I started DJing almost six years ago when my friends Matt & Adriana asked me to spin a set at their wedding. I had no idea how to do that, but they had faith in me. It all worked out, and I’ll make sure to post that first set so you can listen.

The point of my story is that DJ equipment was big and expensive back then. You needed two turntables and a mixer to really do it right. That meant $1,000 minimum and a table in your house covered with gear. So I cheated and did it all in software.

It worked, but it was a pain in the butt.  First, it was hard to hear what was going on. To DJ properly you need to use one ear to listen to what the audience is hearing and the other ear to listen to what’s coming. The blend allows you to mix two songs together in a musical way. To mix with the particular software I had to shut myself out of what the audience was hearing in order to mix what was coming. This meant that I wasn’t truly present in what people were feeling on the dance floor.

The second problem was that a laptop doesn’t feel like a musical instrument. I would be crazily mousing around during gigs. It’s hard to get a groove going with a mouse, and it’s not fun for dancers to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve come a long way since then. Today Apple is selling a device that hooks up to your laptop and gives you the equivalent of two turntables and a mixer. You plug it in, grab songs from iTunes, and start mixing. The best part is that it only costs $225 and it doesn’t take up a table in your house.

I’m not saying this is the solution for everyone, but it is a great way to get started.

- mike
elevatorclub.com

…:: step inside ::… listen…