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• Introduction
• About This Book
• Foolish Assumptions
• Icons Used in This Book
• Beyond this Book
• Where to Go from Here
• Part I: Getting Started with DJing
• Chapter 1: Catching DJ Fever
• Discovering DJing Foundations
• Equipping yourself
• Making friends with your wallet
• Knowing your music
• Researching and discovering
• Connecting your equipment
• DJing Takes Patience and Practice
• Working as a DJ
• Chapter 2: Starting Up with the Bare Bones
• Making a List, Checking It Twice
• Considering Input Devices
• Thinking about turntables
• Deciding on CD decks
• Musing on MP3s and PCs
• One Box to control it all
• Monitoring Your Music with Headphones
• Powering Things Up with Amplifiers
• Figuring Out the Furniture
• Considering ergonomics and stability
• Selecting store-bought stands
• Killing vibration with bricks and air
• Locating Your DJ Setup
• Chapter 3: Shopping for Equipment
• Taking Stock Before You Shop
• Trying before you buy
• Budgeting your money
• Crossing over with digital DJing
• Buying Brand New
• Cruising the high street
• Opting for online shopping
• Buying Second Hand
• Bidding on auction websites
• Scanning newspapers
• Dipping into second-hand and pawn shops
• Making Sure That Your Kit Works
• Checking cables
• Testing turntables
• Vetting CD decks
• Monitoring mixers
• Assessing headphones
• Sounding out amplifiers and speakers
• Chapter 4: Retro Chic or PC Geek? Buying Records, CDs and Digital Music Files
• Researching and Buying Your Tunes
• Buying digital music files
• Purchasing CDs and records
• Choosing what to buy
• News and reviews
• A tangled web
• Weighing up Classic and Current
• Protecting Your Records and CDs
• Storing records
• Cleaning CDs, records and needles
• Repairing vinyl
• Fixing warped records and CDs
• Repairing scratched/cracked CDs
• Backing up digital libraries
• Part II: Stocking Up Your DJ Toolbox
• Chapter 5: The Tech Revolution: Format Choices
• The Contestants
• Finding Your Music
• Circling around turntables
• Polishing up on CD options
• Digital – all music, all night
• Choosing Analogue or Digital Sound
• Mechanics: My Way Is Best!
• Vinyl is more aesthetically pleasing
• Turning the tables on controllers
• Turntables and records are heavy and cumbersome
• Turntables don’t have built-in effects
• You can’t see the music on CD
• Bars don’t have turntables any more
• Turntables are more expensive than CD decks
• Chapter 6: Getting Decked Out with Turntables
• Avoiding Cheap Turntables
• Motoring in the right direction
• Watching out for pitch control design
• Identifying Key Turntable Features
• Start/stop
• On/off
• Strobe light
• Platters
• 33/45/78 rpm
• Target light
• Pitch control
• Counterweight/height adjust
• Anti-skate
• Removable headshell/cartridge
• 45 rpm adaptor
• Customising Your Sound with Advanced Turntable Features
• Pitch range options
• Pitch bend and joystick control
• Tempo reset/quartz lock
• Master tempo/key lock
• Digital display of pitch
• Adjustable brake for start/stop
• Reverse play
• Different shaped tonearms
• Removable cabling
• Digital outputs
• Battle or club design
• MIDI controls
• Setting Up Turntables
• Platter
• Tonearm
• Peripherals
• Servicing Your Turntables
• Chapter 7: Perfecting Your Decks: Slipmats and Needles
• Sliding with Slipmats
• Choosing an appropriate slipmat
• Winning the friction war
• Getting Groovy with Needles and Cartridges
• Feeling the Force with Counterweight Settings
• Nurturing Your Needles
• Chapter 8: Spinning with CDs
• Getting to know the DJ CD Deck
• Laying out the design
• Navigating the CD
• Adjusting the Pitch
• Smoothing Out Vibrations
• Working with the Cue
• Locating the cue
• Storing the cue
• Checking the cue
• Starting the tune
• Taking Advantage of Special Features
• Digital music file playback
• Master tempo
• Hot cues
• Loop
• Sample banks
• Reverse play
• Beats-per-minute counters
• Digital DJ software control
• Having Fun Experimenting
• Chapter 9: Bits and PCs: Digital DJing
• Designing Your Digital DJ Setup
• Processing computer hardware
• Memory and processor considerations
• Stability
• Controlling the Digits
• Laptop/computer only
• Enhancing the basics by adding hardware
• DVS using records and CDs
• Connections and requirements
• Adding Hardware Controllers
• All-in-one hardware controllers
• Putting CD decks and mixers in control
• Your way is the best way . . . for you
• Picking Out the Software
• Software designed for DJs
• Controlling Decisions
• Livening up software choice
• Exploring Alternatives
• DJing with iPods, iPads and USB drives
• Mixing on the move
• Chapter 10: Stirring It Up with Mixers
• Getting Familiar with Mixer Controls
• Inputs
• Outputs
• Input VU monitoring
• Cross-faders
• Channel faders
• EQs and kills
• Gain controls
• Headphone monitoring
• Balance and pan controls
• Hamster switch
• Punch and transform controls
• Built-in effects
• Effects send and return
• Built-in samplers
• Built-in beat counters
• Beat light indicators
• MIDI and USB controls
• Choosing the Right Mixer
• The seamless mix DJ
• The scratch DJ
• The effects DJ
• The rock/party/wedding DJ
• Servicing Your Mixer
• Chapter 11: Ear-splitting Advice about Not Splitting Your Ears: Headphones
• Choosing a Good Set of Headphones
• Single-sided coiled cords
• Swivelling earpieces
• User-replaceable parts
• Cutting the cord
• Sticking it to your ears
• Remembering that the Volume Doesn’t Have to Go Up to 11
• Using Earplugs
• Chapter 12: Letting Your Neighbours Know That You’re a DJ: Amplifiers
• Choosing Suitable Amplification
• Settling on your home stereo
• Purchasing powered speakers
• Opting for separates
• Allowing a power margin for error
• Working with Monitors
• Working with the speed of sound
• Positioning your monitor
• Noise Pollution: Keeping an Ear on Volume Levels
• Protecting your ears
• Neighbourhood watch
• Realising that you only need one speaker
• Chapter 13: Plugging In, Turning On: Setup and Connections
• Getting Familiar with Connectors
• RCA/phono connections
• XLRs
• Quarter-inch jack
• Plugging Into the Mixer
• Connecting turntables to a mixer
• Connecting CD decks to a mixer
• Connecting iPods and personal MP3 players to a mixer
• Choosing your mixer inputs
• Plugging in your headphones
• Connecting effects units to a mixer
• Connecting mixer outputs
• Connecting a mixer to your home hi-fi
• Connecting a mixer to powered speakers
• Connecting a mixer to your PC/Mac
• Troubleshooting Setup and Connections
• Everything’s connected and switched on, a record (or CD) is playing, but I can’t hear anything from the speakers
• I can hear the music from the amp now, but I can’t hear anything through the headphones
• One of the turntables is distorting and the high frequencies sound fuzzy
• Why do my needles keep jumping when cueing?
• I hear a really strange humming noise coming from my turntables
• Why is everything distorting badly when I play a CD?
• Why is everything really quiet when using my turntables, even when everything is turned up to maximum?
• Everything sounds nice through the mixer but distorts through the amp
• Music is playing through the mixer, but I can’t get any music into the PC
• I’m able to record what’s going in, but nothing is coming back out of the PC
• Why doesn’t my recording device seem to record anything when connected directly to the mixer?
• Part III: The Mix
• Chapter 14: Grasping the Basics of Mixing
• Knowing What Beatmatching’s All About
• Discovering How to Beatmatch
• Choosing skills over thrills
• Setting up your equipment
• Locating the first bass beat
• Starting your tunes in time
• Adjusting for errors
• Knowing which record to adjust
• Using the Pitch Control
• Understanding bpm
• Calculating bpm
• Matching the pitch setting
• All hands (back) on decks
• Playing too slowly or too fast
• Taking your eyes off the pitch control
• Introducing Your Headphones
• Switching over to headphone control
• Cueing in your headphones
• Centring your head with a stereo image
• Practising with your headphones
• Using new tunes
• Quick Beatmatching
• Chapter 15: Picking Up on the Beat: Song Structure
• Why DJs Need Structure
• Multiplying beats, bars and phrases
• The sheep can dance
• Counting on where you are
• Hearing the cymbal as a symbol
• Everything changes
• Actively listening to your tunes
• Studying Song Structure
• Repeating the formula
• Accepting that every tune’s different
• Developing your basic instincts
• Listening to a Sample Structure
• Chapter 16: Mixing Like the Pros
• Perfecting Placement
• Intros over outros
• Melodic outro
• Melodic intro
• Mixing with Breakdowns
• Controlling the Sound of the Mix
• Sliding the cross-fader into play
• Unleashing channel faders
• Letting you in on a big, curvy secret
• Balancing it out with EQs
• Using Mixing Tricks and Gimmicks
• Spinbacks and dead stops
• Power off
• A cappella
• Cutting in
• Remixing with multiple decks
• Effecting the transition
• Mixing Different Styles of Music
• The wedding/party/rock/pop mix
• The R&B mix
• Drum and bass, and breakbeat
• Beatmatching tunes with vastly different tempos
• Chapter 17: Scratching Lyrical
• Setting Up Equipment the Right Way
• Weighing up needles
• Fixing the hole in the middle
• Wearing out your records
• Giving slipmats the slip
• Touching up mixers
• Making the mixer a hamster
• Preparing for the Big Push
• Marking samples
• Scratching on CD, MP3 and Computer
• Marking bits and bytes
• Mastering the Technique
• Getting hands-on with vinyl
• Changing sample sounds
• Starting from Scratch and Back Again
• Scratching without the cross-fader
• Introducing cross-fader fever
• Combining scratches
• Juggling the Beats
• Offsetting
• Practice, dedication and patience
• Part IV: Getting Noticed and Playing Live
• Chapter 18: Building a Foolproof Set
• Choosing Tunes to Mix Together
• Beatmatching – the next generation
• Mixing with care
• Changing gear
• Getting in tune with harmonic mixing
• Keying tunes
• Knowing how much to pitch
• Developing a Style
• Easing up on the energy
• Changing the key
• Increasing the tempo
• Avoiding stagnation
• Respecting the crowd
• Demonstrating your style
• Chapter 19: Creating a Great Demo
• Preparing to Record the Demo
• Programming your set
• Picking and arranging the tunes
• Bridging the gaps
• Practising your set
• Practice makes more than perfect
• Setting up to record
• Correcting recording levels
• Looking After Sound Processing
• Keeping an even volume
• Setting your EQs
• Testing, testing
• Adjusting the amplifier
• Performing the Demo
• Staying focused
• Becoming a perfectionist
• Listening with an open mind
• Making a Demo CD on Computer
• Editing your mix
• Burning a CD
• Creating a track-split CD
• Sending Off the Mix
• Chapter 20: Getting Busy With It: Working as a DJ
• Marketing Yourself
• Flooding the world with your demo
• Playing for free
• Internet broadcasting
• Joining an Agency
• Researching an agency
• Meeting the criteria to join
• Keeping agencies in your musical loop
• Cutting your losses
• Networking Your Way to Success
• Selling yourself
• Making friends
• Going undercover
• Marketing Yourself on the Internet
• Chapter 21: Facing the Music: Playing Live
• Investigating the Venue
• Scoping out a club
• Gearing up to party
• Preparing to Perform
• Selecting the set
• Organising your box
• Knowing What to Expect at the Club
• Dealing with nerves
• Getting used to your tools
• Working in a loud environment
• Playing Your Music
• Reading a crowd
• Handling requests
• Taking over from someone else
• Finishing the night
• Part V: The Part of Tens
• Chapter 22: Ten Resources for Expanding Your Skills and Fan Base
• Staying Current with Media
• Music
• The scene
• Your skills
• Visiting DJ Advice Websites
• Getting Answers through DJ Forums
• Reading Other Books
• Getting Hands-on Advice
• Uploading Podcasts or Hosted Mixes
• Listening to Other People’s Mixes
• Participating in Competitions
• Hosting Your Own Night
• Immerse Yourself in What You Love
• Chapter 23: Ten Answers to DJ Questions You’re Too Afraid to Ask
• Do I Need to Talk?
• What Should I Wear?
• How Do I Go to the Toilet?
• Can I Invite My Friends into the DJ Booth?
• How Do I Remove the Beat or Vocals?
• How Do I Choose My DJ Name?
• Do I Get Free Drinks? (And How Do I Get Drinks from the Bar?)
• Who Does the Lighting for the Night?
• Should I Reset the Pitch to Zero After Beatmatching?
• What Do I Do if the Record or CD Skips or the Software Crashes?
• Chapter 24: Ten Great Influences on Me
• Renaissance: Disc 1
• Tonsillitis
• La Luna: ‘To the Beat of the Drum’
• Ibiza 1996, Radio 1 Weekend
• The Tunnel Club, Glasgow
• Jamiroquai: ‘Space Cowboy’
• Digital DJing
• Alice DeeJay: ‘Better Off Alone’
• Delerium: ‘Silence’
• Sasha and Digweed, Miami 2002
• Chapter 25: Ten DJing Mistakes to Avoid
• Forgetting Slipmats/Headphones/Laptop
• Taking the Needle off the Wrong Record
• Banishing Mixer Setting Problems
• Getting Drunk while Playing
• Surfing while Mixing
• Leaning Over the Decks
• Avoiding Wardrobe Malfunctions
• Spending Too Long Talking to Someone
• Leaving Your Last Tune Behind
• Getting Paid Before You Leave
• Chapter 26: Ten Items to Take with You When DJing
• All the Right Records or Bits
• Making It Personal with Headphones and Slipmats
• You’re a Star! Taking a Digital Recorder/Blank CD
• Spreading the Music with Demos
• Always Being Prepared: Pen and Paper
• Packing Your Tools and Saving the Day
• Keeping Fuelled with Food and Drink
• Keeping Moving with Car Keys
• Have Wallet, Will Travel
• Just Chilling: Chill Mix for the Ride Home
• About the Author
• Cheat Sheet
• More Dummies Products