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The Art of DJing: Avalon Emerson (2019)
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Re: The Art of DJing: Avalon Emerson (2019)
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
you're arguing about something different to the person you're replying to.
He's.... not tho? > but that does not diminish the vinyl as a controller being superior to a tiny plastic spin wheel on a digital controller. It's absolutely objective, but the feel of vinyl on a slipmat is absolutely so much nicer than a jog wheel. But many ppl barely even use jog wheels these days. Just nudging to get in time. When you spend countless hours getting the right light touch on a vinyl that Tactile feel…
Yeah that's fair, you guys are talking about the experience of the DJ. I'm talking about the experience of the listener. In the chaotic environment of a club or festival, there are too many ways that playing vinyl on turntables can be a source of moderate to severe sound quality degradation, often through no major fault of anyone involved.
As far as the DJ goes, in terms of "normal" gigs (that aren't in the by now incredibly niche turntablism world), where your primary goal is to entertain some people with good music mixed well, you're going to be able to do anything you can do on turntables on CDJs, and a lot more, and more reliably. Just in terms of the practical aspects and realities of putting on a good show in 2025, turntables are completely outclassed, and you're putting yourself at a huge disadvantage by trying to make them work. But a certain set of people will give you respect.
Re: The Art of DJing: Avalon Emerson (2019)
#43Avalon Emerson is such a great dj and producer. I’d love to see them live sometime - I’ve a great set from 2017 of theirs on SoundCloud that’s really eclectic. Love the style.
I got to see her play in SF in January. So much fun. I'd love to experience one of her longer sets.
Re: The Art of DJing: Avalon Emerson (2019)
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree that the beat sync tools feel like cheating for the old school DJs, but the newer generation are using it to get more creative. Without spending half the time beat matching, they now have time to interact with the tracks more - play with stems, loops, filters, fx, scratching etc. It’s becoming more of a live performance
>but the newer generation are using it to get more creative. Without spending half the time beat matching, they now have time to interact with the tracks more - play with stems, loops, filters, fx, scratching etc. >It’s becoming more of a live performance while this is true in theory, i find that sometimes the new tools end up becoming a crutch making djs extremely boring the extra time freed up from not having to co…
One of the commonly extolled virtues of playing vinyl is that you're "just playing records." As in, not using any fancy effects and tricks. For a lot of people, this is enough, and it's mostly about your music collection and song selection. If you're really good at vinyl, you're not doing much most of the time either and you can dance around and dig through records. Nothing about this needs to change when switching to CDJs.
People get hung up on all this stuff that has very little to do with what matters most at the end of the day, which is the sound coming out of the speakers, and the experience of the audience (which I will grant that the visual aspect of watching the performer is a part of). Deadmau5 talks about stuff like this...basically everyone at a major festival is playing a prerecorded set so that visuals and lights and the rest of the show can be synced up. It doesn't matter what tools you use or how much work you're doing as long as people are entertained. It's about putting on the best show you can.
Jeff Mills is a God-like legend, of course your average local DJ isn't going to compare. It is a bit like being a real estate agent in that the barrier to entry is super low now but you still have to be skilled in some way or another to be really successful.
Re: The Art of DJing: Avalon Emerson (2019)
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
He's.... not tho? > but that does not diminish the vinyl as a controller being superior to a tiny plastic spin wheel on a digital controller. It's absolutely objective, but the feel of vinyl on a slipmat is absolutely so much nicer than a jog wheel. But many ppl barely even use jog wheels these days. Just nudging to get in time. When you spend countless hours getting the right light touch on a vinyl that Tactile feel…
Yeah that's fair, you guys are talking about the experience of the DJ. I'm talking about the experience of the listener. In the chaotic environment of a club or festival, there are too many ways that playing vinyl on turntables can be a source of moderate to severe sound quality degradation, often through no major fault of anyone involved. As far as the DJ goes, in terms of "normal" gigs (that aren't in the by now in…
How does discussing the gear used by a dj get twisted into the perspective of the listener?
I also love how standing there in the Jesus pose or chicken heading with a raised fist is entertaining for the crowd. If you need the DJ to be a conductor to show you the drop, then you’re not a good music listener.
Sure, a vinyl DJ isn’t going to be jumping up and down next to the decks (unless the tables have been suspended from the ceiling), but watching a turtabilist run multiple decks while swapping dub plates will always be much more impressive and entertaining to me than someone tapping out a beat on a 12”x12” box with buttons.
Re: The Art of DJing: Avalon Emerson (2019)
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Song selection comes from hours of listening to music in the style you will be playing. Eventually, you will hear a riff from one song and it will make you think of another song. Those will be interesting to mix together. You might hear one song with a bass line that you really like with a melody line that is on the lighter side. You might then come across a song with a strong melody, but a bass line that could be pu…
Using a tool to beat match has always been considered "cheating", but it is obvious why it is a tool. I guess in the same way that using a higher-level language than Assembly is "cheating." I'm not sure if you're referring specifically to the Sync feature (which is still largely frowned upon) or more generally analyzed beatgrids, BPM readouts and Master Tempo (which keeps the pitch in tune when you change the tempo),…
I just threw down a two-hour vinyl mix of drum-and-bass at my local vinyl night (no trainwrecks, thankfully), and amongst the folks of this particular artist collective are several who would meet that description. And we are one of many in a tier-2 metro.
Re: The Art of DJing: Avalon Emerson (2019)
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Using a tool to beat match has always been considered "cheating", but it is obvious why it is a tool. I guess in the same way that using a higher-level language than Assembly is "cheating." I'm not sure if you're referring specifically to the Sync feature (which is still largely frowned upon) or more generally analyzed beatgrids, BPM readouts and Master Tempo (which keeps the pitch in tune when you change the tempo),…
I just threw down a two-hour vinyl mix of drum-and-bass at my local vinyl night (no trainwrecks, thankfully), and amongst the folks of this particular artist collective are several who would meet that description. And we are one of many in a tier-2 metro.
Cool thanks for stopping by, I'm happy for you really, not sure what point you're trying to make.
Re: The Art of DJing: Avalon Emerson (2019)
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
I just threw down a two-hour vinyl mix of drum-and-bass at my local vinyl night (no trainwrecks, thankfully), and amongst the folks of this particular artist collective are several who would meet that description. And we are one of many in a tier-2 metro.
Cool thanks for stopping by, I'm happy for you really, not sure what point you're trying to make.
Their point was that you're not going to be hard-pressed to find talented vinyl DJs, as you otherwise indicated.
Please don't write snide comments here. They don't belong on HN or anywhere else, really.
Re: The Art of DJing: Avalon Emerson (2019)
#49[deleted]
Re: The Art of DJing: Avalon Emerson (2019)
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cool thanks for stopping by, I'm happy for you really, not sure what point you're trying to make.
Their point was that you're not going to be hard-pressed to find talented vinyl DJs, as you otherwise indicated. Please don't write snide comments here. They don't belong on HN or anywhere else, really.
Ok, my bad. I just didn't feel like it meaningfully countered anything I've argued. It is true that there is a culture of vinyl DJs and nights out there, and I'm not really commenting on their relative skill level. I have no doubt they have a higher degree of passion than the set of all people who ever touched a controller or represented DJing poorly. I'm just saying that for most intents and purposes the CDJ is a considerably larger and more reliable superset of the capabilities of a turntable and it amplifies anyone's abilities and is relied upon as the industry standard for a reason.