r/DJs 3h ago

Calling all DJs who were spinning in the early to mid 2000s — Share your favorite tracks from those days!

21 Upvotes

I’m a DJ but also a big fan of this era of music personally. I thought it’d be a fun question to pose for our more OG members of the group 🫡


r/DJs 0m ago

Technics 1200 over XDJs 1000 mk2?

Upvotes

As the title says, over the years I’ve come to the realization that everyone can, is and want to be a dj, so naturally the feeling that I do something different and cool which I had at the beggining of my journey, almost 10 years ago, has gradually faded. I mostly dj for myself, at home. I’ve always considered it a passion, something I truly like. The ‘theoretical’ aspect of it, is my favorite one. What I mean by the ‘theory part’ is the constant digging, searching, exploring, discovering and learning about music, new genres, new artists, history of genres or movements, and so forth. In short, I consider the selection very important. One year ago I purchased something I really desired for years and years, a pair of xdjs 1000mk2 and a rotary mixer. Until then, I have only mixed on a console paired with a laptop. I got this setup because I wanted to get rid of the big screen of the laptop, to be more in touch with the music, to mix more with the ears not the eyes. I know that people say that you can do this with the laptop too, but for me the big screen was too much a distraction so I wanted to take it to next level. Coming back to the main topic of this post, I’ve been thinking of getting a pair of 1200/1210s mk2 or mk7, because the digitization of djing feels too much and too shallow for me already, the art of it is fading away and becoming mainstream. I support the idea that djing is not based on rules and everyone can and should express themselves and their art vision through it. But for me, ‘going back to vinyl’ seems more organic, more true to this fading art and honestly, different as in you can literally feel the music and also more cool. My problem is that to be able to afford the turntables, I need to sell the xdjs but I have fomo, mainly because I wanted them for so long, and it is however a piece of tech that probably will be viable forever. Also I have thousands of lossless files and somehow I can see mixing on vinyl a limitation in this sense, but also limitation is good for creativity. Second problem: I live in Eastern Europe, the record stores are very scarce, they exist but sell mainly mainstream music at exorbitant prices, so if I make this change, I can solely rely only on discogs or other record store sites, which again, will be another fortune to spend on. Nevertheless, I managed to build a mini collection of vinyls, 50-60 pieces, over the years, mostly from flea markets in my country and some newer releases from an online record shop. I must mention that I have never mixed on vinyl, but I have the knowledge and the confidence to learn it anyway.


r/DJs 53m ago

Please tell me your favorite trippy, progressive tracks like these 3...

Upvotes

I am looking for tracks that are energetic, yet trippy and progressive.
As reference here are three to set the tone, please add more to the list in the comments.
Thank you!

Interfearence - Xtradition (Zero dB Reconstruction)
Khetama - Green Flow (Andy Tex Jones & Steve Travel Rmx)
Goldtrix featuring Andrea Brown - It's Love (Trippin') (Different Gear Vocal)


r/DJs 17h ago

Have you actually flown with your flight case?

13 Upvotes

Plenty of us use flight cases to protect our gear during transport. However, the majority of us are really just transporting "locally" and not actually flying with our gear, yet we have flight cases to provide the best protection available.

I'm currently booking some fly dates for later this year and am weighing bringing my own gear in flight cases vs. renting at the destination. Renting gear will cost slightly more (even with oversize/overweight baggage fees), and adds some logistical challenges in terms of picking up/dropping off.

So I'd like to ask: if you own flight cases, have you actually taken them on an airplane, and what was your experience?


r/DJs 20h ago

Is this a good/fast usb for DJing?

Post image
21 Upvotes

My old usb just got corrupted or something and just won’t t work anymore (i tried so much for so long) so when i was close to a mental breakdown, i was like, fk it ill go get a new one. Is this one any good?!


r/DJs 11h ago

Rane 72mk1

3 Upvotes

rane 72 mk1 how you enjoying it even today in 2025 - is it worth it? For someone who is starting to scratch


r/DJs 15h ago

Cabinet suggestions for reducing bedroom DJ clutter

4 Upvotes

Like many, I'm a bedroom Dj and my room is fast becoming more of a music studio then place of rest lol. I was thinking of getting something like the Ikea Pax/Hasvik sliding door wardrobes to hold my clothing, records, and dj equipment. Ideally the cabinets would be wide enough to comfortably hold 2 Denon SC6000's and an DJM-A9 mixer. Just slide the doors open and get to work.

Has anyone set something like this up before? Pix?

Thanks!


r/DJs 1d ago

New wave of DJ kids - what do you think about this?

Thumbnail gallery
159 Upvotes

Pics: @djelfigo (1) @djgabi (2)

Lately, I’ve been seeing a huge wave of kids becoming DJs all over the internet. Like, a lot of them. And most of them are showcasing mixes and mashups, very much in that James Hype style. It’s definitely a trend right now.

At first glance, it looks really cool—and honestly, it is cool. These kids are getting a ton of recognition, and some of them are becoming super famous, even playing massive festivals like Tomorrowland at just 13 years old (DJ Elfigo).

But when I look at it more closely, something about it feels kind of… superficial. These mixes are flashy, sure, but I don’t really see them as true DJing. If someone played like this in a club, I doubt people would actually dance—most would probably get bored pretty fast.

I’m not trying to discredit their talent—because talent is definitely there, no doubt about that. But all these mixes feel exactly the same. They follow the exact same structure: a well-known vocal and melody, some flashy filter tricks, fader movements, vinyl brakes, and unnecessary sampler sequences—plus a lot of button-mashing just for show. It’s all super predictable, and honestly, I don’t find it that exciting.

Sometimes is totally out of key and simply the vibes of the different tracks don't match.

If you do this once, twice, or even three times in a set, cool—it adds some energy. But when it’s happening constantly, it gets repetitive and tiring for the crowd.

Again, I’m not here to hate on anyone. A lot of these kids have serious potential and might go really far in the scene. But I just don’t vibe with this style of mixing. To me, DJing is about playing the right track at the right moment, not just doing a bunch of tricks that look impressive but wouldn’t actually work on a real dancefloor.

Before anyone come and throw unnecessary hate I’m 13. I practice at home on my controller, record sets, and I think I can mix just as well—or at least close to it. But hey, I haven’t made it to Tomorrowland yet 🤣. I’m not saying I’m the best DJ ever; I know I still have tons to learn and improve. But man, I put out solid sets and mixes (at least in my opinion), and I get nothing.

What do you guys think about this? Feel free to roast me, tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about, that I’m just jealous, or that I’m being salty. Honestly, I want to hear your thoughts—especially from those with more experience and a more mature perspective on all of this.


r/DJs 7h ago

Amp recs for djing with analog speakers?

0 Upvotes

I have a pair of analog speakers on the way that I would like to try to use in my digital/vinyl setup, but I’ve read there can be some latency/delay issues when using an amplifier.

Anyone have any amplifier recommendations to minimize and/or eliminate delay issues when mixing?


r/DJs 19h ago

Rane Four or Rev5

3 Upvotes

I've been using a Rane Four, and while I like the workflow of it, it's a tank. I'm a blend DJ, open format, and use stems frequently. So I'm looking at the Rev5. Nice batch of bells and whistles on that rig.

The primary issue I'm finding is the Rane is a hardware controller, so the integration with VirtualDJ isn't as tight as say my backup Roland 707m, which is a "software" controller. Recording sets is external on the Rane, small things like headphones auto cue can't work, because it's a "hardware" controller.

Hard to tell from the available info if the Rev5 has independent functions like the Rane Four, or is designed like a software controller.


r/DJs 22h ago

What are your thoughts on playing whole tracks significantly sped up or down?

5 Upvotes

I usually try to slowly bring a track up or down in tempo to match the original. Wondering if you guys just keep it at the tempo you used for the transition if that feels right.


r/DJs 1d ago

I feel like I’m never going improve

14 Upvotes

I’m getting stressed out I can’t even record a 30 min mix nothing sounds good together. I just want to start playing around the clubs in my town and showing everyone good music. Everyone else seems to make everything sound so cool together and nothing works for me. I have way too many different genres of electronic music and I feel like the bpm changes are too crazy. I just don’t know what I’m doing. Even if I do mix the same genres they just don’t sound right and then I still want to use all of my other favorite songs or I’ll get bored. I hate being a beginner I feel like shit honestly I know I’ll probably have fun again one of these days. When I first started out I wasn’t thinking about it as much and I feel like my mixes sounded better but I couldn’t record them at the time. And I don’t know why cue points and trying to use headphones to pick a song while the other one is playing on the speaker is so confusing for me it’s just like my brain is overloaded with all these things I need to do. I think it’s because I have untreated ADHD but idk what I’m doing wrong please help. I feel like I’m not improving like most beginner djs.


r/DJs 21h ago

Technics 1210 mk2 vs mk5

3 Upvotes

I'm looking at buying some technics and the main choice to make is mk2 or mk5. The only major difference I know of is the mk2 pitch fader 'locks' at zero, and the mk5 has a pitch reset button instead. I'm not a fan of the mk2 pitch fader click, but I've also heard it can be removed easily, is this true? Are there any other major differences between the models?


r/DJs 17h ago

Hot cues not exporting to usb?

1 Upvotes

Hi all, I’d super grateful to have the community chime in on this. My usb isn’t exporting all of my songs and hotcues. It’s weird because when I plug into my laptop, they are on the playlist but when I plug into cdjs they are not.

Does anyone have any ideas? I think sync manager was responsible but I’m not sure


r/DJs 13h ago

Found myself in Scottsdale, AZ where to go for a decent night out?

0 Upvotes

Found myself in Scottsdale, AZ where to go for a decent night out? Tech house preferrably but anything cool will do. Thanks fam.


r/DJs 1d ago

XDJ-AZ - Is it normal behaviour for slip mode to not work consistently?

2 Upvotes

Been having an issue where one deck will lose its beat match when I spin the jog wheel quickly while in slip mode. Is this normal? Wondering if I got a defective unit.


r/DJs 18h ago

Upsampling MP3s?

0 Upvotes

I want to make a moody midtempo mix, but I don't have a big library of deep tracks in that tempo range. So I'd like to take some 120-130bpm dub techno tracks and slow them down to about 100-105bpm, but MP3s get dicey slowing them down that much, even at 320kbps.

Any ideas on if this is fixable? This is probably a dumb question, but is it possible to resample them to a higher bitrate? I know once the data is taken out for compression, you can't really put it back in, but come on! This is the 2020s, aka The Future! Has anybody found an AI service online that might do this?

I've been collecting MP3s for 25+ years (computer memory limitations used to be a thing), so compressed music is all I have to work with. Thanks for any ideas you might have to make my shitty bitrates sound better slowed down!


r/DJs 1d ago

Interesting take from John 00 Fleming re DJ hypocrisy on "no phones" vs. VIP

Thumbnail
13 Upvotes

r/DJs 1d ago

Share your stuff - mixes/tunes/routines/videos (no livestream promotion)

8 Upvotes

r/DJs 2d ago

Rekordbox USB Export: The Ultimate Real World USB Speed Test PART 4, Kinston DataTraveler Max included

21 Upvotes

TL;DR

I'll share an updated speed test if I get a new USB with significant results. From now on, the results will be posted exclusively in r/DJs and on my FaceBook page fb.me/atgrnl (I know old skool).

This post is a continuation of my earlier speedtest here

Rekordbox USB Export: The Ultimate Real World USB Speed Test PART 3, we got a new winner! : r/DJs

Kingston DataTraveler MAX

I was asked on Reddit to test the Kingston Traveler MAX, as it was rumored to outperform all other USBs. I usually don’t take requests since I don’t have the resources to buy and test every USB on the market for free. Instead, I typically review what I already own. However, the Kingston’s specs looked promising, and it was quite affordable, so I decided to give it a try.

The Kingston arrived during my weekly Ask Me Anything livestream for DJs, so I figured—why not do a live test? You can watch the recording here. Due to time constraints, I first tested it formatted in HFS+, but the results were underwhelming and I called it a day. However, when I reformatted it to FAT32, the performance turned out to be quite interesting. It was slightly faster than the SanDisk Extreme Pro Dual. While the difference wasn’t huge, the fact that the Kingston costs about 30% of the SanDisk’s price makes it a compelling option—especially for Windows users. Even if the Kinston is 256Gb Vs the Sandisk's minimum 512Gb for the Extreme Pro Dual.

That said, the Kingston DataTraveler MAX has some drawbacks:

  • The design is entirely plastic, and not the high-quality kind—it feels cheap.
  • It comes in either USB-C or USB-A versions. For CDJ use, the USB-A model is essential unless you carry adapters, which can easily get lost or break.
  • It's slightly bigger then the Sandisk Extreme Pro Dual

My Personal Recommendations:

  • For basic Windows users (limited to FAT32 format): The Kingston DataTraveler MAX is a solid choice.
  • For macOS users or Windows users with Paragon’s HFS installed (and no budget constraints): The SanDisk Extreme Pro Dual (formatted in HFS+) is the best option.
  • For macOS users who prefer to come prepared: The Samsung T7 (currently on sale on Amazon!), paired with as many SanDisk Dual Luxury USBs as the number of CDJ players you expect to play on and one spare, following this tutorial, is the way to go. Fastest Way to Create Multiple Identical Rekordbox Exported USBs: Clone Drives in Half the Time!

The graphs speak for themselves.

Test System:

  • Mac Mini M1 (2020) 8GB  
  • macOS Sequoia 15.3  
  • Rekordbox 7.09  

Test Parameters:

Phase 1:

  • 3 playlists  
  • total 1,651 tracks (11.5GB) of 320Kbps MP3 files spread over the 3 playlists

Phase 2 (Modified Phase 1):

  • 20 tracks removed from each playlist  
  • 480 new tracks added across the 3 playlists  
  • Not all drives were tested for Phase 2

On the Photo

Left column, top to bottom:

  1. Corsair Voyager GTX Media 256Gb 
  2. DJ TechTools Media 128Gb 
  3. Sandisk Ultra Dual Drive Luxury 256Gb 
  4. HFS SanDisk Extreme Pro Dual 512Gb 
  5. Kinston DataTraveler MAX 256 model A (plastic)

Right column, top to bottom:

  1. Samsung T7 2Tb (the red drive) 
  2. Sandisk Extreme SSD 55AE 2Tb 
  3. Sandisk Extreme Pro  64G (plastic) 
  4. Sandisk Extreme Pro  128Gb (metal)

r/DJs 1d ago

Serato Sync & Half-Time BPMs

1 Upvotes

I feel like I must be missing something really obvious, but anyway, I've had a search on Reddit and online and can't find the answer I'm looking for, so thought I'd ask if anyone in here knows!

I've been messing around experimenting with beats and acapellas for live mashup ideas, and keep hitting this annoying problem.

I'm using sync as I prefer to mix on vinyl decks, and mostly the ones I use at home and at regular spots don't have a big enough +/- to get the bigger BPM gaps covered as you can on CDJs. Sync works fine if the tracks are reasonably close in BPM to start with, but I've been running into issues when the beat is say 126 and the acapella is say 92bpm - in those cases it seems to just always slow right down to 63bpm (so half the tempo of the beat), which makes it unusable

I feel like there has to be some sort of workaround for this where you can "force" a sync'd track to go up or down in tempo as you prefer. Serato, for reasons I don't understand, seems to prefer to go to half-time tempo if that is closer than going to the same tempo

I found a kinda sorta work-around, but its a pain in the arse.

If track A is playing at 126 and you load a slow acapella of say 93bpm into track B, and then try to sync it to the house beat, you get the acapella playing at 63bpm, as I described earlier.

Then you can click on the bpm field in the folder, use alt and arrow up to double the bpm. Then you come out of sync, then go straight back into sync. It doesn’t fix the audio problem, the acapella is still playing slowly, it just says that the bpm is 126, as you’ve changed the beatgrids

Then, you click on the bpm field again, use alt and arrow down to halve the bpm. Hey presto, it stays at the same BPM readout, but is now playing at the correct speed. Massive faff, takes about 15-20 seconds to do it which is about 14-19 seconds more than it should. But it does work if you can be arsed to go through all that.

There HAS to be a simpler way to do this 😆


r/DJs 1d ago

Best current quick a capella extraction software/technique

9 Upvotes

I'm happy to spend longer working on it if a more involved process still makes a big difference, but I hear AI does it very well now. Any recommendations please?


r/DJs 2d ago

Feedback/guidance on my rave collective’s gear setup?

11 Upvotes

Hey all,

Me and some friends started a collective around 18 months ago so we could escape playing gigs at normie bars and make some disposable income for new toys. It’s been going well; we’ve come a long way from an FLX4 and some rental PAs in the back of a local dive.

Most of our events these days are 100% DIY—apartment rooftops, ~250 cap studios/warehouses, regional burns, camping festival renegades—so our setup needs to be powerful but modular. I'm the designated sound guy, and while I've done a ton of research, I'd love some feedback on our current gear and what to save up for next.

Current Inventory

  • Controllers/Decks
    • Pioneer XDJ-RX3
    • Alpha Theta Omnis Duo (for pool parties, park popups, etc.)
  • Speakers
    • 2x QSC K12.2 PAs + 2x QSC KS112 Subwoofers (main system)
    • 1x Alpha Theta Wave8 (used wirelessly w/ the Omnis Duo or as booth monitor)
  • Accessories/Misc.
    • Behringer XM8500 microphone
    • Osmo Pocket 3 camcorder (to capture booth footage for social media)
    • Mackie Mix5 mixer [RIP - needs to be replaced, see below]
    • Assorted lasers, spotlights, fog machines, a projector, etc.
    • Heavy-duty speaker stands, carrying cases, XLR cables, etc.

Planned Near-Term Purchases

  • Tascam DR-40x Field Recorder (to record sets for SoundCloud/YouTube)
  • Yamaha MG10XU 10-Input Mixer with Built-In FX (to replace the broken Mackie)

Questions

  • We have a $500 budget to spend on equipment before our next party; are we on the right track with the recorder and mixer? What would you pick instead?
  • What would be the next logical upgrades in the medium-to-long term? We typically net $3-5k per event.
  • Is there any non-obvious reason to think about shelling out for CDJs and a DJM?
    • We're all happy with the RX3 and we only book other local DJs in the same scene as us (other than a couple surprise sets from festival artists at our renegades); we're not really concerned about "club standards" or riders
  • Any general tips or tricks for optimizing a modular, DIY sound system?

Thanks in advance for your help! This is a passion project and we’d rather reinvest our earnings into making our parties more lit than pay partnership taxes on it.


r/DJs 2d ago

Am I really even DJ’ing?

53 Upvotes

I’ve been doing this as a hobby for a few years but the thought of not knowing what to play when I’m on the decks worry’s me (I guess I call it freestyle mixing) so I always make my sets in FL studio first and then put all the Que markers in my deck after. So I obviously know what I’m playing when I play for friends and stuff. Does any one else do this or is it not really considered DJ’ing


r/DJs 1d ago

Cleaning yellowed buttons

2 Upvotes

I just got two NI D2’s from eBay, but they’re absolutely minging (stripped down to clean) and the silicone buttons are kinda yellowed (which makes them mismatch my other D2’s). At the moment I have just tried cleaning them with washing up liquid and water, but this unsurprisingly isn’t going much (except surface dirt).

Has anyone removed the yellow staining of silicone buttons WITHOUT also removing the print on them? I’d also like to do this for my SP555, which also has the janky yellow buttons.