another analogue vs digital debate..here we go

I personally think since the beatport + traktor boom, dj sets have gone worse. It seems like djs don't make any effort in music selection, all of them playing the same promos and top beatport crap.. i've been listenin to 2002-2006 sets from many djs lately on soundcloud, and enjoy much more those sets than the new ones. Luciano, Loco Dice and Carola use to be some of my favorite djs, now I don't consider them anything special (Luciano has just gone totally lame imo).

Its not that DJ sets have got worse because of Digital, thats silly. Its the fact that there are many MORE DJ's because of digital and thus more crap DJ's.

listen to the regis mix of the day if you think dj sets have gotten worse...

I think the fact that vinyl leaving the industry has crippled a lot of dj's. The truth is, the accessability now of DJ music, along with the software that enables you to 'spin', equals a LOT OF shit dj's.

Back in the 90s, dj's had to buy turntables, search endlessly for vinyl and practice. Now the truth is ANYONE can acquire dj music FOR FREE, play them on FREE softwares that beatmatch automatically.

I think the good DJ's have gotten better, but there has been a huge influx of horrible dj's that have never taken the time to hone the craft of djing.....

Basically, a lot of hard work went into being a dj / producer. Production, still that will NEVER change. No matter how many sample packs you pirate and paste together, you will still sound like a sample pack.

Now, any fuckin Chad can rip the beatport top 100 off those shitty sites like minitech FOR FREE and play with ableton, for free. No research, no homework, no nerding out needed.

Even though music is more accessible through websites like beatport, you still have to really search for good music and have a pretty good knowledge of the music you like in order to find what you want. I spend countless hours on beatport, juno, and other sites finding the music I want, and it's no easy task. In regards to beatmatching, it's really only a small portion of what a good dj should be able to do. You can press sync all you want but it won't help you pick the right track to play, bring it in at the right time for you, or eq it for you. Whether you play only vinyl or use Traktor, you still need to put in alot of practice if you want to be a skilled DJ.

YES that's really true!

they have become more showcases, rather than a story like mix. there are gems but the coherent nature of mixes have changed.

Amen.

Funny that Beatport is getting hate because Beatport was a very welcome solution to the immense flood of DIY producers that bypassed original market structures. At least there is a centralized niche retailer that caters, more or less, to a pretty select DJ audience.

The easier and cheaper it becomes to produce or DJ, the more shitty DJ's there will invariably be. AND the more talent will emerge. Its just sampling and network theory, the base of the pyramid is getting bigger, luckily, so is the top just stop looking at the base and focus on what's happening up there.

This is why - but not only - I keep buying vinyl records...

For the sound, for the product itself, for the pleasure of working with the brain and the hands... It is a question of love.

www.decks.de are doing a great job!

And thanks to that here is what I offer nightblue.podomatic.com
Don't be shy, give it a go!

...indeed....it used to be a craft i think....and a DJ's music selection was something that separated them from the rest of the pack...now it all sounds like one open- format night at the 18 and over club..

DJ sets have not gone worse, there are just more people out there calling themselves djs because of the easier accessibility doing what you described, going on the internet, dling beatport top 100 charts and pasting them together.
Is that shit? Yes
Does it damage other people who still dig crates for good tracks? NO It even elevates them to a higher level imho.

hm..i think why dj sets are so shit has nothing to do with new people who are calling themself DJs.. its only very true Luciano,Loco Dice and bunch of them are not worth listening at all..

I must also say I am very,very dissanpointed by new album from Apparat.. he was like something best ever,doesn't matter together with Ellen,Modeselektor or whatever but this new what he made... huge crap

Yes and No...

I use Traktor on my mac and I use MP3's fro download sites such as beatport and some others..

I still craft my set with great thought and try to aim for a specific beginning and end to a set.

I will agree that the availability of MP3's and free mixing software has led to a veritable explosion in DJ's or those that claim to be DJ's but in the end it does not matter what format you are using, a DJ is there to take the audience on a Journey, and if all you are doing is playing the same old shit as everyone else then you are not really doing your job.... If a track I like to play becomes know commercially then it gets dropped from my set pronto, i am not there to play stuff you know, i am there to play stuff you have never heard, the deeper the better.

There's no great tunes anymore!! The big hitters only last a month or so....have to rely on oldskool mixes

You use MP3's ? Thats another reason why DJ sets have got worse.
I really don't care what bollox you hear from some people but MP3's should be used on ipods and phones only, thats what a MP3 was designed for, NOT to be used on a system...grrrrrrrrr.

indeed the quality of the MP3 is not made for a big room sound system...if you play a track on vinyl and then mix an mo3 of your laptop into it ..kills the whole mix...and the quality of it as well...

What's that got to do with DJing? That's a recorded album.

Very rue about the "search" - endless search for the good tracks. Today it is much easier to get the good tracks. Again one should define what a good track is... See one of my posts for that.

BUT I think there is much more good stuff around than in the 90'. MUCH more to discover and buy!

I think you are right

For anyone who thinks good sets are a thing of the past, I'll just leave this right here....
soundcloud.com/r_co/mike-denhert-live-klubnacht
They are simply buried deeper.

The Internet makes the good DJs more accessible, just as it lets the crappy DJs release music not worth listening to.

www(dot)zipDJ(dot)com

I own a pair of Technics 1210's and a pair of cdj 1000's, in the last few years I have returned to my old friend been vinyl. These days I probably buy 90% vinyl and 10% mp3 downloads, as I had become disillusioned with buying mp3's online. Although I buy records online, buying mp3's isn't nearly as satisfying as buying vinyl in a decent record shop or opening a brand new record in the post. As vinyl is more expensive I tend to be more picky with the records I buy, this wasn't the case when buying mp3's. Vinyl doesn't seem as disposable as mp3's. Nothing against dj's who just play mp3's but I vinyl still has more appeal to me.

Vinyl the best quality, WAV almost as good. FLAC not bad, but mp3 (as i posted above) should never be used by a DJ, OK for listening to a mix on an iPod, but any DJ who thinks that playing and mixing mp3's is OK doesn't love or understand music.

It was a generalisation of digital formats. I don't get as much pleasure from downloading mp3's, WAV files or FLAC as I do from buying vinyl. Well apart from the price difference.

When I'm in the club I always check if the dj is a dj or just a presenter, ready with his laptop. Yes, sets are worse these days.

Welcome to change kids. You have to adapt to what's going on now. It's always good to do the opposite of what everybody else is doing if you want to stand out.

I am the same, use Traktor with MP3's, been Djing for 15 years, used vinyl, got a collection of over 4000 records, went through using CD's, progressed onto Traktor.... and it has made it so much more fun. To be honest, about 3 years ago before switching to Traktor i was bored with vinyl and CD's. Sure it has the nice feel and cool DJ 'image' of spinning vinyl that people like to see, but ultimately, it's flat. You have 2 records or CD's, mix in, mix out. With Traktor you can tease in with hot cues, play with loops, edit samples and throw them in, and not to mention all the effects. Now, you have to be careful not to overdo all this or you will end up with a mess, but done subtly and tastefully, you can have something special. I love vinyl, never fell for CD's, but Traktor with a decent midi controller can really push what a DJ can do. And yes DJ sets can be watered down by people buying up every MP3 in the beatport top ten and itunes dance chart! If you are a good DJ there is nothing stopping you being just as selective as you would be when buying vinyl. As for sound quality, i generally buy 320kbps MP3, if i really like a track and know it will get hammered i'll re download the WAV of it for extra kick. But not once has someone approached me and complained about the sound of a 320kbps MP3, even on big systems.... Seriously, if you're playing good music and getting a great atmosphere going, you have succeeded.

http://www.mixmag.net/words/news/dj-batte-sven-vath-vs-alex-metric

Alex Metric vs Sven Vath interview on digital vs vinyl.

The truth is, that I rather search for a set from the late '90s than bother with today's music because I know it'll bore me. I don't care if traktor or any other music maker is better for DJs and it gives them more fun. I am the important person here, the listener.

Part of the problem with this is also that anyone that produces a big tune is EXPECTED to be able to DJ.
I've read numerous times that producers had to learn how to DJ (as in the ability to mix records together - record selection is a very different kettle of potatoes) once they had produced a tune that had blown up on 'the scene' as they were getting calls to come and play in clubs.

For every Fedde Le Grande there is an Objekt.

Everyone wants to be a DJ... now the call Promoters... DJ's

For me it would seem that DJ's don't build their set round a 'journey' (so to speak) any more. For me there should always be a beginning, middle and an end.

When I was 14, 15 it was all Sasha & Digweed, Oakey Carl Cox doing Essential Mixes. They always had a structure to their set.

Whilst I agree that music and times have moved on the basics of set should always be the same.

There was a variety in them.

seems like some djs are listening to me lol

dan ghenancia and dyed soundorom, 2 djs who have switched back to vinyl from laptops.

I tend to listen to mixes from the early 00's because the music was best when I was getting into the scene. I've recently getting into production from being a bedroom DJ on the 'Wheels of Steel' to try and recreate what I love so much at the start, which is still early days.

DJing is mostly about which tracks you use. Digital and analog BS doesn't matter.

I think that modern DJs are rather stupid about what tracks they put in a mix, without thinking whether they fit together or flow nicely.

This site saved me from almost switching to d & b completely;
http://www.future-past.org/#

This ain't spam btw.

This isn't a vinyl versus digital debate. They both contain music; a front, a middle and a back and it is up to the dj to figure out how best to use and to present the sound the carrier has. This is more to do with a generation of dj's weaned on the rock star life and the spectacle of an hour long set. You can kinda see where this is headed already. The dj is on a stage, and is expected to have a personality and be more like a toaster and a hand holder. i.e. wave their arms, throw things and point their fingers at people so this spectacle and its interaction is nearly more important than the music because the eyes are on the clown and not each other like they would've been when the dj was not on the stage, but right on the floor, or better, in a booth.
My life wasn't changed because the dj was jumping around like a loon and waving their arms and playing short attention span gimmick music. My life was changed because I heard the power of the music in the hands of a competent dj who could take me towards the deeper waters and be a guide who would calmly lead us into dancing our legs into bloody stumps.
Throw in a lower bar for entry for decent dj kit and an even lower bar for the kind of acquisition habits which at one time would've been reserved towards the several hundred dollar a week junkie habit. The kind of habit that can easily posits towards the negative because you have no idea what you are hearing because it is nearly always new and until you stop long enough to listen twice before playing, you'll never really get to establish the classic, and defining tunes and you see where another glut begins.

Dude, you just brought tears to my eyes.

Altough i think, that with vinyl thwy don't have much tme to clap their hands or bells or whatever.

shit i can't type, i'm so pised

Have been out of the (dj'ing) loop for quite a while and i have to say trying out traktor for the first time a while ago, it made it stupidly easy (as long as you dont go for a 80-170 bpm tempo range). To be honest tho, it has its positives too. Im not aiming to play generic trash and i know i have a bit of an ear for good tunes, which after all is still the most important thing. The new technology does provide more options, and they can be used for good. I really doubt ill get my old decks out of the shed anytime soon, and the 400 or so records i managed to collect are sitting at a friends place, still waiting for us to discuss a possible sale. I used to be very much in favor of vinyl and called my friends all kinds of things when they told me they were not going to put up turntables at their regular night anymore, and werent planning to book anyone asking for them. But i turned around, after all beatmatching is just not what its all about, and i dont think it should be anymore.

Im not a big fan of beatport since it seems to dominate things a little too much, and in a sense we went from having Sony, EMI and the likes to a 'new emperor'. Then again, its not like its impossible for a label to be truly independent and function without taking part in it. And thats a good and relatively recent thing.
The thing is, electronic music to a pretty big extent, stands on itself. Very rarely is it owned by these corporate monsters anymore, that could simply steer anything and anyone. The top 40 on MTV is not relevant anymore to alot of people, and the chances of actual quality getting somewhere just for that quality itself are significantly better then say 20 years ago. Obviously that is mostly due to the internet, but its still a good thing.

i think it has to do with festival sets (too short to do anything but advertise the newest tracks on your label), djs traveling constantly now because the demand is so high therefor not being able to search for music, having a stake in tracks because of the label they own and wanting them to become big hits.. also depending on the country/crowd the dj could play total shit to please them because theyre uneducated. a lot of these sets shouldnt be heard, but with the internet being more popular now, everything is more readily available. lastly, the sets are very out of context if youre not at the venue.

Totally agree

You are listening to the wrong DJ's

Could you specify which are ok to listen?

If you don't know by now, you never will

Oh I know, I'm just curious about your choice.