it's not really a thing a lot of people like to do.
Agreed. Two gets the job done enough. Imo
your videos are so good
Great video!