Becoming a DJ or Disc Jockey is not as easy as it may first seem. The first hurdle is in setting yourself up with the right equipment. It can be problematic if only for the reason that the right gear can be expensive. You will need not just one piece but several. A DJ can mix and match components of different qualities and price ranges to make the entire outfit suit a budget.
One of the most expensive pieces of equipment that you will need to buy is a mixer. Sound mixers vary from make to make and from model to model and their price depends on their features and their quality. You can buy a DJ mixer for a couple hundered dollars to a few thousand dollars. If you are new to the disk jockey business, it is advised that you only spend only a few hundred dollars. The cheaper mixers can work just as well as the more expensive ones and if you are new to DJ?ing then you should not spend too much money because you don?t know how business will be. The good news is that manufacturers of quality mixers and audio equipment in general, like Numark, Gemini, Aiwa, Akai produce good quality economic DJ mixers.
After the mixer you will need a turntable as well. There are different kinds of turntables available. If you are in to vinyl then you should get a traditional DJ turntable, or if you are into CD?s and MP3?s there is a wide selection of turntables for the new technologies that resemble the traditional ones. In general, turntables are more expensive than plain players, but there are good ones available for under $400. You can even choose to buy a direct drive turntable, but you will have to spend more money for one of these. Most DJs however prefer them as they play records faster and don't lag. Players are much cheaper than turntables but have less features. DJs who like to scratch and spin records prefer the turntables because players only provide sound output like any other CD or DVD player.
A new DJ should not overspend on equipment. And one item you can save money for is the speakers. Speakers are used for live events and as a DJ if you want to minimize your costs and not have to rent any equipment in the future. In general the price of any speaker depends on the price of its output. There are small woofer speakers that a DH can buy for less than $100. if you are new to the field you might consider buying a DJ pack, a DJ in a box package and save money. These packages contain everything you will need. Using cheap DJ equipment is only recommended for new DJs. If you start getting gigs and start making money then you should consider buying more advanced equipment.
