DJ Holiday Shopping Guide For Your Teen
Most parents today have their own memories of the old, traditional way of DJ-ing using the record decks. As technology progressed, we realized how different DJ-ing has now become. If you are a parent who lost track of how it is all done and want to give your teenager that equipment this Christmas, we will be guiding you through this article. You may consider this a crash course to finding the best equipment as wisely as possible.
DJ Controller and interface
Very much like the old decks, a DJ controller is just the shrunk version of it. It can be connected to the computer or laptop to allow sharing and control of music files. It is the cheapest way to start DJ-ing. As a recommendation, it is better to buy a controller that has a sound card already built in so you can easily plug it to the computer with speakers at the back. Having this built-in will spare you from buying an external one when your child finds out that the headphones doesn’t have one.
Software and a Laptop
When you buy a DJ controller, software is included to be installed on the laptop such that the two work together in harmony. To start, you'll need to have a laptop ready so that he can start with his DJ-ing right away. If he doesn’t have one yet, then you need to take into consideration its processor and RAM memory. A dual core or a better Intel coupled with at least a 2 GB of memory and a large memory space for the software would be enough. Some of the manufacturers have minimum requirements posted on their websites. It would be a good idea to check before purchasing. Also, keep in mind that having tons of songs can take a lot of hard drive space.
Speakers/ Amp
To hear the music much better, some kind of speakers or amplifier should be available. If you already have one, check the Aux input. A separate computer speaker may qualify for a starter and since it would usually have a built-in amplifier, you wouldn’t need to worry. It would even be better if you own the kind of speakers that have three of them—two little and the other a bass one.
Headphones
While a DJ is playing a song, he is also listening on headphones for the next one. The important thing in finding the best headphones is whether it’s closed back. A closed back headphones work such that the person wearing it won’t hear any sounds outside, which is very important otherwise he would lose control of the music he is spinning.
Audio lead
While most DJ controller comes with a plug in lead to a computer or a laptop, they don’t usually come with a plug to speakers. A controller will have a red and white socket and all you have to do is buy a lead that would connect the input to the speakers. If you are tired buying from stores, you may try looking at your PC set-up or stereo.
Hopefully, you've got a little better of an idea on what to buy this holiday season. In general, the setup for most the equipment is not too difficult. If you have any questions feel free to drop us a line, we're always happy to help out aspiring DJ's get the best bang for their buck!
