Previewing. How do you DJ without it.

[Toon Town Dave]

You say that like you spin stuff you haven't listened to before. If I preview a song, it's to decide if it fits in the context of the moment not to decide if it is good quality. Evaluating the "quality" and general suitibility for dancing is done outside of DJ time. I never spin anything I haven't heard before in its entirety.

That said, I have a lot of music to remember and it's a small collection by the standards of a few DJs here. It's pretty difficult to remember the details of every track in a large collection. Previewing and notes can act as a good reminder.

[gatorgal]

I like previewing more because I like to know whether the song's sound quality is ok or not. In order to combat this I've began catologuing all my music. What this means, though, is that I have to listen to EVERY song in my collection, I BPM it, take the time, and write a little note about the song, what it's like energy wise, if it's danceable or not and so on. I've been doing this so I can take the cd inserts out of my binders because they've been weighing them down. It's just VERY tedious work to do.

Harrison

I've been sorta doing the same thing on and off for the past few months. I'm going into overdrive now because our exchange is 2 weeks away. What can I say... I'm a procrastinator.

The good side of this is that I've been "discovering" music I like that I had forgotten that I had.

Tina

[Haydn]

I've just come across some interesting old threads including this one.

I have never previewed because:

1. I have enough to worry about looking around the 'floor' and making sure I have something to play before the track runs out.
2. I haven't yet mastered the technical side of previewing (so that I am really sure that the track I am previewing isn't playing over the current one).
3. I feel in general the more I can look around the room, the better job I can do. If I'm on the headphones, it distracts me from that.

This means I have a problem dealing with requests from people who give me CDs to play. I have to know every track I bring to a gig well, which limits the number of tracks I can bring. I do need to learn how to preview properly to give me the option.

[kitkat]

Wow. I can't imagine doing a set comfortably without it. I just don't know my collection that well.

I have to check for mood & flow appropriateness the way Toon Town Dave does.

I simply don't remember exactly what my songs' moods & timbres are to the extent that most responders on this thread seem to.

[Toon Town Dave]

II haven't yet mastered the technical side of previewing (so that I am really sure that the track I am previewing isn't playing over the current one).

This may have more to do with your set-up. A pro DJ setup, the most complicated part should be getting left and right straight on the head phones when you put them on.

On a conventional (CD, tape or vinyl) set-up, the previewing function is usually done by the mixer. Most mixers have a control to select which channel you want to preview as well as a dial or slider to determine how much of the live stuff gets mixed into the preview. Pretty simple really.

Some setups use mixers designed for live audio which are different beasts and make previewing a PITA. The Fender Passport PA systems discussed in other threads are a fine example of a mixer that doesn't do previewing. Previewing with this sort of gear either means a separate player for previewing or some sort of hack, either is usually too much trouble.

With a decent set-up, I can preview in the headphones and still watch the crowd, visualizing them dancing to the track I'm listening to, I can also step out the rhythm and see if it feels right to me in context (I almost always do this if I'm choosing something to appeal to beginners).

And of course like Katie, I can't remember every detail about all my mucic cued only by artist and title. I need a little more to jog my audio memory.

[JesseMiner]

I believe that the ability to preview music is an essential DJ tool. I always tell newer DJs that headphones are a required piece of equipment just for that reason.

One of the major downsides that has come with the increase in popularity of laptop DJing has been losing the ability to preview. With CD mixers, cueing was almost always available, but laptops usually only come with a single audio output. Too many DJs don't take the time to get the proper set-up with an external sound card, and they give up a valuable DJ skill. I find it hard to believe that many (any?) DJs out there are not only 100% familiar with each and every song (starting, middle and ending) in their collection but also how each song sounds before or after every other song in their collection. Relying on your memory will lead you towards playing it safe and not push yourself to greater heights musically.

Also there is a big difference between not previewing because you are confident with your next song selection and not previewing because you are technically unable to do so.

You might find it overwhelming now to be playing a song, watching the crowd AND thinking about what is going to come next, but that will become much easier as you grow as a DJ. It is a worthwhile investment to get a good sound card and a software solution that easily allows you to route one audio source out to the audience while another goes to your headphones.

Jesse

[GemZombie]

While I think I know my collection well enough to not preview, I just don't feel right without being able to do so.

Sometimes I pop a song on the list because in my head it feels like it will fit, but then I take a listen and realize it either needs to be moved or removed from the play list.

I agree with Jesse, it's essential.

[dogpossum]

I'm not afraid to admit I don't preview.
It's not an ideal situation - I'd really like to be able to preview, especially as my collection of music grows and it becomes impossible to keep all my music in my head. I have to 'practice' DJing regularly at home to keep myself familiar with my music and to practice combining songs in a 'live' setting. I don't suck when I DJ, but I know that previewing would help me do a better job, and help me add new songs to my sets (though I do wonder how many 'new' songs I should play per 1.5 hour set - not more than a half dozen I'd have thought).
I have done a bit of 'previewing' using my ipod and the same shortlist, but there are obvious reasons why this solution does not rock.


I don't preview because I have technical issues. I use itunes on a mac ibook G4. I've been looking into some sort of software option that lets me send the sound out to the desk but also lets me use headphones.

I've considered DJ1800 but I've heard it crashes a bit (any thoughts from people who use it?). I'm not terribly comfortable with the set up of the DJ1800/itunes on-screen combination - my screen feels too small for all that action. Plus I've been having some issues with the spinning beachball of doom in itunes - I think my laptop feels a bit full and resentful. So I'm not sure DJ1800 + itunes = fun DJing times.

I had a look at cuephase (which David mentions in this thread) but it's not making me party.

I have usb headphones, I have another nice pair of headphones, I've experimented with an imic, I'm looking for a nice soundcard. Now I just need a software solution.

I wish I could just use a little, basic media player just for previewing while I continue with itunes until I become uberDJ. Don't need a library, I just want a click and drag option.



What do other mac laptop DJs use?

[CafeSavoy]

This was posted on Yehoodi. I haven't tried it yet.

Stolen from SwingKnoxville, with my own additions - for all you Mac users:

(copied and lightly edited from my livejournal)

I've been using iTunes to DJ swing dances, but until a few days ago I had no way of previewing songs to decide if I wanted to play them. Then I saw a posting where someone had written an AppleScript for use with iTunes that would allow you to preview a song using QuickTime Player. However that depending on using an old utility for redirecting audio output so that you could redirect QuickTime Player's audio to a different device than the one used by iTunes. That utility is no longer maintained and doesn't exist for Intel Macs like my MacBook Pro. However I was able to adapt that script to have it call Audacity to do the previewing. And audacity lets you assign its audio output to any audio device. So now I can DJ through my iMic USB sound card and preview with headphones from my laptop's built-in audio jack.

In case you're interested, here's the AppleScript. Copy it from the web browser and paste it into the AppleScript Editor (under Applications, click on AppleScript, then on Script Editor). Then Save it as Library/iTunes/Scripts/Preview . The next time you run iTunes there will be a little pull-down menu that looks like a scroll. Select a tune, pull down the menu and select the Preview option, and it will fire up Audacity. (of course you have to have Audacity installed first). You can change Audacity's audio output device by selecting Preferences under the Audacity menu, and clicking on Audio on the left, and changing the selection for Playback. You can change the audio output device for all other programs (including iTunes) by running the System Preferences application, then clicking on Sound. You will of course need a USB or other sound card to provide a separate audio output.

Code: Select all

tell application "iTunes"
	if selection is not {} then
		with timeout of 60 seconds
			repeat with eachTrack in selection
				if eachTrack's class is file track then
					set filePath to (get eachTrack's location)
					if ("" & filePath) does not end with ".m4p" then
						tell application "Audacity"
							activate
							open filePath
						end tell
					end if --skip if AAC file
				end if --skip if incorrect type of track
			end repeat
		end timeout
	end if
end tell

Note that this won't work on DRM-protected files like you get from iTunes Music Store, both because Audacity doesn't understand AAC files and because it doesn't know how to undo their DRM.

(Note for Windows users: Sorry, I don't know of any way to do this under Windows, as the AppleScript support isn't there on that platform.)

[updated 2007.03.10 to reflect improved code - I figured out how to get the AppleScript to not launch Audacity on AAC files.]

So to do the above, do the following:

#1 - Buy a Macbook
#2 - Install Audacity
#3 - [edit out - make all music non-DRM]
#4 - Create a folder called "Scripts" in Library/iTunes
#5 - Do the above instructions with the script.
#6 - Purchase a cheap USB sound card

Open iTunes, and you'll see a scroll in your menu. Select the song, hit the script, and baboom - it loads into Audacity. Set Audacity to output to a different source, and voila!

Code: Select all

if boolean expression then 
 do something 1 
else 
 do something 2 
end if

http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech ... index.html

I've never done applescript before, and don't have a mac, but here's my crack at it:

Code: Select all

tell application "iTunes"
   if selection is not {} then
      with timeout of 60 seconds
         repeat with eachTrack in selection
            if eachTrack's class is file track then
               set filePath to (get eachTrack's location)
               if ("" & filePath) does not end with ".m4p" then
                  tell application "Audacity"
                     activate
                     open filePath
                  end tell 
               else 
                  if ("" & filePath) does not end with ".m4a" then
                     tell application "Audacity"
                        activate
                        open filePath
                     end tell
                  end if
               end if --skip if AAC file
            end if --skip if incorrect type of track
         end repeat
      end timeout
   end if
end tell 

[CafeSavoy]

Also, supposedly you can use Audion to preview and itunes to play by using Detour which allows you to specify sound output. Audion also supports dragging to itunes, but sadly not dragging from itunes.


http://www.rogueamoeba.com/detour/ It allows you to specify which program will use which soundcard.
Audion (http://www.panic.com/audion/download.html) Discontinued & now free

[GemZombie]

On a related note: CompuUSA is closing a ton of stores down, and many of them are doing a 30% discount on much of their inventory. If you have one near you that is closing, they sell the spiffy external USB Sound devices like the Turtle Beach one (which is excellent), and only $30 usually.

If you're looking for hardware, it's a good chance to check it out in person and get a decent discount.

[dogpossum]

Hey, thanks for the tips, guys.
My partner has been making some scriptage but I'll check out these ones. I'm also stalking a turtle beach thingy on ebay for $19 (I'd like to look at CompUSA but the closest is probably a bit of a hike from Melbourne ).

[texas-eddie]

I've considered DJ1800 but I've heard it crashes a bit (any thoughts from people who use it?). I'm not terribly comfortable with the set up of the DJ1800/itunes on-screen combination - my screen feels too small for all that action. Plus I've been having some issues with the spinning beachball of doom in itunes - I think my laptop feels a bit full and resentful. So I'm not sure DJ1800 + itunes = fun DJing times.

I'm currently using a DJ-1800+itunes setup on my Macbook and I'm somewhat happy with it. DJ-1800 is quite a resource hog but it hasn't really crashed on me yet (but I do have pretty much all other programs and widgets off to help). It's got a slick interface and some really good features. But even then, loading playlists on the fly from iTunes causes DJ-1800 to hang (which would be a crowd killer), which is quite unfortunate since that means I have to do a lot more cue maintenance than I'd like. I pretty much have to load each song into each deck one at a time. I used to use BPM studio on my PC, which was so much better at cueing, and I'm longing for something like that instead.

I must admit I love iTunes on the Mac though, it's organized my collection so well and made it so easy to find songs on the fly I can't imagine DJing without it. I just wish there was more of BPM studio-like alternative to DJ-1800.

Alas, I can't live without previewing my music, especially since my collection grows faster than I can listen to all of it.

[zzzzoom]

I use the dj1800 with iTunes (both open at the same time) and have never had any problems - have never had it hang, crash, etc. I preview with iTunes thru the headphone jack and dj with a Turtle Beach usb sound card and it's all good. (and dj1800 has a new version coming out soon that incorporates iTunes right into dj1800 - it's in beta testing now and they keep saying it will be out any day - and have been saying that for months).

[Mr Awesomer]

I have DJ1800 as well, and while it's been stable, it randomly drops the music for about 1/2 second every now and then rendering the program useless. This is on a G4 iBook. Andy has a newer MacBook that has the exact same issue.

I suppose it's not a complete loss though, I just use iTunes my primary and drop songs into DJ1800 when I need to preview something.