Mitch

I've got this. Went to a talk by David Carbone himself a while ago in Melbourne. It's good.

Hi. Welcome Production section is your friend

Yes the SP404SX is a hardware device, so it works by having the samples on SD card and no laptop required. However it's quite a small unit with not many pads to try and arrange a whole set on. There's 12 pads x 8 banks = 96 pads, but you need to remember what each pad does. If you were using 6 pads per track and arranged all the elements in the same way for each track, it could work. I prefer something with a bit more visual feedback though, especially when it's controlling such a large amount of the audio for your set

Ableton Push is quite good as you can get a copy of Ableton Live with it. You'll also need a DAC (sound card) to output to your mixer. It's extremely customisable and it's quite easy to map the knobs to different fx. As for the stability of it, that is mostly dependant on how well you have the computer set up. There are also other good MIDI controllers, but the push is rated quite highly as it's made by Ableton, and they also make the software, so the integration is great. Third party controllers require a bit of work to get them set up exactly how you want. The Native Instruments Maschine is another alternative for a midi controller with pads. Like the push, NI make the software as well as the hardware, so you get good integration. I have one, but I personally think it's better in the studio than live. Plenty of people use it live though. There are standalone hardware options, but you won't get all the FX, features, and flexibility that you want in 1 bit of hardware. Unless you have an existing mixer with FX that you could route through. Perhaps a good starting point would be to download a trial of ableton, and work on setting up a sample session of what your live set could look like, then just do some triggering/manipulation with the keyboard and mouse? Then you can decide if you like the software before you invest. Where do you live? Store DJ have a few stores around the country and have all this stuff setup to play around with, and the staff are generally pretty good. Disclaimer: I use ableton and even though i own a Maschine, I'm biased toward the push for it's simplicity

What decks/DJ mixer/controller are you using at the moment?

I have a playlist for each genre, as well as a playlist for each month, and a playlist for each musical key. Plus different combinations of all 3 of those things. Plus other 'special' playlists that I make at random to make it easy to find a certain vibe. There's no one way to do it, just whatever setup allows you to remember where everything is and be able to access it quickly. No matter how you choose to organise things, playlist folders are your friend. Also, I organise everything in iTunes, then sync it over to whatever DJ software I'm using (rekordbox, traktor, and serato all have iTunes sync). P.S. glad the gig went well

Hi Sol has some competition

Oh, what we should have mentioned (if it hasn't already). Set your equipment up in a manner that doesn't allow people to sit drinks near it. Keep drunk people, drinks, and cigarettes away from the equipment. Electronics, liquid, and ash don't mix. Good luck

I've always got time for the ADJF family

Hi

As you can probably guess it's not my thing, but you're stuff is always of professional standard

Yeah, decent suggestion by @andyman. Given it's a party for a friend and you'll have people there to socialise with, I'd download some DJ mixes of chilled music for the first hour or two while people are arriving, so you can mingle early in the night rather than slaving behind the decks while you're doing nothing. Then jump on the decks when the host wants to ramp the party up a bit.

RE: adapters. I like the idea of having 1 docking station which I can plug in and it charges the laptop + connects everything up. OWC have already made one. then for on the go just a usb-c to 4 port USB hub, and you're pretty well set. https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TCDOCK11PSG/

For an 18th I guess you'll likely want to have a variety of popular. The majority of people will just want songs they know + songs they grew up to + anything recent. Aria charts, some stuff from JJJ, etc. Reading the crowd is something that can be explained as a concept, but you'll only learn it from experience. The second part to this is having the right catalogue of music and organisation to cater, once you know what's working/what isn't. You'll make mistakes - we've all made heaps. What I can say is nobody will notice except for you, so just move on as if it's all going to plan and it will be fine. Confidence is key

Hello fellow Melbournite here

Hello

Main new features: -updated CPU/RAM/SSD/Graphics/display + thinner/lighter as expected by Apple -Touch ID fingerprint sensor -Customisable Retina LED Touch strip in place of function buttons -Available in space grey -2 x thunderbolt 3 ports + 3.5mm audio jack on the 13" model. 4 x thunderbolt 3 ports on the 15" model. These replace all IO and are used for USB, charging, connecting displays -Cheaper 13" model still available without Touch Bar More info here: http://www.apple.com/au/macbook-pro/

this was good

This is good Read more about it here: https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/2806

Yeah a USB docking station would be a good place to start, before you blow $ on a professional

I play both in sets. Vinyl culture is still alive, but nobody is going to judge you based on whether you play a partial or all-vinyl set. Besides, who cares what anyone things? If it sounds good, it is good. Depends where you go

Nice work

Super keen for this, every time I went last summer it was great.