Virtual DJ: Mixing Tutorial

[Dark Hacker]

As regular DJ on MPC Radio, and an even more regular #mpcradio IRC visitor, i notice more and more people that skip the SAM tutorial and go straight to Virtual DJ. Mostly those people come back later and ask for some more explaination on Virtual DJ - which i will now call VDJ-. From there this tutorial.

1. I DO NOT recommend using VDJ if you're new to DJ programs. VDJ is designed for (semi-) professional DJ's and is not user friendly to the "newbs". For that i would recommend using SAM first, after that - if you are thinking of going for VDJ -, i suggest you use AtomixMP3 for a few weeks or months (dependant of you learning speed). You can find a demo of AtomixMP3 here.
If you are familiar with the interface of AtomixMP3, you can start trying out VDJ offline . Get VDJ's demo version here.

2. So you have mastered VDJ a bit now. You can start using it online! BUT... before you really start streaming with it, you need some more customising. First of all, VDJ really has some work in it, so there are -dare I say- practically unlimited options. USE THESE OPTIONS! They will help you a great deal when mixing.

3. Actually a part of the options, but yet so important that I made a seperate point of it. USE HOTKEYS! If you don't use seperate hardware components (which I presume you don't), it is of huge importance that you use hotkeys. You can't control everything with just your mouse!

4. VDJ is completely customisable, CUSTOMISE! The most important part of this rule is that you find yourself a skin that suits your mixing needs. Find skins here. I, for example, use Mix Station SU 04 Titanium.

5. Mixing is NOT like riding a bike. You need to keep mixing offline and trying to improve your skill. Don't be discouraged if something keeps failing, you will succeed in the end.

6. This might be a detail, but please, CHOOSE THE RIGHT MUSIC! I hear people trying to mix Nirvana with Metallica... Don't try, it's not gonna work! If you want to try it, go ahead, but NOT ON THE AIR, because it will be a DISASTER!

7. My next point is more something moral: if you like VDJ, BUY IT! The makers of this program are putting in huge amounts of time to make it as perfect as possible, let's appreciate that. If you do not feel like paying: download the demo and let it be.

8. USE YOUR HEADPHONE! This is of essencial importance. Without your headphone you can never mix perfectly. Though mixing without a headphone with VDJ is easier than with real vinyl, it remains hard. I can guarantee you that a headphone helps you a great deal.
==Thanks to Hissyfit for the hint==

9. BROADCASTING WITH VDJ is pretty easy to configure, though it does not have as many options as SAM, this just increases the simplicity. Here's a small tutorial in a tutorial.
a) You go to the "Record" tab, where this is located depends of your skin.
b) When you have found the "Record" tab, you click the "Broadcast" button.
c) You see 2 buttons: "CONFIG..." and "START RECORDING". Click on "CONFIG..."
d) A new window opens. These are the settings I use. (This means there are other configurations possible!)
Record From: Master / Auto-Start ON / Shoutcast (MP3) / The encoder should be filled in correctly standard* / Bitrate 64 Kbs / Broadcast to a radio server / server details, received from luck777jojo, have to be entered here)
*If it's not filled in, browse to your VDJ folder and select the file "lame_enc.dll".
e) Press OK in this window. You are now ready to start broadcasting. To do so: click "START RECORDING".
f) This is just an extra note rather than a step.
If you get this message:
** Broadcast Error**
Server answered: "
This means that someone else is already broadcasting: go on IRC: #mpcradio, and try to contact the current DJ if you want to go on next.
==Thanks to -=pwn-noobs=- for the hint==

This is a tutorial made DURING A MIX on MPC Radio, 20th of august 2005, completed at 23.50 at night. I hope it is usefull for at least some of you, and if there come more questions, i will add them, with their answer, here.

<<<<Technical DJing with VDJ: The PDF File is available now! I will try making it in HTML soon!>>>> --> Updated to v1.1, after a hint of Hissyfit, ty for that.

==> I will be adding more, but i dont really have much time with school starting again, so it will take some more time.

-DJ Van Stino

P.S.: To view this document you need Adobe reader: download it here.

[felikz]

yeah man thx really for this!
but no one will get the skill you have!

[Hissyfit]

Thankyou for the tutorial, i have figured most of this stuff out on my own already(ive been using it on and off for 3 - 4 months) but it's ood for people that want to know more one thing i'd like to add that really helps(or helped me atleast)

8.Use Headphones, some people don't realise this but there is a featur built into virtual dj 3 that allows you to run headphones for pre-matching and testing. Go into config and scroll down the system layouts or whatever they're called and find the one to setup both, switch the crossfaser to the other track so they don't hear it and turn the headphones on to get the track ready

[-=pwn-noobs=-]

hey dark hacker , i thought you where on a holiday in greece? lol

however , you forgot one important thing , setting up vdj to broadcast :-)
i have more problems setting up max then vdj , i my opinion is that vdj is the easiest program to use to mix .

how to broadcast with vdj? ----->>> here is how

in the vdj program go to the record option , if you look a bit you see it , the place where this option is located depend from the skin you use , when you found it , select broadcast (duh) , then select conig , choose shoutcast , bitrate = 64kb,
encoder = make shure you have lame_enc encoder , you can find this in winamp plugin folder , its also possible that you got to download this ,
server = shoutcast.mpcforum.com
port= 8000
password= the password you get from luckyjojo777
and the rest you fill in for yourselfe

now you are ready to broadcast

importand hint = dont forget to pres on start if you want to broadcast (duh) again

[Dark Hacker]

Ok, all these extra tips will be entered in the first post for the newbs that dont scroll down . Many thanks for your hints...

[Dark Hacker]

Btw i would like this thread to be sticky'd. VDJ is, what i am concerned, better than SAM, it also allows mic input etc. This support is very useful for the DJs. It will also improve th mixing quality on the radio.

[Hissyfit]

sam supports mic input aswell but yeah i have to agree vdj is the better software in some aspects cause it allows you to do more but they are really meant for two different things, sam is more of an automated more normal radio enviroment but vdj is meant for the more involved dj's that actually mix while on the air.

[barry_white]

When you told me in IRC you had made a tuts, I had no idea it was this good:

Really great work, thx a lot.

[felikz]

When you told me in IRC you had made a tuts, I had no idea it was this good:

Really great work, thx a lot.

are u a dj too? just wanna know if an admin has the time for that!

[barry_white]

are u a dj too? just wanna know if an admin has the time for that!

From 1974 to 2001 and some contracts in 2003-04 for a buddy's clubz

I was there when disco wasnt even born

[felikz]

From 1974 to 2001 and some contracts in 2003-04 for a buddy's clubz

I was there when disco wasnt even born

hehe!
lol! can u answer me a question?

what is the difference between devil admin and evil admin??? there are some admins which have only admin and some which have devil admin...

and @dark hacker:
i like you music and your style very much. thx for that great tut

[luck777jojo]

some admins are just more evil than other thus you have evil and devil...... and some (like me) are just unstable thus I have neither muhahahahaha

[Dark Hacker]

Atm my technical mixing tut is getting longer and longer... Can I put another huge amount of text with the first post or should i make a link to a txt document? BTW mods plz make the tread sticky so that i don't lose the work i put in this.

[Dark Hacker]

God my Technical Mixing Tutorial is over 2 pages of a Word document, and i'm not even finished. I will just attach it to the first post as a Word doc. Theres still quite some work to do on it but im making good progress.

[luck777jojo]

save it as a .html, some people might not have word.