I've been in situations where I've been forced to spin without headphones and was able to make it through the night, but I don't like doing that. Also, I don't always play the same combination of songs together. I spin 'on- the fly" and I need to hear a mix in my headphones before I present it to my audience. I've heard many people spin without headphones and it's always sounded like shit. I don't wanna hear you cueing up records over the main speakers, that's what headphones are for.

I don't mix the same combination of songs either, I'm always mixing on the fly... I play at the same venues at least once a week so I wouldn't do the same set. The point that I'm trying to make is that now there is no need to "cue up" thanks to cue points and now "labeled" cue points you can just drop.

lol and that would sound like shit if someone really was cueing up records over the main speakers. I actually have done that by accident. Before I had serato I was using regular vinyl and there was a few time when I was queing up in my headphones and forgot the crossfader was still in the middle OOPS!

Co-Sign...

Also, theoretically, LEARNING to DJ should include headphones from the door, so it's just a good fundamental action that should be implemented.

When starting out, I was forced to use headphones in my bedroom, cuz my parent's didn't want to hear all that "bumpedy-bump", so the Realistic being ahead of it's time, with Split Cue allowed me to practice EVERYTHING in my headphones, and come out with perfect mixes.

When I see a DJ NOT use headphones, (other than doing trick mixing), I always think they come from a microwave background....IMO.

In todays world..... I keep my headphones as back up..... In case....... But I know my music and wave forms to the point as I am reading them, I am hearing the song in my head. I know when the vocals come in, I know when the first beat drops.... so on and so forth....

If anything I use headphones in the Radio Station as I hear myself talk to my listeners.... but other then that, no.

I think its important to learn with headphones and without waveforms. This is aimed more towards the DJ's that have been doing this for awhile and don't have to prove shit to anyone. With the aid of serato you can certainly cut headphones out of the equation.

BINGO! that is exactly what I am talking about. Thank you sir!!

But Serato isn't always 100% accurate. The only other way of mixing in your song is using your headphones. No?

How can que points that you set up be inaccurate?

So basically, EVERY SONG would have to have a cue point....

Cue points**

I've done that too, the fader was bypassed and I didn't notice for at least an hour (no monitors), luckily some kind punter came up and told me.

Headphones are still essential for me, while I try to put cue points on all the tracks in my crates, I still need to pick the cues where it sounds right, likewise with beatmatching, it's not just getting the beats in time, but is the mix going to sound any good? Also for setting loops for an intro, you don't want a bit of vocal chopped off mid lyric (well maybe, sometimes it produces a nice effect), or you might not notice if the loop is slightly out.

I use the waveforms now, but without, I needed one ear on one track, and one on the other to beatmatch accurately.

If the software allows you to use "cue points"..... Use Cue Points......

If the software allows you to read wave forms..... read wave forms....

If it doesn't work for you, don't use whats offered in the software.....

If you don't like that, go back to juggling straight Vinyl and CDs and put the laptop away....

Some of the things I do aren't groundbreaking, but they're not easy to do without headphones. So, I will continue to use them.

I don't see why not... Songs you play normally play or like personally should have different cue points for parts that you like to mix in at or cut to. It's just like marking records.

Headphones give me a chance to listen to what I'm playing and how it sounds before I drop it on to the crowd. I like knowing exactly whats going to happen. And besides, better safe then sorry!

With cues and tagging now, there is no reason you would have to cue up the record in the mains. You'd just do it visually. Construc I see your point but here's mine...I like my mixes to sound "pretty" and I play off the dome as well, so I like to preview each mix before I drop it just to make sure it sounds sweet. If it doesn't I'm quickly on to another song that will fit better. Sure the songs might technically fit together, and even fit together in mood/content/etc, but they could sound like ass when layered together. Hence my need to preview.

Is there any way you could give an example? I am somewhat confused by this, I don't know if its just me but I would say when I'm playing in the club I know 97% of the songs I'm playing really well and having headphones won't change anything. For example, on the remix of "Paid in full" after the short intro there will always be four bars before you hear "this is a journey into sound. I have my second cue point on the "pump up that volume. pump up the volume" and that's never gonna change... that track will always be that track, it will always have the same structure, same samples at the same cue points (unless I decide to change them) and having headphones won't change that. I hope that makes sense lol.

lol.... At the end of the night...... I get paid..... with or without my headphones..... lol

I hardly EVER use them. The few times I use them is when I am playing unfamiliar songs but thats very rare so Im with Construc on this one.

Okay, I can see that. This seems to be the common answer I'm getting... this is certainly one thing I risk not getting right by not wearing headphones. I'm not trying to sound cocky or anything but I very rarely run into this. I guess it just boils down to knowing your music and a little bit of guessing. I can't front either, I do use some intro tracks with no melodies for the first 8 bars when I'm uptempo and when I do mix melodies I know ahead of time that they will sound good together. As for hip hop, I do a lot of slamming just because I think that is more effective for Hip Hop party tracks, I don't like to blend it in smoothly. I like to surprise the crowd and get that "AWW SHIT" reaction. As far as live blends go, you really can't preview those anyway unless you want to A) preview the acapella over the original while its playing which would just be a headache or b) Preview it over the instrumental while the crowd looks confused lol. I honestly don't care if I freestyle a blend and its off key a little bit. I think that makes it sound raw, but that only goes for hip hop/r&b shit. Uptempo you need to be on key as the melodies are way stronger.

I spin alot of open format sets that include a good amount of indie rock, classic rock, 70s, 80s, funk etc... and depending on the mix in point or the layout of each track not having headphones doesnt work for me, as far as top40 and current rap goes I could live without headphones

Another reason I have to use headphones is because I don't set my cue points in a consistant manner. I don't always have the first point set at the first kick, or whatver. If I were more consistant in my cue points then I would probably do it more.

I'll do you one better. I got some new moombahton tracks and played them on stickam. Then I went into just random stuff. I'm sure through most of the video I start cutting and stuff - can't do that without headphones. www.stickam.com (Part 2 of 1)

As for club stuff, I may know some of the tracks I play but I never try to play the same stuff ALL THE TIME. So, I try my best to do something different as much as possible. If I'm doing something new, I need the headphones to execute it properly. If I'm playing the exact same set every week, then sure... might be able to do that with my eyes closed. But that ain't me. There's no way I can remember every single cue point to every song I have for all the genres I spin.

Not to mention, using your Paid in Full example - I have at least 3 main versions of that song I'll play at any given time. It's not impossible to mix without headphones, but if you can do it 100% of the time you're probably not working hard enough.

skip up to about 12 mins into the video for a better example

So that means that you would have to put a cue point on EVERY SONG.

So when downloading NEW MUSIC, you'd have to make time to do that work BEFORE the event...

Whereas, a lot of times, if I have new music, I MAY create a cue point right before I play the song, because I just figured out where I want to start the song from...

Just sayin...

But that would ALWAYS force you to use a point right around "Pump Up The Volume, Pump Up the Volume", whereas, I MAY want to change it up a little and use the 16 bar break immediately following it.

No headphones gives the image that everything is "PrePlanned"...

Rubbish! Pair of headphone all the way, one ear on and one ear off! What about if your a versatile DJ who can mix disco and funk, this music needs tight monitoring as the beats are all over the place and you need to keep on top of the mix because the bpm changes - different matter if your cheating with auto sync! lol

Personally I perfer to keep my eyes on the dancefloor, reading the crowd, seeing how many people leave or enter the dancefloor, check out which girls will prob put out that night, peep the line at the bar to know when to flip the floor, peep people out to shout out on the mic, ect ect ect rather than stare at my screen as if a i was watching a botleg of the new planet of the apes movie.

Exactly.

I guess its just my background of how i learned but headphones are 2nd nature to me, i have one on one ear cueing up a song in them instinctivly i dont even think about it

this really isnt as much of an issue since alot of pools, smashvids for example, have cue points preset from the jump. Only ones you need to adde are any custom ones

I can still do that.... I now that it goes "pump up the volume, pump the volume, pu-p-pu-pump pump pump that bass" and then were there. why do I need headphones for that?

Some of you guys have the luxery of being just the "DJ" behind the turntables....... Down here.... Its not so... You are the DJ, your are the comedian, you are the artist........

You can sit behind the DJ booth all night and play mix and do the most amazing things..... but if you can't "ENGAGE" the crowd and have them interact with you..... lets just say they wont be hiring you for anything big...

The reason why we really so heavily on our "Mic Man"

But some of us, including myself, I don't have a Mic Man, and I must Mic, Select, Spin, and create an entertaining show. So if putting aside headphones to save combersome space is good, I do it and learn to read wave form.

I agree with this, my spots been pushing me HARD to get my mic game up so i peeped out a few cats who did it well and in the last couple weeks ive been doin it alot better but my mixes have def been sufferin

no need to stare at the screen, it only takes a second to get your BPM's to match. All you need to do is drop it on the correct beat and mix it live form there.

Oh, you trust other people's cues?

You'd still have to "Preview" them...

No, how do you get 16 bars ahead...

You're not going to count bars/waves on the screen, correct?

Maybe you could determine because the color of the waves may change, but that's too much staring...

Trying to watch now, it's loading really slow for some reason. I am excited to check it out though, your sets are really good. I watched one of you stickam sets awhile back and you were doing all types nice blends and beat juggling. I will continue when it loads.

Exactly. Beat juggling aside, I do most blends live with the actual acapellas and instrumentals of songs. Most of that stuff can't be done without headphones or else it would sound a hot mess. Of course, if I used pre-made blends like most people that would be a lot easier but it wouldn't give me the versatility to blend what I want for my crowd. Plus it keeps things different, which makes it better for me (mentally) and for my crowd who've heard me spin before.

Plus, back in the day I used to spin with someone who would play the same things over and over every weekend. I kinda got it stuck in my mind that I can NEVER do that. If the crowd can sing along with what's coming next I'm not doing my listening audience any justice.

Okay, I'm a little confused. are you talking about the part with the singing or are you talking about the part 16 bars after that at the "we interrupt this protest"? either way, don't forget.... you get 5 cue points, thats 5 different ways to bring in the song and now that you can label them there is no question or confusion of what parts are where. So I have the first kick after the intro as cue point 1, cue point 2 is "pump up the volume" and cue point 3 is "thinking of a master plan" ect.

Okay, I REALLY don't mean any disrespect but I do that all the time without headphones. does it sound good? Idk you can be the judge mixcrate.com you can be honest too. how are headphones useful when doing live acapella blends? is it just for close monitoring? I do some rehearsed blends here and there but a lot of it is just freestyled.

99.9% of record pool cue points are on the 1st beat

+1 headphones

- new music i just create cue points on the spot
- mixing two tracks, and you gotta know how its mastered (too much bass, need gain, etc)
- align beats (personal pref = wave staring makes me dizzy, and i'd rather beat match by ear, oh and i turned off the waveforms, or if the waveform is there, its maxed out display so it scrolls really slow, and my laptop is at the side)

i think you answered your own question here, 1st sentence in your description of your mix,May be a bit sloppy at parts lol. The way i feel is ya if your just trying to get by in a club where noone cares no headphones awill work but your gonna be a bit sloppy, noone on the floor will care but youll be used to being sloppy

+1000000000000000000

Keep in mind guys, this is for club DJ's. I mainly was aiming this towards guys that do have to play a lot of the same stuff, not the same exact sets but sets that will most likely include "give me everything tonight" or "s&m" before the end of the night. I can understand using headphones if you are playing 70's rock. disco, funk... I'm talking about the guys that are playing for the mainstream crowd. you can play the same songs but still play a different set if you know what I mean. bottom line... if you need headphones to mix in "we r who we r' for the millionth time then I don't get that.

Mixing like what you did in your mix is acceptable, but that's not exactly how I do it in a club. I do it the way I used to with real vinyl - I never really talked about it or shared it with anyone, but nowadays nothing's a secret so whatever.

For example, what I'll do is start with the ACTUAL song. For example, Get Me Bodied. Everyone knows you have to play it all the way through, including the break down where Beyonce tells everybody what to do. What I do (all the time) is I'll drop to the acapella when she goes "ladies on the floor...." and drop another instrumental under the acapella there. I also do that with Headsprung. People like those songs. They like hearing the originals. If I play the original they like, they're usually feeling it. If I then drop to the acapella and layer it with an instrumental they like even more, they LOVE it. Most DJs will make edits. I just do it live based on what I'm feeling at the time. It's how I did it with vinyl and it's a lot easier with ScratchLIVE. In summary, to line up the actual song with the acapella, I'll need headphones for that.

Also, with music I'm not familiar with (new stuff), I'll play it and as it's playing instead of looking for the next track (which I may already have lined up) I'll listen through the song that's already playing for an exit strategy - whether it be to double check the length of the chorus or check for a possible loop out. Sometimes I'll set loops on songs as they're playing on the OTHER deck, so when the playing song hits that point it'll loop. Again, some people pre-plan stuff like this - I just do it live using the headphones.

good point, but headphones would make no difference in that mix. How do you "preview" an acapella blend? there is no time... you just gotta drop it and make it work. are you really gonna let an instrumental play while you go through acapellas in your headphones? As for you other comment, I don't try to just "get by" my sets in the club are super clean.

I always believe that people can do whatever they want. However, I also believe that if something is that easy for you to do you're not really challenging yourself. I don't push myself to the limit all the time and that's acceptable. BUT, there are times when you as a DJ might want to make things a little harder to step your own game up. Why? Because there is always someone else out there better than you working a lot harder than you. Find a new way to mix something in. Change the order a bit. Use different versions. Switch things up to keep it fresh. The last thing you want is something you love to do is to get bored with it.

That makes no sense at all. Mixing Funk and Disco (which I do quite a lot) means you have to ride the pitch constantly. Listening to the track in your earphones wont make you any better at it. The human drummer effect of them genres make it near impossible to get a pefrectly tight mix with. Even if you loop the first 4-8 bars it still will fluctuate. If you know your music then you should be able to get it on point. Using headphones does not do anything to help.

This is a joke right.

I can't just use waverforms to mix. I've tried, I have to be able to hear the music in my ears.

I see what your saying. I do that in this mix at 2:50 mixcrate.com correct me if that's not what your talking about. What I do is have cue points set up on the first verse, first hook, second verse, second hook of my acapellas so i can always sync it up at some point. I use to do that with vinyl as well.

I'm glad to see that someone is understanding this. haha

And that's exactly my point, I didn't exacty remember which part it was, but the point is that I MAY want to use EITHER as a starting point for a mix.

I also see myself as having a problem labeling a "Cue Point" with words, if it's just a particular "Sound"....just sayin...

Like I KNOW the 1st Breakdown of Good Times, 2nd, and 3rd off top, but to label, the 4th? And 5th, which I MAY use at some time, and they sound "Similar" but arent' actually the same?

Nah, too much pre-planning...

We understand it TOTALLY, but for creativity's sake, it's not practical.

well that's just old age. YOU didn't remember.. I DID :P

Right, but I don't always like the 1st Beat, or I may want to get to what I feel is the "Meat" of the record...

Which would mean I'd still need to "Preview" it somehow, or in advance.

I prefer headphones. I've seen a DJ mix without using headphones. He thought he was the s#!t. Me and my partner were looking at him, shaking our heads. Why wouldnt you use the headphones. It's there for your benefit. I guess if you play strait club bangers for an hour then it can work. But if you have to play an entire gig... 6 - 8 hours then you might think differently.

I can SEE where this is going already...

I have played tons of gigs that are 8 hours plus without headphones. Mainly because I had to when my dog chewed up my Technics pair (still wanna kick him for that). But I know my music like the back of my hand. I know what tracks will work with others because of the endless hours I have spent mixing them in my bedroom, trying different combinations and such. I have paid my dues tenfold so I dont see why I have to beatmatch by ear when I know the track will mix perfectly. Especially when its just so two dudes dont stand there and shake thir head at me lol.

good point, I usually practice with most of my tracks before I play them live but I do understand not everybody has that time. If I don't know a song as well when I'm live then I just settle for the first beat... so what? I have 1000's of other songs that I know and be creative with, in at least 5 different ways lol.

Honestly, no one should be able to tell you how to dj....we use headphones because we want and like to....if you choose to not use headphones great....your choice....

LOL, look Mr. Bloodbath Crane Winner (:-D), don't it twisted...

DJ'ing without headphones is a symptom of YES, knowing your music, but also of not changing up your routine enough to avoid those saying, 'Hey, I know what he's gonna do next"...

In the SAME BREATH, I actuallly used that to my advantage in my College DJ day...

I'd do a certain routine and would TRAIN the crowd to respond, to the point of where another DJ CAN'T EVEN PLAY THE SAME SONG, without the crowd waiting to do a certain "response", the DJ doesn't prompt, and they were like WTF?

lol...2 headed coin...

Some of us arn't paid to play 6-8 hours either.... some of us are paid to appear, play for our 45 minute to 1 hour set and gone....

But I have played at Lounges before where 4 to 6 hours was the norm.... I put on my headphones to listen to my IPOD....

Oh wait.... A next DJ wanted to Juggle off of my music so being he was unfamiliar with the cue points and music he had to use my Head Phones... Which if the roles was reversed, I can see why.

Dead on again.

I'm not trying to tell anyone how to DJ... I was just wondering why club DJ's still rely so heavily on headphones. I like this debate... a lot of different ideas come to light

lol.... At the end of the night.... we still get paid.....

You guys are talking about "Club" gigs, using very familiar music.

Due to the fact that' you're in a Club "Atmosphere", you'd relatively want to break NEW stuff, and setting a cue point in your Bedroom MIGHT NOT be that same cue point you want to drop when you find yourself in a certain HOT MIX situation...

You may be running a bunch of (God Help Me) Wheezy Jawns, with JUST HIS VERSE, in your little mini mix, and are jumping from record to record JUST picking out his verses....

You're saying ALL your cue points are set to Wheezy's verses on each song?

Chances are no...

But who was even questioning payment?

This was strictly a question on how DJ's rock their sets...

Getting paid is a not really an issue here....IMO.

No one was... Just making a statement..... I can use my headphones, I can not use my headphones.... he can use his headphones, he can not use his headphones.....

At the end of the night, if you was a good DJ. The crowd will love you, the manager will love you, you will get paid, and you will be back.

To be totally honest, I bring headphones with me all the time. I use them for unfamiliar songs and I set a cue point on the fly if need be. Also useful when you are playing on a sound system you are unfamiliar with so you can check the levels in your phones and check if you need to add bass, gain etc on the track coming in. But like I said, its very rare that I need to wear them because I know my music inside out. I definately can see valid for and against discussions though. Maybe this is one of the few threads on these boards that aint descended into mayhem. Give it time though.

I hear you, but you don't think that 5 different possibilities per track is enough to be creative and switch it up whenever desired? what else more is there to even work with besides the intro, the hook, the second verse, the second hook and the brake? anything else won't be far from one of those cue points.

Fuck around and let someone win a battle and they wanna reinvent the wheel

I mean, take the Scenario for example...

If I'm doing a lengthy HipHop set, I MAY start with "Here we go yo, etc..etc"...

Whereas, if I'm burning through a short GET RIGHT TO THE HOT *ISH* run, I'll START off with Busta's "As I combine all the juice"....

And yes, it would be easy to distinguish the "Beginning" vs. the "Busta" part visually, let's say that I also had a cue point in between those two, for whatever reason?

Man look...better safe than sorry...

And when you get home your wife has baked you a nice cake with a cherry on top haha

LOL

If I took the time to make 5 CUE POINTS on a song, I guarantee, I would NOT remember what "EACH" on stood for, barring some type of preview...and by preview I mean ANYTHING to come out of the speakers to give you and idea of what the cue is for.

The cue points are, to me, only guildes to navigate around the record, you're, in this instance, using them as your only choices of entry and exit.

Also a good point, I guess that would be one situation in which I would be screwed... until I pulled the headphones out of my laptop bag lol! As far as braking records in the club goes, if you play something that people don't know at my spots you will clear the floor. But that's just my area, it sucks!

LMAO!

To be honest, what's probably SIMPLE to him, is "harder" for other DJ's, as per his level of perfection.

But, nobody is PERFECT.

Don't be mad, You could have won it if you submitted a video lol.

Very good point. I normally only put cue points on bass kicks and snares etc but to a DJ that uses a lot of different cue points, having headphones to find out what they all are (unless he is Johnny 5) is essential.

I'm not saying that you need to have all 5 cue points on "every"track but the classics you should have covered. You should DEF know your way around "goodtimes" with cue points.

+100

this problem is solved with the 2.3 cue point labels though

Y'all f**kers made me miss my lunch break!!! Reading this damn thread......

I agree, but now we're starting to narrow the scope, to "Classics" and songs that are recognizable...

For me? I use so many parts of Good Times, that I don't think they could make enough cue points to cover me.

But - For mainstream parties, I'd basically use the breakdown, and 2nd breakdown.

For HipHop Functions - I'd use the beginning Piano, 1st Break, 2nd break, 3rd break, I think the (6th break), drumroll to the words, and chorus again.

That's 7 points that you're talking about manipulating WITHOUT headphones...

yes, exactly

Headphones are like a gun, id rather be caught with it than without it, i can think of more situations where i would need headphones than i can think of reasons not to use them. Sure you can go a whole set without using them but at least me personally what am i proving by doing so? Hopefully im explaining this right, like if i go a whole set without headphones noones really gonna care, i didnt save any time or do anything differently except use waves instead of headphones, BUT in the instance there is a situation i needed them id kinda be fucked. It seems to me that the benefits of using them outweight the benefits of not using them.....acutually are there ANY benefits to not using them?n How will not using them help your set

I have watched 3 dj's in my area spin without headphones and they were all sloppy. I'll stick with the headphones.

that's what colored cue points are for.

this is the dumbest post ive read in a while, i guarantee you dont sound as good as you think. ive never seen anyone who didnt use headphones not fuck up mixes frequently, turntables drift so you always need to be aware of the pitch and without perfect monitors not using headphones you can hear it going off much more noticably

Did this thread just happen?!?! Its like saying I can drive with my knees so why are people still using their hands. I use headphones to preview the track Im about to drop and even though I know my songs from start to end and end to start I still like to preview that with a tilt of the head and ear in the can. Even with all the tools of the advances of dvs there are some things that should not be eliminated. Carrying crates upon crates is one thing I will be forever grateful for but to start relying on visual over hearing, that I will never do.

Thread fail

I have today off, so here's a little top 40 with headphones: www.ustream.tv

The one big mistake I made was because one of my acapellas wasn't cued the way I thought it was and I hastily dropped it without knowing. Some of the cue points I used were set on the fly.

Have you ever seen me play? peep me out on youtube, I bet you can't see me.

so in other words... being better than me is something you "will never do"

i smell another battle brewing

Dope as always man! I love live blends like that. You could have totally done that without headphones though. I'm about to set up my shit and do a video

WOW what are you Technics cousin. Sensitive to people dissing your threads (online of all things) and thinks because you won the Crane battle you are better than everyone. Nicely done! Your battle was nice but ever since after that you been struting around like you were a king. Mad respect lost. You and Technic would ever so compliment each other.

The one things I tried to do or show in the video were parts where I broke from the original songs to the acapellas. You can set cues to switch to the acapellas, but I guess I'm used to doing it spontaneously so I have cues set in some acapellas which I may or may not use. If I don't have any or I don't use them, then I have to line up the acapella with the song playing in the headphones - without 'em I can't do it (cleanly).

Not saying I never mix without headphones at all - because I do, but usually only at home when I'm messing around.

Now u see what i meant... lol

Where else have I been struting around? this has nothing to do with me winning that battle cuz if you ask me SPARCHANGE won that battle.

either way it works.

Let me make something clear to everyone... I'm not saying your wack if you do use headphones. I started this thread because I don't understand or perhaps maybe I forgot why so many guys are still using headphones constantly. And once again, I'm mostly talking about the club DJ's that DO have to play a lot the same songs every night. This was not meant to piss anybody off, I just wanted to have some good discussion and debating.

Dude, you won the battle, got the stand, so end it there. No need to try coming off like a good sport. Your attitude shifted since winning and now coming up with this ridiculous thread and looks like you caught feelings because some didnt bow down to your bold statement. Then you say Youre better than me w/o knowing who I am and also getting at djmarvel on a confident blind eye. Yep your ego is rivaling Techniqs

If I'm not mistaken I never started shit with anybody, you were the first one to speak rude to me. I shouldn't have to deal with that. and are you better than me? You might be, if you are I will gladly give you props. How is this thread ridiculous? Just because I have an opinion that is different then most? I know that most DJ's here use headphones, I really just wanted to know why... when I was spinning with vinyl I used headphones to cue up and beat match but now all that shit can be done in seconds with serato so how is that ridiculous discussion?

Look, the way I read your OP it sounded like you had a smarmy take on the whole topic. You yourself may not use headphones but then to question why other djs are still using this prehistoric technique because you yourself seemed to had master it makes it sound like those that are using cans are beneath those w/o. Its not the question in lieu, it was how it was presented. I dont see how I was rude unless you thought I was getting at you personally for stating "thread fail" or asked did this thread just happen. It was not a personal jab, shit I have made stupid threads and people question it but I laugh it off. Its the internet. My reason for thinking this was ridiculous is pretty much summed up from above.

This thread was bringing up good points on both sides and didnt really look like derailing like so many others until Chrisjin and Marvel started flinging insults and saying stuff like thread fail. How was it a thread fail when people were having a good discussion?

I still use headphones and to be honest I never take them off while Im DJing I use them to help tune out everyone else and just zone and I scan the crowd with my eyes to see if everyone is jamming. Normally when Im jamming so is everyone else cause Im feeding off there energy anyways. I dj better with headphones on cause I feel like the music is really in my head all night and the ideas just start rolling in

i still do this every once in a while its so damn embarrassing especially when your killin it then all everyone hears is you back cueing and testing shit out and me wearing my headphones listening to the cue output I never hear the master out

WTF?

*******STRIKE THAT FROM THE RECORD....******

********Ushers my client out of the courtroom, as the excitement has made him delirious....****

When I do clubs...I have my headphones plugged in at the ready, but I don't use them too much. I usually DJ with just one turntable...drop a track on one side, flip it over to the other in internal mode, drop the next track the same way, etc. This means I'm only moving one pitch slider, and it's easy to pitch things perfectly without headphones because I know exactly how to move the pitch slider going from 127 to 129bpm or 128 to 130 or whatever I'm doing.

Before music ever hits my laptop, I set up cue points and tags and comments on my computer at home, so yes, every single track I play out has cue points on it. I DJ 3-4 times a week on average, and anyone who's seen me live can attest to the fact that, if I'm nothing else as a DJ, I'm super clean. I've posted live mixes on these boards plenty of times, had plenty of DJs come see me live, etc.

Now, I do have my headphones with me, and if I decide to play an unfamiliar song or drop a track somewhere in the middle to try to do some new wordplay or something, the headphones go on, but for normal mixing of tracks I've dropped hundreds of times, I don't always use the headphones. I have no trouble watching the crowd, looking around to see who's coming and going and dancing and stuff...and if there's 2 dudes standing off to the side shaking their head at me because I don't have a headphone cupped over one ear...I can pretty much promise you I don't give a fuck...I'm the one DJing, and they are standing off to the side at my gig watching me.

LMAO.... I leave for a long lunch break and this $h!t is still going on....... HAHAHAHAHAAHAHA

cause obviously im not as good as you are ;) lol

Yessir!!! Im in a decisive mode to get the in-ears to cancel noise and protect my hearing.





Like I stated it, it was the way it was presented. Cue points will never replace cans.

I'm not going to read the rest of the thread, but ^ this.

If you're playing 8 bar beat intros all night, then it ain't so bad, but when you're playing songs that aren't customized for Dj friendly club use, you run into key clashes, odd timing and phrasing (throw on a Rolling Stones track, hey the waves tell me it's on beat, but they don't tell my that Mick comes in 6 and a half bars in instead of 8) yes you gotta know your music but factor in 100 new tracks a week from the 6 or 7 spread genres and sometimes unless you have a photographic memory you might want to recheck a track one time.

I learned how to Dj without headphones 14 years before Serato was even released, I didn't need them just for beat matching YEARS before waveforms were even a factor, before cue points, before all that good shit we got now, but sometimes there's more to it than that.

Use headphones or don't, but don't act like you're on another level if you're not, not in this day and age. To me it seems a lot Dj's want to show everyone how they don't need them rather than just bring them just in case.

Another example would be some Reggae, it can be all over the place with the way it leads in, whether with odd timed intro fills, odd bars etc, even if it's all on the same riddim, every track could be different.

For me, Using headphones is personal preferance plus most of my gigs these days, monitors are usually non-existent. I spend an immense amount of time on my serato every day. The majority of my music selection has cue points so if my headphones die, I can still manage. It truly boils down to how well you know your music. A lot of DJ's dont know their music, try to mix without headphones and fail miserably.

I believe headphone use is still essential unless:

1. You mix similar bpm's all the time.
2. You mix nothing but DJ friendly tunes.
3. You aren't really freestyling.
4. You play the same songs over and over every week.
5. You play all pre-planned sets.


I have nothing against the person who doesn't use them... but you are limiting yourself. Like Deez said, I would get bored rather quickly if I mixed the same stuff over and over.

Most of the DJs I see not use headphone simply drop mix.

I was at a photoshoot with another Dj, he's old school, moved from vinyl to CD's years back and hasn't made the move to DVS and is in no danger of doing so anytime soon. We're at a photoshoot and the chick is asking us to put our headphones on our head, he starts laughing and says you will never see a Dj doing that, they go around the neck with a lean to the side for a cue (or hand picking it up and dropping back) and he's explaining how we use them.

But I said to him after, funny thing is after 20 years I started actually putting them completely on my head in some situations where there's either no monitor and too much of a room delay or just the house doesn't reach the booth very well, or the exact opposite, a screaming system with ear splitting noise aimed at me that I can't control.

^^^ YES SHAMANN. LOL

The beauty of headphones and those who know how valuable they are is that you can mix with them when no monitors are present.

@ Audio1, good point. I forgot to mention those who slam tracks all night.

shaman brings up a great point, if you dont have headphones what cord are you gonna bite in your promo pics, your gonna look silly sleeping with a turntable with no headhones lol

I agree with not using headphones...probably wouldn't do you any good anyway.
Get a bigger screen. In case you lose your sight and the waves get a lil fuzzy :-)


I use Headphones.

nobody mixes by ear anymore? wouldnt that be the obvious reason to use phones?

People use waveforms these days. LOL

If I'm not wearing headphones, what can I point to while giving snarky looks to dipshits who come up and try to yell at me in the middle of EVERY FUCKING MIX?!!!

I like to use headphones for the simple fact that my spectrum of music in any given set is probably a lot wider than most of you. If i'm doing a house gig, headphones are a must because mixing is crucial in these events. If I'm doing an open format, they are a must too because I never pre plan my sets and the music can go from hip hop & top 40 to spanish rock, to elvis, to the beatles, to house, to cumbias all within the same set. So for my case, headphones are a must. Specially if I decide to drop some older music since most of it was recorded live and it's not 100% on beat. I also don't use cue points except to mark the first beat of the song. I do use loops a lot, but they are all done live and on the fly.

Okay, IMO - Can you DJ without headphones using Serato? Answer: Of course you can.. BUT, should you make a point of NOT using headphones? Answer: Why would you? What's the point? Are you trying to express that you are so "good/great" DJ by doing it? (trust me it's not much of a trick) AKA Not scratching/cutting/sampling/effecting etc. If anything you are implying 2 things: 1) you always mix the same sets/songs and are the most PREDICTABLE jukebox chump. 2) Dont care about a true skill -like mixing in "key" or riding your mix longer than 10 seconds... Or that your more at home playing with an X-Box and enjoy it more than actually DJing! -

Things that are associated with being a DJ:
Turntables - oh wait now switching to CDJs and controllers - I am guilty!
Vinyl - and not you timecode vinyl - I am guilty
Headphones - still use em! Recommend all DJs continue to as long as they are DJs!

Some things change because technology makes life easier - hence Serato, but not hearing what you are going to mix should NEVER be changed - HEADPHONES - USE THEM!! PERIOD!!

i use my cans to protect my fucking ears! you all young bucks should find your solution for taking care of you hearing!!!!


Nuff said....close this bitch down

Mmmmmm. Ok.

I use them all the time! I like hearing a mix before I drop it in as I tend to freestyle most of my sets and also do longer mixes for stuff like drum & bass etc

Mmmmmm. Ok.

Ok? Mmmmmm - agree? Disagree?

Title of thread "To CLUB DJs who still use headphones" NOT "To TURNTABILIST performance DJ's that RARELY use headphones. Oh and even some of them use headphones as well...

Club = Mixing songs together (blends) for people to DANCE to.
Performance = something to WATCH - not dance to AKA turntablism, ableton live performance, real live instruments.

I just hate it when people say stuff like USE THEM..PERIOD!. Also, THREAD OVER when they have said their piece. Thats all.

Always use headphones. Wouldn't feel like I'm Djing without em.

If I don't wear headphones to mix, I can't justify wearing them around my neck when walking around the club...Then how would the groupies know who I am?!!!

this ^^

I'm skipping over some posts but Johnny I bet these guys are mainly using CDJs and have NEVER really worked turntables for any length of time?

That CDJ play/cue bump cycle eliminates the need for headphones while rocking vinyl back and forth to cue is more of a "headphone" thing????

Opinions...?

Interesting discussion. I don't rely on waveforms for beatmatching. I use my ears and basically just headphones to cue or cut tracks. The waveforms may be lined up in serato perfectly in time but that is not always accurate so I use my ears that's what a monitors good for.

I've been spinning since 1983 (age 9). Headphone monitors are fundamentally a part of spinning. Although I've done it plenty of times without headphones, I'm not changing how I operate just because I use a computer. Just like DJ Techniq, I don't rely on the screen all the time...I'm listening, looking at my markers on my record's label & looking at my crowd. And I rock.

hahaha...I like it

headphones are the DJs main tool. IF you don't have headphones, how do you know the cue point is right? what if your making a live loop. How do you know if thats right? Also used to protect your ears, and are your main monitors.


Nuff said...

its a old habbit to break besides Jazzy Jeff and other legends still use them

I agree with this guy... You're not impressing anyone by not using headphones. Kuz we all know you are matching the waveforms. The crowd doesn't care either. Do what's best for you.

headphones all the way...

Some people seem to be under the impression that not wearing headphones is something that I'm doing to be cool. Its not that at all, I actually think its easier that way. I think you are saving a lot of time by bypassing the whole "preview" part. When I was on vinyl I never enjoyed putting headphones on, its hard to explain but I'm going to try my best. I guess I really enjoy hearing my mix just as everybody else is hearing it.

The way that I DJ without headphones could actually be done on straight vinyl as well. Sure it would be pushing it but it could be pulled off. Think of how they used to do it in the DMC, they would have their records groove marked so that they could drop the needle right on beat and they just knew their records. Obviously DMC style sets are way different then the club but if you think about it, DJ's that are not using headphones are doing a very similar method except with cue points instead of groove marks.

The protecting your ears point makes a lot of sense. Thats actually is a good reason for headphones. As far as not know if the cue point is right, I don't understand.. how could a cue point that you set up be wrong? even if it is wrong somehow you would be able to see it. On the waveforms, kicks and snares are very obvious so if you see a cue point set between a kick and a snare you know its wrong. All you have to do from there is just delete that cue point and put it on the kick and then drop... it takes a second. I also set up live loops all the time, you can see if its on beat. or if you do it over the speakers you can hear it, its not that hard to get a loop on beat the first time by just listening.

construc i understand exactly what you mean. i pull my headphones off in the middle of EVERY mix so that i can hear it through the speakers. but, again, for reasons i listed above (the real reasons not the jokes i posted later in the thread), i'll still rock the headphones.

at the very least we dont need to be spending $120 on headphones anymore

Let's get something straight. You are NOT saving anytime cause all that time you supposedly save is wasted on preplanning.

But that's a specific setting, that almost doesn't expect you to wear headphones.

If this was a CLUB setting, and you were still using regular vinyl, would you be putting taped markers on all of your new records?

Suppose, again, you just wanted Wheezy's part out of each record? You'd have to tape that section in advance, or buy multiple copies to compensate for each "cue" position that may include a portion of the record that you may actually want to PLAY at a later time.

That's one reason I could never put actual tape on the grooves, who knew if I ever wanted to run it back to an area that the tape would cover?

You just brought up a good point. In a lot of clubs, the sound on the dancefloor is NOT what you're hearing on the booth. So unless you have a good monitor or headphonea, all your mixes will be slightly off...... And you think they are in point cause your perception of sound from your spot willl be off.

Why do that, when you can just use headphones?

DJ's that "cue" over the system don't really impress me...

Let's be clear, you pull the headphones off AFTER YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE of the mix, which a LOT of DJ's do, but most CUE up in the headphones.

+1

*sigh* try to keep up old man

That was exactly my point

Plus, I know you can get a little distracted here and there. If you ever miss the part where you are supposed to drop the song, you are fucked without headphones. Now, with headphones, you can quickly catch up and nobody will know..... Unless of course you do it over the speakers. lol

There are just too many reasons why you should use headphones vs why you shouldn't.

Too many DJ's rely on waveforms these days.

Headphones = Use Em.

+1000

Headphones are making sure what the waveforms are telling me is correct. I'm old - I don't fully trust my ears or my eyes alone anymore but with waveforms AND headphones - I am Unstoppable!!!

too many djs stare at the screen 99% of their sets too. #newjacks #nosoul

I tried cueing over the system once when I had no monitor.
Every track was offbeat because the mains were so far away that by the time the sound got to me there was a delay.

headphones and monitors a plus in my book, but fuck yeah headphones all day.

Fully agree. I don't want to be up in the booth looking like im constantly staring at my computer screen. I use to have the laptop stand infront of me but now I have it off to the side so that I can read the crowd better and not have my eyes glued to the screen. I was on vinyl before serato the waveforms are just a + which come in handy if you are deaf DJ and I think that's incredible.

99.9 of time a dj not using a headphones does the same mixes over and over night after night. hardly mixing on the fly is done.

it could be the case that they dont mix, they jus drops at set cue points, like cut and play

I mix on the fly all the time, sure I have routines that I do here and there but I have never planned a set in my life.

I guess you guys just aren't as talented as me and Micheal Basic :P

Wow!

I see a whole lot of hypocritical views and soft responses in this thread..

I have seen this SAME question in about "NOT using headphones while djing" a few times on the forum.. and the poster got berated, ridiculed, mercilessly clowned, several posts of **FACEPALM**, and called a microwave...

The opinions posted in several older threads need to be revised...

**Tracking for outcome**

i'm guessing the guy who started this thread has been at this a few years and in another few years will think about the time he boasted about not using headphones on the serato forum and will cringe. live and learn.

#importance of engaging your audience
#not staring at your computer
#adjusting your eq's and volume level before that record is live in the room
#over all creativity on the fly

I do all of that thank you very much.

I ain't gonna front, I'm no OG in the game. I'm 23 and started when I was 15. I was on vinyl for 5 years before I even touched serato or traktor. I know many of you were DJ'ing with vinyl much longer but hey, 5 years ain't bad for someone my age. However I am 100% confident in what I'm doing with no headphones.

@ Con-struc. Don't contratic yourself. If you have routines, you have pre-planned sets.

Contradict..... damn texting while walking. See what happens when I type/walk without headphones. lol

I'm talking about a full club set, like a 2-4 hour set. I never plan what I'm gonna play... routines I view as individual songs. The set as a whole though isn't planned. everyone has routines that they do here and there whether they wear headphones or not.

That says it all right there !!!

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA LMAO!!! thanx for the laugh. playing routine top 40 poop every week does not make you very talented. you guys will come back saying well I won battles I rock 1000 people crowds....LOL SFW!!! both of you guys do nothng different to the hundreds of other pop djs.... same songs nothing original all boring

No, THANK YOU for the laugh! you that all I do is top 40?! no, that's just where my money comes from so its priority. However I do more more then that. I DO agree that it doesn't take much talent to mix that stuff especially if you play it a lot like i do. So if you still need headphones to mix these songs for the millionth time then you are wack. period

I understand some dudes get by fine without (dont do shit that requires them)

but - Q: what do gain from not using them? Whats the advantage? How do you gain?

Seems to me that you want as much information as possible about what you a doing - why put less information at your fingertips?

you THINK all i do is top 40*** sorry doing a gig right now lol

spot

what makes it wack is someone playing a preplanned same routine set even if it is your residency

cmon construc it DOES NOT make u wack... Its personal choice in most veteran djs cases.

i done peeped that Micheal Basic mix..more corny top 40 fused electro and does that nigga got the serato tattoo on his hands??????????????????????????????? yall top 40 djs are getting cheesier by the day

whats wack is limiting what you are capable of doing by xing out everything that YOU DO need them for. you re limited.

Probably most DJs CAN play plenty without headphones but choose to the entire time by choice - not necessity.

so you got me there for being talented in the no headphone top 40 preplanned movement

so..... if you are not using headphones - you are matching BPMs by number?
Are you starting each track by tapping on the cue instead of letting go the record?

[or are we also talking about cdj?]

You know what? I didn't really think about that. I guess its just a personal preference for me. I gain because I jut don't like to wear headphones, they are uncomfortable for me, especially if I'm all sweaty. Also when I was using vinyl, I would always forget them. AND I KNOW that everyone has tried to walk away from the mixer and forgot to take them off at least once!

Letting the record go

sounds like what I am doing opening up the night getting shit straight before I get serious
just saying

yo construction i peeped your facebook and in your pix you got no headphones no where in sight

Once again, I don't do that. I'm not limited at all. Even if I'm playing the same top 40 songs every night I'm still doing different sets by using different accapellla's, loops and remixes.

SO?

you talented son you talented

Again, contradicting yourself.

If you are playing the same top 40 songs every night. You are limiting yourself.

You can't have it both ways. lol

I only play the same songs cuz I HAVE TO. If I could eat of off playing "they reminisce" i would. Beside there are still endless possibilities when playing they same songs, you don't have to mix them the same way every time. What does that have to do with headphones anyway? lol

I'll be back later, people are starting to dance now... I gotta go stare at my wave forms.

This. I spin a little bit of everything but as the man said when it comes to dancehall even on the same riddims different tunes come in differently so I NEED my headphones.

@Mighty Dragon: You know in the dance it doesn't matter THAT much if you miss a mix if your MCing is on point. You end up talking into the next tune anyway so nobody will really hear if you mix is off.

I have headphones, i use them here and there to cue up new songs or to find parts to mix in fast. I put my laptop in front of me because im always looking for different songs and i used the short cut keys. IF i was playing a pre made set then i woudnt use headphones and i would put my latop to the side. I learned the "old way" but come on the waveforms are there for a reason. Get on with technology

you have to? LOL!!! cmon son if you afraid to drop t.r.o.y at your spot then you is lame,...that shit aint even different from the top 40...djs that drop t.r.o.y or choice is yours thinking they just dropped the hot hip hop is lame...i would rather drop the creator over t.r.o.y any day

Then take it from an OG in the game. There is nothing that you "GAIN" by NOT using your headphones, and to tell the truth, it really depends on WHO you really want an answer from, that may determine how "IMPORTANT" it is to you.

If you're asking the question to us "DJ"'s then the majority will say, "Better to be SAFE than sorry", thus the reasons we have HD backups, extra styli, and other accessories for backup, and a good performance.

If you're asking the "General" population, they wouldn't CARE.

Who does it look COOLER to? Because there's no functional advantage to NOT using them, other than at a DMC battle.

The truth is, you asked a bunch of DJ's, and we gave you our collective answer...

There's no need to dispute our opinion, because, well, it's our opinion, and you asked for it.

So there you said it yourself, if you're playing these songs for the MILLIONTH TIME, chances are you play them a "Certain Way", i.e. at certain cue points and not changing up your routine.

Man, you're edging on "Techniqisms"....

All those reek of not having a LOT of experience under a LOT of different conditions.

If MOSTLY of what you do is CLUB jawns, then your enviornment never changes. Once you start branching out and doing OTHER types of events, this discussion would disappear into thin air.

+1

Because of all the millions of ways to mix the songs, I doubt fi you have enough cue points in EACH song set to stop repeating routines, entry points, loop points, and the like.

So at some point, you're repeating yourself IF you're soley relying on CUE points as starting points.

What I suggest is that you ELMININATE all your cue points and just use your headphones, and try THAT for a night....

Or better yet, challenge yourself to NOT use ANY previous mix-in point that you've previously used for a night.

Tonight just settled it for me. I'm NEVER going to intentionally play without headphones.

They're crucial for EQing, I don't really see how anyone can say otherwise. I was blending certain tracks together and if I hadn't cue'd them up in the headphones first there would have been sounds clashing all over the place.

If you can remember EQ settings for every track then more power to you but I'm not ashamed to say that I can't

Must be nice and extremely boring to play the exact same songs in the exact same order every time you spin. With zero thought and effort put it to the set why not just record it, burn it to cd, and play it off a portable cd player? I mean if you get paid the same no matter what why bring decks, computer, or anything else?

i dont know, michael basic gets alot of respect out here in LA, all the way to Vegas. tattoos or not, he's pretty sick, i've seen him live

sfw,.... a serato logo tat is some cheese shit,...the mix wasnt that great,...might be clean and boring same ol tired ass pop tracks

it may be boring, but its a saturday night and he's probably out there working while you're at home posting on a message board instead of spinning. i'm just sayin.

Do you have any mixes or videos online?

Whatever you say MR. hip hop. I'll keep rocking crowds and making money and you stay keeping it real.

Micheal Basic is a beast, bottom line... He is someone that I look up to.

I am only disputing people that are being a dick towards me. Others that "respectfully" disagree such as yourself I'm just having a real discussion with if that makes any sense. See people don't have to be such assholes. Whats cool about you and some others is that we can disagree about things and discuss it without dissing each other.

WELL??

and now the crickets....

keep your top 40 crowd LOL like i care sheepy, i spin for fun not to make dough off it....bah bah play what the mass wants cuz you is a sheep

LOL, YOUR NOTHING!!! no videos, no mixes and you talk shit about me and Micheal Basic?! LMMFAO, How about this... I spin for fun AND money.
Me having fun: Watchwww.youtube.com

Me making money: Watchwww.youtube.com

Me making money AND having fun: Watchwww.youtube.com (oh, is that the "creator" beat I hear in the backround?)


If you wanna call me a "sheep" go right ahead... you ain't even on the farm!

all good homey i do my lil parties where people get down to good shit and thats all i care about,..i dont care to be a mainsttream top 40 that be playing for radio drones,..i would rather get paid 100 bones instead of 500 to play for a good music crowd then some sheep music,...

bah bah mary

i bet you is gettin all mad right now,..pounding at the keys and trying to prove something...LOL, 23 and you look like you need dat rogaine LMAO!!! maybe you can clip some sheep for a hair piece

do you suck basic dick too LOL

what do I need to prove? I already proved that I'm nicer than you.

for real tho why are you getting all defensive,..i mean im a underground hip hop lovin nobody and you getting all mad..do your thing homey and dont be afraid to throw on that t.r.o.y

nope! that would be your mom

you nice at ass kissing and freak da sheep LOL

for real son,....mom jokes is played like your playlist

I am only defensive to people that come at me wrong, Was I ever rude to you before? No... So if your gonna talk shit at least have some skills to back it up with.

At least people get to hear my playlist played

lol!!!

you corny son for real

no way you could be 23 you act like you is 14

I really am corny, I start shit with people for no reason and then don't have any skills to back up the trash talk... oh wait.

DUDE, you throw the first punch. no?

threw**

If you guys haven't noticed, I don't start shit with people but I will stand up for myself when dissed.

i is a nobody remember? i thot it was funny you said you had talent cuz you playing top 40 stuff,...cmon son get that tampon out

Are you referring to the "you guys aren't as talented as me and Micheal basic" comment. That was just a joke hence the ":P"

I am not the nicest on the turntables by far but I know I can get down. I would say I have some talent but it's NOT because I spin top 40 with no headphones.

homey its all good i just messing wit you,... you got that game but homey dont be afraid to drop that hip hop shit n teach them drones

Yeah, its been fun man. I'm sure we gave the forum readers some entertainment. and dude, even if you do just dj for fun you should still just post up some videos or something. This back and forth could have been real interesting lol

homey i broke to be able do anything to post up, i still runnin wit dat sl1 shit LOL,..i sitll rockin that XP pro crak version LMAO it works tho....

to be honest i rarely use that serato shit i be pickin from the bins of second hand stores for records and stacking that shit shince 2003

As far as dropping shit like "t.r.o.y." I would love too but you gotta understand, these gigs are my main income so yes I do play it safe. I have a wed night spot now where I can drop whatever I want, it doesn't pay too well but there is nowhere else for me to spin on a wed night so fuck it. When it comes to the places that pay my bills, I will gladly stick to the format they want. I would much rather mix kesha with katty perry than to mix grout with water.

Then start spinning top 40 and make some bucks... come on, join the dark side lol

i hear you yo but yo you drop that horn of t.r.o.y. blendin wit some other pop shit and i for certain you will get a good reaction

i cant do it homey,...call it pride or stubborness, i content with my music crowd

I know what your saying. you probably hate that shit to death. See me, I don't mind it at all so I still have fun when I play it. But I can relate to what your saying because I DESPISE country, I wish that every country artist would just die! I was offered $1000 to do a wedding for a couple that was really into country and I passed it up. AND I WAS BROKE lol.

put your despise for that country n you get how i feel about that pop shit,..country sucks tho,...they aint even on the radar so i dont worry about to much of that horse manure kickin noise

luckily its not on the radar for me in the clubs but sometimes I run into it during mobile gigs. I avoid those gigs if I know ahead of time but sometimes I get caught on the spot.... like today :( I hate that so called music so much that I refuse to keep it on my comp or HD so I just stream that shit off youtube when requested and only if the person paying me is requesting it.

yo thats some funny shit LOL

thats another reason why i will never mess wit that pop,..people requesting shit

it gets annoying, I usually have a bouncer just take request for me. I tell him to not even tell me the requests cuz I don't give a fuck. Bitches that go to top 40 spots and request top 40 are so stupid!!

i hear people askin for atmosphere c-rayz vinnie paz common brother ali n all that shit from rhymesayers..thats th crowd i do n luv

what about soulja boy? lol

who...

for real aint no people like that at these types of digs

they know that shit would never get played

that's dope, in a perfect world those gigs would be the paying ones!

its mostly basement n house partys that we all do,..hip hop bitches n shit,..i gets a cut from the door which i dont really give a what about,..freesylin all night, breakers all that shit

anybody that say hip hop dead is lyin

What the hell? This thread got derailed like your non-headphone mixes. :P

lol

Alright that's it dixxx, lets go! 3 rounds! haha

lol

your were joking? Damn, I was tryin' to get another crane stand. :D

Yes, I have the technics 1200 speed dots tattoo'd on the back of my hand. Yes, it's the serato logo...but the meaning is those speed dots. I started with vinyl, I can still mix vinyl as was proven live on video in my beezo battle set...I don't have anything to prove to anybody at this point. I'm just happy that people pay me (good money) fly me around the country, put me up in nice hotel rooms...all to play corny ass top40 fused electro. I don't know you, MacLC so it's quite possible you're a much better DJ than I. The point of my posting in this thread was to say how I DJ. I'm not here to talk shit about how anybody DJs. I don't care. Honestly, if you're rocking the crowd, more power to you.

Whether you DJ for fun, money, or both, I don't care about that either...you'll never hear me tell anybody else how they should be DJing...you do you, I'll do me...and if doing you is talking shit about other people...that's cool for you...I'll just keep having fun, making dough, seeing new cities, etc.

Hope DJing is as much of a blessing for you as it's been for me.

I just quoted that onDJ forums best DJ quotes thread. So true!

haha. NICE, I'll have to check that out.

yep I was at home

If you're "mixing" without headphones then you're eyes are stuck to the screen which means your probably not reading the crowd. but hey, to each his own. You might as well start using Itch so you can take advantage of the SYNC button then

LMAO @ "dixxx"...

Classic.

Total Sonnage.

That frigging crab you have is Devistating....

I don't think I've ever seen it executed as sharp as that...EVER.

You know, there are vids out the of DJ's that make you practice to achieve a better level of perfection...

Then there are those that you see which make you loose hope altogether....cuz you KNOW you won't achieve that level without loosing a job, wife, or house....

That one is borderline....

HAHA, please JOHNNY... your making me blush!

No need for that, I look at the screen for a few seconds to select the right cue point and make sure my bpm's are close. As far as using itch goes, I love my technics and really don't want to use anything else. A SYNC button is not appealing to me because it only takes me a few seconds to get the tracks matched anyway. I also really like the scratch live lay out.

I bet Michael Basic mixes without headphones because he's sponsored by Skull Candy and can mix more cleanly without 'em on, lol.

Touche

Man from 0:48-0:52, that mess is mindboggling...

Yeah, you stay away from headphones....

Heaven help us if you get any better....

Im going to have to see DJ CON-STRUC pov (and not because of the sick video)

yes if you are playing well known songs with known cue points in the same club on the same system night after night and so on - no headphones needed.

DJing has always been about taking some sort of risk - that maybe just another.

BUT - move away from that comfort zone and you are fucked.

there are times when I mix while trying to hear the system - moving the headphones to the side or during setup - samething


BUT - what you are doing, I would call an advanced style, where you know your shit well - The problem is like with other shit - kids coming up starting out without headphones - they are incapable of working outside that zone.

Like I posted somewhere else:

I know most of us in here can DJ without headphones, but limiting ourselves is never a good thing because that's in fact what you're doing.

people who match beats with waveforms have no right to talk shit about people who use autosync, thats my opinion. believe it or not, autosync still takes some skills. you still gotta drop that track on beat and you still gotta tweak that eq to prevent your shit sounding messy.

For now yes... I think eventually, autosync my be perfected in a way that it really won't take any skill at all. Anyway, that's my prediction.

yup, thats a metter of getting the program working right or using enough power to do it (mostly)

its kinda like the same arguement.....the cdj dj talkin shit about the midi control dj.

Man, I told y'all A LONG TIME AGO, the Totally AUTOMATED CLUB is coming...

Factor in things like weight sensitive dancefloors, to detect if anybody is dancing...

maybe for entrance, an electric driver's license that just happens to contain your favorite playlist, so the club can cater to EACH PERSON individually....

Man, the possibilities are endless...

it comes up in all the sync threads

Most of the shit sync catches is due to a complete misconception about how it works. Most of the time I see someone saying something about it, I get the feeling its some kind of insecurity.

totally agree.

no body cares at the end of the night, we all have different preferences and likes. Seems like all the 30 and over djs are the ones always talking crap about waveforms, auto sync, controllers and all that stuff. Technology will soon replace the dj......... youll see

And I bet you're counting down the days.

It's attitudes like this, not "insecurity" that us so called old dinosaurs have a problem with.

LOL @ all the 30 and over Dj's, you don't know what you're talking about.


It's not insecurity but our belief in actually putting in work that's the problem.

Not wanting to see this shit go down the tubes at the hands of people that don't give a shit is our problem.


How fitting that this guy comes in and tries to argue the point that it's only older Dj's that care about this shit as if we're out of touch and immediately follows with "Technology will soon replace the dj......... youll see"

Yeah no shit, that's what we're talking about.

you guys still on this

Last message got cut for some reason.

Give it a name.

Wow, this got interesting over the weekend...

Damn seems that at first MacLC was on Con-struc side, then they beef, then they damn near get a room....

<kidding>

: )

Some good points from some of my old school heads again....

Con-struc - this thread made for some entertainment - props on starting it and making people think but in the end - just like Basic said just "Do You" .... It doesn't matter at the end of the day as long as you are making money (or having fun).

I'll admit, as I was spinning at my gig on saturday, I thought about this thread. I use headphones to check my mix and reinforce what i see in the waveforms. In those seconds that I am mixing - I glance the screen for a few seconds but mainly shift focus to the dancefloor to see if if I am keeping, building, or killing the floor with the incoming song.

Con-struc - I gotta call you on ONE THING: When you get those new CON-STRUC T-Shirts and Logo done - make sure you have them photoshop OUT the headphones in your logo - LOL

fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net (ya boy macLC made me peep your FB page with his comment)

Again - nothing says DJ like headphones. It reminds me of a new jack DJ in my area - he uses Virtual DJ, autosync, can't mix a lick on his own, but you always see him at parties and events with headphones on (not spinning or even booked but still wearing them}. Virtual DJ does the work for him, he probably doesn't need the phones but he wears them because it make s him LOOK like a DJ...

<just sayin>

Anyway! Above all else you headphones are your first point of call for EQ-ing a track up. If you have a pair of very nice clear headphone you can use them to tell if a track is going to need a bit more of a brighter EQ or even roll back on the Mid-Top, also levels - double check them with the headpones, do they sound right?

Headphones should be like your ears, they are always with you - unless you use auto sync and rely on a computer to do all the work for you!

Yes... because the sync button will read the crowd, grab a track, correct pitch and tempo, line it up, bring it in EXACTLY on beat, match EQ's perfectly, loop roll out successfully providing the perfect build up, and throw the track in at the exact right moment. Yup. The SYNC button does everything for you. Now grab a drink, and mingle in the crowd. Your computer has everything handled because you pressed one little button named SYNC one time. You'll never have to even touch the computer again. Hell, you won't even have to touch the crossfader or volume faders - The SYNC button has EVERYTHING covered. Now go get your money and call it a night. You worked hard for your SYNC button.

</sarcasm>

cue point mixing....wave form mixing.... TAKES AWAY FROM THE ART. it's not cheating....it's just not good practice...especially when people are starting out and learning... call me old fashioned... but this old fashioned DJ learned on vinyl...teach kids on vinyl...and will always tell them
2 turntables. 1 mixer...needles...headphones... f*** all that new age sh**...
take 2 people of the same caliber...same skill set... give 1 person headphones and the other person let them do it like you..and 9/10 the person with headphones comes out with a better set. it helps you cue. it helps you control volume & EQ...etc...

+100000000000000000000

....yes that is EXACTLY what it does lol...i think i justy figured out why these arguments last so long, i dont think some people understand exactly what it is they are arguing about lol

Quoted for madaphucking truth! keyphrase:it's not cheating....it's just not good practice

+1

Rookie. Your next convo will be "Turntables, who needs em? They're dumb." Just start working with your ipod boy. Stop delaying the inevitable. You're not built for the wheels of steel. Face it.

I love posts like Handsome Rob's...watch construc's videos, then make a better one and post it...then talk shit. Good luck.

ROTFL Basic - good one. he is a beast on that scratch even tho he doesn't use headphones

the fact that he can cut has nothing to do with headphones and why to or not to use them. I dont think we need to BATTLE it out with videos to come to conclusion about this issue.

wow just wow.

yeah but its hard to call him a "rookie", or say he aint "built for the wheels of steel"

Yeah, these posts definitely make me very ecxite! I am waiting for your video homie, you know my rule... talk shit about me all you want IF you have the skills to back it up. We heard the shit talk now lets see the skills.

and in case you don't know, here are some examples of what you need to do:
Watchwww.youtube.com
Watchwww.youtube.com
Watchwww.youtube.com

And just for the record, you will never see me rocking anything but Technnics or CDJ's.

Why?

Do you mean to tell me that you don't remember how to drop the songs that you end up having to play all the time? And now that we are able to label our cue points there is really no need to use headphones to cue up. I have been using cue points and waveforms to mix in clubs for over 2 years now and my experience dj'ing is so much more fun. Some guys hate but seriously... if you know your BPM's and you know what beats your cue points fall on then using turntables or CDJs are just an unnecessary step. I can understand certain situations like if you don't have any monitors or you are Dj'ing songs you are not as familiar with but for about 90% of club situations I really see no point in Technnics or CDJ's.

Lets say you are are playing a track that is 130bpm and you are mixing in a track that is 126bpm, obviously if you have been dj'ing for even a short amount of time you know that you will get very close to 130bpm by bumping your internal pith control up between 3 and 4. Now, you know what beat your cue point starts on... in that tempo its probably just a simple drop on the 1. So the time comes to blend in the track and you drop it right on the one, you know you are really close to having the tracks at the same tempo, so close that you don't have to worry if the first few beats will match or not and you can adjust from there, you may not even need to adjust at all. Tell me, where do Technnics or CDJ's come into play there??

Let's say you are rocking a west coast set and you are planing to slam mix in "Gin & Juice"... if you don't know that bass line drop on the 4 then you should just kill yourself!! why do you need Technnics or CDJ's to cue that up and drop it??

let's say you are playing "Hypnotize" and you have it riding up around 4, now you drop the instrumental after the hook and throw on the "Real Love" acapella... you really can't drop that acapella on beat without using Technnics or CDJ's??

If you are spinning songs played by an actual band that has a bpm that drifts you have to mix it live anyway. You can preview it all you want in your headphones but your not gonna find the perfect pitch control position to keep it on beat, your going to have to adjust it while its playing over the speakers either way.

I'm not trying to start any shit, I am just honestly wondering why DJ's still need Technnics or CDJ's. Are some guys really that caught up in "keeping it real" that they can't look at the screen for just one second to see the beginning of the track or the cue points? Is it just a part of the "DJ image" for others? Also I'm wondering if DJ's who do use Technnics or CDJ's will reconsider now that you can label your cue points.



;)

thats why I asked was he letting go the record or tapping the cue. If hes letting go the record then thats why use the techs.

huh?

HAHA, wise ass. I just love the feel of turntables plus I like scratching and juggling. BUT, I wouldn't talk shit about someone who didn't like to use them, If they can still throw down a set that sounds good, I don't give a fuck what they use. I

Example: These promoters that I spin for have their own hype man/opening DJ. When I got to the venue I started chatting with him and he told me that he uses VDJ with this piece of shit $80 controller he got from best buy. I automatically though to myself "oh boy this is gonna be a disaster" but to my surprise, this dude was mixing clean, quick mixing, and sounded great. I personally wouldn't use that set up but I totally understand people that don't want to lug around heavy ass techs especially of they aren't into scratching.

+1

I asked if he was just triggering cue point to start songs OR was he using the turntable to start songs

clear?

Damn...all this talk from someone who doesn't use headphones...

I remember when a lot of clubs and venues didn't even have monitors (or they were broken)...so you had to mix in your headphones (yes, I am old)...also, that's just how I learned...

It's doesn't matter and I don't care...if you rock the crowd whether you are or aren't using headphones, whether you're pushing buttons or rockin an all 45 set...that'll be dope in my book...I'll be busy drinking and enjoying the music. I'm not gonna check and criticize what equipment the DJ is using.

As for not needing Technics or CDJs...I don't think they are needed anymore...But for me, even while just mixing, Technics just makes it more enjoyable, I would get bored if I was just pushing buttons and turning knobs...

It's just like how people make mixtapes on DAWs now. I tried making one on Ableton and I just got really bored just staring at a computer screen and hitting buttons...

This thread is pretty entertaining. But on a serious note, nothing we as DJ's use is necessary anymore. It's preference and I prefer to use Turntables and Headphones. I also mix strictly headphones due to playing at a lot hotel of clubs with bad monitors, delayed outputs...etc. I've learned not to trust any of them and just use my headphones. Plus it also saves my hearing.

If you can do it without, kudos for you. If you can't do without, kudos for you.

Quite indeed



+1 to that... Especially to saving your hearing. Thank you to whoever designed "Noise-Cancellation".

I just wear my headphones when my woman talks me ear off. :P

:P

i really just skimmed this thread...

but i am to understand the idea is to lose the headphone, and instead rely on the
wavform diplay + prior spins of that record so you dont need headphones?

when I first came over to the DVS my initial complaint was having the computer infront of me
and having to look at it all the time, even when i didnt want to, there it was, staring me in the face.
so, after I felt comfortable with the workings of the software I moved my computer to the side
and have never gone back.
with the x-1 and 57 i only touch my keyboard when i need to use the search box.

I can honestly say almost everywhere I have played, someone has made a comment
about how much they like the computer to the side. (mostly staff, promoters, occasional well-informed patrons...)

that is my personal reason for using headphones.
I learned that way, did it for 10 years... tried the other way and didnt like it one bit.
have there been occasions where theres no monitor and ive had to look at my screen,
of course...
the other reason is, Im a big music hoarder, and i have residencies, a couple of them.
which means I keep a few mixes of every song...and usually on friday I get plastered with new
content...
so, in an effort to keep things fresh Im always trying to play different mixes...
IE, instead of playing a afrojack remix at peak our of _______... Ill lean to an avicci mix when things
are just starting tio pick up.
but the headphones are an integral part of previewing... and never mind if someone comes up and
requests ________ and drops a benjamin on you... you know u have a handful of mixes of that
track, but you havent played it...
giving each a quick listen and picking the best mix will save your ass.

so, while headphone might not affect you direct ability to, or not to mix...
they do serve ofther purposes...

besides... WTF am i gonna bedazzle the hell out of with diamonds...and let hot broads put on when they are in my booth posing for pictures??

and for the record... i know this is just my observation..
I can personalyl say Ive seen with my own eyes about a dozen guys all do the no headphone thing
and do alot of slam style mixing....and even then...

well, lets just say there were alot of "oops" moments.
IE, tracks coming in too hot, too cold.
platter pushes and drags over the main system,
missing cue points resulting in extending the instrumental portion for a zzzz transition.

and these were all pretty reputable guys... no rookies.

besides... WTF am i gonna bedazzle the hell out of with diamonds...and let hot broads put on when they are in my booth posing for pictures??

Well, I'm honored that I make you "very excite!" The fact that you actually have some skill makes me wonder even more why you would suggest to anyone, old school or new, spinning without headphones. It's just a silly idea. Your skills are respectable. The timing is a bit off to me, but I feel that way about alot of juggling so it's probably just me. I don't have any vids posted yet, but I'll put something together in the next week or two once I get back to Cincy. Best I got to offer is my last Soundcloud post. Which I recorded on two 1200's... using headphones. No studio bull$#!t.

soundcloud.com

this thread is still alive? LOL

<side note> (and no disrespect to rob's mix) but question....

If dubstep already sounds like a huge fucking musical trainwreck (anyway) is it actually possible to trainwreck dubstep?

#justsaying...

ok - now back to the headphone debate....

lol @ bedazled headphones

Con-Struct,

Every time I watch your video's I see you are sort of jumpy, I keep waiting for you to drop in wrong but damn you always nail it. I know you wouldn't post a fuck up video, but nice job on all of your vids.

I like having both waveforms and headphones. Never know when you might need one or the other. I practice with both. I can remember old vinyl days when the sound of the venue was terrible or the headphones sounded worse than dubstep "music". It is handy having another way to mix.

True story. But Rob is the first one I called out to actually post something so props to him :) Finally, someone with balls. However, I hope I proved that I'm not a rookie.

HAHA, I am just a twitchy person I guess. I could never sit still in school lol.

tnation.t-nation.com

lmao, I only drink (coor's light). I don't even smoke weed

f*** there goes the wife's Christmas gift to me this year...we were gonna do diamonds all over my headphones to match the stunners..... complete with 10k led lights to shine on the bling when I DJ.
and my diamond encrusted microphone.... damn...

i knew a dnb kid who used to beatmatch with no headphones using vinyl - he would watch the cue level lights on his mixer and match beats using that - he was actually pretty good at it too...

I still think the point of this thread is "to each his own" rather than, "Don't use headphones ever."

Yes.

Hey now... Don't front on the Cricketts.. LOL

What? No battle?

The videos show you're good at being a turntablist. Headphones were played out for those type of DJs long before DVS was born.
That's the beauty of the "other" type of DJ.
I don't spend hours on end practicing how to scratch **aaah ah ah ah ah aahhhh** or learning a set in case I have to battle somebody on YouTube to the point where I can do it in my sleep.
I watched your vids hoping to see and hear a nice mixset. But that's not your thing. Nothing wrong with that.

So IMO this thread disses the CLUB DJ...something you're not. Hope you're not offended youngblood, but by the time you mature into an all around DJ, the human aspect off DJing will be removed from the equation. Like your headphones.

Not offended, what your saying makes sense. I do more than turntablism though.I do clubs
every week. I just don't record mixes on YouTube cuz I think they are boring to watch. If you wanna here my mixing go to mixcrate.com/djconstruc.

I DJ with headphones for 3 reasons:

I can DJ without headphones, and often do when I'm playing songs I know are set correctly, however if you don't wear any headphones at all, most crowds don't know if you're a DJ or just a sound guy on stage, it's just part of the DJ 'look'.

I don't have all my songs analysed, and I don't expect the ones that have been to be 100% correct. I'm using Itch - it's not perfect, I doubt any software has a 100% success rate, and the sort of breakcore and broken beats I like certainly doesn't help it either :P

I often play B2B sets (they're are fun as), and even when I'm not I like to have a flawless mix in from the previous DJs set, those transition cannot be done without headphones.

do as you please, just dont hate on djs that use headphones and say thats cheating. Im surprised that the mods havent shut this thread down.

LOL when did I ever say that??

i think a LOT of dj's just use the "i dont look at the waveforms" & "i only mix by ear" to position themselves as "great" dj's!! so if you're rocking party anthem and someone requests dirty dancer do you guys actually put on the headphones and start listening and beatmaching "by ear"????? WTF? i just load the song, move the pitch,press play on the 1200 adjust my waveforms press pause and keep chilling til' i do the mix....

however thats top 40, hip hop,some 80's and shit, i do 80% of my gigs for a latin crowd, try to mix cumbia,salsa,old merengue etc.. looking at the waveforms... they didnt use a metronome,meaning that they started recording @ 102 and finished @ 109 and doing breakdowns and shit so that can only be mixed by ear, i ALWAYS bring my headphones, i use them maybe 60% of the night,never around my neck,they come off after every mix usually....

and just for the record, ive seen dj's NOT looking at the waveforms and trainwrecking 2 out of 3 mixes and ive seen wave riding dj's doing a 4 hour CLEAN gig, whick one in your opinion is a better dj??

I doubt anyone thinks they are "great" because they dont look at the computer.

OOHHH TRUST ME!!!! welcome to the get a MAC and ME forum!! LOL

dudes your ears are more accurate unless you're playing everything around 0 all night. I know it looks dorky as fuck but I need the headphones, can't mix well without them. But especially when the pitches go closer to -8 +8 just looking at those waveforms is not where it's at, if you don't believe me record yourself live and bear witness, you didn't sound as good as you think you did.

If you're listening, you know whether it SOUNDS good or not. Not just whether it LOOKS good or not.

I dont trust you

I do trust my ears, much more accurate.

awesome!! i trust my ears,my headphones,my cue points,my waveforms and EVERYTHING i use to mix and i dont give a FUCK what anyone thinks! :)

^ his eyes roll

Say wha-?


Pretty accurate.

after this post...they did!!

see my name? ^ points to it
not to swift this one

WTF? LOL wanna battle?? ahh?



















fuck! forgot i aint got construct's skills LOL tell us why u mad son???

mad?

Didn't we have this same thread conversation like 3 years ago? Don't we call cat's who stare at the screen "WAVIES"??? I think I remember that being the term....

Take your eyes off the screen and look at the damn crowd... After all aren't you technically working for them? (JUST SAYIN)

I remember that....

I've seen Con-Struc's vids... dude is a beast. (nm) if he doesn't need headphones for what he does, more power to him. if you do need cans for what you do, more power to you... I'll prob always use em for one reason or another (previewing to see which remix fits the situation, seeing if the keys match up for songs that don't have the key tagged, listening for a good mix in point on songs recently purchased, load playing track to nonplaying deck to set a loop for an exit point or a cue point to jump to, all the shit that's already been listed here dozens of times....) but seriously, who gives a flying fuck. do what works for you......

I never tried to trainwreck it... but I'm sure it's possible. It wasn't my first choice to play, record, or put out a promo CD of... but... people just kept asking for it, so I kind of had to. I really shouldn't have because everybody that nagged and nagged for it still wined that it wasn't pure enough dubstep for them. I told 'em to get some tables and do it their d@mn selves. Ungrateful b!#che$!

It is ive done it its just not as noticable lol

YOU'RE WRONG!!!!!!!!!!

Wavies comes from "microwaves" which has NOTHING to do with technology (waveforms included) as far as what equipment you're using or how you're doing it but rather how MICROWAVE FAST you want to come up in the DJ game without learning the basics.

To each his/her/shim's own.

I just have one question for DJ CON-STRUC.

Do you take your headphones to the club? (Are they in your bag, on your neck, or by your side?)

If the answer is yes, then YES, you do need them and YES, you do use them.

lmao @ shim's

I think this term was generic for DJ's that refused to learn the old fashioned way.. (By ear).. All they did was stare at the screen and cheat using wave forms.

And Sixxx... Did you not make your Selling Oranges quota this morning? Your awfully angry... LOL... Wait... your always like this.

Stop "thinking". I already told you what the term means.

lol @ angry.

dj percy spencer

i would listen to sixxx, hes the resident ecpert on the subject, just look at his official research'

ssl-wiki.help.bootlegs.de

isn't Sixxx running for the Freeway On-Ramp Orange parties Presidential nomination in 2012?? LOL

Typing that made me angry...

Yeah but he aint no wavie, he can plant, pick, wash, peel, and even slice them oranges. He learned the old way, by hand, none of this tractor/plow bullshit they use today.

:P

sixxx is to a wavy, ive seen him on the offramp waving down cars left and right

Lol @ Tracktor/plow

cricket cricket, (the sound you hear when no one laughs to stupid ass jokes)

we appreciate the lesson, its nice when someone as familiar with it as you passes on the knowledge they gain

lmao You guys crack me up. (no whitey)

Hey look at that.... he's original!! Bwahahahah

Sixxx, Did you move into the lucrative Persimmon and tangerine business yet? bwahahaha

just doing my part

trolling? (just sayin)

i am also getting tired of this orange picking bulshit jokes,not as mad at you guys telling them but at sixxx enjoying them wtf?

**takes Sixxx to my sparring corner and start whispering** (NM)

Oh, I wasn't laughing at the jokes. They're not even funny, nor original. I'm laughing at the fact they think they're funny. lmao!!!!

.....aaaaannnddd this thread just officially fell apart.

trying to feed the trolls

Sixxx has the Orange Game on lock - laughing all the way to the bank - broke bitches!

Then: 2.bp.blogspot.com

Now: image.shutterstock.com

LMAO.

Lol

should i feel guilty for laughing at that?!

OK, that one was funny!! LOL

Hey, at least it shows he's got ambition.

right dont use head phones your choice thats good probably cant dj

dont talk about it be about it so what if you dont use you probably throwing stuff in anyway and your mixes sound garbage

This is the reason i dont answer threads without reading the whole thing.... I dont want to sound stupid like this guy LOL how you gonna say construct cant dj bro? Haha

sometimes back when i used vinyl i wouldnt use headphones lol

Haha I think Construct started this thread to incite some trash talk so that someone would battle him like in that other thread that started the Crane Blood Bath Battle. First he got the laptop stand, now he really wants a new pair of headphones.

right don't use educa tion your choice thats good probably not literate

dont talk about it be about it so what if you dont use you probably throwing words in and your posts sound like downs syndrome

dobla di dobla da life goes on on on nnnnn life goes on.

Is that a Corky reference I hear?

lol @ MB. hahaha

even with automix u need your bedazzled headphones
a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net

LMAO!

that is awesome!!

yea, say what you want, but the kid can totally dj

HAHAHAHAHAHA

your right,my mixes are garbage... Infact they are so bad that they keep landing me gigs. Oh well, I guess I need to practice more. I would love to hear one of your mixes, where can I check them out? I really want to hear how it's done.

The one thing I've learned over the years is that cockiness get's you no where... There's always someone better. Here end'ith the lesson.... Now back to bedazzling my headphones.

Dont you mean Vajazzled?

I think I'm going to start talking shit just to get people to listen to my mixes as proof I'm decent for another way of promoting myself.

hey now.. PULLOUT used a play on words! What irony.

I think, now you can mix without phones. but I still prefer look the dance floor wen I'm mixing. not the computer.

you can mix some tracks with phones, some tracks with waveform or triggering cue points. but is always recommend have phones in the case o you need them

DJing with headphones is useful for the same reason that some people prefer not to use ProTools, etc when they're making a song: the "connections" your mind will make through listening are different from the ones your mind will make through seeing. It won't necessarily be a huge difference but the result is different.

Also, as others have said, using headphones makes you look more like you're doing something up there.

rs

I think its more like recording in the studio without headphones, just watching protools waves and meters peek.

I had to DJ w/o headphones for an out of town gig once I was scared $hitless but at the end of the night I knew the tracks so well and my cue points it didn't really matter as much as I thought but at the end of the day I would much rather have my headphones

Although I can mix w/o headphones relatively easily, It's not something i typically do. I recently just switched to In-Ears so now i'm mainly monitoring the Main Mix the majority of the time but still occasional flip over to cue something up. Just having the option to cue something quickly is something i would not want to part with.

lol...umm it can be done, with reallly good knowledge of all the music in your library you may possibly play...but why not just use the headphones?

the #2 function of headphones:

"oh, look...lets not bother the dj he has his headphones on... he must be busy"

even if i didnt use headphones..Id still have em so I can basically tell people, go away... without saying a word.

yeah but even that doesn't work a lot of times.

this is why no body mixes in a unique manner, with the breaks of tracks and other special areas to drop in or transition out of....

What about the idiots that are talking/snapping their fingers and waving their hands in front of your face while you're on the mic? I need to buy a taeser gun i swear! I just want to stop and say "MOTHERFUCKER IM TALKING!!" Yes!! At a wedding! Lol

Woops!! wrong thread LOL moderators please bring it to the stupid comment thread LOL

Like that stops people -.--

The way music is written is in 4 to 32 bar patterns. Why would you want to break that structure and mix somewhere else? (if I'm understanding you correctly).

I also disagree with the premise anyway...Construc is a pretty creative dude.

those patterns do occur, but you don't have to use the ableton created "autopilot" 8bar inst intro that somebody created to always come into a track, you might want to cut a vocal in, etc....

do you have any skrillex?

I mix a lot of old music that isn't quantized so I do need to use my headphones to mix accurately. Watching waveforms won't do shit for that, unless maybe you learned how to DJ by watching waveforms.

It's kind of silly that this is even a thread topic. If you don't want to use headphones then don't, but most DJs obviously have a good reason to do so.

It's good to see this thread back in action. Lol. This thread was intended for club DJ's, guys that spin house, hip hop, top 40 ect. If your mixing old Music than obviously waveforms won't help you. Even then I still don't see the need for Headphones as you can still see you cue point. If the music that you are playing isn't quantized than it doesn't matter if you get it
Matched in your headphones, you will still have to adjust when your going over the monitors. So you are wrong and I'm right.

Ok, you're right. Douche.

so your headphones stay at home full time?

your mom

I wouldn't expect you guys to understand, your not on my level.

why is this even being debated. play how u wanna play. if u wanna use headphones use headphones, if u don't then don't. everybody has their own way of doing things and that's that!

/end thread

your level.... cute

What a dumb thread.

/end thread.

You're right. I went to school. You didn't. It's "you're" not "your".

:P

I never use my headphones either... Except to keep my ears warm during the winter..

:-P

***Blank Stare****

how you spin is your own thing so its all up to you BUT it is a FACT that having extra equipment around widens the range of things you CAN do wether you use it or not

***Blank Stare*** #2

To me, the simple aural senation of "hearing" two songs perfectly meshed together, is a big part of the fun in DJing - in contrast, just robotically "going through the motions" seems stale and without feeling.
But I'm afraid this comment may fall on deaf ears...

I don't know. He may be able to hear you... after all...


HE'S GOT NO HEADPHONES ON!!!!!! lmao

Well I have to wear my headphones cause I want everyone to see my super expensive Beats By Dre Pro while I do my Jesus pose.

If you enjoy your Djing as an artform/musical talent and regularly scratch/sample/mix new music, of course you would use headphones... If you're keeping your crates fresh and enjoying playing (half the fun of Djing is mixing on the fly right?), it means you probably aren't stocking up exclusively on cue points and being a robot nonce.. relying on pre-arranged sets that are as rigid as Ron Jeremy in his prime.. where's the fun in that?

Original poster was flaming...well I hope he was, my pity/sympathy if it wasn't..yikes.

I play a variety of genres at different gigs throughout the week, and get sent or buy at least 30 new tracks per week. So I need my headphones.

I guess if I just played Paid In Full and Be Faithful every night then I could probably do away with headphones too.

But then I would probably kill myself after a month.