Laptop DJing

[Toon Town Dave]

Hey Nathan, glad you found this place.

The current generation of "sound cards" are pretty good, probably better than most of the PA systems you'll be plugging in to (unless someone upgraded their gear since triPLEX). I don't know if Creative is coming out with something new but that "something new coming out soon" excuse sounds like the same line I got last February to explain the lack of selection.

Don't worry about the local brick and mortar stores not stocking much. On-line is the way to go. Since you are in Canada, I'd recommend ncix.com for on-line purchases. Also, if you hit up some of the local stores (not the big box/chain stores), they'll probably be more than happy to special order what you want.

[Surreal]

Thanks Dave. I did try looking up the small local stores, but nothing was available. I wound up getting the Audigy 2 online. Now I feel like buying a PA...

[Cyrano de Maniac]

About the only ones I can find are the Sound Blaster Live ($70), and a used Sonica M-Audio ($50).

I have nothing against Creative, nor have I used either of these pieces of equipment. That said, on a first-glance basis I'd try M-Audio, as they produce a variety of professional sound equipment, not just consumer-level equipment. Not to say that there isn't some outstanding consumer level equipment out there, but in general I'd put more trust in pro brands.

Brent

[jacques_g]

I noticed that with the iTunes software (on a pc), after a song has played, it will play the next song.

Is there a way to configure it to play a song and then stop ? Kind of like the "auto-stop" on a CD player ?

Some of my songs don't have a great deal of silence at the end.

I like that there is a place to store the bpm info. I also like the option to start a song X seconds after the beginning. (Useful to skip intros we don't want like the Swing Lover spoken intro from Indigo Swing)

[Bob the Builder]

I noticed that with the iTunes software (on a pc), after a song has played, it will play the next song.

I would suggest not using iTunes, but if you want to, create two play lists.
Make sure there is no songs lined up in the play list that is currently playing, and then manually switch between the play lists. Starting the last song on the alternative play list when desired (ie - when the other song finishes).

One good side to iTunes is that you can have multiple windows open. I would suggest having one window open for each play list and one for the library.
Personally I think iTunes sucks as an output device for DJing. It does however work will as a library system.

B

[scott]

DJ software for Windows and Mac OS X: a review at arstechnica. Note the person doing the reviewing is not a swingdj

[la musette]

I noticed that with the iTunes software (on a pc), after a song has played, it will play the next song.

Is there a way to configure it to play a song and then stop ? Kind of like the "auto-stop" on a CD player ?

Some of my songs don't have a great deal of silence at the end.

It's too bad that the playback control doesn't let you choose to extend the track beyond its total time. You should write to Apple and ask them to add that!

For a quick and easy fix, maybe you could make a blank track of 5 seconds and just insert it in a playlist whenever you need it (make a note in the comments column of abruptly ending tracks so you know) Later when you have more time you could edit the songs.

My current DJing method with itunes is to make a playlist of what will be played in my set and start with 3-4 good songs to start the night off and add more to match the mood. I have my ipod synched to my itunes library so I can use it to preview songs. (Of course, this will stop working when my itunes goes over 30GB but for now it's fine.) This way you don't have to be paying attention to when songs are ending because everything cues automatically.

[la musette]

I just thought of another way to do it-

If you don't want to figure out a music editing program, you can add seconds (up to 5 at a time) to the end of a track by burning it to a CD. Check your preferences and set how many seconds you want between tracks- that time will be added to the end of each track. Then you reimport to iTunes.

It's a bit of labor, but hey it's just an idea.

(just remember that any tracks you buy from itunes music store can only be burned 7 times I think- though I've heard that re-importing a track removes the code that keeps track of that)

[fredo]

I think if one were to go through all the trouble of adding blank tracks after each song, or burning and importing each song with more time at the end they should collect all that trouble and spend it on an external sound card. Using iTunes only as a library/cueing program and djing using some other program, such as WinAmp [as a free option], would be much less of a headache.

[by the way, other programs such as winamp let you control whether tracks play automatically, or stop after each song has finished]

my $0.02

~freddie

[Toon Town Dave]

I don't really see the value in appending or prepending silence onto tracks. I recall a discussion in the skills area about how much silence between tracks (in the context of DJs who select tracks one at a time).

Some times I want to leave lots of silence, sometimes I cross-fade the moment a track is done. It all depends on my mood and the effect I'm trying to create for the audience.

If you insist on doing the playlist thing, perhaps just have a collection of silence tracks of different durations. If you want to leave 1 sec., drop a copy of the 1 sec silence track onto the playlist. If you want 5 sec., drop a 5 sec. track into the playlist.

IIRC, some of the DJ software I tried some time back allows configuration of silence between tracks while playing.

[CafeSavoy]

I noticed that with the iTunes software (on a pc), after a song has played, it will play the next song.

Is there a way to configure it to play a song and then stop ? Kind of like the "auto-stop" on a CD player ?

One easy alternative is to manipulate the playlist by typing text in the query box. you can either select the song that is playing or the next song to be played. In either case, itunes will stop when the song is over.

[Dancing Al]

Hiya Jacques,

<g> We should talk about this at Cat's Corner. But let's do it virtually.

I noticed that with the iTunes software (on a pc), after a song has played, it will play the next song.
Is there a way to configure it to play a song and then stop ? Kind of like the "auto-stop" on a CD player ?

Yes. Use the "party shuffle" and set "upcoming songs" to zero. Additionally, you may use your "recently played songs" list as a queue. Add songs to the "party shuffle's" "upcoming songs" list and then drag the currently playing song under the newly added songs. To add a song to the "upcoming song" list, right click on it while viewing your playlists then select "Add to Party Shuffle" or "Play Next in Party Shuffle". Though, the songs you've just added will play next unless you drag the currently playing song to the end of the party shuffle list.

Note: "ctrl-L" might be a helpful key as it jumps to the currently playing song.

I like that there is a place to store the bpm info.

Yes. Right click on a song and choose "Get Info" (also "ctrl-I") and choose the second tab, "Info". Use "BMP" (also "alt-B").

Note #1: You can add the column "BMP" to your playlist via "ctrl-J" or right clicking on the sort option row of a playlist or choosing "View" -> "View Options".

Note #2: It might be easier to enter in the BMP information if you just edit the exported song list file. In fact, you can sort that file file by album and then just type in the BMPs with the album information in front of you. To get this file, right click on the playlist and choose "export song list". Save it to file somewhere and edit it. Additionally, it is a TSV (tab seperated values) file so it is perfectly edittable using any spredsheet. Oh my, did someone say Google Spreadsheets for online backups and/or sharing with others?

I also like the option to start a song X seconds after the beginning. (Useful to skip intros we don't want like the Swing Lover spoken intro from Indigo Swing)

Yes. Get into the "Get Info" part of the song again and pick the third tab, "Options". Then "alt-S" for "Start Time". That start time will work with "Party Shuffle".

Note: This option didn't completely work with certain versions of iTunes. Though, it seems to work with the most recent version 7.0.1.8. Just be sure to check if it works in your version installed.

[WindsorSwingKid]

External Sound Cards for a Laptop? I have been using my Creative Labs Audigy 2 NX with great results... At the moment, I can not find it on the their Web site...

It works well when I use that external sound card for output to the sound system and cueing to my own headphones with my built-in internal sound card...

John...

[russell]

Any suggestions for an annoying problem I am having at present:
The output socket for my Echo Indigo PCMCIA card is "loose" so that if I am not careful I get a loose connection. If I bump it while playing the sound will sometimes loose a channel.
Any easy fixes for this? (without replacing the card )

[Surreal]

Maybe just tape down the wire near the socket?