Tools overview from djblaze
From Ssl-wiki
Contents |
Introduction
What DJ Tools Work For Me And The Programs I Find Useful
In this forum I would like to share what I believe is the perfect Dj Setup with a little of what I am using and what others have influenced me to use. I've been reading the Forums for months now and I have gathered many helpful Tips & Tricks along the way that has proved to be very helpful.
~For those new to SSL prepare for an amazing Dj tool that will impact your djing abilities~
1st, I Use two Denon CD Turntables, the S5000 and Denon's Mixer the X1500. These CD players work great for giving a great vinyl sound… Since the Scratching doesn’t actually come from scratching the records/disc… rather it comes from the control signal, so using CD or Vinyl is pretty much balanced in my opinion. The only getting use to is the size of the platters. Using these with SSL allows you to never have to burn or buy Records/Cd's ever again and the scratching ability is perfect if you have a somewhat fast computer with added RAM... My computer had 512 RAM shared and I upgraded to 1 gig RAM and I saw a great improvement. SSL will also work great with TT, but I see that using the Denon's work better with mixing b/c you have on the fly cue points, breaking, echo, reverse, etc. They are also light and they make for a fast Dj setup.
2nd, I use a Compaq Presario 2110US. It has a 1.6 AMD processor and now 1 gig of upgraded Ram with an 80 gig HD. I have formatted my computer to my needs with nothing but the programs I am going to use. I defrag and CHKDSK often to keep my computer running clean and fast. I try to keep in mind that since I'm using my computer as my main source of media I have to take care of it or it won’t take care of ME!
Tip 1: Go to RUN in your START menu, type in MSCONFIG go to the Start up Process and disable all. This will allow your computer to run at a faster rate without using your entire memory
Tip 2: Go to the Forum about "Windows XP optimizations for Scratch LIVE" scroll down to WINDOWS XP AUDIO TWEAKS. Try and take advantage of this b/c it will definitely help.
Name: Windows XP optimizations for Scratch LIVE
Forum: www.scratchlive.net link title
3rd, My Mp3's file names are PERFECT with the file names looking like this... ARTIST - TITLE - BPM. Doing this allows me find media fast and Import media fast. I also store all Rap, Rock, House; etc in different folders doing so makes a hard copy of my Genres.
Tip 1: Use Mix Mester's BPM counter... It’s Free and it will give you Almost Perfect BPM reads. Name: Mix Meister bpm analyzer Homepage: www.mixmeister.com link title
Tip 2: Use ID TAGIT... It’s Free and very easy to use, it also allows you to make mass changes to your MP3 file names!!! Once you use Mix Mester's BPM counter Add the BPM's into your MP3's File name. Doing so guarantees it won’t be lost.
Name: ID3-TagIT
Home page: www.id3-tagit.de link title
Tip 3: Use Apple’s QuickTime… It’s Free and when you download you will also get the iTunes MP3 file manager/player similar to Windows Media, but when you import your media to iTunes and make playlist, the playlist will also show up in the SSL program, Very helpful!!
Name: QuickTime 7 with iTunes 6 for Windows 2000/XP
Homepage: www.apple.com link title
Tip 4: Use “Harddisck ogg recorder”… It’s Free and records well. The program doesn’t use much memory and you can record in WAV
Name: Harddisck ogg recorder
Homepage: www.fridgesoft.de link title
4th, if you use the control CD’s instead of the vinyl ~ burn copies so you don’t ruin the originals. Tip: Sometimes it could be helpful to burn the first track as the control signal and use the rest of the CD as various music mixes as a backup for if your computer crashes.
5th, Keep up-to-date with all updated versions of your SSL. You’ll find the Updates useful
6th, BACKUP EVERYTHING!!! Don’t let months and years go to waste by not using an external HD to backup your media and programs.
7th, Building Overviews is very important, doing this will take a lot of time and a lot of memory so playing music that has not been ‘Overviewed’ could be very risky and might cause you some trouble.
Tip 1: Don’t wait till the last minute to do this. Do this days or even weeks before the big show.
Tip 2: After “Building Overviews” look through the media to check which flies have the cracked CD or iTunes Icon. Doing this will give you the opportunity to redownload the media.
Tip 3: Try not to use media less than 128 Bitrate, using this media is going to take away from the quality of the media. I have found that 128 Bitrate is sufficient enough in quality for me. Using wav would be nice, but you better have the space!!!
8th, Keeping your computer organized and up-to-date with all Software and Firmware updates is in my opinion very important Backing up media and programs will also payoff. Everything listed above is information that I have found useful throughout the forums of SSL, I truly believe SSL is a break through in DJing. Combining Vinyl/CD and MP3 is one of the biggest advances for DJing. Grant-it there are many other products out there that offer the same technology, but SSL is getting it right with compact size, updates and forums like these to keep users in touch with ideas and opinions
Everything I have listed above is strictly opinionated and informational, I just wanted to gather all of the stuff that I have found useful over my months of reading the forums and compile it together for another inspiring Dj. If I left something out please add to this topic.
~DJ Blaze
Links
Acknowledgement
Credits for this article go out to
- DJ Blaze (SSL forum)
