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Digital vs. Vinyl
There is an ongoing war between music lovers of all statures as to what is the best, or true method for DJing. For past and ongoing years the war wages strong but at the end of the day it all boils down to what suits you. What do you want to achieve from your DJing? What aspect of DJing is most important to you? What are the DJ skills you want to master?
It is also argued that vinyl has a distinctive sound that no other format can match. The sound quality of vinyl achieves the purest form of music whereas mp3’s in their full 320kbps quality are still heavily compressed. The knowledgeable audio buff will claim to be able to tell the difference between digital and vinyl on a decent soundsystem. Higher quality digital formats however, such as WAV and FLAC are 1411kbps and also of the same uncompressed quality as CD. Many avid vinyl DJs also argue that vinyl has the collectable appeal and level of physical ownership that is not apparent in purchasing music digitally.
To make things easier, we’ve broken down the pros and cons of each DJ format so you can better choose what style is right for you.
Vinyl DJ
Advantages
>The most physically practical, hands-on and skilful method of DJing
>The primary and original method of DJing. Once mastered, the principles of every other method are easier to follow
>Ideal for performing complex DJ skills such as scratching and beat juggling
>The sound quality of vinyl is uncompressed and achieves the purest form of music whereas mp3’s in their full 320kbps quality are still heavily compressed.
Disadvantages
>Vinyl is a more expensive format compared to CD and digital
>Depending on the amount of turntables an individual has, the DJ is limited to the amount of tracks they can play at one time
>Unless the DJ owns an effects processor, or there are in-built effects on the mixer, the vinyl DJ is unable to incorporate additional effects into their mixes
CD DJ
Advantages
>Quicker and easier to cue tracks compared to vinyl
>Can perform loops by inputting start and end points of sections within tracks
>CDs are easier to carry around than vinyl. A CD wallet can hold a significantly higher amount of CDs than a record bag.
>CD decks usually have track timers so the CD DJ can see the duration of each tune
Disadvantages
>Not all CD decks have the same hands-on, jog wheel function and difference in performance can differ immensely depending on the brand/model of CD deck you choose
>Lack the authentic feel of vinyl turntables
>CDs can be prone to skipping
>Although many CD decks have a scratch function, they lack the unique feel and sound that traditional turntables are capable of.
Digital DJ
Advantages
>The tempo of tracks are readily synced up meaning the laptop DJ can focus on effective and unique mixes
>Most digital DJ software usually has many effects and audio add-ons built into the program
>Physically practical – library of music/tracks can be stored on computer along with DJ software
>No physical damage can be done to digital tracks
Disadvantages
>As much as it is an advantage, the inability to beat match can also be a down side as it is a crucial art within the grand DJ community
>Sets/mixes usually need an element of pre-planning meaning a lack of spontaneity for the laptop DJ. For example, some tracks need to be warped if they are to sync up properly with other tracks in your set
>performance of a laptop can be more unreliable than turntables or CD decks and is more likely to obtain unexpected errors
>Laptop DJing can be fiddly to set up and use compared to turntables and CD decks
Whichever is your preferred format for DJing, the DJ Academy caters for every kind of DJ and teaches students to harness their DJ skills to the best of their ability and stand out from the rest.
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