In previous years djs have been restricted to having to press their own vinyl records to play un-released music, but now there are several options. CD based vinyl emulators such as the excellent numark cdx & cdj800 by pioneer enable djs to play their own music or any un-released tracks and still have the full control offered by vinyl and more.



Some digital software and hardware combination packages are used to play mp3s straight from a computer, such as final scratch by stanton or serato scratch by rane and are extremely useful.

Often I see club djs using such software, the advantages are so great that many people are switching over from classic vinyl. What does this mean for the average clubber? Well expect to hear more variation in music selection across all fields of music.

I upgraded my dj Gear about 6 months ago and haven never looked back. Whereas in the past I was using just a pair of technics sl1210 decks and a two-channel dj mixer a djm400, now I have implemented much more into my set-up, at a very affordable price. Now I have several choices on how I wish to play.

I have serato scratch which enables me to play and mix any mp3 file I want as vinyl. I also bought a korg kaos pad 3 for advanced effects. For nightclub use I always carry my numark axis 9 cd player so I can play my own productions, but for a more live feel I use the amazing new ableton live software. This powerful new tool enables producers and djs to remix, loop and generally modify their tracks on-the-fly for a complete new music experience.

As opposed to the old way of having to carry large amounts of vinyl in your swan flight record cases to a club (or paying someone to carry it for you!) nowadays a cd wallet or even a usb memory stick enables your entire music collection to be easily carried and played as vinyl.

One of the most recent additions to this world is mixing in a pure digital way with ipod music players. New hardware such as the numark idj2 mixing console looks like it will end up being a extremely popular method for djs. The capacity of some ipods is absolutely enormous, no longer is there a need to carry 100 vinyl records around everywhere, now I can carry 100 times as much music in my pocket!

Another great addition are digital audio recorders such as the ikey and ikey plus. Rather than having to record directly to pc or using cassette tapes, audio runs directly into the unit and can be saved as mp3 or WAV files. These are amazingly useful to record live sets and are a very welcome addition indeed.